When Tang Qian'er saw the handsome young man walking toward her, she wished she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
Although his face was full of a warm smile, showing no sign of being offended by what she had said earlier, that very reaction only made her feel even more embarrassed.
However, She had actually misunderstood the situation. The reason he approached was not because of this young girl, but because he had noticed his third brother, Liu Yang, among the group. That was why he came over to take a look.
As Liu Bai got closer, more and more people began to notice him.
The young man sitting at the front, leading the group of juniors in their cultivation, also turned to look in his direction.
"It's him?!" Unlike the others, this young man immediately recognized who Liu Bai was.
After all, as a senior who had successfully entered the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy the previous year, Liu Bai was quite famous within the Northern Spiritual Academy. Whether it was the instructors of the Eastern or Western Divisions, they often used Liu Bai as an example to motivate their students.
Naturally, Liu Bai also saw the young man and recognized him instantly. It was none other than the protagonist of the original story, the one regarded as the favored son of the Great Thousand World—Mu Chen!
Although he had been expelled from the Spiritual Road, he was still a genius highly valued by the academy.
Judging from the situation, Liu Bai could tell that his third brother seemed to have some sort of grudge with Mu Chen. It looked like Liu Yang had come all the way from the Western Division just to find trouble with him.
Of course, Liu Bai had no interest in meddling in the squabbles between two brats, so his attention did not linger on Mu Chen. Instead, he called out to his younger brother, who was wearing a proud smirk.
"Liu Yang, you brat, get over here!"
Hearing that familiar voice, Liu Yang's body trembled before he turned around in surprise and delight.
"Big Brother?!"
The moment that cry of "Big Brother" sounded, everyone nearby immediately realized who the newcomer was.
Wasn't this the very person their instructors often mentioned—the "ideal student" from the previous year? To think that someone like him had returned to the Northern Spiritual Academy!
Liu Yang hurriedly ran over, followed by several of his underlings who lined up behind him like a bunch of gang members. Together, they bowed and shouted in unison, "Greetings, Big Big Brother!"
Liu Bai was speechless, but he still waved his hand dismissively. Then he said to Liu Yang, "Come on, let's go find your second brother."
"You brat, instead of cultivating properly in the Western Division, what are you doing here? Don't tell me you're slacking off again…"
As the Liu brothers gradually walked away, the group of new students from the Eastern Division burst into an uproar.
Especially the young man sitting at the head of the group—after seeing Liu Bai, he suddenly thought of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy and of a certain moonlit promise…
While Mu Chen was lost in reminiscence, Tang Qian'er, who had been so embarrassed earlier, now frowned slightly.
"I didn't expect the eldest Liu brother to return. This could be troublesome…"
Because of her friendship with Mu Chen, Tang Qian'er had never liked Liu Yang, who constantly caused trouble for him.
With his eldest brother's reputation and his second brother's strength, Liu Yang acted like a tyrant throughout the entire Northern Spiritual Academy. Even the instructors had to give him some face.
Previously, this wasn't too much of a problem, since Mu Chen had still been in the Spiritual Road and rarely appeared. But ever since Mu Chen had returned to the Northern Spiritual Academy, Liu Yang had shown up every few days to pick fights with him.
As for the reason, it was simple.
There had once been a rumor that Mu Chen's talent surpassed Liu Bai's, since he had been chosen by the Spiritual Road.
Of course, very few people actually believed that. After all, Liu Bai had already entered the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy and become incredibly powerful, while Mu Chen was merely a Spiritual Road candidate. The two were not on the same level at all.
Unfortunately, that rumor had reached Liu Yang's ears…
Given Liu Yang's fanatical admiration for his big brother, he couldn't tolerate anyone belittling Liu Bai. Not only did he beat up the students who spread such talk, but he also began to resent Mu Chen—the innocent party in all this.
Originally, this wouldn't have been a big deal. But now that Mu Chen had returned from the Spiritual Road…
"So, the conflict between the Liu and Mu families basically started because of me?" Liu Bai couldn't help but laugh bitterly after hearing his younger brother's explanation.
"All right, with your big brother's current strength, would it really be appropriate for me to argue with a bunch of kids like you?"
