In the grand central hall of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, the Dean and numerous elders were gathered, their gazes all fixed upon the figure standing at the center of the hall.
"I didn't expect you, little fellow, to break through so quickly. You've really given me a hard problem this time…" Dean Tai Cang looked at Liu Bai, feeling both pleased and troubled.
He was pleased because the academy had produced such a talented individual—someone who could surely bring glory to the academy in the upcoming Spiritual Academy Tournament.
As for the trouble, it lay in this youngster's stubborn determination to head to the Divine Spiritual Mountain. Everyone knew how dangerous that place was, and the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy had suffered losses there before. If something happened to Liu Bai, it would be a huge loss for the academy.
The five Heavenly Seat Elders beside Tai Cang were equally conflicted, hesitation flashing across their faces.
"It was rash of me, but I still hope the Dean can approve my request. I wish to challenge those prodigies of the Northern Heaven Continent myself…" Liu Bai spoke with complete confidence.
Of course, he couldn't say that what he really wanted was the Heavenly Sovereign's remains.
In truth, both the Dean and the elders wanted to send someone to the Divine Spiritual Mountain. After all, it was the grandest gathering of the younger generation across the Northern Heaven Continent. The Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy's long absence had already drawn much ridicule and gossip.
They could only endure in silence, though deep down, everyone felt suffocated by it.
If Liu Bai could shine brilliantly in the Divine Spiritual Mountain this time, then who would dare to speak ill of the academy again?
The Dean lightly tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair, lost in thought for a long time before finally raising his head to look at Liu Bai. "You can participate in the Divine Spiritual Mountain this time, but you must first let me see your true strength."
Mere cultivation level was not enough to prove anything—especially for someone like Liu Bai, who never followed common sense.
The Dean had a general understanding of the battle power of the top young experts across the Northern Heaven Continent. Thus, he decided to give Liu Bai one last test. If Liu Bai could display power comparable to theirs, he would grant him this opportunity.
This was exactly within Liu Bai's expectations. After all, wasn't this how Dean Tai Cang treated Mu Chen in the original story?
"Please give your instructions, Dean," Liu Bai cupped his fists respectfully.
Dean Tai Cang stood up with a faint smile. "Come with me. We'll go to the Punishment Platform."
The so-called Punishment Platform was located within the Punishment Hall. It was a battle arena usually used for sparring among the members of the Punishment Hall. Ordinary students had no access to it.
When Dean Tai Cang and the Heavenly Seat Elders arrived, many members of the Punishment Hall were still cultivating or sparring. Seeing such a large group suddenly appear, they were all startled.
As everyone landed on the platform, the Dean's gaze swept toward Liu Bai, and he couldn't help but remark, "You've mastered the Rainbow Transformation Technique to such a level already?"
Though they had not gone all out during their flight here, for a newly advanced Heavenly Completion Realm cultivator like Liu Bai to keep up with them was astonishing.
No wonder Liu Bai had been able to save Lu Yan and the others during that crisis earlier. His speed was far beyond that of an ordinary Heavenly Completion Realm cultivator. In long-distance travel, the Rainbow Transformation Technique was one of the top movement arts.
"Please don't laugh, Dean. I just happen to have a little talent in this area," Liu Bai replied with a playful grin.
He obviously couldn't admit that he had upgraded the Rainbow Transformation Technique to its highest level through his "point-adding" ability—complete with hidden effects.
"Very good. That makes me even more confident in you," Dean Tai Cang nodded with satisfaction.
One could clearly tell he was genuinely pleased. To have a genius like Liu Bai join the academy so easily was like a blessing descending from the heavens.
Still, despite his joy, the Dean showed no intention of going easy on him. With a wave of his sleeve, two streaks of golden light shot out and landed heavily on the platform.
Boom, boom!
The ground trembled violently under the weight, drawing gasps from the surrounding Punishment Hall members.
