As dusk fell, the crowd on Martial Training Ground gradually dispersed.
Zhang Shan did not leave immediately. Instead, he waited on the sidelines for a while. When he saw that Chu Bai and Instructor Lei had completed the handover, he quickly came forward to greet them.
"Junior Brother Chu."
With some emotion on his face, Zhang Shan raised his hands and said, "Today's battle has deeply touched me. If my junior brother hadn't been able to act freely at the last moment and left me some dignity, I might have had to trouble Instructor Lei to come to the rescue again. If it really came to that point, there would really be no place for my face."
Thinking of that scene in the afternoon, Zhang Shan still has lingering fears.
It's not scary to lose to a monster-like freshman, but it's too ugly to lose. Chu Bai's deliberate miss [Golden Eye Illusion-Breaker] not only saved his life, but also saved what little dignity he had left in front of so many freshmen.
"Senior brother, you are serious."
Chu Bai returned the gift with an indifferent expression, "The purpose of the actual combat training is to confirm what you have learned, just stop there. Besides, when senior brother introduced me to the prison to receive the mission, junior brother has always remembered it in his heart. What happened in the past has long been forgotten."
Hearing this, Zhang Shan finally felt the last big stone in his heart fall to the ground and breathed a long sigh of relief.
This Chu Bai is not only terrifying in strength, but also has an impeccable manner.
The two of them walked side by side towards the school building.
"By the way, did the junior brother do the task of monitoring Law Net smoothly?" Zhang Shan asked casually.
"Everything is fine. Thanks to my senior brother's recommendation, this two o'clock daily Dao Merit has helped me a lot." Chu Bai nodded with a smile. If it weren't for this mission, his early Spirit Cuisine expenses would have been somewhat stretched.
"That's good."
Zhang Shan nodded, suddenly stopped, looked up at the sky in the distance, a trace of expectation flashed in his eyes, "During this period, I have realized that the bottleneck has been loosened a bit. If nothing else happens, I will be in seclusion to attack Qi Refining Third Layer in the next few days. I'm afraid I won't be able to come for the actual sparring in the future."
"Oh? That's a great event!" Chu Bai said sincerely, "I wish senior brother success in one fell swoop and entering the later stage as soon as possible."
"I'd like to lend you some good words."
Zhang Shan smiled, then straightened his expression, lowered his voice and reminded, "Junior brother, with the strength and potential you have shown now, some things can be planned in advance. Don't relax and maintain this momentum."
"Even for our Great Plains Prefecture Dao Academy, the competition is extremely cruel. If you can not fall behind in the following practice, maybe... at the end of the second grade, you can try to participate in the Graduation Examination of the whole hospital in advance to compete for the ten [Immortal Clerk] places!"
Is it the Immortal Clerk quota again?
This is the second time I heard this word today.
Chu Bai's heart moved, and he asked, "Senior brother, what are the specific rules for the selection of Immortal Clerk places? I heard that it seems that it will only be carried out when the third grade graduates?"
"That's generally true."
Zhang Shan explained, "Immortal Clerk selection is held once a year and is held simultaneously with Academy-Wide Graduation Examination.
Usually the third-year seniors compete for each other during graduation. It is a scene of real Orthodox God immortals fighting.
However, Dao Academy does not explicitly stipulate that lower grade students cannot participate. In previous years, there were also a very small number of talented second-year students who thought they were strong enough and would choose to leave the game early to test the waters."
Having said this, Zhang Shan sighed, "It's just that it's extremely difficult. Think about it, most of the third-year seniors have been perfecting their skills for a long time at Qi Refining Third Layer. Whether it's Spell Arts Foundation Depth or combat experience, they are far from those of Non-Self. When you're one year behind, it's almost impossible to reach the top ten."
"But..." Zhang Shan looked at Chu Bai with a glimmer of light in his eyes, "I'm optimistic about you! With your growth rate, you won't be able to fight by the time you reach second grade!"
Chu Bai nodded, with a calm expression on his face, but he was making rapid calculations in his heart.
