As time passed, about a week later, the influence brought by the Hunting Battle gradually began to fade.
Liu Bai had replaced Wei Fan, who had participated in the Hunting Battle, and had become the new fourth place on the Heavenly Ranking. The reason he was only fourth was because the top three on the Heavenly Ranking had not taken part in the battle. If Liu Bai wanted to enter the top three, he would have to challenge one of them.
However, Liu Bai did not choose to take that step, yet he had still become the new number one on the Heavenly Ranking.
"Senior Lin Zheng and the other two actually chose to join the Discipline Hall. That's really unexpected." Inside the Willow God Society's headquarters, several of its higher-ups had gathered in Liu Bai's residence, discussing the recent development.
"Hehe, that's great! Now Big Brother Liu is number one on the Heavenly Ranking! Amazing! That means he's the strongest student in the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy. Let's see who dares to bully me now!" Su Yue'er placed her hands on her waist with a smug look.
"You little witch, even before this, no one dared to mess with you," Li Qing said with a chuckle.
After receiving the Spiritual Light Empowerment, the members of the Willow God Society had all achieved tremendous improvements in their strength.
At present, Su Xuan had advanced to the half-step Heaven Transformation Realm and had even entered the Heavenly Ranking. Although she was ranked only thirtieth, she was still within the top five among new students, not far behind the leading group.
As for Guo Xiong and Li Qing, both had barely entered the top hundred of the Heavenly Ranking, with their cultivation at the Late-phase of the Heaven Fusion Realm. An Ran had reached the peak of the mid-phase Heaven Fusion Realm, while Su Ling'er had finally broken through to the Heaven Fusion Realm as well.
It could be said that everyone had undergone earth-shaking changes. According to the original trajectory, it would have taken them at least a year and a half to reach their current level of cultivation. For someone like An Ran, whose talent was relatively ordinary, she would only have reached the Early-phase Heaven Fusion Realm by the time Mu Chen entered the academy.
This clearly showed that besides innate talent, finding the right person to follow was also extremely important for one's cultivation.
"With Lin Zheng and the others gone, the strength of the new generation is gradually emerging. Li Xuantong and Shen Cangsheng are still in seclusion. Based on my estimation, once they emerge, they'll likely have reached the Heaven Transformation Realm," Liu Bai said seriously after chatting casually with the others for a bit.
"With their monstrous talent, once Shen Cangsheng and Li Xuantong reach the Heaven Transformation Realm, they'll definitely possess the strength to enter the top ten of the Heavenly Ranking. As for He Yao, though he is somewhat scheming, his strength should not be underestimated either. He should also secure a good position on the Heavenly Ranking. Compared to them, you all must not slack off. Keep pushing yourselves."
Su Xuan, who was naturally gentle and not as ambitious as Shen Cangsheng or Li Xuantong, had also been forced into working harder under Liu Bai's influence.
Afterward, Liu Bai made his way to the Spiritual Array Institution to meet with Sikong Ling, the Grand Elder of the institution and its Heavenly Seat Elder, who had previously shown goodwill toward him.
Sikong Ling's residence was located deep within a lush bamboo forest. When Liu Bai arrived at the forest's edge, he found that there was no visible path ahead.
A faint wave of spiritual energy pulsed from the bamboo, clearly indicating that some sort of formation had been set up.
"A Array, huh…" Liu Bai frowned slightly, then smiled.
As the Heavenly Seat Elder of the Spiritual Array Institution, it wasn't surprising that Sikong Ling's residence was protected by a array. But Liu Bai did not believe for a moment that his open and unhidden arrival would go unnoticed.
Judging from the current state of the bamboo forest, this was clearly meant as some sort of test.
Walking closer, Liu Bai extended his hand, but just as he was about to touch one of the bamboo stalks, a transparent barrier stopped him.
Liu Bai did not act rashly. Instead, he placed his palm gently on the barrier and slowly closed his eyes.
In that instant, his spiritual sense spread outward, probing the array before him.
