Selection

Inside the Liu Family's Cultivation Chamber.

Liu Bai looked at his status panel. After hesitating for a long while, he made his choice.

"Choose... dual cultivation!"

"Ding. The requirements for dual cultivation have not been met. Please raise the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art to Minor Accomplishment before selecting this option."

!

That dramatic pause left Liu Bai utterly speechless.

"Ice Muscle Jade Bone, integrating all methods into the body... so that was what it meant..."

Liu Bai suddenly understood.

Although the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art was also a body-tempering Cultivation Method, it was clearly different from the Thunder God Body or the Dragon Phoenix True Scripture cultivated by Mu Chen in the original story.

At that moment, Liu Bai gained a more intuitive understanding of the two sentences at the beginning of the Divine Art.

After thinking it over, Liu Bai did not hesitate and directly chose to upgrade the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art...

Player: Liu Bai

Realm: Spirit Wheel Realm Initial Stage

Profession: Spirit Array Master (Level 1 Spirit Array Master)

Spirit Veins: Two Person Vein (12/500)

Physique: Spirit Muscle Jade Bone

Cultivation Methods: Blazing Sun Art (Fifth Layer 2650/2700); Hundred Scrolls of Array Dao: Upper Volume (Initiation · Heart Array Beginner 0/1200); Low Grade Body Tempering Divine Art · Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art (Minor Accomplishment 0/6000); Mountain God Art (Not Initiated 0/200)

Skills:

Mortal Grade High Rank Wind Breaking Finger (Great Accomplishment); Mortal Grade High Rank Senluo Death Seal (Great Accomplishment); Spirit Grade Low Rank Star Shattering Fist (Initiation 23/100); Spirit Grade Low Rank Blazing Step (Great Accomplishment 5/1500); Spirit-grade High-tier Great Sun Sea Burning Palm (Minor Accomplishment 0/1200)

Arrays:

Flame Serpent Spirit Breaking Array (Great Accomplishment)

Experience Points: 3025

Beast Soul Points: 68

"Eh? Upgrading the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art can actually promote the awakening of my Spirit Veins?"

This was truly an unexpected delight.

It seemed that the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art was mainly meant to improve one's aptitude, rather than being directly usable in battle like the Thunder God Body.

Liu Bai focused inwardly and observed the changes in his body.

The most obvious change was that his flesh, blood, and bones were now covered in a lustrous, gentle white radiance. His bones, which should have been pale, now possessed a texture as though they were made of white jade.

Perhaps one day, all the bones in his body would become like that skeleton's, truly transforming into white jade.

Only then would it count as true "Ice Muscle Jade Bone."

Of course, the changes in Liu Bai's body had not yet ended.

The Spirit Wheel that had originally been within his Sea of Qi spun rapidly. Then it transformed into a dazzling flame and, guided by a streak of fluorescent light, began swiftly rising upward until it finally settled within his Heart Aperture.

"This is... among the Five Elements, the heart belongs to fire. The spiritual energy cultivated by the Blazing Sun Art is inherently fire-element power, so it belongs to the Heart Aperture?"

But what about his Sea of Qi?

After all, in the spiritual energy system of the Great Thousand World, everything evolved within the Sea of Qi.

For example, the Divine Soul after the Spirit Wheel Realm condensed within the Sea of Qi. Even the Supreme Sea was later opened directly upon the foundation of the Sea of Qi.

"This..."

When Liu Bai focused once more on his Sea of Qi, he immediately felt bewildered.

Because at that moment, there was also an enormous Light Wheel slowly revolving through the void within his Sea of Qi...

"Two?" Liu Bai was rendered speechless.

If he cultivated the Mountain God Art as well, would a third one appear?

Then what about the "water element" in the future? The "metal element"? The "wood element"?

Or perhaps some other attributes...

After sensing the spiritual energy in his body, Liu Bai discovered that it was fully twice as abundant as before!

If they were judging purely by the quantity of spiritual energy, he could probably now rival someone at the late Spirit Wheel Realm...

While this delighted Liu Bai, it also gave him a bold idea.

"Add points to the Mountain God Art!"

"Ding. Congratulations, Player, you have used 200 Experience Points. The Mountain God Art has reached Initiation."

Along with the system's voice, Liu Bai clearly sensed the Spirit Wheel within his Sea of Qi spinning rapidly. Then, a smaller Spirit Wheel surrounded by an earthy yellow glow separated from it and swiftly headed toward his Spleen Aperture.

"Among the Five Elements, the heart belongs to fire, the lungs to metal, the liver to wood, the spleen to earth, and the kidneys to water. I don't know what will happen with the other attributes, but what if I gather all Five Elements?"

Liu Bai continued pondering this. Unfortunately, that would only place him under even greater pressure. Simply gathering Cultivation Methods for all Five Elements would not be easy.

Although the initiation-level Mountain God Art had already condensed a Spirit Wheel, it was still far inferior to the Blazing Sun Spirit Wheel within his Heart Aperture.

