Talisman Emperor

Along with the passage of time, the Laws of Water around Chen Xi’s body swiftly underwent a transformation.

It rumbled like a surging ocean at the beginning, and then it roiled without end like an enormous river before finally transforming into strands of drizzle that were silent and gentle…

In the end, a droplet of water appeared before him, and it floated there silently.

This water droplet was completely round and translucent. It reflected in detail the myriad of changes of everything in the world, and it seemed to be tiny, yet gave others the heavy and deep feeling like it was impossible to move like a deep abyss.

But when one scanned it carefully, it was still a droplet of water and hadn’t changed at all.

It was like the three stages of cultivation. During the first stage, the mountain still looked like a mountain while the water still looked like water. During this stage, one was young and ignorant, and one’s knowledge of the world was the simplest and plainest. 

In the second stage, the mountain didn’t look like a mountain, and the water didn’t look like water. During this stage, one had experienced tempering, and even though one’s heart was firm, one’s state of mind had changed along with the improvement of one’s cultivation.

In the third stage, the mountain still looked like the mountain, the water still looked like that water. During this stage, one had experienced countless changes in life and seen through reality and the matters of the worlds. One had touched upon the essence of the world.

This droplet of water behind him displayed that Chen Xi’s grasp of the Sword of Water had already completely grasped its essence. He’d seen through the myriad of changes of water, and in the end, he converged all its profundities into this droplet of water.

At this point, the Sword of Water had been cultivated to perfection!

Om!

With a command in his heart, the droplet of water sunk into the space at the center of his brows. At that instant, he felt as if he’d become a god of water, and he was innately capable of controlling the energy of water.

He stretched out the tip of his finger and a strand of water coiled up. It transformed into a drizzle, heavy rain, a rainstorm, a stream, a river, a lake, a glacier, a swamp, and so on and so forth at his command.

This level of attainment was different from before. It wasn’t limited to certain moves, and every move he made was done at will. Every single move could be the Dreamlike Drizzle, yet at the same time, it could transform into the Cloudwave Destruction and Boundless Ocean!

The methods may vary, but the principle is the same. The principles of water are within a single thought of mine! Chen Xi took a deep breath and suddenly opened his eyes. At the same time, the vital energy in his body boiled as it moved throughout his body, and it emanated an elated and lively feeling.

After he attained perfection in the Sword of Water, it actually stimulated the vital energy in his body, causing his cultivation to improve slightly once more! 

Chen Xi didn’t stop this sort of feeling, and he instead started to cultivate in meditation along with this profound change in his vital energy.

His mouth and nostrils inhaled and exhaled the Primeval Chaotic Qi from the surroundings, causing the vital energy in his body to emanate rumbling that sounded like the roar of dragons, howl of tigers, and surging rivers.

Later on, every single pore on every single inch of his body was enveloped by thick Primeval Chaotic Qi, and he was covered in a misty glow that seemed like divinity.

At the spot beneath the Dantian in his stomach, a cool aura arose from the area of the Huiyin Acupoint.

The Huiyin Acupoint was the place the Vitality Soul resided, and it was on the same line as the Cerebral Palace of the Heavenly Soul and the Tanzhong Acupoint of the Earthly Soul.

The Huiyin Acupoint was the final barrier of the three mysteries in the Mysterious Immortal Realm!

Once he broke through this barrier, it would be equivalent to advancing into the advanced-stage of the Mysterious Immortal Realm, and it meant that the three souls had been cultivated to perfection and flawlessness!

Time passed silently without him realizing it.

Early in the morning the next day, Chen Xi who was in meditation all along was interrupted by a strange fluctuation, and he awoke from his deep levels of cultivation.

“New students, quickly gather outside Vastcloud Mountain. I’ll be leading all of you to the teaching grounds of the outer court in ten minutes from now, and I’ll explain the necessary information for your cultivation in the future.” 

It was the voice of Instructor Wang Hen, and it was spread throughout Vastcloud Mountain and through the layer upon layer of restrictions to enter the various abodes by way of a special energy.

Chen Xi frowned. He’d obtained a great deal of benefit from his cultivation last night, and he was on the verge of touching upon the threshold of the advanced-stage of the Mysterious Immortal Realm, yet he was forcefully interrupted.

After that, he shook his head and stopped thinking about it. He stood up and glanced at the nearby tiny cauldron, and then he silently left the abode by himself when he saw the tiny cauldron was still absorbing Primeval Chaotic Qi.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

At this moment, it wasn’t just Chen Xi but all five hundred new students that were recruited into Dao Emperor Academy this time that flew over from all directions and converged outside Vastcloud Mountain.

When Chen Xi arrived here, he noticed most students were rather excited while some were frowning without end just like him. Obviously, they felt that their cultivation had been interrupted by Wang Hen.

“Chen Xi, over here.” In the distance, Liang Ren and Gu Yueming who’d arrived a long time ago gestured at Chen Xi.

Chen Xi smiled as he nodded, and then walked over directly. Amongst the five hundred new students, only Liang Ren and Gu Yueming were the most familiar to him, and the others could only be considered as people he’d seen before. 

“I heard you’re cultivating in an Emperor Grade Abode? My god! You have to pay eight thousand Starpoints to cultivate there for a year.” Liang Ren spoke with an expression of shock and admiration.

Chen Xi smiled as he said, “It’s all for the sake of cultivating. Right, where’re both of your abodes?”

