A League of His Own

The third and fourth rounds followed in quick succession. As the Law Net operated, the spiritual energy on the hundred Spirit-Gathering Platforms shifted unpredictably from one attribute to another.

Chu Bai's luck in those two rounds was truly poor.

In the third round, he managed to seize only a wood-attribute Spirit-Gathering Platform.

Water nourished wood, and wood energy was gentle enough not to harm the body. But that also meant he had to expend his own Spell Power to nurture the wood energy before he could tame it and draw it into the Jade Ring.

With energy going out as well as coming in, his efficiency took a heavy hit.

The fourth round brought that scalp-tingling Metal Attribute again. Though he had experience with it now, the relentless cutting of Metal Energy made even his once-resilient meridians ache faintly, as if they had been packed with fine grains of sand.

"Huff... huff..."

Sweat beaded on Chu Bai's forehead, and his breathing grew somewhat ragged.

Even with [Pure Bathing Spell Power] protecting him, the clogging sensation left by cycling through different attributes of spiritual energy kept building in his meridians.

He stole a glance around him.

The situation was worse than he had imagined. Most of the candidates were pale and trembling by now.

Some had curled up on their stone platforms in pain, unable to cultivate any longer. All they could do was watch helplessly as time slipped away.

The Jade Rings held by the few candidates in the lead shone conspicuously. There was no hiding who was ahead.

By contrast, Chu Bai's ranking had begun to slip after those two rounds held him back.

Buzz—

Just then, the Law Net overhead gave another low tremor.

The fifth and final round had arrived!

Every candidate who had yet to give up forced themselves to rally, staring fixedly at the Spirit-Gathering Platforms about to light up. This was their last chance to turn the tables.

Light flared.

A sharp gleam flashed through Chu Bai's eyes.

Less than ten paces straight ahead of him, a Spirit-Gathering Platform began to glow. Its light belonged neither to the five elements nor to any mutated attribute; it was pure and translucent, a white glow soft as moonlight.

Is that... Attribute-less spiritual energy?

Joy surged through Chu Bai.

He recognized it at once. It was Minor Pure Qi.

It was not as balanced and gentle as Pure-Origin Spiritual Qi, but its strength lay in its flawless purity. It was a universal tonic that any cultivation method could absorb without loss, and it placed no burden on the meridians!

Take it!

This time, Chu Bai held nothing back.

He drove off the ground and shot forward like an arrow loosed from its string.

Two nearby candidates who had set their sights on the same spot saw only a blur before that prized platform had a new occupant.

Up on the raised dais.

Li Wenyuan waved his folding fan as he watched the changes below, then shook his head slightly. "Chu Bai's luck really has been poor. The attributes held him back in the previous two rounds. He's seized an Attribute-less platform for the final round, but judging by his earlier performance, the Water Method must be his main cultivation method. Attribute-less spiritual energy won't hurt him, but it won't make him any faster, either. A sudden surge in his results is unlikely."

Zhao Wu sighed as well. "What a shame. If he'd gotten a water platform, he might have had a shot at the top three. As it stands, he'll probably just scrape by."

In the two examiners' eyes, Chu Bai had performed best with the Water Attribute in the first round and had sought out compatible attributes afterward. Naturally, they had taken him for a cultivator specializing in water.

Yet the instant Chu Bai settled into place, something unexpected happened!

The Spirit-Gathering Platform's once-gentle white glow seemed to come under an immense pull. It began to spin wildly, forming a vortex of spiritual energy visible to the naked eye!

"What?!"

Li Wenyuan's folding fan stopped dead. His eyes widened.

That absorption speed was already thirty percent faster than when Chu Bai had absorbed water spiritual energy in the first round!

No, more than thirty percent!

He was swallowing it like a whale!

"Wh-what's going on?" Zhao Wu looked baffled. "Is he not a water cultivator?"

The two exchanged a glance. The same realization flashed through both their minds like lightning, and shock filled their eyes.

"Pure-Origin Spiritual Qi! This brat isn't simply a water cultivator. He built his foundation with Pure-Origin Spiritual Qi!"

"For him, Attribute-less spiritual energy isn't merely harmless. It's a return to his true source, without the slightest obstruction!"

"We both misjudged him!"

On the Martial Training Ground.

By this final round, most candidates, including Wang Teng and Li Han, were in agony from the foreign impurities that had built up in their meridians.

Their absorption efficiency had plummeted. Like old oxen dragging broken carts, they could only grind forward bit by bit.

Chu Bai alone was going all out!

Minor Pure Qi entered his body and melded perfectly with his Pure-Origin foundation, without the slightest resistance.

More importantly, that special thread of [Pure Bathing Spell Power] within him worked its wonders again.

Azure Spell Power swept the pure Minor Pure Qi through his meridians like a flood. The metal and wood energies accumulated over the previous two rounds crumbled like earthworks before the torrent and were washed away completely.

His meridians had never been so clear!

Everyone else was slowing down. He was speeding up!

The Jade Ring on Chu Bai's finger grew visibly brighter. In an instant, it outshone Wang Teng's ring beside him, then eclipsed Li Han's, despite the imposing lead he had held.

Chu Bai's ranking rocketed up from fourth or fifth place. He shot straight to the top and rapidly opened an enormous gap!

Clang—

The final gong sounded. Five hours had passed.

The Law Net dispersed, and the spiritual light on the Spirit-Gathering Platforms slowly faded.

Most of the candidates slumped where they sat, as though they had just been hauled out of the water. They gasped for breath, without even the strength to raise a hand.

Only Chu Bai remained seated cross-legged. He slowly brought his cultivation to a close and exhaled a long breath of turbid air, looking calm and composed, as though he had merely taken a nap.

Zhao Wu had already noticed how brightly the Jade Ring in Chu Bai's hand shone. Unable to contain himself, the impatient examiner leaped from the raised dais and rushed to Chu Bai in a few strides.

"Give me the Jade Ring!"

Chu Bai rose and saluted, then handed over the Jade Ring, whose glare was almost hard to look at.

Zhao Wu snatched it and sent his divine sense inside.

The next moment, the burly deputy examiner's bell-like eyes flew wide. Even his hand trembled slightly.

He jerked his head up toward Li Wenyuan and Zhang Ironface on the raised dais. His voice, pitched strangely high with shock, rang across the grounds:

"Old Li! Commandant Zhang! Come look!"

"This brat... there's a full thread of spiritual energy in this Jade Ring!"

"A full thread?!"

The entire grounds fell silent.

Every gaze, even those of the candidates sprawled on the ground, fixed in disbelief on the young man in blue.

That was the very limit of what a Jade Ring could hold.

After all, anyone who managed to fill seventy or eighty percent of one in just five hours already ranked near the top. Ninety percent would make them a strong contender for first place.

In ordinary cultivation, drawing one thread of spiritual energy into the body over three days was considered a normal pace. Those who could cut that time to two days were rare.

Yet Chu Bai had gathered an entire thread!

This was more than first place. He had left everyone else in the dust!