"Not bad."
Seeing Chu Bai's firm eyes, Zhang Cheng's hand stroking the wine glass paused slightly, and then showed a smile of deep understanding.
He looked at the young man in front of him and sighed secretly in his heart.
Before today, he might have only regarded Chu Bai as a junior with great potential and a useful subordinate.
But at this time, when the other party said that he wanted to visit Qingzhou, Zhang Cheng suddenly realized that maybe in a few years, the young man in front of him would be able to call fellow Foundation Establishment monks like him.
Great Zhou Immortal Dynasty, strict hierarchy.
White Ordination monk has worked hard, and the upper limit is only Subordinate Eighth Rank; but once he climbs up to Heavenly Ladder in Qingzhou Heavenly Examination and is awarded [Azure Ordination], it is equivalent to getting a ticket to the top of the Immortal Dynasty.
After Foundation Establishment, the ordination starts with Subordinate Seventh Rank.
That is no longer a change of power, but a complete leap in life level and political status.
If it were his subordinates, Zhang Cheng might even give some words of advice, advising him to seek stable and real power in this Anping County first, and not to be too ambitious.
But he knew the ambition of Chu Bai whom he recruited.
He still remembered Chu Bai's performance in the [Heart Inquiry] level when he presided over the Immortal Clerk selection test at the Great Wall Prefecture Dao Academy.
In front of the pass where Illusion Realm is clustered and knocking at Divine Soul, there is only this boy. His Dao Heart is like a stone that has been built for thousands of years. No matter how wind blows the waves, he only has the determination to reach out to the sky with a sword and never retreat.
This kind of Dao Heart is the sharpest spear for seekers.
The original intention of recruiting Chu Bai and Zhang Cheng was to add a sharp demon-killing blade to his reformed Demon-Suppression Office, and Chu Bai lived up to the high expectations. Not only did he become famous, but in more than a year, he cleared up many of the shadows surrounding Anping County.
"That being the case, you really can't be distracted by trivial matters in the next year or so."
Zhang Cheng sighed, with a hint of loneliness in his tone, but more of an open-mindedness.
"Since you have this great ambition, you need to encourage your practice. Qi Refining Late-Stage is only two levels short of perfection, but the consideration of 'Climbing the Heavenly Ladder' is not just the thickness of Spell Power."
He paused and then explained, "I will let Feng Qin and Hu Hao share more of the official duties at Demon-Slaying Squad. You can train them more on weekdays. As for the power struggle between those large evil spirits and County Yamen, you should not get involved in it anymore."
Being able to personally send a future Foundation-Building Cultivator or Azure Ordination famous official to embark on the path of Qingzhou Heavenly Examination is also an extremely profound political qualification for Zhang Cheng.
"Thank you Mentor for your grace."
Hearing this, Chu Bai looked solemn, picked up the remaining wine on the table, and respectfully performed an ancient salute to Zhang Cheng.
This is not only to thank Zhang Cheng for his discernment when he was the examiner of the Dao Academy and not to let him be buried in a poor family, but also to thank the other party today for not using power to force him and to save his heart of seeking truth.
In this Great Zhou Immortal Dynasty officialdom, there is a difference between the word "Shangfeng" and "Mentor", but their natures are completely different.
The former is the fetters of official duties, while the latter is the cause and effect of inheriting the grace of teaching and learning.
When Zhang Cheng heard this Mentor, the smile on his face completely relaxed, and even the pressure of the Foundation Establishment monk dissipated a lot. He smiled heartily, clinked glasses with Chu Bai and drank.
"Okay! With this Mentor, I will agree."
The fire in the private room gradually dimmed, but Zhang Cheng's gaze became deeper and deeper. He put down the empty wine glass, his expression became more solemn than ever before, his body leaned forward slightly, and he lowered his voice and said, "Chu Bai, since you have made up your mind, there are some things about Heavenly Examination that I need to tell you in advance, so that you can have a plan in mind."
Seeing this, Chu Bai sat upright, cupped his hands and said, "Please Mentor teach me."
"Azure Ordination Heavenly Examination, although it is called 'Merit Assessment' among the people, among the monks of our generation, it has a more appropriate name - [Climbing the Heavenly Ladder]."
