Star Dust Transforms into Nebula, Breaking Through Intermediate Level!

The three of them continued forward, and a staircase appeared ahead.

The staircase looked incredibly imposing because it consisted of only individual steps.

They hung in the dimness ahead, leading to a suspended platform higher up in the gloom.

The walls on either side were shrouded in a white mist that seemed to appear from nowhere. Through the haze, solemn statues could be seen.

"We'll take you this far. You can go up the stairs yourself," Zheng Jiu said, still a little worried as he gave his final instructions. "Remember, don't be greedy!"

"Understood."

Zheng Jiu and the other person disappeared beyond the white mist.

Xu Fang stood in place, cautiously extending his foot to step onto a stair.

He inexplicably felt like he was in a real-life Super Mario game, afraid that stepping on a stair would send him plummeting to the ground.

Fortunately, the stairs were very sturdy. He couldn't imagine how Master Xuanzang from the Tang Dynasty managed this. Even with Xu Fang putting his entire weight on it, it didn't budge.

One step, two steps.

One step, two steps.

Step by step, Xu Fang walked smoothly, encountering no obstacles.

However, when he reached the halfway point of the first level and was about to turn, an intense feeling of fatigue washed over him. His limbs felt like they were filled with lead, and he couldn't move.

His Demonic Energy was being depleted!

He hadn't used any Magic or controlled any Star Seeds, yet his Demonic Energy was being consumed at an astonishing rate.

"Is this trying to challenge my weakness?"

"Not enough!"

He had finally come all this way. If he stayed on the first level for three days like everyone else, with his cultivation speed increased twentyfold, wouldn't that be a huge loss?

"Little Ghost Fire!"

"High Temperature Core!"

The result of strengthening the Little Ghost Fire with the High Temperature Core was singular.

Ghost Fires danced everywhere, like willow catkins on a spring street or grasshoppers in an autumn field, endless and ravenously devouring.

The absorbed energy was then entirely used to power the High Temperature Core, which in turn strengthened the Ghost Fires again, creating a cyclical bug.

---- If Zheng Jiu and the other person had come down at this moment and seen this, their eyeballs would probably have bulged out like ox eggs.

Your pagoda and my pagoda seem to be different!

The expected process was to consume a large amount of energy first, then extract the pure energy from the pagoda in a state of extreme fatigue!

What are you doing?

I'm asking what you're doing?

Xu Fang took another step forward. He could feel that the higher he went, the denser the elemental concentration became, and the greater the temptation!

Meanwhile, on the second level.

"Hoo... hoo... I can't do it anymore," Qian Ranran panted, her damp, shapely body glistening with sweat. "You do it."

Zheng Jiu: "Just hold on a little longer."

"No, no, I'm not a freak like you," she said.

Qian Ranran shook her head repeatedly. "The spatial gravity on the second level is already enough for me to handle. If I go any higher, what if I faint?"

"But..."

Zheng Jiu wanted to say more, but Qian Ranran stopped him. "Okay, your time in the pagoda cultivation is precious, so hurry up and go. The preliminary rounds for the academy competition are in two months, so you have to do your best."

As she spoke, she charmingly clenched her fist.

Zheng Jiu smiled and didn't try to persuade her further. He turned and began climbing the stairs step by step.

Watching his retreating back, Qian Ranran sighed.

She knew her boyfriend best. His Talent was mediocre, and reaching his current Intermediate level, second stage strength, was entirely due to time and sweat.

Compared to ordinary students, he was certainly an Elite.

But compared to those geniuses who broke through to Intermediate level, third stage, or even aimed for Advanced level at such a young age, he fell far short.

Shaking her head and dismissing the distracting thoughts, Qian Ranran was about to focus on her cultivation when she saw a figure, both unfamiliar and familiar.

Her beautiful eyes widened gradually.

"You... this...!?"

"Hello, senior. We meet again," Xu Fang greeted her, letting out a long breath. "The elemental energy here is just too concentrated..."

Normally, Xu Fang's cultivation speed was three to four times faster than ordinary Mages due to his active Golden Star Seed.

But on the second level of the pagoda, the elemental energy was a full forty times denser than in the outside world!

Coupled with the Little Ghost Fires scattered in the corners, one day of cultivation for Xu Fang here was equivalent to half a year of cultivation outside!!!

This feeling is beyond leveling up in private servers; it's like a one-hit kill for 999 damage, "If you're my bro, come and chop me!"

Qian Ranran looked at Xu Fang, then at the long staircase, and asked in disbelief, "You came up by yourself?"

What a question. If not by myself, was I supposed to ride you up here?

While cultivating in the Goose Pagoda, mages lose all track of time, completely engrossed in their self-rewarding endeavors.

On a meditation cushion on the second floor of the Goose Pagoda, Xu Fang sat cross-legged, motionless, like an old monk in deep meditation. However, inside his Spiritual World, waves of turbulent energy surged.

Golden Star Dust, emitting a dazzling, flickering light.

Beyond this stardust, the light screen enveloping it had already become distorted and misshapen under the impact of internal energy.

Crack... crackle...

Cracks appeared, spreading outwards in an irregular, spiderweb pattern, growing larger and larger.

It's going to succeed, it's going to succeed!!

Xu Fang's heart began to race as he gathered all his energy, frantically impacting the light screen.

A stream is gentle, but thousands of streams converging into a river are incomparably wild!

Even though his Spiritual World was sending waves of intense pain, Xu Fang dared not slacken for a moment. Any slight relaxation now would mean all his previous efforts would be in vain!

"Hngh... hngh..."

Xu Fang gritted his teeth, forcing out pained growls from his throat.

The Golden Star Dust's light intensified to its absolute peak, then suddenly, as if suppressed by some force, it dimmed abruptly.

It grew dimmer and dimmer, like an old star that had burned out all its light.

The next second.

Xu Fang's eyes snapped open!

His pupils dilated unnaturally, revealing a dark, mysterious spiritual universe within, and then, a nebula erupted with the most scorching radiance!

Seventeen years old, stardust transformed into a nebula.

He had reached the Intermediate level!

He slowly clenched his fists, his blood felt hot, and an unprecedented sense of power made him want to howl.

Qian Ranran, on the other side, was startled. What was up with this Blondie?

Xu Fang felt incredibly exhilarated, especially when he re-examined his Spiritual World.

Before, the stardust was like tiny specks of dust in the universe, existing but incredibly small, providing very limited energy to the mage.

But now, an entire nebula, occupying a vast area, swirled there, clearly visible in the immense spiritual universe, adorning the chaotic Spiritual World!!

What a vast difference between dust and a nebula?

Within the nebula, the Star Seeds were still golden, but their number had increased from seven to forty-nine, moving at high speed, dazzling the eyes.

I, Xu Fang, seventeen years old, fear that school isn't violent enough!

He stood up abruptly and walked towards the stairs.

"It's good not to be greedy for more, finding the right place is more important..." Qian Ranran said kindly, but before she could finish, her next words got stuck in her throat.

----Xu Fang wasn't going down.

He was going up!

Qian Ranran's red lips parted slightly, feeling like her brain couldn't keep up.

Is this the world of geniuses?

If geniuses are all like this, can my boyfriend really defeat them...