Chapter 1171-1174

Chapter 1171 – Invincible Enemy

A day passed by in a blink of an eye. Zhao Hai's group now had four people in it. Such group couldn't be looked down on. Because of this, nobody dared to annoy them. Moreover, there were no beasts around, allowing Zhao Hai and the others to spend the time in peace.

This peace went on even during the night. As if knowing that this place was forbidden, no beasts dared to walk into the area. Zhao Hai and the others had a good rest that night. On the morning of the next day, the group ate their breakfast while waiting for the time to run out.

After eating their breakfast, Zhao Hai and the others didn't immediately leave. Instead they sat down and drank fruit juice until noon. When time was up, Zhao Hai sighed and then turned to Xiong Li and said, "Brother Xiong Li, it's time. We should head back. It's my luck to meet you here. Unfortunately, after we leave, we would become opponents once again."

Xiong Li laughed and said, "Brother Zhao Hai, it's true that we would fight once we leave this place. But as long as we qualify for the Six Realm Beginner Competition, we would be considered allies. My Wu Family and your Ashley Family doesn't have any enmity. We'll be able to walk together in the future."

When he heard Xiong Li, Zhao Hai laughed and said, "Right, just like you said. Once we go to the Six Realm Beginner Competition, then we'll be friends."

Tao Li and the other person looked at Zhao Hai and Xiong Li with envy. They were being tactful and didn't speak. They were clearly aware that they couldn't interrupt Zhao Hai and Xiong Li's conversation. After all, they didn't have any qualifications to discuss friendship with the two.

Who were Zhao Hai and Xiong Li? One was a gifted talent while the other was a famous existence in the Machine Field. Although Xiong Li had ascended quite some time ago, he was still someone that was above their current position.

After he heard Zhao Hai, Xiong Li nodded and said, "Then it's time to leave." Zhao Hai nodded and then stored the tables and chairs before leading everyone out of Yellowsand Planet.

It was more difficult to leave a planet than entering it. But fortunately, the participants were strong enough to easily fly out of the planet's atmosphere.

They also discovered people going out of the atmosphere from time to time. Zhao Hai greeted a few of these people before flying towards his assigned ship.

Zhao Hai entered the ship through the decompression chamber. Upon entering, Zhao Hai felt the pressure slowly become normal. Then he exited the decompression chamber and went towards the main room.

Upon entering the main room, a Mage met him and said, "Leave your transmitter here. Then you can go."

Zhao Hai nodded. Then he took his transmitter out and gave it to the Mage. Upon receiving Zhao Hai's transmitter, the Mage nodded and said, "Your transmitter is in perfect condition. You pass this round. You can go take a rest or explore the ship." Zhao Hai nodded before he left.

When Zhao Hai returned to the room he stayed in before, he discovered that his three other roommates had yet to come back. Since it might take them some time to return, he entered the Space to take a bath. Then after he freshened up, he went out and then ate some lunch in the ship's dining room. After eating, he returned to his room to take a rest.

When evening came, a person entered the room. This person's body was very wounded. He was quite dirty as well, it was clear that he didn't have a good time.

When the person saw Zhao Hai, he gave a slight nod before entering the bathroom to wash himself. The man didn't eat and immediately went to sleep. It was clear that he hasn't slept in the past three days.

The night passed by, Zhao Hai's two other roommates still haven't returned. Zhao Hai knew that those two wouldn't return. Although Zhao Hai didn't have any relationship with them, he still couldn't help but grieve for their loss.

Another day passed and the two still haven't come back. Moreover, the fleet had made the decision to wait one more day. If nobody else came back, then they would no longer wait.

Even if he didn't know whether Zhao Hai had suffered a life and death situation, Zhao Hai's roommate still began to chat with him. Although he didn't say much, Zhao Hai's room was no longer as boring as before.

…..

It's been three days since Zhao Hai returned to the ship. This was also the last day for the participants to return. If the participants couldn't return, then they would lose their opportunity to join the next round.

While Zhao Hai was chatting with his roommate, the ship's alarm suddenly began blaring up.

Zhao Hai and his roommate stared, then their expressions changed. They knew that this was the ship's warning alarm for an enemy approach. The ship immediately took action, crew and staff scampered towards their own posts.

However, this was a Machine Field Planet fleet, who would dare attack a Machine Field Planet fleet? Space pirates? While he thought of this, Zhao Hai heard an announcement, "All participants pay attention, all participants pay attention. We ask everyone to stay in their rooms and don't leave without instruction. I repeat, don’t leave without instruction. Thanks for cooperating." Then no other announcement was heard.

At this time, Zhao Hai learned from Laura and the others that the fleet wasn't being attacked. Instead, they were being alert because they came upon a certain group. And this group was no other than people from the Cultivation Realm.

