The world below had vanished.
Hanyuan's fingers dug into the soft, velvet-like surface of the giant jade leaf. It was a massive flying artifact, glowing with a soft emerald light that created a protective shimmering barrier against the freezing high-altitude winds. Below them, the sprawling forests of the Southern Continent looked like a carpet of moss, and the mountains of Spirit Springs City were nothing more than pebbles in a stream.
Elder Qi watched the boy's awe-struck face with a faint, knowing smile. "It is quite a view for the first time, isn't it? Up here, you start to see the world as a cultivator truly should—broad and without borders."
He walked to the edge of the leaf, his hands clasped behind his back as the wind tousled his silver-gray hair. "Hanyuan, you come from a small city where the Mortal Core stage is considered the peak of existence. Your father is a respected man, but you must understand the ladder you have begun to climb. Beyond the Mortal Core stage lies the Nascent Soul Realm."
Hanyuan's eyes snapped to the Elder. "Nascent Soul?"
"In that realm, your Mortal Core shatters," Elder Qi explained, his voice melodic against the hum of the flying artifact. "From those fragments, a spiritual infant—a Nascent Soul—is born within your Dantian. It is the birth of a second life. In that stage, your lifespan increases to three hundred years, and your Divine Sense awakens, allowing you to see through stone and shadow. Should your physical body be destroyed, your soul can even leave the flesh to seek a new host."
Hanyuan gasped, his heart hammering. Possession? Lifespans measured in centuries?
"But that is only the beginning," Elder Qi continued. "When that infant matures and merges with your spirit, you enter the Soul Transformation Stage. No longer do you rely solely on your own meager internal Qi; you can command the very Qi of the world around you, turning the heavens themselves into your weapon. Your lifespan stretches to five hundred or even six hundred years."
"Then... the Sect Leader?" Hanyuan asked, his voice a hushed whisper.
Elder Qi chuckled softly. "The Sect Leader is at the stage beyond Soul Transformation. It is a level of power where one's footsteps can change the tides of a sea. But it is far too early for you to learn of such things. For now, you should know where I stand. I am currently at the Peak of the Nascent Soul Realm. Most Inner Sect Elders are in the Soul Transformation stage, and we even have a Grand Elder who rivals the Sect Leader."
Hanyuan gripped his spear, his knuckles turning white. To a boy who thought a city-wide brawl was the height of conflict, this information was like a tsunami. His father, the man he had spent years trying to surpass, was only at the bottom rung of a much taller ladder.
He wasn't a dragon among men; he was just a frog who had finally been plucked from his well.
"The world is so big..." Hanyuan murmured, looking out at the endless clouds. Then, a new fire ignited in his obsidian eyes. If such heights existed, he wanted to stand upon them. He reached into his robes and pulled out the small bottle his father had given him. "Elder Qi, my father gave me a Qi Paving Pill. May I consume it now?"
Elder Qi turned and looked at the bottle. He nodded slowly. "A wise choice. The Outer Sect's Trial will be grueling. The stronger you are before we land, the higher your chance of survival. We have three days before we reach the Mystic Sky Sect's gates. Sit, Hanyuan. I will guard you while you refine the medicine."
Hanyuan didn't hesitate. He sat cross-legged in the center of the giant leaf, the emerald glow illuminating his pale skin. He uncorked the bottle and tipped the pill onto his tongue. It tasted like cold honey and old earth.
As the pill dissolved, it felt like a smooth, heavy stream of liquid metal flowing through his meridians. It was a "Paving" pill—its purpose was to fill the cracks in his foundation and widen the pathways for his Qi.
Hanyuan closed his eyes, his blackened steel spear resting across his lap. He focused on his Dantian, where the pool of silver-violet Qi began to expand, lapping at the shores of the 5th Layer.
