263: Chapter 263 Peng Song's Promotion, Li Fan's Progress!

In the blink of an eye,

another half a month passed.

It had been a full month since Li Fan and Peng Song arrived before the enlightenment stele.

During this month,

the two had not left the spot.

As for the results,

Peng Song's progress was visible to the naked eye; he had already entered a state of sudden enlightenment, very successfully comprehending the secret technique recorded in that sword mark.

It could be said that he had officially met the requirements to become a Formal Student.

With this,

Peng Song became another person, besides the previous Huo Feng, to advance from being a Sparring Partner to a Formal Student.

Not long after,

the news of Peng Song successfully comprehending the enlightenment stele quickly spread throughout the academy.

This not only made the Old Sparring Partners in the Sparring Partner Area completely despair,

but it also successfully ignited the competitive spirit of quite a few New Students and Senior Students, who flocked to observe the enlightenment stele, wanting to try and see if they could comprehend anything.

Now,

the number of figures on the platform beneath the enlightenment stele had increased.

However, it could be predicted that for the majority of them, their trip would essentially be fruitless.

As for Li Fan, who entered with Peng Song and won first place in the New Student Competition with an absolute crushing advantage, he showed no signs of movement whatsoever.

At this moment, Li Fan's gaze was still fixed tightly on that wordless stele, motionless.

To outsiders, Li Fan looked like an already stiff corpse.

This state was almost exactly like mental numbness, a precursor to qi deviation.

This was precisely why quite a few rumors began to spread everywhere,

such as saying Li Fan had failed to comprehend the enlightenment stele,

saying Li Fan had suffered qi deviation and mental confusion,

and many other rumors that sounded completely absurd upon hearing them.

Li Fan, at this time, was completely unaware of these comments and views.

Li Fan had already entered a state of self-forgetfulness.

In Li Fan's world, everything around him seemed to have vanished, leaving only nothingness.

There was only himself and that law stone.

"The Great Dao of Strength, the ultimate Dao..."

Li Fan gazed at the law stone, and countless thoughts involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

Vaguely, he seemed to witness the scene at the very beginning of the universe's chaos, and within that chaos, he saw a spring of law, where the Great Dao of Strength circled around all laws, like a giant net, transforming the myriad laws from disorder into order, and then from order back into disorder—it was incredibly mystical.

Li Fan tried to approach this spring of law using countless methods, but he could not advance a single step.

"The Dao is simple; perhaps I was overcomplicating things."

Li Fan took a deep breath, unable to help but re-examine this cosmic chaos in his heart.

Very quickly,

he began to contemplate his understanding of Strength from another angle, attempting to approach that spring of law.

And this contemplation lasted for a month!

Of course,

at this moment, he had already forgotten his perception of time.

Now,

a month later,

Peng Song had successfully digested the sword style he comprehended and left the enlightenment stele.

After leaving,

Peng Song immediately enjoyed all the benefits of his second-place finish in the New Student Competition and his status as a Formal Student.

Not only did he acquire massive cultivation resources and a huge manor as his residence, but he was also personally received by a Realm Master Level mentor from the Sword Ling Class, and there were even rumors that he had been accepted as his disciple.

It could be said that

the preferential treatment Peng Song was currently receiving was envied by quite a few Students.

Furthermore, as more and more New Students suffered setbacks at the enlightenment stele, the prejudice some Students held against Peng Song began to diminish.

This was exactly what Cang Hai had once said: silence them with absolute strength!

Speaking of Cang Hai,

he was currently enjoying great success and satisfaction among the academy's management.

He was the one who found both of the top two contenders in the New Student Competition, and both had the chance to become Formal Students.

One of them had even already become a Formal Student.

According to the unwritten rules of the academy regarding the recruitment and discovery of promising seedlings, Cang Hai not only received massive resources from the academy's higher-ups but also had his position within the academy rise by several levels, not to mention his reputation.

His few close friends from the past now had to address him as 'one with innate foresight' when they met him.

Those who had made bets with him even had to call him 'Father'.

...

Unconsciously,

another half a month passed.

The time Li Fan had left to comprehend the enlightenment stele was now less than half a month.

From the outside,

Li Fan still showed no signs of progress, remaining frozen in place.

As the deadline drew nearer,

the voices doubting Li Fan were growing more numerous.

The Sparring Partners in the Sparring Partner Area need not be mentioned; they practically wished Li Fan would fail to comprehend anything.

As for the Students, they mostly sighed in disappointment.

After all, even Peng Song, who had coasted to second place in the New Student Competition, managed to comprehend it, yet Li Fan could not.

As for the academy's higher-ups,

they had long anticipated this outcome.

The origin of this wordless stele was mysterious, and no one had ever comprehended its mysteries.

It was normal for Li Fan to fail to comprehend it.

As high-level personnel, they felt more pity for Li Fan.

In their view, if Li Fan had chosen any other one of the eight enlightenment steles to study, he would probably have succeeded already.

"Brother Fan, you can definitely do it!"

In the New Student dormitory area, within a manor, Peng Song, having just finished practicing his swordplay, looked intently toward the direction of the enlightenment stele, his eyes holding a trace of trust and a sliver of worry.

First, he had immense faith in Li Fan's talent.

But looking at the time remaining, it was indeed becoming somewhat dangerous.

If he could not comprehend it within the specified time, Li Fan would not become a Formal Student, a result he was unwilling to see.

"Little fellow, even you can't do it?"

Deep within the academy,

Old Man Liu Sha looked at the image of Li Fan beneath that wordless stele, his brow slightly furrowed.

He could see that

Li Fan had already entered a state of self-forgetfulness, but it seemed that was all.

Li Fan had not achieved a swift sudden enlightenment like Peng Song, comprehending the secret technique within the inscription; instead, he remained stuck in that state.

Situations like this had occurred many times before.

But those individuals had also ultimately failed to advance further.

Based on the current situation, it seemed Li Fan would also stop here, just like them.

"Perhaps you are not the destined one either."

Old Man Liu Sha let out a deep sigh and slowly shook his head.

Meanwhile,

everyone outside was completely unaware that

Li Fan had already 'arrived' beside that spring of law.

After a long period of exploration, his entire understanding of Strength had risen several levels.

Gazing at the spring of law before him, Li Fan vaguely had a feeling.

Completely comprehending the Law of Strength was still a distant prospect for now.

But regarding comprehending a wisp of the Law of Strength,

he was practically just one step away.

And a single wisp was already enough for him at his current stage!