After some careful selection, Liu Bai chose a few items that he currently needed the most based on his own situation.
A cultivation art was absolutely necessary, but he could only set his sights on a mid-level Spirit-grade technique. The best choice, naturally, was the Golden Crow Explosive Flame Art. This would allow for a seamless replacement of his current Blazing Sun Art, and it would also match perfectly with the Ancient Golden Crow Essence in the future.
Next was a Rank-3 Array Diagram, the Hundred Spirit Sword Array.
Once deployed, this Array could condense a hundred strands of sword energy within its bounds. Each strand of sword energy held the power equivalent to a mid-phase Heaven Fusion Realm cultivator. Under a barrage of one hundred swords, even a Heaven Transformation Realm expert would not dare to underestimate it.
Of course, the reason Liu Bai overlooked the steep cost of thirty thousand spiritual values wasn't just due to the Array's powerful might. Another reason was that he had spotted a Rank-5 Array in the catalogue called the Thousand Spirit Sword Array, which was an advanced version of the Hundred Spirit Sword Array, and valued at a staggering two million spiritual values.
Although it would be impossible for Liu Bai to obtain that Array anytime soon, it gave him an idea. If he could set up ten Hundred Spirit Sword Array at once, wouldn't that create the effect of a Thousand Spirit Sword Array?
Naturally, this came with many complications.
Setting aside the issue of power, just figuring out how to merge ten Rank-3 Array's together was a headache. Not to mention, a single Hundred Spirit Sword Array required eighty spiritual seals for support. To deploy ten at once, Liu Bai would need to wield the ability to form at least five hundred spiritual seals.
As for that part, Liu Bai could already manage it. The only thing lacking was sufficient spiritual power. So this idea would have to wait until after he advanced to the Heaven Fusion Realm.
Besides these, Liu Bai also found two books: Foundational Art of Spiritual Weapon Forging and Basic Principles of Spiritual Pill Alchemy. With these, Liu Bai could become both a Spiritual Weapon Craftsman and a Spiritual Alchemist…
Even if he could only forge some lower-tier spiritual weapons and concoct basic spiritual pills, he could still sell them in the Spiritual values Hall for a decent amount. This was one of the methods Liu Bai had thought of to quickly accumulate a large number of spiritual values.
Of course, all of this hinged on Liu Bai having enough spiritual values to exchange for these items.
Hundred Spirit Sword Array cost thirty thousand, and the Golden Crow Explosive Flame Art nineteen thousand. Just those two alone amounted to a number that would make any newcomer tremble.
Fortunately, the last two were only foundational texts, and not expensive. Together, they only cost two thousand spiritual values.
Two thousand spiritual values—a sum enough for a newcomer to cultivate in an A-grade zone for an entire month. If others found out that Liu Bai actually thought that wasn't expensive, they'd probably die of envy.
He made his way to the top floor of the small pavilion. From there, the blue sky was fully visible, and in the distance, part of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy came into view.
Liu Bai turned his gaze toward the academy's most eye-catching location—the giant Divine Bird Mountain. More specifically, toward the massive stone tablet etched with the Spirit Rankings on the left wing of the mountain.
"Next, whether I can get everything I want will depend on how well you perform."
In the original story, Mu Chen had surged into third place on the Spirit Rankings, earning not only one thousand daily spiritual values but also a bonus of twenty thousand for making it onto the list.
If Liu Bai could also break into the top three, then in just ten or twenty days, he might be able to get everything he needed.
As for whether doing so would, like in the original, attract the resentment of the upperclassmen who were already on the rankings—that didn't even enter Liu Bai's mind.
The reason he had been forcefully suppressing his breakthrough was for this very moment. Even if those upperclassmen were already at the Heaven Fusion Realm, so what? Setting aside his ability to ascend at any moment, even without it, Liu Bai was confident he could defeat those parasites who clung to the Spirit Rankings for petty rewards.
With that thought, Liu Bai smiled lightly. Then, his hand slowly clenched, and the spiritual values token floated in front of him, emitting a soft glow.
Fixing his gaze on the spiritual vlaues token, Liu Bai's eyes grew sharp. As his hand clenched tighter, waves of immense spiritual power surged out of his body like tides, causing the surrounding air to ripple.
Within his Spirit Sea, the massive Spiritual Power Light Wheel began to flash rapidly, and the Divine Soul seated upon it radiated brilliant light, pushing his internal spiritual power to its peak.
