Longevity: Starting with an infant's innate growth potential

Chapter 321 The Power of the Five Elements Sword Domain and the Journey to the Main Academy
"Is the grade of this Five Elements Sword Qi even higher than that of Thundercloud Sword Qi?"

Supervisor Sun looked at Dean Gong, his tone filled with surprise as he asked.

He was well aware of the power of the Blue Path White Sword Domain.

Although he was at the peak of the Golden Core stage, his actual combat strength was no less than that of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Even if he was suppressed to the early Golden Core stage, he was still far superior to Zhou Ling.

Furthermore, even if the two were of equal magical power, Lan Daobai's Thundercloud Sword Domain would not have collapsed so quickly.

Therefore, the teachers have some doubts.

Zhou Ling's Five Elements Sword Domain is of a higher grade than the Thundercloud Sword Domain.

"The specific situation should be about the same; it seems that Zhou Ling's fighter jet control was more precise!"

Dean Gong also spoke thoughtfully.

Although Zhou Ling's Five Elements Sword Domain was no less powerful than the opponent's Thundercloud Sword Domain, it had not yet reached the point where it could easily devour and incinerate the opponent.

However, Zhou Ling was able to annihilate the Thundercloud Sword Domain by utilizing the concept of mutual generation and restraint among the five elements.

This also requires immense courage.

Furthermore, he possesses an extremely precise grasp of the Thundercloud Sword Domain.

Only then is it possible to achieve this.

Then, an answer came to mind.

It was only because she had also comprehended the Five Elements Sword Intent that it was difficult for her to see it.

While everyone was discussing, the situation on the competition field changed again.

After the furnace sword energy extinguished the thundercloud sword domain, the furnace flame sword energy gradually dissipated. Then, five-colored sword light shone, like five flying dragons, hovering in mid-air.

These five flying dragons each possessed a different aura; some were ablaze with fiery sword energy, some had golden sword energy soaring into the sky, and some had icy sword energy whistling through the air...

The five elements intertwine and converge, instantly condensing into the most suitable sword domain form.

Zhou Ling's swordsmanship had already reached the third realm and third step.

Now, with the Five Elements Sword Soul added to its power, the Five Elements Sword Domain's might has suddenly approached that of the Heaven and Earth Sword.

This is under the premise that he does not intend to use the fourth-order Five Elements Treasure Sword.

After all, this is just a simple exchange and competition, and there is no need to reveal all our cards.

Once he has tested the power of the Five Elements Sword Soul, he will basically know the extent of his true strength.

Otherwise, once the Five Elements Sword is unleashed, the power of the Five Elements Sword Domain can double again by leveraging the power of its Five Elements rules.

"boom!"

With a flick of Zhou Ling's finger, the golden sword dragon roared out, its golden light blazing, sweeping down towards Lan Daobai.

Sensing the sharp, intensified aura emanating from Gaia, Lan Daobai's gaze sharpened, and his expression became solemn.

A flash of purple light emanated from his body, and lightning surged forth from the thunder sword in his hand.

A sword-qi lightning dragon, several tens of feet long, condensed and emerged.

Amidst a thunderous roar, it charged towards the golden sword dragon.

"Boom!"

Two terrifying sword dragons, one gold and one purple, clashed fiercely in mid-air.

The entire arena was instantly enveloped by golden and thunderous sword energy.

"The power of this Thunder Dragon Sword Qi is no less than that of a third-stage, fourth-step sword cultivator."

One of the instructors was surprised to see this.

Although Lan Daobai claimed to be suppressing his cultivation level, his attack method was practically at the peak of the Golden Core stage.

After all, the true combat power of a sword cultivator comes from the sword domain.

"His sword domain, fused with his own core domain, is incredibly powerful; I doubt I could withstand it."

Sun Daojian's eyes were piercing as he spoke.

They also wanted to see if Zhou Ling could block the sword.

On the contrary, Dean Gong remained calm. She had exchanged blows with Zhou Ling multiple times in the Sword Shadow Jade. Even with her swordsmanship skills, it was difficult for her to defeat Zhou Ling quickly without using her full strength.

