Chapter 1

In the great Xia Kingdom, Tian Shu Prefecture.

In the city of Nanfeng in June, the scorching sun blazed like a fire, roasting the earth.

Nanfeng Intermediate Academy.

A spacious and bright training ground.

Many young men and women, with youthful and innocent faces, wearing practice uniforms, sat around the perimeter, their eyes fixed on the center of the field where two figures were rapidly sparring. The wooden swords in their hands clashed with a crisp sound, echoing throughout the training ground.

The two figures in the field were both about fifteen or sixteen years old. The young man on the right had a tall and slender build, a handsome face, and sharp eyes. His physique and demeanor were both excellent. Without considering anything else, just his top-notch appearance alone drew the bright, admiring gazes of some of the young women, who looked at him with a hint of shyness.

"Li Luo, go for it!"

Some of the bolder young women cheered for him.

In front of the young man named Li Luo stood a robust young man with a rugged face and dark skin, making him look like a black bear compared to Li Luo.

So when he heard the cheers for Li Luo, he immediately felt a bit jealous, baring his teeth and shouting, "Li Luo, I won't hold back!"

He took a step forward, causing the floor to tremble. The wooden sword in his hand sliced through the air, producing a whistling sound as it slashed toward Li Luo.

As the sword shadow descended, Li Luo's eyes flickered. He lightly tapped his foot and darted forward, his steps as agile as a flying sparrow, easily evading the heavy and fierce strike.

"That's the Sparrow Step!" someone in the field exclaimed, with a tone of admiration. The Sparrow Step was a low-level phase technique, and many in the field knew it, but few could use it as skillfully as Li Luo.

Li Luo's figure, like a flying sparrow, approached the robust young man. He suddenly drew his wooden sword with a swift motion, and for a moment, a faint light flashed, piercing toward the chest of the robust young man at incredible speed.

"The Little Spirit Light Sword!" someone else exclaimed in surprise. Li Luo's sword strike was like a hanging antelope horn, swift and fierce, making them all marvel at the fact that the top talent of Nanfeng Academy, Li Luo, truly lived up to his reputation.

As the sword shadow approached, the robust young man's expression changed. However, his strength was not to be underestimated. In a critical moment, he steadied himself, stomped his foot, and quickly retreated several steps.

At the same time, a faint silver light appeared on his body, and his hand holding the wooden sword seemed to transform into a blurry silver bear paw.

A low bear roar could be faintly heard from within the robust young man's body.

Seeing this, the many students in the field exclaimed, "That's Zhao Kuo's Fifth Rank Silver Bear Phase! It looks like he's getting serious!"

Amidst the many exclamations, Zhao Kuo took a step forward, causing a crack to appear in the floor. The heavy sword in his hand, carrying a fierce force, created a wave as it slashed toward Li Luo.

A silver light rose from the wooden sword, and a piercing whistling sound echoed.

"Violent Slash!"

The robust young man roared, and the red light of his sword clashed directly with the incoming sword shadow.

Bang!

In the next moment, the two swords collided.

In the intense clash, the wooden sword in Li Luo's hand almost shattered instantly. A force as brutal as a raging bear surged forth, shattering the entire wooden sword.

The force sent Li Luo reeling back several steps.

Li Luo steadied himself, looked down at the broken wooden sword in his hand, and smiled helplessly, saying, "Alright, Zhao Kuo, you win."

"Ah."

Upon hearing this, some of the young women in the field let out a sigh of regret, while many of the young men smirked, as they naturally felt a mix of envy and admiration for Li Luo's popularity among the girls.

"Such a pity. Li Luo's attacks were more fierce, and he was better at using phase techniques than Zhao Kuo. If it weren't for his lack of a phase, he would have won this match," someone commented.

"Yes, Zhao Kuo has a Fifth Rank Silver Bear Phase, with incredible strength. His phase power is probably at the Fifth Seal level. He truly is the strongest person in our Second Academy now."

"Li Luo's talent and insight in practicing phase techniques are indeed remarkable, but he was born with an empty phase, which is a significant weakness. Without strong phase power to support his techniques, even the most refined phase techniques are of little use."

"Haha, don't pity him. Who is Li Luo? He is the young lord of one of the four major estates of the great Xia Kingdom, the Luo Lan Estate. His parents are the youngest ennobled nobles in the great Xia Kingdom. In just ten years, they established the Luo Lan Estate, which has become one of the four major estates in the great Xia Kingdom. They are well-known not only in the great Xia Kingdom but also beyond its borders."

"Hey, it's been a while. Why are you still talking about old news? Since Li Luo's parents went missing in the 'Battlefield of Kings and Nobles' three years ago, the Luo Lan Estate has declined. From what I've heard, there are significant divisions within the estate, and it might even split in the future. His position as young lord might not last long."

"Oh? Is that so? The current leader of the Luo Lan Estate should be... Senior Sister Jiang Qing'e, right?"

