The security barrier slid open, and a rich surge of spiritual energy rushed toward him.
Without much hesitation, Bai Yi deftly made his way to the Third Area and stopped outside Cultivation Room No. 32. He swiped his wrist again and stepped inside.
"Identity confirmed..."
"Cultivation Room activated. Current spiritual energy density: 189."
"Time remaining: 1 hour, 59 minutes..."
Bai Yi quickly sat on the cushion in the center of the Cultivation Room, crossed his legs, and set down his flying sword. He gradually quieted his mind, emptied his thoughts, and circulated the Minor Five Elements Art, guiding spiritual energy from his Qi Sea through a Lesser Celestial Circuit.
As the Lesser Celestial Circuit turned, specks of spiritual radiance emanated from Bai Yi's body, while three spiraling currents inhaled and exhaled spiritual energy.
As the foundational cultivation method selected by the Immortal Dao Alliance as the most suitable, the Minor Five Elements Art had been continually refined by the Heavenly River Supercomputing Photonic Terminal for nearly ten thousand years. It had been improved and perfected to its current, eighth edition.
It even included the insights and deductions of Spirit Transformation ancestors.
Thus, although it was only the most basic cultivation method for the Qi Refining Stage, its highest realm had already been deduced to the fifth layer, forming five spiraling currents to inhale and exhale spiritual energy.
Ordinarily, Third Year of High School students only needed to reach the second realm to meet the Academy's selection requirements. For each additional layer, they received 50 extra points.
Bai Yi had begun studying the Minor Five Elements Art in middle school and practiced it every day. At last, during the first semester of Second Year of High School, he cultivated it to the Third Layer. His cultivation also broke through to Qi Refining, Fourth Layer-three layers above the Academy's selection requirement-and earned him 50 extra points.
Inside the Cultivation Room, Bai Yi focused his mind on his Qi Sea. The three spiraling currents formed by the Minor Five Elements Art continually devoured spiritual energy and refined it into his body.
An hour later, feeling the spiritual energy that now filled his meridians, Bai Yi sighed and slowly opened his eyes.
"My meridians have already reached their limit for absorbing spiritual energy in such a short time. I'll go home and slowly refine it."
"I still haven't the slightest clue how to develop the Qi Sensation for the Fourth Layer on my own."
"If the Minor Five Elements Art reaches the Fourth Layer, the spiritual energy stored in my meridians can increase by another fifty percent."
Bai Yi looked up at the half hour remaining in the Cultivation Room, rose to his feet, and prepared to practice Swordsmanship.
The entire Lanshan City had been built on a Second-Tier Inferior-Grade spirit vein.
With the whole population cultivating immortality, the spiritual energy environment had rapidly deteriorated under the pressure of Lanshan City's millions of residents. The city's average spiritual energy value was not even up to the standard of 100 for a First-Tier spirit vein.
Aside from the Daoist Grounds of Gu Xing, the Golden Core True Person who guarded Lanshan City, where the spiritual energy reached Second-Tier Superior-Grade, the most concentrated spiritual energy could be found at the five First-Tier Superior-Grade Advanced Dao Studies in Lanshan City.
Thus, all students tried to inhale and exhale as much spiritual energy as possible during their two hours in the Cultivation Pagoda, only stopping once their meridians reached their limit.
Bai Yi formed a sword sign with his fingers. The Azure Edge Sword on his back shuddered and suddenly flew from its sheath, becoming a streak of azure light as it landed in his hand.
A brilliant glint flashed in Bai Yi's eyes. The Azure Edge Sword swept up like a rainbow as he thrust it upward, then he leaped into the air like a drawn bow and brought the blade down behind him in an arc.
The first stance of the Little Breeze Sword Art-Breeze Brushes the Face.
A flash of Sword Light, Bai Yi's form moved with the wind. The Azure Peak Sword in his hand shot out in an instant, cutting countless streaks of azure light through the air.
His toes touched down, and his sword fingers pointed forward.
The flying Azure Edge Sword traced an arc and landed beside Bai Yi.
Bai Yi brought two fingers together like a sword. As spiritual energy glimmered at his index finger, he flicked the blade.
Buzz! Buzz!
The sword rang out. The Azure Peak Sword's light tore through the air, leaving an azure streak in the void.
The Little Breeze Sword Art, Tenth Form—Like Bathed in a Gentle Breeze!
Bai Yi recalled his flying sword and exhaled a breath of stale air. He opened his eyes, a trace of helplessness in his gaze.