The medicinal energy of the Qi Paving Pill acted like a master mason, smoothing the jagged edges of Hanyuan's previous rapid breakthroughs and reinforcing the walls of his meridians with a lustrous, ivory sheen. In his Dantian, the silver Qi began to spin in a high-speed vortex, drawing in the thick spiritual energy of the high altitudes until a dull thrum vibrated through his bones.
Crack.
The barrier of the 5th Layer shattered. Hanyuan's perception expanded; he could suddenly feel the moisture in the clouds passing beneath the leaf and the subtle fluctuations of Elder Qi's terrifying power beside him.
"So this is the 5th Layer..." Hanyuan murmured, opening his eyes. His gaze was sharper, his pale skin slightly more translucent. He clenched his fists, feeling a density in his muscles that surpassed any physical training he had ever done.
"The 5th Layer is a mere drop in the ocean, but for now, it will be passable," Elder Qi remarked, stroking his goatee as he steered the jade leaf.
"How much time has passed?" Hanyuan asked, rising to his feet.
"A day and a half. We reach the Sect tomorrow. Consolidate your breath. The trial will not wait for you to catch your bearings."
As the third day dawned, the sky changed. The Qi in the air grew so thick it felt heavy on the lungs, tasting of ancient snow and mountain herbs. Emerging from a bank of mist, the Mystic Sky Sect finally revealed itself. It was a sight of impossible majesty: a colossal central peak that seemed to pierce the heavens, surrounded by dozens of floating islands suspended in the air. Bridges made of solid light arched between the peaks, and white cranes with wingspans of ten meters soared through the canyons.
The jade leaf descended toward a massive stone plaza at the base of the main mountain. As they landed, Elder Qi patted Hanyuan's shoulder, his expression uncharacteristically grave.
"Hanyuan, the rest is in your hands. Do not disappoint me." With a faint shimmer of silver-blue light, the Elder vanished.
Hanyuan stood alone in a sea of strangers. Around him were nearly a thousand youths, ranging from twelve to twenty years old. He scanned the crowd. The weakest were at the 4th Layer, like he had been days ago, while a few older, elite youths radiated the dense, oppressive aura of the Peak Qi Refining Realm.
"Silence!"
A shout, heavy with the weight of authority, rolled over the plaza like a physical wave. A middle-aged man with short, spikey blue hair descended from the sky, landing weightlessly atop a jade pillar. This was Elder Su, the Overseer of the Outer Trials.
"I am Elder Su," he announced, his voice ringing with a metallic resonance. "Today, you seek the path of the Mystic Sky. Thousands apply, but only a handful have the heart to survive. We shall begin the first test immediately."
A youth near the front, dressed in expensive yellow silks and fanning himself with an ornate ivory fan, smirked. "Elder Su, will the first test be the measurement of potential?"
Elder Su's eyes flashed with a cold, blue light. He clicked his tongue in disdain. "We do not care for your Potential here, brat. Potential is a promise that is rarely kept. In the Mystic Sky Sect, we care only for your will."
Without another word, Elder Su's aura exploded.
BOOM!
The atmosphere turned into lead. It wasn't just physical weight; it was a soul-crushing pressure that felt as if the entire mountain was trying to knead them into the dirt.
"The test is simple," Elder Su's voice boomed over the groans of the youths. "Whoever remains standing after thirty minutes passes to the second round. If you kneel, you are finished."
The carnage was instantaneous. A quarter of the youths—those who had reached their levels through pills and soft living—collapsed immediately. Some were pinned flat against the stone, gasping for air as their bones groaned.
Hanyuan's knees buckled initially, his blackened steel spear vibrating in its wrap. It felt as if a giant's hand was pressing down on his skull, trying to force his forehead into the cobblestones. The Qi in his Dantian sparked frantically, trying to repel the invasive pressure.
"Nnngh..."
Next to him, even the noble youth with the fan had dropped his accessory, his face turning a shade of purple as he shook.
He forced his spine to straighten, an inch at a time. The weight was immense, a mountain of Qi that demanded his submission. But Hanyuan didn't submit. He stood like a spear planted in frozen earth, unyielding against the storm.