At the rear cliff of Qingyun Dao Sect, Ye Ping was seated.

This time, in the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet, he had gained a lot of merit even though there were no tangible benefits as he hadn’t comprehended the Sword Dao yet at this point.

However, he had gained plenty of benefits overall.

The Five-Grudge Ancient Emerald Gourd was an example.

The Dharma artifacts of the world of immortal cultivation were divided into five qualities, namely Dharma artifacts, spiritual artifacts, ancient artifacts, Dao artifacts, and immortal artifacts.

Ancient artifacts could also be called ancient treasures, or treasure artifacts, but it generally meant the treasure of Dharma artifacts.

The Five-Grudge Ancient Emerald Gourd was actually a first-grade treasure artifact which could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth before turning it into connate spiritual energy, which would help with speeding up cultivation.

However, after the Fiendcelestial Cult obtained it, they turned it into a heretical weapon and used it to absorb resentful spirits to form the Five-Grudge Ancient Poison. Now that it was in Ye Ping’s hands, it could exert its effects. Besides, it was also a storage Dharma treasure.

It happened that Ye Ping didn’t have any storage Dharma treasures, so the emerald gourd was just right for him.

He did not study the emerald gourd for the time being and decided to put it aside and let it absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for now. After the absorption was almost done, he would refine the innate spiritual energy in it.

What he had to do immediately was to break through his realm.

Yes, he had to break through his realm.

This trip to Qingzhou had made Ye Ping realize his shortcomings in three aspects.

Firstly, he lacked knowledge!

He was clueless about a lot of things and being ignorant when faced with problems would definitely do more harm than good.

However, there were very few books in Qingyun Dao Sect, and at best, there was a Qingyun Dao Sect record. Hence, if he had the opportunity in the future, he would have to read plenty of books and get a better understanding of everything. Even if he didn’t understand it well, he would at least not be clueless about everything.

Secondly, his realm was not high enough!

For example, when he headed back to Qingzhou, he depleted almost all the Dharmic powers in his body. Fortunately, the Fiendcelestial Cult disciples in Qingzhou were few in number and they were not that strong either. If he encountered true powerhouses or got outnumbered by them, he would be in hot soup.

Thirdly, he lacked a strong Dao Heart!

When it came to unexpected situations, he would be completely indecisive and the lack of Su Changyu’s guidance caused him to end up getting too busy and wasting too much time.

Hence, before going down the mountain next time, he decided that he had to be firm about his Dao Heart, lest he was hesitant again.

Those were the flaws that Ye Ping had found after reflecting on himself.

The first and third points could be improved on slowly. After all, he had now returned to the sect and wouldn’t be going down the mountain within a short period of time. Hence, he had ample time.

As for the second flaw, it was what Ye Ping wanted to do now.

The ancient emerald gourd contained millions of resentful spirits while his body contained countless power of merit which had even transformed into a merit golden lotus that symbolized supreme merit.

With so much merit, Ye Ping intended to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm in one go.

Yes, Ye Ping wanted to step into the Foundation Establishment realm earlier.

That would allow him to protect himself better if he went down the mountain again.

At the thought of this, he began to cultivate.

In an instant, the merits turned into an endless source of spiritual energy and with the spurring of Ye Ping’s willpower, the merit in his body turned into a river that impacted his spirit vein.

Due to the massive amount of merit, Ye Ping once again broke through.

The eleventh time.

The twelfth time.

The thirteenth time…

Time passed, bit by bit.

Two hours.

Six hours.

Twelve hours.

Twenty-four hours.

Two days.

Three days.

Five days.

Seven days.

In the rear cliff, Ye Ping meditated for seven days in a row. Some people from the sect had come over to take a look, but when they discovered that Ye Ping was cultivating, they decided not to disturb him.

After all, it was normal for cultivators to meditate for three to five days, and sometimes they might even meditate for a few months or even a few years.

Within seven days, Ye Ping had completed it 35 times.

However, as he advanced, the amount of spiritual energy he needed became more and more exaggerated.

Previously, he could break through with hundreds of merit, but now, he would not be able to break through his realm even with thousands or tens of thousands of merit.

If not for the fact that he had expiated millions of resentful spirits, Ye Ping really did not want to break through the current realm.

Finally, on the tenth day, when the sun rose, Ye Ping officially started the 36th re-cultivation.

One-third of the power of merit in his body was fully consumed.

However, he could still go for the final time.

Ye Ping did not rest and instead continued to cultivate.

He wanted to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm.

No matter what, he had to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm.

At this moment, in a grand and majestic palace in the capital of Jin Nation.

It was the Jin Nation Academy.

In the capital, apart from the palaces of the royals, none other places could be called palaces no matter how luxurious and opulent they were.

However, the Jin Nation Academy could be called a palace, because it was the place that produced the powerhouses of Jin Nation. Not every genius came from the Jin Nation Academy, but those from Jin Nation who could really be considered famous were basically from the Jin Nation Academy.

In the Jin Nation Academy, there were countless secret manuals, as well as many wealthy and powerful people. There were also many schools, refinement tools, pills, array formations, astrological items, mystic techniques, and all sorts of things in the Jin Nation Academy.

Since the king of Jin Nation ordered for the Jin Nation Academy to be opened in advance ten days ago, countless geniuses of the 33 states of the entire Jin Nation flocked to the Jin Nation Academy to attend the assessment.

The disciples of all major sects, including hidden sects, were each displaying their Mystical Abilities, all of whom were undoubtedly geniuses.

It was much livelier than the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet.

The Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet was a state sword trial and the champions of the previous Sword Dao Meets had at most only condensed the Four Thunder sword momentum. However, in the Jin Nation Academy, the person with the worst aptitude had abilities that were far beyond just having condensed the Four Thunder sword momentum.

Under the great hall of the Jin Nation Academy, a young man clad in purple was standing with his hands by his side as he watched the hundreds of people outside the hall in silence.

There was another man standing behind him with a book in hand.

“Senior Brother, this time, the Jin Nation Academy opened in advance and there are a total of 13,672 applicants. After the first round, we eliminated 12,600 candidates, followed by 542 people in the second round, and then 130 candidates in the third round. At last, a total of 400 candidates have passed the test.”

“However, the 12 schools have made exceptions and accepted 32 more people. As of now, there are 432 newly matriculated students. Most of them belong to the State of Li.”

“They’re outside the hall now.”

The man behind him spoke seriously while holding the booklet in hand.

“432? That’s more than double the number of students in the previous cohort. It seems that they are all here for the Ten Nations Academy.”

The man in purple had an extraordinary cultivation level, which was at the Perfected Foundation Establishment realm. However, he was full of vigor and was definitely not an ordinary Foundation Establishment realm cultivator.

“Maybe, but the strongest of them has an extraordinary competency. He reached the Perfected Foundation Establishment realm at the age of sixteen, and he seems to cultivate the Dragon Elephant cultivation method.”

He had no interest in the people’s agenda for coming to the Jin Nation Academy.

“Dragon Elephant cultivation method? Oh, right, that Qingzhou… what’s his name? Ye Ping, right, Ye Ping, is he here?”

The man in purple continued to ask.

“Ye Ping? Qingzhou? I checked, no one in the whole Qingzhou passed.”

The latter checked the booklet.

“Hah, he’s just someone who relied on his uncle to create clout. I doubt he’d dare to come forth.”

The man in purple sneered.

Immediately afterwards, he walked out of the hall and stared at the 432 people outside with an intense gaze.