Ever since the last assessment ended, all the students admitted to the Elite Group had been allowed to arrange their study schedules themselves.
Therefore, apart from going to the Cultivation Pagoda and seeking the old dean's guidance, all the Elite Group students were staying home in seclusion, making their final preparations for the Four Academies and Ten Palaces Preliminary Exam.
After returning home and explaining the reason to his parents, Bai Yi went straight into seclusion in the Cultivation Room, focusing on refining the remaining Qi-Boosting Pills.
Five days...
Seven days...
Without the support of the dense spiritual energy in the Spirit Land, Bai Yi relied on the Minor Five Elements Art and spent a week barely managing to completely refine all four Qi-Boosting Pills.
Inside the Cultivation Room
Bai Yi closed his eyes and looked inward. The surging Spiritual Power in his Qi Sea and Dantian churned like a great river, washing against the sealed Meridian Shackles. He needed only one last opportunity to break through them and enter the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.
Bai Yi's gaze sharpened. As he breathed, he swallowed the final Qi-Boosting Pill.
The medicinal power spread and was refined. Along with the dense Spiritual Power produced by refining the final Qi-Boosting Pill, his already-full Dantian became like boiling, raging waves. Under Bai Yi's control, it continuously crashed against his Meridian Acupoints.
After a long while, waves of Spiritual Power spread out from his entire body.
As his meridians expanded, droplets of Spiritual Power fell into his Acupoints and filled them, while hazy mist seeped through his body.
Bai Yi abruptly opened his eyes. As a sharp glint flashed from them, the Spiritual Power of the Qi Refining Fifth Layer erupted from within him.
His sword fingers instinctively pointed. The Azure Peak Sword let out a long cry and transformed into a streak of blue light, darting away. As the sword light scattered, fierce winds swirled around him, and Sword Qi swept across the wall, leaving streaks of white marks.
"After breaking through, the power of the Little Breeze Sword Art has increased at least twofold."
"If I encounter that Blood Demon Sect heretic cultivator from that day again, I'll only need one sword strike to break through his many wicked arts and sever his head."
Returning the sword to its scabbard, Bai Yi laughed heartily.
Who could have imagined that just one month ago, he had still been at the Qi Refining, Fourth Layer, pursuing comprehension of Sword Dao Resonance?
Now, in less than a month, he had already entered the Qi Refining Fifth Layer and comprehended a sword art with Dao Resonance Perfection.
"The Dao-Deriving Mirror..."
Bai Yi's mind settled, and he pondered in silence.
Having lived two lifetimes, he already understood that he had been an ordinary person in both. If he wanted to reach the pinnacle of the immortal path, the Dao-Deriving Mirror that had crossed over with him would be his greatest support.
Thinking of this, he already knew where to use the remaining second Enlightenment Glimmer.
Contending for Immortality!
The immortal path was cruel. Only by contending could one succeed!
Contend with people, contend with heaven!
Heaven's Evolution: Forty-Nine, with One Escaping.
Since his talent was insufficient, he would use the Dao-Deriving Mirror and the sword in his hand to contend for that remaining sliver.
With his Dao Path set, Bai Yi felt his mind grow clear. His unstable realm after the breakthrough settled, and the sword in his hand felt ever more familiar and intimate.
"There's still more than a month before the Four Academies and Ten Palaces Preliminary Exam."
"I'll refine the Heart-Questioning Sword first and master the White Rainbow Sword Art, then I'll go to that place."
Bai Yi sat down again. After spending half a day completely familiarizing himself with the power of the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, he sank his consciousness into the Dao-Deriving Mirror deep within his sea of consciousness.
The Enlightenment Glimmer enveloped him. White mist spread, turning the darkness into a sea of clouds filled with Dao Resonance.
The clouds gathered into a human figure. A pure-white cloud sword spiraled upward, and a white rainbow hung high in the sky. It vanished in an instant, leaving only the lingering traces of its sword light.
Sword Shadows overlapped, interweaving like a net as they sealed off every inch of space and darted back and forth.
"The utmost speed... between the white rainbows..."
Bai Yi's consciousness settled into the figure, carefully sensing the connection between the Spiritual Power in his body and the white rainbow sword light.
Compared to the Little Breeze Sword Art, the sword light condensed by the White Rainbow Sword Art far surpassed it, both in solidity and sharpness.
Bai Yi became the human figure and immersed himself in it. The cloud swords and rainbow light darting through the sea of clouds went from unfamiliar to familiar, until a streak of sword light broke through the sea of clouds and the illusory patterns of Dao Resonance faintly emerged within it.