That wasn't all. In the Earth Aperture space, atop a thousand-zhang-high peak, a terrifying three-headed beast resembling a dragon suddenly awakened. Its six massive eyes opened wide as its colossal body coiled around the mountainside. Three dragon heads lifted toward the sky, letting out an earth-shattering roar.
Boom!
With the roar, the Earth Element Spiritual Wheel exploded with power, unleashing boundless spiritual energy.
At the same time, the ninth level Blazing Sun Art provided Liu Bai with a level of spiritual power comparable to a mid-phase Heaven Fusion Realm cultivator. With the rapid rotation of the Fire Element Spiritual Wheel, that power also surged from his Heart Aperture.
In that moment, Liu Bai fully activated the vast ocean of spiritual power within his body. The surrounding air within several hundred meters of the pavilion quaked from the pressure.
In the distance, the lake—once calm like a mirror—suddenly exploded and began to boil violently, as if stirred by fire.
This disturbance naturally drew the attention of the nearby new students. On the left, Guo Xiong stood with his two underlings. On the right, Li Jing and An Ran both stepped out of their rooms, looking curiously toward the source of the spiritual energy fluctuations.
"What's Boss Liu Bai doing? Cultivating?" Zhang Heng, one of Guo Xiong's underlings, scratched his head and asked.
Before he finished speaking, the other underling, Shao Rui, slapped him on the head.
"Idiot. How could simple cultivation cause such a commotion? Unless Boss Liu Bai is breaking through to the Heaven Fusion Realm…"
But that was impossible. After all, Liu Bai was still only at the late-phase Divine Soul Realm. To break through to the Heaven Fusion Realm, even with his talent, he'd need at least two months… no, one month!
Shao Rui nodded to himself while imagining it.
Guo Xiong glanced at the two with annoyance, regretting once again why he had taken in such dim-witted followers.
This kind of phenomenon clearly wasn't caused by a breakthrough or cultivation. If he had to guess, Guo Xiong suspected that Liu Bai was attempting to challenging Spirit Rankings!
Thinking back to what the instructor had once said, one only needed to pour spiritual power into the spiritual values token with all their might to attempt entry onto the Spirit Rankings. If they succeeded, they'd receive a generous spiritual values reward.
At that thought, Guo Xiong felt a bit stirred himself. Maybe he should give it a try too?
Of course, Guo Xiong wasn't the only one who had figured out Liu Bai's intentions. On the other side, Li Jing and An Ran had also reached the same conclusion.
At this moment, both of them were considering the same idea. Especially Li Qing—she had already reached the peak of the Divine Soul Realm and could break through at any time. So she could emulate the actions of the upperclassmen and earn herself a fortune in spiritual values in the process.
Li Qing-jie, which rank do you think he'll reach?" An Ran raised her head, looking toward the majestic Divine Bird Mountain, and suddenly asked.
Li Qing thought for a moment, then said, "Although Liu Bai is only at the late-Phase Divine Soul Realm I can sense an extremely terrifying and vast spiritual energy within him. Since he's chosen to challenge the Spirit Rankings now, he must be fully confident. At the very least, he should be able to enter the top ten."
"The top ten of the Spirit Rankings?" An Ran was visibly shocked.
According to what the senior students had said before, the top ten of the Spirit Ranking were all senior students who had found a shortcut just before breaking through to the Heaven Fusion Realm. That meant their spiritual energy had already reached the peak of the Divine Soul Realm, even nearing half-step Heaven Fusion Realm. Trying to take a spot from them wasn't going to be an easy task.
With that in mind, An Ran looked toward Liu Bai's direction with a trace of anticipation in her eyes. Then she saw a beam of light shooting straight into the sky, streaking across the heavens and heading directly for the colossal stone stele on the left wing of the Divine Bird Mountain, the very symbol of glory within the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy.
Buzz!
The moment the beam of light entered the stone stele, all the freshmen who had been alerted could clearly see the Spirit Ranking erupting with a dazzling radiance.
A golden light surged upward within the ranking at a shocking speed.
Within mere moments, the golden light had already surged into the top ten.
An uproar swept through the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy.
Although the Spirit Ranking was the most basic ranking within the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, its top ten positions were notoriously difficult to shake. Everyone knew that those holding top ten spots, though nominally still in the Divine Soul Realm, possessed true Heaven Fusion Realm strength.
