The agreement of three moves in the sky had concluded. It ended with the black robed elder of the Saint Spiritual Academy suffering a crushing defeat.
If the two had truly exchanged blows in a real fight, Liu Bai definitely would not have won so easily. Whether he could even win at all would be uncertain. However, since the other party was so arrogant as to receive three moves from Liu Bai directly, the outcome had already been sealed.
Although Dean Tian Sheng was somewhat surprised by the defeat, he did not dwell on it. Instead, the strength Liu Bai displayed during this test made him grow increasingly vigilant.
If this youth eventually graduated and left, then it would not matter. But if he truly chose to remain in the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy in the future, he might very well threaten the Saint Spiritual Academy's status.
"As expected of a youthful prodigy. Liu Bai, is it? Your talent ranks among the strongest even when placed alongside all students of the Five Academies. The Great Thousand World is your true stage. I hope that in the future, we will hear of your legends there."
Leaving behind those words, Dean Tian Sheng stopped paying attention to the matter. Instead, he looked toward the light screen before him.
"Very well. The Spiritual Road trial has ended. There are now three hundred and forty five people remaining. This number is far higher than in previous years. Next, we will begin the Battle for the King Title."
Speaking as the one who always assumed leadership, Dean Tian Sheng issued orders once again.
The other four Academy Deans were already used to it. Although they felt somewhat dissatisfied inwardly, no one would start an argument over such trivial matters. Therefore, no one refuted his words.
"Next, the five of you will enter the Spiritual Road. There are five final stages in total. Each of you will take charge of one. On the stage, these little fellows will not hold back. You must ensure their safety as much as possible."
The Spiritual Road imposed no restrictions on those who entered. Killing and being killed depended entirely on one's own ability.
But this seemingly fair rule was only fair on the surface. After all, since predetermined candidates existed, the Spiritual Road was not truly fair. Otherwise, how could Mu Chen have been expelled simply because he had killed several dozen challengers?
One should know how many people died on the Spiritual Road every year. Compared to that, what was Mu Chen's case?
Everything was simply because he threatened the positions of those predetermined candidates and offended individuals who sat high above.
To obtain true fairness, one needed to possess enough talent and strength to force others to acknowledge them, or a background powerful enough to make everyone hesitate.
Mu Chen had both, yet at that time he had neither. If not for his decisive methods and ruthless nature earning the appreciation of the Dean Taicang and Dean Tiansong, he might very well have been executed. None of the events that followed would have occurred.
Thus, this so called fairness had always been a joke.
It was nothing more than a beautiful lie woven by the strong for the weak.
However, those who passed the final Spiritual Road trial were without exception true geniuses. Each of them possessed extraordinary survival abilities and would become the core strength of the Five Academies in the future. This was why the Academy Deans arranged for elders to personally oversee the stages, ensuring their safety as much as possible.
Speaking of this arrangement, one had to mention the Spiritual Road trial many years ago. At that time, only a little more than ten people survived and walked out of the Spiritual Road. This caused the Five Academies to face a severe shortage of talent. From that point on, the Academy Deans made the decision to personally protect the final candidates.
After Liu Bai and the others nodded, a phantom image of an ancient bronze mirror appeared at the center of the hall.
From the phantom mirror, five beams of light shot out and landed upon Liu Bai and the other four. Space shifted, and when Liu Bai opened his eyes again, he was already standing in front of a massive stage.
Looking closely, this stage had only one entrance. Facing the entrance was a mountain path flanked by towering peaks, forming a colossal canyon.
This canyon connected to the outer region of the final Spiritual Road. There were five total entrances, corresponding to the five stages. How many people arrived at each stage depended entirely on the choices made by the youths.
If someone chose a stage with fewer people, their upcoming battle would be much easier. But if one had the misfortune of picking the stage with the most participants, then they could only blame their luck.
After all, each stage offered only ten King Titles. If exactly ten people arrived, they would not even need to fight. Each of them could simply take a title. After all, luck was also a part of one's strength.
