Chapter 210

"Did you see it? A bulletin was just posted; Ji You is the first to defend the ring for the Realm of Profound Understanding."

"He actually has such confidence?"

"If he doesn't have confidence, then who else can have such confidence?"

"But Ji You shouldn't be such a flamboyant character; back then, when a senior brother in the Realm of Profound Understanding who was about to leave the academy went to challenge him, he also pushed back several times before making a move."

For the whole afternoon after the bulletin was posted, everyone was discussing this matter.

And in Cao Cao Jingsong's small courtyard, the protagonist of the discussion was sitting on the stone stool in the east, with Ban Ban Yangshu, Wen Zhengxin, and Bai Bai Rulong sitting around him.

In addition, behind Ji You stood two women, both tall and with exquisite figures.

The one on the left had a demonic aura between her brows and was slightly steady, while the other was a bit immature, but also wore pearls and jade, with rings and pendants jingling, full of wealth; they were the two sisters Lu Lu Hanyan and Lu Lu Qingqiu.

Perhaps it was because of learning swords in the Sword Forest, Lu Lu Hanyan became a bit clingy, and even if it wasn't in the Sword Forest, she would follow him as long as she saw him in the outer court.

According to Ji You's words, she was finally broken.

Maybe the more arrogant a woman is, the more she has the desire to be conquered; Ji You's wooden sword hit her buttocks, but it seemed to also hit her heart.

Whether it be internal organs, blood, or bones, humans cannot autonomously control or adjust them, but Ji You's spirit at this moment already had a slight connection to them.

It was the body automatically integrating toward a tighter direction, allowing his body to break through toward a stronger form.

Another point was the previous soreness.

The previous twenty-second Dim Illumination was far less intense and difficult than today's twenty-third Dim Illumination.

Yet the soreness left behind by the twenty-second Dim Illumination took almost eight hours to disappear.

But after this higher-intensity Dim Illumination, he could clearly perceive that those feelings of soreness were receding like a tide.

This indicated that what came with the improvement in physical strength was also recovery speed and resistance.

Ji You panted heavily, sweat beads on his head constantly falling to the ground, continuously emitting a sizzling sound upon the floor.

Most cultivators in the Azure Cloud World are pure Dao cultivators; even if the Spirit Sword Mountain mainly cultivates the Sword Dao and does not attempt to master the Four Symbols, the Sky, or Force Techniques, it can still be seen as a branch of Dao cultivation and would not refine the body as desperately as he did.

And he himself, invisibly, must have been influenced by this trend, always prioritizing Dao cultivation and treating body refinement as a supplement.

Now that he has switched to prioritizing body refinement, abandoning Dao cultivation and only cultivating spiritual sense, he doesn't know where he will end up.

But since he has already decided, then don't worry so much; as long as there is a path, then just walk it.

Just like when he first arrived in the Azure Cloud World, it was also a case of walking dozens of steps before suddenly seeing the light.

Uh, Ding Shijie Wen is here, right at the doorway.

After Ji You's perception became clear, he could even capture the outline of Ding Shijie Wen standing outside.

But...

He couldn't stand up.

As his breathing gradually leveled out, Ji You felt a wave of fatigue surging toward his limbs and bones, and thus his entire person fell into a deep sleep.

Opening his eyes again, it was already the un-hour of the second day; the afternoon sunlight was brilliant, with beams constantly spilling into the room along the window lattice, and one corner landed on Ji You's face, illuminating his sword-browed, star-eyed countenance and waking him up.

This sleep was even longer than the previous few times, which was not surprising.

Because although he did not continue his spiritual sense flight yesterday, the trembling of his spirit also consumed a lot from him.

Ji You sat up from the bed, and it was a long while before he realized that he was covered by a quilt, and furthermore, the clothes soaked through with sweat yesterday had already disappeared.

Right, he had sensed Ding Shijie Wen coming over yesterday.