Although the Thundercloud Sword Domain is powerful, Zhou Ling won't suffer a loss if he uses the Five Elements Sword Domain for defense.

"What kind of cultivation level is this that's being suppressed?!"

Zhou Ling frowned as he watched the golden sword dragon being bombarded and forced to retreat.

Originally, he had planned to test the power of the Five Elements Sword Domain with Lan Daobai, but only to stop short of it.

However, at this moment, the power of Lan Daobai's sword dragon had completely reached the peak of the Golden Core stage.

Zhou Ling no longer held back and decided to test his combat strength.

As Zhou Ling thought this, a thought struck him.

A five-element sword beam surged forth from his hand, surrounded by five-colored sword light.

When Lan Daobai unleashed his full power, the Thundercloud Sword Domain he condensed was almost at the level of a sword that could pierce the heavens and earth.

His Five Elements Sword Domain posed little threat to him.

Originally, I didn't want to use the fourth-tier Five Elements Sword, but now I have no choice but to give it a try.

After defeating the golden sword dragon, the thunder sword dragon advanced with unstoppable momentum. With a flick of Lan Daobai's hand, a surge of thunder roared down and fiercely slashed down at Zhou Ling.

Seeing this, the other instructors from the Sword Academy all looked surprised.

It is obvious that Lan Daobai's Thundercloud Sword Domain has a considerable advantage over Zhou Ling's Five Elements Sword Domain.

However, the next moment, five-colored sword energy surged around Zhou Ling, and the fourth-order Five Elements Treasure Sword shot out like a five-colored sword dragon, colliding with the Thunder Sword Dragon.

The two sword domains clashed, causing a violent tremor. Amidst the bursts of sword light, neither side gained the upper hand.

But the next moment, Zhou Ling's hand condensed, and a Five Elements Sword Qi was released, flowing into the Five Elements Treasure Sword.

The Five Elements Sword Light surged dramatically.

The howling thunder sword domain suddenly stopped.

The next moment, it was as if they were under immense pressure.

"Hoohoo!"

Strands of thunderous sword energy that crashed into the Five Elements Sword Domain instantly transformed into Five Elements Sword Energy.

Furthermore, as the Five Elements Sword Domain continues to expand, the Thunder Sword Qi is constantly integrated and transformed into the Five Elements Sword Qi.

"This is the Heaven and Earth Sword Domain. How old is Zhou Ling? He has already reached the fourth level of swordsmanship?"

"How can this be?"

"A fourth-realm sword cultivator who is not even twenty years old is still only a Foundation Establishment cultivator!"

At this moment, the academy instructors who were originally sitting in the stands couldn't help but stand up and stare in utter shock at the Five Elements Sword Domain in the sky.

They were all third-realm sword cultivators, so they could naturally see that Zhou Ling's Five Elements Sword Domain had already acquired the Heaven and Earth Sword Domain at this moment.

"No wonder the dean let him participate in the main hospital's competition!"

Now, the instructors understood why the dean valued Zhou Ling so much.

Such terrifying talent is extremely rare even in the entire Nine Heavens Sword Academy.

"boom!"

After a struggle, the Purple Thunder Sword Domain completely collapsed, and the Thunder Dragon Sword Qi completely dissipated.

Looking at the Five Elements Sword Domain in the sky, Lan Daobai was equally shocked and speechless for a moment.

"Four Realms of Sword Dao? How is that possible?"

At this moment, he felt that if Zhou Ling's sword were to strike down, he would be absolutely unable to stop it.

Zhou Ling then withdrew the Six Paths Sword into his body, and the Five Elements Sword Domain also dissipated.

In such a contest, Zhou Ling naturally could not possibly kill him.

Moreover, continuing to use it would also cause considerable depletion to him.

This is also detrimental to the upcoming competition.

"Instructor Lan is too kind!"

Zhou Ling smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.