However, this was only natural. It was merely the first layer at Initiation. Although it was a Spirit-grade High-tier Cultivation Method, it was currently only equivalent to the spiritual energy of the Spirit Movement Realm Mid-stage. Liu Bai therefore did not hesitate at all and directly invested another 1,500 Experience Points, raising it to the second layer.

Boom!

Liu Bai felt his entire body tremble as his spiritual energy surged explosively, directly reaching the Spirit Wheel Realm!

Then, a mountain-like heaviness spread through the spiritual energy in his body, making him feel as though his entire body had become sturdier.

This was naturally the effect of cultivating the Mountain God Art. His whole person now carried an imposing aura as immovable as a mountain.

"A Spirit-grade High-tier Cultivation Method really is powerful!"

Furthermore, the Mountain God Art came with a Spirit-grade High-tier Attack Spiritual Art, the Mountain Shaking Divine Fist. Its power was even thirty percent greater than the Great Sun Sea Burning Palm.

Liu Bai looked inward at his Sea of Qi and discovered that his Spirit Wheel had expanded by more than double. Even the spiritual energy within the bodies of Spirit Wheel Realm peak experts likely could not compare to his.

Within the void of his Sea of Qi, two ethereal threads of spiritual energy extended downward from above, ultimately connecting to the two Spirit Wheels within his Heart Aperture and Spleen Aperture.

The crimson and yellow Spirit Wheels resembled two tiny vortices, continuously rotating as they crazily absorbed spiritual energy from the outside world. They then converted it into earth-element and fire-element spiritual energy, supplying his Sea of Qi.

"The Five Elements generate one another. Fire generates earth, earth generates metal. Next, I need to find a suitable metal-element Cultivation Method."

As long as he gathered all Five Elements, even if he could not obtain a Cultivation Method comparable to the top-tier spiritual arts of ancient Divine Canon level like the Great Pagoda Art, the Five Elements Power should still ensure that he would not fall too far behind in terms of strength.

It was obvious from the original story that the Pagoda Tower cultivated through the later stages of the Great Pagoda Art was practically bug-like. Not only did it possess the strongest defense, it also had extreme sealing power.

This was also Mu Chen's greatest support, allowing him to casually fight above his level and even defeat ten enemies alone.

Looking at his remaining Experience Points, Liu Bai also raised the Mountain Shaking Divine Fist to Minor Accomplishment. The abundance of spiritual energy within his body was now comparable to that of a Divine Soul Realm expert, giving him more opportunities to use high-level Attack Spiritual Arts. Naturally, he would not overlook the Mountain Shaking Divine Fist's power.

Player: Liu Bai

Realm: Spirit Wheel Realm Initial Stage

Profession: Spirit Array Master (Level 1 Spirit Array Master)

Spirit Veins: Two Person Vein (12/500)

Physique: Spirit Muscle Jade Bone

Cultivation Methods: Blazing Sun Art (Fifth Layer 2650/2700); Hundred Scrolls of Array Dao: Upper Volume (Initiation · Heart Array Beginner 0/1200); Low Grade Body Tempering Divine Art · Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art (Minor Accomplishment 0/6000); Mountain God Art (Second Layer 0/3200)

Skills:

... Spirit Grade Low Rank Star Shattering Fist (Initiation 23/100); Spirit Grade Low Rank Blazing Step (Great Accomplishment 5/1500); Spirit-grade High-tier Great Sun Sea Burning Palm (Minor Accomplishment 0/1200); Spirit-grade High-tier Mountain Shaking Divine Fist (Minor Accomplishment 0/1200)

Arrays:

Flame Serpent Spirit Breaking Array (Great Accomplishment)

Experience Points: 725

Beast Soul Points: 68

For the next half month, Liu Bai did not take a single step outside the Cultivation Chamber.

Through his own efforts, he pushed the Blazing Sun Art to the sixth layer, and his cultivation naturally advanced to the Spirit Wheel Realm Mid-stage.

For the rest of the time, Liu Bai continued cultivating the Mountain God Art.

Driven by his fire-element spiritual energy, the speed at which his earth-element spiritual energy condensed reached a startling level. During that half month, he had accumulated over 1,500 Experience Points.

Although he had not advanced to the next layer, the earth-element spiritual energy cultivated by the Mountain God Art was now no weaker than the fire-element spiritual energy of the Blazing Sun Art. This was the advantage brought by a higher-grade Cultivation Method.

"Bai'er!"

Outside the cultivation room, Liu Qingtian called out the moment he sensed that his son had stopped cultivating.

Hearing this, Liu Bai pushed open the door and walked outside. He saw his father and two younger brothers standing there, all staring at him with burning eyes.

"Father." Liu Bai saluted him.

Before Liu Qingtian could speak, little Liu Yang excitedly shouted, "Big Brother, Big Brother, did you break through again? Did you get stronger again?"

The boy could only temper his body at home with basic fist techniques. He was not even capable of sensing spiritual energy yet, so he did not qualify to enter Northern Spirit Academy.

