Chapter 304: First Glimpse of Xuan

After all, he was still a child; after being shouted at like that, he didn't dare to act, only glaring fiercely at Xuan in the corner.

The remaining children scattered like birds and beasts.

Xuan rose silently, eyes still filled with undispelled fear, but said nothing, merely returning quietly to their seat.

The teacher glanced at Him, then turned away, looking at all the children in the cafeteria.

His gaze lingered a moment longer on the few children who were older, around seven or eight years old.

"Everyone line up outside in your original spots soon—did you hear that?"

"We heard!" A chorus of childish voices rose, intertwining.

Xuan was among them, pretending to be just like any other child, showing no sign of difference.

But He knew perfectly well what was coming next—

The cultivation selection.

In simple terms, selecting children with cultivation potential for focused training.

It happened every three years.

Xuan pondered inwardly.

After issuing another warning to Wang Dalong, the teacher turned and left the cafeteria.

Wang Dalong glared angrily at Xuan, but dared not move, restrained by the earlier warning.

Half an hour later.

The children of Fuli Academy lined up in the courtyard, and the small, slender Xuan stood at the very front.

It was deep autumn, with continuous drizzle, cold wind carrying fine raindrops.

The transparent awning blocked some of it, but occasional raindrops and gusts still made the weaker children shiver.

Xuan too shivered uncontrollably from the cold, yet looked up toward the distance.

Soon, a crimson glow stained the hazy clouds, turning the entire sky a blazing red in an instant.

The thick clouds rapidly melted, like winter snow meeting sunlight.

Huh~!

Warm winds swept in, the clouds cleared, the rain ceased.

Bright, warm sunlight poured from the sky, the world now clear and bright, as if the earlier drizzle had been nothing but an illusion.

A speck of light stood high above, appearing tiny from afar, yet its terrifying aura weighed heavily on every heart—some children in Fuli Academy had been whispering, but now fell silent.

Xuan narrowed their eyes.

This was the first time He had seen a cultivator of this world.

'Walking the Sole Path…'

To prevent the Celestials of the Human Race from interfering with this world's cultivation system, He had erased all memories of its structure.

Now it seemed the Celestials of the Human Race had not interfered with this world's cultivation system.

In that case, the room for manipulation was vast.

"Selection begins!"

A solemn voice echoed.

Then, from the light on the horizon, countless crimson rays fell like flying meteors toward all directions.

One of them landed directly within Fuli Academy.

Waves of scorching heat spread, revealing a semi-transparent red humanoid silhouette—the children held their breath.

The teacher, who was also the head of the academy, hurried forward eagerly, speaking with the silhouette.

As for what was said…

Because they were too far away, Xuan did not hear clearly.

After listening, the silhouette seemed to scan all the children in the courtyard, pausing longer on a few in particular.

Xuan was among them.

"Cherish this opportunity," the humanoid silhouette said.

Then, with a single finger point, fine threads of spiritual light darted forth, sinking into each child's third eye.

This strange sight drew constant gasps from the children, but only Xuan closed their eyes in contemplation.

This naturally drew the attention of the crimson humanoid silhouette.

But Xuan was now too indifferent to care.

Tiny rays of rosy light gathered within the mind sea, coalescing into a scripture unfolding—

The Ten Thousand Transformations Qi Refinement Scripture! 'Ten Thousand Transformations…'

With a single glance, He perceived the entire origin and culmination of this method, and from it, evolved countless other techniques!

The Ten Thousand Transformations Proving My True Nature Art

The Ten Thousand Phenomena Dao Evolution True Scripture

The Formless Self-Mastery True Classic

The Unfixed Penetrating the Subtle True Canon

…

A thousand techniques arose in a single thought.

Each one stemmed from the meaning of 'Ten Thousand Transformations,' branching directly toward the supreme methods of penetrating the True.

But Xuan did not cultivate any of them.

Immediately, the glowing rays flowed like liquid, passing through the mind sea and sinking into the limbs and bones, through every meridian, beginning to guide Him in cultivation.

Xuan did not resist, following the guidance of the rosy light, sitting down in the Five Points Toward Heaven posture.

And visualize the True Form Diagram of the Hundred Rivers Converging, breathe in and out.

Huh~ Ah~ Just one breath, and the ambient Qi floating in the void spontaneously gathered, drawn in and refined into a single, utterly pure Ten-Thousand Transformations Qi, flowing through the meridians.

Of the other children, only three had successfully entered meditative stillness; the rest were still scratching their heads and fidgeting, unable to grasp the method.

Though he was unlucky by a billionfold at birth.

But as an Extraordinary Being born into this world, his cultivation talent was unquestionably the pinnacle among pinnacles! Not to mention his perspective and understanding—even if the Beast God of this world were reborn, he could not match Him! Now, in cultivation, it was effortless; had he not deliberately restrained himself, achieving Return to Emptiness would have taken no more than a flick of the wrist.

Of course, that would be much like self-destruction.

Even the red humanoid silhouette was slightly startled this time.

A flash of red light, and it had already appeared beside Him, its gaze descending, clearly seeing the exquisitely pure Ten-Thousand Transformations Qi circulating within His meridians.

Initially no thicker than a hair, but after merely traveling once through the meridians, that thread of Qi swelled to the thickness of a chopstick.

The Ten-Thousand Transformations Qi flowed along the meridians, reaching the Qihai acupoint, accumulating steadily until it reached its limit—then came a single *thud*. The piled Qi spilled downward like a river pouring into the sea, and at that moment, Xuan's spiritual aura shattered its threshold, ascending to an entirely new level.

