The Prodigies War

The bell rang while the Mind Strengthening Tower released blinding sacred light!  

The same vision had happened when Yun Qingbai passed the eighteen levels of the secret realm.  

Now, it happened again!

Unlike in previous years, the bell rang for the fourth time this time. 

The young man passed at least nineteen levels of the secret realm. 

This was the reason for Xiao Qinghe’s countenance to dramatically change.  

“The level above Mind Illumination is Spirit Connection. Could his state of mind have already reached that level?” 

Xiao Qinghe’s heart churned in his chest. 

Spirit Connection indicated the ability to connect the mind with the spirit. 

That state of mind meant that a cultivator could hold onto the mind, but not be trapped. They could also attach to the dao, but not be obstructed!

Xiao Qinghe was certain that among the Cyclic Derivation successors of the Moon Sun Sacred Palace, no one had such a state of mind. 

Even his senior brother Mi Hengzhen hadn’t reached that far. 

He once heard from Mi Hengzhen that he wanted to hone his state of mind to the state of Spirit Connection. This itself proved that Mi Hengzhen had yet to reach this state!

Mi Hengzhen was one of the top ten absolute apex giants of the younger generation in the entire East Victory World. An unknown young man was able to achieve something that he hadn’t!

Xiao Qinghe felt goosebumps spread across his skin. 

“Monster, that kid is definitely a heaven-defying monster!” Xiao Qinghe was a proud and conceited figure, but at that moment, he couldn’t be proud anymore. 

……

“Spirit Connection…” Lin Xun murmured on the streets. 

When his mind was being attacked, he indeed lost all hope and thought that his path was blocked off and he had nowhere to go.  

The helpless and bitter sigh in his ears made him feel a hundred times worse like his mind was being tortured. 

He also began to doubt himself and question his path.

When those kinds of thoughts were born in his head, his mind seemed to be clouded over, and he was plunged into imminent danger. 

If he collapsed, then he could lose all his cultivation from losing control of his mind! 

It was also at that dangerous and critical juncture that he took a step forward.

The road ahead was cut off by a spatial crack. It was empty and silent like a black hole, but seemed to be able to swallow everything.

Lin Xun opened up a new path with his mind power!

Following his step, the sky and the earth changed, and the cut-off path cast a rainbow and illuminated the future path. 

That step seemed to have turned his situation around!  

“I have attachments in my mind. I don’t regret the past, and I don’t question the future. I just want to move forward step by step, cut off grudges, break out of the cycle of life and death, and seek longevity!

“There is no way out of the path of the dao. One either dies in the present or lives in the future.

“Only when one is not trapped by one’s mind and not obsessively clinging to the dao can one follow their heart and comprehend the dao!”

When Lin Xun realized all this, his mind released bright rays of light like it had become free. 

All the tests in the secret realm ahead receded like the tide before vanishing into nothing, and a flood of light filled the world. 

Then, a stone tablet appeared in front of him. It was blank.

This time, Lin Xun used his finger as a brush to inscribe a column of words on the stone tablet. “When the mind is clear and connected with the spirit all calamities fade like the dust.

“You killed my family and took my Origin Aeth Artery, are you happy?”  

“The you ten years ago is not as good as the present me!”

Lin Xun’s black eyes were extremely calm. 

After breaking through the Mind Strengthening Tower, Lin Xun compared himself to Yun Qingbai from ten years ago. 

This comparison allowed him to further learn about Yun Qingbai’s state of mind back then. 

“Fellow cultivator, please wait a moment.” Xiao Qinghe chased after him.

“What’s the matter?” With his thoughts interrupted, Lin Xun couldn’t help scrunching his brows. 

Xiao Qinghe felt rather uncomfortable. In the past, he was like the dazzling sun shining upon the sky, surrounded and worshiped by people wherever he went.

But now it was entirely different. His friendly exchange was rejected!

But he didn’t reveal his discontent. He knew that he had to curb his arrogance before the heaven-defying monster.  

“Fellow cultivator, dare I ask if you are heading to the Spirit Tempering Tower?” Xiao Qinghe asked. He sensed that Lin Xun was unwilling to reveal his identity so he tried another way. 

Lin Xun nodded. Three buildings in the Purple Air City made up the twelve towers: the Sword Training Tower, the Mind Strengthening Tower and the Spirit Tempering Tower.

It was not surprising that Xiao Qinghe knew about his next plan. 

“Do you have the badge to enter the Spirit Tempering Tower?” Xiao Qinghe asked another question.

Lin Xun was taken aback at first before he said, “I plan to go exchange for one.”

From what he knew, there was a special place for exchanging a badge to enter the Spirit Tempering Tower in Purple Air City.

Xiao Qinghe could read Lin Xun’s mind from his expression as he grinned. “Fellow cultivator, you might not know, but the badge for the Spirit Tempering Tower is no longer issued to the public. Only the inner disciples of the Omega Sword Sect can have one.”

Lin Xun frowned, surprised to hear that.  

“However, I have one here. I have no use for it so I can give it to you.” As Xiao Qinghe spoke, he took out a purple jade badge and generously handed it to Lin Xun.

Lin Xun declined, “I can’t accept such kindness for no reason.”

