Heaven-Mending Pavilion

Huo Yuhao and Tang Wulin followed close behind, walking over to Shi Hao's side together.

The onlookers had long inferred from the three's behavior that they were probably friends. Thus, they had already grown accustomed to seeing the three of them inseparable.

Therefore, no one followed them over. Instead, they stayed where they were at a certain distance, watching Shi Hao's movements with curious expressions.

Shi Hao looked around and lightly tapped the Record Stele. "Didn't they say breaking a record usually earns a reward? Why is there no reaction? Even a Precious Bone would do. You still haven't given me the reward for the previous record."

When the Record Stele showed no response whatsoever, Shi Hao became indignant. "Cheapskate. Since you won't give it to me, I'll take it myself."

Thus, under everyone's astonished gazes, Shi Hao easily smashed the Record Stele apart. Yet he was extremely depressed, because the reappearing Record Stele not only failed to reward him with a Precious Bone, but instead announced a warning to the world:

"Loves Drinking Beast Milk has smashed the Origin Land Record Stele. He is hereby given a severe warning and expelled from the Void God Realm for two years."

Some people nearby gloated. "That Bear Child everyone hates has finally been punished. At least things will be peaceful now."

Shi Hao said unhappily, "There was no rule saying I couldn't smash the Record Stele."

Tang Wulin chuckled. "If you're leaving, then we'll leave together. Without you, Brother Yuhao and I would lose a lot of fun."

As he spoke, Tang Wulin calmly took one of Huo Yuhao's hands. The two exchanged smiles, then each used their free hand to grab Shi Hao's hand. The three were enveloped by the Void God Realm's beam of teleportation and sent out of the Void God Realm in an instant.

Shi Hao curled his lip. "I'll definitely come back."

Huo Yuhao comforted him, "You saw it just now. Breaking a record does not necessarily earn a reward. That is because the Origin Land is at a relatively low level, so the resources it contains are naturally fewer as well."

Tang Wulin nodded in agreement. "You can use this opportunity to cultivate at Heaven-Mending Pavilion and raise your realm. Once you become stronger, you can enter higher-level cultivation grounds in the Void God Realm and obtain richer resource rewards."

Shi Hao's anger gradually faded. He nodded deeply. "You're absolutely right. Let's head back and get ready, then bring Qingfeng along to Heaven-Mending Pavilion."

Light and shadow flickered, and the spiritual bodies of the three quietly returned to their physical bodies.

"Willow God, we're back," Shi Hao called toward the enormous willow tree.

The Willow God woke from a special state of cultivation. Seeing the three brimming with energy, she could not help asking in surprise:

"You only left for one day. Why have you returned already? What happened?"

Tang Wulin did not know whether to laugh or cry as he explained, "Shi Hao smashed the Record Stele himself because he wanted a Precious Bone reward, then the Void God Realm exiled him for two years as a warning. Brother Yuhao and I simply came back with him."

The Willow God was speechless for a moment. "Shi Hao, you truly are... Can you possibly behave any more outrageously? If it were me, I certainly would not exile you."

Shi Hao grinned. "As expected, the Willow God treats me best, unlike that heartless Void God Realm."

The Willow God firmly denied it. "No. I would throw you directly into the Black Beast Prison."

Shi Hao froze slightly at those words and awkwardly scratched his head.

Huo Yuhao hurriedly smoothed things over and changed the subject. "We plan to leave for Heaven-Mending Pavilion in a couple of days to enroll there. That way, our cultivation will not be delayed."

"Mm, then do so."

After leaving those final words, the Willow God immersed herself in cultivation once again, remaining detached from everything else.

Shi Hao, Huo Yuhao, and Tang Wulin told everyone about what they had seen and heard in the Void God Realm, as well as their plans to head for Heaven-Mending Pavilion. After resting in Stone Village for two days, they set off for Heaven-Mending Pavilion with Shi Qingfeng.

Shi Yunfeng, Great-Grandfather, Shi Linhu, Shi Feijiao, Shi Zhonghou, Shi Ermeng, and everyone else from Stone Village waved goodbye to the four of them. Even Auntie Azure-Scaled Eagle came with Purple Cloud, Roc, Xiaoqing, and the rest of her family to see them off.

Shi Hao and Shi Qingfeng rode on the back of Little White, the unicorn, while Tang Wulin and Huo Yuhao rode the Golden Cheetah. Furball was still sprawled leisurely across Shi Hao's shoulder, resting at ease.

The four humans and three beasts strolled through the Great Wilderness. Focused on cultivation and tempering themselves, they deliberately slowed their pace and fought all sorts of fierce, highly aggressive wild beasts.

Purple-Scaled Beasts, Black-Striped Tigers, Spotted Birds, Jade Lizard Crocodiles... all kinds of rare and exotic beasts that blocked their path were forced to become sparring partners, constantly strengthening the four's bodies and cultivation.

