Zi Menghan was slightly stunned. She had not expected her powerful attack to be so easily taken down by Ye Chen.
And when she heard Ye Chen ask her to continue her attacks, a monstrous battle intent burst forth from her eyes. A Bright Moon suddenly rose behind her that shone with a clear yet cold light.
The Bright Moon flickered and a vast expanse of moonlight immediately sprinkled down toward Ye Chen. However, Ye Chen did not seem to have been affected at all as the moonlight refracted around him.
The redirected energy hit their surroundings instead and shattered the trees and rocks nearby.
The Bright Moon disappeared and a huge river appeared around Zi Menghan instead. It flowed like a divine dragon as it encircled her. Soon, it turned into a beam of flowing light that headed straight for Ye Chen. But again, it was unable to do anything to him.
Next, Zi Menghan brought out a Divine Mountain, a Treasure Sword, Aquarius of the Great Dao, and other items one after another. Each of them was imbued with their own mysterious powers, but none could break through Ye Chen's defense.
After a long while, Zi Menghan stopped panting and bitterly smiled as she said, "Master, my mental strength is about to run out. I don't think I can visualize any more spirits."
Ye Chen nodded and said, "You have managed to visualize a lot of different kinds of spirits, and each of them has its special abilities. Although you have just broken through to the second realm, even ordinary Vision Realm warriors cannot match up to you."
But still, Zi Menghan regretfully said, "Master, my mental strength is still too weak. I can only form one True Spirit of the Great Dao at a time. If I can form a few more spirits simultaneously, I will be able to double my power."
Ye Chen shook his head and said, "Based on your performance in spirit transformation earlier, you're still a ways away from forming a proper True Spirit of the Great Dao. Those that you formed earlier were only similar in appearance to the original.
"For example, that Immortal Phoenix only had the appearance of one. Without its flesh, bones, and natural charm, its power would be limited, and so would yours.
"Another example would be that Bright Moon. It should be a supreme lunar star but what we saw earlier was only its projection. If you could bring about its true form and control it, your power would also increase by several times.
"But of course, if you can also form multiple True Spirits of the Great Dao, especially those that can cooperate with each other, your power would increase dramatically too."
"Thank you for your guidance, Master. I will return to my training and think about what you have said carefully." Zi Menghan nodded seriously and a white cloud appeared under her feet that carried her toward her own courtyard.
Time flew by quickly. Soon, it was time for the Disciple Acceptance Ceremony again.
Without needing anyone to remind him, Ye Chen left Qingyun Peak via his puppet for the mountain gate to participate in that year's Disciple Acceptance Ceremony.
This time, the ceremony wasn't supervised by Holy Maiden Xue Wei, but a Primordial Realm elder from Xuantian Main Peak. As usual, the candidates were already lined up at the entrance.
Once the test was over, the aptitudes of the successful candidates were revealed one by one. Some could make the tablet appear illusory, while others could make it disappear and reappear elsewhere. There was even a Fire Cloud Spirit Body that could cause the tablet to resonate with the environment. After an intense competition among the peaks' representatives over him, he finally joined Crimson Flame Peak.
But no matter how impressive the candidates were, Ye Chen remained disinterested in them. Spirit bodies might be rare, but they were not of much use to him. What he was looking for was a Qi anomaly.
This was the fifth time Ye Chen had participated in the Disciple Acceptance Ceremony of Xuantian Holy Land, or at least his puppet did. And he had been unlucky the previous three times after recruiting Zi Menghan.
As such, he did not have high hopes for this Disciple Acceptance Ceremony either. He looked around aimlessly at the candidates who were waiting in line to have their aptitudes tested.
Finally, when Ye Chen's gaze landed on a certain young man with a weak aura, the system notification that he had waiting for rang in his mind, "A Qi anomaly has been detected. Do you want to check it?"
Ye Chen was excited. 'Did I really find another Qi anomaly this time?'
"Yes, check it!" Ye Chen did not hesitate at all.
[Name: Li Qingzhou (Qi anomaly)]
[Identity: The son of the Li family, the main family of Wu Ling City in Desolate Horn Region]
[Cultivation: None]
[Aptitude: Sword Spirit Body (disabled)]
[Character experience: Li Qingzhou was born in the Li family of Wu Ling City in Desolate Horn Region. He had a Supreme Sword Bone in his sternum and a Sword Spirit Body. His sword Qi was so strong that it shot into the sky the moment he was born.
