137: The foundation for becoming a god!

A night passed.

Breath of Frost had reached the Transcendent stage, but there was still a long road ahead to reach Perfection.

The Smart Terminal flickered, and a message caught Zhang Sheng's eye.

“Heh, fame brings trouble,” Zhang Sheng shook his head helplessly.

Usually, old friends and classmates would contact him occasionally, either to reminisce or because they had other motives.

Zhang Sheng had always only offered a bit of care regarding cultivation resources, ignoring everything else.

“Someone actually dares to set their sights on my father!”

“Zhang Sheng,” Hou Wu's voice came through the communicator,

“Someone has been indirectly approaching your father's old friends, trying to influence him to endorse a guy running for the Federal Parliament. Their intentions aren't pure; how do you want to handle it?”

“Dean Hou,” Zhang Sheng's tone was calm and steady, yet carried an unquestionable power,

“My family is strictly forbidden from interfering in the affairs of the Earth Co-governance Federation. Any politician, whether directly or indirectly contacting my family, is on the prohibited list. Do you understand?”

“Understood! This is the initial candidate list for the Heavenly Dao Academy, please take a look.”

...Zhang Sheng immediately called his parents and gave them strict instructions to maintain a clear boundary with the Federation's management.

At the same time, he declined the proposal to serve as the Dean of the Heavenly Dao Academy.

Interfering in the Federation's governance? That was not his wish.

What he needed was for the Federation to be at his disposal when necessary.

To achieve this, it could be said to be difficult yet easy, easy yet difficult—it was all about strength.

If he were distracted by these mundane affairs and delayed his cultivation, that would be the true loss.

In the end, Zhang Sheng took on the title of “Honorary Dean of the Heavenly Dao Academy.”

The position of Dean would be held by three election winners on a rotating basis.

Whether Hou Wu had been sent by someone to test him or if there was another deep meaning, Zhang Sheng didn't care at all.

What his heart was set on was the magnificent and vast Tianxing Continent after the Civilization Assessment!

On this day, within the borders of Huaxia, two Secret Realms descended one after another.

Zhang Sheng's Mountain-Shattering Three Extremes Spear technique was also drawing closer to Perfected State.

The extremity of power—Mountain Collapse!

The extremity of speed—Rainbow Piercer!

The extremity of momentum—City Crusher!

The True Intent of the three extremes gradually became harmonious, their transitions and flow becoming increasingly skilled and effortless.

And so, day after day passed.

During the day, he suppressed Secret Realms, refined the Secret Realm's Spiritual Qi, and tempered his spear techniques.

At night, he immersed himself in the cultivation of Breath of Frost.

In a flash, four days had passed.

Breath of Frost finally reached the Perfected State, capable of being unleashed with a single thought!

Its power and scale far exceeded Freeze by a hundred times, becoming another of Zhang Sheng's lethal trump cards!

Even more pleasing was that within the Qi Sea Dantian, the spirit suns were once again abundant.

Nearly five thousand brilliant spirit suns floated within, each containing a terrifying 9.99 million points of Spiritual Power!

In a sense, he had reached Perfection in the Qi Refining cultivation of the Divine Breath Realm.

If he could obtain the method to condense a True Embryo, the True Fetus Realm would be just around the corner.

However,

The Body Refining technique, Nine Tribulations Secret Codex, had only progressed to the Fourth Annihilation of the Qi Sea Realm!

“Just what kind of Heaven-Defying technique is this!” The shock in Zhang Sheng's heart grew stronger.

At this moment, he was about to begin the cultivation of the Fifth Annihilation!

A night passed,

And the space of the three palaces expanded by another fifth!

Starting from the first cycle of life and death, every time a cycle was completed, the space would double.

Now that the Fifth Annihilation was complete, the space was more than five times its original size.

His life level had also leaped to 60 times the basic level!

Physique, strength, speed, reaction... all physical attributes exploded across the board!

This also meant that in his Qi Refining level of the Divine Breath Realm, there was still room to rise even further!

The earth-shaking changes within Zhang Sheng's body disturbed the entity within the star ring.

“Zhang Sheng,” Xiao Ling's voice carried a hint of laziness, yet it also revealed solemnity,

“As a Clone of the myriad worlds pearl's artifact spirit, I shouldn't say much.”

