Chapter 7

Zhong Yue arrived at the Medicine Valley, collected ten Feather Spirit Pills, and then sought out the steward of the Upper Academy, moving into his own courtyard.

"This courtyard is a three-section compound. The back courtyard is for rest, the middle courtyard for receiving guests, and there is a meditation room for cultivation. The front courtyard is where the servants live."

The steward led Zhong Yue to tour the courtyard, smiling and said, "Some noble children from tribes bring over a dozen servants with them, who attend to their needs while they focus on cultivation. The servants can live in the front courtyard. The Upper Academy token is quite special; just place it in the groove above the main gate, and it will activate the totem pillar in the courtyard, forming an invisible barrier to lock the courtyard. No one can enter. To remove the barrier, simply take out the token. The token needs to be nourished with soul and spirit, so that others cannot remove it when placed in the groove."

Zhong Yue's eyes lit up. This function of the Upper Academy token was indeed considerate. Although the Upper Academy disciples were just entry-level, they needed to focus on cultivation without being disturbed, or they might easily go astray.

With this token, others could not enter, so there was no need to worry about being interrupted during crucial moments of cultivation. Moreover, if there were important items in the courtyard, there was no need to worry about them being stolen.

"May I ask, how do the Upper Academy disciples cultivate?" Zhong Yue inquired.

The steward smiled and said, "Every new Upper Academy disciple is reported to the Sword Sect's Qi Practitioners. These Qi Practitioners will come to select disciples, teach them cultivation techniques, and guide their practice. Each Qi Practitioner has over a dozen Upper Academy disciples under them. In the future, when these Upper Academy disciples become Qi Practitioners, it will be a source of pride for their masters. Rest assured, as long as you pass the Blue Sky Hall examination, it will take at most five to six days, or as little as one or two days, for a Qi Practitioner to take you under their wing."

"Is that so?" Zhong Yue breathed a sigh of relief.

The steward left, and Zhong Yue immediately placed the token on the main gate. The totem pillar in the courtyard hummed and the courtyard was sealed. Zhong Yue carefully put down his medicine basket and took out the old, battered bronze lamp. The flame flickered, and the ember remained in deep slumber.

"How long will the ember sleep?"

He thought for a moment and took out a small jade bottle. As he opened it, a faint medicinal fragrance wafted out. Inside were ten pills the size of soybeans, precisely the Feather Spirit Pills.

In the past, he had to work hard to gather and refine medicines, spending months to collect the ingredients, and whether he could successfully refine them was uncertain. Now, as an Upper Academy disciple, he was given ten pills at once, and ten more each month. For Zhong Yue, this was a tremendous wealth!

A single Feather Spirit Pill could make an ordinary person as light as a swallow, with immense strength, and able to go without food or drink for half a month. Even an outer disciple of the Sword Sect, after taking a Feather Spirit Pill, could practice continuously for two to three days without fatigue, replenishing their spirit, nourishing their body, and invigorating their soul!

Zhong Yue took a Feather Spirit Pill, and immediately felt a surge of potent medicinal energy transform into pure energy, flooding his limbs and body, making him feel incredibly comfortable. His body, like a long-dry land, was nourished by the medicinal energy, which flowed like a gentle stream, gradually restoring his withered muscles, a truly wondrous sensation.

Before long, Zhong Yue had regained his former well-proportioned physique, with firm muscles, and the energy he had expended from practicing the Fire Age Palace Sui Emperor Visualization was replenished.

He also felt his spirit being nourished, with ripples forming in his sea of consciousness, making a rustling sound.

Not only that, his soul was also invigorated, making him feel very comfortable.

"The Feather Spirit Pill is indeed miraculous. I've heard that some disciples from large tribes can take such pills every day, no wonder they progress so quickly! While I have the chance, I'll practice the Sui Emperor Visualization to see if I can make further progress!"

Zhong Yue immediately visualized the Fire Age Palace Sui Emperor, with waves surging in his sea of consciousness, forming the Sui Emperor, the Fire Age Palace, and the Fire Tree. At the same time, his mental energy began to rapidly deplete, but because he had taken the Feather Spirit Pill, it was also continuously replenishing.

After an unknown amount of time, the medicinal energy of the Feather Spirit Pill was exhausted, and Zhong Yue immediately took another pill and continued his practice. His sea of consciousness continued to expand, with new mental energy replacing the old, making his sea of consciousness larger and his soul stronger!

Unconsciously, the medicinal energy of the Feather Spirit Pill was exhausted again, and Zhong Yue took a third pill.

One by one, the Feather Spirit Pills were consumed, and he was immersed in the wonders of visualization, feeling for the first time that cultivation was not tedious but rather interesting and full of anticipation!

"Huh? The Feather Spirit Pills are gone?"

Zhong Yue suddenly woke up, looking at the empty jade bottle in surprise. Ten Feather Spirit Pills, which ordinary Upper Academy disciples would take a month to consume, had been exhausted by him in this session of cultivation!

"It's only been about four days. In four days, I've exhausted ten Feather Spirit Pills..."

Zhong Yue felt a headache. Practicing the Fire Age Palace Sui Emperor Visualization was like a bottomless pit; without sufficient resources, it was impossible to cultivate!

"No wonder the ember said I can only eat spirit pills and elixirs. If I eat ordinary food, it would surely drain my body and starve me to death!"

Zhong Yue took a deep breath, stood up, and walked out of the meditation room to the garden in the back courtyard, gently stretching his limbs. He felt an explosive force within his body, thinking, "After taking ten Feather Spirit Pills and practicing for four consecutive days, I wonder if I can now perform the soul invocation?"

