Back when Liu Bai left, Elder Chi Huo had given him many valuable items. But since Liu Bai was used to relying on the system to record things, anything that did not trigger a system response was casually tossed into his spatial ring and promptly forgotten.
Now it seemed that many of those items were indeed extremely useful treasures.
In the Myriad Flame Record, Liu Bai saw many powerful flames ranked near the top, including the Undying Divine Flame and the Solar True Flame.
However, many of these flames had not appeared in the Great Thousand World for a very long time.
For instance, the Solar True Flame and its various derivative flames. Among them, the Hao Tian True Flame ranked fifty fifth.
"To receive not only a wisp of the Undying Divine Flame but also a complete Hao Tian True Flame… I must say, your luck is truly extraordinary," Elder Chi Huo remarked with admiration.
"But I need to warn you of one thing. If you intend to merge this Hao Tian True Flame into your spiritual power, then you will have to give up the wisp of Undying Flame. Both flames possess extremely domineering natures. They are almost impossible to fuse together. If you force it, the consequences will be irreparable."
Although the Undying Flame was of a higher grade, the quantity he possessed was too little. As a result, the two flames stood evenly matched. And for Liu Bai, this was the real trouble.
Fortunately, he had already prepared a solution.
"Teacher, look…"
As he spoke, the Innate Five Elemental Spirit Disk released a golden firebird that lifted its head and let out a sharp cry.
"Gaa gaa…"
Well… that sound was indeed a bit unpleasant.
"The ancient Golden Crow… I see. You previously used Golden Crow True Flame, so this must be flame condensed from the ancient Golden Crow essence you fused with. And the Hao Tian True Flame and the Golden Crow True Flame share the same lineage. Your fusion will not cause problems. In fact, it will be even more beneficial."
After understanding the situation, Elder Chi Huo finally relaxed.
What he feared most was Liu Bai attempting to merge every strong flame he obtained.
Although they were all flames, many of them had severe attribute conflicts. Liu Bai had not cultivated the Flame Mantra like Xiao Yan, so he naturally could not fuse all flames into one.
"Teacher, I want to forge a set of High-Grade Spiritual Artifact, a Five Element Battle Armor. I already have some ideas in mind and would like your guidance…"
Liu Bai had accumulated many rare materials. Now that he possessed the Five Element Essences, he could even forge a set of spiritual armor with growth potential. Whether for himself or to leave behind as a family heirloom, it would be an excellent treasure.
"Oh? Tell me," Elder Chi Huo said, his interest piqued.
"My plan is to divide the armor into five components, each forged with one of the Five Element attributes. Then using the cycle of mutual generation and restraint among the elements, I will merge them into a complete whole…"
Liu Bai explained his design in detail.
Having cultivated the Innate Five Element Grand Law, he was naturally proficient in manipulating the Five Element forces. His design was already quite complete. What he lacked was practical refinement and seamless integration, which was why he sought Elder Chi Huo's help.
After listening carefully, Elder Chi Huo pondered for a moment before speaking. "I do not understand the Five Element principles as well as you do, but regarding the fusion of the materials you mentioned, I can offer some advice. This will also be a good opportunity for you to properly study the Divine Refinement Method."
Clearly, Elder Chi Huo still held a deep grudge about Liu Bai's lack of progress in the Divine Refinement Method all this time.
"No problem!"
Liu Bai glanced at the remaining experience points on his system panel and felt confident.
It only required ten thousand experience points to advance from the introductory to the minor mastery stage. Although he had not gained new experience recently, the remaining points were more than enough to raise his Divine Refinement Method.
The two immediately began working together. Elder Chi Huo soon noticed Liu Bai's improved refinement technique and felt deeply relieved.
But Liu Bai's inability to stay focused gave him a headache. The moment he broached the Divine Refinement Method, the boy immediately made progress, yet on normal days he clearly did not bother to practice at all.
Forging a High-Grade Spiritual Artifact required significant time. Designing and crafting one personally required even more. Even the experimental schematics demanded extensive effort.
Fortunately, Liu Bai's mastery of array inscriptions was extremely high. Designing the array patterns for the Five Element Armor was difficult, but not impossible for him.
