Carrying over 30000 taels of silver, Luo Xiu once again came to the shop selling array devices.
Due to hunting and fighting in the Shuiwu Mountain in recent days, Luo Xiu's clothes have been damaged in multiple places, which is out of place with the people in luxurious clothing entering and exiting this store.
"Shopkeeper, bring me a first-order spiritual gathering array device," Luo Xiu said directly as he walked into the store.
The middle-aged shopkeeper behind the counter was slightly taken aback and said, "Objectively, do you really want to buy it? The first level Spirit Gathering Formation costs ten thousand taels of silver."
Obviously, the shop owner does not believe that this shabby young man can afford it.
Luo Xiu didn't say much, took out the silver ticket and threw it onto the counter.
Seeing the thick stack of silver bills, the middle-aged shopkeeper suddenly smiled and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes. Objectively, please wait a moment, I'll go get it for you right away."
After a while, the middle-aged shopkeeper walked out holding a delicate round wooden box and said, "Objectively, this is the first level Soul Gathering Formation you want."
When the wooden box is opened, there is a disc inside with complex patterns engraved on it. In the center of the disc, there is also a card slot. In addition, there are simple instructions for use on the lid of the wooden box.
"Do you want to use the Yuanqi Stone to activate it?" Luo Xiu frowned.
"Hehe, objectively speaking, I may not know that most auxiliary formation devices require elemental energy stones to activate, only some combat type formation devices are slightly different," the shop owner said with a smile.
"Pop!"
Luo Xiu took out another ten thousand taels of silver and threw them onto the counter, saying, "Do you have vitality stones here? Give me a few pieces."
The middle-aged shopkeeper was overjoyed and didn't expect the inconspicuous young man in front of him to be so generous. He quickly ordered someone to fetch the Yuanqi Stone.
Soon, another wooden box was delivered, containing twenty palm sized round ores scattered with milky white halos.
Luo Xiu put away his things and was about to leave when two people walked into the store.
These two are a man and a woman. The man is dressed in white and looks like a wealthy young master, with a haughty demeanor between his eyebrows.
The woman is wearing a blue dress, with bright eyes and white teeth, seductive vermilion lips, slim figure, and fair skin.
Seeing these two people, Luo Xiu was slightly taken aback. It was Liu Yuxin and Xu Fei.
"Luo Xiu?" Liu Yuxin was surprised to see him, because as far as she knew, with Luo Xiu's conditions, she couldn't afford any of the array devices in this store.
"Hmph, even with clothes torn like this, how dare you come here to make a fool of yourself?" Xu Fei snorted coldly, with a disdainful expression on his face.
However, Luo Xiu ignored Xu Fei and walked straight past them, leaving the shop.
Seeing that Luo Xiu dared to ignore himself, Xu Fei's eyes turned cold and he said, "Stop me!"
"What's up with you?" Luo Xiu looked back, frowning impatiently.
"I'm talking to you, didn't you hear me?" Xu Fei said coldly.
"Why should I hear it?" Luo Xiu sneered and turned around before leaving.
"Bastard!" Xu Fei was furious, but Luo Xiu had already left, completely ignoring his intentions.
Xu Fei really wanted to give this ignorant poor boy a good lesson, but with Liu Yuxin by his side, he wanted to maintain his demeanor, so he could only endure it.
"There is still half a month left for the annual assessment, and I want to see how you can compete with that sea!"
After walking out of the formation shop, Luo Xiu went to the weapon shop again and sold Wang Yun's sword and Zhang Hun's bow and arrow. He also had over 800 taels of silver in his hands.
Immediately after, Luo Xiu went to the pill shop and spent 15000 taels of silver to buy a bottle of nourishing qi pill.
However, Luo Xiu did not return to the Martial Palace, but walked out of Qingyun City and arrived at Shuiwu Mountain again.
Here, the mountains and waters are beautiful, and there are plenty of plants and trees. For Luo Xiu, it is more suitable for his own cultivation than in a martial arts palace.
Finding a secluded place, Luo Xiu sat cross legged and first took out the spiritual gathering array disc device. He placed a Yuan Qi stone in the central groove, and the engraved pattern on it suddenly lit up, emitting a faint light.
Luo Xiu could clearly sense that the nearby heaven and earth energy seemed to be pulled by some mysterious force, quickly converging towards his position.
