97: Chapter 97 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (Forty-Five)

A night without dreams.

The next morning, as the first rays of the morning sun spilled through the window lattice into the room, Chu Shi opened his eyes right on time.

After rising and washing up, he changed into a clean and neat purple brocade robe, adjusted his collar, and straightened his hair crown in the bronze mirror.

The youth in the mirror had handsome features and a calm demeanor; his eyes held the depth of one who had experienced many lifetimes of reincarnation, yet they also concealed the sharpness of a youth.

The vicissitudes of life and a keen sharpness blended perfectly within him; not only was there no sense of dissonance, but it instead cultivated a truly captivating aura.

Chu Shi faced the bronze mirror and lightly brushed his fingertips across his brow.

Although this life could already be considered a perfect start, it still was not enough!

The Great Sun Holy Land was not comparable to an ordinary sect. Although the dual aptitudes he had selected for this life were already outstanding enough, they were still not enough to ensure a life of peace and worry-free cultivation.

Not to mention anything further, the innate talent of Ling Chen from this current batch was actually much stronger than his.

It was only because he had relied on the powerful willpower accumulated through many lifetimes of reincarnation during the entrance trial to forcibly climb to the ninth layer of the nine-layer heavenly ladder and seize first place, making this Earth-grade prodigy appear lackluster by comparison.

And the reason this Earth-grade prodigy had stopped at the eighth layer was simply because he had suffered from his own eagerness and lack of experience.

In reality... After all, that was an Earth-grade root bone!

Chu Shi recalled the past; the words of the Grand Supreme King in White remained vivid in his mind.

An Earth-grade root bone, if one did not die prematurely, could support seven or more blood exchanges, with the prospect of an eighth, becoming a titan of the late Silver Marrow Realm.

Cultivation in the Silver Marrow Realm involved evolving the bone marrow; every successful blood exchange was a leap in the essence of life, and at the same time, one could awaken a physical divine ability.

Furthermore, the difficulty increased as one progressed, and the gap grew wider; it could be said that every stage was like a new heaven.

And most of the Peak Masters in the Great Sun Holy Land were, for the most part, no more than this.

Chu Shi frowned slightly and rubbed his somewhat throbbing brow.

One knows one's own affairs best; when converted, his dual aptitudes could basically only support him in stably completing four to six blood exchanges.

However, root bone aptitude could not represent everything.

No matter in what kind of extraordinary world, aptitude was always just a lower limit, a starting point, and would absolutely never be the locked end point.

Since he was currently first, then he would be first for this entire lifetime!

And besides... Chu Shi smiled slightly, the corners of his lips curling into an unreadable arc.

As the saying goes, one step ahead, every step ahead.

He could rely on the experience of his past lives to quickly complete breakthroughs, but Ling Chen might not necessarily be able to do so.

After all, breaking through the Iron Skin Realm was an extremely important step; it was an evolution of the essence of life.

It was the first step from a carbon-based mortal body to an initial evolution into a carbon-based metal composite lifeform.

It required the effort of grinding down a pestle into a needle; it required slow adjustments and polishing of details, and in any case, one could not be hasty.

Now, he needed to maintain this leading advantage, strive for more abundant resources, and erase this small gap in aptitude.

After all, the word "struggle" runs through the entire path of martial arts!

Struggle with heaven, struggle with earth, struggle with people!

Struggle with heaven for fate, to obtain a higher root bone.

Struggle with earth for spiritual energy, to obtain a better environment.

Struggle with people for conflict, to obtain more resources.

Therefore, for the path ahead, he needed allies.

The Tianwu Dynasty was treacherous and unpredictable, and the Great Sun Holy Land was not exactly a pure land either.

Seventh Prince Xiao Yuan and his sister were very good candidates for allies for him.

After all, they were from the same province, and over these days, they had developed some friendship; they could even be called good friends.

Moreover, the Canglan Princes Mansion had vast influence and was deeply rooted within the dynasty.

Although the two siblings were only born of a concubine, they were deeply loved by the Old Prince, and the foundation and connections behind them were by no means comparable to those of ordinary disciples.

More importantly, environment determined the lower limit, and the environment of the Canglan Princes Mansion, combined with his observations during this period.

Allowed Chu Shi to preliminarily determine that Seventh Prince Xiao Yuan and his sister were open and upright in character, and valued relationships and righteousness.

They could basically be considered people to whom he could initially entrust his back.

Thinking of this, Chu Shi took a deep breath, turned around, and walked out of the Tingyang Courtyard.

His pace was calm and unhurried as he walked toward Zhengyang Peak, where Seventh Prince Xiao Yuan was located.

In the early morning, Lieyang Peak was already a scene of the rising sun and vibrant vitality.

