Li Yuan's consciousness entered his spiritual world. Every day, he practiced the Great Sun Starry Sky Sutra for two hours, so he was very familiar with everything in this spiritual realm.
The spiritual world was boundless. Li Yuan focused on the central Divine Palace and directly entered it.
"Hmm?" As soon as Li Yuan's consciousness arrived, he was shocked to find that besides the Great Sun Jade Platform, there was now a white jade staircase.
"A staircase?" Li Yuan thought to himself, "Could it lead to the second level?"
From the outside, if one looked at the Divine Palace in the spiritual world, they would see it had four levels. However, Li Yuan had only ever been able to enter the first level. He had even doubted whether the four levels were just an illusion of his consciousness and didn't actually exist. After all, everything in the spiritual world was constructed from the mind and not absolutely real. But now, there was a new passageway?
"Let's give it a try." Li Yuan focused his consciousness and attempted to explore the higher levels of the Divine Palace through this newly appeared staircase.
As soon as his consciousness tried to step on the staircase, a terrifying pressure surged toward him, as if a giant rock had fallen heavily, causing his consciousness to shake violently. His mind went blank, feeling dizzy.
After a while, Li Yuan's consciousness regained clarity and he concentrated again on the Divine Palace, staring intently at the new white jade staircase.
"In the spiritual world, the strength of my spiritual power determines the strength of my consciousness," Li Yuan understood. "This staircase has an incredibly terrifying pressure... My consciousness is too weak to withstand it."
His spiritual power wasn't strong enough.
"Is a level 15.1 spiritual power not enough? Do I need to wait until my spiritual power reaches level 18 or even 20 to try again?" Li Yuan mumbled to himself, not daring to attempt it again easily. The mental blow he just experienced would have left him dazed if it had happened six months ago. Although he could barely withstand it now, he couldn't keep exposing himself to such pressure.
"This staircase seems to lead to the second level of the Divine Palace, but I can't go up right now." Li Yuan felt puzzled. "How should I guide the Source Power into my body?"
He had no clues at all.
"What should I do?"
Suddenly, as if sensing Li Yuan's thoughts, the entire Divine Palace began to tremble slightly. Then, from the end of the staircase, a hazy space that seemed to belong to the second level released a stream of golden mist that flowed down the staircase toward the first level.
"Golden mist? What's this?" Li Yuan was taken aback. Before he could react, the golden mist that seemed to have fallen from the second level of the Divine Palace merged directly into his consciousness.
"Boom!" Li Yuan's consciousness felt as if it had been struck by lightning, followed by a wave of darkness that engulfed him. He soon vaguely sensed that his spiritual world had changed; it was no longer the Divine Palace but an endless dark space.
"Where is this?" Most of Li Yuan's consciousness had fallen into a deep sleep, leaving only a few thoughts remaining.
A grand and vast voice seemed to come from the depths of the endless darkness. "Seek the dust, find the subtle, unite as one; the essence of the sun and moon begins to forge the spiritual foundation; let the heart follow the flow of energy, and the will guard the great orifice..." These ancient words seemed to contain profound truths, directly reflecting into the depths of Li Yuan's heart, just like the Great Sun Starry Sky Sutra, making it hard for him to forget.
Unknowingly, Li Yuan's mind completely emptied, and in the surrounding dark space, countless points of light began to appear and drift, nourishing his spiritual consciousness and making it grow stronger.
In the room, Li Yuan sat cross-legged on his bed, and his remaining consciousness sensed mysterious powers gradually seeping into his body. It was said that the human body was like the universe, with 480 million acupoints like stars, and Li Yuan felt this sensation now.
"So many!"
"It’s seeping through my limbs and bones."
"It's Source Power." Li Yuan had taken Source Power pills many times and was familiar with it. His consciousness became clearer as he perceived the power pouring into his body—it was indeed Source Power!
It came from the outside, from the heavens and the earth, and it was far purer than the Source Power pills he had taken.
"According to Teacher Xu and Dean Li, don't you need to become a Source Martial Artist for your body to absorb Source Power on its own?" Li Yuan was shocked. "Is this what 'Source Power Enters the Body' means in the Divine Palace?"
Li Yuan didn’t think too much but completely calmed his mind and looked inward.
"Source Power!" Li Yuan tried to guide the cosmic Source Power continuously pouring into his body with his spiritual power.
Suddenly, "Buzz~" Li Yuan clearly sensed that the Source Power entering his body was increasing, seemingly accelerating.
"Rumble!" The surging and pure Source Power finally gathered like a flood, circulating through his limbs and bones. Countless pure Source Power began to be crazily absorbed by Li Yuan's muscles and bones.
His entire body trembled wildly.
"Evolution."
"My body." Li Yuan was astonished as he felt his muscles, bones, skin, organs, and even blood and hair were all frantically absorbing Source Power, constantly transforming.
In the past, taking Source Power pills put a heavy load on his body, but today, it felt like there was no limit to how much Source Power his body could absorb...
[Your life level has increased from level 8.9 to level 9.0]
[Your life level has increased from level 9.1 to level 9.2]
[Your fist power has increased...]
As his physical constitution rapidly improved, Li Yuan's Divine Palace panel flashed with notifications every so often. Clearly, the process of Source Power entering his body would last for several hours at least.
When Li Yuan began to draw Source Power into his body and his physical constitution continuously transformed, it was eleven o'clock at night.
