First Summon of Deity!

"Then I'll have to thank you, Big Brother Lin." Shen Zhui readily accepted. He had never harbored much ill will toward Lin Ze in the first place, and since the other man had shown goodwill, he was naturally happy to accept it.

Over the next few days, Shen Zhui spent most of his time memorizing Heyuan Biographies.

Just as Lin Ze had said, after each recitation, he would forget everything clean within half an hour. Even after going through it several times, he would often remember only a short sentence, or even just a few words.

Of course, whatever he truly managed to remember would never be forgotten again.

During these days, Shen Zhui would occasionally set aside the book and practice the Falling Snow Saber Technique, trying to figure out its second move. As he studied Heyuan Biographies and gradually memorized more of its contents, Shen Zhui discovered that the power of his first move, Slay Cang, was growing stronger and stronger. He had even begun to grasp some clues about the second move.

"Looks like Heyuan Biographies, the Deity Classics, really does have the effect of tempering spiritual awareness. I misunderstood the squad leader when he told me to recite it before."

Shen Zhui smiled faintly. Wang Long had come by once during these past few days.

He asked the same questions as before all over again, and sure enough, the answers he received were more or less the same as Lin Ze's: all he had to do was force himself to remember.

As for the matter of General Gan Gong turning Shen Zhui away, Wang Long had been left both amused and exasperated when he heard about it.

"You brat, the Deity Classics possess a spirit and are connected to all the deities in the divine temple. You actually dared to conceal the deity's actions in front of a deity, and you even dared to claim that General Gan Gong had gone too far in correcting an injustice... The fact that he merely turned you away without charging you with disrespect was already lenient."

Shen Zhui could only feel helpless upon hearing this. That was where he differed from the people of this world.

However, Wang Long was also extremely surprised after learning of Shen Zhui's progress.

"Five days, and you're already close to reaching the level of the First Summon?"

Shen Zhui had chosen to memorize the deeds of General Liu Yu. There were five stories in total, each no more than a hundred or so characters long—not particularly lengthy.

Once he had completely memorized the first story, he would be considered to have reached the level of the First Summon of Deity.

Even so, Shen Zhui still felt rather dissatisfied.

In his view, needing a full five days just to memorize a hundred or so characters was far too slow.

Moreover, he still had yet to recite the first story from beginning to end.

"Squad Leader, is my speed fast or slow?" Shen Zhui asked at once when he noticed the strange expression on Wang Long's face.

"Among the Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm practitioners in the Martial Arts Department, you're the fastest."

"Oh?" Shen Zhui's face lit up with delight.

"But don't get complacent." Wang Long smiled. "You're merely fast among Acquired Realm Martial Artists. And you're not even the fastest in the past dozen years—you're only first among the dozen or so people currently here."

"Not to mention compared with the geniuses from those prefectures."

"What's the fastest anyone has reached the First Summon?" Shen Zhui asked.

"How many days?" Wang Long snorted. "Those Qi Cultivation Prodigies reached the First Summon in as little as the time it takes for one incense stick to burn."

"The time it takes for one incense stick?!" Shen Zhui cried out in shock. "Good heavens, how could it possibly be that fast?"

Shen Zhui spent most of every day memorizing these words. Each time he read through them, it felt as though a heavy carriage were being dragged uphill inside his mind.

And when he read them a second and third time in succession, it was as if his brain were being crushed beneath rolling wagon wheels. The pain was nearly unbearable.

This was a trial of the spirit, and it was exceedingly difficult to withstand.

Yet Wang Long was telling him that someone could completely memorize it within the time it took for one incense stick to burn?

How powerful would that person's spiritual awareness have to be?

"How could it be impossible?" Wang Long sighed. "You're tucked away in some remote corner. How could you know how many outstanding talents there are beneath the heavens?"

"Heyuan County is merely one average county among Liangzhou's hundred counties. Above Liangzhou is Dayuan Prefecture, which encompasses more than a dozen provinces. Dozens of prefectures make up a Capital City, and there are nine Capital Cities throughout the world!"

"Don't think that reaching the First Summon in five days is fast. At the prefectural level, it's nothing worth mentioning."

"Even the cultivation speed of your technique, which you take pride in for reaching Major Accomplishment in three years, is nothing extraordinary. I once personally saw someone in the Capital City achieve Major Accomplishment in a single day!"

"Hiss..." Shen Zhui drew in a sharp breath.

Major Accomplishment in a single day?! What kind of monstrous genius was that?

"Of course, there's no need for you to lose heart." Afraid that he had struck Shen Zhui too hard, Wang Long consoled him. "Although geniuses who reach Major Accomplishment in a single day are rare, you reached the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man in three years. You're not much worse than them."

"Yes, Shen Zhui understands."

Wang Long nodded in satisfaction. In truth, although he had seen a genius achieve Major Accomplishment in a single day, that had been built on a foundation of countless resources and treasures piled up since childhood, along with guidance from an exceptionally powerful expert.

Moreover, the Qi Refining Path focused primarily on spiritual awareness, so it naturally possessed a great advantage in matters like this. The two simply could not be compared.

Even so, that genius who achieved Major Accomplishment in a single day was still slower than Shen Zhui in reaching the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man.

That was also why the county magistrate valued Shen Zhui. Otherwise, merely reaching Major Accomplishment in three years... Such aptitude and cultivation speed were not enough for them to spend the effort nurturing him.

A technique at the Unity of Heaven and Man level had allowed Shen Zhui to withstand a full-force strike from two Xiantian Masters without dying, one of whom had been a True Person. How rare was that?

Of course, none of this would be told to Shen Zhui for the time being.

Over the next few days, Shen Zhui threw himself into frantic cultivation.

Every day, he began at midnight and continued until late into the night. Whenever he felt his mental state recover even slightly, he immediately plunged back into the great undertaking of memorization.

He had truly been provoked. The difference between the time it took one incense stick to burn and five whole days was like heaven and earth!

"Fight, fight, fight!" Shen Zhui endured the discomfort and continued reciting. He wanted to break through the obstacle of the First Summon in one breath, then reach the Second Summon at the fastest possible speed!

"My family background and resources are inferior to those geniuses'. Then I can only make up the difference through diligence!"

Shen Zhui's entire body trembled. He could feel that he had reached his limit, yet he stubbornly gritted his teeth and held on.

At last—

Boom~

The string that had been pulled taut inside his mind finally loosened. He had completely memorized every word of the first story, and his spiritual awareness had been purified and strengthened.

The requirements for the First Summon of Deity had finally been fulfilled!

The strain immediately faded by a considerable amount. Shen Zhui felt that he once again had enough energy to memorize a second story, or even a third.

"This strengthening of spiritual awareness seems very similar to Enlightenment Time?" Shen Zhui suddenly had a thought.

"I wonder whether entering the state of enlightenment before memorizing would help?"

He remembered that when Wang Long had slain the Xiantian Master from the Li Family, Shen Zhui had assisted with the case and exchanged a move with him. Thus, according to the system's calculations, he had also obtained a portion of Merit Points. At the time, however, Shen Zhui had been on the brink of life and death, then occupied with healing and learning the secrets of the deities, so he had never paid attention to it.

As the thought flashed through his mind, Shen Zhui immediately stopped reciting and checked his Merit Points.

Shen Zhui: Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm

Cultivation Method: "Bloodburn" (Third Layer)

Saber Technique: "Falling Snow Saber Technique" (Unity of Heaven and Man)

Movement Technique: "Flowing Cloud Steps" (Major Accomplishment Realm)

Merit Points: 7500

"Hm? More than seven thousand?" Shen Zhui was overjoyed.

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