Not only did the freshmen resent this practice, but even some senior students looked down upon it with contempt.
"I wonder who's making a show of things again during their breakthrough to the Heaven Fusion Realm," one senior student said, clearly used to such spectacles.
"Hmph, these guys are so shameless. They always do this and never leave any room for us freshmen," grumbled a disgruntled freshman.
"Heh, we went through the same thing back in our day. Freshmen always think they're invincible. They need to be knocked down a peg or two." This speaker was clearly someone who had once been bullied by senior students and was now taking satisfaction in paying it forward.
"Tch, there's always people like this. If they really had the guts, they'd go challenge the Heaven Ranking. What's there to brag about on the Spirit Ranking? Don't those guys feel ashamed clinging to the top ten?"
Different people had different opinions.
But Liu Bai paid them no mind. He continued pouring every ounce of spiritual energy into his charge at the ranking.
Under countless gazes, that golden beam climbed ever higher.
Ninth...
Seventh...
Fifth...
When it reached fourth, a noticeable stir spread among the crowd.
Although the Spirit Ranking was the entry-level list within the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, those who had managed to maintain top positions for so long clearly weren't weak. No one believed they held their spots without true ability.
Especially the top three.
Those three had already gained some fame even among all Heaven Fusion Realm cultivators within the Academy. For more than half a year, their rankings had remained virtually unshaken.
"To think someone is aiming for the top three. Who could it be?"
That question surfaced in many people's minds.
Meanwhile, Li Qing and the others who witnessed it firsthand were already dumbfounded.
Because they could see clearly that the golden beam of light had originated from Liu Bai. If not for that, they might have assumed another senior student was making a move.
Third!
When the golden light reached this spot, many began to marvel. Was another genius on the rise?
Second!
Li Qing, An Ran, Guo Xiong and the others were struck speechless.
First!
At that moment, not only the freshmen but even many of the observing senior students were left in stunned silence.
The first place on the Spirit Ranking had changed hands!
"Hiss... If I recall correctly, Huo Yun, who was previously ranked first, already qualifies to enter the Heaven Ranking, right?" someone gasped.
"Yeah, I heard he recently broke through to the peak of the mid-phase Heaven Fusion Realm and was about to challenge the Heaven Ranking…"
"Heh, looks like a good show is coming. Huo Yun held that top spot for over half a year. Originally, he could've stepped down with dignity once he succeeded in entering the Heaven Ranking, but now he's been forcibly kicked off. He's going to lose it…"
What could have been a graceful exit had turned into a slap in the face...
Since Huo Yun was already in the Heaven Fusion Realm, once he was forced out of the ranking, he wouldn't simply drop a spot like normal, but would be completely removed from the Spirit Ranking. This was tantamount to having his face stomped into the ground.
Even if Huo Yun no longer cared about the Spirit Ranking, in a situation like this, he would have no choice but to respond. Otherwise, he would become a laughingstock throughout the entire Academy—even if he made it into the Heaven Ranking, he'd be mocked relentlessly.
Many people were already eagerly anticipating an epic battle...
At the same time, the glow on the ranking began to gradually fade, ultimately transforming into a name written in golden light.
First place on the Spirit Ranking: Liu Bai, one day of cultivation in the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy.
The atmosphere in the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy fell silent at that moment.
One day of cultivation in the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy?
That meant he had just arrived today as a freshman?
A freshman had actually kicked all the senior students off the Spirit Ranking? And he took first place?
But this silence lasted only for a brief second before erupting like oil splashed into boiling water.
A freshman, on his very first day, had trampled every senior student on the Spirit Ranking beneath his feet. How many years had it been since something like this had happened in the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy?
At that moment, countless freshmen were thrilled. Who would've thought that they too would witness such a day?
Even though the one ranked first wasn't themselves, countless freshmen felt a strong sense of shared pride.
Of course, some envious eyes were glaring silently in the shadows. "If it weren't for people like Li Xuantong, Shen Cangsheng, Su Xuan, and Zhou Fan having all broken through to the Heaven Fusion Realm, where would this no-name have gotten the chance to shine?"
Regardless of whether they were freshmen or senior students, whether they admired, envied, or ridiculed him, Liu Bai paid no attention.
At this moment, he was simply gazing at the number on his Spiritual Value Token, a silent smile spreading across his face.
...
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