Reversing the Milky Way

At this moment, Zhu Mingxuan, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up: "It must be because of the necklace she's wearing. A necklace that can shield one's own spiritual power must have come from quite a place."

After he finished speaking, everyone turned to look at the arena.

On the stage at this moment, Xiao Mo's expression was beyond words. He stared blankly, his mouth slightly agape, and said, "Good, good, good. I really didn't expect that in a small Nachuan Academy, besides Lei Che, there would be such a monstrous talent. But why didn't you show it before? Why did you forfeit? Were you afraid of that contestant named Xue Min?"

After hearing this, Shui Ning'er shook her head and said, "That's not the case. It's because my spiritual power is incompatible with yours that I'll be a little more careful when we fight."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Mo asked in surprise, "Could it be that you can already detect the spiritual energy fluctuations on other people?"

“That’s right!” After saying that, Shui Ning’er held the trident horizontally in front of her, and the trident, which was formed from water, emitted a blue spiritual light. Seeing this, Xiao Mo did not dare to be careless. He then wrapped his arms with his own spiritual power, and flames immediately ignited on his arms.

With a few swings of her trident, Shui Ning'er attacked Xiao Mo like a whirlwind. She wielded the trident with incredible speed and ferocity, and Xiao Mo had to dodge each strike with all his might. He saw Shui Ning'er's trident tip slice across the Qinggang stone arena with surprising ease, and the arena was easily cleaved open.

Although the trident before him was formed from condensed moisture in the air, its density was clearly comparable to that of a treasure-level weapon. Seeing this, Xiao Mo knew that if he were struck, he would inevitably suffer a laceration. Therefore, he could only dodge and weave, searching for an opportunity to attack. For a moment, his arms, burning with flames, couldn't reach Shui Ning'er, who was within weapon-attacking range.

Every time Xiao Mo seized an opportunity to attack Shui Ning'er, Shui Ning'er would hold her trident horizontally in front of her to block Xiao Mo's attack. In the blink of an eye, the two had already exchanged more than a dozen blows. Between the clashes, spiritual energy fluctuations spread out, making the audience in the audience inexplicably tremble with fear.

As Shui Ning'er seized the opportunity to thrust her trident at Xiao Mo, Xiao Mo's eyes narrowed; he knew the terrifying power of this attack. But he didn't back down. Instead, he took a deep breath, his spiritual energy surging, and grabbed the incoming trident tip with both hands. At that moment, the spiritual energy of fire and water began to collide.

Seeing this, Shui Ning'er did a backflip and kicked Xiao Mo hard in the chin with her knee. Xiao Mo felt his mind go blank, and then his hands involuntarily released the trident. He tumbled several times in the air before crashing heavily to the ground, landing on his back.

As he turned over, he felt the scenery around him swirling back and forth in front of him. He vaguely saw a blue figure appear in front of him. When he came to his senses, he found Shui Ning'er pointing at him with her trident and saying, "You flatter me, Senior Xiao Mo."

Seeing this, Xiao Mo smiled in relief and said, "I admit defeat."

Upon seeing this, Xue Qianfu immediately announced, "Congratulations to Shui Ning'er on successfully advancing in the revival round! Next, we will proceed with the advanced round."

After speaking, Xue Qianfu waved his hand, and the golden characters above the arena transformed into the names of the seventeen participants in the advancement round. These names then split into two groups and began to scroll. Immediately afterward, the list of eight groups of competitors was displayed, with one person receiving a bye and advancing directly to the next round – that person was Xue Min.

Bai Cheng looked up at his opponent, a student named Leng Hao. Bai Cheng had a slight impression of this person. In the preliminary round, Leng Hao, who was in the late stage of Body Refinement, easily defeated Zuo Lengfeng, who was also in the late stage of Body Refinement. The two did not fight much, and Zuo Lengfeng was knocked to the ground in less than ten rounds.

Thinking this, Bai Cheng knew that Leng Hao was most likely already able to use spiritual power, otherwise Zuo Jinfeng wouldn't have been defeated so easily. Then, Xue Qianfu announced from the floating arena: "The first match of the advancement tournament will be between Lei Che of Nachuan Academy and Hu Bosu of Renhui Academy!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lei Che executed a beautiful aerial somersault onto the ring, then stood upright with his arms crossed over his chest. Hu Bosu, on the other hand, hesitated to step onto the ring. Seeing this, Xue Qianfu called out to him, "Hu Bosu, Hu Bosu!" As the voice rang out, Bai Cheng saw Hu Bosu standing motionless beside him, showing no intention of stepping onto the ring.

