The dazzling five-colored radiance once again soared from the residence of the Willow God Society, rising like a pillar of jade light that seemed to pierce the heavens, shaking half of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy.
Countless people turned their gazes toward that brilliant light.
Although the news of Liu Bai's intention to participate in the Divine Spiritual Mountain had not yet spread widely throughout the academy, many of the more powerful individuals were already aware and were quietly watching with great attention.
After all, the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy had abstained from participating in the Divine Spiritual Mountain for many years, something that had long been a source of dissatisfaction for many of the older students. Whenever they left the academy and encountered disciples of those supreme powers across the Northern Heaven Continent, they could not help but feel as if they were being overshadowed.
As one of the most powerful hegemonic forces in the Northern Heaven Continent, the academy's absence from the grandest event for the younger generation of the continent was somewhat of a blemish upon its reputation.
Of course, everyone also understood that this was not because they were weaker. Most of the true prodigies who had risen from the academy had long since departed to roam the Great Thousand World, many of them even becoming supreme figures in their own right.
If one truly wished to compare, why not compare with those people?
This was what many of the older students found frustrating. The difference in structure between their academy and those other powers resulted in different compositions of their disciples. Yet those who took advantage of this would still belittle them, which naturally left everyone indignant.
As for Liu Bai, the monstrous new student, nine out of ten of them were convinced by his talent and growth. They all hoped that he could bring glory to the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy upon the Northern Heaven Continent.
Now, seeing that unique spiritual fluctuation once again surging from the Willow God Society, countless students grew tense.
At this moment, within the Willow God Society itself, nearly all of its members who were not out on missions had gathered at the residence, including Su Xuan and the others who had been in seclusion.
"Elder Sister, how much longer before Brother Liu breaks through?" Su Ling'er asked nervously, her gaze fixed on the five-colored spiritual clouds swirling above.
Su Xuan shook her head slightly. "How would I know something like that? But I believe it should be soon. For someone like Liu Bai, there are no real bottlenecks. The barriers that might trap us for an entire lifetime are perhaps something he can cross with ease."
That statement alone showed just how deeply Su Xuan had been convinced by Liu Bai's growth, even to the point of blind faith.
And it was not only her. Guo Xiong, Li Qing, and the others shared the same belief, as though anything that stood before Liu Bai could be effortlessly overcome.
And Liu Bai had never once disappointed them.
Boom!
At the very moment Su Xuan's words fell, a deep rumbling echoed through heaven and earth. High above the sky, a vast wave of spiritual energy surged like a roaring tide, rolling outward in all directions.
Countless people abruptly raised their heads, their eyes trembling as they stared toward the center of the lake. The enormous pillar of spiritual light standing there was now rippling violently, the fluctuations growing ever more vast and ferocious.
On the peaks surrounding the Willow God Society, numerous figures had gathered, and a closer look revealed that none of them were ordinary. Nearly all of the top ten from the Heaven Ranking were present.
Yue Qing, Chu Lin, Wei Fan, and even new students like Li Xuantong and Shen Cangsheng had all arrived.
"Heaven Completion Realm... I can't believe that when we've only just broken through to the Heaven Transformation Realm, he's already stepping into Heaven Completion Realm. To be in the same generation as someone like him is truly despairing," Li Xuantong said bitterly.
Beside him, Shen Cangsheng remained calm and composed.
"There are countless prodigies across the Great Thousand World. We only need to keep our hearts steady and continue cultivating diligently. One day we will step into the world of the strong. It's only a matter of sooner or later, Brother Li. There's no need to let it trouble you."
Shen Cangsheng's confidence never wavered. It seemed that he had never once doubted himself or thought he was inferior to anyone.
"Brother Shen is truly broad-minded," Li Xuantong admitted, realizing that in terms of mentality, he could not compare.
Meanwhile, on another mountain peak, Yue Qing stood beside Hua Zinan.
As the latter gazed at the surging five-colored radiance, he couldn't help but sigh. "That's the Divine Spiritual Mountain—the place where the most outstanding youths of the Northern Heaven Continent gather to compete. I really wish I could witness it for myself... It's a pity that I'm nowhere near strong enough yet."