"It's the Punishment Spirit Puppets!" someone exclaimed in shock.
The so-called Punishment Spirit Puppets were two enormous giants, each about thirty feet tall, their bodies forged from dark-golden metal.
Their metallic bodies, covered in intricate spiritual patterns, bore countless scars and dents—proof of the many battles they had endured. Even standing still, they emitted an aura of cold, oppressive power.
The onlookers instantly recognized them. The Punishment Spirit Puppets were exclusive to the Punishment Hall. The hall possessed eighteen of them in total, each one boasting strength comparable to a Late-phase Heaven Completion Realm expert.
What made them even more terrifying was that they felt no pain, their metallic bodies were nearly indestructible, and they never stopped fighting. Even cultivators of the same level would find them extremely difficult to handle.
"Right now, the top prodigies of the Northern Heaven Continent are all around the Late-phase Heaven Completion Realm in strength, their battle power easily surpassing others of the same level. If you can defeat these two Punishment Spirit Puppets, you will earn the right to participate in the Divine Spiritual Mountain. Otherwise, I will not grant your request."
At that, Liu Bai frowned slightly and scratched his head as he looked at the two metallic giants before him.
Everyone thought he was frightened, but in reality, Liu Bai was thinking, Wait a second… In the original story, Mu Chen had to face three of these puppets. How come I only get two? My cultivation's even a bit higher than his was at that time!
"What's wrong? Are you afraid? If so, we can end the test here," the Dean said calmly.
Liu Bai shook his head. "Afraid? Not really. I just think… isn't this final test a little too easy?"
"...?"
The Dean blinked.
The elders: "...?"
The Punishment Hall members: "...!!!"
Everyone was stunned speechless by Liu Bai's audacious words.
He had just broken through to the Heaven Completion Realm, yet he called fighting two puppets with Late-phase Heaven Completion power "too easy"?
Did he even hear himself? Was he human or god?
"Heh, confidence is a good thing," Dean Tai Cang said first, clearly at a loss for words, and could only force out a dry laugh. "In that case, let's begin."
Apparently unwilling to waste more time with this arrogant youngster, the Dean gave the signal to start.
Boom!
The moment his final word fell, the two massive puppets suddenly opened their eyes, golden light blazing within them. Spiritual patterns flared across their bodies as waves of immense power rippled outward.
Thud!
Their golden eyes locked onto Liu Bai, and in the next instant, they charged forward. Each step made the entire stone platform quake violently, and their colossal fists tore through the air with frightening force.
A flash of lightning flickered—Liu Bai's figure vanished, leaving behind only a burst of crackling thunder that clung to one of the puppet's fists. Violent electric currents spread rapidly across its body.
Boom!
Both golden fists slammed into the ground where Liu Bai had stood, shattering the reinforced platform beneath into a web of cracks.
For a brief moment, the puppets' movements stalled—clearly affected by the surge of electricity.
That single instant was all Liu Bai needed.
High above, he appeared again, a bright azure longsword in his hand. Terrifying arcs of lightning converged along its blade, forming tens of thousands of thunderous sword-lights that filled the entire sky above the platform.
"Ten Thousand Lightning Sword Art—Ten Thousand Swords of Annihilation!"
This was a Deity-Grade Attack Art. At its perfected stage, it displayed no "special effect" in his status panel—something that puzzled Liu Bai at first.
But in truth, it wasn't that it lacked one. It was because Deity-grade arts possessed multiple advanced manifestations, each available at different cultivation stages. Thus, they weren't explicitly shown on his ability list.
After all, when one had too many abilities, listing them all became meaningless and such arts were far beyond anything "cheap" or common.
The Ten Thousand Sword Annihilation was one of the earliest unique killing techniques derived from the Myriad Lightning Sword Art. It gathered countless strands of lightning sword qi to deliver a devastating strike upon the enemy. With Liu Bai's current strength, even a middle-stage Heaven Completion Realm expert would be slain instantly by this attack.
