The Hall of Divine Power is only opened once a month, and only for one hour each time. Other students have no chance to enter; only the top freshman of each year is qualified to enter.
I learned all this from Yan Qin; top geniuses enjoy far more resources than ordinary students.
As long as top talents can be cultivated, Burning Lamp Academy is willing to share any precious cultivation resources, because the useless techniques urgently need the emergence of a young powerhouse.
Outside the Divine Power Hall, eight young students were gathered, six of whom were women and only two were men.
These eight people are the top freshmen in the West Campus over the years.
Wang Hao was the ninth and last to arrive outside the Temple of Divine Power.
Apart from Wang Hao, the weakest of the other eight was Ning Fei, who was the top freshman last year.
The remaining seven people were all at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining Realm, but were stuck below the Foundation Establishment Realm.
This year's top freshman is "Wang Hao", last year's top freshman is "Ning Fei", two years ago the top freshman is "Yan Qin", three years ago the top freshman is "Qing Ran", four years ago the top freshman is "Xiang Yuantong", and five years ago the top freshman is "Si Jingjun".
Xiang Yuantong was also an outstanding young genius. He had only been a student at the Martial Market Academy for four years when he reached the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining Realm, close to the Foundation Establishment Realm, which shocked many elders.
There was another male student, Youzhi, who was the top freshman nine years ago. He had been stuck at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining Realm for six years.
This year, he is already twenty-nine years old. If he cannot reach the Foundation Establishment Realm before the age of thirty, he will never have the chance to become an inner disciple of the Burning Lamp Academy.
The transition from the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining Realm to the Foundation Establishment Realm is a major watershed. Many geniuses who originally cultivated very quickly may be stuck at this level for five, ten, or even a lifetime.
Therefore, it cannot be said that Youzhi has low talent, but rather that it is really too difficult for her to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Firstly, to establish one's foundation, one must find an unparalleled treasure as one's foundation. This single requirement alone is enough to prevent 90% of cultivators from succeeding.
Secondly, not only must the treasure be able to support one's foundation, but the treasure must also be compatible with oneself. Only in this way can one successfully establish one's foundation.
As for physical foundation building, it is relatively simpler. When the physical body reaches the limit of the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, the blood of high-level ferocious beasts is used in conjunction with pills for assistance.
This allows one to undergo a transformation, resulting in a surge in qi and blood, which then enables the physical body to establish its foundation.
Wang Hao looked around at the six women and two men standing in a row and muttered to himself, "The West Courtyard is indeed dominated by women and weak by men."
Upon seeing Wang Hao's arrival, many people present showed expressions of envy, and of course, quite a few were also filled with jealousy.
The three female demons reside in the War King Palace without any objection. After all, their cultivation levels are undeniable, and they are Xuan Ranking cultivators. Who would dare to disobey them?
But everyone is the top freshman, so why is it that Wang Hao can live in the first yellow-letter room of the War King Hall, while other freshmen are kicked out by the three female demons when they enter the War King Hall?
Among them, Xiang Yuantong was the most dissatisfied, because he suffered the most.
Two years ago, he lived in the War King's Palace as usual, but after Qingran and Yanqin arrived, he was beaten and thrown out by Qingran that very night, and was also compensated with three thousand merit points.
He originally thought Wang Hao's fate would be worse than his, but a month later, he was still living peacefully in No. 1 Huang, as if the three female demons had never bothered him.
This puzzled Xiang Yuantong greatly. He, an older student, was falsely accused of peeping at someone showering and was beaten up, so why was a freshman still fine a month later?
The moment Yan Qin saw Wang Hao, she noticed a change in his aura, so she asked, "Junior Brother, you haven't already refined that Qi Condensation Pill, have you?"
Wang Hao smiled and nodded, saying, "It has already been refined, and the cultivation level has broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining."
Yan Qin was extremely shocked, her almond-shaped eyes filled with disbelief. She said, "In just over a day, you were able to completely refine the Qi Condensation Pill, and your cultivation even broke through?!"
It should be noted that even with Yan Qin's current cultivation level, it would take her two days to refine the Qi Condensation Pill. No matter how talented Wang Hao is, how could he possibly refine it faster than her?
"Fortunately, my cultivation has also broken through, otherwise, I would really have been outdone by him." For the first time since then, Yan Qin actually felt a sense of urgency.
The nine people were arranged in the order they entered the West Courtyard, so Xiang Yuantong stood not far from Yan Qin and could hear their conversation clearly.
Xiang Yuantong smiled and said, "Junior Brother Wang, as far as I know, you have only been in the West Academy for a month. It is impossible for you to have received the Qi Condensation Pill as a reward from the academy. I wonder where you got your Qi Condensation Pill?"