After bidding farewell to Zhang Shan, Chu Bai walked alone on the way back to the number room, and the thinking in his mind became clearer.
"Qi Refining is divided into nine levels. The first three levels are the early stage. They are limited by Gray Ordination. This is the upper limit."
"According to the progress of ordinary students, one level per year is considered normal. Even a genius like Dong Feng, if he wants to complete his studies to Qi Refining Third Layer, he has to wait at least until the end of the second grade."
"But I'm different."
Chu Bai called up the panel and looked at the progress bar of [Qi Refining Second Layer(27/100)].
At the current speed, plus the remaining two hundred hours of [Grade A Blessed Land]...
"In three or four months at most, I can break through Qi Refining Third Layer!"
Chu Bai paused slightly and frowned.
Once he breaks through Qi Refining Third Layer and cultivates to perfection, it will only take a month or two. At that time, due to the personal suppression of Gray Ordination, his cultivation level will not be able to improve, and he can only improve his combat power by polishing Spell Arts.
"If I really follow what Senior Brother Zhang said and wait until the second grade to take the exam, then wouldn't I have to spend a whole year in Qi Refining Third Layer Consummation?"
This year, for him who has an "infinite progress bar", is simply an intolerable waste!
A year and a half is too long, just seize the day.
A bold idea emerged in Chu Bai's mind.
"Five months."
"Academy-Wide Graduation Examination in five months, if I can directly participate in the graduation selection as a first-year freshman..."
If this idea were to be spoken out, I'm afraid it would shock everyone. Want to graduate in the first grade? This is something Great Plains Prefecture Dao Academy has never done before!
But the more Chu Bai thought about it, the more feasible it became.
"By then, I should already be Qi Refining Third Layer. In terms of cultivation, everyone is stuck on the ceiling, and no one is higher than anyone else."
"The only gap is between Spell Arts Foundation Depth and actual combat experience."
Chu Bai touched his chin, "My "Origin Return Formula" recovers quickly, "Spirit Water Needle" has strong field control, plus "Golden Eye Illusion-Breaker" is such a killer... If I only consider reaching the top ten instead of competing for the first place..."
"Maybe give it a try!"
Chu Bai A flash of determination flashed in his eyes.
Besides, what if you fail? The worst thing is that you didn't pass the exam, and you can just go back to the second grade. There is no real loss. The right thing is to see the world and get to know the background of those third-grade students.
But if it happens...
That is to get White Ordination directly, skip Heavenly Examination, and go straight to Foundation Establishment! This saves not only a year or two, but also an opportunity to reach the sky in one step!
"Five months."
Chu Bai clenched his fists and made up his mind.
Of course, he did not tell Zhang Shan about this shocking plan.
After all, even Zhang Shan himself is still struggling to break through Qi Refining Third Layer, preparing for the exam one and a half years later.
Some roads are destined to be walked alone and silently.
"It seems that in the coming days, I have to be a little harder on myself."
Chu Bai Looking at the cold bright moon in the night sky, my footsteps became more and more brisk.
After completing the routine Law Net node inspection and pocketing today's two points Dao Merit, Chu Bai went without stopping and once again came to the blue and black tower that fascinated countless Great Wall Prefecture Dao Academy students - Spirit Pavilion.
Standing in front of the light curtain, Chu Bai called up the list of blessed places with ease.
"According to Supervisor Chen's instructions, Innate Geng Metal Qi has already taken shape. Metal generates water, and water generates wood. Next, it's time to add a tough wood aura to this Five-Element Dao Foundation."
Chu Bai's eyes wandered around, and he quickly locked the target among all the wood element auras.
[Withered-and-Flourishing Azure Qi].
"This is it."
As the fingertips clicked, a familiar teleportation white light flashed.
This time, the space that Chu Bai came to was not very large, and was even a bit smaller than the previous Geng Metal Blessed Land. But as soon as he landed, the sight in front of him made him slightly startled.
This small world was clearly split in half by an invisible boundary.