When he heard that it was a group from the Cultivation Realm, Zhao Hai couldn't help but get curious. He wishes to enter the Space to take a look. But since his roommate was still with him, he couldn't just disappear.

But on the other side, Laura and the others were very excited to see people from the Cultivation Realm. They told Zhao Hai that the group seems to be from a big power in the Cultivation Realm and were performing a smelting trial in Yellowsand Planet. The group were riding on a huge ship. But compared to the Machine Field's spaceships, the Cultivation Realm's ship looked like a huge ancient boat. Moreover, this ship wasn't big. Comparing the size of the two ships was like comparing a watermelon to a soybean.

However, this tiny ship actually caused the Machine Field's fleet to be anxious. They sounded out warnings to everyone. On the other hand, the boat didn't seem to care about the huge ships. They swaggered through the fleet and then entered Yellowsand Planet.

When the ship finally entered Yellowsand Planet, the warnings from the fleet died down. Then the fleet immediately took off and left the area.

Zhao Hai couldn't help but let out a long breath. He can see from this point how overbearing those from the Cultivation Realm were. They didn't even spare a glance towards the Machine Field's fleet.

Hearing Zhao Hai sigh, the roommate thought that he was relieved that everything went back to normal. Therefore, he didn't feel anything strange about it. He looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Zhao Hai, who do you think attacked the fleet? Nobody in the Machine Field would dare come and attack the Machine Field Planet's fleet. I reckon they're space pirates."

Although he knew that the alarms were due to the Cultivators, Zhao Hai couldn't just say it. So he shook his head and said, "I don't think that it's the space pirates. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to stay in the Machine Field anymore. This is Yellowsand Planet. Although it is part of the Machine Field's territory, there are people from other realms that come here. It's possible that it's those people from the other realms. Otherwise the fleet wouldn't be so nervous."

As soon as he heard Zhao Hai, the roommate thought that what he said was reasonable, so he nodded and said, "That's true. After all, our Machine Field is the weakest among the six realms. It's no wonder why the fleet got nervous."

Zhao Hai nodded and didn't speak about the topic anymore. However, the roommate opened his mouth and said, "I ran into those people just a few days after I ascended. Whenever they see someone from the Machine Field, they would always point their noses up high. At that time, I really wished that I could punch them in the face."

Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "Did you manage to fight them?" The roommate shook his head and said, "I didn't. However, I've seen a sword cultivator from the Cultivation Realm fight. With just his own strength, he was able to fend of an entire pirate fleet of 30 ships. Every time he waved his sword down, a ship would be cut in half. It was too scary!" After he said this, the roommate couldn't help but recall the horror of that time.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hai knit his brows and asked, "The people from the Cultivation Realm are that strong? And how come they're in the Machine Field's territory?"

The roommate shook his head and said, "From what I heard, they were here because some pirates snatched something from their sect. That sect issued a mission and that person was the one who took it. He interrogated the pirates and found out that they didn't intend to get that item. They only thought that they were attacking a small merchant fleet. They didn't know that there was a special relic inside. It seems like that relic was an important item between the Machine Field and that sect. Therefore, they sent someone to find it."

Zhao Hai nodded, then he let out a long breath and said, "If I have the opportunity, then I'll try going to the Cultivation Realm to take a look. I reckon they have much more splendid things compared to the Machine Field."

The roommate smiled and said, "There have been a lot of people with the same idea. However, there were plenty of them who weren't able to return. Nobody knows whether they died or became a member of a sect. As for those who managed to come back, they actually kept silent about their journey to the Cultivation Realm. It seems like something happened to them that they can't say."

Zhao Hai nodded, "No matter what, we're people from the World of Cultivation. Sooner or later we would have the urge to travel to other realms. At the very least, I would like to understand the other realms more. If I'm able to explore the Cultivation Realm, I would want to find out how strong they really are."

As soon as he heard Zhao Hai, the roommate couldn't help but smile bitterly. However, he didn't try to stop Zhao Hai.

Chapter 1172 – Becoming Friends With The Wu Family

In the next couple of days, Zhao Hai stayed in his room and rarely went out. To be honest, Zhao Hai's greatest harvest weren't the things he gained from Yellowsand Planet, but instead his meeting with the cultivators.

These Cultivators were so arrogant in front of the Machine Field's fleet. This caused complex feelings inside Zhao Hai's heart. He was able to take a glimpse of the Cultivation Realm's rules. Actually, it can be said that there were no rules in the Cultivation Realm. Whoever had the biggest fist gets the last word.

If there were any rules in the Cultivation Realm, then it would be the law of the jungle. The weak were prey to the strong. Everything depended on strength.

