Chapter 10

When the old cultivator's words were spoken, the hundred or so disciples of the Upper Academy in the quiet room looked at each other, puzzled: "Only one person received the true teachings. Who is it?"

Though they were all fellow disciples, each had a competitive spirit. The old cultivator said only one person received his true teachings but did not specify who, naturally causing much speculation. Everyone thought they were the one who received the true teachings.

"Isn't it simple to find out who received the true teachings?"

A spirited female disciple suddenly suggested, "Let's have a competition using the Thunderbolt Sword Technique. Whoever can outperform the others with the Thunderbolt Sword Technique must have received the true teachings!"

"That's a good idea!"

In the quiet room, many Upper Academy disciples were eager to try. Immediately, pairs of disciples began to duel, using only the Thunderbolt Sword Technique, without any other techniques, totem pillars, or soul weapons.

Instantly, lightning flashed in the quiet room as streams of thunderbolt sword energy erupted, carrying the might of thunder. Indeed, some of these Upper Academy disciples were exceptionally talented, using the Thunderbolt Sword Technique bare-handed, visualizing thunder in their minds, with rolling thunder sounds, quickly defeating their opponents. However, the power was not great, causing no significant harm!

In a friendly competition among fellow disciples, they naturally held back and did not go all out.

On one side, everyone was fighting enthusiastically, while in a corner, Zhong Yue continued to practice his Thunderbolt Sword Technique, not participating.

His Thunderbolt Sword Technique became increasingly clumsy, the thunderbolt he visualized with his mental energy winding and twisting, but within this clumsiness, an ancient aura gradually emerged, simple and grand, like a thunderbolt splitting a pine tree, or a thunderclap in an empty mountain!

His thunderbolt sword energy sometimes resembled a tree of lightning, radiating light, and sometimes was just a single sword beam!

His mental energy was highly concentrated, able to take form during visualization. If he visualized a dragon, it would become a dragon; if he visualized thunder, it would burst with the might of thunder.

However, the thunderbolt Zhong Yue visualized was far less spectacular and beautiful than those of the other Upper Academy disciples, lacking the dazzling and colorful display of the Thunderbolt Sword Technique, and thus did not attract much attention.

After a long time, the Upper Academy disciples had determined their winners, leaving only the spirited female disciple and a male disciple in contention. Both of their mental energies had reached the form-transformation realm, and with a thought, they could make lightning burst, their mental energies capable of generating electricity in the air!

The two figures moved swiftly in the quiet room, as fast as thunder, using various techniques of the Thunderbolt Sword Technique. The room was filled with the sound of lightning and thunder, with thunderbolts like swords attacking each other, quite astonishing!

Soon, the female disciple suddenly had a thunderbolt glow under her feet, lifting her body more than four feet off the ground. She moved in the air, raising her hand to strike a bolt of thunder sword light into the male disciple's chest.

The male disciple had not expected her to be lifted by the thunderbolt, as if she were about to fly in the air. Caught off guard, he was struck, his chest turning black, his hair standing on end, and he fell to the ground.

"Senior Sister Ting, I lost!"

The male disciple was straightforward, coughing up black smoke, holding his chest, and showing admiration: "Senior Sister is indeed more skilled, able to control the thunderbolt to fly in the air. No wonder Master Pu said only one person received his true teachings!"

"Senior Brother, are you hurt?"

The female disciple landed and smiled: "I can only control the thunderbolt for a short time, flying about ten zhang before landing, and I can't fly too high. There's still a long way to go before I can achieve what Master Pu described, flying a thousand miles with the thunderbolt."

The other Upper Academy disciples approached, all smiling: "Senior Sister Ting receiving Master Pu's true teachings is beyond doubt. In the future, when Senior Sister becomes a cultivator, flying a thousand miles with the thunderbolt will be no problem!"

