Zhou Bai thought to himself, "I'll rely on the Dao scriptures to improve my Dao conversion rate, and I'll deal with bottlenecks when I encounter them. After all, it's not that I'm afraid I can't improve, but that if I go too high, I might not be able to adapt. As for my Primordial Spirit value... I can continue to improve it."
After entering the Dao, breaking through the 0% threshold of Dao conversion rate, the Primordial Spirit value was no longer limited to 99 and could be increased further, though there was still a limit.
The maximum value of the Primordial Spirit in the initial state was 999 points. To surpass this limit, one needed to break through the 10% Dao conversion rate and reach the first state to exceed the 999-point limit.
With a thought, Zhou Bai's Primordial Spirit power spread out at a speed faster than before, more lively and agile.
Focusing on the Primordial Spirit value on the panel, he immediately consumed 10 points of Lazy Energy, increasing his Primordial Spirit value from 99 to 100 points.
Zhou Bai smacked his lips and didn't feel any breakthrough sensation. "It seems the 99 points limit of the Primordial Spirit value was purely due to the Dao conversion rate, not the Primordial Spirit value itself."
Next, Zhou Bai tried to add one more point to his Primordial Spirit value, increasing it to 101.
As he expected, this time it directly consumed 100 points of Lazy Energy.
'Do increases over 100 points in the Primordial Spirit value consume 100 points of Lazy Energy each time?' he wondered.
With a hint of reluctance, Zhou Bai used up all his remaining Lazy Energy in one go, reducing it from 3650 points to 40 points in an instant.
And Zhou Bai's Primordial Spirit value soared to 136 points in one go.
With a thought, the newly enhanced Primordial Spirit power swept out, making the air crackle, demonstrating even greater strength.
"The current me could at least defeat two of my previous selves."
"I really want to test it out."
Satisfied, Zhou Bai smiled, but the smile gradually faded as he thought of the mutated Ying Zi and the serpent-like Heavenly Demon in the underground base.
"It's still not enough; I'm still too weak. I need to be stronger. I must not only escape the threat of death but also have the power to choose and protect others."
Zhou Bai jumped out of bed, went to his desk, and began to study the basic textbooks, planning to sleep the next day instead.
So, for the following days, Zhou Bai slept during the day to accumulate Lazy Energy. At night, he first went to the library to read the Dao scriptures before returning to the dormitory to study basic knowledge on his own.
Time flew by, and it seemed Dao School had returned to its usual peace, with no strange incidents happening around Zhou Bai.
Two weeks passed like this, and there was only one month left until the assessment.
During these two weeks, Zhou Bai hadn't improved his training of the divine map, devoting all his energy to increasing his Dao conversion rate and Primordial Spirit value.
Every night, he read the Dao scriptures to increase his Dao conversion rate by 0.1% or 0.2%, then slowly adapted to the change.
During the day, the Lazy Energy he accumulated from skipping classes was all put into his Primordial Spirit value.
Dao conversion rate: 2.4%
Primordial Spirit value: 211
Divine Map: Heavenly Human Nine Disasters
Lazy Energy: 70
This evening, in a complex of small buildings in the northeast corner of Dao School, there were many completely enclosed training rooms protected by multiple layers of arrays.
After all, in today's era of nationwide resistance against the Heavenly Demons, the combat power of Dao cultivators was very important, requiring particularly sturdy training rooms to test their cultivation, combat abilities, and destructive power.
At this moment, in one of the secret training rooms.
Zhou Bai lightly clenched his palm, and a steel armor about twenty meters in front of him was instantly crushed into a lump of scrap metal hanging in mid-air.
Then, Zhou Bai's Primordial Spirit power tugged again, flattening and tearing the crushed armor into dozens of pieces that floated in the air.
"A Dao conversion rate of 2.4%, and a Primordial Spirit power of 211. The destructive power is two to three times stronger than before, and the range has also exceeded 20 meters. It's also more agile and easier to control; is this due to the increased Dao conversion rate..."
Casually controlling dozens of fragments to fly outwards, the fragments collided with the walls, creating bangs like gunfire.
"Not only has my strength increased, but I also feel that my memory has become more solid and my thinking sharper since my Primordial Spirit power improved."
Flipping through the memories of the past few weeks, Zhou Bai found them incredibly clear, even his old memories as an ordinary person had also become clearer.
Satisfied with his results, Zhou Bai, after testing the various limits of his Primordial Spirit power, left the training room and walked toward the cafeteria.
Looking at the cafeteria, which was already packed with people during dinner time, Zhou Bai thought of his dwindling points and sighed silently.
"Sigh."
Considering the twenty-plus points Elsa had eaten in one day last time, before the next assessment, he feared he could only afford human food and nothing else.
