The Red-clad Girl

Looking at the palm strike before him, brimming with icy spiritual energy, Liu Bai could not help raising an eyebrow.

Of course, it was not because the strike was particularly powerful, but because its name had caught his attention...

"Actually, I suggest changing the name of this spiritual art to 'Heavenly Frost Fist.'"

After teasing him, Liu Bai leaped straight into the air. Crimson spiritual energy surged around his foot as he brought down a heavy, forceful kick.

There was no technique to this move at all. He was simply using his overwhelming spiritual energy to bully his opponent.

Boom!

The shockwave produced by the collision of the two bursts of spiritual energy made even those standing near the arena feel pain on their faces.

At that moment, Tao Gu was kneeling on one knee, both arms crossed above his head in defense.

Where his arms crossed, a straight, long leg pressed him firmly down, leaving him unable to move.

"Hmm?!"

On the viewing platform, Instructor Mo's expression changed. He shot Instructor Xi an incredulous glance and could not help saying, "Liu Bai has actually broken through to the Spirit Movement Realm Peak?"

Instructor Xi wore a calm smile. "That's right. Didn't that kid return home some time ago? When he came back, his cultivation had already reached this point. Even I was startled at the time."

"Hmph!" Instructor Mo snorted coldly.

"With Spirit Movement Realm Peak cultivation, he could rank among the top three even in the Heaven Tier. Letting him take part in the Earth Tier Academy Trial—isn't that a little too unfair?"

Instructor Xi gave him an indifferent look and said calmly, "But he is indeed an Earth Tier student. If he does not pass the Academy Trial, how else can he advance to the Heaven Tier? Or does Instructor Mo intend to break the academy's rules?"

Faced with Instructor Xi's sharp retort, Instructor Mo had no response, though his expression was far from pleasant.

"Hehe, Northern Spirit Academy has produced so many talented students this time. It is all thanks to the two of you." Dean Xiao did not take either side and simply changed the subject.

"The Spirit Road has already ended, and the Five Great Academies have begun their recruitment. I hope Northern Spirit Academy will have a few more students successfully enter the Five Great Academies this time."

Although the Northern Spirit Realm had slots to enter the Five Great Academies, the requirements were extremely strict. One had to possess Spirit Wheel Realm cultivation before turning eighteen.

Of course, that was merely the basic requirement. There would still be all kinds of tests afterward...

Those tests were nothing like the minor scuffles within their academy. Not only were they much more difficult, they were also far more dangerous. Participants might even encounter the supreme geniuses who had passed through the Spirit Road. Death was a real possibility during such examinations, which was why Dean Xiao sighed with such feeling.

On the arena, the victor had already been decided during the three men's conversation.

At that moment, Tao Gu was surrounded by several Earth Tier students from the East Academy, soft words of comfort sounding beside his ears.

Unfortunately, he could not hear any of it. All he felt was an unprecedented humiliation rising in his heart, and he nearly crushed his teeth from gritting them.

Yet when he recalled how he had been pinned down on the arena by just one of his opponent's legs, unable to move at all, immense fear rose in his heart again, making his entire body tremble slightly.

"Tsk, tsk. Was that a little too much..." Liu Bai glanced at him, shook his head, and promptly put him out of mind.

"Big Brother, you're amazing!"

Liu Mubai looked at his elder brother with excitement. His handsome yet youthful face was flushed red, and he was clearly even happier than Liu Bai himself.

"Hehe, just average. Mu Bai, you need to work hard. One day, you'll definitely surpass Big Brother."

Patting his little brother on the shoulder, Liu Bai said something he did not believe himself.

Still, he was just a child. A little praise at the right time would give him motivation.

And sure enough, Liu Bai's words worked wonderfully.

"Mhm, mhm! Don't worry, Big Brother. I definitely won't disappoint you!" Liu Mubai clenched his fists and looked at his elder brother with blazing eyes.

From this day onward, his big brother would be the only goal he wished to surpass!

By the end of the day, the Earth Tier Academy Trial at Northern Spirit Academy had also concluded.

Not many people had truly passed and advanced to the Heaven Tier this time. The West Academy only had Liu Bai, while the East Academy did slightly better, producing Tao Gu and Lin Xuan, for a total of three people.

Of course, this was also because their cohort had not been at Northern Spirit Academy for long.

But that only made the talent of Liu Bai and the other two stand out even more.

Liu Bai in particular had become a prominent figure in the Heaven Tier despite having only just entered it. Not only were the senior students of the West Academy paying attention to him, but the East Academy was as well. Even Xu Ling, the current strongest Heaven Tier student of the East Academy and the most powerful student in all of Northern Spirit Academy, had taken notice of this junior.

