Cultivation: From Poor Peasant to Celestial Lord

"How dare you!"

Chem Wangming roared, his eyes bloodshot. His once-refined face was now twisted with extreme rage.

He no longer cared about the small fry from before. With a flick of his hand, the Streamlight Shuttle, seething with his fury, transformed into a piercing silver streak and shot straight for Chu Bai’s face.

"Everyone, help me eliminate this person first!"

His furious shout was like a spark landing in a powder keg.

No one cared about uneven distribution or internal strife anymore. The duck they had cooked was flying away—right into the mouth of a first-year student. The humiliation of being played for a fool instantly overwhelmed their reason.

"Kill him!"

"Arrogant brat, spit out that Evil Qi!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

In an instant, Spiritual Light flared, bursting with a kaleidoscope of colors.

Over ten Magic Techniques were unleashed almost simultaneously. Fireballs rained down, Water Arrows formed a forest, and wooden spikes swarmed like locusts... The overwhelming barrage of attacks swept toward Chu Bai like a tidal wave, sealing off all his escape routes.

A focused volley of this magnitude would have likely blasted even a Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation Demon Beast to bits.

However, Chu Bai was already prepared.

The moment he made his move, he had anticipated this exact scene.

’You want to keep me here? I’m afraid it won’t be that easy.’

A faint smile touched Chu Bai’s lips. The red light from the Fire Element Ring at his feet flared to its brightest, and his entire body instantly transformed into an elusive phantom.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

He weaved through the dense curtain of Magic Techniques, his figure twisting and dodging with uncanny movements. Fireballs that seemed impossible to miss grazed the hem of his clothes, and sharp Water Arrows only managed to sever a few strands of his hair.

Even when a few unavoidable area-of-effect Magic Techniques came his way, a deep blue Guardian Shield instantly materialized.

BUZZ!

It stood firm in the raging tide like a reef. The Spirit Shield, enhanced by the Evil Qi, was incredibly resilient and forcefully withstood the shockwave’s impact.

The dust and smoke cleared.

Chu Bai’s figure reappeared. Aside from his slightly disheveled clothes, he had suffered no substantial harm.

He stood atop a large boulder, looking down on the fuming pursuers. He cupped his hands in a mock salute, his tone light.

"Thank you all for the gift. I’ll gladly accept this generous offering of Evil Qi."

"The green mountains don’t change, and the clear waters flow forever. I’ll be taking my leave now."

With that, a flash of fire erupted from his feet, and he shot away like a meteor chasing the moon, heading for the depths of the distant forest.

’Are you kidding me? This is a dozen Qi Cultivation Third Layer Cultivators working together, each with their own Dharma Artifact. Their combined firepower is several times fiercer than that Tiger Demon from before.’

’I’m brave, not stupid.’

’After scoring such a massive prize, of course I’m getting out of here while the getting’s good.’

"After him! Chase him! Don’t let him get away!"

Chem Wangming was hopping mad and led his men in pursuit.

But Chu Bai was simply too fast. With the added boost of an Upper Grade Dharma Artifact like the Fire Element Ring, which specialized in explosive Body Techniques, he widened the distance in just a few leaps and vanished into the complex terrain.

"Damn it! Damn it all!"

Chem Wangming slammed his fist into a nearby tree trunk, shaking loose a shower of dead leaves.

Meanwhile, the four sword-wielding students who were initially besieged saw the encirclement break. With the attention of those Evil Stars completely drawn away by Chu Bai, why would they hesitate?

’If we don’t run now, when will we?’

’This Chu Bai really did us a huge favor!’

The four exchanged a look. Although they felt a little resentful that the Demon Beast had been snatched away, reason told them that staying behind—whether to help Chu Bai or to fight these mad dogs—was a losing proposition.

The Demon Beast was dead, and the Evil Qi had been taken. There was no point in fighting anymore.

The right move was to preserve their strength and look for the next opportunity.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The four figures took advantage of the chaos, ducked into the forest on the other side, and vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

This left Chem Wangming and his group standing in place, staring at a battlefield now empty on both fronts, his expression so dark it looked like it could drip water.

"Chu Bai..."

Chem Wangming muttered the name through gritted teeth, a vicious glint in his eyes.

’More and more people in the field are realizing how crucial the Evil Qi is. More of them will be heading for the summit.’

’You might be fast, but you can’t run out of this Spirit Realm!’

...

「Atop the mountain summit, the wind howled.」

A chase was unfolding, not a hunt for a Demon Beast, but a frantic pursuit between Cultivators.

Chu Bai moved like a stream of fire, weaving between boulders and ancient trees, followed by a group of red-eyed pursuers with Dharma Artifacts flying wildly.

Although he maintained a safe distance thanks to the speed advantage of his Fire Element Ring, completely shaking off the group was proving to be difficult.

"Bind!"

A student skilled in Wood Technique pointed his Cyan Rattan Staff. Countless vines shot up from the ground like Spiritual Serpents. Although Chu Bai deftly avoided them, his momentum faltered for a moment.

"Slow!"

Then an Earth Dharma Artifact released a Gravity Field, attempting to slow his steps.

Most of these Dharma Artifacts were Middle Grade or even Low-Grade and posed little threat to Chu Bai on their own. However, with a dozen of them bombarding him in succession, the constant barrage of control and interference effects was a real headache.

But Chu Bai’s expression remained composed throughout.

The Guiyuan Technique circulated ceaselessly within him. The Cultivation Technique, at the Perfection Realm, gave him Microscopic control over his Spiritual Power, ensuring not a single sliver was wasted.

’Trying to wear me down? We’ll see who runs out of steam first.’

A small smile played on his lips. He even had the leisure to, in the middle of his flight, abruptly turn and throw out a Formless Cloud Hand or a few Spirit Water Needles.

BOOM!

Although he didn’t use his full strength, the attack still forced the closest pursuers to scramble to defend themselves, instantly disrupting their orderly pursuit formation.