Chapter 68: Meeting

Cultivating with both mid-grade spiritual roots did not significantly enhance his progress. Instead, it transformed some of Li Zhen’s wood-type spiritual energy into gold-type spiritual energy.

Since his gold-type spiritual root had reached 23.43, slightly higher than the wood-type at 21.22, he found that absorbing gold-type spiritual energy became somewhat faster.

Of course, if Li Zhen wished, he could focus solely on cultivating gold-type spiritual energy and abandon the wood-type entirely. The wood-type spiritual energy within his dantian could gradually be converted to gold-type over time.

However, he had no such intentions. Wood-type spiritual energy was still incredibly useful; indeed, each element had its unique purposes.

When casting wood-type spells without wood-type spiritual energy, one would have to convert from other types, which significantly increased consumption.

Currently, he was only practicing low-tier spells, which didn’t demand much spiritual energy, so the impact wasn’t immediately apparent.

But in the future, when casting higher-level spells without the corresponding elemental energy, the waste of spiritual energy would be staggering.

As Li Zhen continued his cultivation, the Lin Clan, the Golden Blade Gang, and several smaller allied factions fully took control of the market.

The next task was the reconstruction of the market. This work wasn’t complex; the scattered cultivators’ wooden houses were easy to rebuild. The main focus was on reconstructing the shops, but with the assistance of cultivators, it wouldn’t take much time.

After finishing his cultivation, Li Zhen checked the time on his identity bracelet. The bracelet displayed the time in the Xian Nation, and it was now approaching morning.

Activating the spatial divine ability within the ‘small Inverted Five Elements Array,’ he left this world and returned to the Xian Nation.

materializing in his bedroom, he washed up briefly before heading off to school.

School proceeded as usual. However, in the afternoon, Mr. Zuo called Li Zhen over.

“Li Zhen, starting today, come to participate in the school challenge match concentrated training after your second class every afternoon!” Mr. Zuo instructed as he led Li Zhen towards a specific building on campus.

“Where is this?” Li Zhen asked curiously, having never been here before.

“This is where teachers cultivate. Usually, it’s not open to students. Only those participating in the school challenge match can use this place!” Mr. Zuo explained with a smile.

He swiped open the gate using his identity bracelet. Li Zhen immediately sensed a thick presence of spiritual energy, of high-grade first-tier quality.

This is the privilege of being a teacher, Li Zhen thought, just by coming to the cultivation area for educators, one can utilize high-grade first-tier spiritual energy.

He wasn’t sure if teachers could use first-grade high-quality spiritual energy unlimitedly, but he couldn’t ask Mr. Zuo about it; at least for now, he had free access to it.

“Mr. Zuo, is this new student the recently added official member?” one of the three students standing at the center of the training room asked.

“I’ll introduce you all to each other. From now on, you’ll be teammates!”

“This is Li Zhen, the new official member of the school’s competition team.

“She is Wang Rushi, and he is Shi Xuan—they are both official members. And this is Fang Congzhi, who is an alternate!” Mr. Zuo introduced everyone.

“Mr. Zuo, did he just take my spot as an official member?” Fang Congzhi asked, clearly dissatisfied.

Originally, without alternates, he considered himself one of the official members. He never expected the school would select another student, demoting him from an official member to an alternate.

If the newly selected student were exceptionally strong, he would have accepted it, even if he was unhappy. In that case, he’d have no choice but to bow down to someone more skilled.

However, Li Zhen appeared visibly young—so much so that at first glance, one might not even recognize him as a middle-school student, let alone a high-schooler. Even Li Zhen’s recent growth spurt only brought him to a height of just over 1.6 meters, making him seem shorter than some elementary school students.

“This is the school’s decision!” Mr. Zuo declared firmly.

He didn’t want a squabble among the competitors over the slots; Li Zhen’s place had been decided by Principal Wang himself.

“Mr. Zuo, the challenge match should be based on merit alone,” Fang Congzhi pleaded, bowing respectfully to Mr. Zuo. “Only those with the strongest ability should represent Second High School. Please allow me to compete with my junior!”

Among the three,Congzhi had the lowest cultivation realm, being the only one at the fourth level of Qi Refining. The other two were both at the fifth level.

However, he firmly believed that within the fourth level of Qi Refining, his combat strength was unparalleled. Moreover, given Li Zhen’s age, it was impossible for him to be at the middle stage of Qi Refining.

“Nonsense!” Mr. Zuo rebuked sharply.

He was well aware of the reason behind Li Zhen’s selection for the school’s challenge match. Li Zhen, with his mastery of the Great Accomplishment Sword Technique, would bring great renown to Second High School within the next year or two once his cultivation realm progressed further.