On the left side, there are towering ancient trees and dragon-like vines. Even the soil under your feet is full of vitality that is so rich that it cannot be transformed. It seems that as long as you sprinkle a seed, it can grow into a towering tree in an instant.
But on the right side, it was a dead gray. The ground was dry and cracked, with dead bones, and a few dead ancient trees twisted their branches toward the sky, exuding a heart-stopping aura of decay and withering.
"On one side is the ultimate life, on the other side is the ultimate death."
Chu Bai steps towards the boundary between life and death.
Here, two completely opposite breaths collided and blended with each other. There was no explosion, but a mysterious and mysterious balance was derived. A wisp of blue-gray air flow hovered here like a swimming dragon, that is [Withered-and-Flourishing Azure Qi].
"Withering and rising, life and death depend on each other. Is this the wood energy with the strongest vitality that Supervisor Chen said..."
Chu Bai took a deep breath and sat cross-legged in the middle of the junction.
Run "Origin Return Formula".
This time, he did not act as aggressively as before in absorbing Geng Metal energy, but became cautious.
As the first ray of Withered-and-Flourishing Azure Qi was introduced into the body, Chu Bai immediately felt a resistance.
At this time, among his Dantian Qi Sea, the water attribute Spell Power is the most majestic, and the metal attribute Spell Power is sharp and domineering. As soon as this new wood energy enters the body, the sharp Metal Energy instinctively follows the law of "metal overcomes wood" to Strangulation it.
"Hiss--"
There was a stabbing pain in the meridians, and Chu Bai frowned.
"Sure enough, fellow practitioner Five Phases is not that simple. Even if I have the water attribute Spell Power as a buffer, if I want these three to coexist peacefully, I still need extremely fine micro-management."
He had to devote part of his mind to control the water attribute Spell Power to wrap the restless Metal Energy, and at the same time guide the water vapor to nourish the new wisp of wood qi.
Metal generates water, and water generates wood.
This is a dynamic balance.
At first, Chu Bai's breathing speed was extremely slow, even a turtle speed. He had to keep an eye on the status on the panel at all times, and once he found signs of conflict, he had to immediately adjust the spiritual power ratio.
But as time goes by, that rawness gradually fades away.
With the strong inclusiveness of "Origin Return Formula" and the intuitive feedback from the system panel, Chu Bai gradually found that delicate balance point.
The wisps of Withered-and-Flourishing Azure Qi began to blend smoothly into the air sea, rapidly growing under the nourishment of the water attribute Spell Power, and in turn brought a tenacious vitality to the entire air sea.
Half an hour later, Chu Bai's breathing speed finally returned to normal levels.
"Huh..."
Chu Bai slowly opened his eyes, green light and golden light flashed alternately, and finally disappeared into the depths.
"This Withered-and-Flourishing Azure Qi is indeed magical. After entering my body, I feel that the vitality in my body is more vigorous than before. Even the soreness in my eyes caused by practicing "Golden Eye Illusion-Breaker" has instantly dissipated a lot."
He called up the panel and estimated the progress.
"Based on the current absorption efficiency, it will take about one hundred and twenty hours for this Withered-and-Flourishing Azure Qi to completely become a climate and reach the level of the three pillars of Metal Energy and water vapor."
"Three hours a day, that is, forty days."
Chu Bai was thinking in his mind, "For these three hundred hours of Grade A Blessed Land rewards, after excluding the hundred used in practicing Metal Energy before, and then subtracting these one hundred and twelve, there are still eighty hours left."
"It's totally in time."
"Even..."
A glint flashed in Chu Bai's eyes, "After the wood energy is fully developed, we will consider how to allocate the remaining eighty hours at that time."
Counting the Pure Bathing Spirit Flow already in the body, after Withered-and-Flourishing Azure Qi is formed, Five Phases will be the third one.
Then control the balance of interest and income, and then improve...
Pictured Dao Foundation!
Spirit Pavilion, Withered-and-Flourishing Blessed Land.
At the border between life and death, Chu Bai sits cross-legged like a stone sculpture.