Senior Sister Ting also smiled, then suddenly looked at Zhong Yue in the corner. She saw that Zhong Yue was still practicing the Thunderbolt Sword Technique, but his technique had become increasingly strange, almost unrecognizable compared to what Master Pu had taught. She frowned, thinking, "Such a strange Thunderbolt Sword Technique can't possibly be the true teachings. It seems Master Pu was indeed referring to me."

"Junior Brother Zhong Yue of the Zhongshan Clan!"

Senior Sister Ting approached, straightforwardly, and smiled: "I am from the Datian Clan, Senior Sister Ting Lan Yue, and I entered the Upper Academy a year before you. Junior Brother Zhong Yue, would you like to compete with me? Maybe it's you who received Master Pu's true teachings!"

Zhong Yue shook his head and smiled: "Senior Sister Ting, I've only been in the Upper Academy for four or five days. How can I be your match?"

"That's true."

Ting Lan Yue did not insist and smiled: "Our fellow disciples plan to enter the Sword Gate Demon Ruins to train and fight the demon race, enhancing the power of the Thunderbolt Sword Technique. I wonder if Junior Brother is interested in joining us?"

"The Sword Gate Demon Ruins?"

"Junior Brother doesn't know about the Sword Gate Demon Ruins?"

Ting Lan Yue realized: "That's right, you just entered the Upper Academy and don't know some of the secrets of our Sword Gate. In the past, our Sword Gate ancestors protected the human tribes in the wilderness, migrating to the Great Wasteland. At that time, the Great Wasteland was a demon domain, with demons living in it, and chaos reigned. Our ancestors, with great hardship, opened up the Great Wasteland for our human tribes to thrive, while the demon race in the Great Wasteland was suppressed in the Sword Gate Demon Ruins. The strange demons you encountered during the assessment in the Bisheng Hall were the weakest of the demons in the Sword Gate Demon Ruins."

Another Upper Academy disciple smiled: "There are many demons in the Demon Ruins, mostly weak demons like the Strange Demons and Spider Demons. We Upper Academy disciples can enter to train, and these weak demons are perfect for practice. We just received the Thunderbolt Sword Technique, and we need to experience real combat to enhance the power of the technique and understand its true essence in battle."

"Senior Brother He is right!"

The other Upper Academy disciples, full of energy, all smiled: "But Senior Brother He didn't mention one thing. Killing demons in the Demon Ruins can earn rewards from the sect, such as Feather Spirit Pills, totem pillars, and soul weapons!"

"Feather Spirit Pills? Totem pillars? Soul weapons?"

Zhong Yue was greatly interested. Totem pillars were useful for cultivation and combat, and soul weapons were battle weapons that greatly enhanced combat power. Feather Spirit Pills were even more crucial for him!

He was cultivating the Fire Palace Suihuang Visualization Diagram, which consumed a lot of resources, and he needed more Feather Spirit Pills to continue. His supply of Feather Spirit Pills was exhausted, and he needed more; otherwise, forced cultivation would drain his body, making it counterproductive.

Zhong Yue hesitated: "I'm not Master Pu's disciple. Can I enter the Sword Gate Demon Ruins?"

A female disciple said: "As long as you are an Upper Academy disciple, you can enter the Sword Gate Demon Ruins, but only once a month. The Demon Ruins are full of demons, and it's safer to go in a group. This time, with Senior Sister Ting and Senior Brother He, Senior Sister Ting has received Master Pu's true teachings, and Senior Brother He is almost there, so it will be absolutely safe!"

Ting Lan Yue smiled: "Fighting the demon race will also greatly benefit your understanding of the true teachings of the Thunderbolt Sword Technique."

Zhong Yue nodded and smiled: "Thank you, Senior Sister Ting and Senior Brother He."

Senior Brother He, who had lost to Ting Lan Yue in the previous duel, was from the Bihe Clan, with the surname He, named Chengchuan. He was also highly talented, one of the best among the hundreds of Upper Academy disciples under Master Pu, and very open and talkative.