This is the wonderful use of the Gathering Spirit Formation, which can condense the vitality of heaven and earth, and within a certain range, accelerate the cultivation speed of martial artists.
Luo Xiu immediately took out the Yangqi Pill again, took out one and put it in his mouth. Then, he closed his eyes and performed the Yijin Forging Bone Technique on the meridians and acupoints in his body.
The essence of heaven and earth, the essence of plants and trees, the medicinal power of pills, and the pure internal qi condensed in the body, transform into the two extremes of life and death, and refine into the five organs and six viscera.
Unconsciously, the sky darkened, and Luo Xiu had been practicing here for a whole day.
Luo Xiu could clearly feel that his heart was beating more vigorously, and the power hidden in his body was also growing stronger.
Boom!
A surging force emerged in his body, and Luo Xiu suddenly opened his eyes with a joyful expression on his face.
"Success, refine your body seven times!"
At this moment, the sky was already a bit dark, and Luo Xiu stood up to move his muscles and feel that his strength had improved a lot.
Luo Xiu did not expect to break through the bottleneck of the seventh level of body cultivation in just one day. As far as he knew, other people of the same age, especially those disciples from aristocratic families, had better cultivation conditions, but it would take six months or even longer to achieve this step.
"It should be the Life and Death Pearl that improved my body, which is why my cultivation speed has doubled countless times," Luo Xiu thought to himself.
This cultivation consumed two Qi nourishing pills, and the first level Spirit Gathering Formation consumed two Yuan Qi stones. In addition, the absorbed grass and wood essence energy was swallowed and absorbed. It would take at least several months for other people to refine this power.
However, Luo Xiu could be refined in a very short time, which is why his cultivation can be improved so quickly.
Of course, in addition to the impact of the Life and Death Beads on the body, his improved Yijin Forging Bone Technique has a cultivation effect that is even better than the third grade internal skill.
In the following time, Luo Xiu never returned to the Martial Arts Hall and always practiced in the Shuiwu Mountain. During the day, he went out hunting, honing himself in battles with monsters, and at night, he devoted himself to hard work.
Unconsciously, time quietly passed, and the Qingyun City Martial Palace welcomed its annual assessment.
Students who reach the age of fourteen in the junior class and seventeen in the intermediate class are required to undergo assessment. Those who pass the assessment will be promoted, while those who fail the assessment will have to leave the martial arts hall.
On the vast martial arts arena, thousands of students from the martial arts hall gathered together in groups of three or five, discussing and making a lot of noise.
On the martial arts stage, which is over three meters high, a table is placed in the center with a crystal like sphere on it.
This crystal ball is a formation device used to test cultivation. As long as internal energy is infused into it, the crystal ball will emit light. Based on the brightness of the light, cultivation can be roughly determined.
Many students who are about to undergo assessments are anxious, while students who meet their own strength requirements are calm and composed.
Luo Xiu also rushed back from Shuiwu Mountain. He first went back to his residence to take a shower, changed into clean clothes, and then arrived at the assessment site.
For Luo Xiu, many martial arts students are not unfamiliar at all. It is said that as early as two months ago, he had already achieved the cultivation of five levels of physical cultivation and was able to defeat intermediate class students. Therefore, passing this assessment is naturally not a problem.
But the battle between Zhang Hai and Luo Xiu has long been known to everyone, so when they saw Luo Xiu walking over, many people began to discuss it.
"This Luo Xiu is really brave. Zhang Hai is a genius in the intermediate class. I heard that he has been in seclusion for a while and has already achieved eight levels of physical cultivation!"
"Who said not? If it weren't for Teacher Lu protecting Luo Xiu, he would have been disabled by Zhang Hai long ago."
"I heard that Zhang Haixiu should have been promoted to the advanced class in order to achieve the eighth level of physical cultivation. However, in order to avenge his younger brother, he did not plan to participate in this assessment and waited for Luo Xiu to be promoted to the intermediate class, and then gave him a hard lesson."
"This Luo Xiu disappeared for a long time, probably afraid, so he hid."
For the vast majority of people, no one believes that Luo Xiu can be a match for Zhang Hai.
But when Luo Xiu faced the discussions, ridicule, and doubts around him, he remained calm and relaxed, making people curious. Doesn't this guy know that Zhang Hai already has the strength to refine his body?
