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Translator: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Spiritual Power surged around Lu Ye as he attacked the barrier surrounding his Spiritual Point.
There was a soft crack, and the barrier crumbled into nothing. Streams of Spiritual Power started flowing into the newly unlocked Spiritual Point.
Today was the thirtieth day since Lu Ye returned from the Inner Circle. He had finally unlocked two hundred and forty Spiritual Points.
He was finally ready to change his cultivation technique.
With a thought, he began calming the circulating Microcosmic Orbits within his body. Even the flow of his Spiritual Power had begun to slow down.
Every time a Microcosmic Orbit came to a halt, his cultivation level would drop by one.
From the Ninth-Order, he fell to the Eighth-Order, the Seventh-Order, the Sixth-Order and so on. He did not stop until not a single Spiritual Point in his body was circulating anymore.
A cultivator was at their weakest when they were switching their cultivation technique, and Lu Ye was no exception. Although he had still unlocked two hundred and forty Spiritual Points, the points were completely disconnected from one another. In this state, Lu Ye could only unleash a very small portion of his true strength. He would most likely die if an assassin were to ambush him right now.
This was why most cultivators would choose a safe, secure place to change their cultivation technique unless they had no other choice.
After checking the training course of the Great Sun Veluriyam Technique one last time, Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power and began his work from the Source Spiritual Point. He wove it through eighteen Spiritual Points along a set path to create a single Microcosmic Orbit.
His cultivation level immediately returned to the First-Order.
He channeled his Spiritual Power again and began weaving another Microcosmic Orbit starting from the nineteenth Spiritual Point. This time, he did not stop until he reached the forty-fifth Spiritual Point.
With that done, his cultivation level jumped to the Second-Order.
He connected the forty-sixth Spiritual Point to the seventh-second Spiritual Point for the Third-Order, the seventy-third Spiritual Point to the one hundred and eighth Spiritual Point for the Fourth-Order, the one hundred and ninth Spiritual Point to the one hundred and forty-fourth Spiritual Point for the Fifth-Order, the one hundred and forty-fifth Spiritual Point to the one hundred and eightieth Spiritual Point for the Sixth-Order, and finally the one hundred and eighty-first Spiritual Point to the two hundred and fortieth Spiritual Point for the Seventh-Order!
A cultivator’s cultivation level was directly connected to the amount of Microcosmic Orbits within their bodies. Lu Ye currently had seven Microcosmic Orbits in his body, so he was technically a Seventh-Order cultivator.
In order to separate cultivators who had switched to a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique from ordinary Seventh-Order cultivators, the cultivators of Jiu Zhou usually addressed them as Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order cultivators or Heaven Seven cultivators for short. It was followed by Heaven Eight and Heaven Nine.
An ordinary Seventh-Order cultivator had unlocked one hundred and eight Spiritual Points in total, but a Heaven Seven cultivator had unlocked a whopping two hundred and forty Spiritual Points, which was more than double the amount. Naturally, it was the same for the gap between their strength.
It might look like Lu Ye’s cultivation level was lower, but in reality he was much stronger than he was before he changed his cultivation technique.
Now, Lu Ye had met the most basic requirements necessary to ascend to the Cloud River Realm. Of course, if he actually did that, he would be joining the ranks of the most inferior batch of Cloud River Realm cultivators. He would be lucky to make it to Real Lake Realm.
A cultivator should strive to unlock as many Spiritual Points as possible because it directly impacted their future strength and potential as a Cloud River Realm cultivator. That was why Lu Ye would not be ascending until he had unlocked all three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points.
He was confident that a perfect ascension was well within his capabilities.
Lu Ye took a moment to spot the differences before and after he had changed his cultivation technique, and they were more obvious than he thought.
Although there were two less Microcosmic Orbits in his body, the new Microcosmic Orbits circulated almost two times faster than the old. What was a stream now felt like a rapid river.
Not only that, each Microcosmic Orbit encompassed a lot more Spiritual Points. Combined with the faster circulation rate of Spiritual Power, his explosive strength was stronger and more focused than before.