"I never expected that Instructor Zhou, at such a young age, would have reached the level of the Heaven and Earth Sword. I, Lan, am completely convinced of my defeat."

"From now on, you will be the chief instructor of the Sword Academy!"

"This is a bottle of Haoyuan Pills!"

Lan Daobai shook his head helplessly, then flicked his hand, and a bottle of pills landed in front of Zhou Ling.

"Thank you, Instructor Lan!"

Zhou Ling didn't stand on ceremony, accepted the pill bottle, and bowed to express his gratitude.

Next, I need to prepare to break through to the Golden Core stage, and this Haoyuan Pill can also enhance my magical power cultivation.

Other Foundation Establishment cultivators might not be able to withstand the surging medicinal power of the Haoyuan Pill, but he has a strong physique, so he shouldn't have any major problems.

As for the chief instructor of the academy, if Dean Gong and the others agree, then he naturally has no objection.

The chief instructor's salary is double that of a regular instructor.

However, although he won this competition, he also knew that Lan Daobai was suppressing his cultivation level and was only using the strength of the mid-stage Golden Core realm.

If he goes all out, then it's really hard to say. "So Instructor Zhou has already touched upon the fourth realm of swordsmanship, that's truly commendable!"

Upon seeing this, Supervisor Sun was the first to offer his congratulations to Zhou Ling.

"You flatter me, Daoist Master. I am still far from being a master of the Heaven and Earth Sword!"

Zhou Ling hurriedly replied modestly.

Others also came over to congratulate Zhou Ling.

Many people looked on with envy.

Everyone knows how difficult it is to cross borders.

Many sword cultivators, even after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, still find it difficult to enter the four realms of swordsmanship.

Zhou Ling, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, has already reached this level.

There is even a very high probability that they will be able to enter the Fifth Realm in the future.

"If my Qingyun Immortal City's Nine Heavens Sword Academy produces two fourth-realm instructors, that would be enough to apply for promotion to a fifth-grade sword academy!"

At this moment, Supervisor Sun bowed to Dean Gong.

Dean Gong shook his head and said, "Zhou Ling's move is not yet a true Heaven and Earth Sword Technique. There's no rush."

Upon hearing Dean Gong's words, Supervisor Sun nodded.

Then everyone took their leave.

Although Lan Daobai lost, he had no complaints about Zhou Ling's mastery of the Heaven and Earth Sword.

After all, competitions between instructors are a perfectly normal thing in the Taoist academy.

Afterwards, Zhou Ling also bid farewell to Dean Gong and left the Taoist academy.

······.

Back home, Zhou Ling sent a telepathic message to Weng Lanyue, asking her to come to the hall.

"Meet the Master!"

Soon, Weng Lanyue arrived in the hall and bowed to Zhou Ling.

"The day after tomorrow, I will be heading to the main campus of the Nine Heavens Sword Academy in Qingyang Immortal City to participate in the main campus competition. Would you be interested in coming with me?"

Zhou Ling nodded, gesturing for Weng Lanyue to sit down, and then asked.

Through these days of observation, he knew that Weng Lanyue's talent in swordsmanship was indeed quite good.

It would be a waste to focus solely on weapon crafting.

So I also want to take her to Qingyang Immortal City to see this competition, hoping that she can increase her training in swordsmanship.

"If my master tells me to go, then I'll go!"

Weng Lanyue poured Zhou Ling a cup of spiritual tea and said with a smile.

"Okay, then go and make preparations. You'll be coming with me the day after tomorrow!"

Zhou Ling took the teacup, took a sip, and said.

"Yes, Master!"

Weng Lanyue responded and then took her leave.

······.

Evening, in the meditation room.

Zhou Ling activated the [Illusionary Realm Simulation] and entered it.

Start simulating today's match against Blue Street White.

Lan Daobai did not unleash his full power; with the help of the [Illusionary Realm Simulation], he was able to fully unleash his combat strength.

He was also able to test the true power of the Five Elements Sword Domain.