The Cultivators just had a small boat, but they were still able to plunge the Machine Field's fleet into a state of alarm. One could see the strength of the Cultivation Realm from this point.

This also made Zhao Hai more eager to get stronger. Unfortunately, his situation was different from the others. His strength was closely related to the Space. It was almost impossible for him to have the same path of progression as the others.

If others were to know that Zhao Hai wasn't satisfied with his speed of cultivation, then they would certainly be furious. It was good that Zhao Hai wouldn't reveal this thought to the others.

Ten days quickly flew past. Zhao Hai spent most of the ten days inside his room, but he was also chatting with Xiong Li using their computers. Naturally, their relationship was getting better.

On the other hand, when Zhao Hai's roommate saw Zhao Hai casually chatting with Xiong Li, he couldn't help but feel envious. One must know that Xiong Li was one of the ten great experts. He was an idol to many people.

The fleet arrived at Machine Field Planet after ten days of travel. When Zhao Hai got down from his ship, he immediately saw Cadjo, Desbarres, Luke, and Margaret. They were standing beside a car waiting for Zhao Hai and the others.

And just as Zhao Hai took a step forward, Margaret immediately dashed towards him. She hugged Zhao Hai and didn't say anything else. On the other hand, Zhao Hai just chuckled.

Zhao Hai let go of Margaret after some time. They haven't seen each other for ten days. Even if Margaret was inside the Space, she still wasn't able to meet Zhao Hai.

After Zhao Hai let go of Margaret, Cadjo approached him. Cadjo inspected Zhao Hai before he nodded and said, "Good, very good. I heard that only 2 out of ten participants in this round managed to pass. And aside from the two participants that you saved, nobody else from the family was able to survive. It seems like the family would have to rely on you from this point on."

Zhao Hai nodded and said, "General Manager, rest assured. I'll certainly bring in achievements."

Cadjo nodded. At this time, the other two participants from the Ashley family arrived. They gave Cadjo a salute before Cadjo led them towards the car. After doing this, Cadjo turned to Zhao Hai and said, "I heard that you got to know Xiong Li?"

Zhao Hai nodded and said, "I did meet him in Yellowsand Planet. Then we chatted the whole time. But we didn't try to spar since it might give others an advantage."

Cadjo nodded and said, "That's good. Xiong Li is from the Wu Family. We didn't have any relationship with them before. But a couple of days ago someone from the Wu Family came to visit me. He was very polite. This is all because of you. This is a great contribution for the family."

Zhao Hai smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just thought that it wouldn't be good for me if I fight Xiong Li. I even let Sun Fei go since the situation isn't appropriate. I'll wait until the official battles. I'll waste his cultivation in front of everyone."

Cadjo patted Zhao Hai's shoulder before they boarded the car. Since there were only a few participants left, the entire group rode on one car. Zhao Hai and Margaret were in the middle seats while Tao Li and the person from the Ghost Symbol Camp were on the back.

After boarding, Cadjo turned his head to Zhao Hai and said, "I heard that Zhu Chen has offended a lot of people. Did you run into him?"

Zhao Hai shook his head and said, "I didn't But I heard from Xiong Li that he has been terrorizing level 3's. But he's trained by the Divine Earth Palace, his backing should be strong. Is there a problem?"

Cadjo coldly snorted and said, "Problem? Yes, but not for us. Although Churches are very powerful, the influence of other families aren't something to be trifled with. Zhu Chen's wanton slaughter attracted the ire of these families. At this point, no matter which power Zhu Chen faces in this competition, all of them would go all out."

Zhao Hai nodded, he also thought that Zhu Chen had been excessive. They were only competing for slots, they weren't personal enemies. There was no need for slaughter. It seems like Zhu Chen was one of those bloodthirsty people.

Before long, the car arrived at the Ashley Family's office. Cadjo brought everyone to the dining hall and treated everyone to a delicious meal. When the group arrived at the hall, everything was already prepared. After everyone had sat down, Cadjo lifted his wine glass and said, "This glass is dedicated to the three who survived the elimination round." Then he downed the liquor in the cup. Naturally, Zhao Hai and the others followed after.

After drinking from his cup, Cadjo poured himself another glass before turning towards Tao Li and the person from the Ghost Symbol Camp, "Tao Li, Xue Zhong, the family has decided to withdraw your participation in the qualifiers. It's too dangerous. The casualties in Yellowsand Planet caused a heavy atmosphere in the competition. If you enter the arena, you might not be able to survive. You're also talents from the family and we don't want to lose you as well. The Patriarch said that even if you were saved by Zhao Hai, this proves that you have luck on your side. You won't be treated badly when you return. What do you think? If you still want to participate in the competition, then the family wouldn't stop you."