He rose from the bed and walked to the main room, where he saw Wen Zhengxin eating porridge in the room, and besides her, there were also Ban Ban Yangshu and Cao Cao Jingsong.

Although Cao Cao Jingsong is an outer-court instructor, he is also allowed to enter the inner court, it's just that he generally doesn't like to come.

At this moment, seeing Ji You come out, the three of them raised their heads in unison.

"Why have you all come?"

Cao Cao Jingsong's beard twitched: "Your Ding Shijie Wen sent a message saying you had passed out in the room with a burning hot body, which scared us into rushing over immediately."

Ji You sat down on a chair: "I was just refining my body."

Wen Zhengxin looked at him: "Finished refining?"

"Finished, did Ding Shijie return last night?"

Wen Zhengxin nodded, her gaze toward him suddenly becoming a bit more complex.

She had changed Ji You's clothes after returning, though that wasn't much of a big deal.

The key issue was that Cao Cao Jingsong and Ban Ban Yangshu only came after receiving her message this morning; only she had felt that oppressive force rushing toward her last night, feeling as if Mount Tai were collapsing before her eyes.

Yet Ji Shidi was still in the Profound Understanding Realm, his aura restrained at this moment, showing no abnormalities, and not much different from other Profound Understanding Realm practitioners.

Ji You opened his mouth: "I was too tired last night; I actually sensed Ding Shijie had returned, but I couldn't open my eyes anymore."

Wen Zhengxin looked at him: "This body refinement technique, who exactly did you learn it from?"

"Figured it out myself."

Hearing this sentence, the three of them looked at each other.

After such a long time of understanding, they had already sensed the extraordinary nature of Ji You's body refinement technique.

Such powerful growth is absolutely not something that those ordinary body refinement techniques in the Azure Cloud World could possess.

Because those body refinement techniques are far from reaching the formidable level Ji You is at now.

He already had such terrifying manifestations in the Profound Understanding Realm; Cao Cao Jingsong didn't know how strong he would be once he entered the Realm of Merging with the Dao.

Ji You at this moment stretched a big yawn facing the sunlight outside the door, feeling refreshed.

Wen Zhengxin coughed at this moment: "You... can only practice this at night?"

Ji You turned his head upon hearing this: "There isn't really a distinction between night and day, it's just that every time I practice, I become exhausted, and my spiritual sense is also consumed to the limit; if I practice at night, I just go to sleep after finishing, and the next day I can do whatever I need to do; why does Ding Shijie ask this?"

"Nothing, just suddenly felt you should go back."

"?"

Wen Zhengxin's earlobes turned red: "It's one thing to eat and drink for free at my place all day, but you also make all sorts of messy noises at night; how come everywhere I went on the road when I returned this time, there were strange looks? I don't want to offend the daughter of the Pill Sect."

Ji You immediately argued: "Ding Shijie, that's not right, I even washed your clothes, how could it be eating and drinking for free."

Wen Zhengxin said get out, get out, get out, I won't even mention whether you were washing clothes or satisfying your own hobbies.

Although I don't know what's going on with your state of mind, it looks like you're mostly better now, and there's no way you're going to keep hanging around here.

I'm a lone woman's courtyard, and with you making those soft pained noises all day, if it gets out, how am I supposed to face people?

On the way here, someone even praised her, saying she was really amazing, and saying she could really endure it or something; she hadn't associated it with anything at first, but later realized what they were praising.

Another thing is that Ji You is soaked in sweat and passes out every day after practicing; as a Ding Shijie, should I change them for you or not, and if I change them, should I look or not?

Cao Cao Jingsong and Ban Ban Yangshu looked at each other, thinking, what kind of messy noises?

Wen Zhengxin didn't explain to them and directly chased all three of them out of the courtyard.

Cao Cao Jingsong stood in front of the door looking at Ji You: "What kind of noises was your Ding Shijie talking about?"

Ji You imitated it twice: "When refining the body, there is a feeling of the body being torn apart, so I can't help but make sounds."