In Jiang City, over a hundred kilometers away from Jiangbei Martial Arts University, in the Starfire South Lake Community, a brightly lit villa stood by the lake.
In the basement, in a martial arts room nearly a thousand square meters in size, it was empty except for a huge character 'Martial' written on the wall at the end of the room. The characters were strong and powerful, as if carved with a sword.
"Digging into the body’s potential."
"Unity of body and mind."
Wan Qinghe stood in the center of the martial arts room, dressed in loose martial arts clothing, with his eyes slightly closed, sighing inwardly, "This final thought, this deep insight, is truly difficult."
"For so many years, I have been unable to break through." Wan Qinghe was quite troubled. His physical constitution had been stuck at level 25 for years, unable to progress further.
What he lacked was not a high-level cultivation method or spiritual power, but skill!
The further one practiced, the more it tested one's spiritual power and martial arts skills. The stronger the skills, the better one could tap into their physical potential, naturally making their physical constitution stronger.
On the contrary, even if one had powerful Source Power and physical strength, without enough skills to control it, they would struggle to unleash their true power.
"The Alcohol Demon told me."
"I have been wandering in the Star Realm for many years and found a word: 'Urgent.'"
"In life and death situations, a thin line can mean the difference between life and death. How could I not be urgent?" Wan Qinghe thought silently. "If I want to break through, I must find a word: 'Calm.'"
"I just returned to Jiang City to become the master of the fifth-level Martial Hall."
As Wan Qinghe pondered, suddenly, a gentle voice interrupted him, "Master, an important person requests a video call."
"Note: Ninth Senior Brother."
"Hmm?"
"Ninth Senior Brother is calling me so late? What could it be?" Wan Qinghe's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly replied, "Answer."
Buzz~
The video call connected.
"Ninth Senior Brother." Wan Qinghe slightly bowed.
In the video, his Ninth Senior Brother was wearing shorts, showing off his eight-pack abs, casually lounging on the bed with a wine glass in hand. Laughter from several women could be heard nearby.
"Junior Brother, still practicing so late? You're really diligent. Hope I’m not bothering you," Ninth Senior Brother said, taking a sip of wine.
"Senior Brother is joking. I'm also eager to break through as soon as possible," Wan Qinghe replied with a smile. "Why are you looking for me so late? Is there something up?"
"Nothing particularly important."
"Just now, Dean Li from Kunlun Martial University contacted me," Ninth Senior Brother said. "He is the head of the observation team going to Jiangbei and mentioned something about Li Yuan."
"Li Yuan?" Wan Qinghe's eyes lit up, feeling anxious. "What did Dean Li say?"
"Hehe, Li Yuan is quite impressive," Ninth Senior Brother chuckled. "You recommended a good talent to us at Kunlun Martial University. Dean Li has signed him with an 'S-Level Special Training Contract.'"
"S-Level Special Training Contract?" Wan Qinghe was taken aback. He hadn’t known about this at all. After all, the invitation event was organized by the Martial Hall, the Education Bureau, and Jiangbei Martial University. No one had directly informed Starfire Martial Hall.
"Yes."
"Also, you might not know this, but Li Yuan's spear technique and movement technique have both reached the fourth stage," Ninth Senior Brother added. "He just finished the practical assessment today and came in first."
"A cliff-like first place in practical assessments," Ninth Senior Brother added.
"What?" Wan Qinghe was stunned. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to be shocked or happy. This series of news was beyond his expectations.
"Ninth Senior Brother, it’s great that Li Yuan can sign the S-Level and special training contract. Thank you for your help," Wan Qinghe instinctively said. The higher the level of the special training contract Li Yuan signed, the stronger he would be when he graduated and returned to Starfire Martial Hall, which would also benefit Wan Qinghe.
"Don't be too happy too soon," Ninth Senior Brother laughed. "If it were all good news, I wouldn't bother telling you. The key is that there’s some bad news."
"Bad news?" Wan Qinghe's heart sank.
"This is news I just learned," Ninth Senior Brother said. "After the practical assessment today, the military seems to have extended an 'S-Level Contract' invitation to Li Yuan."
"S-Level Contract?" Wan Qinghe was shocked and couldn't help but ask, "Is that true?"
"Not guaranteed."
Ninth Senior Brother shrugged. "But I can confirm two things: first, the military has sponsored Li Yuan with one million."
"Second, another martial arts genius sponsored by the military, Tian Dazhuang, has confirmed he will join the military in the future and has signed an S-Level contract."
Wan Qinghe's heart was in turmoil. He didn’t care which university Li Yuan signed with; the two contracts didn’t conflict. But if he signed with the military, he would definitely have to break the contract with Starfire Martial Hall.
True, the penalty for breaking a B-Level contract was high, but that was relative to ordinary people. A few tens of millions in penalties meant nothing to the military.
"Alright."
"I’ve told you the news, Junior Brother," Ninth Senior Brother smiled. "What to do next, you at Starfire Martial Hall can decide for yourselves."
"I'll just remind you of one thing."
"Although Li Yuan hasn't awakened his Martial Spirit, a mere B-Level contract won't hold him."
"I'll get back to my work now." In the video projection, Ninth Senior Brother reached out to embrace a charming woman lying on him.
The video call ended.
"The military? S-Level contract?" Wan Qinghe struggled to calm himself and began to think of countermeasures. He knew that if he didn’t handle this well, his hard-earned achievements could slip away.
(End of Chapter)