For more than ten days, he has been polishing the Withered-and-Flourishing Azure Qi here every day. At first, he still had to carefully maintain the balance of metal, water and wood. If he is not careful, his meridians will tingle.
But as his understanding of "Origin Return Formula" deepened, that feeling of unfamiliarity had long since disappeared.
Today, it's a little different.
While Chu Bai was breathing in and out, he suddenly felt a strange rhythm. Spell Power, which was originally circulating in the body step by step, seemed to suddenly have its own breathing, and every cycle became smooth and smooth, without any sluggishness.
"This is..."
Chu Bai's heart moved, but he did not stop. Instead, following the mysterious feeling, he suddenly increased his swallowing strength.
Boom!
It was as if an invisible barrier had been pierced.
The surrounding aura of gray death and vitality was pouring into his body like hundreds of rivers returning to the sea at this moment. The throughput at this moment was several times greater than before!
At the same time, the familiar panel in my mind trembled slightly, and a line of handwriting underwent a qualitative change.
[Exercise method: Origin Return Formula (Perfect 1/???)]
"Perfection!"
Chu Bai opened his eyes suddenly, filled with uncontrollable joy.
From entry to proficiency, from proficiency to proficiency, and now to perfection. For ordinary monks, this step may require decades of hard training, and even if they spend their entire lives, they may not be able to reach that threshold.
After all, each level of Kung Fu practice requires not only the accumulation of proficiency, but also the understanding of the "Tao". The bottleneck of being able to only understand but not express it has blocked countless people.
"Ordinary Qi Refining monks who can master a major skill are proud of themselves and can be said to have a solid foundation."
"As for the state of perfection... it is truly something that can be encountered but cannot be sought. Only those old monks who are extremely talented or have realized some kind of True Intention can possibly reach it."
Chu Bai feels the Spell Power running like a river in his body, running as he pleases, "And I, relying on [Relentless Toil]'s Fate Destiny, directly ignore all the bottlenecks about 'comprehension'. As long as I keep going and the progress bar is full, the realm will naturally be broken!"
This is his greatest confidence. It comes naturally without any fancy checkpoints.
And...
Chu Bai's eyes fell on the panel again, his eyes slightly focused.
It stands to reason that the word "consummation" represents the end of this skill, with no progress. But after "Origin Return Formula" reached perfection, the progress bar behind it not only did not disappear, but turned into a string of unknown question marks, and the "1" was still beating slowly with his breathing.
"Is there a way beyond perfection?"
Chu Bai was shocked. Does this mean that as long as he continues to work hard, this skill, which can only be regarded as a basic skill in the Great Wall Prefecture Dao Academy, may undergo some kind of transformation and evolve into something unique to him?
But now is not the time to delve into this.
As the technique reaches its perfection, the most intuitive benefit has been revealed - that is, the terrifying speed of cultivation.
Chu Bai closed his eyes again and tried to breathe.
Withered-and-Flourishing Azure Qi, which originally needed careful guidance, now, under the operation of Perfected Level "Origin Return Formula", is like a tamed sheep, integrating into Five-Element Cycle without any hindrance.
The efficiency has more than doubled!
"Originally, it was expected that it would take about forty days to complete the wood energy cultivation."
Chu Bai quickly recalculated the timetable in his mind, "But at the current speed... it will take at most fifty hours before this Withered-and-Flourishing Azure Qi can be completely formed!"
This doesn't just save time.
It also means that in the "big gamble" he made a few months later, his chances of winning have increased by a few points!
"If you want to break out of Graduation Examination, Qi Refining Third Layer is the hard threshold. Only when I reach that level can I be qualified to compete with those third-grade students."
"Now that the technique is complete, this last shortcoming will finally be fixed!"
Chu Bai Take a deep breath and immerse yourself in cultivation again.
Withered and prosperous, life and death flowed endlessly. The wisps of blue-gray spiritual energy grew rapidly in his body, creating the strongest foundation for the upcoming Five-Element Dao Foundation.