The arena buzzed with an intensity like never before. Dao Wei stood at the center, his presence magnetic, drawing everyone's attention. The air was thick with murmurs, each disciple struggling to make sense of the spectacle unfolding before them.
"I heard this boy achieved the Sword Thought Art. But I wonder if he's reached the Foundation Refinement Realm yet," a voice questioned from the stands, the disbelief clear.
"Achieving Foundation Refinement at his age? Ridiculous! He hasn't even been in the sect that long," another disciple scoffed, rolling his eyes as if the idea was absurd.
"He's probably stuck in the Spiritual Visualization Realm, like the rest of us," someone else added. "Even if he's decent, he's still far beneath Cheng Fang."
The crowd seemed to collectively nod in agreement.
"Exactly! If the Evil Star dares to challenge Cheng Fang without reaching the Foundation Refinement Realm, he's nothing but a fool! Even if he's somehow lucky enough to achieve it, facing Cheng Fang, who's already in the early stages of Foundation Refinement, is just suicide. He's bringing disgrace upon himself!"
The whispers grew louder, each word like a knife, aimed at undermining Dao Wei's credibility. Yet, he heard them all—every sneer, every mockery—but none of it fazed him.
Dao Wei's gaze sharpened as he walked to the center of the arena, his heart pounding. He stood before the Spiritual Power Gem, a monumental artifact used to measure one's cultivation level. For most, it was a terrifying moment—a public assessment of their progress. For Dao Wei, it was an opportunity.
"Finally..." he muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing. "It's time to show them all."
Dao Wei recalled the past ten days of relentless cultivation. Ten days of unimaginable pressure, where every second felt like an eternity. Yet, he had endured. Not only endured but thrived, transforming every moment of torment into strength.
His thoughts were interrupted as he looked around the arena. Disciples were still muttering among themselves, unaware of the storm that was about to descend upon them. Dao Wei's lips curled into a smirk.
"They think I'm overreaching. Let's see who's laughing now." His hand hovered over the Spiritual Power Gem, taking a deep breath to steady himself. Then, he placed his palm on the cold surface.
With a slight tremor, Dao Wei activated the Heaven Defying Scripture, his profound cultivation technique. Immediately, a surge of Spiritual Power began to flow into the gem, causing it to buzz faintly.
Buzz...
In an instant, the Spiritual Power Gem lit up. A dazzling violet light emerged, and all eyes turned toward the gem as the sixth level of the ten-layered gem lit up.
The crowd gasped.
"The sixth layer?!" someone exclaimed.
"That's the Foundation Refinement Realm!" another voice shouted.
"No way! He really reached it?!" Disbelief echoed through the arena, the air thick with astonishment.
Even Cheng Fang, sitting on the sidelines with an air of superiority, paled slightly. He had worked tirelessly to catch up to Dao Wei, finally achieving the Foundation Refinement Realm himself. And now, Dao Wei had just casually revealed the same level.
But it didn't stop there.
Buzz...
The violet light continued to surge through the gem, inching toward the seventh layer.
"The seventh layer too?!" A disciple's voice cracked.
"No way… this can't be real!"
The crowd fell silent, the tension thick. All eyes were glued to the gem as the seventh layer began to glow. The air was electric as the violet light reached the peak of the Foundation Refinement Realm.
Yet it still wasn't done.
Buzz...
The eighth layer suddenly lit up and gasps filled the air. Dao Wei had transcended beyond mere Foundation Refinement.
"The Mental Acumen Realm!" one disciple shouted in shock.
Cheng Fang's eyes widened in disbelief. "The Mental Acumen Realm? He's already reached that level?!" His thoughts raced as he struggled to reconcile the reality before him. Cheng Fang had barely entered the Foundation Refinement Realm, and Dao Wei had already surpassed it.
The eighth layer of the Spiritual Power Gem represented the Initial Spiritual Sea Realm—a stage where Spiritual Power became so dense, that it could begin to manipulate the very fabric of reality. This was a stage many cultivators dreamed of, one that even those who trained for hundreds of years might not reach.
And yet, Dao Wei, a boy not even sixteen, had done it.
The violet light pulsed, still moving.
Dao Wei felt his Spiritual Power rushing forward. He smirked again. "It's just as I thought. Though I haven't achieved Transcendence yet, I've reached the Peak Mental Acumen Realm."
With a sharp glint in his eye, Dao Wei made his final move. "Light it up!" he commanded, his voice filled with an unyielding determination.
Buzz...
The ninth layer blazed into existence, a violet light brighter than anything seen before.
The arena erupted into chaos.
"THE NINTH LAYER?!"
"He's reached the Spiritual Transcendence Realm!" someone cried out, their voice trembling with shock.
"That's impossible! A lie! He's not even sixteen!"
"No one can reach Spiritual Transcendence so young!" another voice echoed in disbelief, but the evidence was irrefutable.
Even Chu Yafei, who had mocked Dao Wei moments before, stood frozen in place. His mouth moved, but no words came out. His disciple, Cheng Fang, who had been his pride and joy, was now thoroughly eclipsed by Dao Wei.
"This boy… he was just an ordinary disciple ten days ago!" someone whispered.
"How can this be possible… How can someone cultivate so quickly?!"
"He must be a monster... No, a genius!"
The words "monster" and "genius" began to spread like wildfire, everyone in the arena trying to grasp the magnitude of Dao Wei's talent.
Lu Shen couldn't suppress his laughter, his voice booming across the arena. "Elder Chu Yafei, didn't you say this boy was trash, unable to cultivate a Sword Soul?" he teased, grinning from ear to ear.
"I-I..." Chu Yafei stammered, completely at a loss for words.
Zhang Ruolan, who had held an air of arrogance throughout the entire event, finally let it slip. Her beautiful face twisted into an expression of sheer disbelief. "This is impossible... I've been cultivating since I was five… How could he…"
Her fearful gaze fixed on Dao Wei, the boy who had seemingly shattered the very laws of cultivation. She had never experienced such a feeling before—genuine fright.
And then, Dao Wei withdrew his hand from the Spiritual Power Gem. The violet light slowly dimmed, but the shockwave it left behind remained.
He turned toward the crowd, his dark eyes sweeping over the disciples who had once dared to mock him. Each one he glanced at instinctively lowered their head, unable to meet his gaze. It was as if they stood before a king—no, a god.
Except for one.
Cheng Fang.
Their eyes locked, and in that moment, no words were needed. The battle intent between them burned like a raging inferno.
Dao Wei's voice cut through the tension like a blade. "Cheng Fang, get your ass up here!"
His cold growl resonated across the arena, loud and clear, causing a wave of excitement to ripple through the crowd.
The arena had gone mad.