"Th-this is impossible!"
Half a day passed. Even after the numbers on the light screen vanished, Ye Xuan still had not come out, and the Yaoguang Tower Master's expression had already stiffened.
There really was a junior who could enter the ninth zone of Cloud Palace Pond!?
And he was a new student who had joined the academy less than a day ago?
Even if she told others about it now, no one would believe her!
No matter how formidable the Forbidden Body was, it could not possibly be this freakish, could it?
"Ye Xuan, will he really be all right?"
The Yaoguang Tower Master was still uneasy.
"Don't worry. My husband will come out in a month!"
"I have to hurry up too."
Chu Wan'er smiled, then took out her own identity token and directly activated the sixth zone before stepping inside.
"Wan'er, don't!"
The Yaoguang Tower Master hurriedly called out, but Chu Wan'er had already stepped onto the cloud stairs.
"No, this..."
The Yaoguang Tower Master was utterly speechless. Chu Wan'er was the First True Disciple she had gone to great lengths to obtain. Yet even with a Dao Body, she could not challenge the sixth zone, which only the Top Ten True Disciples were qualified to enter, while still at the Heavenly Gang Realm!
"Tower Master Su, don't worry yourself over this. The mere Heavenly Palace Pond can't do anything to them!"
Ji Xueyao smiled, then turned and returned to Tianshu Tower, leaving the Yaoguang Tower Master alone atop the mountain, completely disheveled in the wind...
At the same time, Ye Xuan was already sitting cross-legged in the spirit milk of the ninth zone of Cloud Palace Pond, preparing to cultivate.
It had to be said that the Yaoguang Tower Master's warning had not been wrong.
This place was where more than a dozen mid-grade spirit veins converged. Although the spirit vein resources here were extraordinarily dense, they also caused the spatial pressure to be nearly a hundred times that of the outside world!
If not for the fact that his Nine Lightning Tribulation Heavenly Body physique was strong enough, his Heavenly Gang Realm cultivation would have been crushed apart long ago!
As for how much spirit vein energy he could absorb, Ye Xuan smiled, spread his arms, and relied on the power of the Nine Tribulations to become like a giant whale, sucking wildly.
In an instant, within the not-so-large ninth zone, five-colored spirit milk surged crazily toward Ye Xuan's body like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.
If anyone could enter the ninth zone at this moment, they would certainly witness this terrifying sight.
Above Ye Xuan's head, the five-colored spirit milk formed an inverted vortex, like a funnel!
At that moment, in the outer eighth zone, a blue-robed figure immersed in secluded cultivation suddenly opened his eyes from within a three-colored cocoon.
He had discovered that the three-colored cocoon woven from spirit milk around him was gradually collapsing!
The surrounding spirit milk had also visibly thinned considerably.
"What's going on?"
The blue-robed figure frowned. He had cultivated here for three months, yet he had never encountered such a situation before.
"I don't know what happened either. Perhaps the spirit vein energy of Cloud Palace Pond has reached its limit."
At that moment, the ring on the blue-robed figure's finger shimmered faintly, and the figure of a burly old man emerged from within it.
"The limit?"
"Master, could it be that I've absorbed too many resources these past few days?"
The blue-robed figure frowned.
"Heh heh, Wuji, you possess the Innate Overlord Body. Although you've only just broken one seal, your talent is already enough to rival a top-grade Dao Body. You have indeed been absorbing resources somewhat too quickly."
"Forget it. You've accumulated enough resources by now. Enter the Jue Tian Ring and refine them first. The Time Flow Rate inside the ring has already reached fivefold!" the old man said with a smile, his hands behind his back.
"Fivefold Time Flow Rate?"
"Wonderful! With this, I'm confident I can cultivate the Tianji Nine Breaker to great completion within three months and break through to the Nirvana Realm!"
"When the time comes, I'll sweep across the three academies in the Peak Competition!"
The blue-robed youth was overjoyed when he heard this. With a flash, he disappeared into the Spirit Pool.
Within the ninth zone, Ye Xuan absorbed spirit milk for a full three days before finally filling his vast dantian completely.
Only then did Ye Xuan enter Small Tower Space.
The Time Flow Rate inside Small Tower Space had now reached tenfold. Combined with the five-colored spirit milk in the ninth zone, it was enough for his cultivation to soar in a short period.
While refining the five-colored spirit milk, Ye Xuan also began studying the twenty-two inheritances he had obtained three days earlier.
The Fourteen Absolute Arts were only spirit-tier techniques. Ye Xuan had comprehended them merely to earn points and would absolutely never cultivate them.
Among the Seven Mysteries, only the Tianshu Finger was worthy of consideration.
"This Tianshu Finger truly has some profundity. It can actually fuse the Dao of Formations into the technique."
Inside Small Tower Space, Ye Xuan raised a fingertip, and faint ripples spread through the void.
On the Enlightenment Platform, Ye Xuan had not merely comprehended the inheritance. He had already reached the entry level of the Tianshu Finger.
"It's just lacking a bit of dominance. It doesn't suit me very well."
Ye Xuan frowned slightly. By comparison, the fierce and domineering Six Treasury Thunder Fist felt much better to use.
"Since the Dao of Formations can be incorporated, then what about the Dao of Thunder..."
Ye Xuan suddenly raised his brows. An idea struck him, and the aura of thunder gathered at his fingertip.