"I've been Proficient in the moves for nearly seven months, yet I still can't grasp even a trace of Dao Resonance in the Sword Art."
"If I can grasp even a little Dao Resonance, I'll have a good chance of making the Elite Group this time."
Bai Yi silently thought to himself.
Dao Resonance was the artistic conception and true meaning imbued in all kinds of Daoist Arts and immortal techniques when they were created.
Forge a foundation through stances, give birth to Dao Resonance, and sense the world.
Only a technique imbued with its own Dao Resonance could reveal its true power.
Take his Little Breeze Sword Art, for example. If its power when mastered was 1, then with Dao Resonance, its power could reach 2, or even 3.
There seemed to be only four or five people at No. 2 Middle School who had grasped the Dao Resonance of their respective techniques.
Gathering his thoughts, Bai Yi looked up at the countdown above the Cultivation Room. With less than a minute remaining, he arranged for the intelligent cleaning robot to tidy up.
"Student Bai Yi, your Cultivation Room session has ended for today."
The Cultivation Room's security barrier opened. As soon as Bai Yi stepped out, seven or eight students who had been waiting rushed inside one after another.
After all, getting into the Cultivation Room early to absorb spiritual energy made a world of difference to how efficiently they could refine it at home.
Walking out of the tower through the crowd, Bai Yi moved his mind, and the Azure Edge Sword flew from his back. He leaped onto it, transformed into a streak of azure light, and sped straight toward the hovercar station outside the school.
In the air behind the azure swordlight, two figures guided by talismans and several others surrounded by flickering spell lights also flew toward the area outside the school.
He took the rail hover train back to his residential neighborhood.
After glancing at the somewhat shabby apartment buildings, Bai Yi went straight home.
"Identity verified. Welcome home!"
The door opened. Seeing that his parents were out, Bai Yi turned and walked into the cultivation room in the inner room.
Sitting cross-legged, he circulated the Minor Five Elements Art. Three illusory spiraling currents formed in his Qi Sea, continually inhaling and exhaling the spiritual energy remaining in his meridians and transforming it into his own.
"Heaven and Earth, Five Elements; they illuminate the world and nurture all things. The Dao resides in the heart. Whether much or little, let the original heart remain clear..."
As time passed, he refined spiritual energy.
The Minor Five Elements Art's chant echoed in Bai Yi's mind. The calm Sea of Consciousness gradually stirred.
White mist roiled through his Divine Sense and turned into thin streams that flowed into the ancient bronze mirror at the center of his sea of consciousness, nourishing the rust accumulated upon it over countless ages.
After a long while, just as the white mist of his Divine Sense had been drawn away until only a thin wisp remained, a patch of rust at the corner of the ancient bronze mirror gradually vanished.
As the rust disappeared, one corner of the mirror's surface looked as smooth as jade. The mirror's body took on a purplish-gold hue, and its archaic, mysterious seal-script patterns seemed to have formed naturally. The ancient bronze mirror radiated a hazy spiritual glow, which entered Bai Yi's mind.
"Reflect the world and enact the Dao for all living things..."
Supreme Treasure of the Great Dao-the Dao-Deriving Mirror.
Feeling that hazy, unfixed voice of the Great Dao echoing in his mind, Bai Yi was overjoyed.
Although he had long guessed that the ancient bronze mirror that had crossed worlds with him was no ordinary object, he had never imagined it was a Supreme Treasure of the Great Dao, nurtured by Heaven and Earth and derived from the Great Dao.
"Ten years! Do you know what I've been through these ten years?!"
Bai Yi excitedly threw two punches, then hurriedly recited the Clear-Heart Mantra to calm himself down and carefully sense this Supreme Treasure of the Great Dao.
A few minutes later, after learning the Dao-Deriving Mirror's purpose, Bai Yi's suppressed excitement surged once again.
The Dao-Deriving Mirror was a Supreme Treasure of the Great Dao, just as its name suggested. Its purpose was to evolve the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and help people comprehend it.
He didn't know what had caused it to become damaged and obscured during its long existence, but after ten years of nourishment by Bai Yi's Divine Sense, it had finally recovered an extremely tiny fraction of its power.
"Each month, it produces one wisp of Enlightenment Glimmer to help someone comprehend the Dao."
"It can devour spiritual objects to restore the Dao-Deriving Mirror and shorten the time it takes for the Enlightenment Glimmer to appear."
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