Tao Li and Xue Zhong looked at each other, then they nodded. Tao Li stood up and bowed to Cadjo and said, "General Manager, please convey our gratitude to the Patriarch. Actually, when the two of us got out of Yellowsand Planet, we already thought of withdrawing from the competition. However, we're afraid that the family wouldn't allow us to, so we didn't say anything. General Manager just told us what we wanted to hear. To be honest, back when we first arrived at Machine Field Planet, we thought that we might have some chance. But after this elimination round, we realized that continuing would just be courting death. We really thank the family for this." Then the two bowed towards Cadjo and Desbarres.

Cadjo waved his hand and said, "It's good that you can still think clearly. Although you can get more rewards if you participate, it's not worth it for the risk. Alright, sit back down and continue drinking." Then the two sat down.

Cadjo turned to Zhao Hai and said, "Little Hai, since they won't be participating anymore, we only have you left. You're the hope of the family."

Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "General Manager, rest assured. The first place is already mine."

When they heard this, everyone laughed. Nobody thought that Zhao Hai was bragging. After all, Zhao Hai's strength was the real deal. Even Xiong Li recognized his strength. This caused the Ashley Family's confidence in him to increase.

After everyone drank another cup of wine, Tao Li and Xue Zhong lifted their glass and turned to Zhao Hai. Then they said, "Sir, if it weren't for your help, then we might not have been able to get out of Yellowsand Planet. Please accept this toast of our heartfelt gratitude."

Zhao Hai smiled faintly, then he raised his glass and said, "We're from the same family, so it's natural that we need to help each other. Before going to Yellowsand Planet, I initially wanted all of us to be in a team. But unfortunately, the committee didn't allow us to do so. Meeting you two could be considered fate. There's no need to be polite to me in the future. Let's drink." Then the three downed the liquor in their glass.

Desbarres looked at Zhao Hai's performance and smiled. He didn't say a word. He was quite satisfied with Zhao Hai's actions. It can be said that Zhao Hai was doing a huge favor for the Ashley Family's External Halls. Saving Tao Li and Xue Zhong was a huge favor to the Upright Symbol Camp and the Ghost Symbol Camp.

Thunder was also satisfied that Zhao Hai managed to save two talents. He was happy that Zhao Hai was being considerate towards the family. Although he didn't follow this time, he was still talking with Cadjo and Desbarres. And there were no lack of boasting about Zhao Hai in these conversations. Thunder was also praising Desbarres. He thought that if Desbarres didn't snatch Zhao Hai soon, then Zhao Hai might have already been taken in by the other families. Thunder was happy with Desbarres's initiative to recruit Zhao Hai.

The group happily ate their meal. Although seven people died in the elimination round, this was something that Cadjo and the others already expected. Therefore, they weren't very sad. Conversely, they were ecstatic that Zhao Hai had become friends with Xiong Li.

Naturally, becoming friends with Xiong Li wasn't significant. However, drawing a relationship with the Wu Family through Xiong Li was something extraordinary. The Wu Family's position in the Warrior Association wasn't low. Their strength and influence was also formidable. They weren't any less compared to the Ashley Family. In the past, since one of them was a Warrior Family while the other was a Mage family, it was hard for them to establish a connection with each other. It can be said that the two were completely strangers to one another. And now, because of Zhao Hai's actions, a bridge had appeared that could connect the two families together.

After the meal, Zhao Hai returned to his room. Of course, Margaret also came in with him. Then the two immediately entered the Space. Zhao Hai was quite anxious because he wants to take a look at the Cultivators currently in Yellowsand Planet. He wanted to see what kind of trial they would do. And maybe he could gain some information just in case he met someone from the Cultivation Realm later on.

Chapter 1173 – Sword Pavillion Concentrating Astral Qi

As soon as Zhao Hai and Margaret entered the Space, Laura and the others immediately greeted them. Laura looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Brother Hai, we're ready."

Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Alright, I want to see what makes these people so arrogant." After he said that, Zhao Hai and the others sat down in the living room.

Once everyone had sat down, Laura immediately opened the monitor. Displayed on the screen was a boat. This wooden boat wasn't small nor big. It didn't have an oar. And on its side was an insignia. The insignia showed an unsheathed sword pointed towards an expansive sky.

Then Laura said, "We checked online, this is the insignia from the Sword Pavilion. It is a medium-sized sect in the Cultivator Realm. The people in this sect lived by the sword for their entire life. Once someone joins the sect, an elder would make a sword that went along with that person's characteristics. This sword would be made from the best materials. However, this sword would practically be a blank. Then the person would place the sword in their dantian to be slowly nurtured. In turn, the person would become the sword and the sword would become the person. It was a state of unity between man and sword."

