Half a page of cultivation technique had slipped to the bottom of the Storage Bag, and Li Sanshun hadn't noticed it yet.
Five kinds of spiritual energy were already surging from the Spirit-Drawing Pillars.
When ordinary cultivators with five-element spiritual roots encountered this situation, the five meridians would compete against one another. The more spiritual energy there was, the fiercer the conflict. Zhao Yuanqing had bet three months' access to a Grade A cultivation room precisely because he was counting on that.
Five Elements Synchronization couldn't change the grade of one's spiritual roots.
Five low-grade spiritual roots couldn't possibly absorb faster than a single high-grade fire spiritual root.
Zhao Yuanqing stood at the edge of the field, staring at the bases of the Spirit-Drawing Pillars. He only had to wait for the first clash of spiritual energy, and he could reclaim the face he'd lost at the testing ground.
Li Sanshun circulated the Primordial Origin Art.
Wood energy entered the first meridian, followed by fire energy. Earth, metal, and water energy joined in turn, forming a complete cycle outside his dantian. After one cycle of transformation, the differences between the five energies' attributes quickly diminished.
Half a foot of light rose from each of the five Spirit-Drawing Pillars.
The pace was slow.
Zhao Yuanqing opened his folding fan.
"At this rate, they might not even reach three feet by the time one incense stick burns out. Five Elements Synchronization sounds impressive, but in the end, it all comes down to cultivation speed."
Instructor Xu didn't respond.
He had taught three generations of new disciples and had seen spiritual energies fight for dominance, as well as meridians become blocked. Yet the fluctuations coming from Li Sanshun were remarkably steady. The five Spirit-Drawing Pillars stood at exactly the same height, without even half an inch of difference.
When the first cycle of the five elements ended, Li Sanshun drew in a breath of the Array Qi gathered around him.
[You have absorbed a breath of Five Elements Spirit-Gathering Array Qi.]
[Air quality: Excellent.]
[Life energy increased by 2 points.]
[Immortal Art power increased by 0.2 points.]
[Realm progress increased by 0.02 points.]
[You have absorbed complete Five Elements Spirit-Gathering Array Qi for the first time. Your five meridians have been nourished.]
After the system notification ended, the five meridians began circulating ten percent faster.
The Spirit-Drawing Pillars reached one foot.
Once the second cycle began, the water energy no longer lingered in the meridians, and the metal energy connected smoothly as well. The five elements propelled one another, accelerating the absorption.
One foot and five inches.
Two feet.
The chatter at the edge of the field died down.
Zhao Yuanqing closed his folding fan and silently calculated the time. Only a third of the incense stick had burned, yet Li Sanshun had already gone from half a foot to two feet. At that rate, he did have a chance of passing three feet, but he was still far from Zhao Yuanqing's seven feet and three inches.
Li Sanshun continued breathing in the Array Qi.
The gains from the same-source energy gradually diminished, but the nourishment of his meridians continued. With every cycle of the Primordial Origin Art, the five-element cycle flowed a little more smoothly.
When the Spirit-Drawing Pillars reached three feet, their light suddenly stopped rising.
Zhao Yuanqing's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, settled.
Five low-grade spiritual roots were bound to have their limits. It was one thing for all five Spirit-Drawing Pillars to light up at once, but he could only absorb so much spiritual energy.
Instructor Xu walked to the edge of the array and noticed that the Array Patterns beneath the five Spirit-Drawing Pillars had gaps.
The Spirit-Gathering Array had been in use for many years, but had only ever tested single- and dual-element spiritual roots. It had never drawn on all five elements at once. The wood and fire channels had ample supply, but the earth, metal, and water channels had run dry.
"The array doesn't have enough spiritual energy. The test is suspended."
Zhao Yuanqing immediately spoke up. "Instructor Xu, every disciple uses the same array. Li Sanshun didn't beat my score, so the bet is settled."
"Your high-grade fire spiritual root draws from only one channel. He needs all five channels open. If the array can't provide enough spiritual energy, how can you call the test over?"
Instructor Xu took out the Array Disk, ready to replenish the spirit stones.
Zhao Yuanqing stepped in front of the Array Disk.
"The Xuan Chu Academy's assessment measures how much spiritual energy a disciple can absorb from the array as it is. The array won't make special accommodations for any particular spiritual root. When he competes for a cave residence in the future, can he ask his opponent to replenish the five elements for him first?"
His words played on the rules of Xuan Chu Academy.
Grade A cultivation rooms were limited, so the assessment had to measure the disciples' cultivation efficiency under existing conditions. Li Sanshun's Five Elements Synchronization required a complete five-element environment, which placed him at an additional disadvantage.
Instructor Xu couldn't force the array to replenish itself, either.
