Ji You returned to his usual cultivation routine, and the number of people at the Dao Comprehension Ground gradually increased.
Lu Qingqiu, Lou Siyi, Bai Rulong, and the five who had delivered swords that day all came to the Dao Comprehension Ground to continue cultivating diligently.
Yet watching him slip in and out of the state of Dao comprehension, everyone was filled with confusion.
What kind of Dao was this, to be so utterly soul-stirring?
"Yan Shuyi, kick me again and I'll open my mouth!"
"You wouldn't dare!"
At the foot of Void Mountain, Ji You meekly dodged onto a black rock nearby, glaring indignantly at the cold-faced Fairy.
Beautiful women really did hinder cultivation!
Five days had passed since the attack, yet he had only barely gathered his sixth Mystic Light. Everything else had come from rewards.
Ji You could not understand it. He had clearly already coaxed her into forgiving him.
Moreover, over the past five days, the two had continued coordinating their cultivation schedules with perfect tacit understanding, occasionally chatting for a few moments.
Why did mentioning that a woman had given him a treasured sword make this little demoness fly into such a temper?
Ji You's soul returned to his body. Turning to Bai Rulong beside him, he asked, "Tell me, what does it mean when a woman gives a man a sword to wear?"
Before Bai Rulong could react, Lu Qingqiu, Lou Siyi, and Sun Zhiqiao behind them had already blushed furiously.
"Legend says that during the wars of the ancient era, two Human sages, one man and one woman, exchanged their swords in a battle they were certain to die in. They embraced as they died, their souls returned to the Heavenly Dao. Thus, in later generations, giving a sword to someone of the opposite sex became an act of wishing to form a Dao Companion with them."
Bai Rulong explained, "If a man accepts a sword from a woman, the two may form a bond of dual cultivation."
Ji You opened his mouth. Damn!
He had thought he understood this world well enough, but only now did he realize he had been here for merely three years.
Master Chen of Yuyang County was an old bachelor, and there certainly would not be such love stories in his collection of books.
Thus, the world he had learned about from him had actually been filtered.
As a result, he knew absolutely nothing about certain legends and stories that ordinary people all knew.
Lu Qingqiu was looking at Ji You now, unable to stop herself from considering how she should refuse dual cultivation with him if he had misunderstood her reason for giving him that sword.
He was not from an Aristocratic Clan, merely a self-cultivator from the countryside. There was no way she would choose him.
Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out at the rear of the Dao Comprehension Ground, accompanied by the continual sounds of people rising and shuffling aside.
"It's Chu He..."
"Chu He came out?"
Hearing this, Ji You and the others looked over as well. They discovered that Chu He, who had kept himself hidden and refused to see anyone since the night he comprehended the Heavenly Book, had actually appeared among the crowd.
He wore an embroidered pear-blossom robe, his hair crown neatly set, and entered the Dao Comprehension Ground with a faintly cold gaze.
No one could hide in their room forever, and those in the outer courtyard had expected that he would eventually emerge.
But in their guesses, Chu He should have appeared devastated and disheveled, not as poised and elegant as he was now.
"Brother Chu, have you come out to comprehend the Dao?"
"I just came out of seclusion. I came out for some air."
Chu He spoke expressionlessly, then sat cross-legged on the ground and properly arranged the hem of his robe.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the second son of the Chu Household slowly closed his eyes and entered a state of Dao comprehension. At that instant, cries of shock began spreading through the Dao Comprehension Ground.
Because seven Mystic Lights had lit up on Chu He's forehead.
Lu Qingqiu was the most astonished. Looking at Chu He with seven Mystic Lights on his forehead, her eyes were full of disbelief.
Before Ji You comprehended the Heavenly Book, the two of them had advanced in realm at almost exactly the same pace.
But after Ji You comprehended the Heavenly Book, Chu He had hidden away because he could not bear the blow, refusing to see anyone, while Lu Qingqiu had continued striving to break through.
Now, she had only gathered her third Mystic Light, while Chu He had seven—more even than Ji You, who had comprehended the Heavenly Book.
"So Chu He was not so devastated that he could never recover. He had been in seclusion all along!"
"Without comprehending the Heavenly Book, he has taken the lead in approaching the threshold of the Upper Five Realms. I can hardly believe it!"
"This is the talent of the Chu Household. Truly terrifying beyond measure."
"I thought Ji You entering the inner courtyard was already set in stone. Who would have imagined such an unexpected turn!"
Chu He had appeared with seven Mystic Lights gathered, surpassing Ji You, who had comprehended the Heavenly Book. The news swiftly spread through the outer courtyard.
The entire outer courtyard buzzed with discussion, like hot oil poured into cold water.
From autumn into winter, everyone had accepted the tale of a genius falling from grace and a countryside self-cultivator rising against the odds. They had never expected the story to twist and turn like this.
This matter even alarmed the outer courtyard instructors, who all hurried to the Dao Comprehension Ground.
Sure enough, Chu He was in a state of Dao comprehension. The seven Mystic Lights on his forehead shone brilliantly, and even a faint trace of an eighth had begun to condense!
"Did he comprehend the Heavenly Book?"
"No, there is no phenomenon of heavenly light here."
"This makes no sense. How could he be faster than Ji You, who comprehended the Heavenly Book?"
Cao Jinsong and the other instructors stood by the edge of Bishui Lake, deeply puzzled as they watched the scene.
Comprehending the Heavenly Book was difficult, but disciples managed it from time to time.
Yet there had never been a disciple who had not comprehended the Heavenly Book but surpassed one who had in the speed of breaking through realms.
Could it be that the Chu Household truly was as invincible in cultivation talent as the outside world claimed?
Meanwhile, in a secluded and empty meditation room, Du Zhu of Liang Province listened to the clamor outside and slowly clenched his fist.
He too was the son of a renowned immortal sect Aristocratic Clan in Liang Province. Before reaching adulthood, he had already entered the Nirvana Realm, just one step away from Perfection of the Lower Three Realms.
But after arriving at the Celestial Academy, all the glory had been swept away by Chu He and Ji You. From a genius watched by all, he had suddenly become a minor figure nobody cared about.
Was he willing to accept that?
No. He was not.
Du Zhu lowered his head and looked at the letter in his hand.
The letter was written by his father, earnestly telling Du Zhu that all the Du Family's glory rested upon him.
A Brocade Box had accompanied the letter. When opened, it contained ten crimson pills, along with a note explaining how to take them.
Du Zhu pinched out one of the pills and swallowed it after a long silence.
As the pill dissolved in his stomach, he felt a wild force suddenly crashing through his limbs and bones, as though it would burst through the crown of his head before surging back in a vast tide.
To achieve perfection in the Nirvana Realm, one needed to completely condense the spiritual essence within the body.
Du Zhu's spiritual essence had still been milky in form and had never been able to solidify, but as that energy continuously poured in, his spiritual essence instantly condensed.
Only now did he understand why a trace of sorrow had been mixed into his father's letter.
There were ten whole pills capable of directly allowing someone to break through a realm. They must have cost the entire Household fortune.
His father had placed the strength of the entire Du Family upon him. He was the Du Family's only hope, and he represented the Du Family's glory.
Before you continue