He focused his mind, and his soul left his body, instantly attaching to a stone block weighing a hundred or so pounds in front of him.

Whoosh—

The stone block suddenly flew up, hovering in front of Zhong Yue. His soul attached to the stone block, and as his soul rose, it lifted the stone block as well. This was one of the techniques used by Upper Academy disciples in combat; the stronger the soul, the heavier the object they could lift.

Theoretically, if the soul was powerful enough, it could even lift a mountain, fly through the sky, and even destroy a city!

However, this was just a theory.

Among Upper Academy disciples, those who could lift a thousand pounds were already considered outstanding. Moreover, using heavy objects as an attack method was the most basic approach. When Upper Academy disciples performed soul invocation, they often infused their souls into weapons, which were engraved with totem patterns. Once invoked, the weapons moved as fast as lightning, cutting through iron like butter, and were invincible, with immense power!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

In the garden, Zhong Yue manipulated the stone block to fly around, moving like the wind, up and down. Suddenly, the stone block lost control and smashed into a rock formation, which was several zhang tall, breaking it in half, with half of it falling into the water, an astonishing sight!

"In the Sword Sect, soul invocation has unique techniques. Controlling weapons with the soul has its own sword techniques and subtleties. Only by practicing these techniques can the power of soul invocation be fully unleashed, rather than just randomly attacking and losing control."

Zhong Yue thought for a moment, "To master the subtleties of soul invocation, I need someone to teach me. The Upper Academy steward said that new Upper Academy disciples would be personally taught by Qi Practitioners and taken under their wing. Why has no one come to find me these past few days?"

He didn't think much about it and then shouted, visualizing the Coiling Dragon Totem. His mental energy surged, forming dragon scales and claws, gradually revealing a dragon body, becoming clearer and clearer, coiling around his body!

Then, a ferocious dragon head slowly lifted from his back, staring fiercely ahead, with its claws gripping Zhong Yue's shoulders!

Zhong Yue felt as if boundless strength was surging into his arms!

The dragon's hind claws gripped his legs, making him feel as if he possessed the dragon's explosive power and speed!

Zhong Yue looked at his hands and feet in disbelief, seeing a substantial dragon body coiling around his arms, body, and legs, even the dragon's body slowly moving, and the long whiskers of the dragon head hanging down in front of him!

It was as if he was truly wrapped by a ferocious dragon, with its power merging with his own, becoming one!

"Has the Coiling Dragon Totem reached its limit at this level?" Zhong Yue murmured.

"Far from it."

Suddenly, the voice of the ember child came, and Zhong Yue was overjoyed. A small flame floated out of the meditation room, with disproportionately large arms and legs and a large head, with fiery red hair, the ember child from the bronze lamp.

"Your Coiling Dragon Totem is far from complete. You have only obtained the skin of the dragon, not its body or spirit."

The ember child jumped onto Zhong Yue and walked into the dragon's mouth, moving along the dragon's body: "Look, your Coiling Dragon Totem only has the skin, no bones or muscles. It has the form but not the substance, and can only unleash a fraction of a real dragon's power. Your Coiling Dragon Totem also lacks the true ferocity of a dragon, and is far from complete. To master this body-strengthening technique, you need to capture a live ferocious dragon, study its muscles, blood, bones, and spirit, and then visualize it."

Zhong Yue laughed, "If I could capture a live ferocious dragon, would I still need to visualize it?"

"That's true."

The ember child thought for a moment and agreed, "But if you were a pure-blooded Fuxi clan member, you wouldn't need to capture a dragon. Just by releasing your aura, it would be enough to make the dragon submit, allowing you to study it. Hmm? Many Fuxi clan members! Come, come, let me out quickly!"

Zhong Yue dispersed his mental energy, and the ember child immediately entered his sea of consciousness, urging, "If we don't find a pure-blooded royal clan member soon to complete the ember inheritance, I might extinguish. There are so many people here; we might find a pure-blooded Fuxi clan member!"

Zhong Yue took him out of the courtyard and saw many Upper Academy disciples heading to the Scripture Hall, where Qi Practitioners were likely coming down from the mountain to teach techniques.

"Why haven't any Qi Practitioners taken me under their wing yet?" Zhong Yue saw several outer disciples who had passed the Blue Sky Hall examination with him also heading to the Scripture Hall, feeling even more puzzled.

The ember child peeked out through his eyes, muttering, "Not pure-blooded, not pure-blooded, not pure-blooded... What happened to the Fuxi clan? Among a thousand people, not even one pure-blooded member can be found, not even as good as you! Come, come, go that way, where there are more people, and we might find a pure-blooded one!"

Zhong Yue also wanted to go to the Scripture Hall to ask the steward why he hadn't been taken under a Qi Practitioner's wing to learn techniques. As he approached the Scripture Hall, suddenly two arcs of light flashed, and two totem pillars landed in front and behind Zhong Yue!

Instantly, a pressure from the totem pillars pressed down on him, pinning him to the ground!

"Zhong Yue of the Zhongshan clan? You seem to have gained some weight, almost unrecognizable."

An Upper Academy disciple walked over, looking Zhong Yue up and down, and suddenly kicked at his knees, smiling, "Zhong Yue, we have no grudges or enmities, and we've never met before. But you embarrassed my master, so he asked me to teach you a lesson. By the way, my master's surname is Tian. You can kneel outside the Scripture Hall for a few hours!"

---

The page turns, and the advertisement begins.

The page turns, and the advertisement ends.