"I can understand why your Ding Shijie wanted to chase you away..."

"For her to let you stay so long while you make such noises, Fairy He is truly benevolent and righteous."

Ji You touched his stomach after hearing this: "Wang Jiaoxi, I'm a bit hungry."

Cao Cao Jingsong narrowed his eyes: "I don't have money to treat you to a tavern."

"No need for a tavern, the Immortal Dining Hall is fine."

"Really?"

"Mm."

Cao Cao Jingsong pondered for a moment, thinking that I can still afford the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan canteen like the Immortal Dining Hall.

But what he didn't expect was Ji You's appetite at this moment, which directly refreshed his cognition.

"Another portion."

"This is already the fifth portion!"

Ji You looked at the five empty plates in front of him: "I'm not full yet."

Cao Cao Jingsong looked at him, his mouth twitching: "Evil disciple, tell me the truth, are you cultivating the temple of five internal organs?"

"Body refinement is like this."

Ji You went to ask for another portion, then lowered his head to eat.

His current body needs a huge amount of heat, which is also the reason why his body temperature will constantly rise, but the heat in the human body does not come from thin air, and the best way is food intake.

Cao Cao Jingsong looked at him and couldn't help but speak: "There is news in the academy these few days that the time for the Heavenly Dao Assembly should be set soon."

Ji You raised his head: "No wonder Ding Shijie Wen has been in seclusion for so long these few days."

"Your Ding Shijie has her own plans; as for you, you should also consider it. These few days, hurry up and ask your heart to seek the Dao. After winning the Heavenly Dao Assembly, go to the Sages' Enlightenment Ground to break through your realm. With your aptitude, you should have reached the threshold of the Realm of Responding to Heaven when you come out."

Cao Cao Jingsong looked kind: "My Fengzhou is actually going to have a powerhouse in the Realm of Responding to Heaven; this is something I have never dared to think about in the past fifty years."

Ji You's chopsticks paused, and he remained silent for a long time without speaking.

Then Cao Cao Jingsong ran away, faster than a rabbit, his fat body actually showing unparalleled lightness in that instant.

It wasn't because of any urgent matter, but just because Ji You told him he was only half full.

Seeing Old Cao turn into a wind-like old boy, Ji You smacked his lips, handed the tray to the window, then turned and went to the Sword Forest, intending to try his punches.

Body refinement has passed the next barrier, and some benefits can be clearly perceived.

But what his combat power is exactly is still an unknown.

Ji You walked down the mountain, came to the Sword Forest, and saw Lu Lu Hanyan who was swinging her sword.

The second young lady of the Lu family has already practiced the basic sword forms very proficiently, and Ji You had already arranged for her to practice continuous sword moves a few days ago.

Just like himself back then, connecting postures like pointing, chopping, stabbing, flicking, picking, collapsing, intercepting, slashing, wiping, shaving, clouding, and hanging, and after mastering them proficiently, coordinating with spiritual energy to drive them to form sword moves.

Seeing Ji You coming, Lu Lu Hanyan stopped her sword, then secretly looked at the wooden sword standing on the side.

Elder sister asked her yesterday how it felt to be spanked by Ji You, and she replied that only a strict master can produce a brilliant apprentice; there were some places she didn't do right, and Senior Brother Ji giving her a lesson was right, she wouldn't be angry.

Elder sister's eyes clearly didn't believe it, and Lu Lu Hanyan immediately retorted, elder sister wouldn't think I like it, would she.

In fact, Lu Lu Hanyan really thought she liked this strict way of teaching, feeling that Senior Brother Ji taught her very seriously, and she couldn't be angry with Senior Brother Ji because of this, and there was nothing else.

But after a few more times, she discovered that she seemed to like it.

Ji You saw her gaze, and the four words "Forbidden Wang Jiaoxi-Student" couldn't help but emerge in his mind.

