Northern Spirit Plains

Although Northern Spirit Academy was merely an academy, it placed great importance on nurturing its students. Over the years, it had developed a highly effective and systematic method.

Among these methods, practical combat trials were indispensable.

Only real combat could temper one's character and make it increasingly resilient. It was something absolutely essential on the path to becoming strong.

The Northern Spirit Plains were the ideal location Northern Spirit Academy had chosen for practical training.

The Northern Spirit Plains lay northwest of the Northern Spirit Realm, roughly a day's journey from Northern Spirit Academy. This vast region was considered one of the more bustling places in the Northern Spirit Realm. Not only was it filled with all kinds of Spirit Beasts, but it also attracted people from every walk of life, including quite a few notorious criminals.

Though the Northern Spirit Plains were fraught with danger, danger often came with opportunity. Thus, countless people from across the Northern Spirit Realm were drawn here.

However, compared to those hardened individuals, Northern Spirit Academy's students were like innocent little lambs. If they were careless, even someone weaker than them could bring them down. Therefore, every training exercise saw Northern Spirit Academy dispatch considerable strength to protect them in secret.

This time, Instructor Mo and Instructor Xi, the strongest Mentors from the East Academy and West Academy, would lead the team. With two Divine Soul Realm experts overseeing things, unless someone was truly vicious and lawless, no one would dare provoke Northern Spirit Academy's students.

Furthermore, everyone participating in the trial was a Heaven Tier student. So while there would be danger, student deaths would generally not occur. This made all the Heaven Tier students of Northern Spirit Academy extremely interested, and nearly half of them signed up.

Naturally, Liu Bai would not miss such a good opportunity.

"Liu Bai, how are your preparations?" Instructor Xi hurried over. As one of the Mentors leading the team this time, he had plenty to handle.

"Thank you for your concern, Instructor Xi. I'm fully prepared," Liu Bai said with a smile.

"Mm. Let me tell you something quietly. Over the past few days, the headmaster and I have been discussing the selection for the Five Great Academies. This time, Northern Spirit Academy still has five slots. Those Heaven Tier students with a chance of being selected have already begun desperately improving themselves. Zhang Jie, Zhao Pei, Shi Lin, and the others have all been at the late Spirit Movement Realm for quite some time. They may break through to the Spirit Wheel Realm within a month, and they could all become your opponents."

In everyone's eyes at Northern Spirit Academy, Liu Bai's current strength had been raised through medicinal pills...

Although medicinal pills could quickly increase one's spiritual energy cultivation, they were not without side effects. Those who relied on pills to raise their strength would find it far more difficult when facing a breakthrough into a major realm.

Though the people Instructor Xi mentioned were only at the late Spirit Movement Realm and appeared weaker than Liu Bai, everyone believed they would break through faster than someone like Liu Bai, who had taken shortcuts.

Liu Bai naturally did not explain himself. He merely smiled faintly.

Yet that smile was filled with confidence.

"Thank you for telling me, Instructor Xi. But don't worry. Perhaps I'll get lucky and break through during this trial..."

Instructor Xi froze at those words. Then, looking at the confident youth before him, he could not help but laugh.

If someone who had cultivated diligently to the Spirit Movement Realm Peak said that, Instructor Xi would not find it strange at all. The Spirit Movement Realm Peak was only one step away from the Spirit Wheel Realm. Perhaps a single battle was all it would take to cross that threshold naturally.

But Liu Bai's situation was entirely different. What he needed most was to first solidify his "foundation"!

Of course, as a Mentor, Instructor Xi would not dampen his student's enthusiasm. Besides, he could see just how proud this youth was... Perhaps he needed to hit a wall before he could recognize reality.

Before long, Northern Spirit Academy's cultivation party set out. They did not reach the outskirts of the Northern Spirit Plains until near dusk. Since night was already deepening, the two Mentors decided after discussion to set up camp where they were.

Night blanketed the earth, while a bonfire rose in the middle of the camp.

Northern Spirit Academy's students had clearly rarely come to a place like this, so many of them were excited. The entire camp was filled with a lively atmosphere.