At this moment, Xue Qianfu continued, "Hu Bosu, if you don't step onto the stage, it will be considered a forfeit."

As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Cheng saw Hu Bosu shout loudly beside him, "I forfeit!"

Upon hearing this, a murmur rippled through the crowd. Xue Qianfu immediately announced, "Hu Bosu forfeits, Lei Che wins!" At this moment, Su Boran approached Hu Bosu, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Sigh, the gap is too big. It's definitely better to just admit defeat than to go up and get beaten."

After saying that, he turned to the others and said, "You are all my students. I don't want to see you get injured in the competition. If you find that your opponent is much stronger than you, you can admit defeat directly. I will not blame you. After all, this is not a life-or-death duel."

After he finished speaking, Bai Cheng and the others nodded in response, "Yes."

Immediately afterward, Xue Qianfu on the floating platform announced, "Next up is the match! Ye Xuan from Wuling Academy versus Meng Zhanming from Nachuan Academy!" As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Xuan and Meng Zhanming stepped onto the stage. Their performances in the preliminary rounds were rather average. However, it wasn't that they lacked talent; rather, it was because their opponents all used their spiritual energy to attack, and with so many geniuses capable of projecting their spiritual power, their match seemed rather uneventful in comparison.

As soon as the fight began, the two quickly grappled. However, both were at the late stage of Body Refinement, and both used spiritual energy to enhance their attacks, turning the situation into a tug-of-war of physical strength. In the end, Ye Xuan prevailed and defeated Meng Zhanming.

Sun Jianxin said, "Indeed, both of them have good talent. Although they are not as dazzling as those geniuses, their aptitude is still quite good. It is inevitable that they will be able to successfully condense their Qi in the future." After he finished speaking, the group of cultivators nodded in agreement.

At this moment, Xue Qianfu, standing on the suspended platform, announced: "The winner is Ye Xuan!"

As the two left the stage, Xue Qianfu continued, "The next match will be between He Tangyue from Renhui Academy and Shao Kaize from Wuling Academy."

As soon as the words were spoken, both sides took their places. With Xue Qianfu's call to begin, the two assumed their stances. Shao Kaize then struck first. As he charged towards He Tangyue, his footsteps grew increasingly heavy. Bai Cheng, witnessing this, was somewhat puzzled, because a normal person's weight shouldn't produce such a loud sound when Shao Kaize stepped on the ground.

Immediately afterward, Shao Kaize threw a punch at He Tangyue. He Tangyue instinctively tried to block the attack, but when she used her spiritual energy to deflect it, she was suddenly shocked. The attack, though not particularly fast or powerful, felt incredibly heavy, like a solid iron weight. Even though she channeled all her spiritual energy into her arm, she couldn't change the direction of Shao Kaize's punch.

Therefore, she quickly retreated, avoiding Shao Kaize's attack. He Tangyue then exclaimed in surprise, "You are?!"

Shao Kaize: "Hehe, I've observed your battle. Although we can both use our spiritual energy to circulate within our bodies, my spiritual energy constitution is earth-attribute. When I circulate my spiritual energy throughout my body, my body becomes exceptionally solid due to the earth-attribute spiritual energy. Even if you can circulate your spiritual energy, you are still no match for me. Even someone at the peak of the Body Refinement Realm wouldn't be able to withstand my punch."

Hearing this, Bai Cheng couldn't help but ponder. He now understood that the effects of circulating spiritual energy within the body would vary depending on each person's constitution. Lei Che's performance earlier was reflected in his physical speed.

Upon seeing this scene, the cultivators in the VIP seats began to discuss it amongst themselves.

Man Chong: "Not bad! Finally, there's someone whose cultivation method matches our Xuanwu Hall's." Xu Lie: "Hey, no, doesn't your Xuanwu Hall favor metal-type cultivation physiques? That Shao Kaize on the field is clearly earth-type."