Zhong Yue climbed the Sword Gate Mountain with the hundreds of disciples. The mountain became steeper, and clouds floated around them, making it feel as if they were walking on clouds.

Zhong Yue looked down and felt dizzy. The mountains below looked much smaller, and the Upper Academy seemed only the size of a palm.

After a while, the mountain became less steep, and the path widened. When they reached the halfway point of the Sword Gate Mountain, they saw a series of palaces, like mushrooms growing on tree stumps!

Zhong Yue had collected mushrooms in the mountains before, and they grew on tree stumps, extending out in circular platforms. The palaces of the Sword Gate Mountain were built on similar platforms on the cliffs, with bottomless abysses and swirling mists below!

"The Sword Gate's bumpkins have really made this place spectacular."

Xinhuo, the small child, looked around through Zhong Yue's eyes and couldn't help but praise: "The cultivators who built this place must have been close to the power of gods and demons!"

The disciples climbed onto a circular platform, and in front of a grand hall, they saw an old man with white hair and a white robe sitting, with a thick iron chain tied to a pillar beside him. On the other side, another old man with white hair and a white robe sat, also with a chain tied to a pillar.

The other ends of the two chains were connected in the air. Zhong Yue looked closely and saw nothing in the air, but the chains were suspended, as if tied to something.

He Chengchuan stepped forward and bowed: "Elders, we plan to enter the Demon Ruins to train and eliminate demons. Please allow us to enter."

One of the old men with white hair and a white robe nodded and said: "Look in the mirror in front of the hall."

The disciples gathered in front of the bronze mirror, which was enormous, about four or five zhang high. Zhong Yue was very curious, and He Chengchuan whispered beside him: "Junior Brother Zhong, this bronze mirror is a rare treasure, a high-quality soul weapon! Just by looking in the mirror, your image will be recorded. If you kill demons in the Demon Ruins, the number and merit will be recorded in the mirror, and the more merit, the more rewards you can get from the sect!"

Zhong Yue stepped forward and looked in the mirror, seeing his image appear. Others' images had text, recording when they entered the Demon Ruins, the number of demons killed, and the merit, while his was still blank.

"The treatment in the Upper Academy and the Lower Academy is different. Life in the Lower Academy is monotonous, but in the Upper Academy, it's colorful."

Zhong Yue couldn't help but sigh. He had lived in the Lower Academy for five or six years, with a hard and difficult life, and his cultivation was extremely monotonous. It was only in the Upper Academy that his life became more interesting.

The two old men raised their hands, each grabbing the iron chain tied to the stone pillars in front of the hall, and pulled. The sound of a door opening came, and as the chains were pulled, a sword gate slowly appeared in the air!

The gate seemed to be formed by splitting a sword in half, with the chains connected to the two halves. Because the sword was colorless, the gate was not easily visible.

Now, the sword gate was opened by the two old men, and light shone through. The area in front of the gate, which seemed empty, immediately revealed a staircase leading from the gate to the platform.

A pale black demonic aura overflowed from the gate, and eerie sounds of demons could be heard, making one shudder.

Ting Lan Yue and He Chengchuan led the way into the sword gate, followed by Zhong Yue and the others, entering the Demon Ruins.

Zhong Yue looked around, seeing that the sky in the Demon Ruins was dark and gloomy, with heavy clouds, making everything seem dim.

The distant mountains were also extremely treacherous, with jagged peaks like a forest.

A pale black demonic wind blew, lifting boulder-sized rocks, making it extremely dangerous.

"There are human females!"

Suddenly, a strange laugh came from a distance, and a large group of demons rushed over, a tribe of Strange Demons discovering that Zhong Yue and the Upper Academy disciples had entered the Demon Ruins!

The Strange Demons swarmed over, howling: "Kill the males, pickle them, and dry them for later! Capture the females, use them for breeding, and make them pregnant to produce the next generation of our race!"

——The Strange Demons howled: Quickly vote for the Supreme Human, or you'll be captured for breeding or dried for food~~

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