"No delicacies from mountain or sea can compare to the simple dishes Yuhao makes. No wonder Wulin clamors every day to eat your cooking."

Shi Hao took a small bite of the roasted meat Huo Yuhao had made and instantly fell for it. Lost in its deliciousness and unable to pull himself free, he felt as though he had entered an immortal realm. It took him a long while before he finally spoke from the bottom of his heart.

Shi Qingfeng nodded repeatedly. "This is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten in my life."

Tang Wulin proudly lifted his chin. "Of course. You could never get tired of Brother Yuhao's cooking."

Huo Yuhao stroked Tang Wulin's hair with an affectionate expression. "Me too. I'll never get tired of cooking for you every day."

Tang Wulin leaned against Huo Yuhao's shoulder with a satisfied look, comfortably enjoying the breeze blowing toward them.

After eight months of cultivation through battle, as well as gathering, refining, and consuming more than ten wild herbs, Shi Qingfeng successfully reached the middle stage of the Blood Tempering Realm. Shi Hao also successfully opened his fifth Cave Heaven. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wulin's cultivation improved a little as well.

Along the way, they passed through the Stone Kingdom, three hundred thousand li from Stone Village. After resting there and purchasing some supplies, the four humans and three beasts spent another three months traveling six or seven hundred thousand li, passing through dozens of enormous cities.

During their journey, they deeply felt the stark contrast between bustling human settlements full of worldly life and the vast, lonely wilderness.

Heaven-Mending Pavilion, outer district.

At this time, eighty or ninety thousand people had already gathered here. Nearly every cultivator had come to study at the Sacred Academy. Even Little Western Paradise, the Rain Clan, and various great powers had sent their most gifted youths here to learn.

The four humans and three beasts slowly followed the crowd deeper into Heaven-Mending Pavilion. After admiring the strange spiritual herbs lining the road, they finally arrived at the mountain gate.

Here, Little White the unicorn and the Golden Cheetah were thoughtfully settled into resting quarters by Heaven-Mending Pavilion personnel. The four of them could now prepare to enter and study here without concern.

"Look, that's the Phoenix Chariot of the Fire Kingdom. And over there—those are the ancient descendants of the Martial King. It really is him. Shi Yi actually came too," someone nearby suddenly exclaimed.

Heavenly geniuses backed by powerful forces had the privilege of entering Heaven-Mending Pavilion directly without taking an examination. They did not even need token verification and were simply allowed through, entering the mountain gate under the envious gazes of the other cultivators.

Shi Hao said to Tang Wulin beside him, "I'll leave Qingfeng in your care."

Tang Wulin patted his chest. "No problem. Leave it to me."

Huo Yuhao wore a gentle smile. "Shi Hao and I will pass the entrance trial soon and come find you."

Tang Wulin nodded. "Mm, we'll be waiting."

Shi Qingfeng waved his fist. "Good luck, big brothers."

Afterward, Tang Wulin and Shi Qingfeng showed the examination teacher the tokens Xia Youyu had previously given Tang Wulin and Shi Hao. They successfully entered the mountain gate without taking the examination and were accepted as disciples of the Genius Camp.

"That makes seventeen geniuses who have entered without examination through token privileges," the nearby onlookers discussed as they watched Tang Wulin and Shi Qingfeng enter the mountain gate.

Although no one knew that Loves Drinking Beast Milk, that Bear Child, was coming to Heaven-Mending Pavilion this time, Shi Hao had still learned the Seventy-Two Transformations from Furball. After all, it never hurt to have more skills and be prepared for anything.

However, since no one would fight over Shi Hao during the ceremony this time, he had no need to use the Seventy-Two Transformations unnecessarily. Thus, he openly showed his true appearance and took the entrance trial alongside Huo Yuhao.

Before long, the examination time approached. Elder Xiong Fei, the examiner, led the cultivators into the Primordial Battlefield and orderly divided the eighty or ninety thousand cultivators into eight groups.

"This examination has two stages. The first requires you to break through the rune formation. The second will involve fierce beasts and opportunities. The specific rules of the Second Battlefield will be explained on a stone tablet when the time comes."

First trial grounds, eighth group area.

"Since there are runes, there must be Precious Bones supplying the Treasure Technique enhancement."

Shi Hao grinned, rubbed his hands together, and headed deeper into the First Battlefield. Huo Yuhao, who had also been assigned to the eighth group area, smiled helplessly at those words and immediately followed Shi Hao.

The farther inward one went, the stronger the rune power became, and the greater the pressure the cultivators felt. Therefore, no one else had yet ventured into the inner region of the formation.

Shi Hao and Huo Yuhao seemed not to feel the pressure of the surrounding runes at all. They simply walked in with ease, as though nothing were happening.

"Mine, mine, all mine."

It did not take long before Shi Hao dug up more than ten Precious Bones deep within the rune formation. He returned with a full haul and a beaming smile. Standing beside him, Huo Yuhao could clearly feel the runes trembling, while the surrounding light and shadows noticeably weakened.

