Translator: CinderTL
Whoosh.
A familiar figure materialized.
"We meet again," the Profound Yellow Ranking Spirit, Liu Yu, greeted him.
Then, as if realizing something, a hint of astonishment flickered in her eyes, even as an Artifact Spirit. "Mind Power... You've mastered the Heavenly Heart Eternal Method?"
"Yes," Li Chunjun nodded slightly.
"Truly the Heavenly Heart Eternal Method?" Her expression clearly showed surprise.
"Yes," Li Chunjun confirmed.
"May I examine you to verify?" Liu Yu asked, then quickly added, "When the Supreme Sovereign established the Profound Yellow List, he decreed that anyone who cultivated Mind Power to the third level before reaching the Void Refinement Realm using either the Red Dust Heart Refinement Art or the Bitter Sea Rebirth Method could become his Nominal Disciple. However, there was another condition..."
She looked at Li Chunjun. "If you can master the first level of the Heavenly Heart Eternal Method within ten years, you can also become his Nominal Disciple!"
"Ten years... the first level of the Heavenly Heart Eternal Method?" Li Chunjun was somewhat taken aback.
How long had it taken him to master the first level?
Two months.
But those two months were spent in a state of sudden enlightenment. Converting that into normal cultivation time, it would be at least ten thousand years.
He had to remember that as his Life Level rose, his innate talent and foundation had also soared.
At Level 30, his talent was truly worthy of the title "Prodigy."
Even if he hadn't relied on sudden enlightenment and had cultivated step by step, his cultivation would have eventually surpassed Chu Ci and the others.
Under such circumstances, achieving the first layer of the Heavenly Heart Eternal Method would still take ten thousand years.
This illustrates how incredibly difficult it is to master the first layer within a decade.
Not even the past champions of the Star Brilliance List, let alone those from the past ten, dozens, or even hundreds of years, could meet this standard.
"Yes, ten years," Liu Yu said. "Since the title of Supreme Sovereign's disciple is at stake, I need to understand your cultivation process to confirm you had no prior foundation."
"I'm sorry, but I refuse to allow you to probe my mental privacy," Li Chunjun replied.
Last time, he had been too weak to resist, and Liu Yu had directly captured his innermost secrets, even simulating Li Wanqing's appearance before him. He would never allow such a thing to happen again, now that he had the power to prevent it.
"Refuse?" Liu Yu seemed surprised. "If I can't confirm you've truly mastered the first layer of the Heavenly Heart Eternal Method, I can't grant you Nominal Disciple status."
She added, "Though a Nominal Disciple may never see the Supreme Sovereign in person, the Supreme Sovereign has still left them a precious gift—a Void Refinement Inheritance!"
Void Refinement Inheritance
The Void Refinement Inheritance left by the Profound Yellow Supreme for his Nominal Disciples might not be his most precious or core inheritance, but it was undoubtedly one of the most top-tier. After all, a Nominal Disciple could potentially become an Official Disciple in the future.
The value of such an inheritance was undoubtedly superior to the Taixu Sword Scripture or the Flaming Phoenix Chaos Scripture. Moreover, the Void Refining chapters of the Taixu Sword Scripture and the Flaming Phoenix Chaos Scripture were only available to those who joined the Taixu Sword Sect's Main Sect and became at least Core Disciples—a feat Li Chunjun would find difficult to achieve.
"If I reach tenth place on the Star Brilliance List, should I receive a reward?" Li Chunjun asked. "Could I exchange it for the Void Refinement Inheritance left by the Profound Yellow Supreme?"
"The Void Refinement Inheritance is available for exchange, but the one left for Nominal Disciples by the Profound Yellow Supreme isn't enough," Liu Yu replied directly. "This calculation already factors in your age bonus for reaching the Star Brilliance List at just twenty-one."
She added with a faint smile, "The Profound Yellow List has been established for over ten million years. Yet in all that time, fewer than one in ten thousand years has ever qualified as a Nominal Disciple! And in those ten thousand years, the top ten on the Star Brilliance List, let alone the number one spot, have changed hands over a hundred times."
"If tenth place isn't enough, what about first place?" Li Chunjun asked. "What about the youngest person to ever top the Profound Yellow Star Brilliance List at twenty-one?"
Liu Yu fell silent, pondering.
A twenty-one-year-old at the top of the Profound Yellow Star Brilliance List...
Such a feat had been achieved before in the history of the Profound Yellow List.
Over tens of millions of years, anything was possible.
Perhaps a young divine being, upon hearing of the Profound Yellow List, would impulsively challenge it for fun.
Or perhaps a special life form from a first-tier protected race, only a few years, months, or even weeks old, could manifest Mystical Powers far beyond human comprehension and briefly shine on the Profound Yellow Star Brilliance List.
But these protected races, special life forms, and young divine beings...
were all exceptions.
In the history of the Profound Yellow Great World, a twenty-one-year-old at the top of the Star Brilliance List...
Perhaps as the Profound Yellow List's fame grew, some direct disciples or descendants of Dao Venerables from the Human Race might break this record. But as of now, if Li Chunjun truly achieved this feat, he would be unprecedented.
"Very well!"
Liu Yu agreed. "If you reach the top of the Profound Yellow List, you'll certainly deserve the 'exceptionally talented' evaluation. Passing this evaluation also qualifies you to become a nominal disciple of a Supreme Sovereign."
She smiled faintly. "Not only will you receive the Supreme Sovereign's inheritance, but you'll also earn an additional reward."
