It was clearly the bustling cafeteria at noon,
The boisterous, full-throated laughter and chatter of the martial arts students downstairs drifted up in a constant din,
Behind him, Zhou Shenghao was still imparting his family's wisdom on judging people and making friends to his cousin,
Along with Zhou Yibai's hesitant voice agreeing with his cousin,
And Liu Yunmeng's unconcerned sounds of boiling water and rinsing tea leaves all came through with startling clarity in the slowed-down time of this "Bullet Time,"
The outside world was clearly incredibly noisy,
Yet none of it could disturb Li Xijun's calm and tranquil state of mind in the slightest.
Only those eyes, where purple lightning seemed to flicker and flow, gave him an unprecedented sense of pressure, as though time itself had frozen within that sluggish stillness.
Others could not sense it, but as someone who had achieved Spirit Refining and Orifice Opening, Li Xijun could feel the terrifyingly vast spiritual power of the girl before him. It was like Tribulation Clouds gathering with enough thunder to overturn heaven and earth; one careless step, and he would be struck into ashes by heavenly lightning.
At the same moment their gazes met,
While Li Xijun was utterly shocked by her powerful spiritual force,
Su Nianyi had just as easily caught sight of it: a flash of starlight passing through the irises of the boy before her. Within his eyes seemed to lie a miniature universe, a hazy galaxy bearing a soul-stirring beauty.
"Beautiful."
To outsiders, one was going downstairs and the other upstairs. Their figures crossed, and they passed shoulder to shoulder, seemingly without anything unusual or any exchange between them.
Yet the girl's extremely soft whisper truly made Li Xijun quicken his pace, and he was downstairs in an instant.
So this is Su Nianyi, the rumored top student in the grade who was guaranteed admission to Imperial Capital Two Heavens, a psychic power awakener?
How high must her Spirit Level be?
And compared to the Spirit-Refining Cultivators of the Da Sheng World, what level would that be? Sitting Forgetting or Embryonic Breathing?
At that moment, Li Xijun finally understood why those with psychic power talent were treated like treasures and guaranteed admission.
The Spirit Level of these geniuses after awakening is absurdly high.
Li Xijun could not help complaining inwardly. If he had not possessed the Grand Luo Mark, he would probably have been envious and jealous of such a psychic power genius too.
Elsewhere,
Still unable to stop replaying those eyes in her mind, Su Nianyi pushed open the door and saw Liu Yunmeng carefully placing Spirit Nourishing Tea into the teapot before rinsing it with boiling water. Liu Yunmeng casually remarked,
"Dragon does not dwell with snakes, and a roc does not roost with birds. Actually, your friend Zhou Yibai is quite smart and perceptive. He knows not to force his way into a circle he cannot fit into."
As she said this, there was a hint of pride in her voice.
Because in the entire school, only she could speak with Su Nianyi.
Especially after seeing Su Nianyi arrive, she revealed a bright and warm smile, a stark contrast to her previous gentle yet distant manner.
But the next instant, she could no longer smile.
"Yunmeng, we agreed we would simply have tea. We never said anyone else would be joining us, did we?"
There was no expression on the girl's flawless oval face. Her tone was utterly calm.
"Nianyi, Zhou brought Spirit Nourishing Tea. I thought it would benefit you too," Liu Yunmeng hurriedly explained, saying that she had meant well for her.
"There is no need to say more. Let this end here."
The three of them lacked both psychic power talent and the Spirit-Refining System, so none could sense Su Nianyi's incomparably vast and terrifying spiritual power.
But when they met those calm violet eyes, all of them felt a chill rise from the depths of their hearts. They did not dare move an inch, much less find the courage to speak.
"Student Liu and Student Zhou, you have too many schemes. If you wish to attain Exterior Scenery in this life, you might as well calm yourselves and begin by reflecting on today's matter. Change yourselves, and perhaps there may still be a sliver of hope."
After saying that, she turned and left directly.
However, before leaving, Su Nianyi glanced at Zhou Yibai,
And that look made the shame he had felt over Li Xijun's earlier departure rise within him again.
Zhou Yibai had once been a little genius who, despite his family's poor finances, had still ranked somewhere around one hundred and fifty to one hundred and sixty in the grade. He was naturally somewhat clever, and suddenly realized:
Psychic power awakeners could release their spiritual power after awakening,
Perhaps Su Nianyi had already seen everything through her spiritual power from the moment Zhou Shenghao and Liu Yunmeng entered the cafeteria.