Moreover, this was a large-scale attack capable of annihilating an entire group in one move. If he could fully master it and merge ten thousand swords into one, it would transform into an extremely powerful single-target ultimate technique—one that even Late-phase Heaven Completion Realm experts would be unable to withstand.
Boom!
Countless streams of lightning sword qi surged forth, engulfing the two Battle Puppets before they could even turn around.
The ringing clash of metal echoed continuously. Even though the Battle Puppets possessed astonishing defense, they could not avoid sustaining damage under such terrifying lightning.
But that was not the end.
"Myriad Lightning Sword Art, Ten Thousand Swords as One!"
Rumble!
An endless tide of sword qi converged madly in the sky before finally transforming into a colossal lightning dragon. Upon closer inspection, one could see that this dragon was entirely composed of countless blades of lightning, emanating an overwhelming aura of slaughter that filled the air. The surrounding members of the Punishment Hall felt an icy chill seep into their bones.
"This kid, what powerful sword intent!" Elder Zhu Tian could not help but exclaim in admiration from among the senior elders.
Beside him, Elder Chi Huo looked smug, as if the praise were directed at himself.
However, such pride was understandable. After all, Liu Bai's ability to unleash the Myriad Lightning Sword Art with such terrifying might was largely due to the Purple Heaven Sword in his hand.
Being an Supreme-grade spiritual Artifact, its amplification of a Deity-Grade Spiritual Art was tremendous. Even the mighty Battle Puppets of Punishment Hall could not endure before such a weapon.
Boom!
The dragon of sword qi crashed down upon the two Battle Puppets, and the terrifying force instantly tore them apart.
When the storm of sword qi subsided, those present looked at the two shattered Battle Puppets in the arena, and the corners of their mouths twitched uncontrollably. They silently swore that they would never make an enemy of this young man. Falling into his hands would mean having no corpse left to bury!
Even the Battle Puppets, renowned for their unmatched defense, could not withstand Liu Bai's sword qi. How could ordinary flesh and blood possibly fare better? They could already foresee their miserable end if they were to face him.
The Dean of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy looked down at the two destroyed Battle Puppets without the slightest trace of distress. Instead, his face carried a warm smile as he said to Liu Bai, "Excellent. Truly excellent!"
"It seems we old fellows have underestimated you. You have perfectly passed our test. I hereby announce that Liu Bai shall represent our Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy in the upcoming 'Divine Spiritual Mountain,' to compete against the true top-tier geniuses of the Northern Heaven Continent."
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding members of the Punishment Hall erupted in cheers.
Strictly speaking, they were no longer considered students of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, yet they were still a part of it. Most of them were academy graduates who had gone through the same experiences, so they naturally held strong feelings toward the "Divine Spiritual Mountain."
Furthermore, Liu Bai's performance had completely conquered their hearts. Even though he was several years younger than most of them, that did not stop them from deeply respecting him.
This was a world where strength ruled, a world that revered power above all else.
Before long, the news spread throughout the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, and more details gradually circulated among the students.
When they heard that Liu Bai had destroyed two Battle Puppets equivalent to Late-phase Heaven Completion Realm experts with a single sword strike, nearly everyone was struck speechless in shock.
Now, everyone knew that Liu Bai was strong—so strong that he could defeat opponents of the same level in an instant and even battle across realms with ease. Yet Liu Bai continued to shatter their expectations again and again, proving repeatedly that their assumptions were wrong. He was far stronger than they could ever imagine.
At this point, aside from individuals like Shen Cangsheng, whose determination bordered on stubbornness, no one regarded Liu Bai as a rival anymore. Even Li Xuantong had completely yielded.
There was no helping it. One could not compare an ordinary person to a monster. Monsters defied logic, and anyone who tried to measure themselves against such an existence would only end up utterly crushed—spiritually shattered, despairing, and unable to recover.
.....
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