Guo Yanyang: "Earth-attribute cultivators are born with an extraordinary affinity for the earth element. Once they reach the Qi Condensation Realm, they can explore various underground mineral veins and discover spirit stone veins hundreds of meters deep. It can be said that this is an indispensable cultivation physique for sects." After hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

On the arena, under Shao Kaize's relentless attacks, He Tangyue could only passively dodge. She couldn't match his attacks, and even when she occasionally managed to kick Shao Kaize's neck, it felt like kicking a thick mound of earth. Shao Kaize, on the other hand, only suffered a slight twist of his neck, without sustaining much damage. The earth elemental energy within him made his body extremely solid, capable of both mitigating physical impacts and resisting attacks from spiritual energy.

Soon, He Tangyue's movements slowed due to exhaustion, giving Shao Kaize an opportunity. Just as He Tangyue was dodging, he grabbed her ankle and slammed her hard against the arena floor. He Tangyue was unable to break free. She had initially planned to dodge and wear down Shao Kaize's stamina, but it seemed her own strength was being depleted first. She could only gather her spiritual energy in her back to mitigate the damage from the blow.

Immediately afterward, Shao Kaize threw He Tangyue with all his might, as if tossing a chick. He Tangyue did a mid-air spin, adjusted her posture, and slid dozens of meters before her back slammed straight into the Spirit-Trapping Array at the edge of the arena. The immense force of the impact caused her to feel a sharp pain within her body, and she let out a couple of soft gasps.

Immediately, He Tangyue also conceded defeat and surrendered. Upon seeing this, Xue Qianfu immediately announced, "The winner is Shao Kaize!"

As the words fell and both sides stepped off the stage, Xue Qianfu continued to announce: "The next match will be between Pan Li from Renhui Academy and Qin Ming from Wuling Academy!"

However, as soon as the words were spoken, neither side stepped forward. At this moment, Qin Ming from Wuling Academy shouted to Pan Li from Renhui Academy, "Are you going to surrender yourself, or do you want me to beat you up before you surrender?"

Upon hearing this, Pan Li was instantly filled with rage. He had already planned to surrender, not wanting to end up like Fu Qiran, bleeding from all seven orifices. Although Qin Ming's words were laced with sarcasm, he still clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and said, "I surrender!"

Bai Cheng, witnessing this, was deeply moved. 'The difference between an ordinary late-stage Body Refinement Realm cultivator and a mid-stage Body Refinement Realm cultivator who can cultivate spiritual energy is truly so vast! This Pan Li didn't even bother to try; he simply admitted defeat.'

Thinking of this, Bai Cheng was also relieved that he still had a lot of spiritual energy in his body. Although the mysterious fragment in his heart was constantly absorbing the spiritual energy in his body, fortunately, Bai Cheng had swallowed a Spirit Gathering Pill a few days ago, and there was still a lot of spiritual energy accumulated in his body.

After such a long period of exploration, Bai Cheng had fully discovered the pattern of the mysterious fragment within his body. Although it was like a rechargeable battery, over time, Bai Cheng felt the spiritual energy within the fragment completely disappear, like a bucket full of water constantly leaking. No matter how he tried to stimulate it, he couldn't draw out the spiritual energy absorbed from the fragment. Therefore, Bai Cheng had to constantly replenish the spiritual energy within his body. Currently, since there was no effective way to absorb spiritual energy, he could only rely on fruits and foods rich in spiritual energy to replenish it.

After Pan Li announced his defeat, the crowd below the stage began to murmur among themselves.

Crowd #1: "No way, this is the second one already!"

Crowd #2: "Yeah, it seems like there aren't any decent geniuses in this year's Renhui Academy, except for He Tangyue, who's somewhat promising."

The cultivators in the VIP seats began to discuss this scene after witnessing it.

Man Chong: "Wow, it seems Su Boran really doesn't know that the reward for first place this year is quite special?!"

Xu Lie: "I don't think so. Even if Su Boran really knows about the reward, I'm afraid it's just that."

Man Chong was puzzled after hearing this: "What do you mean?"

Xu Lie: "You don't know yet, do you? The tuition for body-refining students at Renhui Academy is only two silver coins per month. Besides teaching basic body-refining techniques, the amount of body-tempering pills is pitifully small each month. In such an environment, it's difficult to produce any outstanding students. On the other hand, the tuition for Wuling Academy is ten silver coins per month! In addition to each person receiving ten body-tempering pills every month, I heard that their canteen also prepares a special menu for those with cultivation physiques. The ingredients for each dish are made from spirit beasts and spirit plants."

Man Chong was also greatly shocked after hearing this: "What?! Isn't this just like an ordinary sect?"