A Qualitative Leap in Strength. Is the Wilderness Zone Dangerous? More Dangerous Than the Big Dipper?

"It's actually much stronger than when I first opened my Bitter Sea in my previous life!"

With a slight shift of Li Qingxu's awareness, a golden speck of light the size of a pea appeared where his Bitter Sea lay, shining brilliantly.

Threads of divine power flowed through the Golden Bitter Sea. Now and then, wisps of divine radiance rippled out, nourishing his flesh and blood.

Back when he first opened his Bitter Sea in the Shrouding the Heavens World, it had only been the size of a sesame seed.

The difference was simply enormous.

"Is it because I absorbed the energy of the universe?"

"The divine power has changed slightly, too. It seems more condensed."

Li Qingxu's eyes narrowed. He raised an arm, and a streak of golden radiance surged out of his Bitter Sea, shooting from his fingertips.

With a sharp hiss, it pierced through the wall in front of him as easily as tofu.

It even left a hole about half a meter in diameter.

With his Bitter Sea open, he had stepped back onto the path of cultivation.

That was equivalent to a Quasi-Martial Artist in this world advancing to Warrior Level.

But Li Qingxu's true strength had undergone an earth-shattering change. It wasn't merely a simple increase in his cultivation level.

The fact that he could release divine power from his Bitter Sea meant he could use the various arts he had cultivated in the past.

Such as Nine Secrets: Dou, Nine Secrets: Xing, Six Paths of Reincarnation Fist, Yin and Yang, Great Void Art, the Book of Origin, and more.

As a Saint with a ninth-level Quasi-Emperor cultivation who knew the story inside out, he had obtained far more Emperor-level scriptures and secret arts by various means than Ye Fan had.

When he fell, Ye Fan had still been at Great Saint Realm.

Of course, the world had changed, and his cultivation was limited, so the various secret arts would be far less effective now.

Li Qingxu didn't stop cultivating. Now that he knew the energy of the universe was so beneficial to him, he sat cross-legged once more and calmed his mind.

He sensed, gathered, and absorbed the energy of the universe, merging it with his Saint Body.

Before long, his face flushed red, his veins bulged, and his skin turned crimson. Then faint glimmers of light rippled across his body.

The Dao Scripture began circulating on its own. It rang through his Bitter Sea like celestial music, like a hymn to the Great Dao.

This was, after all, reputedly the strongest foundation-building cultivation method in the Shrouding the Heavens World. It recorded the Great Dao and was an unrivaled technique.

In the Wheel Sea Secret Realm, the Dao Scripture had no equal. Even the Wheel Sea chapters of other Emperor Scriptures paled beside it.

Li Qingxu's Bitter Sea instantly transformed into a golden ocean. Roars like crashing waves rang out, as though thousands of troops and horses were charging across it.

Furious waves surged skyward, golden light blazed, and the vast ocean rose and fell in endless surges, sweeping into the heavens as scorching divine radiance scattered across the sky.

Streaks of golden lightning split the firmament, and countless thunderclaps boomed overhead. Yet within that destructive power lay boundless vitality.

The golden ocean and its towering waves intertwined with the blazing lightning, forming a Strange World brimming with divine radiance.

A wash of golden light shone from below his navel, illuminating the entire training hall.

His Bitter Sea, which had been the size of a pea, began to grow visibly before his eyes.

More golden threads spilled out of it, flowing through his limbs and bones, nourishing his flesh, organs, and skeleton.

At the same time, strange changes unfolded above his Golden Bitter Sea.

All kinds of wondrous visions appeared, specks of divine radiance like stars and chaos. Mist swirled, divine clouds shimmered, and the scene shifted through countless forms without settling into any one pattern.

The sky above the golden ocean changed endlessly. One moment, the Galaxy filled the heavens; the next, the firmament lay desolate and silent.

Growth and decline, prosperity and destruction—each followed the other in an endless cycle of reincarnation.

Several more days passed.

The sun blazed high outside the villa.

Li Qingxu awoke from his deep cultivation. The instant he opened his eyes, a flash of divine light flickered within them.

It was a desire to fight, to unleash his power!

By now, his Bitter Sea was about the size of his little finger, like a golden sun hanging in the sky.

All around the Golden Bitter Sea, however, lay a dead silence. It was surrounded by endless darkness and emptiness, yet they could not fully drown out its light.

Absorbing the energy of the universe to open his Bitter Sea had increased his strength at an astonishing pace.

It made him feel as if he were using Pure Source, except that the amount was so small.

"I should go vent on some monsters. But first, I'll test how strong I am now."

Li Qingxu's eyes glinted. The blood in his veins surged like a rushing river, rumbling through his body.

After several days of hard cultivation, his abundant energy was almost impossible to keep in check.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Li Qingxu furrowed his brow and spat out a puddle of liquid.

It was the six bottles of Gene Agent he had drunk.

His Saint Body hadn't absorbed even a trace of their effects. It had actively rejected them instead.

After a quick wash, he changed clothes and went out.

When he stepped outside the villa, the first thing he saw was a towering, deep-blue skyscraper.

Four enormous characters were emblazoned on its facade, clear enough to read from several miles away: Limit Dojo!

This was the Limit General Dojo in Jiangnan Base City.

The first-floor lobby was where the warriors drank and chatted. The second through ninth floors were where Warrior Level fighters often trained and spent their time.

The tenth through nineteenth floors were where the War General Level fighters spent their time.

As soon as Li Qingxu entered the Extreme Pavilion's lobby, he spotted an old acquaintance, Zhuge Tao. Uncle Bai stood beside him.

The two were talking, with four young trainees following behind them.

Ever since Li Qingxu's case, Zhuge Tao had personally attended every Quasi-Warrior Assessment for new trainees.

Even though he knew these trainees weren't likely to be prodigies, what if one of them was?

"Hey, Director."

Li Qingxu greeted him.

"Hm? You've... changed quite a bit!"

Zhuge Tao looked at him in disbelief.

They hadn't seen each other in just a week, but Li Qingxu seemed like a different person.

Especially that strange aura about him—it seemed untouched by the mortal world.

"Not bad. I was lucky enough to make a breakthrough."

Li Qingxu replied with a smile.

"Uncle Bai, take them over first. I'll chat with Xiao Li for a bit."

"Your breakthrough seems a little unusual."

Zhuge Tao looked him over. It didn't seem at all like a simple breakthrough from Quasi-Martial Artist to Warrior Level.

After a brief chat, Li Qingxu mentioned that he planned to go to the Wilderness Zone.

"You want to enter the Wilderness Zone alone? No, absolutely not. It's far too dangerous."

"How about this? I'll find you a warrior squad to join. You can follow them and get familiar with things first."

Zhuge Tao rejected the idea without a second thought.

The Dojo Master had taken an interest in this genius. If he fell in Jiangnan Base City, everyone in management would be in serious trouble.

"Dangerous?"

Li Qingxu smiled.

It would be dangerous once he entered the stars, sure, but was Earth really dangerous?

The strongest thing around seemed to be the Golden Horned Beast that would descend upon Earth in the future.

Could that really be more dangerous than the Big Dipper?

Without some strength—or backing—in the Big Dipper, you could only be hounded like a dog. Even if you were lucky enough to stumble across a rare treasure, some damn dog would show up out of nowhere wielding an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon.

Ah, the carefree days of his youth in the Big Dipper. He'd held the Demon Emperor Green Lotus and, at the slightest provocation, threatened to sink the Central Plains.