"The sword heart is a bit restless, and the sword intent is also unstable; is it because you just defeated Fang Fang Jincheng?"

"Lu Hanyan knows she is wrong, please punish me, Senior Brother."

"I came here today to try my punches."

"Try punches?"

"Right, try punches, you practice well, see you in a while."

Lu Lu Hanyan watched Ji You walk toward the depths of the forest, feeling a bit confused, but hearing the words "in a while," she obediently picked up her sword and began to connect the previous sword moves.

However, just as her iron sword started its momentum, a huge wave of wind suddenly roared from the depths of the bamboo forest, one wave after another, the powerful aura directly pressing her iron sword so it was hard to lift, making the eyes of this second young lady of the Lu family gradually widen.

Also looking over in astonishment were other disciples practicing swords in the Sword Forest.

The punch force was very strong.

The rise of the aura made the Mountain-Shaking Fist truly have the momentum to shake mountains, moving like a thunder formation, and even having a power that could destroy everything.

It's just that punching empty air is really not very satisfying.

Ji You opened a fist stance and struck fiercely; he didn't use spiritual energy, but just a single punch wind pressed the entire patch of green bamboo in front to constantly bend, his surrounding aura like a tiger roaring and a dragon chanting, until the punch wind scattered and then gradually calmed down.

Need to continue refining the body.

Enlightenment is a matter of opportunity, but body refinement only requires effort and resilience...

The twenty-fifth time, the twenty-sixth time, he wanted to see when the next barrier of body refinement would appear.

Ji You retracted his fist, dispersed his stance, and walked out. He watched for a long time at the place where Lu Lu Hanyan was dancing her sword, then reached out to grasp the wooden sword and slapped it on her buttocks with a "pop," causing the second young lady of the Lu family to tremble; she could endure it the first few times, but at this moment she couldn't help but let out a groan.

Practiced well, a little reward.

After the Grain Rain, the tea smoke is just faint.

In the season of the Beginning of Summer, the heat begins to rise, the temperature gradually climbs, and the noon sun often makes people unable to lift their heads.

Under Ji You's guidance, the turmoil of Lu Lu Hanyan unexpectedly defeating Fang Fang Jincheng has also subsided; no one will specifically bring it up to discuss, and with many people in seclusion, it seems even quieter than usual.

However, on a cloudless early summer day, a golden brilliant light suddenly rushed into the clouds, instantly stirring up the long clouds all over the sky, attracting countless disciples to look up, and they saw uniform golden inscriptions falling in all directions, with constant humming sounds.

When flying away, there were still golden clouds in the sky, scattering in the wind.

Seeing this scene, the entire inner court was full of discussion, and from early morning to afternoon, there were sounds of people running to tell each other.

"What happened?"

"The decree of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan?"

"No, it's the joint decree of the seven great Immortal Sects."

"What happened?"

"The date for the Heavenly Dao Assembly has been set."

The date for the Heavenly Dao Assembly was jointly discussed by the seven great Immortal Sects based on the state of the Sages' Enlightenment Ground; the cultivators of the Profound Heaven Continent had also been looking forward to this for a long time, and at this moment, they finally saw the result.

Held in three months, the Heavenly Dao Assembly will be officially held; the decree probably contained just these dozen words, flying toward the world with the wind.

Although this matter doesn't have much to do with the outer court, it still attracted countless attention.

Of course, those most concerned about this matter are the disciples of the inner court, and the news they know is also the most detailed.

For example, for this Heavenly Dao Assembly, each Immortal Sect has fifteen spots, while families with a history of over a hundred years have five, and in addition, the major Immortal Manors on the quasi-core list also have one each.

In fact, this is the usual method of the Heavenly Dao Assembly over the years, because if the number of people is not limited, so many cultivators would have to fight one by one, and even if they fought until next year, they might not be able to finish.

And when the Heavenly Dao Assembly limits the spots, who to choose to participate within the Immortal Sects and families becomes a problem.