Laura took a deep breath before she continued, "But because of their unique way of doing things, the sect was stuck in being a medium-sized sect. However, this didn't mean that their status in the Cultivation Realm was low. It was said that their offensive strength is second to none in the Cultivation Realm."

Zhao Hao nodded. The sword was the lord of killing. So it wasn't a wonder for a person who studied the sword their entire life to have strong offensive abilities.

Laura added, "When they reach core formation, they could use other magic treasures. But before core formation, they can't use anything else than their swords. Reaching core formation would transform their sword into a sword pill. The sword is the pill and the pill is the sword."

Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Good. It seems like the Sword Pavillion isn't simple. Their cultivation method is pretty rare."

Laura agreed, "And the strength of the Sword Pavillion could only get stronger as time passes. Although everyone in the Cultivation Realm lived long lives, they were still mortal unless they reach the realm of Immortality. Unless they encountered some accident, members of the Sword Pavillion who were at the end of their lifespans would go to the sect's ancestral grounds and spend the rest of their lifetime there. Once they die, they would leave their swords behind, along with a trace of their spiritual force. These life source swords would then exist in the ancestral grounds. Actually, every time the Sword Pavillion accepts a student, they would take them to the ancestral grounds first to pay respects to the swords of their ancestors. It might even be possible for these swords to choose a new master."

Laura drank some water and continued, "These swords have traces of their original owner's spiritual force, allowing a sliver of the original owner's consciousness to exist inside. However, this consciousness couldn't function like a normal human. But even so, this spiritual force could still choose a person that has the liking of the original owner. And since these swords had been nurtured for a long time, their strength was greater than newly made swords. This would increase the chosen person's strength very quickly. It was precisely because of this accumulation that the Sword Pavillion gets stronger and stronger as each generation passed. Even top sects in the Cultivation Realm couldn't easily provoke them."

Zhao Hai nodded, but his eyes were stuck on the monitor as the Sword Pavillion's people entered Yellowsand Planet. Upon entering the planet, the small boat suddenly changed course and headed straight towards something. When he saw the trajectory of the small boat, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but stare as he said, "They're heading towards Astral Wind Canyon?"

The reason Zhao Hai gawked was because Astral Wind Canyon was quite a famous place in Yellowsand Planet. Yellowsand Planet's years comprises 12 months. Ten of these months would have extreme winds blowing through it. As for the remaining two months, there would be rain. This rain is filled with astral qi. If one was exposed to this rain for a long time, then their bodies would wither until they die.

This event happens everywhere in Yellowsand Planet except one place, Astral Wind Canyon. In other places, once the rainy season began, the winds would stop. But in Astral Wind Canyon, the winds would continue all year round.

At the same time, the winds in Astral Wind Canyon were much stronger than the ones outside. Because of these strong winds, only a few people dared to go there. Before long, Astral Wind Canyon became one of the forbidden lands in Yellowsand Planet.

Sword Pavillion's destination was very easy to guess. After all, they were travelling in a straight line towards Astral Wind Canyon.

Laura nodded and said, "Right, they seem to be heading towards Astral Wind Canyon." Then Laura controlled the monitor to show the small boat just right outside the canyon.

However, this small boat didn't just stop at the mouth of the canyon. Instead, it went directly to the middle. The terrain of Astral Wind Canyon was very special. All around were gray and yellow rocks. These rocks stood upright looking like stone pillars, they looked quite ugly.

However, nobody dared to underestimate these rocks. These rocks stood for tens of millions of years amidst the harsh astral winds of the canyon. Its degree of hardness couldn't even be compared to iron and steel. Even the Cultivation Realm's artifacts would find it hard to contend against these rocks in terms of hardness.

The canyon looked like a river. However, it didn't go straight. Instead it wound down through some sort of pattern. And instead of being obstructed by these curves, astral winds coming through the canyon were actually strengthened.

But when Zhao Hai looked at the canyon more carefully. He found out that although it looked terrifying, the middle of the canyon actually had the weakest astral winds. Moreover, due to their placement, winds coming through this section weren't amplified by the canyon's curves.

However, one should know that even if the winds were weak, they were still astral winds. It was still more dangerous than ordinary winds. And these winds were the most ideal for concentrating astral qi as well as refining weapons.

It can be said that in the entire Yellowsand Planet, no other place was better in concentrating astral qi than this section of Astral Wind Canyon.

Zhao Hai found out about these points using the silver needles. Since these needles were made by the Space, where a yellowsand environment existed, they weren't affected by the astral winds. But after looking at the Sword Pavillion, it seems like they knew about this place. Their visit this time was probably to let their disciple concentrate some astral qi for themselves.