He started to learn the Sword Path when he was three years old. By the time he was six, he entered the Wave Realm. When he was ten, he broke through to the Law Realm, becoming the youngest one to do so in Wu Ling City. In the same year, he was arranged to be engaged to Lin Yuqing of the Lin family in Wu Ling City.
When he had just broken through to the Vision Realm at the age of fifteen, he was backstabbed by his fiancée who dug out his Supreme Sword Bone. Consequently, he was reduced from a genius to a cripple. He was even framed by Lin Yuqing for having evil intentions. In the end, she broke off their engagement publicly and he was forever looked down upon.
Although Li Qingzhou's Sword Spirit Body was crippled, he never admitted defeat. His fighting spirit was unquenchable and he practiced swinging his sword ten thousand times a day. However, his Sword Spirit Body was unable to recover. Thus, he decided to try his luck at Xuantian Holy Land's Disciple Acceptance Ceremony.]
[Remark: The so-called Qi anomaly can increase one's cultivation without being restricted by one's aptitude - it has the potential to change one's fate. One will experience countless calamities in one's life, but also encounter countless opportunities.]
...
Wow, this candidate had a natural Sword Spirit Body, thus making him a cultivation genius only to end up getting backstabbed by his fiancée who dug out his Supreme Sword Bone. Yet, he tenaciously continued to practice his sword skills and remained hopeful. This was another main character!
Ye Chen had found another person to help weaken his presence from the Heavenly Path.
[The host has encountered the Qi anomaly, Li Qingzhou. Now, you have the following choices:]
[One: Refuse to accept him as a disciple and obtain a defense magic treasure at random.]
[Two: Accept him as a disciple and obtain a heaven and earth spirit essence at random.]
This was the moment he had always been waiting for! Ye Chen selected the second option without hesitation.
But since it was not Li Qingzhou's turn yet, Ye Chen was not in a hurry to extend an invitation to him. After all, with Li Qingzhou's current state, it would be impossible for him to join any other peak in Xuantian Holy Land.
If Ye Chen suddenly picked him out of turn, it would attract too much attention from the other peak representatives. That wouldn't be a prudent decision to make.
Since he had decided to wait, Ye Chen scanned the rest of the candidates with the hopes of finding yet another Qi anomaly. But alas, there were no more.
After a long time, it was finally Li Qingzhou's turn to test his aptitude.
Li Qingzhou reached out his hand and placed it on the aptitude test tablet. A clear sword sound rang out and the tablet resonated with Li Qingzhou as countless sword shadows appeared in the air around him.
However, the sword shadows shattered immediately after with another clang of a sword.
Li Qingzhou suddenly spat out a huge mouthful of blood and his aura became even weaker.
"What's going on?"
Everyone looked at each other. Most of the representatives of the peak did not know what had happened. What was wrong with this person's aptitude? Was what happened supposed to be good or bad?
The elder in charge of the Disciple Acceptance Ceremony flashed to Li Qingzhou's side and took a reading of his pulse for a moment. Then, he shook his head and sighed. "This child once had a Supreme Sword Bone in his body, but it was dug out by someone. He is now equivalent to a cripple."
The moment they heard the elder's diagnosis, everyone felt sorry for the boy. But none had the intention of taking him in as a disciple.
Still, the representative of Black Sword Peak did not believe the elder's words. He personally flew to Li Qingzhou to check the condition of his body. But in the end, he shook his head and flew back without a word.
By now, all representatives of the various peaks had completely stopped paying attention to Li Qingzhou.
If Li Qingzhou still had his Supreme Sword Bone, they would have probably scrambled over him. However, the current Li Qingzhou was no longer of any value to them.
A fallen genius was not the same as a genius.
Li Qingzhou clenched his fists and his eyes were filled with disappointment and despair. It seemed like even Xuantian Holy Land would not be able to help him regain his Sword Path!
And it was right at that moment when Ye Chen's voice suddenly came. "Are you willing to join Qingyun Peak?"