Zhang Cheng spoke quietly, with a hint of sadness in his tone, "Do you know why this threshold blocks most White Ordination monks in the world?"
Without waiting for Chu Bai to reply, Zhang Cheng said to himself, "Because this Heavenly Ladder is not in Great Zhou's beautiful country, but in that Law Net inaccessible [wild secret realm]."
Chu Bai frowned slightly, feeling secretly shocked.
The core method of the Great Zhou Immortal Dynasty is Law Net, which connects with Heaven-and-Earth Spiritual Currents. It is not only an extension of the imperial power, but also a guarantee of the monks' safety.
In the land covered by Law Net, wherever the official spirit comes, all evil will be avoided.
After the secret realm is refined, it can be called [Spirit Realm], but Chu Bai has been seen in the Dao Academy.
"Yes, apart from Law Net, it is a world of its own."
Zhang Cheng continued, "The secret realms of each Heavenly Examination are different, and they are all ownerless, wild Ancient Ruins or broken small worlds.
In those places, without the suppression of Law Net, the ferocity of evil spirits and the fury of spiritual intelligence are ten times and a hundred times that of the outside world.
Even the laws of Great Zhou will become unclear in it."
"In other words, it is a real killing place."
Zhang Cheng's eyes revealed a hint of reminiscence, even fear. "Every time Heavenly Examination, Qingzhou gathers Qi Refining Late-Stage and Perfect Realm talents in the tens of thousands.
They are either the legitimate sons of wealthy families with rich family backgrounds, or the warriors of the frontier army who are full of killings. But those who can finally get the inspiration in that secret realm and receive the Azure Ordination award are only a few hundred people in each session."
"Getting hundreds out of tens of thousands, and because it is in a secret wilderness, it is difficult for the government to rescue it in time. The loss rate in previous years has never been less than 30%."
Hearing this, the air in the private room seemed to freeze.
The mortality rate of 30% means that in each session, thousands of Great Zhou's top Qi Refining monks turned to dust in that grand examination.
"As for the specific content of the assessment, each session is decided jointly by Qingzhou Administration Commission and Heavenly Mandate Bureau. No one can know it in advance until the moment of admission, and I can't reveal even a word."
Zhang Cheng looked at Chu Bai and sighed, "I have been working hard at the bottom of Great Zhou for more than twenty years. In a place like Anping County After trembling with fear, I changed my official position three times, and finally at the age of forty-seven, I spent most of my life to climb up to the Heavenly Ladder in that secret realm, was awarded the Azure Ordination, and entered the Foundation Establishment."
Forty-seven years old, which is regarded as middle age by ordinary people, but for a monk like Zhang Cheng, who has mediocre qualifications and has been tempered by time, it is already a blessing.
"And you, Chu Bai, you are not yet twenty this year."
Zhang Cheng reached out and patted Chu Bai on the shoulder with a heavy force, "You are the most talented young man I have ever seen.
But in this Heavenly Examination, what you will face are those Ninth Layer of Qi Refining masters who have been polishing their skills for more than ten or even twenty years.
If you fail this time, don't be discouraged."
Zhang Cheng's advice was like a heavy hammer hitting Chu Bai's heart.
Chu Bai took a deep breath. Not only was he not intimidated by the cruel elimination rate, but a burning desire to fight ignited in his eyes.
"Wild secret realm, outside Law Net, tens of thousands or hundreds..."
Chu Bai whispered to himself, then raised his head and looked directly at Zhang Cheng, his eyes so clear that they were almost cold, "Thank you Mentor for the tip. Without such hardships of life and death, this Azure Ordination would not be able to bear the weight of Foundation Establishment."
"How brave!" Zhang Cheng praised, "In the past year or so, I will try my best to collect some ancient books on survival in secret realms for you. As for Demon-Slaying Squad's errand, from tomorrow on, you can just think that you have already done half of it.
One year later, Qingzhou City, I'm waiting to see how you crush the backbones of those so-called geniuses and truly reach the sky in one step!"
As the night gets darker, Chu Bai bids farewell to Zhang Cheng and walks out of Wind-and-Moon Residence.
The cold wind blew across his face, and the Jade-Nurturing Gourd on his waist collided lightly, making a crisp sound.