When Laura saw Zhao Hai frown, she quickly knew what he was thinking. Although Zhao Hai hadn't been inside the Space these days, he still knew about things inside. This was because Laura and the others could just talk to him wherever he was. Even if Zhao Hai couldn't see anything, he could still hear things.

Laura turned to Zhao Hai and said, "Brother Hai, the Sword Pavillion, it seems like they're here to condense astral qi. We don't know how they knew about this place, but if the Sword Pavillion knew about it, then others might also be aware of it. It seems like we need to rethink our estimation of the Cultivation Realm's strength."

Zhao Hai nodded. Astral Qi's biggest benefit is increasing one's offensive strength. If the Cultivation Realm knew about this spot in Yellowsand Planet, then they could send people en masse to condense astral qi. This would provide a huge increase of collective strength for the Cultivation Realm.

With this thought in mind, Zhao Hai said, "It shouldn't be that huge a problem. Astral Qi doesn't only exist in the form in has in Yellowsand Planet. After all, the wind is just a form the astral qi used in order to flow. The essence of astral qi doesn't change itself. Condensing it shouldn't be that easy."

Laura nodded, then she said, "Right. But even if that is the case, in the last few days, we were able to find out that people from the Cultivation Realm have a higher chance of condensing these special energies inside their bodies compared to other people. Brother Hai, we cannot take this issue lightly."

Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Rest assured. Now that the Space has its own yellowsand environment, we now have control over how intense astral winds could be. With this ability, we should have no problem condensing astral qi of our own. Right, how about we have some undead try concentrating astral qi. This way, we could see if they could get stronger."

Upon hearing Zhao Hai, Laura and the others’s eyes turned bright. Then Cai'er immediately answered, "Young Master, I'll get on it." Zhao Hai nodded, then Cai'er's body disappeared as she left.

Zhao Hai was still looking at the cultivators from the Sword Pavillion. These people were really here to condense astral qi. But when Zhao Hai saw the group heading out of the small boat, he couldn’t help but stare. There were a lot more people than he expected!

Although the Space was formidable, since the small boat was a magical artifact, the silver needles couldn't go inside. Therefore, Zhao Hai was unaware of the boat's internal situation.

So when Zhao Hai saw more than a hundred people going out of the small boat, he was stunned. But after some thought, he concluded that the small boat had a spatial expansion ability. Only through this method could a small vessel like this hold that much people.

Before long, the group got out of the small boat. Then under the leadership of five people, they flew over towards a spot in the canyon to condense astral qi. As for the five elders leading them, they positioned themselves in five directions to protect everyone from unexpected events.

Everything was calm when the Sword Pavillion's people began absorbing astral qi. But it didn't take long before they started sweating and their faces turned red and then paled. Nevertheless, everyone clenched their teeth and persevered. But soon enough, someone started spurting out blood and then start falling down.

When this happened, one of the five protectors swept down and went to that person's side. Then he fed the person a medicinal pill. He broke the pill in his hand before shoving it inside the patient's mouth.

Naturally, this pill wasn't any ordinary pill. After consuming it, the injured person began to slowly look better. However, the person was still dazed from the experience. The protector who fed him the pill quickly sent the disciple to the small boat before returning to his post.

After that first incident, more and more people began spurting out blood. They were also fed a medicinal pill before being sent to the small boat to rest.

Seeing this happen, Zhao Hai couldn't help but frown as he said, "It looks like the Cultivation Realm has found out a way to treat the backlash caused by astral winds. However, those who failed still looked very terrible. They would need some time before they could fully recover. This allows us to have a faint idea of the Cultivation Realm's talents."

Laura and the others nodded. Of the hundred people that tried to absorb astral qi, 70 people were already eliminated. However, the five protectors seemed to be unfazed by it. They kept looking after those who were left. As if everything was within their expectations.

As more and more people failed, five people were left in the end. These five were sweating hard and their faces were terrifyingly red.

However, these five people endured. As for the five protectors, their expressions began turning bright at the sight of these remaining disciples. They were experienced people, and they were already aware that it was highly probable for these five remaining disciples to succeed.

Sure enough, after five hours of waiting, the five disciples stopped absorbing astral qi. By this point, their own spiritual qi has astral qi merged with it.

Although these five people were in extreme pain and were very weak, all of them were ecstatic. The same was true for the five protectors. They immediately took the five and then led them to the small boat. Then they quickly operated the boat to leave the planet. From the beginning up to the end, the group didn't fight any beast in Yellowsand Planet. Moreover, their time spent here was very short, only a few couple of hours.

When he saw the cultivators leave, Zhao Hai frowned for a moment before he chuckled and said, "It seems like astral qi isn't easily absorbed. Those five might have succeeded, but they still haven't fully digested the astral qi. This shouldn't be able to dramatically increase their strength. Hmmm. It seems like I have overestimated them."