Li Sanshun ended his cultivation and stood up, looking at the five Spirit-Drawing Pillars.
"Do the assessment rules forbid disciples from replenishing the Array Qi themselves?"
"No. But you can't take pills or use spirit-gathering artifacts during the test."
"What about spirit stones?"
Instructor Xu shook his head. "Spirit stones count as external aids, too."
Li Sanshun took half a page of old paper from his Storage Bag.
During his cultivation, the paper had slipped out of the inner fold of the cloth wrapping around the Primordial Origin Art. It bore five blurry diagrams, each corresponding to a basic Immortal Art.
A flame, a water droplet, a clod of earth, a sprout, and a Gold Blade.
Lines showing the flow of energy connected the five diagrams.
When Old Rascal had taught him the Primordial Origin Art, he'd only shown him how to use the five elemental spells separately. He had never mentioned that they could be chained together.
Li Sanshun looked it over once, then tucked the paper into his robes.
"Does spiritual energy drawn out by spells count as an external aid?"
Instructor Xu understood what he was planning.
"Spells you cast yourself don't count. But casting them will consume your Immortal Art power. Replenishing the array with your own strength might not be worth it."
Li Sanshun sat back down.
He raised a hand and condensed a droplet of water, sending water energy into the array. Earth energy followed, flowing into the ground to fill in the Array Patterns beneath it. A sprout grew out of a crack in the stone, catching the earth energy and drawing power toward the fire channel.
Four spells linked together, and the last wisp of metal energy traveled back through the Spirit-Drawing Pillar and into his body.
The five elements formed a complete cycle again.
The missing spiritual energy in the array's three channels was drawn in. The scattered five-element energy around the training ground began gathering toward the center. Most of the Immortal Art power Li Sanshun had spent also returned to him through the cycle.
Instructor Xu watched the changes on the Array Disk, his expression growing more and more serious.
Everyone knew the basic spells. But chaining five different spells together required precise control over each kind of spiritual energy. The slightest deviation would break the cycle.
Li Sanshun had only glanced at half a page of old paper, yet he'd linked them together on his first try.
The Spirit-Drawing Pillars passed three feet.
Four feet.
Only a short stub of incense remained, yet the light in the five pillars grew faster and faster.
Zhao Yuanqing opened his folding fan again, then closed it without realizing it.
He had cultivated a fire art for seven years and considered himself highly skilled at drawing in spiritual energy. But after Li Sanshun linked the five basic spells into a cycle, the speed at which he gathered spiritual energy had already caught up with that of a high-grade fire spiritual root.
Six feet and five inches.
Seven feet.
Before the incense ash fell, all five Spirit-Drawing Pillars stopped at seven feet and five inches.
The training ground fell silent for a moment.
Instructor Xu put away the Array Disk and announced the results on the spot.
"Li Sanshun, seven feet and five inches, first place this year. He gets first pick of the Grade A cultivation rooms. Zhao Yuanqing will surrender his three-month qualification, as agreed."
Zhao Yuanqing stared at the Spirit-Drawing Pillars, unable to move for a long while.
He'd lost by only two inches.
If the array hadn't been restored, Li Sanshun wouldn't even have passed three feet. But Zhao Yuanqing himself had invoked the rules, and he'd been the one to propose the bet. If he made excuses now, he'd only bring shame on the A-class students.
He took the Grade A Cultivation Token from his waist and placed it in Instructor Xu's hand.
"I admit defeat. But one spiritual-energy test doesn't decide a person's cultivation. In three months, I'll take back the qualification with my own hands."
Li Sanshun took the Cultivation Token.
"Remember to bring an extra one next time, so you'll still have something to wager after you lose."
Zhao Yuanqing turned and left the training ground, walking much faster than when he'd arrived.
That evening, Li Sanshun entered the Grade A cultivation room.
Once the stone door closed, five-element spiritual energy rose from the array nodes in the floor. The Array Qi here was denser than in the training ground. After his five meridians completed just one cycle, system notifications appeared one after another.
[Five Elements Spirit-Gathering Array Qi is being continuously absorbed.] [Life energy increased by 10 points.] [Immortal Art power increased by 1 point.] [Realm progress increased by 0.1 points.]
Li Sanshun sat cross-legged in the center of the array and slowed his breathing.
Half an hour later, the Immortal Art power in his dantian had increased by ten percent. His five meridians had also grown wider than they'd been when he entered the room.
He took out half a page of old paper and studied the sequence for linking the five spells once more.
As the paper absorbed the five-element energy in the cultivation room, a line of small characters gradually emerged on its back.
"Five Turns of Primordial Unity is only the beginning."
Below the characters was a library seal.
Tai Xuan Sect, Scripture Library, Ninth Floor.
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