The spring breeze gently brushed by, willows swaying gracefully.
On an open field surrounded by clear water, hundreds of youths were cultivating amidst the breeze.
Each of them bore solemn expressions, eyes half-closed in focus. Their breathing followed a steady rhythm, and with each breath, a faint, nearly imperceptible glow flickered around their bodies, as if absorbing some kind of mysterious energy.
This place was the West Courtyard of the Northern Spiritual Academy, located in the Northern Spiritual Realm—one of the most coveted cultivation grounds for countless youths across the region. However, only those with talent or powerful backgrounds had the privilege of being admitted.
At the front of the open space, atop a high platform built from blue stone, a lone figure sat quietly in a meditative posture. His hands were clasped before him, fingers interlocked, eyes tightly shut clearly already immersed in a deep cultivation state.
The figure appeared to be a youth as well, with tousled black short hair and a slightly thin, still immature face that gave off a sharp-edged feeling.
At this moment, faint glimmers of light were visibly radiating around his body. Beneath the glow, it seemed as though a profound energy was continuously surging into his form.
Such fluctuations naturally attracted the attention of the nearby cultivators, who soon opened their eyes and turned their gazes toward the figure atop the stone platform.
"Whoa, Liu Bai actually broke through to the Spiritual Movement Realm? That's amazing!"
Some youths immediately revealed envy upon seeing the hazy glow around him.
"Hmph, what's so great about that? If I had a Domain Lord as a father too, I'd have reached the Spiritual Movement Realm even earlier…"
One of them clearly wasn't convinced.
"Shut your mouth! If he hears you, you'll be in real trouble!"
Ah, the pride and rebelliousness of youth.
Still, no matter how unwilling they were to admit it, none of the ordinary students dared provoke someone with such a massive backing. In a place like this, one could vanish without a trace for crossing the wrong person.
Liu Bai naturally heard their murmurs below but didn't bother responding.
It had been a year since he transmigrated to this world. For the past year, he had cultivated diligently without a single day of rest. And now, he had finally stepped into the Spiritual Movement Realm.
Although reaching Spiritual Movement at age fifteen might sound mediocre, within the Northern Spiritual Academy, it already placed him among the talented elite.
(Note: Since there's no exact mention of Mu Chen's age in the original work, this story sets him as sixteen at the start of the plot, with him entering the Spirit Road at fourteen. The original plot begins with Mu Chen just having reached the Spiritual Movement Realm.)
"Ding! Detection complete. Player has achieved Qi Introduction. System activation successful!"
A mechanical voice suddenly echoed in Liu Bai's mind, making his body tremble slightly.
"The system… finally here, huh?"
"Late, but better than never."
After going through transmigration, the appearance of a system wasn't particularly shocking anymore but Liu Bai was still excited.
After all, there's a world of difference between a transmigrator with a cheat and one without.
"Open system!"
Steadying his thoughts, Liu Bai commanded inwardly.
In the next moment, a translucent blue screen appeared before his eyes. After glancing around to make sure the others couldn't see it, Liu Bai shifted his attention to the display.
Player: Liu Bai
Realm: Spiritual Movement Realm
Spiritual Pulse: None
Cultivation Method: None
Skills:
Mortal-grade High-tier "Windpiercing Finger" (Minor Mastery 0/50)
EXP: 0
A very simple stat panel. Clearly, this was a cheat system based on leveling up through combat simple and practical.
Since this was the Great Thousand World, Liu Bai understood that one couldn't cultivate techniques before reaching the Spiritual Movement Realm and completing the Qi Introduction phase. Hence, the "Cultivation Method" field showed "None."
As for "Skills," that likely encompassed all techniques—spiritual arts, divine abilities, or even higher-tier divine powers.
What annoyed Liu Bai the most, however, was the glaring "No Spiritual Pulse" listed under Spiritual Pulse.
He was the eldest son of Liu Qingtian, Domain Lord of the Liu Domain in the Northern Spiritual Realm none other than the older brother of Liu Mubai, one of Mu Chen's main early rivals in the original story. A brand-new character.