Laura shook her head and said, "Brother Hai, you still need to be careful. You shouldn't just look at them at their current state. Since they were able to absorb astral qi, then it would be easier for them to absorb more in the future. After absorbing astral qi a few times more, their offensive strength would be much more powerful. As for those who failed, they could no longer absorb astral qi. We've checked this information with Margaret. The Ashley Family's files have information about this. Therefore, it shouldn't be false."

When Zhao Hai turned to Margaret, she nodded and said, "It's true. The first time condensing astral qi is a dividing line. Once you succeed, then condensing more astral qi in the future would be easier. But if you failed the first time, it would no longer be possible for you to absorb astral qi. Even if you can bear the pain, as long as astral qi enters your body, you will immediately be injured. This isn't something that can be avoided."

Chapter 1174 – Practice

Zhao Hai nodded and said, "No matter what, we know that the Cultivation Realm is much stronger than the Machine Field. It's quite clear seeing how the fleet reacted to the small boat. They couldn't do anything else other than turn around and flee. We need to increase our strength if we want to win."

Laura nodded and then she said, "There's still a few days before the start of the next round of the qualifiers. What does Brother Hai want to do?"

Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "I'll be closing up. Margaret, when you leave, please tell the General Manager that I'll be closing up. Tell him that I'll need some food and drinks delivered to my room and that I'll have you take care of me. This way, nobody should disturb us. Then you can head to back here as I try to condense astral qi in the yellowsand background."

Laura and the others weren't surprised to hear Zhao Hai trying to absorb astral qi. They also weren't worried about him. Now that the Space has its own yellowsand background, Zhao Hai wouldn't be in any danger at all. Therefore, none of them stopped Zhao Hai from doing so.

When Margaret heard Zhao Hai, she immediately nodded and said, "Alright, I'll take care of it." Then her body flashed as she left the Space. Then she promptly reported that Zhao Hai was going to do closed door cultivation.

Zhao Hai didn't leave. Instead he turned to Laura and said, "I'll be heading to the yellowsand background to practice. If I hadn’t come out when the round is about to start, have Cai'er call me."

Laura and the others nodded. Then Zhao Hai's body flashed as he reappeared inside the yellowsand background. Upon appearing, Zhao Hai once again felt the winds of Yellowsand Planet. Since the background took after the planet, it wasn't strange that the two places were quite similar.

Zhao Hai didn't pay attention to the surroundings. To be honest, there wasn't much to see in the yellowsand background. Zhao Hai sat down on the ground and controlled his breathing. Once he reached a comfortable state, Zhao Hai stood up and began performing the body tempering fist.

But this time, as Zhao Hai was using the fist techniques, he also tried using the astral qi concentrating art. This wasn't an easy task. One must know that the Stellar Transformation Body Tempering Technique was a special technique for body tempering. The main function of this method was attracting the power of the stars into the user's body.

However, the power of the stars was quite powerful. It can be said that it was much more powerful than astral qi. The energy between the two was just different. In such a case, using the technique in order to attract astral qi instead would be very difficult.

But just like the Stellar Transformation Body Tempering Technique, the most important and most difficult step for condensing astral qi was introducing it into the body. It was essential for the user to be sober during this process since they need to quite the astral qi using their spiritual force. Otherwise, the astral qi would rampage. Astral qi wasn't a docile type of energy. If one loses control over it, then their body would certainly be damaged.

Zhao Hai was much more uncomfortable when concentrating astral qi. This was because the body tempering technique was already a painful process. Adding astral qi to the mix made the process much more painful than before.

However, since Zhao Hai had already underwent body tempering before, his capacity for pain has been increased. But even if this was the case, Zhao Hai was still sweating buckets. His entire body hurt so much.

Fortunately, the body tempering technique didn't let Zhao Hai suffer for long. In less than an hour, he was able to do one circulation of the technique. When this was completed, a bit of astral qi had been completely integrated into Zhao Hai's body.

Once Zhao Hai discovered that the astral qi had been integrated into the body tempering technique, he began to do his second cycle. But this time, Zhao Hai didn't plan to absorb any astral qi. This was because he saw that even if the astral qi had entered his body, it had yet to be fully absorbed. Therefore, Zhao Hai needed to refine it more to make the astral qi his own.

So in his second go, Zhao Hai didn't use the astral qi concentrating art. He still used the separation between body and mind, which he used when practicing the stellar body tempering technique. This way, he could feel less pain. Zhao Hai knew that he just absorbed astral qi into his body and he needed to digest it. This way he would truly refine the astral qi.

If people from the Cultivation Realm knew about Zhao Hai's plan, they would definitely be surprised. This was because Zhao Hai's method wasn't the same as theirs. Their method was combining astral qi to their spiritual qi. This way, whenever they attack, its offensive strength would be more powerful.

