Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Chapter 1494: Chapter 808: The Ninth Life Begins, Three Extremes Zhao Family (Part 2)

As time passed, more and more boys and girls couldn’t withstand the demon sound piercing their minds, and they collapsed unconscious in droves.

By late morning, barely ten people were able to stand in the square.

The obese old man suddenly stopped talking, his eyes scanning the few barely standing people, pausing briefly on an unconscious boy before looking away.

"You few have passed, follow me," the obese old man said, patting the spirit beast he was sitting on.

The azure toad croaked loudly, suddenly leaping high and hopping out of the square.

The boys and girls who endured until the end beamed with joy, mustering their remaining strength to stagger after him.

At this moment, dozens of men in blue clothes walked into the square one after another, each one stopping before an unconscious boy and placing a red elixir pill in their mouths, then moving on to the next.

Nearing noon, the sun was blazing.

In the square, the boys and girls gradually woke up, groaning as they got up from the ground, skillfully wiping the blood off their faces, and supporting each other out of the square, heading towards the canteen.

Zhao Sheng mingled in the crowd, looking thoughtful, while a group of his roommates followed behind him, grimacing.

Soon, the spacious canteen hall was packed with people.

Zhao Sheng and his group occupied a long table, watching as the servants brought in delicacies one after another.

The table was filled with chicken, duck, fish, and meat, each dish looking and smelling delicious.

In addition, each person had a bowl of medicinal porridge, its grains as clear as jade and exuding a rich medicinal aroma.

The malicious boy, Chen Polu, stood up eagerly, scooping a large spoonful of medicinal porridge from each person’s bowl and dumping it into a large sea bowl, placing it in front of the leader.

"Boss, here’s your porridge," Zhao Sheng said, sniffing the medicinal porridge and immediately identifying more than a dozen herbs for nourishing qi and spirit, all likely over a century old.

It was just the thing his frail body desperately needed.

Zhao Sheng nodded in satisfaction, reaching for the bowl and gulping down the steaming medicinal porridge.

As he ate, his stomach expanded and contracted rhythmically, faintly emitting dull sounds like a golden toad swallowing the moon.

After finishing the porridge, a massive heat flow surged from his abdomen throughout his limbs, his body absorbing the abundant medicinal power like parched earth.

...

"Three months!"

"You only have three months!"

In the classroom, a stern middle-aged man stood at the podium, looking at nearly a hundred boys below, speaking coldly.

"After three months, those who can’t break through to the Qi Refining First Level will have their numbers removed and be relegated to the ranks of slaves, never to rise again."

Hearing the teacher say this, everyone’s expressions changed instantly.

Zhao Sheng appeared calm, sitting upright at his seat, yet his spirit was already in meditation.

Natures’s spiritual energy surged like a stream, continuously rushing into the Dantian Qi Sea, quickly refining into strands of spiritual power, forming a small spiritual energy vortex.

In less than a day, he achieved Qi Refining First Level!

The massive accumulation from his previous eight lifetimes was so robust that Zhao Sheng needed no divine skill secret technique; with a bit of deduction, he could develop a cultivation method perfectly suited to him.

The Five Elements Spirit Root had one advantage—it didn’t discriminate against any spiritual energy attribute, accepting Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth equally.

"Today, I will teach you a hundred spiritual texts. Listen carefully. If you can’t learn and remember them all, the consequences are your own. Turn to the first page..." the teacher’s attitude was extremely indifferent.

As soon as the words fell, there was a rustling of pages as everyone flipped open their books, frowning at the obscure and difficult characters on the pages.

The teacher said, "I’ll recite it once: ’Within the Taiyi Domains, the stars are arranged...’ "

Everyone opened their ears, eyes glued to the book, striving to memorize the teacher’s words.

Zhao Sheng glanced over the book page, understanding inwardly, "So I was reincarnated in the Taiyi Spirit Realm in this life. Not bad, not bad!"