“But that adult set up the Civilization Assessment not only to clear out the Universe's 'trash'—like the bacteria breeding in the dark corners of your Earth—but more importantly, to select truly outstanding beings.”

“From that perspective, giving you a proper reminder is not out of line.”

“Lord Xiao Ling, please guide me!” Zhang Sheng responded respectfully.

“Little fellow,” Xiao Ling's tone carried the distant air of a Senior, “Those who walk the path of Spiritual Qi cultivation and break through to the True Fetus Realm,”

“Need to polish their essence, Qi, and spirit to the point where 'no further progress is possible' before condensing the True Embryo. This path is not wrong.”

“However, the Great Dao is simple; all things seek coordination and balance. The True Embryo, also known as the Divine Embryo, is a Cultivator's 'Foundation of Godhood'! It similarly demands coordination and balance!”

“'Foundation of Godhood'! Do you understand the weight of these words?”

“Zhang Sheng, I do not know the extent of your Talent, but I can perceive that your current Mental Energy is quite lacking compared to that vast Spiritual Qi and surging blood vitality.”

“If you condense a Divine Embryo in this unbalanced state, you will surely leave a fatal weakness that will become a shackle on your future path to ascending to the God Realm!”

“This lord thinks well enough of you and doesn't want you to stop before the God Realm.”

“I've said my piece. I'm sleeping now.”

Coordination of essence, Qi, and spirit! The path to godhood!

“I have clearly cultivated the Profound Pearl Thought Knotting Art and the Spirit Condensing Art to the Perfected State, yet it's still not enough!” Zhang Sheng felt a chill in his heart.

“It only means that the quality of these two second-tier Spirit Refining techniques is too low, far inferior to the Nine Tribulations Secret Codex and the Primordial Chaos Heavenly Art!”

“If ordinary Cultivators all practiced the Primordial Chaos Heavenly Art, wouldn't their Breakthrough to the True Fetus Realm be destined to be 'one long and two short,' where only Qi Refining is prominent while spirit and blood vitality are both shortcomings?”

The primary solution was to find a top-tier Spirit Refining method on the same level as the Primordial Chaos Heavenly Art.

Secondly, it was to win by quantity!

Cultivating multiple Spirit Refining techniques simultaneously, using their strengths to make up for weaknesses, integrating them, and forcibly elevating Mental Energy.

The Star Bridge Guidance he had obtained previously from sweeping the global Blue-level Secret Realms was a second-tier Spirit Refining technique.

Zhang Sheng decided to take both approaches!

That day, deep within a Secret Realm.

Zhang Sheng thrust his spear, and a Divine Breath Realm Beast died instantly.

In an instant, a burst of smooth and unobstructed realization rushed into his mind!

He held the long spear and slowly raised it above his head.

His eyes were as calm as an abyss, yet his body exuded a terrifying Aura sufficient to crush a city and repel a thousand-man army!

“Three Extremes... Return to One! Break!”

The spear thrust out!

There was no violence of Mountain Collapse, no extreme speed of Rainbow Piercer, nor the vast momentum of City Crusher.

This single thrust held only a natural, overwhelming will of destruction!

The spear shaft hummed, transforming into a roaring golden dragon!

Where the spear tip pointed, the air was compressed and torn layer by layer, letting out a thunderous boom that shook the clouds!

A condensed, blood-colored spear Qi burst forth, instantly crossing a thousand meters and violently piercing through the body of a towering mountain in the distance!

“BOOM—!!!”

The delayed roar shook the earth. The terrifying sight left the Cultivators who witnessed it from afar pale with shock, standing frozen in place!

With one spear thrust, power, speed, and momentum were perfectly integrated, no longer distinguishable from one another!

“Skill: Mountain-Shattering Three Extremes Spear · Second Tier (Perfected State)”

However, Zhang Sheng keenly noticed that the dragon horn crushing gold spear in his hand was transmitting vibrations and wails of being overburdened.

“In the end, it's just a second-tier Low Grade Spiritual Artifact...” A flicker of regret passed through Zhang Sheng's eyes,

“It can no longer withstand the power of my full-strength strike.”