Yet this liveliness drew many gazes from the darkness. Most belonged to adventurers. Upon seeing the situation here, they immediately recognized these students as inexperienced rookies. They sneered in the darkness before turning and leaving.

Perhaps in their eyes, these greenhouse flowers from the academy would tremble in terror when faced with vicious Spirit Beasts.

Liu Bai sat cross-legged silently beside the bonfire, gazing into the darkness beyond the camp. It was as though countless devils whispered within that darkness, while bloodthirsty beast roars faintly echoed in his ears.

Compared to the Black Nether Abyss, the Northern Spirit Plains were far inferior.

The terror hidden in the darkness of the former remained vivid in Liu Bai's memory, even though he had experienced it only once...

Quite a few people in the distance were watching Liu Bai, this newly risen genius, but not a single one came over to speak with him.

Ever since entering the Heaven Tier, Liu Bai had acted extremely coldly. To outsiders, he seemed arrogant and aloof. The Heaven Tier students did not care about his status as the young master of Liu Domain, so naturally no one tried to force their way over and become his lackey.

This instead made Liu Bai breathe a sigh of relief. He truly had nothing to say to this group of immature, melodramatic boys. Beautiful girls were an exception, of course...

"Brother Zhang Jie, that's Liu Bai!" Among the East Academy students, a youth surrounded by others looked in Liu Bai's direction after one of his lackeys pointed him out.

When he saw Liu Bai sitting alone by the fire, he immediately let out a scornful laugh.

"So this is the genius said to rival Brother Ling?"

Zhang Jie's gaze was full of disdain. The "Brother Ling" he mentioned was naturally Xu Ling, the current number one at Northern Spirit Academy.

However, Xu Ling was in secluded cultivation, attempting to break through to the middle Spirit Wheel Realm. He had no interest in participating in any trial and naturally had not come along.

This Zhang Jie was one of the people Instructor Xi had said could threaten Liu Bai. He was also one of the leaders among the East Academy Heaven Tier students, along with Shi Lin, who was also from the East Academy.

By comparison, the West Academy had Zhao Pei and Li Yuan, both at the late Spirit Movement Realm. Counting Liu Bai, the West Academy held the advantage among those participating in this trial.

Unfortunately, Liu Bai had been extremely unsociable from the start, so Zhao Pei and Li Yuan had never considered joining forces with him.

"Don't mind him. He's just someone relying on his family's power. He might piss himself the moment he enters the Northern Spirit Plains and sees those vicious creatures. Our only opponents are Zhao Pei and Li Yuan. Keep a close eye on them!"

Since it was a trial, there would naturally be rankings. Thus, both the East and West Academies were eager to show off and compete for first place.

Just as the group of brats gathered together to make their plans, Instructor Xi and Instructor Mo appeared before the West Academy and East Academy students at the same time. With a wave of their hands, they gathered everyone together.

"This will be our camp during this cultivation trip to the Northern Spirit Plains." Instructor Mo swept his gaze over everyone, then continued, "Tomorrow, you will set out from here and directly engage the Spirit Beasts within the Northern Spirit Plains. Before that, I must remind you that although the outskirts mostly contain low-level Spirit Beasts, you must still work together to deal with them."

They were, after all, a group of lambs who had never seen blood. Some of them might indeed possess cultivation equal to low-level Spirit Beasts, but their severe lack of combat experience was their most fatal weakness. Naturally, the academy encouraged everyone to act in groups.

Everyone listened intently to the Mentor's words. Though they were young, they were not fools. They knew how important this was to them, so no one dared let their mind wander.

"Low-level Spirit Beasts possess roughly the strength of the Spirit Movement Realm. Intermediate Spirit Beasts are at the Spirit Wheel Realm, while high-level Spirit Beasts are comparable to the Divine Soul Realm. High-level Spirit Beasts exist deep within the Northern Spirit Plains, so you absolutely must not venture too far inside!"

At this point, Instructor Mo's voice became stern, ensuring that every student would remember his words.

Everyone nodded repeatedly. They were not foolish enough to gamble with their lives. Forget high-level Spirit Beasts—even if they encountered an intermediate Spirit Beast, they would only run as far away as possible.

