After sheathing his twin swords, Bai Yi sat cross-legged, joy still on his face. He swallowed a pill and continuously circulated the Minor Five Elements Art, restoring his Spiritual Power.
The twin swords rang in unison, three kinds of Dao Resonance intertwined, and Swordlight Transforms into a Rainbow lent its power.
Without the Minor Five Elements Art perfected across five stages and the first level of the Heavy Spirit Scripture, his Spiritual Power would probably have been exhausted after a single strike from his twin swords.
Watching Bai Yi regulate his breathing through his Divine Sense, the white-haired youth seated among the clouds rose unconsciously, his face showing a hint of shock and astonishment.
If the Immortal Alliance's protection of cultivators' privacy weren't strict to the extreme, he would have wanted to use his Divine Sense to investigate with a Magic Art and see just how much strength this little Sword Cultivator had yet to reveal.
"At the Qi Refining Realm, he's not only comprehended Sword Arts with three kinds of Dao Resonance at the Perfection level, he can even combine all three Sword Arts into a single strike!"
"And with the Sword Dao technique of Swordlight Transforms into a Rainbow on top of that, he's just like those Sword Cultivator prodigies from the Sword Sects of the Outer Heavens."
The white-haired youth's gaze flickered. The path of the Sword Cultivator was considered an upper-tier method in the Outer Heavens, and was even famed as the greatest offensive path among cultivators of the same realm.
Though that reputation carried some exaggeration and flattery, it was still seven or eight parts true.
As a result, outstanding and extraordinary Sword Cultivators emerged one after another throughout the Outer Heavens.
By contrast, within the Immortal Alliance, restrictions imposed by the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth meant that even after years of favoring Sword Cultivators in the past, no one had ever used the sword to prove their Dao Essence and become a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Thus, after that favoritism ended, the Sword Cultivator's path gradually fell into the middle tier, while the Great Dao of Talismans, Formations, and Body Refinement flourished in the Immortal Alliance.
Yet this little fellow before him had let him glimpse the beginnings of the Great Dao of the Sword Cultivator!
"This Sword Cultivator brat has great comprehension, but his own realm is too low."
"Compared with those prodigies who've had abundant resources since childhood and are just as exceptionally talented, he still falls short in the entrance examination."
The white-haired youth's thoughts raced. He was both delighted and worried.
He was delighted to have encountered such a promising talent while presiding over the examination, but worried that Bai Yi might refuse to heed his advice and insist on taking the Four Academies and Ten Palaces Entrance Examination.
It had to be said that although Skywave Academy ranked among the best of the First-Rate Academies, its appeal was nowhere near that of the Four Academies and Ten Palaces.
"It's fine. If once doesn't work, I'll try twice, or three times..."
The white-haired youth's expression shifted. If anyone saw a Golden Core True Person wearing such an expression, they would surely be astonished.
His gaze fell on the fiftieth step of the Immortal Ascension Stairway. The white-haired youth was about to flash over and meet Bai Yi, when he saw Bai Yi finish meditating on the step, look up, pause for only a moment, then fly without the slightest hesitation toward the fifty-first level on his sword.
"This..."
Seeing Bai Yi climb again, the white-haired youth's expression froze. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the fourteen statues at the top, his heart pounding with frustration.
The fifty-first step
Bai Yi landed on his sword, and the surrounding environment changed once more. A young man dressed in a crimson Dao Robe appeared before him.
"As expected, the levels above the fiftieth are divided up the same way."
Bai Yi looked up at the end of the Immortal Ascension Stairway, which rose straight into the clouds, and exhaled a breath of Turbid Qi. His two Flying Swords, entwined with three layers of Dao Resonance, immediately flew from their sheaths. After four strikes, they defeated the crimson-robed youth before him.
"Since I've set foot on the Immortal Ascension Stairway, I should see what lies at the end of this cloud ladder."
Bai Yi murmured to himself, sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing, then charged toward the fifty-second level once more.
Fifty-two... fifty-five... fifty-eight...
The plaza
All the Dao Studies principals from every city watched Bai Yi, who had already vanished into the clouds, with rapt attention. They couldn't help murmuring the levels he had passed.
Day and night changed once again, but none of the Dao Studies principals took so much as a break.