Dao Resonance Minor Accomplishment!
Inside the Cultivation Room, Bai Yi sprang to his feet, and two piercing gazes, sharp as Sword Qi, shot out.
The Azure Peak Sword left its scabbard and slashed out like a streak of light, as swift as lightning. A rainbow glimmer faintly trailed behind its sword point, and in an instant it thrust out a hundred or so times.
Then Sword Qi surged continuously, each strike faster than the last. The illusory sword light gradually solidified into a single point, faintly transforming into a rainbow glow.
Dao Resonance patterns appeared on the sword's body, carving a faint Dao Resonance Imprint.
After several thousand sword strikes, Bai Yi had mastered the White Rainbow Sword Art. He stilled the sword light and returned the Azure Peak Sword to its scabbard, a hint of delight added to his expression.
One had to know that the White Rainbow Sword Art was different from the Little Breeze Sword Art he had practiced for a long time. Aside from his understanding of Sword Dao, it had almost no foundation in terms of its moves.
Even so, one Enlightenment Glimmer had deduced it beyond the level of moves, straight to Dao Resonance Minor Accomplishment.
And the White Rainbow Sword Art truly lived up to its reputation as a sword art marked "extremely difficult" in the No. 2 Middle School Archive Room. It could probably rank among the best of all the Qi Refining Higher Vehicle Arts.
At only Dao Resonance Minor Accomplishment, its sword's might was merely a little weaker than that of the Little Breeze Sword Art at Dao Resonance Perfection.
In terms of the Dao Resonance of heaven and earth, it even surpassed the Little Breeze Sword Art. At the minor accomplishment level, it could already faintly reveal a Dao Resonance Imprint.
After all, the Dao Resonance Minor Accomplishment Fury Art Bai Xiaojing had used last time had only shown the slightest hint of a Dao Resonance Imprint.
"By switching between the styles of the two sword arts, with my current realm, I can kill an ordinary Qi Refining Fifth Layer cultivator with one sword strike."
Bai Yi silently repeated this to himself, then lowered his head and glanced at the time on the Terminal on his wrist. One day had passed.
After exiting the Terminal's seclusion mode, Bai Yi had just opened the Cultivation Room door and walked out when a projected message popped up from the Terminal.
"Student Bai Yi, please come to the Principal's Office-Blue Mountain No. 2 Middle School Academic Affairs Center."
Bai Yi furrowed his brows. In an instant, he thought of the reason, and a rather helpless expression appeared on his face.
"Mom, Dad, I have to go to school first."
"Lunch is almost ready."
"I'll skip it. I already took a Grain-Avoidance Pill yesterday."
Outside the Principal's Office on the top floor of the Academic Affairs Building
Bai Yi arrived at the door and sensed the air gathered in the corridor. Although it couldn't compare to the Cultivation Room, its spiritual energy index was definitely around 150.
And that was only the corridor outside the door. One could imagine what the spiritual energy concentration index inside the room would be.
Glancing at the visitor displayed on the projection screen, Bai Yi, determined not to waste a thing, hurriedly closed his eyes and circulated the Minor Five Elements Art.
Come on, a spiritual energy index of around 150 would cost two or three hundred an hour at a Commercial Cultivation Room outside.
Click...
The electronic door to the Principal's Office opened. Bai Yi settled the circulation of Spiritual Power through his body and had just opened his eyes when he saw Hua Ming standing at the entrance, staring straight at him.
"I didn't expect you to be so easily satisfied."
Hua Ming took three steps in two, coming to a stop in front of Bai Yi. As the Tianhua Group Heir, he had aimed to be the best ever since childhood.
For two years, he had steadily kept Guo Qingqing and Zhang Xingming under his heel.
He hadn't expected Bai Yi to appear out of nowhere and trample him beneath his feet.
"I'll keep waiting for you at the Dueling Arena."
Listening to Hua Ming's words, which sounded like he was talking to himself, Bai Yi wordlessly picked his ear. Were all these family geniuses so competitive?
"Why should I compete with you?"
"One bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills."
"I..."
"Two bottles of Qi-Nourishing Pills, win or lose."
"It's a deal."
Looking at Hua Ming as he raised two fingers without the slightest hesitation, Bai Yi swallowed and readily agreed.
Pills usually came six to a bottle, and one bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills was worth thirty thousand.
Just two bottles of Qi-Nourishing Pills would cover a family of three's living expenses for a whole year.
He could earn sixty thousand from a single duel. He'd take as many offers like this as he could get. After all, sword cultivators had to eat too.
There was nothing shameful about making money.