Everywhere in the mountains, one could see Inner Sect Disciples talking to each other and polishing their martial techniques.

Seeing Chu Shi walking over, the disciples along the way stopped their actions one after another and addressed him as "Senior Brother Chu".

Chu Shi nodded slightly in acknowledgement and continued down the mountain toward the direction of Zhengyang Peak.

Under the shroud of the Nine Suns Great Array, the nine main peaks rolled and undulated like nine dormant giant dragons, guarding the main peak in the center of the Holy Land.

Lieyang Peak was in the east, and Zhengyang Peak was in the south; between the two peaks lay a murmuring spiritual stream.

A white jade stone bridge was built over the stream, named "Zhaoyang Bridge"; it was the essential path for travel between the two peaks.

As Chu Shi walked across Zhaoyang Bridge, he could feel an aura rushing toward him that was completely different from that of Lieyang Peak.

The aura of Lieyang Peak was scorching and flamboyant, like a prairie fire or the brilliant sun in the sky, carrying an unstoppable, rigid, and fierce strength.

While the aura of Zhengyang Peak was heavy and calm, like the magnificent noon sun, upright and peaceful; the mountain terrain was also gentler than that of Lieyang Peak.

Green pines and cypresses covered the mountains and plains, streams murmured, and birds chirped crisply.

The morning sun shone on the dark green mountain rocks, plating them with a layer of warm golden edges, everywhere revealing a dignified and grand charm.

Along the way, the disciples of Zhengyang Peak who saw him wearing the purple Core Disciple robe with the Lieyang Peak emblem embroidered on his chest.

All showed curiosity and awe, hurriedly stepping aside to make way and bowing in salute.

After all, Lieyang and Zhengyang were both different variations of the noon sun; the inheritances between the two peaks had both differences and mutual complementarity, and their relationship had always been good.

Before long, Chu Shi walked to the foot of Zhengyang Peak.

The mountain gate of Zhengyang Peak was even more imposing than that of Lieyang Peak.

A pair of green stone male lions, each a zhang tall, guarded the two sides of the mountain gate; their lion eyes were round and wide, looking majestic and awe-inspiring.

Carved above the mountain gate were the three vigorous and powerful characters for "Zhengyang Peak", which were said to have been written by the founder of the Holy Land three thousand years ago.

Looking up, one could feel a wave of brilliant heavenly might rushing toward them; spiritual light flowed faintly around the mountain gate, clearly indicating that a high-grade array had been set up, and one could tell at a glance that it was no small matter.

Below the mountain gate stood four mountain guards with solemn expressions, wearing sky-blue martial attire; each of them stood straight and tall with a calm aura.

The leader was a youth with a square face; looking at him, one could see that his skin faintly shimmered with a silvery-gray luster, clearly indicating that he had reached the peak of the Iron Skin Realm.

Seeing Chu Shi walk over, the leading youth immediately stepped forward and raised his hand to block his path.

"Stop!"

Afterward, looking at the purple Lieyang Peak Core Disciple robe on him, this disciple bowed slightly to him and asked neither humbly nor arrogantly:

"Senior Brother, please stop. The mountain gate of Zhengyang Peak is an important area; those who are not disciples of this peak must verify their identity and explain their purpose before they can enter."

Chu Shi stopped and returned the salute, replying in a gentle tone:

"Thank you, Junior Brother. I am Chu Shi, a Core Disciple of Lieyang Peak.

I have come today to visit the Core Disciple of your peak, Seventh Prince Xiao Yuan."

"Chu Shi?"

Upon hearing these two words, the square-faced youth's pupils shrank suddenly, and the sense of protocol on his face was instantly replaced by shock.

He subconsciously sized Chu Shi up and down, his tone filled with incredulous admiration and respect:

"Are you... are you the Senior Brother Chu who climbed the nine-layer heavenly ladder in the current recruitment trial and became the second person to do so in the Holy Land in three hundred years?"

Chu Shi did not say much, only raising his hand to take out his identity token.

The jade token was entirely crimson gold; as spiritual light flowed over it, it revealed engraved Lieyang patterns and the six seal script characters for "Lieyang Core Chu Shi".

The square-faced youth took the token with both hands, then held the token in one hand while his other hand performed a set of complex verification incantations.

The incantations merged in, and the token resonated slightly with Chu Shi; there was nothing unusual.

He let out a breath and immediately returned it with both hands; Chu Shi also accepted it with both hands.

The square-faced youth retreated half a step and bowed to Chu Shi again, his tone full of admiration:

"Junior Brother Zhang Cheng, greets Senior Brother Chu!

I have long admired your great name, Senior Brother Chu; it is truly a fortunate event to see you today!"