Chapter 196 : Chapter 196
Chapter 196: The Battle Against Li Chuntian, the Prodigy Rankings
"The method for breaking through to the Dao Practitioner Realm isn't actually that difficult. You simply need to comprehend the powers of all Three Thousand Laws, then wrench and crush them into a single mass — and that is the Dao."
"Once you've accomplished that, you can break through to the Dao Practitioner Realm."
Lu Xunxian explained his insights with a thoroughly serious expression.
Beside him, both Gu Daoshi and Zhu Qingyan listened with equal seriousness.
"I see, so one must condense the Three Thousand Laws into the Dao before breaking through to the Dao Practitioner Realm?"
Gu Daoshi murmured to himself.
But a bitter smile crept across his face.
Easy enough to say, but how many people under the heavens could comprehend all Three Thousand Laws like Lu Xunxian and then fuse them together into one? The answer was likely vanishingly few.
Otherwise, Dao Practitioners would have been everywhere by now.
Still, this was better than before. At the very least, he now had a clear direction to move in.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Profound Immortal. I'll remember this favor. I'll repay it someday without fail."
After expressing his gratitude to Lu Xunxian, Gu Daoshi couldn't wait to return to Heavenly Dao Mountain to attempt comprehending the remaining Powers of Laws.
As for Zhu Qingyan, she fixed Lu Xunxian with a somewhat skeptical look.
"Xunxian, can this really lead to a breakthrough to the Dao Practitioner Realm?"
Lu Xunxian spread his hands, his tone flat. "That's how I broke through to Dao Practitioner. Believe it or not."
Strictly speaking, he had broken through with the System's help, but the sensations during the breakthrough had been clearly etched into his memory.
Hearing this, how could Zhu Qingyan possibly have any doubts left?
The only issue was that the Vermilion Bird Race was inherently imbued with the Power of the Law of Fire. This was both a blessing and a curse.
Being born with the Power of the Law of Fire meant that breaking through to the True Immortal Realm — something extraordinarily difficult for most — was remarkably easy for the Vermilion Bird Race.
But the curse was that if the Vermilion Bird Race wished to cultivate other Powers of Laws, the difficulty would multiply several times over.
Yet now, in order to break through to the Dao Practitioner Realm, she had no choice but to steel herself and begin comprehending other Powers of Laws.
Fortunately, she was an Immortal Emperor, and her Lifespan was virtually limitless. As long as she put in the effort, she refused to believe she couldn't break through to the Dao Practitioner Realm.
Meanwhile, inside the Azure Heaven Secret Realm.
Upon entering the Azure Heaven Secret Realm, everyone had been separated, each teleported to a different location within.
"Ptui, ptui."
Lu Xiaoyao crawled out from a snowdrift and, after spitting out the snow that had accidentally gotten into his mouth, surveyed his surroundings.
A bone-piercing chill swept over him, but Lu Xiaoyao kept it firmly at bay.
He had already comprehended the Law of Frost, so even cold harsh enough to severely affect an Immortal Stage cultivator was nothing to him.
But just then, the snow-covered mountain beneath his feet began to tremble violently. Lu Xiaoyao's brow furrowed. He launched himself into the air and gazed down at the mountain before him.
When he saw what the mountain truly was, his pupils contracted involuntarily.
This was no mountain at all — it was an enormous Black Tortoise.
It simply happened to be carrying a massive snow-capped peak on its back.
Just as Lu Xiaoyao was about to extend his Divine Sense, he was startled to discover that it had been suppressed.
"Is it because the Azure Heaven Secret Realm's laws are suppressing me?"
Lu Xiaoyao mused silently. He also noticed that his own strength had been suppressed — he could muster no more than the power of a Saint King at best.
The Black Tortoise before him, on the other hand, radiated just a sliver of its aura, and that alone had already reached the Saint Emperor Realm. Clearly, it wasn't something he could contend with while his strength was suppressed.
Moreover, there was no grudge between them, so Lu Xiaoyao naturally had no intention of slaughtering an innocent Black Tortoise.
The next moment, Lu Xiaoyao took to the sky and began searching the Azure Heaven Secret Realm for other targets.
WHOOSH — Lu Xiaoyao's expression shifted slightly. He tilted his body, and a blade of Sword Qi flashed past him.
Had he not dodged, his protective measures would have been triggered.
"Oh, interesting. He actually dodged it?"
Three cultivators clad in black Daoist robes appeared before Lu Xiaoyao. The one in the lead sheathed his longsword and regarded Lu Xiaoyao with a touch of surprise.
He possessed the Innate Sword Body and was a peerless prodigy who had cultivated to the Immortal Stage by the age of five thousand three hundred — yet here in this little Azure Heaven Secret Realm, someone had actually dodged one of his strikes.
Lu Xiaoyao drew forth his spear, killing intent surfacing on his face.
"You attacked me? Then die!"
Lu Xiaoyao didn't care who they were. Since they had tried to kill him, they should be prepared to die themselves.
After all, no matter what happened, his father always had his back.
The instant the words left his mouth, Lu Xiaoyao appeared before Li Chuntian, the tip of his spear merely a fist's width from the man's face.
Li Chuntian's pupils contracted. His body reacted on pure instinct, dodging the thrust by a hair.
But the two Immortal-Slaying Sect disciples behind him weren't so lucky — they were annihilated by Lu Xiaoyao's spear thrust.
Seeing Lu Xiaoyao's terrifying strength, Li Chuntian felt a flash of fear, but it was swiftly overtaken by blazing battle intent.
Thanks to his unmatched talent, it had been an eternity since he'd met a worthy opponent. Those at the same realm as him basically couldn't withstand a single sword strike, and if they survived one, he'd simply deliver another.
The Lu Xiaoyao before him was clearly a worthy opponent.
With that thought, Li Chuntian drew his Immortal Sword and sent Lu Xiaoyao flying with a light application of force.
After steadying himself, Li Chuntian couldn't help but burst into hearty laughter.
"Interesting. You're a worthy opponent. I hope you can give me a bit more entertainment."
With that, Li Chuntian's figure transformed into a bolt of lightning, his terrifying speed leaving Lu Xiaoyao barely enough time to react.
Unfortunately for Li Chuntian, the Primordial Saint Body's gifts were even more terrifying than the Innate Sword Body's. So while Lu Xiaoyao was pushed onto the defensive at first, it wasn't long before the two were trading blows on equal footing.
The commotion from their battle grew ever greater, drawing quite a few cultivators to stop and watch.
Before long, someone recognized Li Chuntian's identity.
"Heavens, that's Li Chuntian — seventh on the Prodigy Rankings!"
"That can't be... someone can actually fight Li Chuntian to this extent? Still, the other guy's talent probably isn't that great, right? Otherwise, why wouldn't his name be on the Prodigy Rankings?"
"True. Lasting that long against Li Chuntian — that person should feel honored to die."
The so-called Prodigy Rankings were a list published by the Pavilion Master of Tianji Pavilion, refreshed once every hundred years, specifically tracking prodigies under ten thousand years of age.
The Prodigy Rankings held one hundred spots in total. At a minimum, anyone who made the list had broken through to the Immortal Stage within ten thousand years.
Every cultivator present assumed Lu Xiaoyao was an Immortal Stage cultivator past the ten-thousand-year mark, which was why he hadn't made the Prodigy Rankings.
None of them knew that the last time the Prodigy Rankings were updated happened to coincide with Lu Xiaoyao's Ascension. As a result, he had simply never been counted.