"Old Ji, someone from your Dao Studies has reached the fiftieth level."
"Huh? It's fine, it's a transfer student. Don't distract me while I'm watching that Sword Cultivator brat."
On the Immortal Ascension Stairway, after another day and night, many transfer students and outstanding talents rarely seen in Second- and Third-Tier schools finally reached the fiftieth level.
Taking advantage of their pills and talismans, quite a few of them managed to wear down the sect youth and pass the examination.
However, the Dao Students who passed weren't very happy. They could only smile wryly as they looked at Bai Yi, who was already nearing the top.
The fifty-ninth step
Bai Yi's chest heaved, and sweat dripped from his forehead. His two Flying Swords, entwined with three layers of Dao Resonance and empowered by Swordlight Transforms into a Rainbow, swept through the air and crashed down, stirring up layer after layer of Sword Qi.
They formed a sky full of Sword Shadows that swarmed the figure within the Sword Light, whose body was like jade and whose fists and feet were accompanied by Dao Resonance.
Clang! Clang!
The sword edges struck against fists and feet with a crisp sound. Cracks suddenly appeared across the sect youth's jade-like skin.
Seizing the opportunity, Bai Yi pressed his advantage. All his remaining Spiritual Power turned into Sword Qi, and his two Flying Swords brought Sword Shadows crashing again and again against the cracks.
As the cracks grew more pronounced, one sword edge slipped past the sect youth's already sluggish fist and pierced straight through his chest.
The clouds dispersed. Bai Yi, drained of strength, dropped to one knee, his two Flying Swords set on either side to support his body, which had been pushed to its absolute limit.
"If I had to hold on a little longer, I'd be done for."
Watching the sect youth disappear, Bai Yi grimaced as pain tugged at his muscles and Meridians.
He was still suffering from the disadvantage of having a low realm.
Still, though the battle had been difficult, it had deepened his understanding of how the three kinds of Dao Resonance intertwined, and reduced the cost of each sword strike considerably.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have lasted this long.
Bai Yi didn't know that when he struck down the sect disciple, the white-haired youth watching from the clouds had suddenly lost heart. He could only let out a sigh, still holding on to one last shred of hope.
Below, the Old Principal of No. 2 Middle School was surrounded on all sides. Principals from Second-Tier Cities had even asked to arrange student exchanges.
Four hours later
Bai Yi finished regulating his breathing and opened his eyes. Looking at the end of the Immortal Ascension Stairway, where he could now make out a vague black silhouette, he forced down his excitement and flew into the clouds on his sword.
The sea of clouds surged. Bai Yi's figure darted through it, and a pure-white jade pool filled with profound meaning came into view.
In the Heavenly Pool, four towering statues rose into the clouds at its center. Ten more statues stood in two rows on either side of them. Bai Yi looked up, hoping to see their faces, but they remained as indistinct as flowers seen through mist.
He turned in midair and landed on the sixtieth step. The expected clouds did not appear again.
On the entire step, there was nothing but the vast Heavenly Pool, the fourteen statues, and him, alone with a sword on his back.
"Those who arrive may enter the Heavenly Pool and obtain its opportunity..."
An ethereal voice echoed. Bai Yi instinctively looked up. The fourteen statues, each dozens of meters tall, appeared and disappeared behind the clouds, their outlines hazy and extraordinary.
The moment his foot entered the Heavenly Pool, a chill traveled up from his sole, jolting his mind.
Ripples shimmered across the water. Bai Yi walked forward step by step. The instant he entered the center of the statues, the Dao Resonance of all fourteen statues surged, and a pressure like the collapse of the heavens slammed down upon his whole body.
Thud...
Under a pressure comparable to the Golden Core aura from before, Bai Yi's legs suddenly buckled. His whole back felt as though it were bearing a mountain, as if it would crush him completely beneath it.
The veins on Bai Yi's forehead bulged. Spiritual Power roared through his body, and he swiftly straightened his back, taking a step forward.
Boom!
With that single step, the already terrifying pressure surged several times higher. Bai Yi's whole body trembled. He clenched his teeth and struggled to straighten his body as it buckled beneath the weight.
"I... just... want to take my three-foot Azure Edge... and walk over to have a look!"
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