He patted Liu Yang's shoulder with a smile, speaking in a gentle tone.
After all, this was his little brother—a devoted admirer of his—so being kind to him was only natural.
Seeing the group of excited boys standing behind Liu Yang, their eyes shining with awe, Liu Bai thought for a moment, then took out a few spirit pills.
"These are Spirit Nurturing Pills. They can help you advance to the Spiritual Movement Realm faster. Each of you, take one and go cultivate."
The boys stared at the small white bottles in their hands, their faces flushing with excitement before shouting in unison, "Thank you, Big Big Brother!"
"Big Brother, you're too generous," Liu Yang said with a pained expression after sending his followers away. "Those were Spirit Nurturing Pills! Even students in the Heavenly Division have a hard time getting those. Isn't that too much for a bunch of idiots?"
Liu Bai laughed heartily. "Don't worry. I've got better ones prepared for you. Besides, I refined these myself, and no one else uses them anymore. It would be a waste to let them sit around."
He wasn't boasting—these were merely first-grade pills he had made earlier, far below his current level.
After all, even the weakest students in the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy were at the Spiritual Wheel Realm.
When Liu Bai and Liu Yang arrived at the Western Division's Heavenly Class, many people immediately recognized him. After all, he had only left a year ago, and many of his former peers were still cultivating here.
The first person he met there was his former instructor, Teacher Xi.
"Liu Bai? You're back?" Teacher Xi looked genuinely surprised to see him.
"There are some matters I need to take care of, so I came back. It's been a while, Teacher Xi." Liu Bai smiled and nodded politely.
"Yes, over a year already." A look of deep emotion crossed Teacher Xi's face.
A year ago, Liu Bai had been just an ordinary student. Yet after breaking through to the Spiritual Movement Realm, he had risen like a comet, becoming the only student from the Northern Spiritual Academy to successfully enter one of the Five Great Academies.
And now, a year later, when they met again, Teacher Xi realized that he could no longer even see through Liu Bai's cultivation.
"You're here this time… to see Mu Bai?"
Glancing at Liu Yang beside him, Teacher Xi quickly guessed his purpose.
"Yes. There's something I need Mu Bai to return home for."
Liu Bai nodded.
Although Teacher Xi was one of his instructors, he wasn't like Elder Chi Huo, so Liu Bai naturally didn't elaborate further.
"Mu Bai is a very talented boy," Teacher Xi said with a smile. "Though still not on your level, he's one of the best in the academy and has the greatest hope of entering the Five Great Academies in the future."
"At this moment, I believe he's preparing to break through to the Spiritual Wheel Realm…"
Those words made Liu Bai raise his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn't expected his second brother's cultivation to be progressing even faster than in the original story. If that was the case, and with his help and pills, Mu Bai might even condense his Divine Soul within half a year.
"Let's go. We'll go see him."
Soon, the three of them arrived at the small courtyard where Liu Mu Bai was cultivating.
Because he was about to break through, Liu Mu Bai had not gone to the crowded cultivation hall but had instead chosen to cultivate within his own residence.
As Liu Bai and the others approached the courtyard, they could already sense the swiftly flowing Spiritual Energy within the room.
However, Liu Bai frowned slightly. Judging from Mu Bai's current absorption speed, this breakthrough would likely take another three to five days.
After thinking for a moment, Liu Bai took out a pill. With a gentle turn of his palm, Spiritual Energy surged and transformed the pill into a cluster of pure medicinal power. Under his control, that energy silently merged into the body of Liu Mu Bai within the room.
The sight left Instructor Xi utterly stunned.
After all, during a breakthrough, even the slightest interference from an external force could lead to disastrous consequences. Even he would never dare to interfere so casually.
Yet Liu Bai had effortlessly injected medicinal power into the body of someone in the midst of cultivation without causing any disturbance. His control over his own Spiritual Energy and the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi had reached an unimaginable level.
"Could it be that this boy has already stepped into the Three Heaven's Realm?" Xi thought in shock.
Only a powerhouse who had merged body and spirit with Heaven and Earth could achieve such meticulous control over the surrounding Spiritual Energy.