Liu Bai stood quietly in the air above the stage, waiting.
At this moment, he was enveloped in a beam of light. This was the Judgment Light of the Judgment Mirror, which allowed Liu Bai to ignore the limitation of being unable to use spiritual power inside the Spiritual Road space.
Very soon, a streak of light shot toward him from the canyon and landed steadily on the stage.
The moment the light figure appeared, Liu Bai saw her clearly. It was a beautiful young girl, though neither Luo Li nor Wen Qing Xuan, but someone else.
She had ice blue hair and a pair of large ice blue eyes. From afar, she resembled a timeless glacier, radiating a coldness that made one's heart tremble. Her coldness was different from cold elegance. She was pure, absolute frost itself. Even a single glance seemed capable of stirring the chill of heaven and earth.
Liu Bai pondered for a moment and quickly recalled her name.
"Bing Qing."
A girl from the Ice Spirit Race. She became a King Title holder on the Spiritual Road and later joined the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy. She was one of the eight King Title geniuses who joined Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy that year.
Liu Bai recognized her because the Ice Spirit Race characteristics were distinctive. Combined with the limited number of notable female King Title holders this year, it was easy to identify her.
"Judging from the aura she possesses right now, she should also be one of those who broke into the fourth level Spirit Body. In previous years, she would have been a strong contender for the Spirit Crown."
According to what Liu Bai had learned from the Dean Tai Cang regarding Li Xuantong's batch, this year's geniuses were far more numerous. If Li Xuantong entered the Spiritual Road this year, he might at best be a well known King Title holder. There was no chance of him becoming the Spirit Crown Holder.
Unfortunately for them, this year was filled with too many monstrous geniuses.
Although one Mu Chen had been driven out, they still had Ji Xuan, Luo Li, Wen Qing Xuan, and even Yang Hong and Qiu Bei Hai were not simple.
No wonder the Academy Deans were paying special attention to this Spiritual Road.
"Those who arrive early should wait quietly for the trial to begin."
Liu Bai's calm voice spread out. Though his tone was mild and not loud, every word reached Bing Qing's ears with perfect clarity.
Glancing upward at the figure standing within the beam of light, she merely nodded and sat down cross legged to rest.
One after another, more youths continued to arrive.
Dean Tian Sheng had said there were three hundred and forty five survivors. If the five stages were evenly divided, each stage would have sixty nine people. But since the youths chose for themselves, the number was uncertain.
Time passed slowly. Very soon, there were already several dozen people on the stage.
Boom.
A bell chime rang throughout the entire space. Liu Bai's eyes brightened sharply. He raised his hand and released a beam of spiritual light that sealed the canyon entrance.
"All of you, gather at the center of the stage."
Fifty two people. It seemed this battle for the King Title would not be too difficult.
Scanning the group of youths, Liu Bai said in a deep voice, "There are fifty two people on the stage. Ten of you will obtain King Titles. You may use any method to eliminate the others. When only ten remain, the battle will end."
"Now, begin."
His words were sharp and decisive. Before the youths could even react, the order had already been given.
"This elimination method is interesting," a burly youth muttered.
His body carried a faint yellow color, resembling dried wood, yet giving off an extremely dangerous aura. "But with this setup, it will be difficult to break through alone."
Even as he said this, there was no fear or worry on his face. Even if others joined forces, what of it? The difference between Spirit Body levels was not something numbers could bridge.
After all, there were only fifty two people on this stage.
Boom
At last, the quiet battle stage erupted as dozens of multicolored spiritual lights burst forth, dazzling to the point of almost blinding.
With muffled sounds echoing one after another, figures shot across the field. Most people retreated rapidly toward the edges of the battle stage, each of them terrified of being ambushed in this place where everyone was an enemy.
"Haha, looks like everyone is quite cautious. In that case, why do I not just eliminate all of you myself?"
The burly youth laughed loudly. The faint yellow light around him flared violently, and then he struck out with a heavy punch toward one of the boys.