She had merely come out to deal with it now.
Only long after Su Nianyi turned and left did the frozen atmosphere in the room slowly dissipate.
Zhou Yibai, sitting off to the side, looked at his cousin and Liu Yunmeng across from him and asked quietly,
"Um... Cousin, are we still drinking this tea?"
"Drink, drink, drink! Drink what tea!"
Zhou Shenghao snapped instinctively in the same tone his father used when scolding him. He stood up, desperately wanting to flip the table and go back to training.
But when he thought of how expensive the Spirit Nourishing Tea was, he gritted his teeth and sat back down to drink it.
Liu Yunmeng also lowered her head in silence, her expression equally unpleasant.
Seeing this, Zhou Yibai could not help recalling those words from earlier:
"Dragon does not dwell with snakes. Do not force your way into a circle you cannot fit into."
He suddenly regretted weakly following along with his cousin's words before.
Martial Arts Classroom
Having entered a state of complete focus, Li Xijun assumed a stance and continued cultivating the Azure Dragon Heaven-Reaching Method as usual.
By now, sweat was pouring from his body, and his entire Spine Great Dragon trembled constantly in an astonishing rhythm,
Making him quite conspicuous in the spacious classroom.
Generally speaking, rest was extremely important for martial arts students.
Ordinary martial arts students without meditation class often went to the dormitories prepared by the school to rest at noon, aside from ensuring enough sleep at night.
But Li Xijun was still in excellent mental condition. Especially after eating the high-energy Nourishment Meal Set, his physical state was even better.
It was the perfect time to break through!
His breathing suddenly stopped. His tongue curled, his thoughts settled upon his Spine Great Dragon, and his surging blood essence suddenly rushed forward!
Your Blood Essence Level has increased from Level 5.9 to Level 6.0.
"Phew—!"
Seeing the notification of his successful breakthrough appear before him, Li Xijun slowly exhaled.
In the martial arts College Entrance Exam, Blood Essence Level was worth a total of 500 points. Level 9.0 was worth 470 points. Level 8.0 was worth 440 points. Level 7.0 was worth 400 points. Level 6.0 was worth 360 points. Level 5.0 was worth 300 points.
Now, he had stepped onto a new minor stage.
Reaching Blood Essence Level 9 before the College Entrance Exam was already a certainty.
Of course, that was not enough. Now that he had the Da Sheng World, his goal was no longer merely Blood Essence Level 9,
He planned to achieve October Viscera Refining, completely surpass every College Entrance Exam champion in history, including Wood Sage, then leap through the Dragon Gate and enter the Imperial Capital!
After resting for a moment,
He no longer hesitated. With his Level 6 Blood Essence, already comparable to the powerful blood essence of a Tendons and Bones Realm martial artist, he began practicing the twenty-four movements of the Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist to temper his skin and flesh.
Once his blood essence was nearly depleted,
He made a mental note to buy more Medicinal Baths and Greater Blood Essence Pills at the Life-Slaying Martial Hall that evening, while slowly practicing the True Martial Thirty-Six Forms to coordinate his newly strengthened blood essence and power.
And this time, he felt the connection and collision between the two systems more deeply than ever.
When the Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist tempered skin and flesh, its first twenty-four forms used blood essence to "refine" all the muscles and fascia throughout the body.
The killing move Sky Grasping Hammer of the True Martial Thirty-Six Forms likewise required twelve forms to unite the power of every muscle in the body and unleash integrated force.
The more Li Xijun practiced, the more indescribably exhilarated he felt. The more he practiced, the stronger an indescribable impulse grew within him.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
As he trained, he suddenly used the footwork of the Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist to take three consecutive steps, throwing three consecutive punches.
Then his body halted and trembled. The muscles all over his body produced the wondrous rhythm of White Python Shaking Scales, just as Zhang Haifeng had demonstrated, before he suddenly threw a punch!
Boom!
His fist shot out like the wind, its sound like thunder, exploding through the empty classroom!
True Martial Killing Move: Sky Grasping Hammer, mastered!
Your True Martial Thirty-Six Forms proficiency has increased from Skilled 98% to Proficient 5%. Your Subduing Tiger Bone Refining Method proficiency has increased from Beginner 94% to Skilled 14%.
Before you continue