After discovering there were no more Precious Bones to dig up, Shi Hao called Huo Yuhao over and passed through the teleportation array at the endpoint with him, heading for the Second Battlefield of the second stage.

Among the ten thousand cultivators in the eighth group area, more than eight thousand were fortunate enough to find the endpoint of the first stage and gradually arrived at the Second Battlefield as well.

Originally, these cultivators had been so heavily suppressed by the powerful runes around them that they could not move freely. Yet they suddenly discovered that the pressure in the depths was clearly weaker than at the outer edges.

Most cultivators in that area mistakenly believed this was part of Heaven-Mending Pavilion's examination method—bitterness first, sweetness later. So long as they cleared the difficult trials ahead, the later stages would become much easier.

When Elder Xiong Fei and the representatives of various factions watching the examination discovered that an abnormally large number of people had passed the first stage in the eighth group area, they immediately realized that the Precious Bones maintaining the rune formation had been stolen.

"Only that Bear Child, Loves Drinking Beast Milk, could commit something so universally outrageous. He actually came to Heaven-Mending Pavilion too."

"Heaven-Mending Pavilion is going to have a headache now. More than eight thousand people passed the first stage—that is no small number. If another thousand or so pass the second stage because of that Bear Child's mischief, won't Heaven-Mending Pavilion go bankrupt from being unable to support so many people?"

Since many representatives of various clans had come to watch their own cultivators participate in the examination, this matter immediately caused a huge uproar. At this moment, Shi Hao's fame even overshadowed Shi Yi's arrival at Heaven-Mending Pavilion.

Second stage, Second Battlefield, a rule task stele.

"Possess two Heaven Mending Stones to pass. Possess ten or more to receive focused cultivation."

After Shi Hao finished reading the rules on the task stele, two Heaven Mending Stones appeared out of thin air. Clearly, one belonged to Shi Hao and the other to Huo Yuhao. The two consciously took one each.

"Chirp, chirp!"

Furball, standing on Shi Hao's shoulder, sensed danger nearby. It pointed at the sky directly above them and cried out, warning Shi Hao and Huo Yuhao to be careful of an ambush.

Shi Hao and Huo Yuhao immediately retreated at incredible speed, avoiding the enormous creature descending from the sky—an Ancient Crocodile.

"Well, would you look at that. It was waiting here for prey to take the bait," Shi Hao complained.

The Ancient Crocodile refused to give up after failing to bite its prey. It twisted its body and swept out with its tail again, instantly knocking down a row of ancient trees and sealing off the two's retreat.

Shi Hao leaped into the air and kicked down like Mount Tai crushing its target, landing heavily upon the Ancient Crocodile's back.

Having already gained fairly skilled control over the Suanni Treasure Technique, Shi Hao generously treated the Ancient Crocodile to a lightning-roasted meal.

The Ancient Crocodile's skin and scales were instantly charred black and scorched beyond recognition. It roared in pain, then opened its bloody maw, wishing nothing more than to chew Shi Hao to pieces.

At that moment, a sharp ice crystal arrow shot through the air and precisely pierced the Ancient Crocodile's upper jaw, freezing it solid and interrupting its attack. In an instant, extreme cold spread through the Ancient Crocodile's entire body, turning the enormous beast into an ice sculpture.

"This Ancient Crocodile's mouth is really thick and long. It kept you from blowing its head off in one shot, Yuhao," Shi Hao said disdainfully.

Holding an ice crystal longbow, Huo Yuhao teased, "Some people have faces as thick as city walls. Compared to them, even an Ancient Crocodile might seem rather delicate."

The next moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly turned and fired an ice crystal arrow toward another row of ancient trees untouched by the Ancient Crocodile's tail. The arrow precisely pierced through one of the ancient trees.

Xiao Tian, who had been hiding behind that tree, instinctively stepped back to evade the arrow. In doing so, he carelessly exposed his position, allowing Shi Hao and Huo Yuhao to see him completely.

Xiao Tian smiled awkwardly. "You two are truly capable. You subdued such a powerful fierce beast with ease. But how can you casually insult me by implication and call me thick-skinned? If you cannot produce evidence, that would be baseless slander."

Huo Yuhao sneered. "You hid behind that tree and waited for an opportunity. You wanted to take our Heaven Mending Stones amid the chaos, didn't you?"

Xiao Tian maintained his smile. "Those are the rules. You cannot blame me."

Shi Hao suddenly understood. "So that's how it is. You really are thick-skinned."

Suddenly, a roar that pierced the heavens rang out from deep within the distant mountains. A Black Tiger countless times larger than the Ancient Crocodile heard the commotion and rushed over at top speed.

The Ancient Crocodile, frozen into an ice sculpture, trembled and shuddered without end. No one knew whether it was freezing from the cold or trembling in fear of the Black Tiger.