Chu Bai slowly opened his eyes. For an instant, a profound gray light seemed to flash in the depths of his pupils before quickly receding. He felt the surging power within him, a quality completely different from what he had possessed at the Qi Cultivation First Layer.
If his Magical Power at the Qi Cultivation First Layer was a small stream winding through scattered rocks—clear but thin—then his current Magical Power was a bottomless, secluded pool. Though its surface was calm, it contained an astonishing depth and weight.
He didn’t rush down the mountain. Instead, he held his breath, focused his mind, and entered a state of Introspection once more.
After breaking through to the Mastery Realm in the Guiyuan Technique, his meridians, already tougher than those from an ordinary Cultivation Technique, now faintly glowed with a luster as gentle and smooth as jade under the cleansing of his Second-Layer Magical Power.
To his greater surprise, the long-term nourishment from his "Nourishing and Exquisite" Fate Chart erupted with its true power at the moment of his breakthrough.
He could clearly feel that his Perception Power—or rather, his Divine Sense—had undergone a qualitative leap.
He closed his eyes, no longer relying on them to observe his surroundings.
Within a ten-zhang radius, the subtle vibrations of snowflakes landing on the ground, the frequency of the wind blowing through withered grass, and even the breathing of a few small hibernating insects in the crevices of rocks were all mapped into his Sea of Consciousness like a three-dimensional image, with every minute detail perfectly rendered.
’Is this the "Microscopic" sense that comes with the second layer?’ A smile touched Chu Bai’s lips.
He slowly raised his right hand, and with a mere thought...
HUM!
An azure Spiritual Light pulsed at his fingertip. In an instant, a three-inch-long Spirit Water Needle materialized. It was completely transparent, yet it bore solid, spiraling patterns.
After breaking through to the Qi Cultivation Second Layer, due to the explosive increase in both the volume and purity of his Magical Power, this Water Needle no longer seemed light and ethereal as before. Instead, it possessed a heavy, solid quality. The air around its tip even seemed to distort and refract light due to its high-frequency rotation.
With a casual wave of his hand, the Water Needle shot out like a bolt of blue lightning, instantly striking a Cyan Iron Wood tree twenty paces away that was thick enough for several people to encircle.
There was no resistance, no violent explosion. The ancient tree, with a hardness comparable to Refined Iron, was pierced through in an instant.
Chu Bai walked closer to inspect it. A finger-width hole had been left in the trunk. The edges of the hole were as smooth as a mirror, and even showed signs of being semi-scorched from the intense heat generated by the Spiral Force.
’Its power has increased by more than fifty percent,’ Chu Bai assessed internally.
Next, he tested the Formless Cloud Hand.
As he made a grasping motion in the air, his once ethereal Magical Power condensed into a transparent, millstone-sized hand. With a turn of his will, the hand could not only seize heavy objects but also generate a strong gravitational pull in its palm.
The snow and loose stones on the ground were drawn in by this force, rapidly gathering into a ball in the center of the palm.
’This isn’t just for grappling anymore. In a fight, this move would be enough to disrupt an opponent’s Magical Power circulation.’
The last thing he tested was the Guardian Shield. As he infused it with Magical Power, a translucent round shield covered in profound patterns instantly expanded before him.
Chu Bai flicked the shield’s surface with his fingertip, producing a crisp, metallic clang.
Thanks to the purity of his Magical Power, the shield was no longer just a rigid defense. It could now automatically dissipate impact forces by subtly redirecting Magical Power in response to external pressure.
By the time he returned to Room B-7, dawn was breaking.
Just as Chu Bai pushed open the door, Jiang Kuo, who was polishing a Jade-encrusted Magic Sword, abruptly looked up.
In that instant, Jiang Kuo felt the Magic Sword in his hands grow slightly heavier. An inexplicable pressure emanated from the young man at the door, making his chest feel tight.
"Chu... Brother Chu?" Jiang Kuo was stunned. He rubbed his eyes, his face a mask of disbelief. "This aura... you broke through?!"
Zhou Tong and Chen Shi, who had been sleeping soundly under their covers, were startled awake and rushed over as well.
