Chapter 457: Supersonic Flight and the Scorching Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art

"Xiaoxiao, we're leaving now. You study hard for your exams, and once you're done, I'll have a flying car come pick you up."

"Okay."

"Don't eat potatoes every single day."

"Okay."

"Remember to water your sister's flowers."

"Okay."

"Don't grow any taller..."

"Okay..."

The little girl was halfway through nodding when she suddenly stopped. Just like before, she instantly lifted her head, her expression shifting from blank to serious, staring straight at her brother-in-law.

She saw her brother-in-law reach over and pinch her cheek, pulling it to one side: "I knew you weren't listening..."

"I am list-ning..."

The little girl's mouth was leaking air, and she mumbled.

At the same time, she stared at her brother-in-law with sincere eyes—

She was indeed listening; it was just that her mind was occupied with other things. Her speaking and nodding were semi-automatic, and the information she received wasn't filtered out but automatically retained by her brain. Once she finished thinking about what was on her mind, she would naturally process the stored information.

Though by then, it might not all be "okay."

Read at one's discretion, process at one's discretion.

"Click..."

The courtyard gate was already open.

The little girl stood at the gate, watching them go. She saw Taozi poke its head out from her brother-in-law's shoulder and wave its paw at her, and she waved back. Not until their figures disappeared from her sight did she withdraw her gaze and close the courtyard gate.

Now she was all alone.

Right, what was it that her brother-in-law said just now?

The little girl tilted her head, back to the gate, and thought for a moment.

Study hard for exams, water the flowers...

So she kept repeating these two sentences in her heart—study hard for exams, water the flowers—and while repeating them, she walked back into the courtyard and went upstairs to play games.

The wind whistled violently.

The clouds changed from solid, soft cotton candy into thick fog that obscured the sky. The two of them plunged into the mist, using barriers to block the water vapor rushing toward them. As they continued to ascend, the fog became thinner and thinner, growing brighter as if it were glowing, and soon the blue of the sky shone through.

In that very instant—

Everything before their eyes became clear.

The azure, flawless sky, a single white, scorching sun, and below, a sea of white clouds, illuminated by the light until they shone.

The two of them followed the navigation toward the Spirit Sect.

Now that Qingqing had advanced to the Seventh Stage, although her Spirit Power Quality could not compare to Chen Shu's at the time, and she was only using the gentle and energy-efficient Cloud Sky Technique, her speed could still reach six or seven hundred kilometers per hour, faster than a flying car.

Most importantly, flying by oneself was more fun.

As for Taozi, they had put it into the Storage Space. To prevent it from being afraid or lonely in the darkness, Chen Shu had placed a Table Lamp inside for it.

And so, the two of them flew one after the other—one steady and maintaining a constant speed, the other very restless, frequently deviating from the course, veering left and right, fast and slow, sometimes circling in the air, flying from the front to behind her, enjoying the thrill of sharp turns and sudden acceleration at high speeds. If he had a contrail like the airplanes of his past life, he would surely have drawn a very free line across the sky.

There was no feeling more free than this.

Suddenly, he output his Spirit Power at full capacity.

"Bang!"

A loud explosion rang out in the air.

Chen Shu, however, could not hear this sound; he only felt the world suddenly go quiet.

"..."

The vast majority of the noise had been left behind him. Compared to the violent wind noise from before, it seemed even quieter, to the point of creating the illusion of absolute silence.

It would take a few seconds to adapt before he could realize that it wasn't absolute silence; it was just that he had outpaced the sounds around him, though he could still capture the sounds on his own body and the sound of Spirit Power breaking through the wind in front of him.

It was all because it had been too noisy just now.

Such a sensation was novel and wonderful. Flying quietly, it felt as if the entire world belonged to him, and there was no place he could not go.

"Wow~"

Chen Shu couldn't help but shout.

The sound was only bone-conducted, appearing dry and brief.

After the thrill, Chen Shu consciously turned to the left, circled in the air again, turned back, and simultaneously slowed down gradually.

"Bang..."

Another loud explosion.

This time, it could be heard.

Chen Shu returned to Qingqing's side. Under her icy gaze, he smiled brazenly, stopped running around, and instead maintained a constant speed, staying by her side.

Not long after, the two arrived above the Spirit Sect.

The sect's Formation swept over their bodies, feeling cool and refreshing. Chen Shu took out his Nameplate and successfully landed on Yuding Mountain.

He casually drew a circle in the air.

Reaching his hand inside, he first took out the Table Lamp and turned it off. Then, before he could reach in again, a long-haired white cat holding a pair of underwear in its mouth jumped out on its own.

Wait!?

"What have you been doing?"

Chen Shu immediately grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, lifting it into the air, and while grabbing the underwear to pull it away, he turned his head to look around.

Fortunately, there was no one around.

Stuffing his underwear back into his Storage Space with one hand, Chen Shu glanced inside with the help of the light; his luggage had long since been rummaged into a mess by it.

"Woof-woof~~"

Taozi looked up at him innocently, letting him pull the item out of her mouth, then she dropped to the ground and ran to her master's feet to act spoiled.

Chen Shu glared at Qingqing: "Look at the cat you raised!"

"It was you who raised it."

"Pah! You raised it!"

"..."

Ning Qing rolled her eyes and stepped forward.

Taozi also took happy little steps, trotting forward, and even turned her head to bark at Chen Shu.

Chen Shu had no choice but to follow.

Although it was midsummer, it was not hot on Yuding Mountain; it was around twenty degrees, and the mountain air was moist, making it a good place to escape the heat.

Just as he reached the path, Chen Shu ran into the Vice Sect Master.

Both sides stopped in their tracks.

"Greetings, Vice Sect Master."

"No need for such things."