"Mm, I only just broke through." Liu Bai rubbed the little brat's head and spoke calmly as the other boy grinned foolishly.

However, his words caused a flash of envy to pass through Liu Mubai's eyes.

His eldest brother's cultivation speed over the past few months had truly been absurd...

"Mu Bai, I see that the spiritual energy in your eyes is now restrained. You should be close to drawing spiritual energy into your body, right?"

It had to be said that, aside from Liu Bai, who had cheats, Liu Mubai possessed the best talent in the Liu Family. Even according to the original story, if the Liu Family had not been destroyed, reaching the Three Heavens Realm in the future would have been virtually guaranteed.

If he encountered an opportunity, he might even be able to make a run at becoming a Supreme.

"At most ten days, Big Brother. I'll be able to draw spiritual energy into my body and advance into the Spirit Movement Realm!" Liu Mubai declared confidently.

After all, he had only been in the Northern Spirit Realm for half a year. This cultivation speed was fully twice as fast as Liu Bai's...

"Good, good! Seeing all you brothers grow one after another fills your old man's heart with joy!" Liu Qingtian looked at his three sons and immediately felt his spirits soar.

"Hmph. Once your grandfather advances into the Three Heavens Realm, this Northern Spirit Realm will belong to our Liu Family!"

Liu Bai was instantly speechless.

Seeing how full of heroic spirit you were just now, I thought you were about to say something grand. That was it?

"Father, broaden your horizons. Don't just fixate on this tiny patch of the Northern Spirit Realm..."

Liu Bai's words startled Liu Qingtian. After considering them, he said, "Bai'er, are you talking about the entire Hundred Spirits Heaven? Wouldn't that be too risky? As far as I know, there are Supreme experts within Hundred Spirits Heaven. They are beings far stronger than those in the Three Heavens Realm!"

Now it was Liu Bai's turn to scratch his head. In his father's eyes, was a Supreme already an invincible existence?

How was this supposed to work?

"Father, let's not think about such matters for now. Whether it's the Northern Spirit Realm or Hundred Spirits Heaven, both are still too far away from the current Liu Family. Perhaps after I return from the Five Great Academies, we can discuss the future of the Liu Domain."

From beginning to end, Liu Bai had never planned to develop on the Hundred Spirits Continent, because the ruler of that continent was the Northern Mysterious Sect... a superpower controlling four continents, with two Heavenly Sovereigns.

Although they had been easily defeated by Mu Chen and his mother in the original story and had even been forced to relinquish the Hundred Spirits Continent, Liu Bai could not afford to provoke such an existence anytime soon.

As for submitting to the Northern Mysterious Sect, Liu Bai had never considered it.

Liu Qingtian's eyes lit up. "Right, right. I was too hasty. Bai'er, your entry into the Five Great Academies this time is absolutely certain. After cultivating there for a few years, perhaps you might even reach the Three Heavens Realm before your grandfather!"

The thought made Liu Qingtian even happier.

Liu Bai could only shake his head helplessly. "Father, you didn't call me out just to talk about this, did you?"

"Oh, right, right. Northern Spirit Academy sent word that the selection for the Five Great Academies' spots is about to begin. Instructor Xi asked you to prepare to return to the academy."

"Also, I got you several array diagrams that you wanted, though they are all first-grade array diagrams. There is only one Second-Grade Spirit Array..."

Now Liu Bai was the one who became delighted.

Although he could now support even a Third-Grade Spirit Array, unfortunately, he did not have any array diagrams...

Looking at the three Jade Slips before him, Liu Bai reached out and picked one up.

"Ding. First-Grade Spirit Array Wolf Spirit God Striking Array discovered. Would you like to record it?"

The next one...

"Ding. First-Grade Spirit Array Nine Heavens Thunder Spirit Array discovered. Would you like to record it?"

"Ding. Second-Grade Spirit Array Five Wheel Sky Splitting Array discovered. Would you like to record it?"

Very good. All three Spirit Arrays were powerful offensive arrays. Even the one requiring the fewest Spirit Seals needed at least twenty Spirit Seals to activate. It was clear that the two First-Grade Spirit Arrays could display power comparable to a Second-Grade Spirit Array.

"Record them all!"

As Liu Bai's mental command fell, three more arrays appeared on his system panel. The Experience Points needed to reach Initiation happened to be just enough, so Liu Bai did not save them and directly invested them.

Looking at his status panel change once again, Liu Bai smiled.

"The Five Great Academies... here I come!"

Northern Spirit Academy, West Academy, cultivation grounds.

At this moment, quite a few people had gathered here. Nearly every student still in the Heaven Tier had arrived, including those fellows who normally appeared and vanished without a trace.

Liu Bai stood there, and several people were now gathered around him. Unlike before, he was no longer alone.

"Brother Bai, I heard that after their cultivation ended, Zhao Pei, Li Yuan, and the others directly joined an adventure squad and cultivated for another month in the Northern Spirit Plains. They may have already entered the Spirit Wheel Realm by now!"

A young man with a solemn expression informed Liu Bai of the news he had learned.