But Liu Bai had only entered the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy a year ago. Was this progress not far too fast?
Inside the room, Liu Mu Bai, who had been slowly absorbing Spiritual Energy, suddenly felt a torrent of energy surge through his meridians. It burst forth uncontrollably, flooding his body.
Feeling the pain spreading through his meridians, he no longer hesitated and immediately began circulating his cultivation art, refining that majestic Spiritual Energy bit by bit, channeling it continuously into his Spiritual Sea.
"The Flame Sun Art, huh? So this kid chose to cultivate this art too."
Upon recognizing the cultivation method, Liu Bai couldn't help but smile.
At this point, he possessed many high-level cultivation arts, even Deity-grade ones, so there was no shortage of suitable techniques for his family members to practice.
Since Mu Bai had chosen the Flame Sun Art, there were two compatible arts in Liu Bai's possession.
One was the Golden Crow Explosive Flame Art, a Mid-level Spirit-grade cultivation art he had once practiced himself. The other was one of the two High-Level Spirit-grade techniques he had obtained from the Emerald Serenity Palace: the Dark Yin Netherflame Art.
The two arts complemented each other—one cultivated the blazing fire of pure yang, the other the chilling fire of pure yin. However, unless Liu Mu Bai could obtain an Ancient Golden Crow's Spiritual Essence upon reaching the Divine Soul Realm, Liu Bai did not wish for him to practice the Golden Crow Explosive Flame Art.
After all, compared to the latter, the Dark Yin Netherflame Art was of a higher grade.
Moreover, Liu Bai still possessed a Heaven and Earth Rare Flame known as the Devouring Flame. This too was an Yin Flame, one with formidable power. If Liu Mu Bai could obtain it, nurturing him into a high-level Sovereign would not be difficult.
With such a powerhouse guarding the Liu Clan, and with the protection of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, Liu Bai would no longer need to worry about home and could freely roam the world.
At present, aside from the family patriarch, the only true pillar worth cultivating was Liu Mu Bai. The others—Liu Qingtian and his brothers, as well as Liu Yang—already had their limits set. At best, they might break through to the Sovereign Realm in a decade or two, which would already be considered impressive.
While Liu Bai was lost in thought, Liu Mu Bai inside the room had reached a critical juncture.
With the immense flow of energy pouring into him, his breakthrough was now inevitable. Within his Dantian, all the Spiritual Energy had condensed into a tightly packed sphere about the size of a fist. That sphere continued to compress.
The process lasted for about ten minutes. The fist-sized sphere gradually shrank to the size of an egg before the compression finally ceased.
Sensing the transformation within his Spiritual Sea, Liu Mu Bai sent his consciousness inward and saw that the previous energy sphere had vanished. In its place floated a scarlet Spiritual Energy Light Wheel, slowly rotating within his Spiritual Sea.
Although the light wheel was much smaller than the original energy sphere, Liu Mu Bai could clearly feel how vast and dense the energy within it was.
At that moment, an uncontrollable excitement filled his heart. Clenching his fists tightly, he murmured to himself, "Finally, I've taken another step closer to Big Brother!"
Outside, hearing those words, the corner of Liu Bai's lips curved upward. It seemed that part of Mu Bai's rapid progress was due to his influence after all.
"Alright, since you've broken through, come out already. How long do you plan to keep us waiting out here?"
The familiar voice echoed in Liu Mu Bai's ears, stunning him completely.
"Big Brother? Am I hearing things?"
He quickly opened the door and stepped outside. When he saw the three figures standing there, he finally came to his senses.
"Big Brother?! It's really you!"
"I knew it! That mysterious power earlier must have been from you, right?"
Liu Bai nodded and gestured for his younger brother to come over.
"Pack up your things. You're coming back with me for a while."
Although he didn't understand the reason, Liu Mu Bai obediently nodded and hurried back into his room.
"What's going on?" Instructor Xi asked with confusion.
Packing up… Was he not planning to return to the Northern Spiritual Academy?
Liu Bai smiled faintly. "To be honest, Instructor Xi, it might not be long before the Liu Clan leaves the Northern Spiritual Realm altogether."
...
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