All spiritual arrays, no matter how complex, shared a single principle: each had a true core, known as the Array Heart.
Once the Array Heart was destroyed, even the strongest array would instantly collapse.
However, locating the Array Heart within a vast and active formation was far from easy.
The bamboo forest Array before him was Sikong Ling's test for Liu Bai. Only by passing this test would he be qualified to receive Sikong Ling's personal guidance.
In the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, guidance from elders required the expenditure of spiritual values. For a Heavenly Seat Elder like Sikong Ling, the cost would be astronomical.
Thus, if Liu Bai wanted free instruction, he would need to demonstrate enough talent and insight to earn it.
Soon, Liu Bai opened his eyes. At the point where his hand touched the barrier, a human-sized entrance slowly appeared.
As the entrance opened, the bamboo split apart on its own, revealing a narrow path that could only accommodate one person.
Liu Bai's expression remained serious.
He hadn't broken the array yet—he had merely found the method to enter it.
To truly dismantle the Array, he would have to step inside. Otherwise, trying to find the Array Heart from the outside was nothing more than a futile dream.
Of course, Liu Bai could also choose to forcibly destroy it.
After all, this was only a Fifth-Rank array, vastly inferior to his own Divine Cauldron Heaven Refining Array. With just one strike of his Tribulation Lightning, he could shatter it easily.
But doing so would defeat the purpose of the test, and he would fail Sikong Ling's examination.
The moment Liu Bai stepped into the array, it activated.
The bamboo shadows multiplied, and endless spiritual energy began to gather in the sky. Radiant light flooded the area, enveloping the entire forest.
Liu Bai's expression grew solemn. Five-colored light surged from his body, forming a divine glow as he gazed at the intricate network of spiritual lines and connections above him, faintly outlining a complex array pattern.
Just as he was carefully observing it, the spiritual energy above him fluctuated, and a pillar of light fell from the sky like a meteor, crashing directly toward him.
Liu Bai had already sensed the array's attack, but he didn't interrupt his observation. Instead, he chose to endure it head-on.
A deafening boom resounded as the spiritual light exploded a foot from his body. The five-colored divine light around him rippled, dimmed slightly, then quickly regained its brilliance.
It was as if a stone had been tossed into a pond—aside from a few ripples, no real harm had been done.
Perhaps witnessing Liu Bai's astonishing defense, the array unleashed two more consecutive attacks, each one stronger than the last. By the third strike, the power was comparable to a full-force attack from a quasi Heaven Transformation Realm expert.
It was evident that the array's power was being deliberately controlled, for it had yet to display the true might of a Fifth-Rank array.
Even so, with the protection of his Five Elements Divine Light, a manifestation of his Five Elements Divine Light Art, none of the attacks could harm him, not even break through his defense.
This entire scene was clearly visible to Sikong Ling, who was sitting in a pavilion at the heart of the bamboo grove, controlling the array. Even for a master of Array like him, there was a glimmer of surprise in his eyes.
"This boy's spiritual art is truly extraordinary. To think he can manifest a protective divine light with such powerful defense."
Sikong Ling's curiosity was piqued. He wanted to test just how strong Liu Bai's defense truly was.
Several spiritual light pillars shot down in rapid succession, all striking Liu Bai simultaneously. This time, even Liu Bai was forced to take a step back.
"That hurt," he muttered quietly.
Liu Bai rubbed his chest where the attacks had landed. Although the Five Element Divine Light he cultivated had shielded him from any actual injuries, the pain was still unavoidable. Those three beams each carried the force of a Late-phase Heaven Transformation Realm expert.
Now, Liu Bai fully understood the power of this Array. It seemed that the one controlling it had even set a time limit for him. If he failed to break the array before the attacks grew too strong for him to endure, then he would undoubtedly suffer.
Realizing this, Liu Bai steadied his mind, focusing entirely on the array lines above him. He began to project every strand of spiritual pattern he sensed into his mind.
Indeed, as someone who had already reached the state of Heart Array Mastery, Liu Bai quickly discerned the complete structure of the formation once he concentrated.