However, he didn’t plan to return to the Wolong Mountain Range immediately but intended to stabilize for decades, at least until breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm before setting out.

He died young halfway through the last life because he was too reckless. So, in this life, caution must come first.

"Hiding until the end ensures you have everything," as the saying goes.

The ancients were not wrong!

...

At night, everyone returned to the dormitory.

Yet, before long, the leader from another dormitory barged into the Geng Ninth Room with a group, attempting to subdue everyone.

Zhao Sheng made a slight move and defeated the person, driving them away.

Had he not wanted to draw too much attention, subduing a group of kids would have been a breeze given his capabilities.

A little later, others from different dorms entered the Geng Ninth Room, some seeking friendship, others trying to recruit, while some used their power to attempt to take over.

Zhao Sheng grew impatient with these, so he had the malicious boy, Chen Polu, deal with them, instructing him to handle anyone who comes.

The next morning, over a thousand boys and girls gathered at the White Stone Square once again, with the obese old man still riding the toad, publicly reciting the Jieye Moke Scripture once more.

In just an hour, the vast majority fainted, yet four persisted to the end.

This time, Zhao Sheng didn’t hold back, being one of the four who "endured" to the very end.

"You few have passed, follow me!" the obese old man left the same message and then rode the toad away.

Zhao Sheng and the other three ran out of the square, closely following behind.

They moved through several long streets and passed through several portals before arriving in front of a nine-story stone tower.

A white barrier enveloped the stone tower, with two bronze puppets over a yard tall, wielding giant swords, standing on either side of the entrance.

The obese old man dismounted the toad, flicking his hand to throw four wooden tokens into their arms, simultaneously saying, "This is the Scripture Storage Tower, you have three chances to enter, each time only for an hour. Today, who among you wishes to enter?"

Just as he finished speaking, a fair-looking youth stepped forward, speaking firmly, "I wish to enter."

The obese old man examined the girl with interest for a moment, nodding, "Good!"

"What about the three of you?" the old man asked again.

Zhao Sheng thought for a moment and slowly shook his head. The other two did the same.

They couldn’t even recognize all the characters, so they didn’t dare waste a precious chance.

"Alright, you can go back. Come with the wooden token when you wish to enter. Don’t lose the token, or bear the consequences yourself," the obese old man dismissed the three and then led the girl into the Scripture Storage Tower.

The other two youths watched this and couldn’t help regretting, knowing they had missed an opportunity.

Zhao Sheng turned and left without a hint of reluctance.

...

As days passed, Zhao Sheng’s cultivation advanced rapidly, while he gradually familiarized himself with the surrounding environment.

This large courtyard area housed over thirteen hundred people, with ages ranging from just over twenty to as young as six or seven.

However, most of them had poor aptitude, predominantly Five Spirits Roots, with only a few possessing Four Spirit Roots, and those with three spirit roots being exceedingly rare, all over twenty years of age.

He also learned from a servant that the courtyard he was in was part of the Lower Six Courtyards, numbered Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, and Ren.

The Upper Three Courtyards were Jia, Yi, and Bing, with larger and better conditions and renowned teachers.

That’s because those in the Upper Three Courtyards had cultivations above three spirit roots. Class A Courtyard housed only geniuses with Single Spirit Root and spiritual bodies.

It’s noteworthy that while the Upper Three and Lower Six Courtyards belong to the Three Extremes Zhao Family, residents weren’t Zhao Clan Members but rather acquired through various means.

Over these months, Zhao Sheng gained a preliminary understanding of the Three Extremes Zhao Family. Although neither too large nor too small, it’s rumored there’s a Nascent Soul Ancestor in the clan, but hasn’t appeared for centuries.

Moreover, the Three Extremes Zhao Family openly had three Golden Core Masters, at least thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators, and countless Qi Refinement cultivators.

As to whether the Three Extremes Zhao Family and Divine Artisan Zhao Clan were of the same lineage, Zhao had some guesses, likely belonging to an unknown branch.