At the mention of this name, all the young men in the field looked more excited, as she was a legend in Nanfeng Intermediate Academy.

However, when they thought about the relationship between this legendary senior sister and Li Luo, their gazes toward him became somewhat strange.

As the young men and women in the field whispered to each other, Zhao Kuo walked over to Li Luo, patted his shoulder, and grinned, "Are you okay? Don't blame me for winning unfairly."

Li Luo smiled. Zhao Kuo was straightforward and had a good relationship with him. Moreover, there was nothing unfair about the match.

After all, being born with an empty phase was his greatest weakness, and he couldn't blame Zhao Kuo for it.

On the sidelines, a middle-aged man named Xu Shanyue, a teacher at the Second Academy, retracted his gaze from the two in the field. His eyes were filled with regret.

Li Luo's insight was extremely outstanding. Any phase technique in his hands could be practiced faster than by ordinary people. In this regard, he clearly inherited the strengths of his two talented parents, even surpassing them.

But what was regrettable... Li Luo was born with an empty phase, making it difficult for him to cultivate phase power.

Human cultivation relies on one's phase, which is the fundamental basis for cultivation.

By using one's phase to absorb the energy of heaven and earth, the final result is called phase power.

Human phases come in countless varieties but are broadly divided into two categories: elemental phases and beast phases.

Elemental phases are the various elements of heaven and earth, such as water, fire, wind, and lightning. Beast phases, on the other hand, are said to have originated when a supreme strongman in the early days of humanity infused the spirits of myriad beasts into human bloodlines, thus creating the so-called beast phases.

Both elemental and beast phases have ranks, from the simple and understandable First to Ninth Rank.

When human children grow to around ten years old, a channel in their body opens, known as the phase palace.

When the phase palace appears, it naturally gives rise to one's phase.

For example, Zhao Kuo's phase palace awakened a Fifth Rank Silver Bear Phase, a type of beast phase.

The characteristic of this phase is immense strength, and when combined with phase power, its destructive power is quite astonishing.

However, Li Luo's problem lies here. After his phase palace opened, it did not reveal any phase, leaving it empty. This is known as the extremely rare empty phase.

Without a phase to absorb and refine the energy of heaven and earth, Li Luo naturally found it difficult to cultivate strong phase power... This was the fundamental reason he lost to Zhao Kuo.

Because his phase palace had no phase.

Regarding Li Luo's empty phase, the academy had conducted many tests. Due to the exceptional talents of his parents, the academy's leadership had high hopes for Li Luo, expecting him to eventually enter the most prestigious higher academy in the great Xia Kingdom, the Holy Profound Star Academy.

In his first year, Li Luo lived up to these expectations, showing remarkable talent in phase technique cultivation. He was directly promoted to the First Academy of Nanfeng Academy, which gathered the most talented young people from the entire Tian Shu Prefecture.

However, as time passed and the students reached the age when their phase palaces would manifest, he faced the most awkward situation.

While others had their phases, he... although his phase palace had formed, it was empty inside.

Without a phase, although Li Luo's progress in phase techniques was always faster than others, his phase power improved very slowly, and after a year, it was even below the average level of the First Academy.

The cultivation of phase techniques is to enhance phase power, but if the phase power is weak, even the most advanced phase techniques have limited power.

After multiple tests, the academy's leadership concluded that this was due to Li Luo's physical condition.

This condition, lacking a phase, made it difficult to absorb and refine the energy of heaven and earth, making future cultivation particularly challenging.

Upon this conclusion, the phase master of the First Academy directly applied to the academy's leadership to demote Li Luo to the current Second Academy.

This was normal, as the First Academy was the pride of Nanfeng Academy, and the phase master naturally did not want Li Luo to hold it back. More importantly, Li Luo's parents had been missing for a long time, and without these two pillars, the Luo Lan Estate, which was the weakest among the four major estates, faced a somewhat awkward situation in the great Xia Kingdom.

Thus, Li Luo eventually came to the Second Academy.

Xu Shanyue sighed inwardly. When Li Luo first came to the Second Academy, Zhao Kuo was not his match, but in just half a year, Li Luo was already being suppressed by Zhao Kuo.

At this rate, in the next half year, Li Luo's ranking in the Second Academy would likely continue to decline.

If Li Luo's final performance was only this, he would probably not be able to enter the prestigious Holy Profound Star Academy, which everyone aspired to.

Xu Shanyue looked at Li Luo's tall and slender figure and his calm, handsome face, feeling increasingly regretful. This young man had already worked very hard, but because his parents were so outstanding, others had high expectations of him. Now, those outstanding parents had become a kind of pressure for him.

After all, others would only say that a tiger father has a dog son, without understanding the deeper issues.

Li Luo faced the many regretful gazes, brushed off all the wood chips from his body, and then sat down nearby. He, of course, knew what everyone was thinking.

Empty phase...

This simply indicated a bleak future.

However... Li Luo slightly pursed his lips and involuntarily touched his lower abdomen. Apart from himself, no one knew that his special trait was not just the so-called empty phase.

