Ancient Dragon Elephant Technique
Chapter 604 - 1 Jingping’s Departure

Chapter 604: Chapter 1 Jingping’s Departure

Back at the Azure Cloud Sect, all seemed calm once more, but the sect was abuzz with the news that a group of disciples would be joining the Inner Academy due to the opening of the Thunder Blade Secret Realm. Numerous disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect had made rapid advancements in their cultivation within the Thunder Blade Secret Realm and had met the qualifications to join the Inner Academy.

To join the Inner Academy, one required the sect’s scrutiny.

The scrutiny was naturally extremely strict, and the Twelve Peaks typically recommended candidates for the positions.

Those who received recommendation slots would proceed to the Outer Disciples’ mountain peak for qualification review, and if they passed, they could join the Inner Academy.

The criteria for joining the Inner Academy were numerous, and being a cultivator of the Eighth Layer Heaven in the Martial King Realm was enough to deter many.

Of course, it was not that those below the Eighth Layer Heaven of the Martial King Realm could not join. In fact, if some cultivators possessed astonishing talents, like Tian Zhongdao with his "Twin Souls," even if their cultivation was insufficient, they could be admitted early into the Inner Academy for careful nurturing.

Indeed, such geniuses didn’t even need to undergo assessments like others.

"I heard Elder Qiao Yunqiu has drafted the recommendation list. Our Heavenly Repair Peak will have nine people—Junior Brother Lin Feng, as the champion of the newcomer competition, defeated five top talents single-handedly, and the Upper Echelons of the Inner Academy are aware. He has been nominated to join the Inner Academy. Junior Brother Tian Zhongdao, with his Twin Souls, is also favored by the upper echelons of the Inner Academy and will join as well. Besides, I, Wang Hu, Shee Weizhu, Yang Lin, Zhang Tianyuan, Pei Junyang, and Wang Le have been recommended to participate in the Inner Academy qualification examination," Jingping said excitedly.

This year was unlike previous years; this time, Heavenly Repair Peak could have nine disciples attending the Inner Academy examination, and to be precise, two of them had already successfully joined the Inner Academy, skipping the examination step.

The remaining seven still had to make an effort.

Shee Weizhu said with a smile, "Then let’s congratulate Junior Brother Lin Feng and Junior Brother Tian Zhongdao."

"I believe everyone else can also successfully join the Inner Academy," Lin Feng said with a slight smile.

"What about me?" the old drunkard couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

"Uh... well, Elder Qiao Yunqiu didn’t mention anything," Jingping said awkwardly.

For such an old bone as the old drunkard, seeing where the future lay was as hard as ascending to the Yin Yang Realm at such an age.

And since the slots were precious, it was normal not to give one to the old drunkard.

The old drunkard rolled his eyes again, his eyeballs spinning, seemingly concocting some sly plan.

Jingping then said, "The examination will take place in three days."

Then everyone dispersed.

...

That evening, Lin Feng sat cross-legged, operating the Ancient Dragon Elephant Technique, and only stopped after thirty-six cycles of the Grand Circulation.

Fire Kirin asked, "Did you encounter anything special in the Thunder Blade Secret Realm?"

Lin Feng replied, "If you say special, then it was only the Eternal God Monarch that left a deep impression on me. We, a group of people, entered the Illusion World created by the Eternal God Monarch, and after staying there for five years, only a breath’s time had passed outside."

"What? Is that even possible?" Fire Kirin’s expression fluctuated wildly, looking extremely astonished.

Lin Feng nodded and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"The power of the Time Law," Fire Kirin said. "But, even if a Divine Spirit wielded the Power of Laws from Time, it definitely wouldn’t allow hundreds of people to enter such a time space simultaneously. Moreover, with a breath it passed outside, yet five years passed within the time space. The stronger the power of Time Law, the longer the duration that a single breath would account for inside the time space. As far as I know, even the peak powers of a Divine Spirit can only turn an external breath into ten minutes inside the Time Law, and that’s only for one individual."

Hearing Fire Kirin’s words, Lin Feng was greatly shocked.

If Fire Kirin’s words were true, did that mean the Eternal God Monarch had transcended the "Divine Spirit Realm"?

