Volume One: Youth Enters the World Chapter Sixty-Two: About to Depart

Meanwhile, inside Maple Grove Residence, Fang Tian remained unaware that he had already drawn someone’s attention. Yet, as if sensing something amiss, a vague unease stirred within him, only to be pushed to the back of his mind after a while.

At this moment, he was quietly sorting through the information he had gleaned from Lin Shuang. From her, he learned that in order to participate in the Hundred Isles Assembly, one must board a spirit ship owned exclusively by the Imperial Dynasty. For every island in the Northern Sand Archipelago, these spirit ships were invaluable artifacts, typically possessed only by the island’s most powerful factions—ordinary cultivators had no chance of owning one.

For those cultivators wishing to leave their own island, unless they possessed formidable strength, the only alternative was to find a way to join the Hundred Isles Assembly. Yet since such treasures were held solely by the island’s top powers, countless cultivators would attempt to curry favor with those factions, hoping to secure the opportunity to attend the Assembly.

But obtaining such a chance was far from easy; mere proximity was not enough—one also needed sufficient cultivation. Those powers were not foolish; if they brought along someone too weak, their island would surely be looked down upon or bullied by others.

What’s more, the great powers across the Sea of Nether Neighbors sought only to recruit the most promising talents, and they placed high demands on age—older cultivators were not desired. Thus, those who went to the Assembly were always the youngest geniuses each island could offer, selected from their own ranks. If anyone could go, the event would descend into chaos.

Which island wouldn't wish for its prodigies to be admitted into those great sects? After all, once accepted, one would rise swiftly, gaining access to endless cultivation methods and resources, as well as bringing back numerous benefits to their home island, greatly boosting its strength and prosperity.

The island powers would gladly send all their disciples if they could, but the great sects had their own standards—the Assembly existed solely to select worthy talents.

The only unfairness was that most islands chose their talents from within their own clans, reluctant to give outsiders or those of other races any chance at all. As a result, most itinerant cultivators had no opportunity—one person alone could never compete against the numbers wielded by established powers.

Fang Tian heard from Lin Shuang that on this Ice Spirit Island, ruled by the imperial dynasty, only the four great families of the royal city and the royal clan itself were eligible to participate in the Assembly. No one else had the slightest chance and could only spend their days on the island awaiting the end.

Of course, the Imperial Dynasty would never actively prevent anyone from leaving—if you had the ability, you were free to go. But leaving was easier said than done, not to mention the dire scarcity of cultivation resources, the thing most lacking in the Northern Sand Archipelago. Those resources were all tightly controlled by the great powers, so some people spent their whole lives striving, never reaching the level needed to depart.

Hearing all this, Fang Tian felt a stab of sorrow for those people. To be born and fated to spend a lifetime on a single island, never seeing the wider world—if not for his own twists of fate, he might have been just like them.

Yet, if he could bring his family back to life, he would have no regrets about spending his days on the island. Compared to the outside world’s wonders, he cherished the thought of his loved ones by his side far more than venturing alone through the unknown. Once his family was revived, he would return here and go nowhere else.

He cared little for the outside world’s allure. All he wanted was to become stronger as quickly as possible, so he could revive his family sooner rather than later.

These thoughts brought a heaviness to his mood. Alone, he sat in silence, lost in thought for a long time.

After a while, Fang Tian let out a soft sigh and began to plan his next steps. He had promised Lin Shuang that in three days’ time, he would accompany her into the royal city. Yet something had struck him as odd—when he reconfirmed the matter of the quota, Lin Shuang’s expression grew somewhat strange, as if she hesitated. Fang Tian had been unsure what to make of it, wondering if she was about to change her mind, so he pressed her again. Lin Shuang could only assure him earnestly that she would never deceive him, finally putting his mind at ease. Whatever her intentions, since she had agreed, Fang Tian decided not to dwell on it, though he would remain cautious. This was no time to trust others lightly—his sole objective was to secure a place.

For that reason, he needed to improve his cultivation as much as possible in the coming days, to ensure he could fulfill his role as a bodyguard. If there was no danger, all the better; but if there was, every additional breakthrough meant greater safety—this much, Fang Tian understood well.

With this resolve, Fang Tian entered the space within his sword and began his training. Once inside, he sat cross-legged and repeatedly circulated the Body Refinement and Spirit Transformation Technique. Previously, he had already pushed his body refinement cycle to nearly five hundred repetitions. This time, he intended to reach six hundred in one go. With each repetition, his body would grow tougher, and his spiritual power thicker. Coupled with the awakening of his spirit body, his strength would surely climb to new heights.

He also noticed that as his spirit body gradually awakened, his meridians not only absorbed energy faster but had grown noticeably larger, capable of holding more spiritual power. However, this also meant that breaking through to the next realm became far more difficult, especially given the thin spiritual energy in the area. Even with faster absorption, it was hard to fill his meridians in a short time. So Fang Tian was in no rush to break through; instead, he focused steadily on the Body Refinement and Spirit Transformation Technique. Since a quick breakthrough was impossible, he would make his body ever more formidable. No matter how urgent, some things simply took time.

Within the sword’s space, time flowed differently from the outside, yet still passed, minute by minute. Fang Tian endlessly repeated the monotonous cycles of body refinement and spirit induction. With each increase in repetitions, the spiritual energy required also multiplied. By the time he reached his five hundred and ninetieth cycle, the energy needed was almost double what it had been before, lengthening the time between breakthroughs. Although progress had been swift when his spirit body first awakened, it naturally slowed as he advanced.

At first, Fang Tian had been puzzled, but now he understood: the earlier speed was due entirely to the smaller size of his meridians at the time. Now, though progress was slower, it was only by a small margin.

After more than a month had passed in the sword’s internal world, Fang Tian slowly opened his eyes.

“At last, six hundred cycles. If I had to train this long in the outside world, I doubt I’d ever have the peace needed for such cultivation.”

Even though time passed within the sword’s space as well, Fang Tian’s responsibilities outside meant he could never truly devote himself to cultivation there. As for any disturbances beyond, Old Tian kept watch.

The sword’s space truly was a wonder. Fang Tian had once asked Old Tian whether time flowed differently for him when Fang Tian wasn’t inside. As Old Tian explained, when Fang Tian was absent, time flowed as in the outside world—the acceleration only occurred when the master entered.

Rising to his feet, Fang Tian walked to a massive boulder and, with a single palm strike, shattered it to dust—using nothing but the strength of his physical body. He could not help but marvel.

With each cycle of body refinement, his physical power grew more apparent. At this point, he felt confident he could withstand a blow from a spiritual artifact barehanded. Whether he truly could would have to be put to the test.