However, what Zhao Hai was doing wasn't like the ordinary method. Not only did Zhao Hai absorb astral qi to combine with his spiritual qi, he was also using astral qi to temper his body.

If the Cultivation Realm heard about this, they would certainly think that Zhao Hai was crazy. Astral qi combining with spiritual qi was already very painful. The pain from using astral qi to temper one's body should hurt a lot more.

And Zhao Hai did it the first time. But to be honest, the process hurt so much. It almost reached the limit that Zhao Hai could bear. Because of this, Zhao Hai didn't let more astral qi enter his body. Instead, he decided to digest it first.

After separating his consciousness from his body, Zhao Hai began using his body to perform the fist techniques. But as he continued to perform the techniques, Zhao Hai couldn't help but feel puzzled. This was because he discovered that his body seems to be faster at performing the body tempering technique.

But even if this was the case, Zhao Hai knew that he couldn't stop. If he suddenly stopped in the middle of the routine, all of the previous results would be wasted. Therefore, he continued. And while he was doing so, he discovered that as he refined his astral qi, his spiritual force was getting consumed more and more.

When the routine ended, Zhao Hai let out a long breath. Then he had his spiritual force inspect his body. This was his most strenuous body tempering routine yet. After the routine, Zhao Hai felt that his spiritual force had been exhausted. This caused Zhao Hai to feel strange. One must know that Zhao Hai's spiritual force was fully capable of supporting three routines of the body tempering technique.

And as Zhao Hai continued inspecting his body, he couldn't help but stare. This was because the current situation wasn't something that he expected.

When he absorbed astral qi into his body before, he could feel that there were traces of astral qi that hadn't been fully combined with his spiritual qi and body. But actually, these traces were very faint. If Zhao Hai didn't use his spiritual force to feel them, he couldn't feel their presence.

Zhao Hai knew that even if he was able to digest astral qi into his spiritual qi and body, then he still wouldn’t be able to feel a thing. But now, when he scanned his body, he discovered that this wasn't the case at all. His spiritual qi was improved, his spiritual force had become tougher as well. Most importantly, Zhao Hai could feel that the amount of astral qi in his body was far more than he imagined. It was more than what he calculated before.

Zhao Hai paused for a moment before thinking about why this was the case. Then in the end he thought of an answer. It might be related to the Stellar Body Tempering Technique.

The body tempering technique was beyond formidable. And after separating his consciousness and body, the Stellar Body Tempering Technique would draw in stellar energy in order to temper the body. And in the process of drawing the power of the stars, it also reinforces the user's spiritual force. So as Zhao Hai uses the tempering technique, both of his body and spiritual force were enhanced.

This was the reason why Zhao Hai felt that there was more astral qi inside his body than he expected. Moreover, it was completely unified with his body and spiritual qi. It can be said that concentrating astral qi had been more than a success.

But what made Zhao Hai even more surprised was the fact that some astral qi had integrated into his spiritual force. Zhao Hai discovered that his spiritual force now had some elements of astral qi, even if it was a very small amount. Zhao Hai just didn't know what this development would entail.

However, Zhao Hai changed his mind in the end. This astral qi wasn't astral qi that existed outside, it was astral qi produced by the Space. It was impossible for the Space to harm the host. Instead of being harmless, this union would instead be beneficial.

Zhao Hai inspected his spiritual force and discovered that it was tougher than before. If it was a silk thread before he underwent the body tempering technique, then it became like a steel wire after the tempering technique, it was now an alloy steel wire after being merged with astral qi.

When he discovered this, Zhao Hai was elated. But even if he was happy, he didn't immediately go back to practice. This was because his spiritual force had dried up. Even if a depletion of spiritual force wasn't harmful to his body, one shouldn’t forget that the Stellar Body Tempering Technique and the Concentrating Astral Qi Art needed to be carefully controlled. Otherwise, it would be easy for him to go crazy.

Although these things had been curated by the Space and were deemed non-harmful to Zhao Hai, this didn't mean that the Space could protect him if he practiced wrong. After all, Zhao Hai's spiritual qi was inside his body, only he could affect it.

Zhao Hai went out of the yellowsand background and then went to the hot spring to take a bath. Then after he was refreshed and relaxed, he returned to the villa. At this time, Margaret had already come back. Meanwhile, Laura and the others were looking into news regarding the Machine Field. This was because the elimination round had a lot of casualties. The machine field was currently in a depressive atmosphere.

These deaths were talents that were nurtured by small influences. Resources and time were poured into them. But then, they just died in Yellowsand Planet. This caused these small powers to get angry and start to question the fairness of the elimination round.