Translator: CinderTL
With the battle concluded, Chu Ci, the Dao Prodigy of the Myriad Phenomena Sect, was once again exposed to the light of day.
His gaze immediately fell upon Li Chunjun.
"Thank you, Sword Prodigy Li, for your assistance. If not for your valiant struggle, I fear I would not have escaped death this time."
The Dao Prodigy was remarkably polite.
He clearly understood that Continent 6 was actually home to four Divine Spirit Envoys.
"No need for such formalities. Resisting the Divine Race is our duty and mission as we entered Two Realms Mountain."
Li Chunjun replied.
"That may be true, but even if Sword Prodigy Li hadn't come to Continent 6, you could still have fought the enemy on other continents."
Chu Ci said, immediately producing a jade tablet. "I have nothing worthy to offer in gratitude, but this tablet grants one-time access to Ninth-Tier Authority in the False God Realm. I hope it proves useful to you."
"Ninth-Tier Authority in the False God Realm?"
Li Chunjun had learned a bit about such matters during his time at Frigid Jade Fortress.
The False God Realm, under the jurisdiction of the False God Hall, is a colossal entity on par with the Human Race's Multiverse Hegemony War Committee, the Supreme Research Institute, and the Immortal Alliance.
Ninth-Tier Authority in the False God Realm is equivalent to a Primordial Spirit True Monarch who has undergone at least Seven Tribulations. In fact, many Primordial Spirit True Monarchs who have undergone Seven Tribulations or more might not even possess Ninth-Tier Authority within the False God Realm.
The Ninth-Tier Investigation Authority Chu Ci granted, though limited to a single use, was a precious opportunity that would make even Primordial Spirit True Monarchs envious.
"I sincerely hope Sword Prodigy Li will accept this token," Chu Ci said again.
Li Chunjun glanced at him. Seeing the sincerity in Chu Ci's expression, he found it difficult to refuse. He accepted the jade token. "Then I shall humbly accept your offer."
Chu Ci immediately smiled. "I sincerely hope Sword Prodigy Li will have the opportunity to visit our Myriad Phenomena Sect in the future. The entire sect will roll out the red carpet to welcome you."
"I will go if I have the chance," Li Chunjun nodded slightly.
After further conversation, the atmosphere between them became quite harmonious.
At that moment, Li Chunjun's Solar Radiance Badge began to vibrate gently.
When he swept his Divine Sense, he discovered the message had been sent from outside.
"Return to the Great Camp?"
He pondered for a moment.
The Four Great Holy Spirit Envoys' ambush and encirclement suggested his true identity had been exposed. If things went poorly, the God King of Ending might issue a second Divine Edict, ordering all Divine Spirits and their Servitors on the Two Worlds Mountain Battlefield to hunt him down at any cost.
Though his combat prowess was formidable—he was confident he could escape even if faced with a hundred or eighty Divine Spirits working together—the sheer number of Divine Spirits on the Two Worlds Mountain Battlefield was staggering, numbering between thirty and forty thousand!
Under a Divine Edict, these Divine Spirits would become frenzied. Even if only a tenth of them surrounded him, it would be a death sentence. Not even Primordial Spirit True Monarchs could withstand the siege of three or four thousand fearless Divine Spirits.
To avoid such a dire situation, returning to the Great Camp seemed the wisest course of action.
Moreover...
Li Chunjun glanced at the Human Emperor Banner in his mental world.
[Life Level: 30 (98521/100000)]
Almost there.
If all goes well, a single Apex Divine Spirit might be enough to push him to the brink of "perfection," triggering a moment of enlightenment.
This was even with him controlling his killing spree during the purge of Continent 6's Divine Spirits.
Otherwise, not only would he have reached Level 30 perfection long ago, he might even have ascended to Level 31 and accumulated a significant amount of experience.
But that was clearly not his desired outcome.
The transition from Primordial Spirit to Void Refining was a massive threshold.
This barrier was far greater than the gap between Qi Refining and Core Formation—it was like comparing heaven and earth.
His best bet was to leverage the "enlightenment" opportunity brought by Level 30 perfection to lay a solid foundation for his future Void Refining breakthrough.
Enlightenment, however, required a deep accumulation of knowledge and experience.
Yet, his current foundation in various aspects was still shallow.
If he were to enter enlightenment now, he might only elevate his Sword Intent to its peak level. Whether he could take the next step and enter the realm of Sword Force, exclusive to Void Refining cultivators, remained uncertain.
As for establishing a solid foundation for Void Refining, that was out of the question.
Therefore, returning to the Great Camp to consolidate his gains was paramount.
Continuing his killing spree for the remaining six months might not even be enough to push his Life Level to 32.
Once he reached Level 31, ordinary Divine Spirits would likely no longer provide any "experience" gains.
Relying solely on Greater Divine Spirits and Apex Divine Spirits, the rewards and risks were completely disproportionate.
With this thought, Li Chunjun made a decision.
He immediately summoned Xuan Zhu, Zhao Yu Pan, Wu Gang, True Monarch Dong Xuan, and the others.
"Continent 6 has been cleared, and I've returned with a full harvest. I intend to quickly convert my Merit Points and spoils of war into resources, so I'll be heading to the Great Camp next."
Li Chunjun continued frankly, "Furthermore, to avoid targeted ambushes by the Divine Race, I won't be leaving the Great Camp again. I'll stay there until the Two Realms Mountain War concludes."
The others were somewhat surprised by this, but they also found it reasonable.
"With Sword Prodigy Li's extraordinary talent, once he fully digests the gains from the Two Worlds Mountain Battlefield, he might even challenge the Profound Yellow Star Brilliance List. It's wise not to risk his life further."