This was why switching to a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique was considered a qualitative leap in power. Practically anyone who did this was at least twenty to thirty percent stronger than they were before. In some cases, the improvement could be as great as forty to fifty percent.
Heaven-Grade cultivation techniques were just that powerful.
In Lu Ye’s case, he had purchased not just the most expensive Heaven-Grade cultivation technique, but also the one that suited him the most from the Vault of Providence. The Great Sun Veluriyam Technique cost over five thousand Contribution Points, and right now there were only a handful of cultivators in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield who could afford such a price.
Not only did the Heaven-Grade cultivation technique massively increase his strength, the Spiritual Power circulating through his Spiritual Points even had a minor body tempering effect. This meant that Lu Ye could eat, play and sleep all day and night, and his physique would naturally grow stronger as long as he did not turn off his cultivation technique and kept circulating his Spiritual Power.
The Great Sun Veluriyam Technique was expensive for a reason.
Lu Ye consumed a Spirit Restoring Pill but did not activate Gluttonous Feast. The medicine was quickly digested and absorbed into his body.
It was clear that his pill digestion speed had increased after switching to a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique. This meant an increase in the efficiency of Lu Ye’s cultivation.
He continued to swallow a few more Spirit Pills and observed the changes in his Spiritual Power. In the end, he concluded that he would need to consume at least forty five pills to unlock a single Spiritual Point if he cultivated via Spirit Pills only. Obviously, the amount of Spiritual Power necessary to unlock one Spiritual Point had climbed higher, but it wasn’t a big problem considering that his cultivation efficiency had increased as well.
This was an advantage Lu Ye possessed since the day he started cultivating. All other cultivators grew slower the higher they climbed the cultivation levels because each threshold demanded more power than the last. Lu Ye was the opposite. Forget slowing down, he was actually speeding up over time.
If he were to invest his whole day into cultivating right now, he would have no pressure unlocking a Spiritual Point in a single day. If he tried harder, he could even unlock three Spiritual Points in two days.
He was only one hundred and twenty Spiritual Points away from hitting the maximum amount of Spiritual Points he could unlock. That day wasn’t far away at all.
Satisfied, Lu Ye took out the Mystic Fruit once more and channeled his Spiritual Power into it.
The second his mind entered the small hub, he immediately looked left and right with his hand on his blade. He was happy to note that the Thousand Demon Ridge motherfucker who killed him before was nowhere to be seen.
He did not dare to linger for long though. He hurried to the door, paid fifty Contribution Points and entered the Rift of Illusions immediately.
His first combat experience after ascending to Heaven Seven was an absolute massacre. There wasn’t a single enemy in the rift that was a match for him.
Of course, the Rift of Illusions knew how to deal with cultivators like him. If one person wasn’t enough, then it would send two. If two wasn’t enough, then it would send three. Eventually, Lu Ye would be killed and sent back to the real world.
About forty minutes later, Lu Ye opened his eyes. The battle had definitely opened his eyes to the various benefits of a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique. He wasn’t just stronger in many ways, his Spiritual Power control had grown by leaps and bounds as well.
This was a wonderful thing for a Glyphweaver because it meant he would have an easier time constructing Glyphs.
Now, he was ready to set out once more.
It had been a full month since he returned to the Outpost. He had laid low long enough for the heat to subside somewhat, and they had already received the Thousand Demon Ridge’s compensation. Plus, he was Heaven Seven now. He couldn’t hole up in the Outpost forever.
As for how the Thousand Demon Ridge would react when they learned of his return… Who cares?
He took a moment to pack his stuff before returning to the headquarters. When he returned from Lady Yun’s residence, his Storage Bag was carrying a new stack of books regarding the Way of Glyphs.
Next, he visited his second senior sister. Shui Yuan did not have much to say regarding his decision to set off to the Core Circle. She simply told him to speak with the sect master.
A moment later, Lu Ye stood in front of the sect master and informed him of his decision.