Three days passed. Liu Bai completed one third of the design schematics, while Elder Chi Huo provided the initial draft for the material fusion arrays.
"All right, let us stop here for now," Liu Bai said as he stretched. "I have been back for several days, so I should return home and visit. With your design and material plan, I now have a much clearer direction."
Elder Chi Huo nodded. "Very well. But do not slack off on your forging. You must practice diligently."
"Do not worry, Teacher. I will."
Putting away the completed portion of the schematics, Liu Bai bid farewell to Elder Chi Huo and left the Spiritual Artifact Institute.
Having been away from home for more than half a year, his return brought great joy to the entire Liu Family.
But as Liu Bai looked at the now transformed Liu Family, he felt as though years had passed.
"Fortunately, we listened to you and moved the family from the Northern Spiritual Realm to Northern Heaven City. Otherwise, I would never have imagined such a change in my lifetime…" Liu Qingtian said with heartfelt emotion as he looked at his eldest son.
At present, Old Master Liu was still the strongest in the family, having already broken through to the Heaven Transformation Realm. His speed of advancement was largely due to the many pills Liu Bai had left behind.
Unlike the talented youths of Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, elders such as Liu Jingshan did not have to worry about exhausting their potential. For them, their potential was already nearly depleted.
And a rise in cultivation extended their lifespan, which was more important than anything.
Among the three Liu brothers, only Liu Qingtian had broken through to the Three Heaven Realm. But Second Uncle and Third Uncle had both reached the peak of the Divine Soul Realm and were close to breaking through.
Also, three months ago, Third Uncle Liu Ming married a third aunt for Liu Bai. She was the daughter of the Lin Family, one of the five great families of Northern Heaven City. Her cultivation was even higher than Liu Ming's. Although Second Uncle often joked that he had seen his younger brother being beaten up by his new wife more than once, Liu Ming always seemed very happy, clearly satisfied with this marriage.
"Actually, the Lin Family originally had their eyes on your second brother Mu Bai. Their chosen match was the youngest daughter of Lin Tang, the head of the Lin Family. But that kid only wants to enter Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy and follow in your footsteps. He rejected the proposal without hesitation. I heard the young lady was very unhappy about it!"
Liu Qingtian spoke with a tone of disappointment, clearly dissatisfied with his son's refusal.
Liu Bai chuckled softly. He had not expected his little brother to encounter a political marriage. But he approved of Liu Mu Bai's decision.
As the family successor he intended to groom, matters of romance were far too early for him.
"Let Mu Bai decide for himself. I already passed him a new cultivation method and spirit flame. This is the time when his growth is fastest. Do not distract him."
Liu Qingtian nodded.
He had considered all of this beforehand. That was why he had not forced Liu Mu Bai to accept the marriage and instead chose to "sacrifice" his third brother.
In truth, for both the Liu Family and the Lin Family, their intention was simply to establish a link between the two clans. Whether the person involved was a direct descendant or not did not matter much.
Besides, the Liu Family did not have many people to begin with. Liu Ming was the younger brother of Liu Qingtian and the direct uncle of Liu Bai. His identity was more than sufficient.
"The enrollment of Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy is about to begin. How are the quotas prepared for our Liu Family?"
Not only the Liu Family but all five great families had their own quotas. The City Lord's Mansion would also hold a public examination. These youths were all qualified to enter the Northern Heaven Realm in the future.
Liu Qingtian nodded and said, "Everything is ready. This time the ten quotas of our Liu Family have brought us considerable benefits. Many talented youths even chose to join the Liu Family directly for the sake of these quotas. This has greatly strengthened our family foundation."
"As for the seed quota, that one has been given to Mu Bai."
Liu Bai nodded. This was exactly what he had already expected. At present Liu Mu Bai was far stronger than his counterpart in the original storyline at the same stage. His cultivation had almost caught up to Third Uncle Liu Ming. Even during Liu Bai's own era of cultivation, such talent would have stood at the very top.
One must not forget that Liu Mu Bai had not even undergone the Spiritual Road Baptism.
"I suppose I have managed to nurture a true prodigy." Thinking of this, Liu Bai could not help but smile.