"Indeed. Knowing that Sword Prodigy Li, a Heavenly Prodigy with the potential to reach the Star Brilliance List, is here, the Divine Race might issue a Divine Edict to eliminate him at any cost. That wouldn't be surprising."
"We're now deep within Divine Race territory. Returning to the Great Camp would take over three months, and another three months to return to the front lines. The Two Worlds Mountain Battlefield is nearing its end. Staying at the Great Camp or operating nearby is indeed the wisest choice."
Everyone understood Li Chunjun's decision.
Seeing this, Li Chunjun turned his gaze back to Zhao Yu Pan and the others. "If you still wish to continue your adventures, you might consider following Xuan Zhu. He's a decent fellow and should be able to protect your safety."
Xuan Zhu's lips curved slightly at Li Chunjun's words, but he quickly waved his hand. "I'm returning to the Great Camp as well."
He explained, "After pouring all my energy into controlling the 'Dark Sun Refines the Heavens' formation, the immense pressure forced me to gain a deeper understanding of my own strength and sparked some insights. I intend to spend some time digesting these insights."
As he spoke, his lips couldn't help but curve again. "If all goes as planned, after a period of cultivation, my cultivation will undoubtedly break through again. When we meet again in two and a half years, the person standing before you will be Dao Prodigy Xuan Zhu of the Eternal Light Hall."
"Oh?"
Li Chunjun nodded at him. "Congratulations, Dao Prodigy Xuan Zhu."
"Dao Prodigy? That's just a title. You can congratulate me when I've made a run for the Star Brilliance List." Xuan Zhu managed to control his expression.
Since Xuan Zhu also planned to leave...
Li Chunjun turned back to the group.
"Since the Divine Race might issue a Divine Edict ordering Divine Spirits to hunt down Sword Prodigy Li, he can't be left unguarded," Zhao Yu Pan said. "We should return with him."
Wu Gang nodded in agreement. "We'll return with Swordmaster Li as well." He smiled. "For our group, killing Divine Spirits isn't difficult. The challenge is finding enough of them. Since the Divine Race has issued a Divine Eict targeting Sword Prodigy Li, we can simply stay by his side and Divine Spirits will come to us. We might even earn more Merit Points this way than if we wandered around searching for them."
The others' eyes lit up as they nodded in agreement.
"If that's the case, those who wish to remain at the front lines can stay," Li Chunjun said. "Those who don't want to stay can return with us."
Everyone nodded.
Soon, the hundreds of Nascent Soul True Lords began to split up.
Most chose to remain at the front lines. With half a year left until the Two Worlds Mountain Battlefield ended, returning to the Great Camp and then back to the front lines would take at least five or six months. To avoid wasting time and missing opportunities, most Nascent Soul True Lords decided to stay for another three or four months.
However, forty-six Nascent Soul True Lords chose to return to the Great Camp with Li Chunjun.
The forty-six Nascent Soul True Lords shared Wu Gang's reasoning: following Li Chunjun might lead to the slaying of more Divine Spirits and the accumulation of greater Merit Points.
But there was another reason...
Naturally, they wanted to make a favorable impression on this Sword Prodigy, destined for a boundless future.
If Li Chunjun were to recruit followers at this moment, these forty-odd True Lords would likely accept without hesitation, pledging themselves to his service.
On the return journey, they occasionally encountered Divine Spirits. Even a month later, waves of Divine Spirits continued to arrive, attempting to intercept Li Chunjun.
The God King of Ending seemed to have truly issued a Divine Edict.
Unfortunately, the unique environment of Two Realms Mountain made it incredibly difficult for these Divine Spirits and their Servitors to gather in large numbers.
Despite countless Divine Spirits and Servitors rushing to intercept Li Chunjun after learning of his movements, they never managed to form a significant force.
The largest Divine Spirit team never exceeded three digits.
Most Divine Spirits would rush forward to fight in groups of a dozen or even just a few, making their actions little more than suicide.
To prevent his Life Level from reaching 31 during this period, Li Chunjun reduced the number of times he intervened.
When faced with large numbers of Divine Spirits, he would merely cripple them before turning his attention to the Servitors, leaving the merit to the Nascent Soul True Lords who were accompanying him back to the Great Camp.
This act earned the immense gratitude of all the Nascent Soul True Lords.
It also allowed each of them to accumulate thousands of Merit Points.
Three months later, when the group officially returned to the Great Camp, even the Nascent Soul True Lord with the lowest Merit Points had accumulated over 6,000.
Most True Lords had surpassed 10,000 Merit Points.
True Lord Yuanhai and True Lord Liu Feng, in particular, had seen their Merit Points soar to over 20,000.
This amount of Merit Points was equivalent to exchanging for over 2,000 Spirit Crystals.
Yet, a Perfected Great Lord of the Late-Stage Nascent Soul stage typically possessed a wealth of only around 1,000 Spirit Crystals.
In other words, the two True Lords had doubled their wealth compared to a Late-Stage Nascent Soul Great True Lord simply by leaving the Two Worlds Mountain Battlefield.
And this was just counting Merit Points. If the spoils of war were included, their final wealth could easily double again.
Upon returning to the Great Camp, True Lord Wang Qian was the first to greet them.
After parting ways with Zhao Yu Pan and the others, Li Chunjun followed the True Lord to the supply depot.
With 200,000 Merit Points accumulated and a vast amount of valuable spoils of war worth no less than tens of thousands of Spirit Crystals, it was time to properly sort and exchange everything.
As Li Chunjun returned to the Great Camp, a silver-white warship bearing the emblem of the Multiverse Hegemony War Committee's Hall of Justice pierced through space and arrived at the Blue Star Minor Realm.
(End of the Chapter)
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