Xiao Qinghe smiled. “Fellow cultivator, please don’t misunderstand. I just want to become friends with you. Also, I want to see whether you can create another miracle or not.” 

“How about I buy this badge from you for three thousand aeth essence?” asked Lin Xun.  

Xiao Qinghe was speechless for a while. This guy is too guarded. I already made the first move, but he’s still so wary of me. If this happened earlier, then I would have lost my temper and walked away already.

But now, he could only smile wryly. “As you want.”

The two completed the transaction. 

Although Xiao Qinghe was a little glum, he was sure that this transaction had narrowed the distance between him and the mysterious guy. 

If they continued to chat, then he likely could find out more about him. 

……

The Spirit Tempering Tower was as majestic as a mountain, standing at ninety-nine hundred feet tall and divided into thirty-six floors. 

“Fellow cultivator, there are thirty-six spirit-tempering tests in the Spirit Tempering Tower and  a spirit lantern will light up every time you pass a test.

“The lantern color ranges from purple, gold, silver, blue, red and gray with purple being the best result.

“The color of the lantern indicates your level of achievement.

“Back then, Yun Qingbai passed all thirty-six tests in one go. The spirit lantern he lit in the first thirty-three levels were all purple, and the last three were all golden.

“His achievement spread far and wide. Even if his record was not the best throughout the years, it was definitely one of the top three.”

As soon as they arrived at the Spirit Tempering Tower, Xiao Qinghe took the initiative to explain things to Lin Xun. 

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From what he knew, Xiao Qinghe was a successor from the Moon Sun Sacred Palace. He was also an extremely dazzling top figure of the younger generation.

But he enthusiastically introduced the tower to Lin Xun like a tour guide, which made Lin Xun feel a little flattered.

He was unaware that his performance in the Sword Training Tower and the Mind Strengthening Tower had made Xiao Qinghe curb his pride.

Although he was not impressed by Lin Xun’s bearing, he was convinced that Lin Xun’s strength deserved such courtesy from him.

“Fellow Cultivator, this Spirit Tempering Tower is not ordinary. You also know that the spirit is like a lantern illuminating your body. As long as the primordial spirit remains, one will live forever.”

Xiao Qinghe continued to talk enthusiastically. 

“The key to our generation’s way of seeing through life and death and forging the dao to become a true king lies in the spirit. It also has an irreplaceable use when we step onto the path of longevity and ascend the dao to become a Saint.”

But before he finished speaking, he saw Lin Xun already heading towards the Spirit Tempering Tower. “Hey, Fellow Cultivator, are you going to challenge it now? This tower is not that simple and the tests are extremely difficult, do you not want to know more about it…”

Before his voice died away, Lin Xun’s figure had already disappeared into the Spirit Tempering Tower.  

Xiao Qinghe stared at the tower for a while, speechless and embarrassed.

He murmured to himself, “When you suffer hardship, you will understand how terrifying this Spirit Tempering Tower is. You will regret it when the time comes!”

Buzz!

Seconds later, Xiao Qinghe ceased his rambling thoughts. He was astonished to see spirit lanterns lighting up at an incredible speed from the first floor of the tower upwards.  

Each one was a sacred and splendid purple shade!

In less than three minutes, the lanterns hanging on the outer eaves of the first eighteen floors all lit up, as though forming a purple rainbow linking the sky!

Xiao Qinghe’s eyes bulged wide open as if he had just seen a ghost. Isn’t he too fierce?!

He knew very well that the tests that targeted the spirit were more difficult and harsher than those of strength and state of mind. 

This was because the spirit was undoubtedly the root of life for cultivators. Even a Saint would die without a spirit.

Many cultivators were loitering near the Spirit Tempering Tower, all dressed in the dark blue outfit of Omega Sword Sect successors. The symbol of the Omega Sword Sect was also embroidered on the side. 

They broke into an uproar. “Which senior brother is challenging the tower?”

“In my opinion, it has to be a core disciple. True inheritance? In my opinion, it should be done by a core disciple. Also, only very few core disciples can light up eighteen purple spirit lanterns in such a short period!”

“Amazing! I wonder if he can beat the record that Senior Brother Yun Qingbai set back then.”

Xiao Qinghe snorted to himself. That guy is not from your Omega Sword Sect.

If they find out that he has already broken the record set by Yun Qingbai twice before, they will likely go crazy!

Xiao Qinghe felt an inexplicable sense of delight. 

As a successor from the Moon Sun Sacred Palace, Xiao Qinghe had no good feelings towards the Omega Sword Sect, but it wasn’t quite to the extent of dislike. It was purely a sense of competition between the successors of the ancient sects and clans.

The uproar soon stopped abruptly, and the atmosphere turned deathly silent and still.

Everyone’s eyes were glued to the tower. 

This included Xiao Qinghe. He couldn’t care about laughing at the Omega Sword Sect successors. His attention and eyes were fixed on the tower, and his emotions were tumbling in his heart again. 

This was because, from the eighteenth floor onwards, although Lin Xun’s speed had slowed down significantly, he was still steadily advancing up the tower. 

During this process, spirit lanterns were lit one after another.

Each one lighting up felt like purple air coming from the east.