"For this cultivation trip, every member of the top three teams in the final rankings will receive a Spirit Nurturing Pill."

After Instructor Mo played the stern role, Instructor Xi, who was responsible for being encouraging, began introducing the rewards for this trial.

Seeing the eyes of the youths brighten at once, Instructor Xi smiled. "So if you want good results, cooperate well with your companions. With your current strength, you must rely on teamwork if you want to thrive in the outskirts of the Northern Spirit Plains."

"Yes!"

The students answered in unison.

"Oh, right. Don't forget to collect the essence souls after killing Spirit Beasts. Although no Divine Soul Realm expert would be interested in refining the essence souls of low-level Spirit Beasts, they will be used to assess your results."

After the two Mentors finished their explanation, everyone became even more excited. One after another, they began teaming up with their friends.

Of course, some people wanted to team up with Liu Bai as well.

No matter what, he was still the strongest person present in terms of cultivation. Those at the early or middle Spirit Movement Realm felt that following him could not possibly be a disadvantage.

Unfortunately, Liu Bai had no intention of finding burdens for himself, so he rejected every one of them without hesitation.

This even included Ming Die, the most sought-after girl in the West Academy... The sight made quite a few people burn with anger.

They could not even manage to team up with Ming Die, yet this fellow had so casually thrown away the opportunity they longed for...

Liu Bai could only shake his head speechlessly.

Though he was always gentle toward beautiful girls, Ming Die's appearance was merely above average in his eyes. She was even slightly inferior to Hong Ling, the shy girl from before.

Perhaps in another year or two, once Hong Ling entered the West Academy Heaven Tier, the title of "West Academy's flower" would immediately change hands.

The next morning, Northern Spirit Academy's many students set out under their Mentors' instructions.

Most formed pairs or teams of three, disappearing one after another into the lush forest of the Northern Spirit Plains.

The only exception was Liu Bai, who stood alone. The sight made both Mentors frown.

Liu Bai paid them no mind. He did not follow the majority and charge mindlessly into the forest.

Back in the Black Nether Abyss, he had learned quite a bit of wilderness survival knowledge from his second uncle. He also knew how to locate those cunning Spirit Beasts.

They were still at the outermost edge of the Northern Spirit Plains. To find Spirit Beasts, he had to go deeper.

Liu Bai moved swiftly through the forest like an agile leopard.

From time to time, he stopped to inspect special traces left in concealed spots on the ground.

As he continued deeper, the traces left by Spirit Beasts became increasingly obvious. Without much effort, Liu Bai found his first prey.

It was a fox about the size of a full-grown dog, drinking from a small stream. Its fur was green, and whenever its tail swayed, faint green currents seemed to swirl around it.

"A Wind Fox..."

It was a common low-level Spirit Beast. Its green fur was quite beloved by female cultivators. More importantly, if one used Wind Fox fur to make a set of leather armor, its unique wind-controlling ability could increase the wearer's speed by as much as thirty percent.

It was considered one of the more valuable low-level Spirit Beasts.

However, because it was extremely fast, it was difficult to capture. Even a seasoned adventurer team needed thorough preparations for a chance at catching one.

"In that case, I only have one chance to strike!"

Liu Bai pondered silently.

If he missed, he would never be able to catch up with the Wind Fox's speed.

Although his Blazing Step had tremendous explosive power and incredible instantaneous speed, it was not suitable for prolonged pursuit. Besides, he was alone in the Northern Spirit Plains, so he naturally had to conserve his spiritual energy.

After slowly approaching within thirty meters, Liu Bai stopped. If he got any closer, he would definitely be discovered. It was time to prepare his attack.

Perhaps the Wind Fox's unique senses had detected something. The Wind Fox, which had been drinking with its head lowered, suddenly lifted its head. Its lively eyes warily looked in another direction...

Liu Bai's heart stirred at the sight, and he immediately stopped moving.

At the same time, two figures suddenly burst from the bushes in the direction the Wind Fox was looking. Each held one side of a Great Net, which they cast directly over the Wind Fox.