Lei Zhan walked into the thatched hut and directly carried out a stack of books.
At the top of the stack, four ancient God-Devil Script characters were written: "Star Scroll One."
Lei Zhan sat at the stone table outside the hut, opened the book in his hands, and began to read aloud.
"Today, Chang came to visit me and asked me to help him..." Lei Zhan read. The contents of the book were ordinary, and the syllables of each character were unremarkable. But when the contents and syllables came together, they formed the most exquisite "sound of the Great Dao," naturally guiding Lei Zhan's mind into an ever more tranquil and profound state of enlightenment...
Suddenly, Lei Zhan raised his head and gazed distantly at a star high in the sky.
Whoosh.
Fire blazed wildly.
Roaring flames appeared out of thin air, and the entire Star Hall suddenly grew scorching hot. Lei Zhan took a step and entered the raging inferno. He seemed like a divine being within the fire, swaying with the flames.
"The Way of Blazing Fire has also reached the Domain Realm of the Dao." Yellow-Haired Great Bear nodded slightly. In the nearly six years that had passed, Lei Zhan had never ventured out to explore, but his comprehension of the Dao had never stagnated. Instead, he had made significant progress, changing a little more each day.
"Hmm. He's entered the threshold of one Great Dao, and reached the Domain Realm of the Dao in two others... Looks like I'll have to go find him and prepare a spear art for him in advance."
A mass of white flame streaked with golden threads blazed fiercely, warping the surrounding space with its heat. At its center, a palm-sized jade token gradually took shape.
"Hmm? The Way of Blazing Fire has reached the Domain Realm of the Dao too?" The lean, robed old man, who was seated on a jade bed refining some kind of treasure, opened his eyes. He gazed into the unseen void, then withdrew his attention and continued his work.
"My disciple's comprehension of the Dao has improved again. Though I, his master, have little time left, I can't let that Great Bear look down on me."
Boom~~~
As Immortal Juhua finished speaking, the white flame threaded with gold suddenly surged higher. In an instant, the temperature throughout the quiet chamber became unbearably hot, as if they were standing amid the lava of a volcano.
Rumble!
At times, seawater roared through the space inside the Star Hall; at others, flames filled the skies, or spear intent permeated everything.
At the center, Lei Zhan stood with his eyes closed, seeming like a divine being who controlled water and fire.
After a long while,
everything settled.
"This Earth-tier spear art... is gradually failing to keep up with me." Lei Zhan opened his eyes and sighed inwardly.
He had comprehended two minor Daos and one Great Dao. His two minor Daos of Water and Fire continued to advance. Though the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map was merely a God-Devil Body Refining method, he absorbed the power of Taiyin and the sun every day, deepening his understanding of Water and Fire along with it.
But even with his astounding talent, and his ability to devise new spear moves and refine old ones, an Earth-tier spear art could only become more powerful and help him delve deeper into the Great Dao of the Spear. Its potential, however, had already been fully tapped.
After all, a good cultivation method or secret art could gradually guide a cultivator toward the corresponding Dao. This was even more true of the most profound methods and secret arts.
"Senior Great Bear once said that when I obtained the Star-Plucking Hand, the divine ability left behind by Daoist Sanshou, he would find me a top-tier spear art..."
In all the Three Realms, among the Celestial Gods who wielded spears, only two were truly renowned and powerful: Yang Jian, the greatest war god of the ancient Heavenly Court, and the ancient Red Snow Celestial God, who had followed the True God of Chaos, Daoist Sanshou.
The top-tier spear art Yellow-Haired Great Bear had mentioned must surely be one created by Red Snow Celestial God, the founder of the Star-Plucking Mansion lineage.
"Red Snow Celestial God... If it's his spear art, it'll help me comprehend the Great Dao of the Spear. And within it, I might even get a glimpse of the Great Dao of Snow, or even the Great Dao of Time..." At the thought, Lei Zhan felt a fresh surge of anticipation.
Even if Red Snow Celestial God wasn't yet at the peak of the Celestial God and True Immortal levels, as he would be countless millennia later, how could the foremost battle general under Daoist Sanshou be anything but worthy of his reputation?
"Lei Zhan." Yellow-Haired Great Bear stepped forward. "There isn't much time left until you turn ten. Are you ready to enter the Divine Ability Hall?"
"Senior Great Bear, I'm ready." Lei Zhan turned to look at him, his eyes shining. "Since there are only a few days left, I'll enter the Divine Ability Hall today."
Lei Zhan naturally understood the saying: "At the first beat, spirits soar; at the second, they flag; at the third, they're spent."
He had quietly prepared for this opportunity for nearly six years. By now, every aspect of his abilities had reached its current limit.
To improve further, he couldn't simply shut himself away inside the Water Mansion and expect to get anywhere.
Rather than wait until the very last moment, he would seize today's opportunity, while his insights were fresh, and go in now.
He didn't possess a soul as powerful as Ji Ning's, that prodigious monster, but he had reached the Domain Realm of the Dao in two paths and entered the threshold of a Great Dao.
His God-Devil Body Refining, the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map, had reached the late Purple Mansion stage, making him comparable to an ordinary early Myriad Phenomena-stage God-Devil. His Divine Sense had reached the Divine Sense level as well. In nearly every respect, he had no weaknesses.
"Today?" A hint of approval flickered in Yellow-Haired Great Bear's eyes. "Then I'll take you there."
The bronze doors of the Divine Ability Hall were shut. A colossal hand was carved into their surface, as if it could blot out the sky and unleash boundless power.
"Lei Zhan, I've already explained everything inside the Divine Ability Hall to you, so none of it should be unfamiliar." Yellow-Haired Great Bear stood before the closed doors and turned to Lei Zhan. "This may be the greatest opportunity of your life. I have only one thing to tell you: kill. Kill as many as you can, with all your strength. The more you kill, the better."
"Yes." Lei Zhan nodded.
He already knew that entering the Divine Ability Hall was completely different from entering the War God Hall.
The War God Hall allowed many attempts, and the use of all sorts of methods and powerful magic treasures. Victory and defeat were all that mattered; he only needed to defeat his enemies and claim the final victory.
But the Divine Ability Hall offered only one chance. He could kill his enemies only through God-Devil Body Refining; the use of Qi Refining energy was forbidden, as was the use of any magic treasures.
He couldn't even use his own magic treasures or weapons. He could only use the weapons provided inside the Divine Ability Hall.
"Come in with me," Yellow-Haired Great Bear said.
Rumble~~~
The doors swung open with a thunderous boom. Endless gray light filled the hall and bathed Yellow-Haired Great Bear and Lei Zhan. The two of them vanished into thin air.
"Rumble." The doors closed once more.
Whoosh~~~
Just then, as the great bronze doors stood shut, ripples of space suddenly stirred before them.
A lean, robed old man appeared out of thin air before the entrance.
"Disciple, you must obtain the strongest divine ability in the Divine Ability Hall!" Immortal Juhua stared intently at the enormous hand carved into the bronze doors.
Back then, he had been too old and missed his chance.
Now, he only hoped that his sole disciple would not repeat his mistake.
Please, brothers, keep reading!
The new book has made it through its first round of recommendations, and I'm feeling pretty good today. So I've repaid the chapter I owed. It may be a little late, though.