"Oh my god, it really is the Qi Cultivation Second Layer!"
Zhou Tong circled Chu Bai twice and clicked his tongue in amazement. "Brother Chu, you change every month. In our year, besides Lin Xuewei, who grew up on pills, and that guy Dong Feng from Class Two, I haven’t heard of anyone else solidly breaking through to the second layer at this point."
"How come your aura feels even more stable than those senior students from Class Two?"
Although Chen Shi didn’t speak, the admiration in his eyes was plain to see.
He could sense that Chu Bai was now like a volcano on the verge of erupting. Though calm on the surface, the Spiritual Pressure contained within already made him feel the difference in their levels.
Chu Bai gave a faint smile and waved his hand. "It’s just a matter of steady accumulation finally paying off, plus the effects of the Spiritual Cuisine these past few days. The Grand Competition is coming up. I can’t be a disgrace to Class Three."
"A disgrace? You’re going to bring us glory!"
Jiang Kuo slapped his thigh in excitement. "I was worried our class would get crushed by Class Two in the half-year assessment. But with you holding down the fort, that kid Dong Feng is about to bite off more than he can chew."
That afternoon, Chu Bai went to the Dean’s office to submit his final monthly report.
It was the same simple yet imposing stone house.
Dean Chen was as gaunt as ever, sitting withered on his meditation cushion with his eyes closed in rest.
Chu Bai respectfully presented the monitoring Jade Scroll in his hand and spoke softly, "Lord Dean, this is the Law Net monitoring data for the last half-month. There has been a slight increase in fluctuations recently, especially near the dried-up well on the back mountain. The frequency of Spiritual Qi intake has produced three weak ’nodal resonances,’ which I have recorded in full."
Dean Chen opened his eyes, his gaze as sharp as a falcon’s landing on Chu Bai.
This time, he didn’t immediately take the Jade Scroll. Instead, he stared at Chu Bai for a moment, and the corners of his mouth actually twitched, as if forming a barely perceptible smile.
"Qi Cultivation Second Layer. Your Pure Qi foundation hasn’t dissipated; on the contrary, it has grown more condensed. Not bad." Dean Chen’s hoarse voice echoed in the stone house. "Are you planning to walk the path of Scattered Spirit Dust?"
"If so, you must be careful about the type of Spiritual Qi you choose when you enter the Spirit Pavilion."
During this period, Chu Bai hadn’t visited the Dean’s office many times, but Dean Chen had naturally taken note of his rate of progress.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to secure a high rank and earn a spot in the Spirit Pavilion, which was why the dean offered a word of advice.
"Thank you for your guidance, Dean. It’s still too early to think about my Dao Foundation, and I haven’t decided on a path yet. If I am fortunate enough to enter the Spirit Pavilion this time, I will likely choose a foundational energy like Pure Qi to solidify my own base."
"Acceptable."
After receiving his reply, Chu Bai thanked Dean Chen again. ’Rumor has it the Dean is eccentric,’ he thought, ’but his curtness probably isn’t by choice. He’s not actually a difficult person to deal with.’
As for the Scattered Spirit Dust Dao Foundation the Dean had just mentioned, it was a path many Cultivators chose to walk.
This path involved focusing solely on Pure Qi during the Qi Cultivation Stage, cultivating no other methods, all the way until establishing one’s Dao Foundation.
However, it was of the Miscellaneous Order. A similar Dao Foundation of the Miscellaneous Order was called Prime Origin, while its Orthodox Order counterpart was the famous Innate Qi.
The foundation built during the Qi Cultivation Stage, along with the purity of the Spiritual Qi within one’s body, often determined which of the three orders one’s Dao Foundation would belong to.
To attain an Orthodox Order Dao Foundation, one’s Spiritual Qi had to be entirely of a single type, with no other elements mixed in.
Dean Chen put away the Jade Scroll and, with a casual wave of his hand, credited another portion of Daoist Merit to Chu Bai’s account.
The wind and snow grew stronger. On the Martial Arts Arena, the construction of a massive Teleportation Array had already begun.
The curtain was finally rising on the first true competition for the new students.

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