Liang Ren puckered his lips and said, “Oh, I and Brother Gu didn’t enter into the top ten, so we could only cultivate in the abodes created on a Saint Grade Immortal Vein.”

“Alright, don’t complain. Not to mention a Saint Grade Immortal Vein, even an Allheaven Grade Immortal Vein is rare. Be content with what you have.” Gu Yueming derided.

Chen Xi smiled as well. He was clearly aware that besides the top ten, all the other new students were cultivating on the same mountain, and that mountain was called Violetcloud. There was only a single Saint Grade Immortal Vein on that mountain, and it couldn’t compare to the King Grade Immortal Vein on Vastcloud Mountain at all, let alone compare to an Emperor Grade Immortal Vein.

This was the gap between the students in the top ten and the other new students, and it was reflected in every small detail.

“Instructor Wang, can you notify us in advance next time? I was comprehending a supreme profound technique when I was forcefully interrupted by you, and I missed a superb opportunity. What a disappointment.” Right at this moment, Ao Wuming spoke abruptly in a loud voice, and his tone was rather filled with displeasure.

The other students were shocked at Ao Wuming’s arrogance when they heard this, whereas some rather agreed to what Ao Wuming had said, and they nodded endlessly in unison.

Wang Hen’s expression remained unchanged instead, and he said after all the students had gathered, “From today onwards, no one will disturb all of you even if you stayed within your abodes all day. Of course, the precondition is that all of you must pay the Starpoints required to occupy the abode.”

The other students went silent when they heard this.

It was naturally impossible for them to stay within the abode forever, because even if they wanted to do this, they didn’t possess sufficient Starpoints to pay the fee required.

“Come, Dean Zhou, Dean Zuoqiu, and numerous other instructors have been waiting since a long time ago.” Wang Hen glanced at all the students before he flicked his sleeve to withdraw an immortal vessel, and then it carried everyone as it transformed into a wisp of flowing light that tore through the sky. 

    …

Today was the first day that the new students started cultivating in the academy, and it carried extraordinary meaning.

The outer court’s Dean, Zhou Zhili, the Vice Dean, Zuoqiu Hong, and numerous head instructors and ordinary instructors had gathered at the teaching grounds a long time ago.

Besides that, almost eight thousand senior students from the outer court had gathered here as well, and it could be considered as a ceremony to welcome the new students.

Merely based on the implied meaning, the teaching grounds was a place to teach about cultivation, so the academy’s teaching ground was no exception.

The only difference was that the outer court’s teaching ground was enormous, and it was formed by a circle of row upon rows of ancient buildings.

These ancient buildings were respectively prepared for teaching about different things. For example, the pill refinement grounds, equipment refinement grounds, the taming grounds, classical scripture grounds, and so on and so forth.

But the most important amongst them all was the cultivation grounds. 

After all, cultivation was the matter that every single immortal cultivator was most concerned about.

Swoosh!The immortal vessel tore through the sky as Wang Hen led all the new students to the teaching grounds in the outer court, and it descended onto a spacious square.

At this moment, the square was already filled with shadows that were moving about it. The eight thousand or so senior students gathered here formed a dark mass of both men and women, and the weakest amongst them was at the Mysterious Immortal Realm while the strongest was at the Golden Immortal Realm.

There was a high platform at the center of the square. At this moment, the outer court’s Dean Zhou Zhili, the Vice Dean Zuoqiu Hong, and all the other instructors were seated there.

When they saw Wang Hen arrive with all the new students, the gazes of many present here swept over in unison, and the originally solemn and silent atmosphere bustled.

“I heard the overall natural talent and strength of the new students this year is the greatest when compared with the previous years. I wonder if this is true.”

“Haha! Is there any need to distinguish whether its true or not? Everything is in vain if they’re unable to earn Starpoints.”

“However, I heard that there really are many formidable fellows this year, and if we have the chance, we can consider making friends with them.”

“Making friends with them? Don’t waste your time. Those formidable fellows are all from top powers like the seven great ancient clans. They’re genius figures in the younger generation, and they can’t be bothered to pay attention to you!”

A wave of whispered discussion resounded. The gazes that shot towards Chen Xi and all the other new students contained various different feelings, and they were like experienced soldiers that were watching a group of new recruits enter the army.

Amidst the focus of all these gazes, Chen Xi and the others were led to the front of the square by Wang Hen before he continued leading them to the high platform where all the higher-ups of the academy like Zhou Zhili resided.

“Silence!” Zuoqiu Hong frowned and shouted in a low voice. It instantly stopped the discussions in the surroundings, and the atmosphere recovered its silence once more.

When he saw this, Zhou Zhili stood up and glanced indifferently at everyone in the surroundings before he said, “Today is the first day in the academy for all of you new students. I’ll go straight to the point. Right here and now, I only wish to tell all of you that the path to the Grand Dao is difficult, and you should never slack in your cultivation.”

He paused for a moment and continued. “We’ll be welcoming the inner court exams that occur every ten years in another two years from now. I hope that no matter if it’s the senior students or the new students, all of you will make the best use of your time to cultivate during this period. All of you ought to understand that a single mistake will cause a string of mistakes which will finally end up as an extremely great gap.”

“The path of cultivation is like this as well. If one is a step slower than another, then one might be unable to catch up to that person forever, and the difference in accomplishments in the future will be bound to be like the difference between the heavens and the earth.”

“As it is said, in the competition to attain the Grand Dao, the accomplished rule. Students, the competition has already begun!”