In an instant, within the ripples spreading from his fingertip, dazzling blue arcs of lightning began to appear.
"Heh heh, as expected, it works!"
"With the Dao of Thunder strengthening the spatial Dao of Formations, this finger technique should be able to rise by an entire tier!"
Looking at the lightning-filled ripples, Ye Xuan's heart leaped with joy. "Then I'll call you the Tianshu Thunder Tribulation Finger!"
With that, the lightning at his fingertip flickered and vanished.
"Since this finger technique can be improved, can Dragon Palace Punishes Heaven be improved too?"
An idea flashed through Ye Xuan's mind, and he seemed to have developed an interest in upgrading techniques.
Moreover, compared with the Tianshu Finger, the so-called Unique Dao Treasure possessed even greater potential and was far more mysterious!
The reason was that the Dragon Palace Punishes Heaven Ye Xuan had comprehended from the Enlightenment Platform was actually incomplete, consisting of only one fragmentary form.
Ye Xuan guessed that the complete Dragon Palace Punishes Heaven should have eight forms. Moreover, the tier of its complete inheritance should be comparable to the Saint Tier!
But finding the other fragments was no longer realistic. In that case, he might as well complete it himself!
As the Son of the Heavenly Emperor, Ye Xuan had cultivated through eight lifetimes and mastered ten thousand Daos. Naturally, completing this mere Lower Realm technique was no difficult matter!
Thus, after pondering for only a moment, Ye Xuan abruptly drew his sword.
Buzz!
The sword intent lay hidden, like a dragon lying in ambush.
Then, in the midst of absolute stillness, it erupted. The blade thrust upward from below, like a hibernating thunder dragon awakening and raising its head. A sharp streak of lightning tore through space. It was both a surprise killing move and the prelude to a subsequent berserk assault!
"Interesting. Then I'll call this first form the Awakening Dragon Slash!"
Ye Xuan returned his sword to its sheath, the corners of his lips lifting slightly as he continued completing this Punishing Heaven sword art.
Thus, a short month passed in the outside world. Within Small Tower Space, Ye Xuan suddenly opened his eyes!
Lightning flashed in his eyes like a true dragon awakening.
At that moment, the five-colored spirit milk within Ye Xuan's dantian had been completely refined, and his cultivation was already approaching the late stage of the Heavenly Gang Realm!
In just one month, he had broken through two minor realms. Without the Heavenly Palace Pond, Ye Xuan truly would not have dared imagine such a thing.
Compared with his cultivation, however, his greatest gain had actually been his sword arts.
At that moment, not only had his swordsmanship had already broken through to the peak of Sword Intent, but he had also completed the Dragon Palace Punishes Heaven up to the third form.
After the first form, Awakening Dragon Slash,
the second form was Thunder Scale Against the Clouds!
When the sword momentum unfolded, its edge was like dragon scales, and slaughter swept in all directions.
The third form was Thunderous Might Splits the Nine Heavens. Countless thunder scales merged into a single sword and descended in a slash—the ultimate killing sword!
These three moves were already enough for Ye Xuan to use from the Heavenly Gang Realm all the way to the Myriad Phenomena Realm. There was no need to rush the completion of the remaining forms!
Immediately afterward, Ye Xuan walked out of Small Tower Space. He discovered that the five-colored spirit milk he had drained from the ninth zone had not recovered. It seemed that next time, it might not even be able to support a full month of cultivation.
However, Ye Xuan also discovered that the ninth zone was not the end of Heavenly Palace Pond. Ahead was a spirit vein spring, sealed by an ancient formation.
Perhaps deeper within it, there was even purer spirit milk.
"Forget it. I've already exhausted my points, and I don't have time to investigate it."
Ye Xuan shook his head and finally exited Cloud Palace Pond.
As soon as Ye Xuan came out, he saw Ji Xueyao and the Yaoguang Tower Master already waiting for him.
"Ye Xuan, you finally came out!"
The Yaoguang Tower Master hurriedly walked over to greet him.
"What is it?"
Ye Xuan raised his brows. Judging by the Yaoguang Tower Master's expression, something seemed to have happened.
"The academy's new student assessment has already begun, but Danyang Academy suddenly came to challenge us. Nearly all the new student prodigies have lost!"
The Yaoguang Tower Master pursed her lips and said solemnly, "Wan'er is in seclusion. Now, only you can take action!"
"Come to challenge us?"
Ye Xuan raised his brows. To put it nicely, such a challenge meant that disciples from another academy had come to exchange pointers. But in reality, they had come to issue a challenge.
Danyang Academy was also one of the three great academies. Choosing to challenge them on the day of Cloud Palace's new student assessment clearly meant they had come prepared!
He had never expected this year's new students to be so useless that others would actually come knocking at their door!
"My husband is the top-ranked new student, so those ignorant fools specifically named you as the one they wanted to challenge!" Ji Xueyao also sneered.
"There should be points to earn from the new student assessment, right?"
Ye Xuan asked instead.
Compared with the academy's honor, this was what concerned him more.
He was out of points. All he wanted was to earn points.
"Of course. Moreover, if you win the challenge battle, your points will be doubled!"
The Yaoguang Tower Master nodded.
"Oh? Doubled!"
Ye Xuan was stunned when he heard this. Then he stomped his foot and headed down the mountain.
Points delivered straight to his door were not something he could afford to refuse!
Before you continue