Chapter 45: Comprehending the Ice Soul Sword Canon and the Mysterious Man in Black

The reason Chu Tianchen conceived this idea was not merely to integrate into Cloud Sea Academy, but also because he understood that on this continent, strength is the ultimate truth. Time and time again, many matters cannot be accomplished by a single person alone.

Just like the Marquis Defending the Nation Manor, no matter how formidable its power was, it was ultimately ransacked by the Great Qian Dynasty.

The fundamental reason was that they lacked a faction of their own.

At this moment, although he was only at the second stage of the Channel Genesis Realm, he possessed mastery over the Six Daos, particularly the Dao of Alchemy and the Dao of Artifacts.

Alchemy and artifact crafting were undoubtedly the most lucrative professions. It would be no exaggeration to say that these two were the wealthiest professions on this continent.

For instance, upon joining any of the eight major sects of Cloud Sea Academy, one was required to pay a monthly tribute of Genesis Stones to the sect.

To call it joining a sect was, in plain terms, nothing more than seeking a powerful backer within Cloud Sea Academy, simply paying a monthly protection fee.

Therefore, he had never entertained the notion of joining any existing faction.

Now, with Mu Ran’s Alchemy Hall at his disposal, establishing the Chu Sect was merely a matter of time.

Moreover, Chu Tianchen was confident that he could forge a faction powerful enough to rival the Great Qian Dynasty.

Relying solely on his own strength to oppose the Great Qian Dynasty and locate his grandfather and father was an almost impossible task.

Unless he could step into the Myall Realm, the Venerable Realm, or the Terrestrial Immortal Realm within a short span of time.

Yet, that was even more implausible.

Even though his innate talent was peerless now, no matter how formidable one's talent was, sufficient time was still required to cultivate and rise.

The Chu Sect had to be established.

His very first candidate had already been chosen, and that person was none other than Mu Ran.

Nominally, Mu Ran was still a high-ranking elder of Cloud Sea Academy, but in reality, ever since Yun Changshan became the vice-president of the academy, his status as a fourth-tier alchemist had become insignificant.

When the next leadership transition occurred at Cloud Sea Academy, there was a strong possibility he would even be driven out of the Alchemy Hall.

Thus, a pressing priority for Chu Tianchen was to seize control of the Alchemy Hall; after all, this represented a substantial source of revenue.

Should worst come to worst, they would find a way to establish another Alchemy Pagoda or Alchemy Pavilion, as the elixir business could never be severed.

At that time, if necessary, they would simply compete with the Cloud Dream Marsh Valley to see whose elixirs sold better.

Furthermore, upon creating the Chu Sect, he thought of another candidate—Tang Shisan, who was still recovering from his injuries at the Yue Lai Inn.

Tang Shisan’s background and identity were definitely not simple, especially the powerful entity hidden within his curse seal. If utilized properly, that would be an excellent cultivation resource.

Since that entity intended to seize Tang Shisan's body, Chu Tianchen would simply let Tang Shisan devour it instead. By then, Tang Shisan’s cultivation would inevitably experience a skyrocketing surge.

However, the premise was that he needed to figure out what relationship existed between the soul body within the curse seal and Tang Shisan, and whether its parasitism upon Tang Shisan was voluntary.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed and carefully sorting through his thoughts, Chu Tianchen knew that there were still many things he needed to do, and he had no time to waste.

With a flicker of his thought, Chu Tianchen circulated the Nine Dragons Heaven-Swallowing Art and began to cultivate.

Following the talent testing tonight, many people had attained sudden enlightenment under the illumination of that purple radiance, with some making breakthroughs and others awakening latent abilities.

Naturally, as the protagonist of this event, he was the greatest beneficiary.

At this moment, Chu Tianchen’s third pulse wheel was already stirring with eager anticipation.

If all went smoothly, he would be able to open his third pulse wheel tonight and reach the third stage of the Meridian Channeling Realm.

After waiting a while for Wang Teng and seeing no one return, Zhao Tengfei and Mo Xiaolang, exhausted from a full day, simply went to sleep.

An hour after they fell asleep, a terrifying surge of newborn vital energy gradually erupted from around Chu Tianchen’s body, filling the entire dormitory shortly thereafter.

In their slumber, Zhao Tengfei and Mo Xiaolang were also enveloped by a faint layer of purple newborn vital energy. Bathed in this energy, the cultivation levels of the two gradually began to climb.