"He reached the Spirit Movement Realm Peak in only a few days... It seems he took pills that can increase cultivation. As expected of the young master of the Northern Spirit Realm's largest domain. He certainly has abundant resources." Dressed in white, Xu Ling listened to the information gathered by one of his lackeys and sneered inwardly.

"It seems Liu Bai is also aiming for the Five Great Academies' slots this time. Otherwise, he would not have done something so shortsighted as forcefully raising his cultivation. But how much power can cultivation raised through pills really possess... I hope he does not get stuck at the Spirit Wheel Realm. That would be laughable!"

Clearly, as the current number one of Northern Spirit Academy, Xu Ling had already reached the Spirit Wheel Realm Initial Stage. More importantly, he had only just turned seventeen. His sights had always been set on the Five Great Academies, so he did not care in the slightest about some young master of the Liu Domain or some genius who broke through three realms in five days.

He was confident that he could advance to the Spirit Wheel Realm Middle Stage before the competition for the slots began. Even if others also broke through to the Spirit Wheel Realm by then, how could people who had only just entered the realm compare with him? No matter how many slots there were this time, one of them would definitely be his.

Naturally, Liu Bai knew nothing of this. At that moment, he was preparing to head to the Heaven Tier to report in...

Though both the Heaven Tier and Earth Tier were within Northern Spirit Academy, they were not located in the same place. After all, most Earth Tier students were merely little kids still in the Sensing Realm. Their gap with the Heaven Tier seniors was too great, and keeping them together would inevitably lead to problems.

Meanwhile, the two Mentors, Instructor Xi and Instructor Mo, spent most of their time in the Heaven Tier, guiding the Heaven Tier students. As for the Earth Tier, they would often simply choose a talented leader and have the others cultivate under that person's lead.

Mu Chen had been such a figure in the original story, which was why the entire East Academy Earth Tier had followed his lead.

On a pebble path shaded by trees, Liu Bai strolled along at an unhurried pace, his gaze occasionally sweeping over the scenery on either side.

"Senior Liu Bai."

A sweet voice suddenly sounded ahead, immediately drawing Liu Bai's attention.

A Red-clad Girl appeared in Liu Bai's line of sight. She was slender, with skin as fair as snow. Her beautiful oval face carried a faintly alluring charm, especially with her timid appearance at that moment, which made Liu Bai's eyes light up.

"You are?"

Liu Bai looked at the beautiful girl before him in confusion, for she appeared to be a new student based on her age.

"My name is Hong Ling. My father is the Domain Lord of the Hong Domain. We met before..." Seeing that Liu Bai had actually forgotten even her name, the girl immediately looked a little hurt.

"Hong Ling..."

Liu Bai suddenly remembered. There really was such a girl in his memories. They had met during the Nine Domains Assembly, though he had not paid attention to her at the time.

It seemed that in the original story, she had been Mu Chen's childhood sweetheart. Little Mu Chen seemed to like her very much, but later, due to the worsening relationship between the Mu Domain and the Hong Domain, the two had lost contact.

"So it's Hong Ling. I remember now. I didn't expect you to enter Northern Spirit Academy too. You're in the same cohort as Mu Bai, then."

A warm smile appeared on Liu Bai's face. Though his memories of her were pitifully few and she was little more than a stranger he had met once, she was still a genuinely beautiful girl...

Liu Bai had always liked cute and beautiful things.

"Mhm, yes. I... I came to congratulate you on taking first place in the Academy Trial, Senior." At that moment, the girl felt as if she were melting in the face of the young man's gentle smile. Her pretty face was completely dyed crimson, her eyes fixed on the tips of her shoes as her little hands kept kneading her red skirt, too shy to know how to speak.

Liu Bai chuckled inwardly at the sight. In the end, she was only a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl. Facing the boy she admired, she was so bashful.

"Thank you, Junior Hong Ling. But I should be going. I still need to report to the Heaven Tier. We can chat again when there's a chance. Cultivate well at the academy..." Liu Bai had no time to play innocent romance games with a little girl. Leaving behind a smile, he continued walking forward.

"..."

Watching the boy's departing back, Hong Ling anxiously tried to speak, but it felt as though something had blocked her throat, leaving her unable to say a single word.

In the end, the girl could only give up in dejection. Her whole body seemed to lose its spirit, becoming listless and slack...

"Hong Ling, you're so stupid. So stupid!"

Irritated, the girl thumped her own head twice before silently heading toward the Earth Tier Training Ground.

Yet when she recalled the gentle smile on the boy's face as he left, her previously lonely figure gradually lost its gloom, quickly becoming cheerful and delighted once more.

Sure enough, the hearts of thirteen- and fourteen-year-old girls were always unpredictable.

