Wang was shocked to hear the words about the next level mastery of the sword. For so long, he had been on the 'peak' of swordsmanship and thought of improvement for so long.

He wanted to improve his sword but something was missing. Although he thought of carnage and blood that leads to power was his path. Wang Ling realized that he was wrong. It wasn't that simple.

With this realization, Wang Ling realized that his path of the past was wrong and only realized his last realization before he died.

He once uttered about having his sword run through heavens. He wanted to destroy heavens itself, the apex that was higher than any realm.

He wanted to stand on top of everything and have his sword dominate the heavens. This was his path. But he can't suddenly improve his sword mastery all of a sudden. He was missing a component that can give him the final push towards the path of the sword.

That was a proper sword that will let him feel a connection with himself. A natal weapon was what he was missing. Although he now knew about the path he wants to pursue. Wang Ling was unsure of what kind of sword that shall reflect his path and his self.

But he already has the blueprint that will let him create the sword that will help him break through the barrier of the fifth level mastery.

The blueprint in his mind was a guide. It listed the materials that will let him create a powerful sword, however, he didn't want to completely follow that guide. It may be a guide that resulted from his enlightenment, but it was still at the end shallow as his knowledge was not so deep in terms of blacksmithing.

It was just a guide that came from his limited knowledge. His knowledge of the current realm was limited. What if the materials in his head could be replaced by new materials that had been discovered in this era?

What if he gains an in-depth understanding of other materials? What will happen if he learns more things? Will it cause his future natal weapon to improve? With this in mind, Wang Ling began thirsting for knowledge.

He wanted to learn more, he wanted to see more, to experience more things that he had yet to experience in both lifetimes. His knowledge was indeed something worthy of applause.

But he felt that he was still narrow-minded in mos scenarios and other fields. Wang Ling was now thirsting for the unknown.

With that thirst, Wang Ling looked at Bai Xue and started questioning him about many things. Bai Xue was thought that it was a bother, but Wang Ling promised him a 70 percent share on the resources they will get after they kill those at the peak of the mountain. Bai Xue began explaining things as if she was his master soon after.

"The Sword Divinity is not just a name but after you reach this point. You will experience a sudden surge in strength and capabilities. It is comparable to [Mandates], but not the same…"

"The Heaven Realm is ruled by many powers and these powers have different legacies that had existed for millions of years. There are also a lot of old fogeys that had lived for an unimaginable amount of time over there…"

"Oh, you want to know about ores? I am not knowledgeable about them, but there was an ore that was useful for smithing. It was called a [Dragon Ore], it was an ore that was considered as the favorite offering of many divine blacksmiths…"

Their discussion was carried out with the lowest volume possible. No one managed to hear their conversation. However, the duo was still very much aware of their surroundings.

The flow of qi was observed by the two of them without missing anything out. As they were talking, the denseness of the qi around them plummeted. It was the sign that a high-level spirit plant was maturing.

With that, the two of them looked over towards the mountain and saw jade light exploding out of the peak. They looked at each other and nodded their heads. The discussion will have to wait.

Bai Xue hopped over to Wang Ling's shoulders and Wang Ling disappeared from that place.

=====

Atop the mountain, ten people considered as the leading people of the third examination area gathered. They were all looking at the jade light that was in front of them with anxiousness.

However, a number of these examinees were much more cautious towards the three strongest people in this place. Amongst the examinees that stood at the top. Being a nascent soul stage cultivator was a must.

Not only that but you must at least be at pinnacle-level-4 nascent soul stage. Those weaker than that were all trashes that have mediocre talents.

Although they are considered geniuses, they are still far weaker than these top examinees.

However, three people stand on top of these geniuses. These examinees were not just level-4 nascent soul cultivators but already reached level-5.

These kinds of people were true geniuses that stand atop everyone. They were all only 17 years of age making them extremely talented individuals. Even the oldest of these three was only 18 years old.

These three consequently belonged to the three races that entered the examination area. They can be considered as the representative of humans, beastmen, and elves.

What a coincidence it was. For three different races to meet here, even each having a representative for the title of strongest. It was such a rare occurrence.

However, someone who was trying to keep a low profile was currently in the shadows of the other geniuses. Zhan Tian, the rising genius of the Red Dragon Academy that was located in Blazing Wing Continent was sneering at everyone present.

He was also considered as one of the strongest people in this examination grounds as he was already a pinnacle-level-4 nascent soul cultivator at the young age of 16. He was a young genius who was currently experiencing an abrupt meteoric rise, thanks to the awakening of his bloodline.