But in his inherited memories, both Liu Mubai and their younger brother Liu Yang had Spiritual Pulse, even if they were only low-grade Human Pulses!
Spiritual Pulses were incredibly important during the early stages of cultivation especially before one could use cultivation methods. They improved one's ability to sense spiritual energy and refine the body.
Even after reaching the Spiritual Movement Realm, Spiritual Pulse still greatly enhanced one's cultivation speed and could boost combat power in critical moments. They were a highly valuable innate talent.
Although their usefulness diminished with higher realms, Liu Bai knew from the original story that once a cultivator reached the Heavenly Sovereign Realm, Spiritual Pulse became important again.
"I remember that to perfect one's spiritual body at the Heavenly Sovereign Realm, one must possess a Spiritual Pulse…"
In the Great Thousand World, those without Spiritual Pulse or with only low-grade ones almost never reached the Heavenly Sovereign Realm. But Liu Bai was different.
With his cheat system, he might just defy that fate. Still, if he lacked a Spiritual Pulse, it would hold him back when it truly mattered.
Liu Bai furrowed his brow. This would be a problem he had to solve in the future.
"For now, though, I need to choose a suitable cultivation method and figure out how to earn experience."
With that, he opened his eyes and stood up.
His movement instantly silenced the whispering students around him. All of them hurriedly shut their eyes again, pretending to be diligently cultivating.
Of course, not all of them acted that way. A few eager youths brightened up and rushed over.
"Brother Liu Bai, did you really reach the Spiritual Movement Realm?" a well-dressed youth asked excitedly.
Liu Bai gave a calm nod. "Mm. Just broke through."
"Haha! I knew it! Brother Liu Bai is definitely going to be the first from our class to enter the Heavenly Tier! Those guys from the East Courtyard are gonna eat their words I can't wait to rub this in their faces!"
The youth looked more excited than if he had broken through himself.
As the Young Lord of the Liu Domain, even though Liu Bai didn't enjoy mingling with these immature youths, plenty of people still flocked to him, following his lead.
He didn't bother chasing them away—just let them be.
The Northern Spiritual Realm was one of countless zones on the Hundred Spirit Continent. Within it, the Northern Spiritual Realm was considered the weakest.
The region was divided into nine domains. The Liu Domain, where Liu Bai resided, and the Mu Domain, where Mu Chen came from, were two of them.
The Mu Domain was newly established, while the Liu Domain had been passed down for decades since the previous Domain Lord, Liu Jingshan. It was one of the oldest and strongest of the nine.
Because of this, the Liu Domain was recognized as the most powerful. The former Domain Lord, Liu Jingshan, had even reached the peak of the Divine Soul Realm, making him the strongest expert among the nine Domain Lords.
Newer domains like the Mu or Tang Domains had weaker leaders, often in the early or middle stages of the Divine Soul Realm, far below Liu Jingshan.
In the original story, Mu Chen was the same age as Liu Bai's third brother, Liu Yang, and younger than his second brother Liu Mubai.
Currently, Liu Mubai was only fourteen and had just entered the Northern Spiritual Academy, while Mu Chen was no older than twelve or thirteen. That meant the original plotline wouldn't begin for at least another two or three years.
"Soon, that brat Mu Chen will probably be chosen to enter the Spirit Road…"
Liu Bai silently calculated the timeline.
When the main story began, the Spirit Road had already ended. Each cycle of the Spirit Road lasted two years. Mu Chen had participated for one year before being expelled and returned to the Academy. One year later, the plot began when he reached the Spiritual Movement Realm.
After a few polite exchanges, Liu Bai walked toward the freshman area.
Because of their younger age, the freshmen were still receiving guidance from the institute's instructors, unlike the older students who cultivated independently.
"Master Xi!"
Seeing a middle-aged man correcting a student's posture, Liu Bai greeted him with a respectful bow.
This instructor, known as Master Xi, was a teacher of the West Courtyard. He had a good relationship with the Liu Domain and was kind to Liu Bai and his brothers in both the original story and the current reality.
