Heaven Scroll in Hand

"It was only the ninth day, yet he had already passed the trial. Even now, I can only leap three hundred zhang."

Someone gazed at the figure on the opposite shore and gave a bitter smile.

"A genius of the Array Dao has actually surpassed all of us. Is he truly of Blood Cauldron caliber?" someone else murmured, unwilling to believe it.

A crowd of Violet Cauldron Geniuses had instead had the limelight of first place snatched away by an array cultivator.

And while advancing his own progress, he had also been guiding others.

That talent was somewhat terrifying.

"Have you noticed? After Bai Jing's guidance, Xiao Yucheng and Ling Qinghe are not far from getting started either. Both can already leap five hundred zhang."

Someone looked at the man and woman cultivating with their eyes closed and spoke softly.

Barring any surprises, both Ling Qinghe and Xiao Yucheng would pass this trial.

"What can we do? Bai Jing's guidance has to be traded for Immortal Merit. He is unwilling to guide us generously, and we do not have that much Immortal Merit." One disciple curled his lip, his tone somewhat sour.

Come to think of it, he had previously asked Bai Jing for some guidance, only to be ignored.

"Cultivation is personal. If he is willing to offer guidance, that is a favor; if he is unwilling, that is his right. He has no obligation to share his cultivation insights with us."

Many people refuted him, disagreeing with those words. Yet when they looked at Ling Qinghe and Xiao Yucheng, their eyes were full of envy.

Elsewhere.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother!"

The moment Bai Jing stepped onto the opposite shore, he heard a congratulatory voice.

A moment later, Senior Brother Chu appeared before him.

Bai Jing immediately cupped his fists in salute. "Greetings, Senior Brother."

"Very good!" Senior Brother Chu sized him up, nodded, and praised him.

Bai Jing's performance these past days had all been within his sight. He had come to receive the Heaven Scroll inheritance as a genius array cultivator, yet had surpassed a host of Spiritual Cultivators. He was indeed outstanding.

"Come with me."

He then led Bai Jing to a bronze gate.

Rumble—

With a tremendous crash, the bronze gates slowly opened.

Bai Jing stood before the gates and looked inside.

The space within was not especially vast. There was only a long pillar standing in the center.

The pillar seemed to be carved from lustrous uncut jade, exquisitely wrought like an eternal pillar, exuding the breath of passing years and the weight of history.

Senior Brother Chu pointed at it and said, "This is the Wind Element Heaven Scroll Inheritance Pillar."

"Before you receive the inheritance, I must explain something to you. You can only obtain the Dao Platform Chapter and the Inner Core Chapter."

"Two chapters?" Bai Jing asked in surprise.

Senior Brother Chu nodded and smiled.

"Of course. The Heaven Scroll inheritance is no trivial matter. The sect cannot simply give you all of it at once. If you wish to obtain the later portions of the Heaven Scroll in the future, you must exchange Immortal Merit for them yourself."

"Besides, you are an array cultivator. After the Inner Core Realm, this Heaven Scroll will no longer be of use to you. There are naturally Array Dao true methods for you to cultivate."

Bai Jing shrugged, expressionless.

Whether he would have use for it later was still uncertain.

"Oh, and I must remind you of something. The inheritance you receive contains restrictions, mainly to prevent disciples who obtain the Heaven Scroll from leaking it. Remember this well: under no circumstances may you reveal the Heaven Scroll inheritance to anyone. Whether actively or passively, doing so will trigger the restriction."

"In the future, if you encounter difficulties while cultivating the Heaven Scroll, you may only seek advice from cultivators who cultivate the same Heaven Scroll. Do you understand?"

Senior Brother Chu issued another solemn reminder.

Bai Jing nodded. Naturally, he understood the importance of the Heaven Scroll. It could be said that it was the foundation upon which Shangqing Mountain stood.

"Alright, go receive the inheritance."

Hearing this, Bai Jing drew a deep breath and walked inside.

Buzz!

Inside a cave abode on the upper peak of Spiritual Elegance Peak, a young man in Daoist robes sat cross-legged, breathing in and out the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Suddenly.

The communication jade talisman at his side lit up, and a ripple spread forth.

The young man's brows furrowed slightly. He then opened his eyes, picked up the jade talisman, and examined the message within.