Ning Fei was also a little jealous of Wang Hao. After all, even she had been kicked out of the War King's Palace by Yan Qin and Qing Ran, but Wang Hao was able to stay in the palace to cultivate. How could she not be jealous?
So Ning Fei asked with a faint smile, "As far as I know, there are only two ways for students to obtain Qi Condensation Pills. The first way is naturally the Qi Condensation Pill that the academy rewards students with every year."
"The second way is to go to the black market, find an acquaintance, and buy Qi Condensation Pills at a high price. Could it be that you have an acquaintance in the black market, Junior Brother?"
Ning Fei stood between Xiang Yuantong and Wang Hao. She looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a pretty face and a smile on her face.
Although she was considered pretty, she was still far inferior to Yan Qin and Qing Ran.
Ning Fei's words were extremely hurtful. Everyone knows that the black market is something that can't be brought into the open, yet it contains all sorts of things. This suggests that the black market has spies within various factions.
If Wang Hao really bought it from the black market, then he would definitely be suspected by the higher-ups, because there are many assassins in the black market who often take on various missions to assassinate academy geniuses.
However, before Wang Hao could speak, Yan Qin stared at Xiang Yuantong and Ning Fei with some displeasure. The smile on her face gradually disappeared, replaced by a coldness. She said, "What do you two mean? Do you suspect that Junior Brother Wang is an undercover agent in the black market?"
Ning Fei harbored a deep grudge against Yan Qin because a year ago, it was Yan Qin who kicked her out of the War King's Palace, claiming that she was too unworthy to stay there.
"Senior Sister Yan Qin misunderstood me. I never said that Junior Brother Wang was an undercover agent. I was just curious about the source of his Qi Condensation Pill. If Junior Brother has a way to buy Qi Condensation Pills, to be honest, I would like to buy some as well."
Ning Fei smiled slightly, still very suspicious of Wang Hao.
At this moment, Xiang Yuantong chimed in, "I'm also very curious. If you really have connections, could you introduce me to them?"
Wang Hao glanced at the two of them, not wanting to get entangled with them any further, and said calmly, "This was given to me by Senior Sister Yan Qin. If you want to buy it, just ask her."
Xiang Yuantong and Ning Fei were clearly stunned for a moment, turning their gazes to Yan Qin. They were obviously somewhat incredulous that Yan Qin would give such a precious Qi Condensation Pill to a junior brother who had just enrolled.
Not only did the two of them not believe it, but everyone else did too, and they all looked at Yan Qin.
Seeing this, Yan Qin smiled and said, "That's right, it's just a Qi Condensation Pill that I gave to Junior Brother Wang."
These words made Xiang Yuantong extremely envious. He thought to himself, "No wonder Wang Hao can gain a foothold in the War King Hall. It turns out he has Yan Qin as his backer. Their relationship must be extraordinary. Otherwise, why would he give away Qi Condensation Pills so easily?"
Thinking of this, Xiang Yuantong became even more jealous of Wang Hao. How could Yan Qin, with her exceptional talent and stunning beauty, possibly fall for Wang Hao?!
Qingran pulled Yan Qin aside, her eyes sharp and cold, and whispered, "You haven't really fallen for that scoundrel, have you?"
Yan Qin chuckled and said, "Not yet."
"You've already given him a Qi Condensation Pill, and you still won't admit it. That scoundrel is morally corrupt. And don't forget, he has a childhood sweetheart. If you fall for him, you'll regret it later." Qingran said somewhat displeased.
Yan Qin's smile blossomed like a pear blossom. She slowly raised her slender, snow-white wrist and waved the spatial jade bracelet on her wrist in front of Qing Ran's eyes, saying, "If he is really that outstanding, I might consider it. Look, this is a treasure he gave me."
Qingran felt that Yan Qin was beyond redemption. She stretched out a finger and pressed it between Yan Qin's eyebrows, saying, "He gave you a broken jade bracelet and you're so happy that you even gave him a Qi Condensation Pill."
"If he gives you something even more valuable, won't you be tricked into bed? Wake up, don't let that scoundrel fool you, or you'll lose both your money and your heart!"
Yan Qin gave a coquettish laugh, took the Time-Space Jade Bracelet off her wrist, handed it over, and said, "What a lousy bracelet. Infuse it with your spiritual energy and take a look."
Qingran's eyes were filled with disdain. In her opinion, Wang Hao was at most giving her a low-level defensive artifact, which couldn't possibly be anything precious.
Despite thinking this, she still curiously infused spiritual energy into the jade bracelet, and immediately a faint luster appeared on the surface of the jade bracelet.
