Exploring Immortality Cultivation

Twisted.

That was Bao Xiaoya's only feeling.

The originally straight and smooth space was distorted by the power of the planets, even light bent. Everything seemed to sway with an air of unreality.

Ai Changyuan had "plucked" himself out of Shenzhou's gravity system, as if becoming a celestial body, elevated above all. He captured a portion of the planet's gravity to construct his own law.

Although Ai Changyuan's mana was not very strong, the borrowing principle of Wanxiang Heavenly Attraction was truly wondrous, able to use the gravity of a planet. Bao Xiaoya's low-grade talisman artifact magic sword had already been torn apart by his bare hands, forcing the girl, adept in swordsmanship, to face her enemy unarmed.

Normally, there would be no point in continuing this match at this stage. Yet, Bao Xiaoya relentlessly fought back against Ai Changyuan's fierce attack!

No sword? Then fists would do!

Her delicate fists, filled with powerful mana, swept through the air drawing a cycloid, slashing towards Ai Changyuan in front of her. The strike twisted mid-air due to the gravity Ai Changyuan's hands emitted. The two clashed in a brutal exchange of punches and kicks.

The girl stepped back, biting her teeth, and threw another punch.

Still a cycloid, or rather, the quickest descent. If the girl's power had been a bit higher, this punch, which subtly countered the defenses of Wanxiang Heavenly Attraction, might have caused Ai Changyuan some trouble, right? But at that point, she was exhausted.

Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire

Feeling the abnormal flow of blood, the girl could only bitterly smile to herself. It seemed the tidal effect that came with the Wanxiang Heavenly Attraction's mana had already taken hold, causing her blood flow to further disrupt her body.

But still...

"Huff," the girl swung her fist again.

I am... a member of the Bao family...

The Bao family... has no cowards...

"I surely can... I surely can..."

She couldn't remember how many rounds it had been when Ai Changyuan grabbed her wrist: "You'll die, just admit defeat."

"No..." Bao Xiaoya stubbornly swung her other fist, which Ai Changyuan also caught.

"I mean, this is just the April joint examination... I didn't kill your whole family, what's with the hard feelings?"

"My family... you couldn't kill them even if you wanted to."

"Alright, alright, you scare me," Ai Changyuan said as he threw Bao Xiaoya away: "The Bao family from Baling, I truly can't afford to provoke."

Seeing Bao Xiaoya collapsed on the ground unable to rise, the referee of the Foundation Establishment Stage finally intervened, declaring Ai Changyuan the winner.

Bao Xiaoya lay weakly against the array formation restriction, not paying attention to the cheers and encouragement around her, but blankly staring at the bright sunlit sky.

...It's April already.

Only two months left until the final trial.

It had been over four months since the December joint examination at the beginning of the year. It was no longer the same winter when the Dragon King caused havoc.

Due to the madness of the West Sea Dragon King, the Grandmasters of Liuyun Sect uprooted from their position, even The Carefree who hadn't been seen in years appeared at the capital, and the Master of the Liuyun Sect's Heavenly Phenomenon Pavilion, Zhu Kezhen, with Qin Si, intervened to dispel the snow, granting Shenzhou a sunny day once more.

Without the Dragon King's laws, the sea demons coming ashore were truly "dragons in shallow waters played by shrimps." The sea demons, unable to transfigure once they left the water, had their combat power severely weakened, and several Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators could freely come and go, easily gathering kills without harm. Without the endless tide of demon beasts, higher-order members of the Demon Clan above Transfiguration lost their courage. After battling the Guardian Envoys on the coastline for a month, the Demon Clan withdrew to the deep sea to gather strength.

The disciples of Langde Immortal Institute thus fiercely earned a wave of merit. Furthermore, those who had not yet left the institute also subtly gained a sense of courage born out of life-and-death experiences.

Soon, time advanced to April.

Langde Immortal Institute unfortunately drew Leiyang Immortal Institute, which led many to lament, "We keep drawing the worst lots," completely forgetting the fact that Langde's average performance was actually slightly better than that of Xinyue.

However, for Ai Changyuan, which Immortal Institute he encountered made no difference. In fact, he preferred being matched against these more notable institutes — because such grand institutes were more likely to have masters capable of challenging him.

Take, for example, the Bo Family young girl before him.

Ai Changyuan squatted in front of Bao Xiaoya, reaching out his hand to help her up, "I won. That was quite an interesting match."

Bao Xiaoya laughed despite her annoyance, "The Yuanli Master is unbearably arrogant. And you, 'Little Master,' have quite the thick skin... mocking me?"

Ai Changyuan raised his eyebrows, "Back then... was he mocking me?"

A similar situation... Ai Changyuan had only lost once recently...

Bao Xiaoya suddenly sat up, asking, "Wang Qi from Xinyue Immortal Institute?"

"Hey, don't get too excited. The force from your Wanxiang Heavenly Attraction is still in your body!"

Bao Xiaoya ignored the discomfort from her blood flowing backward and looked at him with bright eyes, "What do you think, who is stronger between that person and me?"

Ai Changyuan was shocked anew, "I've long heard that the Bo Family from Baling would go so far as to risk their lives for the sake of learning mathematics, and seeing is believing today!"

Bao Xiaoya lifted her head proudly, "That's right!"

Ai Changyuan mused, "It's hard to say. His sword technique is subtly in line with surface geometry, and his mental method is exceptional, vaguely restraining me. But your swordsmanship similarly has the ability to restrain him... It's hard to say, hard to say... "

Bao Xiaoya stopped forcing herself to stand and flopped onto the ground, "This year's true inheritor of Wanfa Sect... must be me!"

Because that is the hope of my great-grandfather and the entire Bo Family!

Compared to the bustling excitement between Langde and Leiyang, Xinyue Immortal Institute seemed somewhat disinterested.

They were matched against Jiongli, ranked last among the top ten Immortal Institutions.

After the December monthly test, Xinyue Immortal Institute had been shamed into courage, and the atmosphere for cultivation had become more than twice as fervent as before. They simply wanted to train diligently and prove themselves in the April joint examination.

However, being paired with Jiongli gave everyone at Xinyue a feeling akin to "punching cotton"—a sense of ineffectiveness.

There simply weren't any cultivators in Jiongli Immortal Institute who could force Wang Qi to use a second move. After successively taking down twelve opponents with one move each, Wang Qi achieved the feat of completing the Martial Arts Examination within half an hour.

He spent the rest of the time practicing.

After determining the direction of his Magic Foundation, Wang Qi's academic life underwent a dramatic transformation.

Over these four months, he would spar with Su Junyu every morning, dissecting mathematical moves to integrate and comprehend the essence of his studies and grasp his mental method.

Then, every afternoon, he would go to the trial area at the peak of Xin Mountain to slay demon beasts and earn merit. Worth mentioning is that he could now defeat Qi Storage Early Stage demon beasts in one-on-one combat. If he were to battle the Deer King of the Thundering Giant Antelope he had encountered during his trial, Wang Qi even had confidence he could slay the beast within a hundred moves.

The reward for a Qi Cultivation Stage cultivator slaying a Qi Storage Stage demon beast in a trial was ten times that of slaying a Spirit Awakening Stage demon beast. This spree of collecting points boosted Wang Qi's merit from a mere fifty to over two hundred in a short time.

But these were secondary; Wang Qi's greatest gain was the unfinished thesis he carried with him.