Yue Qing didn't even glance at him, her tone cool and indifferent. "Indeed. Even that Yu Yuan fell short compared to the true elites of this generation, and your strength is still far below his."
Hua Zinan fell silent.
He had merely been expressing self-deprecation, but she really didn't need to be that honest—it was almost painful.
Unfortunately, Yue Qing paid him no mind. Her thoughts had already drifted elsewhere—to another person. A woman. A woman who possessed both beauty and power.
"Perhaps this time, Liu Bai might encounter her as well..."
"Her?" Hua Zinan's brows lifted. Then, as if remembering a rumor from two years ago, realization flashed in his eyes.
"You're talking about Xia Youran?"
Upon hearing that name—both familiar and distant—Yue Qing froze briefly before turning her gaze toward him.
"Don't look at me like that! I was just guessing," Hua Zinan said quickly, suddenly nervous under her stare.
Yue Qing's expression remained calm as she retracted her gaze. "You guessed right. I was talking about her."
Xia Youran had once been a student who entered the academy in the same year as them. At that time, she and Yue Qing had been known as the Twin Beauties of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy—both possessing enchanting beauty and enviable talent.
In fact, purely in terms of strength, Xia Youran might have been even more outstanding, not inferior even to Lin Zheng.
However, she had only stayed at the academy for a year before leaving. It was then that everyone discovered her true identity—she was the eldest daughter of the Nine Summer Chamber of Commerce, the most powerful business alliance on the Northern Heaven Continent.
Although no one knew the exact relationship between the two women, Hua Zinan could tell that even now, Yue Qing remained highly sensitive to that name.
"Uh... after all this time, have you kept in touch with her?" Hua Zinan asked cautiously, unable to suppress his curiosity.
"No." Yue Qing's reply was calm and brief.
"Oh." Hua Zinan gave an awkward chuckle. "As the eldest daughter of the Nine Summer Chamber of Commerce, she must have access to far greater resources than we do. With her talent, she's probably already among the top experts of the Northern Heaven Continent by now..."
The young lady of the Nine Summer Chamber of Commerce, possessing such remarkable talent—Xia Youran's strength was undoubtedly far above anyone of their generation.
After all, in the original work, by the time the next opening of the Divine Spiritual Mountain came, Xia Youran had already stepped into the 'Three Disaster Realm' stage of the Sovereign Stage, much stronger than those like Mo Longzi.
One must not think it an easy matter to cross from the Heaven Completion Realm into the Three Disaster Realm within just three years. If not for this Divine Spiritual Baptism, more than half of the so-called top young geniuses of the Northern Heaven Continent would probably have failed to even pass the Human Body Disaster Stage by the next opening of Divine Spiritual Mountain.
In a place like the Northern Heaven Continent, the younger generation typically cycles once every ten years, while the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy cycles once every three years, or six at most. The difference in these timeframes alone shows the disparity between them.
At this time, Liu Bai was living in the era when their generation was rapidly rising.
Three years later, when Mu Chen and his group arrived, this generation would already have reached their peak state, which was why it seemed that the top young experts of the Northern Heaven Continent were far stronger than those of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy.
If Liu Bai had not appeared, then after Lin Zheng and the other three joined the Punishment Hall, even Yue Qing and Wei Fan would have already graduated and left. With only Shen Cangsheng and Li Xuantong remaining to support the entire younger generation of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, they would naturally appear far weaker than the rest.
Fortunately, Liu Bai's arrival brought a sliver of change to this cycle.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, a burst of spiritual light shot upward from the base of the light pillar, soaring into the skies.
Boom!
Five-colored radiance exploded, scattering into countless specks of light. Within the sea of light appeared a palm-sized glow. Upon closer look, one could see a tiny figure seated cross-legged within it—it was none other than Liu Bai's spirit.
This spirit was vivid and lifelike, identical in appearance to Liu Bai himself, and emitted a powerful aura.
As the spirit sat cross-legged, it slowly opened its eyes. Those eyes were deep as the stars, with five-colored light swirling within, evolving into countless mysterious Five Element divine patterns.