The hustle and bustle of Wind-and-Moon Residence and the aftertaste of spiritual wine were cut off from the moment you stepped into the door of Clearwind Courtyard.
Midnight has passed, and the city of Anping County is shrouded in deep silence. Only in the sky above Clearwind Courtyard, due to the full operation of Five-Element Spirit-Gathering Array, is a faint lavender cyclone invisible to the naked eye.
This is a vision resulting from the highly condensed spiritual energy that is fused with the Wu Earth essence emitted by Earthly Treasure[Mountain-Pacifying Platinum].
Chu Bai looked down at his hands. The knuckles were long and white. He looked like a scholar holding a pen, not a warrior Demon-Slaying who was slaying demons.
But underneath that skin, what flows is Qi Refining Late-Stage Spell Power that can instantly shatter stubborn rocks, as well as a steel foundation that has been repeatedly forged by secret techniques.
"Director Zhang is right. In the wild secret realm outside Law Net, there is no protection from Great Zhou Law. Only a strong body and absolute Spell Power are the only evidence of survival."
He knew very well that although the Dharma Cultivation was extremely powerful, in such unowned secret realms, if it was attacked at close range or Spell Power was exhausted, the weak body would become a fatal shortcoming.
"More than a year later, if I want to climb the Heavenly Ladder, which is paved with the bones of tens of thousands of people, this 'bottle' will have to be forged stronger and harder."
Chu Bai held his breath and concentrated, striding towards the practice room.
In the practice room, the core position of Spirit Gathering Formation, [Mountain-Pacifying Platinum], exudes a dark golden light.
As Chu Bai stepped into Qi Refining Seventh Layer, his efficiency in inducing Earthly Treasure's energy also increased. At this time, the gravity in the practice room seemed to be several times higher than that in the outside world, and the air was as heavy as liquid mercury.
Chu Bai took off his shirt, revealing his lean and perfectly proportioned upper body.
As he started to operate [Iron-Bone Body-Tempering Method], fine, dark golden lines began to appear under the originally white jade-like skin, like Dragon Vein crisscrossing the ground.
"Open!"
Chu Bai shouted, and the [Subtlety] level "Origin Return Formula" in his body suddenly activated.
He did not immediately warm up the meridians, but forcibly reversed part of the Spell Power, turning it into countless tiny spikes, which rushed along the meridians into the gaps in the bones of the body.
Even after half a year of hard work, when this bone-scratching pain came, Chu Bai could not help but clench his teeth, and the muscles around his body trembled violently like a tight bowstring.
This is the dominance of "Iron-Bone Body-Tempering Method".
It requires the monks to use spiritual energy as a hammer and bones as anvils to smash the Five Phases spiritual energy in the body into the bone marrow through repeated destruction and reorganization.
In the past, Chu Bai Spell Power was not enough, and every polishing was like a flicker of water; but now, he has stepped into Qi Refining Seventh Layer, and the strength and purity of Spell Power have not only increased several times?
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
In the quiet practice room, a low sound like rolling thunder came out. It was the sound of Chu Bai and Spell Power hitting the ribs, spine and skull.
At the same time, [Mountain-Pacifying Platinum] sensed the influence of the secret technique, and an extremely heavy and pure Wu Earth earth energy drilled into Chu Bai's pores and quickly wrapped around the bones that were being "destroyed" by Spell Power.
Native gold.
Under the nourishment of Earthly Treasure's Qi, Chu Bai's bones began to undergo a strange qualitative change.
The originally white bone gradually became stained with an extremely thin but extremely tough golden light after being broken and healed countless times.
I don't know how many years have passed since I practiced cultivation. It's already dawn in the blink of an eye.
At this time, Chu Bai's whole body was covered by a thick layer of black viscous substance with a fishy smell. It was the most stubborn impurity deep in the body. Under the powerful baptism of Qi Refining Seventh Layer, it was finally completely squeezed out.
Breathe--breathe--
Chu Bai's breathing became extremely slow, and every time he exhaled, it caused the spiritual mist in the practice room to emit wave-like fluctuations.
At this moment, he exerted his [Subtlety] level control to the extreme.
In the past, during body training, he could only roughly feel the warmth and nourishment of the bones throughout his body.