"Hey, isn't this the genius who ranked first in the entrance exam?"
Zhou Bai frowned upon hearing this, turned his head, and saw two men and a woman standing not far away, curiously looking at him.
"It's him, the one who ranked first in the entrance exam but hasn't attended a single full class," the leading young man with slicked-back hair walked up to Zhou Bai and said, "I'm really curious, you who haven't attended a single class, just what kind of cultivation do you have? How about we go to the training room for a match?"
Over a hundred points of Primordial Spirit power extended from the other person's sea of consciousness, faintly radiating fluctuations.
Liu Xian, the fifth-ranked cultivator in the entrance exam, who had also entered the Dao and broken the 99-point limit of the Primordial Spirit value, was now full of confidence, seemingly wanting to challenge Zhou Bai, the first-ranked entrant.
Zhou Bai sensed it slightly and thought, "150? Or 160? It seems I have indeed distanced myself from my classmates."
Just then, a burly figure stood in front of Zhou Bai, Du Bing, looking at the people in front of him, said, "Hey, Liu Xian, are you guys trying to bully Zhou Bai?
You have successfully entered the Dao, but Zhou Bai hasn't attended a single Dao scripture class. Besides, the school prohibits private fights. The thing I, Du Bing, cannot stand the most is a cultivator bullying the weak."
Approximately 150 points of Primordial Spirit power emanated from Du Bing. Seeing this, the slicked-back Liu Xian pursed his lips, "I was just curious and wanted to spar with Zhou Bai. I really admire the first-ranked talent from the entrance exam.
Du Bing, don't be so uptight. I'll leave, I'll leave."
"It's okay, Zhou Bai, I..." Du Bing turned his head, only to find that Zhou Bai had disappeared, "Huh? Where did he go?"
...
"Almost got entangled with that slicked-back guy and the muscle dude, it would have been a complete waste of time." Zhou Bai walked to the dining window area, raised two fingers, and said, "Two bowls of human food."
The cafeteria lady looked at Zhou Bai and smiled, "Young man, I see you're eating human food every day. How about trying something else today? You're young and in your prime for cultivation, you should eat well."
Zhou Bai awkwardly smiled, "No need, human food is fine."
The cafeteria lady shook her head. While scooping the food, she suddenly slipped and added a few pieces of braised meat to Zhou Bai's bowl, saying, "Oh dear, I accidentally served the wrong thing, never mind, consider it my treat today."
Braised Racoon Meat: Slightly increases endurance, 5 points.
Looking at the meat in his bowl, Zhou Bai couldn't help but drool a little. He looked up at the cafeteria lady and said, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it. I told you it was an accident, now move along before others see."
Carrying his meal and meat, Zhou Bai left silently, thinking to himself, 'It must be because I'm exceptionally handsome.'
Finding a secluded spot to sit down, Zhou Bai began to eat his meal and meat in big mouthfuls. The flavorful meat and its juices exploded in his mouth, mixed with the fragrant rice, bringing a look of relish to his face.
It had been more than a month since Zhou Bai last ate meat, and the sudden taste of it made him feel as if he had never eaten such delicious meat before.
Especially after eating the braised racoon meat, he felt a warm energy flowing inside him, making him feel extremely comfortable, like soaking in a hot spring.
His physical endurance also slightly increased while digesting the braised racoon meat.
In no time, he finished the entire meal, leaving less than a quarter of the braised racoon meat.
Looking at the remaining meat, Zhou Bai resisted the temptation and decided to take it back for Elsa to try.
Just as Zhou Bai was about to leave, a familiar figure sat in front of him, "Hey hey, isn't this Brother Zhou? What a coincidence, what a coincidence, we meet again."
Zhou Bai looked up to see the person in front of him, with bright golden hair and a mole at the corner of his eye, was none other than Qian Wangsun.
Seeing the bowl of rice in the other's hand, Zhou Bai couldn't help but curl his lips.
"You eat human food too, huh."
Qian Wangsun laughed, talking while eating, "No choice, the points at Dao School are harder to earn than I thought, my taste buds are about to dry up."
He leaned closer to Zhou Bai with a mysterious look, "Brother Zhou, are you interested in earning some points with me?"
"Earning points?" Zhou Bai's eyes lit up instantly, but darkened again just as quickly, "What's your plan?"
Qian Wangsun smiled, taking out a piece of paper from his pocket and placing it in front of Zhou Bai.
Zhou Bai picked it up and saw the first line on the paper: "8 The supreme good is like water. Water benefits all things and does not compete. It stays in places that others disdain. Therefore, it comes close to the Dao. In living, it is close to the ground, in thinking, it is deep, in giving, it is kind, in speaking, it is true, in governing, it is just, in acting, it is able, in moving, it is in time. Because it does not compete, it is without fault."