A moment later, a smile appeared on his face. "Junior Brother Bai Jing truly knows how to surprise me. Before ten days had even passed, he had already cleared the trial."

He had not been wrong to fight for this slot for Bai Jing during the earlier discussion. This was a disciple of great talent.

Lin Changsheng then stopped cultivating and left his cave abode.

Before long, he arrived above the Wind Star Valley trial grounds.

Two figures stood below.

They were Bai Jing and Senior Brother Chu.

"Senior Brother Lin is quite impressive. You chose an excellent disciple."

Seeing the newcomer, Senior Brother Chu could not help but smile.

He had also heard some things about the assessment.

The youth beside him had originally been chosen by Array Dao Mountain, but Senior Brother Yun He had personally gone to Array Dao Mountain to keep him.

"My Spiritual Elegance Peak has no wish to contend with the Five Meridians, but when we encounter a disciple we favor, we will not yield either." Lin Changsheng descended with a smile, unable to hide a trace of pride.

"Alright, I have delivered him to you, Senior Brother, so I will not stay any longer. There is still a group of disciples inside."

"Take care, Junior Brother!"

Lin Changsheng and Bai Jing watched him leave.

Afterward, the former carried the latter toward Spiritual Elegance Peak.

On their way back, Lin Changsheng said, "Junior Brother, although you took first place in the wind-element trial this time, you must not grow complacent. Before you, people had already completed the other two elemental trials, especially the water-element trial."

"They are that formidable?" Bai Jing revealed a surprised expression.

He himself had relied on the Talent Tree. Otherwise, how could he have been so fast?

"Of course." Lin Changsheng nodded. "Do not underestimate these geniuses. Nearly all those with the greatest talent chose the water element, because to people like them, competing at the Inner Core Realm is what truly matters."

"And Li Huai'an took only three days to cultivate the water-element supreme art to the introductory stage. His own cultivation has even broken through to the eleventh gate. He only lacks that final step of mastery before he can ascend to the Dao Platform Realm!"

Bai Jing nodded at this. It was unexpected, yet not unexpected.

Compared to such heavenly prodigies, he was still far inferior.

After thinking for a moment, he could not help asking, "Senior Brother, why did this sole Golden Cauldron Genius come to our branch? Was it not said that the Three Great Immortal Mountains were the best places to go?"

Lin Changsheng smiled faintly. "Junior Brother, do you think this batch has only one Golden Cauldron?"

"There are more?" Bai Jing froze, astonished.

"Of course!" Lin Changsheng nodded and revealed the inside story. "Five geniuses entered Shangqing Mountain directly without needing to undergo assessment."

"Special recruitment?"

"That is right. Otherwise, if there were only this one Golden Cauldron, how could the Three Great Immortal Mountains have allowed Spiritual Elegance Peak to obtain this genius?"

His tone shifted as he continued, "But Junior Brother, you need not compare yourself to them. You are a genius of the Array Dao, so more of your energy must be devoted to arrays. When you condense an Array Dao Inner Core in the future, you will be no weaker than anyone."

"Yes, Senior Brother." Bai Jing nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Before long, the two returned to Spiritual Elegance Peak.

"Junior Brother, cultivate diligently. Do not idle away your time. Strive to break through to the Dao Platform Realm as soon as possible." Lin Changsheng gave one final reminder before leaving.

Following his memories, Bai Jing headed toward Number Thirteen, Southwest Street.

Before long, he returned to the pavilion.

Entering the cultivation room, Bai Jing sat cross-legged and turned his gaze toward the two bubbles in the scorched earth of his sea of consciousness.

They were far larger than the other pill formula bubble, and the radiance they flashed was stronger as well.

These were the Heaven Scroll Platform Chapter and the Inner Core Chapter.

Lin Changsheng and the others all believed him to be an Array Dao genius, but to him, spiritual cultivation was the foremost priority.

Not only did he need to cultivate the Heaven Scroll, he also had to obtain its subsequent techniques.

With that thought, Bai Jing took out his identity Jade Pendant.

Thanks to reader "Another Bowl" for the 1,666 point-coin reward. The reader is over on Q Reading, where rewards can sometimes be hard to notice. Thanks as well to reader "Year of Great Cold" for the 500 point-coin reward, along with the other readers for their rewards and support through monthly tickets and recommendation tickets. I will not list them one by one here.