The Vice Sect Master waved his hand, looked at him, then at Ning Qing and Taozi beside him, and smiled gently:

"Just arrived?"

"Yes, I was planning to pay you a visit as soon as I returned to the courtyard, and then we ran into each other; what a coincidence." Chen Shu said with a smile, "Congratulations, you'll be the Sect Master soon."

"There is no difference."

"It sounds nice, though."

"Just an empty title."

"How is the Sect Master doing?"

"He's doing alright for now, no Spirit Decay yet."

"It feels like I haven't seen the old man in a long time."

"You'll see him in a few days," the Vice Sect Master said. "By the way, you'll have to follow along for a round when the time comes; there are some procedures to go through, though we've simplified them quite a bit. The Ritual Deacon will tell you what to do then. Also, some young guests from other sects will be coming, all people of your generation, so you should entertain them as well."

"Understood."

Chen Shu had prepared himself mentally before coming.

After a pause, he said again: "I would like to borrow the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art to study it first."

"I'll give it to you tonight. Take a look at it yourself first; I'm quite busy these days, so we can discuss it after this period passes."

"Alright, we'll play chess then."

"Sure!"

The Vice Sect Master agreed readily, while looking somewhat surprised, eyeing Chen Shu up and down: "This is the first time I've seen you take the initiative to suggest chess. What is it, has your chess skill improved recently?"

"Ah, that's not it."

"Then..."

"Oh, I forgot to introduce her to you. This is my girlfriend, Ning Qing, from the Secret Sect. I'll have her help me study it when the time comes."

"..."

The Vice Sect Master was silent for a moment, his gaze shifting elsewhere: "After becoming Sect Master, there will be many things to keep me busy, I might not have the time... You two head back first, I still have things to do."

"Haven't you been doing the Sect Master's work all along?"

"It will be exceptionally busy later."

After saying this, the Vice Sect Master left.

Chen Shu watched his back, grinned, then put his arm around Qingqing's shoulder and said as they walked forward: "He was the one who taught me how to play Go. After he taught me, he was always looking for me to play, and I never won once. You're the truly impressive one..."

Ning Qing did not speak, only turned her head to glance back.

The Vice Sect Master had only walked a few dozen meters away; with his Ninth Stage cultivation, he could certainly hear the conversation here.

That evening, the temperature on the mountain dropped a bit more, becoming surprisingly cool.

The mountain breeze was pleasant.

Chen Shu received the "Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art" sent by the Vice Sect Master, totaling seven volumes including the introductory book.

The Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art was the Spirit Sect's signature skill, and its storage security level in the Phoenix Tower was also very high, kept on the top floor. Everyone who wanted to practice the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art had to apply to the Sect Master, though that authority had now been transferred to the Vice Sect Master.

As soon as Chen Shu held it, he began to flip through it.

Generally, to use the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art, one needed at least Ninth Stage cultivation, but most people would start learning it at the Eighth Stage peak, as they would happen to be stuck at the Eighth Stage peak for many years, giving them ample time while attempting to break through the Spirit Lock.

Due to his Double Spirit Sea and the involvement of Divine Power, Chen Shu's Spirit Power Quality was extremely high. Perhaps he wouldn't even need to reach the Eighth Stage peak or Eighth Stage Late Phase to meet the usage requirements for this spell. Given that his cultivation progressed rapidly—he had only been at the Eighth Stage for three months and was already at the middle phase—and considering the difficulty of this spell, starting to learn it early was a wise choice.

Upon flipping through it, the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art was somewhat different from what he had imagined.

Originally, he thought the difference between the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art and the Great Blazing Sun Art should be the same as the difference between the Great Blazing Sun Art and the Small Blazing Sun Art—an enrichment and expansion based on the previous level, where the essence of the former would not change. The Great Blazing Sun Art used the Small Blazing Sun Art as its starting core, and the spell structure of the Great Blazing Sun Art contained the complete Small Blazing Sun Art.

Chen Shu thought the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art would be the same, and that its spell structure would also contain the complete spell structure of the Great Blazing Sun Art.

In truth, from his level of understanding, whether it was the Great Blazing Sun Art or the Small Blazing Sun Art, their spell structures were perfect—a precise, complex entity full of conflict yet possessing a strange harmony, making it truly difficult to modify further. He had not expected that in the spell structure of the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art, although one could faintly see the shadows of the Great Blazing Sun Art and the Small Blazing Sun Art, the two had been filled with more Runes and undergone a massive amount of modification and replacement, making the conflicts more numerous and intense. Coupled with the additional Runes of the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art, it formed an incomparably vast divine-level spell.

Looking at these Runes alone, based on his experience in comprehending the Great Blazing Sun Art and the Small Blazing Sun Art, he could see almost no upper limit to the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art.

The stronger the Spirit Power, the greater its power.

He could see no limit, nor could he see a fatigue point.

Perhaps even if a god were to cast it, they would not reach its performance limit; perhaps this truly was a spell prepared for gods.

Otherwise, how could it have the name of World-Destroyer?

Chen Shu became mesmerized the moment he looked.

He was unaware of the passage of time.

It was not until Qingqing sent Taozi to call him for cultivation that he finally broke free from his state of absorption.

At this moment, he secretly thought to himself how close that was.

If not for this, even if he didn't pull an all-nighter today, his Daily Cultivation would likely have been affected.

This highlights the benefits of having a girlfriend.

At the same time, a pile of messages had accumulated in the Ancient Cultivation Group; everyone was discussing the succession of the Spirit Sect Sect Master and expressing that they would attend—aside from a few people, the rest of the group were either Saint Sons and Saintesses of top sects or descendants of the Imperial Family, so they would naturally all be coming for the Spirit Sect Sect Master's succession.

Chen Shu only glanced at them once before he began his cultivation.