Sen Lei watched Feng Tianya's pretentious display on stage, clenching his fists. So, he was the Crown Prince of the Feng Kingdom, the one who had humiliated his parents and stolen his spiritual root!Beside him, Feng Jingsheng noticed Sen Lei's eyes brimming with killing intent and shivered inwardly."What's wrong with him? Why does he hate my brother so much?" Feng Jingsheng's memories of his brother were vague; he rarely saw him. He had no idea how Feng Tianya ended up in such a significant role at Rad Academy. But seeing Sen Lei's expression, it seemed there was some irreconcilable hatred between them.Feng Jingsheng felt uncomfortable. Why couldn't Sen Luo and Feng Kingdom live in peace? Once he had the power, he would ensure that the two nations reconciled!This seemingly impossible and naive idea began to take root in Feng Jingsheng's heart.Listening to Feng Tianya's speech, the audience finally understood what the Xinglu was.Xinglu consisted of six levels, each with varying spiritual pressure. If compared to the spiritual pressure experienced while ascending the mountain, the first level's pressure would be double that, the second level triple, and so on. Some cultivators' faces twitched upon hearing this.Of course, if it were just spiritual pressure, there would be no opportunities for fortuitous encounters.Each level offered the chance for a spiritual energy infusion, but only after passing an illusion challenge on the first level. Each person's illusion was different but equally challenging. Additionally, the difficulty increased with each subsequent level, proportional to the spiritual pressure.
These multipliers were based on one's cultivation level. For instance, if you were at the fifth level of the Spirit Body stage, you would start from the illusions designed for that stage.
Back then, Feng Tianya, at the first level of the Spirit Sea stage, had managed to overcome the fifth level illusions of the Spirit Sea stage. A crucial reason for this was possessing Sen Lei's spiritual root, enabling him to continuously regenerate spiritual energy and frequently challenge higher levels.
Although the audience was daunted by the difficulty of Xinglu, the mention of spiritual energy infusions excited them greatly. Such rewards were the best for directly enhancing one's strength, enough to make them willing to fight desperately, even if they didn't gain admission to the academy. Any benefits they could obtain here might be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
"Ow ow?" Xiao Qi poked its head out and licked Sen Lei.
Sen Lei turned and smiled at Xiao Qi's curious eyes, saying, "Today, I'll take you for an infusion!"
... …"Oh, by the way, this time we'll eliminate those cultivators below the second level," Feng Tianya said with a smile, then looked toward the direction of Sen Luo's group.
"This time, I won't let any of you from Sen Luo enter!" He had been observing Sen Lei and his group since they entered the academy. None of them had reached the Spirit Sea stage, and he couldn't even detect the cultivation of that little waste.
Such a situation had two possible explanations: either the cultivation level was too high to be sensed, or it was so low that there were no fluctuations at all. He knew Sen Lei's condition; the cruel act of removing his spiritual root had been his doing. Feng Jun hadn't known at first, but later chose to ignore it. Feng Tianya wouldn't allow anyone more talented than him to exist. It was a pathological way of thinking, but aren't all strong people somewhat pathological?
Sen Lei felt the unusual gaze from the stage and looked back.
He saw Feng Wuyin's disdainful fake smile.
Sen Lei's fists creaked from clenching them so hard.
"A record of four levels? It seems I must break through to the end today. Let Feng Wuyin and the Hall Master of Xuanxiao Palace see who the real genius is!"
After Feng Tianya finished explaining everything, a surge of powerful spiritual energy erupted from the crowd below. A massive door glowing with purple light appeared before them.
The small vortex within the purple door caused some low-level cultivators to feel dizzy just looking at it.
The faces of countless people were filled with shock.
It seemed Xinglu was indeed challenging!
Even the entrance was a test!
"Hall Master!" Feng Wuyin bowed to the back.
Qingchan also saluted, "Grandfather."
"Mm, is everything ready?" The Grand Elder Qingfeng waved his horsetail whisk.
"Yes, according to the Hall Master's instructions, only those who reach the third level will qualify for the second phase of the competition." Feng Wuyin replied respectfully.
"Good, you've worked hard!" Qingfeng glanced briefly at Feng Wuyin, then turned to Qingchan, speaking kindly, "Chan'er, your mother asked you to bring some health supplements to your aunt. She's busy with academy affairs and can't leave. Go quickly."
"Yes." Qingchan nodded and left the stage.