His yellowish face turned ruddy and fair, his emaciated body gradually filling out.

Rebirth and transformation!

The Spirit Sea newly opened, Qi Condensation Stage One! The red humanoid silhouette, having witnessed it all, felt a storm of shock within.

Less than a minute?

Already entered Qi Condensation?! Is this some kind of joke?!

Xuan slowly opened his eyes, his purple irises shimmering with spiritual light, strikingly beautiful.

Seeing the red humanoid silhouette before him, He seemed to be 'startled'.

"You…!"

"Don't be afraid, child," the red humanoid silhouette soothed gently. "Tell me, what is your name?"

Xuan feigned hesitation, glancing at the headmaster-teacher nearby, who nodded vigorously.

"My name is… Shi."

Shi? "Child, can you tell me why you chose this name?"

"… " After a moment of silence, "My parents abandoned me, so I wished for a new beginning."

His tone was innocent and childish.

The red humanoid silhouette fell silent.

Xuan's heart remained utterly calm.

…………

Tai Xuan Realm.

Qing Xu, Guixiang Laboratory.

Xu Xing sat in a chair, his brow furrowed.

Just now, that deep sense of malice had grown even stronger.

He lifted his head, his gaze piercing across infinite distances, gazing toward the far side of the stars.

Utter silence. Not a single anomaly.

Could it not be from within the realm?

Is Xuan also turning his attention outward?

He lowered his eyes, taking in countless worlds—numberless as grains of sand.

"Hmm?"

There was clearly nothing amiss, yet an elusive, indistinct feeling clung stubbornly to his mind.

In the Three Realms' Tai Xuan Heaven, that fool Jiu Yu was wandering aimlessly.

Zhang Yunlu's injuries had not yet healed, but they were nearly so; she had not sensed any cultivation in Meng Xuan, assuming her merely a mortal.

In the Impure Realm, demons and strange spirits had been cleansed by the Great Monk and the sword cultivator; Chen Yan and the old Taoist had encountered several more cultivators of the Tai Shang Dao Sect.

Among the Mortal Realms, the Qi-blood martial path was beginning to emerge; Cheng Yu still…

No!

…………

Beast God Realm.

Without question, Xuan, having revealed his talent, was immediately taken away.

He was taken to the Sacred Site of the Human Race's Heirs.

Yet even among the Sacred Site, which gathered all the human race's geniuses, Xuan's performance remained outstanding, far outstripping everyone else.

In just one year, he ascended from Qi Condensation Stage One to Qi Condensation Stage Nine's peak.

Such an unparalleled genius was granted free choice of all the Sacred Site's legacies—but he refused, declaring he would create his own method and forge a new path.

This act shook the entire Sacred Site, yet no one believed he could succeed; most thought him hopelessly overreaching.

Creating a method… is that something a four-year-old child should even consider?

The truth proved it: after six months, he still had not succeeded.

Eventually, Xuan was 'forced' to accept the Wan Xiang lineage, establishing a Wan Xiang Foundation.

After Foundation Establishment, his unparalleled talent remained undiminished; in just three months he advanced from Foundation Establishment's early stage to its peak—faster than during Qi Condensation—and chose again to create a method.

This time, after three years, he still failed; 'reluctantly,' he once again used the Wan Xiang lineage to form a 'Wan Xiang Jin Dan.'

Nine Transmutations of the Golden Core, the Core achieved immortality.

He became the second-youngest Jin Dan cultivator in the Beast God Realm since the human race's resurgence.

Many lamented, saying that had he not wasted those three years, he would have shattered the record.

Yet Xuan paid no heed to these rumors.

In the same year, the eight-year-old Xuan entered the two-race battlefield, slew three Nascent Soul experts at the Jin Dan realm, and provoked a Soul Transformation expert of the Beast God Clan, leaving him gravely wounded and near death.

His foundation was utterly destroyed, his cultivation stripped away, drawing sighs of sorrow.

Just as all mortals believed he had vanished forever.

In the 1300th year of the Human New Calendar, Xuan was thirteen.

After five years of stagnation, he did not sink into despair; instead, he created the "Wan Xiang Sheng Si Xuan Gong," was reborn from the ashes, and fully restored his cultivation.

This act finally caught the attention of the Void Return Grand Master Xi Yun, who, after testing him, took him as a disciple.

In the 1307th year of the New Calendar.

Xuan advanced to Nascent Soul and created the "Dao Yan Wan Hua Zhen Gong."

In the same year, to conceal his true intentions, he married a female Nascent Soul cultivator.

In the 1315th year of the New Calendar.

Xuan reached Nascent Soul Perfection; the Nascent Soul female he married gave birth to a son and a daughter, and he created the "Dao Shi Xuan Wei Zhen Jing," founding the "Dao Shi" lineage.

With all his goals accomplished, Xuan reentered the two-race battlefield to "seek" a Soul Transformation opportunity.

He was ambushed by a Void Return Grand Master of the Beast God Clan and perished.

The Void Return Grand Master Xi Yun flew into a rage, slew three Beast God Clan Void Return experts, but was himself severely wounded.

Later, using the "Wan Xiang Sheng Si Xuan Gong" created by his disciple, he fully recovered and advanced further, touching the threshold of Union with the Dao.

His name spread far and wide; the "Dao Shi" lineage flourished, attracting many successors.

Xu Xing's Sword Intent spiritual form detected an anomaly. (End of chapter)