His own growth relied on the system, while Liu Mu Bai rose by his own efforts. That meant Liu Bai was effectively Mu Bai's external cheat.
At the very least, Mu Bai's fate had been completely altered because of Liu Bai.
Liu Bai stayed with the family for a while longer, refining a number of pills. The medicinal herbs had long been gathered by the Liu Family in preparation.
After discovering that Liu Bai was a Spiritual pill master, the family had begun collecting rare spirit herbs in earnest. They even opened several herb shops. With Liu Bai's connection to the Spiritual Pill Institute, they had specially invited one of the academy's students to serve as a resident Spiritual pill master.
Do not underestimate them just because they were students. Anyone who could enter the Spiritual Pill Institute was a true genius in the art of pill refinement. While none could compare to Liu Bai, there were plenty who had reached third or fourth grade Spiritual pill mastery.
After all, they dedicated all their efforts to pill refinement, unlike Liu Bai who treated it more as a casual sideline.
The Liu Family invited one fourth grade Spiritual pill master and three third grade Spiritual pill masters. The Liu Family provided the herbs and they refined the pills. As long as the pill completion rate remained above fifty percent, seventy percent of the finished pills would go to the Liu Family while thirty percent remained with the pill masters.
This arrangement was far more affordable than seeking external Spiritual pill masters. Although the pill completion rate was slightly lower, their main intention in coming was to practice using free spirit herbs. Both sides benefited.
As for Liu Bai, this time he refined mainly fourth grade Spiritual pills, intended for the old master to improve his cultivation. In the Azure Pill Codex, there was even a recipe for the fifth grade Opening Heaven Pill which could help cultivators at the Three Heaven Realm break through the bottleneck between each major stage. It was quite an extraordinary pill.
"Unfortunately the Liu Family's foundation is still insufficient. There is no way to gather all the medicinal ingredients for this recipe." Liu Bai shook his head and eventually gave up the idea of refining the Opening Heaven Pill.
Liu Bai did not stay long in the Liu Family. Before long, City Lord Ding Qian came to visit.
"The Dean is looking for me?" Liu Bai looked at Ding Qian in surprise. He had not expected the other party to receive a transmission from the academy specifically summoning him back.
"Do you know what it is about?"
Ding Qian shook his head. "I do not. But judging from the timing, it should be related to the Spiritual Road."
"The Spiritual Road?" Liu Bai was astonished. "What does that have to do with me?"
Seeing his confusion, Ding Qian explained, "You do not know this. The Spiritual Road is a special space owned jointly by the Five Academies. Inside it is a stationed force from the academies, effectively forming a small city. It is known as the Guardian Territory."
"The personnel of the Guardian Territory are called Instructors. They handle various assessments within the Spiritual Road and also help gather information on the youths entering it."
"Of course, they have one more crucial task. They serve as the final examiners of the Spiritual Road's last trial."
"Whenever the final stage of the Spiritual Road arrives, the Deans of the Five Academies personally appear to conduct the Sovereign Sealing Trial. Sometimes they bring talented students from their academies to observe which also serves as a form of free advertisement."
Liu Bai immediately understood.
"I see."
This kind of practice existed even in his previous life. Otherwise, why would every major school emphasize their outstanding alumni?
It seemed that no matter the world, even the most prestigious academies could not escape certain traditions during enrollment.
"The geniuses who clear the final trial of the Spiritual Road will certainly be interesting to see." Liu Bai rubbed his chin, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
This time the Spiritual Road would produce true prodigies, far stronger than Li Xuantong's group from the previous cycle.
By the time the next Spiritual Academy Tournament arrived, this group of new students would already be the main force of every great academy.
After sending off Ding Qian, Liu Bai briefly informed his father and then returned to the academy.
He summoned Jiu You, who was currently cultivating inside the academy's only eighth -rank Spirit Gathering Array using his Spiritual value token. When he saw the drastically reduced Spiritual value recorded on the plaque, Liu Bai felt his eyelids twitch violently.
Ever since entering Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, he had not even used the seventh-rank Spirit Gathering Array. Yet the Spiritual value he had painstakingly earned had been consumed in a massive chunk by this girl.
But remembering the pain she endured to save him, Liu Bai ultimately chose not to argue with her.
.....
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