Qingran's expression gradually became serious. She reached her slender hand towards the jade bracelet, her fingers passing directly through the halo and entering a vast inner space.
"This...it's actually a spatial treasure?!"
Qingran was stunned. If the spatial jade bracelet hadn't been in her hand, she would have thought she was dreaming. She never expected to see a spatial treasure in her lifetime.
"Did he really give you this spatial jade bracelet?" Qingran asked with a hint of envy.
Yan Qin smiled with her eyes narrowed and said, "Sister Ran, please return the spatial jade bracelet to me first."
Qingran clutched the spatial jade bracelet tightly, stroking it repeatedly, clearly enamored with it. However, she still reluctantly returned the spatial jade bracelet to Yan Qin.
At this moment, Qingran felt a pang of jealousy as she looked at her best friend in front of her. However, she still cautiously said, "Don't expose this spatial jade bracelet. If someone with ulterior motives targets it, it will definitely cause you a lot of trouble."
Yan Qin was incredibly intelligent and naturally sensed Qing Ran's emotional change, so she smiled and said, "Wang Hao probably has more than one spatial treasure."
Qingran's beautiful eyes lit up, and she said in surprise, "Really? This kid from the wasteland actually has so many spatial treasures?"
Yan Qin smiled and said, "Otherwise, would he have just given me a spatial jade bracelet so casually?"
The trace of jealousy in Qingran's heart gradually dissipated, revealing a cold expression as she said, "I understand now. You deliberately brought the spatial jade bracelet in front of me to show off. Aren't you afraid I'll snatch it from you?"
"Why are you trying to steal from me? Go steal from Wang Hao instead. Besides, with your relationship, getting a spatial treasure would be a piece of cake."
After Yan Qin finished speaking, she winked at her, and then returned to the front of the Divine Power Hall, waiting for the hall's doors to open.
Qingran stared at Wang Hao, who was not far away, and looked him up and down for a while before standing next to Yan Qin.
Wang Hao was a little confused. He hadn't provoked her, so why did she act like she wanted to devour him?
"Boom!"
Not long after, as the first rays of sunlight fell upon the top of the Temple of Divine Power, the heavy doors slowly opened.
An old woman in a silver robe and an old man in a gold robe walked out of the gate and stood on the nine-story-high white stone steps, looking down at the nine young cultivators below.
The old woman in the silver robe looked to be in her eighties or nineties. She was hunched over, holding a black iron cane, and her eyebrows and hair were all snow-white, giving her an unusually aged appearance.
She is one of the two vice deans of the West Campus, Vice Dean Yang Xuan.
Although she looked old, her voice was loud and clear. She said, "I am Yang Xuan, the deputy hall master of the West Courtyard. According to the rules, the Divine Power Hall is opened once a month. Only the top freshman of each year can enter the Divine Power Hall to cultivate for one hour."
In addition, I would like to introduce to you a golden-robed elder from the inner courtyard, Elder Gao Changxian.
All the students looked solemnly at the old man in the golden robe, then bowed and said in unison, "Greetings, Elder Gao Changxian."
In the West Courtyard, only the West Courtyard Master is allowed to wear a golden robe, and Elder Yue Jingchan from the Inner Palace also wears a golden robe, indicating that his status is at the same level as the West Courtyard Master.
Elder Gao Changxian smiled kindly and said, "The West Courtyard is very good, with many talented people emerging. It is worthy of ranking second this year."
Yang Xuan also showed a gratified smile. In the past, the freshmen of the West Academy were almost always at the bottom every year, but this year many geniuses have emerged. As the deputy hall master of the West Academy, she naturally felt proud.
Gao Changxian looked at everyone and continued, "Let me introduce myself first. I am a formation master, and my spiritual power is comparable to that of a Golden Core cultivator."
The students below all showed expressions of shock. The Golden Core Realm was a realm that was unattainable, yet this elder's spiritual power was comparable to that of a Golden Core cultivator.
Gao Changxian nodded in satisfaction and said, "The training in the Divine Power Hall is to enhance your spiritual sense. For ordinary cultivators, spiritual sense can only be used to explore the surroundings."
"But for geniuses like you, we must take a two-pronged approach. With a strong spiritual sense, you can specialize in array formations, alchemy, weapon crafting, and beast taming."
"Moreover, those martial artists can only cultivate a martial spirit after reaching the Earth Realm, and then cultivate spiritual power. Spiritual power is the same as spiritual consciousness, but not exactly the same."
"At the same time, if a Foundation Establishment cultivator wants to break through to the Golden Core Realm, they must have a powerful spiritual sense as an aid. Similarly, if an Earth Realm expert wants to break through to the Heaven Realm, they need their spiritual power to reach the twentieth level."
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