"Does the Undying Realm truly exist?" Lin Feng slightly frowned.

Fire Kirin said, "It certainly does exist, but only a very few people can enter the Undying Realm. It is a world beyond life and death. Those who can ascend to the Undying Realm must be exceptional beings unparalleled throughout ancient and modern times. However, it has been far too long since any cultivator from the Heavenly Martial Continent has been able to enter the Undying Realm. Therefore, the Undying Realm has become a legend in the Heavenly Martial Continent now."

"Mm," Lin Feng nodded.

...

Starlight fell and the moonlight was brilliant.

Late into the night, Lin Feng was still cultivating.

He observed the ninety thousand Star Maps, perceiving the various profound changes within them.

That majestic man, god-like, stood within the Galaxy World. Lin Feng tried to communicate with him, but no matter how many times he tried, he always failed.

Of course, Lin Feng wasn’t without gains. Each time he observed the Star Maps, his Soul Power would increase. Moreover, the arrangement of the ninety thousand Star Maps was similar to a Formation, which greatly aided Lin Feng’s understanding of formations.

After cultivating through the night, Lin Feng opened his eyes and murmured, "Now, to elevate from the soul level of the Creation Realm’s First Layer Heaven to the soul level of the Creation Realm’s Second Layer Heaven feels even more difficult than advancing from the soul level of the Yin Yang Realm’s First Layer Heaven to the soul level of the Yin Yang Realm’s Tenth Layer Heaven."

Fire Kirin opened its eyes and said, "That’s natural because after crossing a Great Realm, the soul undergoes a substantive transformation, making advancement increasingly difficult. However, each advancement brings a greater increase in power."

Lin Feng nodded. In the following days, he continuously engaged in strenuous cultivation, while several disciples from the Heavenly Repair Peak went to the Outer Disciples’ hall to participate in the Inner Academy examination.

One incident was particularly amusing—Old Drunk, having not been recommended for a spot, stormed the test site and caused such a headache for the elders conducting the examination.

What could you do about Old Drunk? After all, he was a disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect and at such an old age, if it were any other disciple, they’d have been kicked out long ago. But you couldn’t do that to Old Drunk.

If news of Old Drunk being dismissed at such an old age came out, it would damage the reputation of the Azure Cloud Sect.

Eventually, one elder decided to let Old Drunk participate in the examination. To everyone’s surprise, Old Drunk passed all the examinations, leaving the elders conducting the test dumbfounded. Although they felt that allowing Old Drunk to join the Inner Academy at such an age was a waste of resources,

they could not strip Old Drunk of his qualifications.

Meanwhile, Shee Weizhu, Wang Hu, Yang Lin, and Wang Le successfully passed all the examinations.

Jingping, Zhang Tianyuan, and Pei Junyang, however, failed.

Zhang Tianyuan and Pei Junyang were both at the Seventh Level of Martial King Realm and had participated in the examination in hopes of a breakthrough, but ultimately failed, though there was still hope after advancing to the Eighth Layer of Martial King Realm.

Jingping, however, had participated in the examination for the seventh time and failed again just like before, as his Martial Soul did not meet the requirements.

Jingping stood alone on a peak of Heavenly Repair Peak, staring blankly at the distant sea of clouds.

"Is my talent truly never going to be enough to step into the Yin Yang Realm?" Jingping’s face was full of bitterness.

With talent lacking, Jingping put in ten or even dozens of times more effort than others. While others seemed to pass the Inner Academy examination quite easily, his repeated failures were a great blow to him.

Lin Feng walked over and stood with Jingping, both looking towards the sea of clouds.

They drank together here for the entire night. Jingping eventually broke down crying, having struggled for so many years only to see no hope at all.

"Junior Brother, I’m thinking of leaving the Azure Cloud Sect," Jingping said.

Lin Feng was silent, unsure how to persuade Jingping. After a long time, he finally said, "The world is harsh, I hope Senior Brother takes care in all things outside."

"I will," Jingping nodded heavily.

The next day, Lin Feng and the others bid farewell to Jingping, watching his lonely figure depart, Lin Feng sighed softly.

With this farewell, will there ever be another meeting?