As she spoke, she glanced at Li Chunjun. "Even now, you can claim the reward for tenth place on the Star Brilliance List. Of course, if you're confident, you can accumulate them. That way, the reward for reaching first place on the Star Brilliance List will be even more substantial."
"I choose to accumulate," Li Chunjun said.
"Very well," Liu Yu nodded, looking at him. "I'll be waiting to see what you can do."
"It won't be long," Li Chunjun replied, immediately turning his gaze to the number one on the Star Brilliance List: Li Hentian.
He had been trading blows with Princess Qingxi for dozens of moves, his purpose being to better adapt to his growing power and the changes it brought.
Through those clashes, he could clearly feel that while his equipment was slightly inferior to Princess Qingxi's, his strength advantage was undeniable.
Even before resorting to his trump cards like the Great Void Destruction Sword Intent, he had been able to suppress her.
With the full deployment of his Great Void Destruction Sword Intent and Void Heaven Flash, he swiftly secured victory.
The gap between tenth and first place on the Star Brilliance List might be significant, but it wasn't insurmountable.
An exceptional performance by the tenth-ranked cultivator, or a rare misstep by Li Hentian, could easily alter the outcome.
Therefore, Li Chunjun estimated his chances of victory against Li Hentian at no less than seventy or eighty percent.
Even if Li Hentian possessed some hidden trump card...
That wouldn't matter.
Li Chunjun could simply spend some time refining the Broken Crystal to transform the Scarlet Sky Sword into a top-grade spiritual treasure, then return for a rematch.
Li Chunjun's Divine Sense flowed, directly targeting the name of Li Hentian, ranked first on the Star Brilliance List.
As the inscription began, Li Hentian seemed to sense it.
Soon, the Divine Sense of the number one on the Star Brilliance List reached him.
"You wish to challenge me?"
"It's obvious," Li Chunjun replied.
"Do you believe that because you defeated Qingxi, defeating me will be equally easy?"
Li Hentian's Divine Sense remained calm, yet it carried a soul-shaking power.
Having already cultivated Mind Power, Li Chunjun quickly recognized it.
This...
is also Mind Power.
The number one on the Star Brilliance List was also a Great True Lord who had cultivated Mind Power.
Mind Power was nearly as significant as cultivating Divine Sense during the Qi Refining stage. It was one of the essential prerequisites for Primordial Spirit True Monarchs to advance to Void Refining.
With Mind Power and a basic understanding of a certain Dao, one could use it to bear the Dao and attempt to break through to the Void Refining Realm.
Whether one could successfully bear the Dao's power was uncertain, but at least it meant this True Monarch possessed the qualifications to attempt the breakthrough.
In other words, this was a power typically mastered only by Nine Tribulation True Monarchs.
Yet here it was, wielded by a Great True Lord at Nascent Soul Perfection.
This alone was enough to judge that Li Hentian was likely a tier above Princess Qingxi.
However...
"So, will you disappoint me?" Li Chunjun asked.
Li Hentian fell silent.
After a long moment, he finally spoke: "You have courage. In my sixty years at the peak, I've slain twenty-two challengers. There are many brave souls, but few possess the strength to back up their bold words."
His tone was unhurried and composed: "I'm currently in the middle of a Sect council meeting. A little exercise wouldn't hurt. Seven hours from now, I hope you'll still be speaking to me with the same boldness."
Clearly, he considered the challenge a trivial matter, less important even than his meeting. His words were filled with contempt for his opponent and absolute confidence in his own strength, firmly believing himself invincible in the Nascent Soul Realm.
"You should hurry and prepare how you'll explain losing your place as number one on the Solar Radiance List," Li Chunjun replied calmly.
"Heh." Li Hentian ignored him, his Divine Sense quickly receding into the distance.
Li Chunjun continued to use his Divine Sense to erase Li Hentian's name from the Star Brilliance List, both forcing him to retreat and patiently awaiting the upcoming battle for the top spot on the Solar Radiance List in seven hours.
While Li Chunjun patiently waited, in a valley filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers in the southeastern region of the Profound Yellow Great World, a woman was using her Heart-Mind to control a swarm of bees in a graceful dance.
This woman...
Was none other than Yu Die, the number one ranked cultivator on the Star Glory List who had been embroiled in a series of controversies recently.
At this moment, a green-robed girl hurried in: "Miss, that young master from the Su Family is here again. He hopes to meet you and has brought a gift even more valuable than the one the young master from the Fang Family brought last time."
"Leave the gift and be gone," Yu Die replied coldly.
"Are you still angry about how those families changed their attitudes five months ago when you fell from the top spot on the Star Glory List?" the girl asked cautiously.
"You're overthinking," Yu Die said, glancing at her. "I've long found those annoying flies to be an eyesore. I only held back because they were, after all, my sponsors. I couldn't be too harsh. Five months ago, they handed me an opportunity on a silver platter, and I naturally didn't mind turning the tables on them."
She scoffed. "Now that I've reclaimed the top spot, they think they can just come crawling back as if nothing happened? Do they really think Yu Die and the Marquis of Pingxi's Estate are so easy to manipulate?"
Hearing this, the girl breathed a sigh of relief.
Good, Miss hasn't been affected.
"Also, have you found out yet?" Yu Die narrowed her eyes slightly. "Which branch of the Taixu Sword Sect does Li Chunjun belong to? How did he suddenly disappear from the Star Glory List after reaching the top? Is he dead, or has he broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm?"
(End of the Chapter)
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