However, after grasping the full picture, he could not help but feel a wave of frustration.
This was not a single Fifth-Rank array but a composite of two peak Fourth-Rank array merged together. While this reduced its raw power slightly, it made the array much harder to dismantle.
The only advantage was that its strongest attack power had already been displayed in those three previous strikes. From here on, it could only increase the damage by repeatedly attacking him.
That meant he had a bit more time to break it.
"This old fox really planned it well…" Liu Bai muttered with a sigh.
Perhaps noticing the frown on Liu Bai's face inside the formation, the "culprit" behind it, Elder Sikong Ling, revealed a faint, amused smile.
After a brief complaint, Liu Bai no longer wasted time being annoyed.
It was just a composite array, and a simple dual-array combination at that. For a Fifth-Rank Array Master like him, it was far from impossible.
He had long studied the art of combining multiple arrays, even planning to merge a Hundred Spirit Sword Array into a Thousand Spirit Sword Array someday.
Once the full diagram of the array was mapped clearly in his mind, Liu Bai swiftly separated the two interwoven arrays, distinguishing their independent lines and configurations. He then identified both array cores using a method of division and convergence.
In his mental vision, a glowing light point pulsed repeatedly, as if guiding him. Without hesitation, Liu Bai gathered golden lightning around his fist and struck directly at the position corresponding to that light point.
Bang!
The space around him shuddered violently. In that instant, the sky seemed to brighten as the beams of spiritual light raining down vanished completely.
Without pause, Liu Bai launched his second strike, targeting the next light point. With another resounding impact, the second array core was shattered.
As his eyes opened, the bamboo forest before him began to part on its own. A stone path, two meters wide, appeared under his feet.
Following the path and turning a few bends, Liu Bai arrived at an ancient stone platform where a figure sat calmly with his back to him.
"Young one, are you not coming over?"
A deep voice suddenly echoed beside his ear. Liu Bai immediately advanced, stopping before the figure.
"Greetings, Elder Sikong." Liu Bai bowed respectfully.
Sikong Ling turned to look at him. Aside from a few creases on his robe, Liu Bai appeared completely unharmed. Clearly, the composite formation had failed to inflict any real damage.
That was unsurprising. Although the Array's combined might reached the level of a Fifth-Rank array, it was still fundamentally two Fourth-Rank arrays fused together. Its offensive strength remained its greatest weakness.
However, for a student at the Early-Phase the Heaven Transformation Realm, it would have been an insurmountable trial.
"Whether in cultivation, array mastery, or artifact refinement, you have already surpassed ninety percent of the students in the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy," Sikong Ling said, nodding with visible satisfaction. "Such terrifying talent… In the past two hundred years, this old man has never seen another like you. You are remarkable."
Sikong Ling's gaze grew increasingly approving as he looked at Liu Bai.
"Elder, you flatter me," Liu Bai replied calmly.
He knew very well that without his system's aid, he would have been just another ordinary cultivator in the humble Northern Spirit Realm. Becoming a genius in Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy would have been an impossible dream.
Liu Bai's modest demeanor made Sikong Ling secretly nod again. Not arrogant, not impetuous, utterly composed — truly a rare temperament for one so young.
"This is not flattery. Your comprehension and talent in the Dao of Spiritual Arrays have already been proven to me. Now, if there is anything you wish to ask, speak. I will do my best to answer."
A flash of joy crossed Liu Bai's eyes. He immediately said, "Elder Sikong, I wish to ask how I can raise my array mastery to the 'Heart Eye' realm."
Sikong Ling showed no surprise at this question.
From Liu Bai's current mastery of the Heart Array state, it was natural that he would seek to advance further.
That was precisely the topic Sikong Ling had intended to teach him today.
"The Heart Eye Realm is a profound state for Spiritual Array Masters. It differs greatly from the Heart Array you currently wield. To grasp it, talent alone is not enough — one must possess experience, understanding, and the insight to see through the essence of the world itself."
....
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