In this world, cultivators initially have only one phase palace in their body. If they reach the Noble Rank, a second phase palace will form, and at the King Rank, they will have a third phase palace... However, reaching the Noble Rank is rare in the entire great Xia Kingdom, and the King Rank is even rarer.

Of course, this is not absolute. It is said that those with exceptional talent have a very low probability of forming a second phase palace before reaching the Noble Rank, but this probability is also extremely rare.

And Li Luo's other special trait was this... although he was still at the initial Ten Seals level, his body had not one but three phase palaces, something unheard of!

Yes, this was a level that only the peak King Rank cultivators could achieve, yet it appeared in Li Luo's body.

But what was even more astonishing was that all three phase palaces were empty!

So, if one empty phase means no future, then what about three empty phases? Does that mean a future or no future?

Li Luo sighed, his expression somewhat melancholic.

As Li Luo was lost in thought, Zhao Kuo sat down next to him and asked in a low voice, "Have you solved your empty phase problem yet?"

Li Luo just shook his head in response.

Seeing this, Zhao Kuo also sighed helplessly. He knew he was asking a pointless question, as phases are innate, and there has never been a case of filling them in later.

Li Luo's problem was clearly a huge challenge.

As they spoke, Xu Shanyue walked into the field, encouraged Li Luo a few times, and then addressed the many students, "Everyone, next month will be the most important exam period. Your future ability to enter a higher academy depends on this exam, so everyone should work hard and practice."

The students all looked solemn upon hearing this. They had studied hard for years, and the exam next month was their goal. If they could enter a higher academy, their future achievements would greatly improve.

After speaking, Xu Shanyue announced the end of the class.

Li Luo and Zhao Kuo walked out of the training ground together with the crowd.

"I need to practice my phase techniques more. You really hit me hard today. You freak, if your phase power were a bit stronger, I would have been beaten up by you," Zhao Kuo sighed wistfully as he left the training ground and waved goodbye to Li Luo.

Li Luo smiled as he watched his back. He understood that Zhao Kuo was afraid that the outcome of the match would affect his mood, so he left first.

However, over time, he had long gotten used to it.

Li Luo retracted his gaze and followed the path through the woods, heading out of the academy.

Along the way, he encountered many students, both male and female, who all looked at him. After all, even without considering his handsome appearance, Li Luo was a person with a unique legendary reputation in the academy.

Li Luo remained calm in the face of these gazes. He continued along the path until he stopped at the academy's entrance.

Ahead, a large crowd had gathered, making a lot of noise.

The place where the students were gathered was a green stone wall, the honor wall of Nanfeng Academy, which recorded all the outstanding individuals who had graduated from the academy.

The students had seen this honor wall countless times, and it should have become tiresome, but it was still the most lively place every day.

Li Luo pursed his lips. He, of course, knew the reason. Most people were there for her.

Li Luo's gaze fell on a spot on the honor wall. There was a crystal stone there, emitting rays of light that formed a slender and lifelike figure.

It was a girl, wearing the uniform of Nanfeng Academy. She had a simple white top, a deep blue short cloak that fluttered in the wind, a black skirt, and a pair of long, straight legs that were blindingly white.

She had delicate features, a straight nose, long and thick eyelashes, and skin as white as snow. Each of these features was impressive, but what left the deepest impression was her eyes.

Her eyes were golden, emitting a pure light that, if stared at for too long, could even create a sense of pressure.

Her expression was somewhat cold, and she looked forward, one hand on her slender waist, the other holding a heavy sword. In that moment, a sense of fierce and strong presence radiated from her.

This was a girl whose appearance and demeanor could make anyone's heart race.

Behind her figure, her name was engraved on the wall.

Jiang Qing'e, the shining star of Nanfeng Academy, possessed a Ninth Rank Light Phase. Her talent was so remarkable that it amazed countless people in the great Xia Kingdom.

In just two years, before the major exam, she was directly recruited by the Holy Profound Star Academy, becoming the first person in the Tian Shu Prefecture in a hundred years to receive this honor.

She had become a legend at Nanfeng Academy, and countless students looked up to her. Now, she was well-known throughout the great Xia Kingdom.

Li Luo stared at Jiang Qing'e's figure, then noticed some gazes from the surrounding students. Both male and female students looked at him with a mix of reluctance, envy, and curiosity.

Li Luo remained indifferent to their gazes, understanding their source.

Because of Jiang Qing'e.

This girl, revered as a goddess by both male and female students at Nanfeng Academy, was not only a disciple of his parents from a young age but also... engaged to him.

To put it bluntly, Jiang Qing'e was his fiancée.

(Thank you all for your support, whether you are new or old readers. I hope "Wan Xiang Zhi Wang" can accompany you again in the future.

Haha, writing this new book, I feel like a father when writing about Li Luo, maybe because I am a father now?

Yes, I hope you all like this new book, which is my greatest honor.)