After drawing in its spiritual light, the spirit raised a small hand and inhaled deeply. Instantly, all the surrounding light specks transformed into torrents of spiritual energy that were completely devoured by that tiny body.
After absorbing the spiritual essence, Liu Bai's spirit grew even more condensed, its surface shimmering faintly with traces of golden brilliance—an obvious sign of advancement and refinement.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Liu Bai's spirit shot skyward like a streak of light, soaring into the heavens. The violent astral winds that filled the upper air could barely harm it. At this moment, Liu Bai felt as though he possessed the power to pierce through heaven and earth.
Seeing this sight, everyone who was observing sighed in admiration. Within the Willow God Society, a deafening cheer erupted, for they all knew—when the spirit leaves the body and roams freely through heaven and earth without perishing, it signifies entry into the Heaven Completion Realm.
In other words, Liu Bai had successfully broken through!
"Heaven Completion Realm… Heaven Completion Realm… I've been stuck at the Late-phase Heavenly Transformation Realm for over half a year now, and I still can't even touch the threshold of the Heaven Completion Realm. Yet Liu Bai has just broken through recently, and now he's already stepped into it again…" Wei Fan, the so-called 'Old Fourth of Ten Thousand Years,' said bitterly.
Even Chu Lin and Yue Qing, who received the Spiritual King's crystal baptism during the Hunting Battle, managed to take that step, but he still saw no path forward. How could he not feel disheartened?
At this moment, Hua Zinan sensed the aura radiating from Liu Bai's spirit and gasped, turning to Yue Qing in disbelief. "Am I seeing things? Why does it feel like Liu Bai's spirit, even though he just broke through, is actually more condensed than yours?"
After all, Yue Qing had broken through earlier—so how could she be surpassed by someone who just entered the realm?
Hearing this, Yue Qing frowned slightly and speculated, "Perhaps it's because my breakthrough was aided by external power, which made it somewhat forced, so my spirit appears weaker. Liu Bai, on the other hand, broke through entirely through his own effort, so his spirit is naturally more condensed."
Liu Bai wholeheartedly agreed with that… "I cultivate purely through my own strength, never relying on external help."
It wasn't surprising that Yue Qing and the others would think this way. When Liu Bai added his points this time, he hadn't stopped right after breaking through. Instead, after stepping into the Early-phase Heaven Completion Realm, he added another 100,000 experience points.
From the Late-phase Heavenly Transformation Realm to the peak required 112,000 experience points. From the peak to the Early-phase Heaven Completion Realm required 140,000, and from Early-phase to Mid-phase Heaven Completion Realm required 175,000.
Now, Liu Bai had directly added a total of 352,000 experience points, advancing more than halfway through the Early-phase Heaven Completion Realm. That was why his spirit appeared much more condensed than Yue Qing's, who had broken through nearly two months earlier.
Even if Yue Qing cultivated diligently for another half a year, she might still not catch up to Liu Bai's current progress. After all, the higher one's cultivation, the more difficult it became to advance, and the greater the resources required.
Even Lin Zheng, when he first appeared in the original story, was only at the Mid-phase Heaven Completion Realm.
As for Liu Bai, well—comparing oneself to him was just a way to make oneself miserable.
"More than halfway through the Early-phase Heaven Completion Realm, not bad. If I weren't worried about shocking others, I'd just go straight to Mid-phase Heaven Completion Realm right now." After his spirit returned to his body, Liu Bai checked his Qi Sea and sensed the far denser spiritual power within, secretly feeling satisfied.
After breaking through to the Heaven Completion Realm, Liu Bai discovered that his Five Element Spirit Apertures had changed again. The spiritual energy that had lessened after he moved the Five Element Spirit Wheels out had not only recovered but had become even more vigorous.
The five terrifying thunders that had always hidden deep within his apertures were no longer completely unresponsive. When Liu Bai activated the Five Element Divine Lightning Art, those thunders began to resonate faintly, voluntarily separating strands of power for him to use.
Though they still acted arrogantly, it was progress nonetheless.
And with this, Liu Bai could channel more thunder force to nourish the Thunder God Lotus within his body. Once those thunders were fully under his command, perhaps that Thunder God Lotus would finally be ready to reveal itself to the world.
.....
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