After walking for around ten minutes, Liu Bai saw a grand and imposing hall ahead.

Quite a few students were coming and going outside the hall. It was much livelier than outside...

"This is... a Spirit Gathering Array? And its level isn't low either..."

Even Liu Bai could clearly sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth outside being drawn by some unseen force and rapidly flowing into the hall before him.

The only reason for such a phenomenon was that someone had set up a Spirit Gathering Array in the hall.

The Liu Domain naturally had its own Spirit Gathering Array. Back then, Liu Jingshan had spent a considerable price to invite several Spirit Array Masters to set up a Level Two Spirit Gathering Array.

Yet just judging from the speed and quantity at which it gathered spiritual energy, the Liu Domain's Spirit Gathering Array was far inferior to the one in this hall. This great array was likely a Level Three Spirit Gathering Array.

"Hehe, you must be Junior Liu Bai, right? Instructor Xi asked me to come fetch you."

A voice sounded beside Liu Bai. Then, a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old youth in a green training outfit walked over with a smile.

"May I ask who you are, Senior?" Liu Bai cupped his hands toward the youth.

"My name is Liu Xing. Just call me Senior Liu. I'm a Heaven Tier student from our West Academy..." Liu Xing introduced himself.

"Instructor Xi was called away by the dean to discuss something, so he asked me to familiarize you with the Heaven Tier."

Hearing this, Liu Bai nodded.

"Hehe, since we're here, let me first introduce this Cultivation Hall to you, Junior..."

"This cultivation hall is an important place of Northern Spirit Academy. Only Heaven Tier students are qualified to enter. Northern Spirit Academy spent a great price to invite a Spirit Array Master from the Five Great Academies to set up a Level Three Spirit Gathering Array within it. This is the only Level Three Spirit Gathering Array in the entire Northern Spirit Realm."

Liu Bai nodded. It seemed his guess had been correct.

He had simply not expected this Level Three Spirit Gathering Array to have been set up by the Five Great Academies.

Still, that was normal. After all, there were no Spirit Array Masters in the Northern Spirit Realm capable of setting up a Level Three array.

"I heard the Five Great Academies even have Level Six Spirit Gathering Arrays and ones of even higher level. Cultivating there would be incomparable to cultivating outside." Liu Xing spoke with longing. He had personally experienced the effects of this Level Three Spirit Gathering Array, but the legendary Level Six Spirit Gathering Array was truly beyond imagination.

Unfortunately, Liu Xing was already over eighteen, while his strength had only reached the late Spirit Movement Realm. He had no hope of entering the Five Great Academies and could only muddle along until graduating from Northern Spirit Academy.

"Junior Liu Bai, do you want to go into this Cultivation Hall first, or look around elsewhere? Oh, right. Instructor Xi said the matter he promised you has already been settled. You can take this jade pendant and claim it whenever you wish."

As he spoke, Liu Xing handed Liu Bai a jade pendant. Though the pendant itself was ordinary, it emitted a familiar spiritual energy aura—the spiritual imprint left by Instructor Xi.

Liu Bai's eyes lit up at the sight. He accepted the jade pendant and said, "Senior Liu Xing, you don't need to accompany me from here on. I'm planning to visit the Spiritual Art Chamber."

Liu Xing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The Cultivation Hall was about to open, and he had been planning to secure a good spot early. Hearing that Liu Bai did not need him, he was naturally more than happy.

"Alright, then go ahead, Junior Liu Bai. If there's anything you don't understand in the future, come find me. I'll tell you everything I know!"

After bidding farewell to Senior Liu Xing, Liu Bai headed straight toward the Spiritual Art Chamber.

Liu Bai had been here before. He had learned his Wind Breaking Finger in the Spiritual Art Chamber.

The moment he entered the Spiritual Art Chamber, Liu Bai saw many students flipping through spiritual arts in the spacious area on this floor. After all, not everyone had a Domain Lord for a father, so Northern Spirit Academy's Spiritual Art Chamber was their only way to obtain powerful spiritual arts.

He found the Mentor in charge of managing the Spiritual Art Chamber and presented Instructor Xi's jade pendant. The other party did not make things difficult for Liu Bai and directly allowed him to go to the Heaven Layer to choose a spiritual art.

Although Northern Spirit Academy's spiritual arts were open to all students, one needed a Mentor's approval to browse Spirit Grade Spiritual Arts. Liu Bai had obviously not come to learn some Mortal Grade Spiritual Art, which was why he had needed to go through such trouble.

Yet after reaching the Heaven Layer, Liu Bai did not immediately head toward the Spirit Grade Spiritual Arts. Instead, he wandered around the area before finally stopping before a stone cabinet. His gaze fell on a red Jade Slip lying deep within the shadows inside it.