Although Li Zhen’s current cultivation was modest, his participation in the school’s challenge match was to gain valuable experience.

“Mr. Zuo, why don’t I have a match with Congzhi instead?” Li Zhen suggested proactively. “With you overseeing it, nothing will go amiss!”

“Rest assured, I will hold back,” Fang Congzhi said, his expression softening as he looked at Li Zhen in surprise.

“Then let’s go to the arena stage - it’s even safer there!” Seeing that Li Zhen agreed, Mr. Zuo thought for a moment before replying.

He led the group to the arena stage, which was empty at that moment.

Fang Congzhi was the first to jump onto the stage, followed by Li Zhen.

Noticing someone had taken the stage, several teachers from the cultivation room paused their practice and curiously approached.

They were aware these students were participating in the Challenge Tournament. With new faces joining today and eager to use the stage, it was natural for them to come and observe.

“Old Zuo, are these your students?” Mr. Du asked, pointing at Li Zhen.

“Mr. Du!” Fang Congzhi greeted the teacher.

“Good that you’re here. Fang Congzhi is your student, and Li Zhen is mine. Let’s keep an eye on them together; we don’t want anyone getting hurt!” Mr. Zuo stepped aside, making room for Mr. Du.

“Aren’t your students in the seventh grade? Why would you let Fang Congzhi battle him?” Mr. Du frowned slightly, then turned to Fang Congzhi with evident displeasure, “Aren’t you bullying a junior student?”

“Sir, Li Zhen has stepped into my place for the official Challenge Tournament. I’m here to learn from his superior skills!” Fang Congzhi explained with a wry smile.

Mr. Du seemed to grasp the situation now and stood beside Mr. Zuo.

This was the control position for the arena, where one could manipulate the gravity barrier surrounding it. In necessary situations, this barrier could be used to separate the combatants.

Of course, under normal circumstances, when the combatants faced imminent danger, the smart system would automatically intervene to separate them.

However, the accuracy of the smart system paled in comparison to that of their instructor. The teachers, with their wealth of experience in this domain, could significantly reduce the likelihood of false positives.

The arena itself measured twenty meters by twenty meters. Fang Congzhi stood with utmost caution at the edge of the arena, opposite Li Zhen. This positioning created a fifteen-meter gap between him and his opponent.

While he didn’t necessarily think Li Zhen was extraordinary, the fact that the school allowed Li Zhen to replace him as a formal member indicated that Li Zhen must possess exceptional qualities.

As a first-year student, Li Zhen’s cultivation realm couldn’t be at the mid-stage of Qi Refining. Without reaching this stage, one would be unable to employ flying sword techniques for long-range attacks.

Additionally, considering the longsword strapped to Li Zhen’s waist, it suggested that he was likely proficient in close-quarters swordsmanship.

By creating distance on the arena floor, Fang Congzhi aimed to counteract the threat of close-quarters sword attacks.

Mr. Du observed Fang Congzhi’s move and couldn’t help but nod with silent approval. He admired Fang Congzhi’s approach to combat; though he might speak of his opponents with disdain, in actual battle, he treated them with utmost respect.

Fang Congzhi’s hand swept through the air, conjuring a mid-grade shield before him. A moment later, a flying sword of the same caliber materialized above his head.

“Isn’t Fang Congzhi being a bit too cautious?” Shi Xuan, a formal member observing the match, shook his head.

“Don’t underestimate Li Zhen—he’s a true disciple of the Going Beyond Swordplay Hall!” Wang Rushi warned softly.

“What? A true disciple of the Going Beyond Swordplay Hall?” Now it was Shi Xuan’s turn to be astonished.

He didn’t doubt Wang Rushi’s words. Though she was from a side branch of the Wang Clan, her talent had earned her their respect and access to their intelligence.

On the arena floor, Li Zhen unsheathed his Xingrui D13 longsword, a sharp energy surging from his body.

This energy was significantly stronger than during their previous match, which had taken place just over ten hours ago.

The only explanation for such a transformation was that his golden spirit root had upgraded to a mid-grade spiritual root, and his dantian now contained metallic spiritual energy.

When he channeled spiritual energy into the Xingrui D13 longsword, it consisted of both wooden and metallic spiritual energy. However, his metallic spiritual energy was still too scarce, unable to sustain the demands of prolonged combat.

One must not underestimate the enhancement of this sharp energy. Combined with his mastery of the Great Achievement Swordsmanship, it made his sword attacks even more formidable, rendering them more capable of breaching a cultivator’s defenses.