The Grand Elder turned back and adjusted his whisk, "Hall Master Su Yan from the Great Fire Hall will be coming over to host the event."
"Yes!" Feng Wuyin responded.
The Grand Elder nodded in satisfaction, then looked back at Feng Wuyin, "I remember the Crown Prince of Sen Luo will also be here. Don't be too harsh. Remember, your strength is partly due to him." The Grand Elder said this because he had been thinking a lot over the years. Sen Yan had once saved his daughter's life. Although he was furious about how Sen Yan handled things, he wondered if he had been too harsh over the years. If Sen Yan's talent remained high despite losing his spiritual root, he would directly accept him and compensate him somewhat.
Feng Wuyin was shocked but still replied, "Okay."
Hearing the Grand Elder's tone, Feng Wuyin realized his actions might have been excessive.
Feng Wuyin's face turned gloomy as he lowered his head, thinking, "Even if I don't sabotage him now, do you think you can enter the academy? Dream on!"
At the door, waves of people entered, making the crowd below eager to join. Initially, small groups entered, but soon large numbers followed.
On Sen Lei's side, Su Qianyi was the first to step into the vortex.
Feng Jingsheng nodded at Sen Lei, "Let's go in too."
"Alright!" "好吧!"Sen Lei stepped in quickly.
As soon as Sen Lei stepped into Xinglu, he was amazed. There was no one in front of him; everyone else had disappeared. Instead, a star river appeared.
There was no "road" in Xinglu.
He saw an endless stretch of stars, and Feng Jingsheng had also vanished. In this silent starry sky, he was alone.
"How real!" Sen Lei felt the tiny grains of sand around him.
The pressure of the first level's spiritual energy weighed on Sen Lei lightly. After all, Sen Lei primarily cultivated blood energy, and his physical resistance was impressive.
"The pressure on this first level should be bearable for most cultivators!" Sen Lei waved his hand.
Outside in the plaza, there was no one. The previously packed scene now seemed suddenly deserted.
Feng Wuyin stared at the flashing names on Xinglu's guideboard and smiled faintly.
The names, carved with spiritual power, would clearly indicate to the outside world when someone was eliminated or advanced to the next level.
"What a waste!" Feng Wuyin sneered at Sen Lei's unmoving name on the first level.
The Grand Elder beside him sipped tea, not paying much attention.
Currently, several people in the Spirit Sea stage, including Yu Chuyan, Hou Chuxiao, and Song Qiao, had swiftly passed the first level's illusion challenge and reached the second level.
Sen Lei, however, remained on the first level, unmoving.
Meanwhile, many cultivators were being eliminated, their faces darkened. Elimination meant they were out of the competition for good.
But they were still willing to stay and watch the competition.
Most people didn't focus on the cultivators still struggling on the first level. Only the strong were of interest. The most closely watched included Hou Chuxiao, Yu Chuyan, Feng Wu, Song Qiao, and a powerful rogue cultivator, Ye Hao, who wasn't chosen by any empire. He was at the fourth level of the Spirit Sea stage.
People were curious to see how far these individuals would go.
Suddenly, the third level lit up!
"Who is it?" People outside started to exclaim.
"Ye Hao!"
It was impressive that Ye Hao had reached the third level so quickly, astonishing everyone. Even the Grand Elder raised his eyebrows.
"Not bad, there are quite a few promising talents this time." A white-bearded old man appeared on the viewing platform.
"Elder," Feng Wuyin bowed.
"Mm, no need for formalities." This white-bearded old man was Su Xin, an elder of the Great Fire Hall.
Qingfeng poured a cup of tea and handed it to Su Xin, saying, "Have a seat and drink some tea."
"Alright!" Su Xin sat down boldly and sipped the tea.
"Good tea!"...
Sen Lei observed Xinglu. He wasn't in a hurry to break through; he didn't even know where he had ended up. So he sat down, watching the stars slowly move and form a star river. This star river felt familiar to him.
Sen Lei kept pondering what this familiar feeling was.
Suddenly, Sen Lei's eyes snapped open.
He formed a seal with his hands, drawing a "Su" character in front of him. He finally realized where this familiar feeling came from.
As the "Su" character became more solid, it seemed to blend with the star power around it, almost becoming one with the surroundings.
Suddenly, the surrounding stars began to merge beside the "Su" character, forming another character: "Xing."
Sen Lei was stunned.
"