As expected, even when Lan Daobai reached the peak of the Golden Core stage, Zhou Ling was no match for him, even when he used the fourth-order Five Elements Sword to condense a sword domain.

After all, the Five Elements Sword Domain he condensed was only a few feet in diameter, and it couldn't last long.

However, with the help of his Thundercloud Sword Domain to hone and deduce, Zhou Ling's Five Elements Sword Domain was also constantly improved.

The next day, he went to the Tiangong Division and took care of some matters that needed to be dealt with.

"Sister Yunxi, I need to go to Qingyang Immortal City in the next couple of days. I'll have to trouble you with the matters of the Heavenly Crafts Bureau!"

Zhou Ling smiled at Lu Yunxi.

Now, everything at Tiangongsi is back on track.

So everything proceeded as planned.

Zhou Ling's absence for a few days won't have any impact.

Moreover, Lu Yunxi had been assisting him in handling most things before.

"You can rest assured, Zhizheng!"

"However, the opponents in this competition at the main hospital are all quite strong, so you'd better be careful!"

Lu Yunxi replied.

She also knew that Zhou Ling was going to Qingyang Immortal City to participate in the main academy's competition.

Zhou Ling nodded.

Fortunately, he had Lu Yunxi's assistance; otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to handle the affairs of the Heavenly Crafts Bureau.

······.

The time had come to travel to Qingyang Immortal City.

Early in the morning, Zhou Ling brought Weng Lanyue to the Nine Heavens Sword Academy.

Dean Gong and the other five disciples who participated in the competition were already waiting in the council hall.

All five disciples were inner court disciples, at the Foundation Establishment stage.

To Zhou Ling's surprise, he also saw an old acquaintance, Jin Sheng.

Jin Sheng is now at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, and it seems that he is not far from the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

However, Jin Sheng has not yet comprehended the three realms of sword intent.

Back then, Jin Sheng was the number one person in Lingxia Immortal City.

He also comprehended the Furnace Sword Intent at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Moreover, Zhou Ling's first understanding of sword intent also came from Jin Sheng's sword intent.

Upon seeing Zhou Ling, Jin Sheng smiled and bowed to him, saying, "Greetings, Instructor Zhou!"

He has made good progress in recent years.

However, he occasionally paid attention to Zhou Ling's situation.

I originally thought that Zhou Ling would become just another ordinary person after entering the Dao Academy.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Ling soared to great heights.

Once he achieved this, there was no stopping him. He not only reached the Heavenly Foundation Establishment stage but also became an instructor at the Daoist Academy and the Chief Craftsman of the Heavenly Crafts Bureau.

At first, he felt a pang of jealousy when he heard news about Zhou Ling.

However, after Zhou Ling became the head of the Heavenly Crafts Bureau, his mindset changed.

He also accepted the fact that Zhou Ling was better than him, and continued to work hard to cultivate, hoping to catch up with Zhou Ling one day.

"Jin Sheng, you're too kind!"

Zhou Ling also cupped his hands and smiled.

At the time, my relationship with Jin Sheng was merely a competition, and there was no conflict between us.

"Everyone's here, let's get ready to go!"

Dean Gong then spoke up.

Zhou Ling also looked at the other four disciples who were participating in this competition.

Although they were called his disciples, they were all older than him.

Besides Jin Sheng, the other four disciples are Bai Qiu, Jiang Tianyu, Hua Heng, and Mu Lan.

Of the four, two were in the late stage of Foundation Establishment and two were in the middle stage.

They all comprehended the second realm of swordsmanship.

The group then arrived at the teleportation array in the plaza.

The Nine Heavens Sword Academy has a teleportation array leading to the Nine Heavens Sword Academy in Qingyang Immortal City.

"Everyone get ready, I'll activate the teleportation array and head to the main hospital!"

Dean Gong then activated the spatial teleportation array.

A ripple of space spread across the square.

Subsequently, led by Dean Gong, everyone stepped inside one by one.

As the last person entered, the ripples in the space gradually dissipated.

The figures of everyone then entered the teleportation array.

(End of this chapter)