So after the decree appeared, the Hall of Affairs and the Elders' Pavilion of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan were both pondering this matter.

Someone proposed that these spots should be obtained through recommendation, that is, these senior figures vote to decide these fifteen people.

Among them, Fang Yan, the chief elder of the Wu Chen Hall, was a representative, and proposed that one should not just look at combat power, but should recommend disciples who can best represent the Dao practiced by the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan.

"Elder Fang's words are very true, but I don't know which kind of disciple can be considered as most in line with the Dao practiced by the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan?"

"Naturally, it is a pure Dao cultivator with techniques added to their body; those who rely on body refinement to forcibly improve combat power and violate the Immortal Dao, wouldn't sending them out lose the face of my Heavenly Tian Shuyuan?"

Hearing this, the Hall Masters of the Hall of Affairs sitting on the right couldn't help but look at each other, thinking that if you want a pure Dao cultivator to compete, Elder Fang might as well name Ji You and say he cannot compete.

He is not a pure Dao cultivator; he refines both the body and the sword, isn't this targeting him.

At this moment, the three of them couldn't help but think of Ji You teaching Lu Lu Hanyan the Sword Dao and beating Fang Fang Jincheng until he was looking for his teeth all over the floor.

At that time, this Elder Fang didn't say anything, just said lightly that private fighting is not allowed in the academy, and considering that both were first-time offenders, it would not be an example, etc.

At that time, some people in the academy said Elder Fang had a great measure, high spirit, and was impartial, but only now do they know that he was waiting here.

The most heart-piercing thing is that Elder Fang wasn't waiting for Lu Lu Hanyan, but for Ji You standing behind Lu Lu Hanyan.

However, regarding Elder Fang's proposal, most elders were in favor.

Because the spots to participate in the Heavenly Dao Assembly are very precious, each one represents an opportunity to enter the Sages' Enlightenment Ground for enlightenment.

If someone cannot compete and a spot is vacated, naturally everyone wants to see it.

If it wasn't Ji You who entered the inner court, but Chu He, they naturally wouldn't do this; after all, behind Chu He is a thousand-year-old family, known as the eighth great Immortal Sect, and its foundation and status can be imagined.

But Ji You has no one to support him, and acts so strangely, so for everyone, it is naturally better for him not to compete.

A wild private cultivator, what reason is there to occupy an Immortal Sect spot.

And this method of recommendation also has direct benefits for them; with one more spot in the Realm of Profound Understanding, their own disciples and family nephews will have the opportunity to compete.

But the problem is that the Heavenly Dao Assembly is external, not internal.

Hall Master Qin couldn't help but speak at this moment: "The Heavenly Dao Assembly is a struggle between the seven great Immortal Sects and the families of the world; what participants need most is to have a sufficient winning rate. This matter concerns the sect prestige of my Heavenly Tian Shuyuan. Recommendation is probably not very appropriate, and I'm afraid there will be mistakes."

Fang Yan couldn't help but look at him: "I don't agree with Hall Master Qin's words; even if we don't choose those who refine the body or learn the sword, my Heavenly Tian Shuyuan has countless geniuses among its disciples; could it be that they will lose to disciples of other sects or family disciples?"

"That's not it, but I think since the goal is to win at the Heavenly Dao Assembly, why not set up a ring in the academy first, and the winner can naturally participate in the Heavenly Dao Assembly; wouldn't that be better?"

"This method is naturally good, but what if some people rely on other side-door paths to win?"

Hall Master Qin raised his head upon hearing the sound: "The seven sages of thousands of years ago were originally like brothers; where does the talk of side-door paths come from."

Fang Yan's face turned cold: "Then just don't compete; since we are all one family, give the spots to others, and we can save some effort, right?"

Lang Lang Hetong and Ji Ji Jingyao couldn't help but look at him: "Why is Brother Qin speaking so well for that Ji You today?"

"This is for the sect prestige, not for anyone."