"Which other junior brother or junior sister would like to take the field?" Zhao Gongming's voice rang out again, as calm as ever, yet it struck every heart like a heavy hammer.
The several hundred disciples below exchanged glances. Those who had been eager to try, their fighting spirits high, now all unconsciously took half a step back.
Xiong Shan's crushing defeat was still fresh in everyone's mind. Who would have the courage to go up and invite humiliation? This was no longer a sparring match, but a one-sided crushing!
Only Shi Ji's cool eyes shone with a strange light. She bit her lip, seemingly torn, but in the end let out a quiet sigh and bowed to Zhao Gongming from afar. "Senior Brother, your supernatural abilities are vast. We are nowhere near your equal. Seeing your might today has already been an invaluable experience. We wouldn't dare trouble you any further."
Her voice was clear, yet tinged with dejection.
Shi Ji had thought that after ten thousand years of diligent cultivation, her Dao heart was steadfast. Though she couldn't compare with the Personal Disciple Senior Brothers and Sisters, she should still have ranked among the best of the outer sect.
But only after seeing Zhao Gongming today did she realize there was always someone greater.
The profound truths of the Great Dao contained in that seemingly casual strike were beyond anything she could currently comprehend.
"If that's the case, then we'll call it a day." Seeing this, Zhao Gongming didn't press the matter. He had already achieved his goal of establishing his might, tested the power of the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, and gained 50 Primordial Points. He was more than satisfied.
He nodded slightly to everyone. With a flicker, he turned into a streak of clear light and vanished from the Training Ground, leaving behind a crowd of Jie Sect Disciples whose hearts were still stirred.
After this encounter, no one questioned Zhao Gongming's title as "Number One of the Outer Sect." His prestige was unmatched for a time.
For Zhao Gongming, however, this was no more than an insignificant interlude. Once he returned to his cave abode, he immediately began to think deeply.
"Fifty points... too few." He furrowed his brows.
Sparring with fellow disciples was safe, but the rewards were truly limited.
If he wanted to quickly accumulate Primordial Points, deduce cultivation techniques, and improve his spiritual treasures, relying on such meager gains would take who knew how long.
The shadow of the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods hung over him like a sword. He didn't have that much time to waste.
"Looks like I'll have to leave the island."
A glint of resolve flashed in Zhao Gongming's eyes.
His master, Sect Master Tongtian, had once said that the Primordial World was vast and boundless, and that countless ancient ruins and primordial secret realms lay hidden within it, remnants of the battles between the Three Clans and the struggle between the Lich Clans.
Opportunity and danger went hand in hand there. Only those with great perseverance and great fortune could claim what they found.
For Zhao Gongming now, this was undoubtedly the best way to earn Primordial Points!
Slaying ferocious beasts, seeking out rare treasures, exploring secret realms... In the system's judgment, all these counted as "opportunities," and their rewards would inevitably far exceed those from sparring with fellow disciples.
Having reached this decision, he no longer hesitated. He set off at once for Biyou Palace to bid farewell to his master.
Several days later, on the coast of the East Sea.
A streak of green light pierced the clouds, revealing Zhao Gongming's figure.
He stood above the clouds, looking down at the boundless, surging sea and the winding coastline below.
Based on scattered fragments of memories from his previous life, as well as his deductions about the geography of the Primordial World, there should be a cave abode left behind by an Ancient God-Demon beneath a certain cliff along the coast of the East Sea.
The god-demon's name had long since vanished into the river of time, but the cave abode had survived to this day thanks to the unique terrain.
He released his divine sense, spreading it like an invisible net as he swept inch by inch along the coastline.
The divine sense of a Golden Immortal was extraordinarily powerful. Within ten thousand miles, every mountain, stone, plant, tree, fish, turtle, shrimp, and crab was reflected in his mind.
"Found it!"
About half an hour later, Zhao Gongming's gaze sharpened as he fixed on an utterly unremarkable rocky cliff.
The cliff had been battered by sea waves for years and was covered in moss and shells. It looked perfectly ordinary.
But within his divine sense, he detected a faint fluctuation of energy inside the cliff. Like ripples on the surface of water, it had cleverly isolated a pocket of space from the outside world.
It was an exceptionally sophisticated concealment formation. Had his divine sense not been powerful, and had he not been searching deliberately, he could have flown past it a hundred times without noticing.
Zhao Gongming flashed forward and landed soundlessly on a boulder before the cliff. He reached out and lightly touched the rock face, circulating his magical power through his fingertips as he carefully sensed the formation's pattern.
"Ancient formation runes, built on the power of water and using the tides as a barrier. Quite ingenious." He nodded to himself. The formation wasn't complicated, but it was seamlessly integrated with nature, as if it had formed naturally.
An ordinary Golden Immortal would probably need years of patient effort to wear it down and break through.
But for Zhao Gongming, it was no difficult task.
"Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, open!"
With a thought, the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls appeared from between his brows and circled around him, radiating an immense Dao aura of water. Their presence was the source of all waters, the progenitor of all seas!
Hum—
The moment the concealment formation on the cliff sensed the aura of the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, it let out a faint, plaintive cry. It was as if a subject had encountered its king: the tide-driven power of water that sustained the formation immediately became sluggish.
Zhao Gongming seized the opening and pointed with a bent finger. A thread of exceptionally pure Supreme Purity Immortal Light struck the formation's weakest point with pinpoint precision.
"Crack!"
A crisp sound of breaking rang out. The invisible ripples of energy shattered like a mirror, disintegrating inch by inch until they vanished.
A deep, dark entrance slowly appeared before Zhao Gongming.
A dense surge of Innate Spiritual Energy rushed out of the entrance, mingled with the decaying scent of ages.
Not daring to be careless, Zhao Gongming summoned one Sea-Calming Divine Pearl above his head. It shed streams of blue light that shielded him, and only then did he step inside.
The cave abode held a world of its own.
The floor beneath his feet was made of smooth, lustrous jade, while countless unknown luminous gemstones were set into the cave walls, illuminating the entire abode as bright as day.
The Spiritual Energy was so dense it seemed almost tangible, condensing into a faint white mist in the air. Every breath left one feeling refreshed and invigorated.
The cave abode was small and sparsely furnished, containing only a stone platform and a stone bed.
Several damaged jade slips lay scattered across the stone platform. Ancient runes were carved into them, seemingly fragments of some cultivation technique.
Zhao Gongming casually picked one up and probed it with his divine sense. It contained some fairly crude body-tempering methods. They were of little value to him, but they gave him a vague understanding of the cultivation system of ancient times.
His gaze was soon drawn to something in the corner of the stone platform.
It was a small plant about a foot tall, its entire body a fantastical shade of purple. Tiny golden patterns adorned its leaves like stars, and rings of purple light radiated from it as a rich fragrance filled the air.
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