Chapter 53: Advancing to Saint

After the award ceremony ended, the thousands of students on the playground quickly dispersed, leaving the place completely empty. Almost all the students had sustained injuries of varying degrees during the three days of battling monsters in the forest. Now that the ceremony was over, everyone returned to their dormitories to recuperate. Those who remained on the playground were mostly those who had abandoned the mission early and were unharmed.

However, after this incident, Jianchen and Tietan's reputation in Kagas Academy soared to a peak, making them the biggest celebrities in the school. Their names were on everyone's lips.

As soon as the award ceremony ended, Jianchen, Tietan, and their senior brother Changyang Hu hurriedly bid farewell and returned to their respective dormitories to recuperate.

At the center of the academy stood a towering building that spanned a hundred meters. At the top of the tower, Vice Principal Bai En stood respectfully in the center of the room. In front of him, the principal of Kagas Academy sat leisurely at his desk, a faint smile on his face, his deep eyes filled with joy and excitement.

"Bai En, it seems that this time, Kagas Academy has truly produced a genius," the principal said with a smile, his voice filled with excitement.

Vice Principal Bai En nodded and smiled, "Your Excellency, you are mistaken. This time, Kagas Academy has not just produced one genius, but two: Changyang Xiangtian and Tietan."

Hearing this, the principal shook his head slightly and smiled, "You are right, Tietan's talent is indeed very high, and he has the advantage of innate divine strength. However, compared to Changyang Xiangtian, he falls far behind."

Vice Principal Bai En looked surprised and asked, "Your Excellency, why do you say that?"

The principal sighed deeply and said, "You must not underestimate Changyang Xiangtian. He is not ordinary. No wonder the old man from the Changyang Manor praises him so highly."

"Actually, when I received the news yesterday afternoon that Changyang Xiangtian and Tietan had killed a second-stage monster in the third area, I rushed over to observe them secretly. Although they have not yet advanced to the Saint stage, their combat power is not to be underestimated, especially Changyang Xiangtian. With just a broken iron rod, he was almost invincible in the third area. His attack speed was incredibly fast and precise, and his combat experience was so rich that it didn't seem like he was just a fifteen-year-old boy. Instead, he seemed like a seasoned warrior. Most of the second-stage monster cores were killed by Changyang Xiangtian, while Tietan mainly played a supporting role."

Hearing this, Vice Principal Bai En looked incredulous and asked, "Your Excellency, is Changyang Xiangtian really as powerful as you say?"

The principal nodded and said, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that a fifteen-year-old boy could possess such formidable strength. Most importantly, his rich combat experience and fighting skills are not something that can be easily learned. Without extensive combat experience, it's impossible to master these things. No wonder the old man from the Changyang Manor praises Changyang Xiangtian so highly. He indeed has very high talent, and it seems that the old man has been teaching him."

Vice Principal Bai En looked relieved and said, "With the guidance of the great Chang Wujie, it will be difficult for Changyang Xiangtian not to stand out in the future."

The principal nodded slightly and said, "Although the old man is guiding him, if Changyang Xiangtian himself did not have extraordinary talent, even the old man's meticulous guidance would be in vain. If it weren't for the fact that Changyang Xiangtian is the fourth young master of the Changyang Manor, I would have wanted to take him as my disciple. After all, such a genius is rare, and if he can grow up, it will be a blessing for our Garsen Kingdom."

...

After the award ceremony, Jianchen collected a new set of school uniforms and took a shower, washing away all the dirt from the forest. He then put on the new uniform and returned to the dormitory, feeling refreshed. Although he had been in constant battle for the past three days in the forest, he did not show any signs of fatigue. In his previous life, Jianchen had experienced even more brutal situations.

Back in the dormitory, Jianchen sat cross-legged on the bed, holding a first-stage monster core in each hand and began to cultivate. Although his current strength had reached the peak of the tenth layer of Saint Power, he clearly felt that the Saint Power in his body had not yet reached saturation.

As the energy from the monster cores was continuously absorbed by Jianchen, the Saint Power in his body grew at an incredibly fast rate, ten times faster than when he absorbed the elemental energy from the heavens and earth.

For the next three days, Jianchen spent all his time in the dormitory cultivating, except for meals. After three days of cultivation, the Saint Power in his body had reached a saturated state. No matter how much more energy he absorbed from the monster cores, his Saint Power would not increase further.