“Heaven Seven already?” The sect master looked both surprised and proud. He thought back to the day he first encountered Lu Ye at the Evil Moon Valley. At the time, the young man had just unlocked a couple Spiritual Points. Later, they were ambushed on the road to Mount Ao, and he had no choice but to send the young man to the Spirit Creek Battlefield. The events felt as clear as yesterday, and yet his disciple was already a Heaven Seven cultivator. And that was without mentioning his legendary feats in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
“Yes, Sect Master. This disciple believes that it is time I enter the Core Circle.”
“Do you have a particular plan in mind?”
“Not really. I’m just going to explore the world and do as I see fit.”
Lu Ye had not attached himself to an allied sect since he entered the Inner Circle. He wasn’t planning on changing his policy after he entered the Core Circle either.
Some of the Legates and prolegates he befriended in the Chess Sea had invited him to their Outpost, but he had turned them all down gently.
Thanks to his exploits in the Inner Circle, his adventure in the Core Circle was destined to be a tumultuous one. The Thousand Demon Ridge would surely keep an eye on him and launch all kinds of attacks against him.
He wasn’t afraid, of course.
The sect master let out a small cough before saying, “It’s like this, Yi Ye. Remember the fifty junior brothers and sisters I brought back to the Outpost? I’m sure you’re aware where they came from.”
“I’ve heard.”
His sect master had kidnapped the Three Sages School’s top fifty recruits while attending their recruitment ceremony. As a result, Yu Ganju, the Three Sages School’s sect master, had come all the way to Mount Ao and fought him. Lu Ye had seen this with his own eyes.
“The Three Sages School put in a request in exchange for not pursuing this matter further, and this old man had no choice but to agree to it.”
“I’m guessing that it has something to do with me?”
“The Three Sages School would like you to join their sect temporarily after you enter the Core Circle. Their Spirit Creek Realm cultivators are currently in decline, and they are in a tight spot right now. That is why they’d like you to lend them a hand.”
Lu Ye couldn’t quite understand the Three Sages School’s reasoning. “They must be quite the gutsy sect.”
They knew that they were in a bad spot, and they still wanted him to attach himself to their sect? No matter how Lu Ye looked at it, it was no different from committing suicide.
Right now, he was so infamous that he was prepared to be targeted the minute he set foot in the Core Circle. Therefore, any sect he attached himself to was almost guaranteed to be attacked in tandem.
It was one of the reasons he didn’t want to attach himself to any allied sect.
What on earth was the Three Sages School thinking? Did they think that their Outpost wasn’t facing enough pressure and wanted to spice things up so to speak?
“Of course, the decision is yours. If you are unwilling, then do not hesitate to say no. I can handle the Three Sages School.”
“It’s fine. If they truly want me to pay them a visit, then why not?”
By the time Lu Ye stepped out of the sect master’s room, he still couldn’t figure out what the Three Sages School was planning. He gave up the line of thought a moment later. The Three Sages School was the one who put forth the request, and the sect master had already agreed to it. It would make things awkward if he were to reject it.
Plus, it was an ironclad fact that his sect master had kidnapped their fifty best recruits from their recruitment ceremony.
Amber and Yi Yi were coming with him as a matter of course. Ju Jia was a must-have as well. Finally, Feng Yue would be joining him on this journey.
Originally, Lu Ye was going to bring both Hua Ci and Feng Yue to a Core Circle Outpost. However, Hua Ci had her own plans, so he could only bring Feng Yue with him. Feng Yue could not stay at the Outer Circle forever because it afforded her much less opportunities to earn Contribution Points.
He messaged them all and told them to get ready.
Finally, Lu Ye messaged his fourth senior brother to check if he had repaired his Spiritual Point. He relaxed only after hearing that he had made a full recovery.
Baxian also praised Lu Ye for being wise enough to buy two Point Restoration Pills in one go. As it turned out, just one wasn’t enough to repair the damage because his Spiritual Point had been damaged for too long. The first pill had not had much of an effect.