But now, with Divine Sense breaking through to two hundred feet, and controlling Subtlety with spiritual power, he could clearly "see" that there were still three tiny cracks on the second bone of his left index finger that had not yet been filled with spiritual energy.
He could also feel that at the seventh joint of the spine, the fusion of Earthly Treasure's essence was still a little short of warmth.
As soon as Chu Bai Divine Sense moves, the Spell Power in the body is like a precise embroidery needle, guiding Wu Earth's earth energy, repairing those tiny flaws bit by bit with an almost artistic precision.
This kind of body refining efficiency is simply several times that of the Body Cultivator warrior of the same level!
Ordinary people rely on years of medicated baths and clumsy stacking to train their bodies; Chu Bai, on the other hand, is using scalpel-like precision to reshape his divine body.
As every tiny flaw was smoothed away, Chu Bai felt that the entire body's skeleton was completely connected at this moment. It was no longer just scattered bones, but a complete, thick, and invulnerable iron tower.
The moment the sun jumped above the horizon, Chu Bai's eyes widened.
"Drink!"
He punched out violently, and there was a shrill explosion in the air, and even a white shock wave visible to the naked eye. He didn't use any Spell Power in this punch, it was purely an explosion of physical power!
The reinforced stone wall of the practice room actually had a crack that was an inch deep after the wind of this punch swept through it.
Chu Bai stood with his fists closed, the energy and blood all over his body as hot as an oven.
With a thought in his mind, he called up the panel.
[Name: Chu Bai]
[Realm: Qi Refining Seventh Layer(7/100)]
[Skill/Secret Technique:]
[Iron-Bone Body-Tempering Method(Mastery 200/500)]
[Keep One Scripture(Mastery 680/1000)]
"The progress has improved a lot..."
Chu Bai looked at the panel, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.
Don't underestimate these 30 points of proficiency. The further you go, the more difficult it will be to improve the secret technique.
Every time the physical body becomes stronger, it not only means an improvement in survivability, but also means that he can carry more powerful Spell Arts.
He stood up and walked to the basin. Spell Power shook slightly, shaking off all the dirt on his body, revealing the new skin underneath that was as delicate as a newborn baby, but with a dark golden metallic luster.
He reached out and took the low-grade magic weapon [Hundred-Battle Armor] presented by Pang Song.
The moment he took possession of the armor, Chu Bai felt an extremely friendly rhythm.
In the past, his physique was still weak. If he wore this kind of magic weapon armor, he would feel a little heavy despite the defensive blessing.
But now, with the leap in physical strength, he felt like the armor was wearing an extra layer of skin on his body.
"This armor... seems to be tailor-made for me now."
Chu Bai stands in armor.
The dark red armor blended perfectly with his calm aura.
At this time, as long as he stood there, he was like an unshakable mountain.
"After the body training, the next focus will be on the fusion of those Spell Arts."
Chu Bai Open the door, and the early morning sunlight slants into the courtyard.
There was no hustle and bustle at last night's banquet in his eyes, only an almost absolute calmness.
In the depths of the secret realm that Law Net is difficult to reach, all external blessings will be reduced to a minimum.
Only the monk's own spiritual power density, physical strength and the indomitable Dao Heart are the final deciding factors.
"I am now Qi Refining Seventh Layer, and I am still two levels away from perfection."
Chu Bai stood with his hands behind his hands, looking at the green pine tree in the courtyard that grew astonishingly under the nourishment of Spirit Gathering Formation.
"In more than a year, with the blessing of Subtlety level skills and Earthly Treasure, it is not difficult to break through to Ninth Layer of Qi Refining perfection. But if I want to stand out among tens of thousands of Qingzhou talents, I not only have to be perfect, I have to do it to the extreme."
His five fingers slowly closed together, and there was a faint blue glow of Spirit Water Needle and a red glow of Fire Element Ring intertwined in the palm of his hand.
Now he can instantly fire thousands of [Subtlety] level Spirit Water Needle.
If when he was at Qi Refining Perfection, all the Spell Arts he had learned reached the [Subtlety] realm, it would be even more different.
"Physique, Divine Sense, Spell Arts."
"If everything succeeds, Heavenly Examination is expected to succeed this time."