"Oh? Liu Bai? What is it—did you run into a problem with your cultivation?" Master Xi asked with a smile.
Liu Bai shook his head. "No. I've broken through to the Spiritual Movement Realm, so I came to request leave to return to the Liu Domain."
Master Xi's expression shifted in surprise. He quickly stepped forward, placing his hand against Liu Bai's. A gentle spiritual energy surged into Liu Bai's body.
Sensing the calm flow of spiritual power within, joy lit up Master Xi's face.
"You really did it!"
"Excellent… You didn't disappoint me at all!"
As the Young Lord of the Liu Domain, Liu Bai had access to resources far beyond most. Even his own instructor couldn't always compare.
With such backing, as long as one wasn't completely talentless, their cultivation speed was bound to be swift. That was why instructors like Master Xi so favored students from powerful factions.
And among the nine domains, the Liu Domain stood above all others. Naturally, Liu Bai received special attention.
"You're returning to choose your cultivation method, right? Good, good. With the Liu Domain's heritage, they'll definitely have something suitable for you. As your instructor, I can't help you much there, so I fully approve your leave."
It wasn't that the Northern Spiritual Academy lacked heritage—just that its top-tier methods were restricted to a select few and not open to ordinary students. Even instructors had no authority over that.
That's why most students from powerful domains relied on their clans for suitable methods.
But the reason why all the major domains—Liu, Mu, Tang, and the rest—sent their children to this Academy was because of the Northern Spiritual Academy's control over the admission slots for the Five Great Academies…
Even those with high status in the Northern Spiritual Realm paled in comparison to those prestigious academies.
While they spoke, a youthful figure approached.
"Big Brother, are you going back to the Liu Domain?"
Liu Bai turned to see a boy a full head shorter. With a smile, he replied, "Yeah. Want to come along, Mubai?"
Liu Mubai, though still a bit immature, already showed signs of extraordinary talent—even more so than Liu Bai himself.
Especially after joining the Academy and being tested as a Grade Two Human Pulse wielder, he had caused quite a stir.
Liu Mubai shook his head. "No, not yet. You've already reached Spiritual Movement Realm, but I'm still at mid-stage Energy Sensing Realm. I want to break through and catch up to you as soon as I can!"
Clearly, the boy had a strong sense of pride. And after learning he possessed a Grade Two Pulse, his confidence had grown dramatically.
He even dreamed of surpassing his older brother.
Too bad, little brother… that might've been possible before. But now? Let's just hope you're not too discouraged in the future.
"Good. You've got ambition!"
Liu Bai patted his brother's shoulder with a smile. "Keep working hard—I've got high hopes for you."
He was, after all, his real younger brother in this life. A bit of encouragement was necessary. Kids this age didn't yet understand how big the gap was between a normal cultivator and one with a system cheat.
After bidding farewell to his brother and instructor, Liu Bai returned to the Liu Domain.
Though the Liu Domain was far from the Academy, with teleportation arrays, the journey took only an instant.
One had to admit—the Great Thousand World was truly advanced. Even in a remote backwater like the Northern Spiritual Realm, where the strongest were only at the Divine Soul Realm, teleportation arrays were already in use.
But then again, the land was just that vast.
The Liu Domain alone was the size of Liu Bai's entire home country in his previous life—and it was only one of nine domains in the Northern Spiritual Realm.
And that was only a tiny part of the Hundred Spirit Continent, not to mention the greater Hundred Spirit Heaven above…
With such thoughts in mind, Liu Bai stepped out of the Liu Domain's teleportation array.
Instantly, a wave of noise surged into his ears.
He had arrived at Liu City, the main city of the Liu Domain—one of the grandest and most bustling cities in the entire Northern Spiritual Realm.
The moment Liu Bai emerged, the nearby guards immediately spotted him. Surprise and joy filled their faces as they rushed forward and dropped to their knees.
"Greetings, Young Master!"
"Young Master has returned! Quickly, inform the Domain Lord!"