Jianchen knew that he should now attempt to advance to the Saint stage and form a Saint Weapon. Otherwise, his Saint Power would remain stagnant. He had already learned the steps and methods for forming a Saint Weapon and advancing to the Saint stage from the library. The process involved using his mind to gather all the Saint Power in his body, slowly forming it into a weapon, and finally merging it with his "divine spirit" to create a perfect union. Once the Saint Power was completely condensed into a weapon, he would officially become a Saint.

Without a moment's hesitation, Jianchen took out a fourth-stage monster core from his spatial belt as a precaution and immediately began preparing to form a Saint Weapon and advance to the Saint stage.

The Saint Power in Jianchen's dantian was firmly controlled by his powerful "divine spirit." In front of his powerful "divine spirit," Jianchen had absolute control over the Saint Power in his dantian. With a thought, he controlled all the Saint Power in his dantian to slowly gather together, gradually forming the shape of a sword, and then began to compress it.

Jianchen's powerful "divine spirit" was brought over from his previous life and was far superior to that of ordinary people. In front of his powerful "divine spirit," the relatively weak Saint Power in his body had no resistance and was completely suppressed. He then continued to compress the Saint Power into the sword shape.

As the Saint Power was compressed smaller and smaller, the Saint Power that originally filled his dantian rapidly decreased. However, the strength of the Saint Power in his body continued to increase, and the sword formed entirely of Saint Power gradually became clearer, eventually becoming a very small sword residing in his dantian.

At the same time, Jianchen absorbed more energy.

Although Jianchen had successfully gathered all the Saint Power in his body and condensed it into a sword, this did not mean he had advanced to the Saint stage. There was still one final and most difficult step: integrating a part of his "divine spirit" into the sword formed entirely of Saint Power in his dantian, establishing a mental connection, and completely merging this "divine spirit" with the Saint Weapon. This step, which seemed simple, was actually very difficult to execute.

Although this final step was extremely challenging for ordinary people, it was not a problem for Jianchen, whose "divine spirit" was incredibly powerful and could be used freely. Jianchen directly separated a thread of his "divine spirit" and integrated it into the Saint Weapon in his dantian. Under his skilled control, this thread of "divine spirit" quickly connected with the Saint Weapon and finally merged completely, becoming one with it.

At this moment, Jianchen truly became a genuine Saint. The final barrier to advancing to the Saint stage posed no obstacle to him.

As the thread of "divine spirit" perfectly merged with the Saint Weapon in his body, Jianchen suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if the sword formed entirely of Saint Power in his body had become an extension of his own limbs. He could not only control it effortlessly but also feel every detail of its structure clearly.

Now, there was no longer any Saint Power in Jianchen's dantian. Instead, a small sword formed entirely of Saint Power resided there, serving as a source of energy. The sword was so small that it resembled a sewing needle in size.

With the Saint Weapon now formed, Jianchen could clearly feel that the energy fluctuations from the Saint Weapon were several times stronger than before. It was no exaggeration to say that in a direct confrontation, a Saint could easily defeat someone at the peak of the tenth layer of Saint Power. Unless something unexpected happened or there were special circumstances, it was impossible for someone at the peak of the tenth layer of Saint Power to defeat a Saint.

Jianchen and Tietan were both formidable. Tietan had innate divine strength and an incredibly strong physical body, even surpassing Jianchen, who had been using Saint Power to strengthen his body since childhood. His monstrous strength and powerful defense were enough to compensate for the lack of Saint Power. Unless the difference in strength was too great, no one could defeat Tietan, and at most, they could only maintain a stalemate.

Previously, Jianchen could defeat a mid-level Saint with his peak tenth-layer Saint Power, thanks to the experience and combat skills he brought from his previous life. His fast sword techniques and his mastery of swordsmanship, combined with the combat will forged through numerous life-and-death battles, made him an invincible existence at his level, and challenging higher levels was not a problem for him.

At this moment, Jianchen's expression suddenly changed. His dantian began to shake violently, and the entire dantian became unstable, fluctuating intensely. As soon as the fluctuations began, before Jianchen could react, the elemental energy in the heavens and earth started to surge wildly. Elemental energy from several miles around seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, rushing towards Jianchen's location. At this moment, Jianchen's body seemed to lose control, and all his pores suddenly opened, absorbing the dense elemental energy around him.

The fourth-stage monster core in Jianchen's hand began to leak energy at an alarming rate, forming a visible energy ribbon that flowed into Jianchen's body.

At this moment, Jianchen's body seemed like a bottomless pit, absorbing all the dense and powerful elemental energy around him like a whale drinking water. At the same time, the energy in the fourth-stage monster core in his hand was rapidly depleting, and the speed of depletion was astonishing. The originally fist-sized fourth-stage monster core was visibly shrinking at an alarming rate.

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