"You dare choose me as your target? Do you think I am easy prey?"
The boy roared in fury.
Crack
He combined the two short spears in his hands into a single long spear, his face filled with anger. "Since you are in such a hurry to die, I will grant your wish."
As soon as he finished speaking, the battle spear trembled and blossomed with several spear flowers before thrusting forward.
The long spear shot out like a flood dragon breaching the depths or a fierce tiger descending the mountain, carrying an unstoppable momentum that revealed the boy's impressive strength.
Clang
The burly youth acted as though he had not seen the razor sharp spear tip at all. His punch did not pause in the slightest as it collided directly with the spear.
In the next moment, the long spear bent to an unbelievable degree. The spear wielder then felt an indescribably terrifying force crash into his arms. His entire body was flung into the air.
And at that spot, a black clothed youth's eyes flickered. At some unknown time he had already drawn a black dagger from his sleeve.
Seeing the figure flying toward him, the black clothed youth turned into a streak of eerie light. His dagger shot out like a serpent striking.
The attack was swift and ruthless. By the time the long spear youth noticed it, it was already too late.
Just as death was about to claim him, he forced his long spear to vibrate, shifting his body to the side and barely avoiding a fatal strike.
Puchi
The black blade pierced into his body. The long spear youth spat out a mouthful of blood as his life force plummeted rapidly.
Up in the air, Liu Bai lifted an eyebrow. He had not expected this group of youths to be so ruthless, each move aimed directly at taking lives. As expected of those who managed to survive the Spiritual Road until now.
But he also remembered the Academy Deans' request that these young people must not actually die. That would not be good for any of the Five Great Academies.
With a wave of his hand, a stream of spiritual energy swept up the long spear youth and removed him from the battle stage.
This sudden scene stunned the black clothed youth.
"He has been eliminated. Continue."
Liu Bai spoke calmly. Without further comment, he sent a green light from his hand. The wood attribute spiritual energy, rich with vigorous life force, poured into the injured youth and stabilized his condition in an instant. After that, Liu Bai ignored him.
Seeing this scene, the other youths' eyes brightened. So the strong figure from the Five Great Academies would personally ensure they would not die?
If that was the case, did that not mean they could truly unleash themselves without restraint?
At once, the youths who had been wary of one another suddenly grew far more reckless. Each move became lethal, and some even focused solely on attacking without defending.
Several youths were instantly gravely wounded, and Liu Bai busied himself, sending out streaks of spiritual light to pull injured participants off the stage and infuse them with wood attribute spiritual energy to keep them alive.
Very quickly, the number of participants on the stage decreased at a rapid pace until only ten remained.
"Enough. The battle is over. The ten remaining on the stage have earned the Title of King."
Liu Bai gathered his spiritual light and revealed his figure as he descended onto the battle stage.
"Anyone who is injured may heal. Anyone who must recover may recover. In one day, all Kings will participate in the final contest. The victor shall receive the title of Spirit Crown Holder."
"As for the rest of you…"
He glanced at the eliminated youths outside the battle stage. Some hung their heads in despair, while others stood firm with unyielding eyes.
"Although you failed to become Kings, ten of you will be chosen as Provisional Kings based on the number of people you defeated. It is not an official title, but it comes with its own benefits."
"I hope that once you join the Five Great Academies, you will cultivate diligently and not disgrace the hardship you endured today."
Liu Bai's words reignited the fighting spirit in many of the defeated youths. After all, they had endured countless hardships to reach this point. How could they lose their edge over such a setback?
Many of them also grew deeply curious about Liu Bai. Someone who looked no older than themselves, yet possessed such overwhelming power. Could he be one of the higher ups of the Five Great Academies?
Or was he actually some eccentric old monster who maintained the appearance of a young man?
"Senior, you look so young. May we know which Academy you are from?"
Among the ten Kings, the burly youth asked directly.
Liu Bai smiled lightly and said, "There is no need to call me Senior. I am a student of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, merely one grade above you. If you wish, you may simply call me Senior Brother."
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