The first form of the Heartless Sword Art was one of extreme cold, from which a peerless ice lotus bloomed.
This form was incredibly powerful, relying on the extreme of ice.
It pushed ice-attributed spiritual energy to its limit, transforming the sword into a lotus.
Now, Li Shuang had a new realization.
Her sword techniques.
Were not just about extreme cold.
All things in the world, the rotation of the five elements, could be part of her swordsmanship.
Before Li Shuang herself could even react.
Her final sword strike, imbued with all her power, had already fallen.
The sword light instantly rotated like the five elements, and an extreme ice-frost sword energy erupted with a roar.
The sharpness of metal. The scorching heat of fire. The entanglement of wood. The heaviness of earth. The variability of water.
At this moment, they completely merged into her swordsmanship.
The Black Abyss Sword struck hard against the last Five Elements Source Line.
The sword body trembled slightly.
The Five Elements Source Line also trembled slightly.
Li Shuang breathed lightly.
This move was named "Seeing All Beings."
Heartless Dao, Second Form: Seeing All Beings.
Everyone stared intently at the water screen.
Was it... done?
On the golden altar.
This time, the calamity of wood manifested.
Vines, one after another, swept towards Li Shuang. Li Shuang's figure, however, slowly collapsed.
She had exhausted all her strength, unable to even perform the simplest evasion.
Everyone's hearts couldn't help but rise to their throats.
So...
Did she fail at the last moment?
The next moment.
The Five Elements Source Line vibrated rapidly, its speed increasing until, finally, it snapped in the middle.
The vines that were about to touch Li Shuang instantly dissipated in the air, then disintegrated into specks of light.
Five new Five Elements Crystals clinked as they fell beside Li Shuang.
"Intermediate Five Elements Crystal, value: three million!"
Li Shuang had no strength left in her body, but she still managed to pull at the corner of her mouth, a smile appearing on her face.
She!
Had gambled and won!
It wasn't that she liked to gamble!
But.
Could this current world truly accommodate stable growth?
Did the City Lord cultivate human geniuses at all costs simply because she was kind-hearted?
Was the sudden appearance of demon seeds like Ye Zhaozhao merely a coincidence?
For some reason, a sense of crisis had always enveloped Li Shuang's heart.
The higher her cultivation, the heavier this sense of crisis became.
She had a premonition that in this era, one could not hide, could not avoid, and could not solely seek stability.
She had to contend, to seize, to fight, to grow rapidly with all her might, only then would she be qualified to face the truth of this world.
She had also worried.
Would she be too much of a gambler, when she could have chosen the same path as Youlan for a more stable victory?
But if she didn't push herself, she might never know how far she could go.
No matter what.
She had gambled and won!
The Five Elements Crystals transformed into streams of light and entered Li Shuang's sea of consciousness.
The golden altar beneath her feet slowly rose, reaching the fifth level!
In front of the water screen.
It was now completely silent.
Besides Youlan, there was now another person who had set foot on the fifth level of the Soul Golden Altar.
Moreover.
She had used the most difficult method.
On the fourth-level golden altar.
Youlan was slightly dazed.
Her mind was in disarray, and a giant wave struck, almost knocking her off the golden altar.
Fortunately, Youlan was experienced and quickly adjusted, forcefully stabilizing her body.
But her heart was still in chaos.
Before.
She could still comfort herself.
At least.
She was still the only young genius in the world to have set foot on the fifth level of the Soul Golden Altar.
But now...
Li had entered the fifth level before her.
She had even used the method of severing the source lines.
Did this mean...
Her so-called "number one genius" title had been completely surpassed by Li?
Giant waves struck one after another, and Youlan dared not think further. She gritted her teeth, struggling to hold on.
No matter what!
She must reach the fifth level!
Last time.
She ultimately failed to clear the fifth level.
This time, her goal was the sixth level!
As long as she could reach the sixth level, she would still be the number one genius!
In the City of Ten Thousand Laws, in the teahouse.
The old man drank tea while watching the water screen.
Seeing Youlan's unwilling expression, the old man couldn't help but sigh.
His disciple... this was her first taste of defeat.
This time, if Li stopped at the fifth level and she successfully cleared it, perhaps she could still preserve her last bit of pride.
If she ultimately failed to clear the fifth level, could Youlan withstand this blow?
"Senior Brother. Will your genius disciple be ruined just like that?" Gu Yuan suddenly said with schadenfreude.
The reason he wanted to take Li as a disciple was because his Senior Brother had boasted endlessly after taking Youlan as a disciple.
Now.
Although he hadn't managed to take Li as a disciple, it would still be good to see his Senior Brother suffer a setback.
The old man glanced at him and smiled: "No. If she loses this time, it will be the true beginning of her growth."
Gu Yuan raised an eyebrow: "You have confidence in her."
The old man calmly said: "I have confidence in her devotion to the Dao."
Youlan was so engrossed in cultivation that she was almost obsessed.
Over the years, except for the occasional times he would joke around and make her rest, she practiced almost non-stop.
His disciple's devotion to the Dao was astonishing.
If she lost this time.
For her, it might be an opportunity to re-examine herself.
Could Li truly make Youlan lose well?
The old man even felt a little anticipation.
In the void.
The City Lord looked at the suddenly appearing illusory figures, somewhat silently.
"City Lord Yu, you hide your true abilities so well."
"You claim to be bad at teaching people, yet you've secretly taught such a peerless genius?"
"If I'm not mistaken, this Li's Rebirth Art has already reached the first stage of grand completion. Her talent in soul cultivation is terrifying."
"More than that. Did you see her sword? Although the grade of this sword is not high yet. But... the sword spirit within it has an extremely high tacit understanding with her. This is probably a very rare purple compatibility!"
"This person's comprehension of the sword dao is also astonishing. The move she used just now to sever the last original line already contained the power of the five elements. This was clearly comprehended on the spot."
"A sword dao genius. A purple compatibility sword spirit. The Rebirth Art is contracted with the Lunar Star! City Lord, City Lord, is this what you mean by not being able to teach people?"
Yu Jin looked at the illusory figures, remained silent for a moment, then said with some helplessness: "If I were to say... I really haven't taught her. Would you believe me?"
The figures all looked at her with a half-smile.
Yu Jin was completely helpless.
She was telling the truth, but Li's performance was too exaggerated, and now no one believed her.
"We ask for nothing else. I have a junior I favor, how about you, City Lord, give them some guidance?"
"Indeed, we are willing to pay a price that satisfies the City Lord."
The several people stated their intentions.
Yu Jin's lips twitched: "I really can't. If you send your juniors over, I will only hinder them."
"Why be modest, City Lord! As long as you teach with all your might, we will have no objections. This is a small gift, please accept it, City Lord."
These top human powerhouses actually directly presented heavy gifts.