Hailed as someone with the fastest cultivation speed from the Red Dragon Academy. Zhang Tian's cultivation rose from the sky-root stage into the nascent soul stage in just a single year.

His future was uncertain and limitless. Now, he entered Thundergod Academy in the hopes rising to become the strongest of them all.

[These guys are not going to get in my way.] He will get the Regal Jade Lotus and would not let it fall on the hands of anyone and he will reach a new level of strength soon enough. Zhang Tian will not let anyone get in his way.

As his mind was preparing to take the Regal Jade Lotus. The jade light that was already lustrous became even brighter.

The Regal Jade Lotus's jade light was starting to change. From jade, it was turning golden. A Regal Jade Lotus was something that was jade in color, however, right at this moment, it was changing.

That only means one thing, it was mutating. From a Regal Jade Lotus, it was becoming an even more important spirit plant known as the Golden Lotus King. It was a pseudo-grade-4 spirit plant coveted by many.

This treasure was being eyed with greedy gazes by everyone present. They couldn't believe that such a thing would appear on the day of the examination.

Zhang Tian smiled as he realized it was a Golden Lotus King. This Golden Lotus King was what he needed the most right now.

As the spirit qi of the world was sucked in by the Golden Lotus King. Zhang Tian prepared himself. He was 500-meters away from where the Golden Lotus King was located.

The three strongest examinees were 200-meters away from the Golden Lotus King. Zhang Tian had no fear in his heart and his worries were nowhere to be found.

Then, an infinitely long 30 seconds passed and the Golden Lotus King finally finished its mutation. The thick, sweet, and intoxicating aroma of the Golden Lotus King assailed the nose of not only the ten examinees present but also the people on the foot of the mountain who managed to get a whiff of that aroma.

The three strongest examinees made their moves. They dashed forth with the intent of taking the Golden Lotus King for themselves. But their oppositions weren't going to let them do so.

A fight broke out not only with the three strongest people present but also the rest. Zhang Tian also fought an examinee who had the same cultivation as him.

The waves of spirit qi uprooted the surrounding trees and destroyed the land of the mountain. However, even with the stalemate going around him, Zhang Tian was cunningly moving forward as he fought.

He was using the momentum of his opponent's strike to send himself flying towards the direction of the Golden Lotus King. Soon, he opened a gap on his defense and the examinee he was going against made use of that time to use a powerful technique.

Zhang Tian showed a sly smile as he received that attack and use the momentum generated by that attack to have his body fly backward. As he flew backward, he managed to pass the other examinees and even with his damaged body, he twisted it around and got his right foot on the ground.

He stepped forth with all his might and used three of his qi pillars to explosively dash forward. Zhang Tian's action caught the attention of the other examinees but everyone noticed too late.

Zhang Tian showed a wide smile as he was just about to grab the Golden Lotus King.

[I got it!] He celebrated inside his head. But as he was celebrating, he felt grave danger coming for him.

He raised his head and saw an arrow made from black qi was quickly descending upon him. Zhang Tian's face turned pale as the alarms in his heart set off all at the same time.

At the moment, he only had 4 qi pillars and his energy palace that still had stored spirit qi. Zhang Tian spared nothing into using them by applying a protective barrier of spirit all over his body.

The arrow smashed his body the arrow almost pierced his armor of spirit qi. But his armor prevailed. The arrow was blocked and he managed to avoid it by the skin of his teeth.

He sighed as he was relieved that he lived. But now, he was unable to fight or even escape so, he prepared to take out his plaque to get out of this place But a voice rung out from above.

"You're not going anywhere."

Before he can take out his plaque, a person wearing a mask with devil horns and wearing all black clothing descended from above. The masked person crushed Zhang Tian's spine. Zhang Tian's body arced as the masked person landed on top of his back.

Zhang Tian howled in pain with his bones were crushed and his internal organs destroyed. He thought he would be able to one-up everyone else, who would have thought that someone would come attacking from above?

Zhang Tian clearly wasn't that person. In his mind, he was trying to flail around and escape, but he was already crippled and could do nothing else.

The man with the mask became irritated with Zhang Tian's screams and said coldly, "Shut up!"

The masked person decisively made use of his fist and the sound of thunder echoed around the mountain.

Bang!

That fist landed on Zhang Tian's head, crushing it to a bloody pulp. Zhang Tian was dead, there was no question to it. His meteoric rise suddenly ended in the hands of the masked person.

The masked person took out an ordinary sword and used it to chop off the hands of Zhang Tian that was wearing the storage ring. Keeping the severed hand in his own storage ring, the masked assailant murmured.

"Time to harvest some resources."