The two of them fell into an even deeper and sweeter sleep.

At this moment, a layer of purple-golden silken thread once more formed over Chu Tianchen’s body, wrapping him tightly. A surging torrent of vital energy completely filled his two ten-thousand-zhang pulse wheels.

Immediately afterward, the third pulse wheel slowly gestated and emerged.

Ten zhang, a hundred zhang, a thousand zhang, ten thousand zhang...

In the span of little more than an hour, his third pulse wheel reached a width of ten thousand zhang.

Three ten-thousand-zhang pulse wheels—such a feat was exceedingly rare even when looking across the vast macrocosm, and perhaps entirely unique.

Of course, the boundless world was full of wonders, and no one could assert with absolute certainty that he was the only one.

Yet, such a foundation was truly unimaginably solid.

On the path of martial arts, every practitioner knew that the wider the pulse wheel was when opened, the higher their future achievements would be. This was akin to a foundation; once the foundation was properly laid, no matter how high one built upward, it would never collapse.

While some individuals could indeed rely on medicinal pills to forcibly elevate their cultivation, such foundations were unstable.

Moreover, upon reaching a certain threshold, their cultivation would stagnate because their martial body and foundation would no longer suffice to support further advancement. To continue cultivating by force would result in either completely severed meridians at best, or a direct explosion and death of the physical body at worst.

The breadth of the pulse wheel also symbolized the strength of one's innate talent.

Having opened his third pulse wheel, Chu Tianchen felt that his strength was several times more terrifying than before.

The purple-golden silken threads generated around his body also transformed into pure power, gradually merging into his pulse wheels.

Having cultivated for several hours, Chu Tianchen felt no fatigue whatsoever; instead, he felt even more spirited and energetic.

Looking at the soundly sleeping Zhao Tengfei and Mo Xiaolang, he could clearly sense that the strength of both men had also significantly increased.

Sharing a dormitory with him could certainly be considered their stroke of fortune.

Nevertheless, after this experience, Chu Tianchen resolved that the next time he opened a pulse wheel, he would seek out a secluded location. For now, he could not afford to expose his innate talent prematurely.

Unless circumstances left him with no other choice.

The strength of the third stage of the Meridian Channeling Realm was still somewhat too weak.

With that thought, he got up and walked toward the outer court's martial arts arena.

Meanwhile, in the inner court's female dormitory, within a luxurious single room, Ye Nishang sensed that familiar wave of newborn vital energy and abruptly opened her eyes.

"He has broken through again."

"There are at most three years left before the opening of the Cloud Sea Secret Realm."

"Can he step into the Heavenly Martial Realm within three years?"

"If he enters the Heavenly Martial Realm by then, I might consider taking him to the macrocosm."

"Leaving his talent in a place like this is far too wasteful."

"What am I even thinking about? What good would it do to take him to the macrocosm? If others found out that I was the one who brought him there, he would only face assaults from even more people."

Ye Nishang murmured softly.

As a princess, if she were to bring a man from such a minor world back with her, leaving aside how her family might treat Chu Tianchen, her numerous suitors alone could tear him to shreds.

Ultimately, a trace of sorrow surfaced in the depths of her eyes.

When Chu Tianchen arrived at the martial arts arena, it was pitch-black and completely deserted.

With a flicker of his thought, the restored *Ice Soul Sword Canon* manifested in his mind.

The Ice Soul Sword Canon was divided into five stages, though he had currently only restored the first three.

Initial Stage of the Ice Soul Sword Canon: Ice Soul Awakening!

Although he lacked a sword in hand, he could begin practicing the initial stage to awaken the Ice Soul sword qi, which was a prerequisite for practicing the intermediate stage, the Frost Radiance Slash.

In the outer court's martial arts arena, Chu Tianchen practiced continuously for four or five hours, until the sky began to grow faintly grey at dawn, before he decided to return to the dormitory for some rest.

Just at that moment, a terrifying aura suddenly swept through the void, heading directly toward his location.

That aura locked onto him.

Following that, two mysterious dark figures materialized.

"Young Miss, this person's talent is quite good. Should we take him back along with us?"

A deep, resonant voice asked.

Hearing this, Chu Tianchen's thought stirred, and the trace of Terrestrial Immortal power left behind by the Primordial Dragon Emperor within his ancient ring slowly began to converge...