Refining eight levels of body is already one of the top experts among the students of the Martial Palace, and only a very small number of people have reached the ninth level of body refining, all of whom are in the advanced class.
If one can break through the nine levels of refining and become a martial artist in the Qi Sea realm, they can directly graduate from the Martial Palace, and various forces in Qingyun City will compete to win them over.
"Quiet!" Just then, a voice suddenly came from the martial arts arena.
Everyone followed the sound and saw a middle-aged man wearing a blue robe standing on the competition platform, scanning around. "Those who are taking this year's assessment, stand out!"
Many students in the martial arts hall stopped talking and making noise, including Luo Xiu, who walked out step by step.
In the crowd behind, cold gazes were fixed on Luo Xiu's back.
"Brother, if he passes the assessment, he will be a student in the intermediate class. When you compete with him, Teacher Wu Dian will have no reason to intervene. You must help me teach him a hard lesson!" Zhang Hao gritted his teeth and said.
Whenever Zhang Hao thought of being severely beaten by a poor boy whom he had always looked down upon, he felt a great sense of shame.
"Don't worry, I would rather not be promoted to the senior class this time than definitely seek revenge for you!" Zhang Hai nodded and said.
Although Zhang Hai is only fifteen years old this year and is qualified to be promoted to the advanced class, he is not in a hurry. Even some of the benefits that the advanced class can enjoy can be easily obtained with the background of the Zhang family.
The Elder Wu, who was in charge of the assessment, had a list in his hand and said indifferently, "The first one, Yun Tong!"
"Yes!"
A girl from the junior class walked out, climbed onto the martial arts competition platform, and placed her palm on the crystal ball.
"Buzz!"
Accompanied by a wave of tremors, the crystal ball bloomed with a brilliant brilliance.
"Yun Tong, in the Five Realms of Body Refining, if you pass the assessment, you can be promoted to the intermediate class!" The elder in charge of the assessment smiled and nodded, announcing.
Upon hearing the confirmation from the assessment elder, the girl named Yun Tong breathed a sigh of relief. There were many envious gazes from the audience, especially those who were not confident in passing the assessment.
Immediately after, the assessment elders recited their names one by one, and more than ten people took the stage to assess, including those in the junior and intermediate classes. However, only three people passed the assessment, and all others were eliminated. They packed up their belongings and left the martial arts hall within three days.
The rules set by Prince Wu are not difficult for some children of aristocratic families, but for students from ordinary backgrounds, there is almost no hope of achieving the fifth level of physical training at the age of fourteen and the eighth level of physical training at the age of seventeen.
Among the students in the Martial Palace, the majority are civilians.
Similarly, when practicing martial arts, there are also differences in talent and qualifications. Only a very small number have extremely high talents, and for ordinary children, there may not be one who can pass the assessment after several years.
As more and more people fail the assessment, the atmosphere becomes somewhat tense. Those students who fail the assessment can only cry and mourn, while the disciples of aristocratic families who are not far away are all disdainful, mocking, and gloating on their faces.
"Next, Luo Xiu!" On the martial arts competition platform, the assessment elder pronounced out this name.
In an instant, countless gazes converged on the young man in black.
The name Luo Xiu recently gained a lot of attention in the martial arts world, and his cultivation level skyrocketed to the fifth level of physical cultivation in a short period of time. Even the students in the intermediate class were not his match.
Stepping up the Biwu Platform, Luo Xiu looked down at the crowd and saw Zhang Hai, as well as Zhang Hao beside him. Behind these two brothers stood Lu Feng and others, with a cold look in their eyes.
Especially in the gaze of that sea, there was a disdainful and indifferent look. For him, who had already broken through the eighth level of physical cultivation, even if Luo Xiu could pass this assessment, he was destined to be defeated by himself and then expelled by the Martial Palace!
A cold smile appeared on Luo Xiu's lips, wanting to see how these guys would look when they saw that their cultivation had reached the seventh level of physical cultivation?
He slowly lifted his palm and placed it on the crystal ball, infusing the energy of life and death into it.
"Buzz!..."
The brilliant light suddenly lit up, even more dazzling than the light triggered by anyone before, eye-catching!
"Nine levels of body refining?" Elder Teng stood up with a startled expression, but then regained his composure. "It's not nine levels of body refining, it's seven levels of body refining!"