Sage of Humanity

Pill energy dissolved, and spirit force flowed, gradually filling up the 47th orifice.

On the second night after leaving Mount Ying, Lu Ye met the requirements to ascend to the Level 4 realm.

However, to advance to the Level 4 realm, he still had to switch his Cultivation Technique.

Owing to his frequent switches between the Bestial Gluttony Feast and the Golden Cicada Carefree Method, such a task was not difficult for him. Under Lu Ye's control, the rapidly flowing spirit force within his body swiftly calmed down, and the connections between the major spiritual orifices were cut off.

He then channeled his spirit force according to the route prescribed by the Red Lotus Soaring to Sky Technique, starting from the Root Spiritual Orifice, passing through the 1st Spiritual Orifice, the 2nd Spiritual Orifice, all the way to the 9th Spiritual Orifice.

Perhaps because it was his first time activating the Red Lotus Soaring to Sky Technique, the Minor Circumambulation cycle ran very slowly. Lu Ye maintained his focus, and the spirit force that flowed like a stream within the 9 Major Spiritual Orifices picked up speed and eventually circulated autonomously.

The first Minor Circumambulation system was formed.

He then stimulated the 10th orifice, pouring spirit force into the 11th through 18th orifices, following the same method.

A moment later, the second Minor Circumambulation system was formed.

After another moment, the third Minor Circumambulation system began to operate.

Next came the fourth one. However, the jump from Spirit Stream Level 3 to Level 4 was a significant upgrade because the fourth Minor Circumambulation system encompassed as many as eighteen orifices.

Since it was his first time initiating such a system that included eighteen orifices, Lu Ye was a bit more cautious.

About half a cup of tea later, he shook slightly, and from where he sat at the center, a wave of energy swept in all directions, pressing down the nearby campfire.

Spirit Stream Level 4 attained!

Lu Ye was pleased and silently sensed the changes within himself.

Compared to Level 3, Level 4 indeed brought significant growth. The benefits of eighteen orifices were at least twice that of every previous level, and the spirit force he could summon in an instant had increased by nearly half. Naturally, the strength he could exert was now much greater.

Moreover, when compared to the Golden Cicada Carefree Method, the Red Lotus Soaring to Sky Technique had many advantages.

One was an Earth-class technique, the other a Yellow Rank Technique, and the assistance they provided to cultivators was naturally different.

The most apparent change was the speed at which the spirit force flowed within the body. The speed of circulating spirit force with a Yellow Rank Technique was significantly lower than with an Earth-class technique, with the latter being at least 20% faster!

This change, when reflected on the cultivators, could also enhance their strength.

He stood up, drew his long knife, and poured his own spirit force into it. In a flash, a red glow appeared on the side of the blade as if a layer of burning flames clung to the knife. Enhanced by Sharpness spirit runes, such a weapon would have an explosive lethality.

Lu Ye raised his eyebrows and casually swung the knife, casting a flower pattern. Under the night sky, the knife danced like a fire dragon.

With a slash, a short burst of air-breaking sound was heard.

Ascending to Level 4 had indeed brought a substantial increase in strength, much more than any previous advancements. No wonder people say Level 4 and Level 7 are the dividing lines.

If he possessed this level of cultivation during his fight with Senior Brother Zhou of Cloudy Mountain, he was confident he could've killed him with little cost.

After retracting his spirit force, he sheathed the knife and sat down again. He took out the Red Lotus Soaring to Sky Technique to study. The Earth-class technique came with several spells, which Lu Ye had already seen before. However, the requirements to practice those spells were somewhat high; even the least demanding spell required a Level 4 cultivation as a foundation.

Previously, Lu Ye could not cultivate them, but now, he finally had the qualifications.

Honestly, during the fierce battle with Luo Ji, Lu Ye envied his ability to cast magic and spells. In combat, a low-level cultivator who knows magic and spells often easily gains the upper hand.

On the other hand, Lu Ye could only face the magic and spells thrown at him head-on. If it had not been for the Defense Spirit Runes, he would have been played to death by Luo Ji long ago.

He used to have some Spirit Talismans that could make up for his shortcomings in combat methods, but now there were only a few Spirit Talismans left in Lu Ye's hands. The ones for attacking had long been exhausted, and if he could master a spell, he didn't dare say how much his strength could improve, but at least he would have one more means of combat against enemies.

However, he didn't rush to explore that spell. He had never dealt with such things before and was afraid that he might not understand it at a glance. It wouldn't be too late to study it slowly when he had time.

Right now, he was only exploring the spiritual orifices needed to be opened for the Level 5 realm.

To cultivate to the Level 5 realm, one needs to open at least sixty-three orifices, eighteen more than the Level 4.realm.

However, since Lu Ye had previously opened two extra orifices that were included in the route of conducting energy for the Level 5 realm, he only needed to open sixteen more orifices to advance to the Level 5 realm.

Given his current speed of cultivation, as long as he had enough energy and no disturbances, he estimated it would take just over a month.

Reflecting on the time the sect master threw him into the Spirit Stream battlefield, he was just a junior cultivator who had opened his 3rd orifice. He entered this place completely confused, treading on thin ice, where a pack of wolves could trap him in a tree.

In the blink of an eye, four months had passed.

Although his cultivation was still not high, the initial hardships were behind him. Moreover, his experiences over these few months could be described as rich and colorful.

He had participated in major battles between two sects, been hunted by cultivators far stronger than himself, competed with disciples who had cultivated Heaven Rank techniques from top forces, and fought life-and-death struggles with many who were stronger and had higher cultivation levels than him...

Thinking like this, Lu Ye felt that his past four months had been truly fraught with hardship, and he couldn't help but shed tears of bitterness for himself.

Still, it was all in the past. He had been powerless due to his low cultivation before, but now as a cultivator at the Level 4 realm, he wasn't bold enough to say he could walk sideways in the outer circle of the battlefield, but at least his ability to protect himself had greatly improved.

In the outer circle, most cultivators had a lower cultivation level than him, so he was no longer at the very bottom. Now, he could stand high and look down on others.

He channeled his spirit force and looked down to check his battlefield imprint.

The recorded information was as simple as ever.

Name: Lu Ye

Identity: Disciple of the Righteous Blood Sect.

Cultivation: 47 orifices opened.

Location: Spirit Stream battlefield.

Merit: One hundred seventy-four.

When he left the Sky-Splitting Gorge, he remembered his merit was one hundred forty-two points. However, he had added thirty-two points for killing five individuals from Cloudy Mountain, and after recalculating using the method he had figured out on his own, he found the numbers matched up. Continue your adventure at empire

It seemed that to gain more merit, he still needed to defeat enemies above his realm.

Lu Ye had a vague feeling that merit would be of great importance in the future!

It was time for sword practice. Lu Ye took off his shirt, revealing his robust upper body covered in fierce and crisscrossing scars. Though the injuries had healed, the scars remained. Hua Ci still lacked the ability to completely eliminate those scars.

Stroke by stroke, he chopped with utmost seriousness. Two Shichen later, drenched in sweat, Lu Ye finally stopped his sword practice, walked to the side, took out his water flask to clean himself, and returned to sit by the campfire, meditating on his cultivation.

Currently at Level 4 realm, he needed to understand his current cultivation efficiency and how many elixir pills it would take to open another orifice.