Li Pingcan's use of water-based spells was not refined enough, so he faced off against a Water Dragon Guard who specialized in this path as his sparring partner.  

As for Qingjiao, whose bloodline inherently contained the heavy power of the King’s conduct, the Dragon Palace dispatched a King Dragon Guard to test its strength!  

Realizing this, Li Pingcan immediately developed a new idea.  

Since the Dragon Palace trials aimed to compensate for weaknesses, why did he have to start comprehending elements from his strongest aspect?  

He entered the Five Elements Hall to begin today’s cultivation.  

This time, he walked straight toward the water element stele emitting a faint blue glow.  

He took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, and once again sank his mind inward.  

Unlike the overwhelming vitality of the wood element, the water element gave him a sense of acceptance and transformation, a pervasive and penetrating flow.  

He saw trickling streams, calm lakes, roaring rivers, and even tsunamis sweeping everything away.  

He repeatedly rehearsed his Water Manipulation spell in his mind, cross-referencing it with the most fundamental water laws transmitted from the stele.  

He realized how shallow his previous understanding of water had been. The so-called “transforming water into weapons” was merely a superficial form. The true secret of water lay in its nature of “formlessness.”  

Days passed one after another.  

Li Pingcan was completely immersed in this marvelous insight, losing himself entirely.  

Until one moment several days later, his heart suddenly lit up, as if a lightning bolt had shattered the fog in his mind.  

He had thoroughly comprehended a critical point about the “harmonious integration of hardness and softness” in water flow!  

“So that’s how it is!”  

He excitedly opened his eyes, feeling his thoughts clear and his understanding of the Water Manipulation spell instantly elevated to an entirely new level.  

He instinctively summoned his Druid panel, wanting to see how much his skill proficiency had increased.  

However, when he saw the element gathering section, he froze for a moment. Then, an indescribable ecstasy surged in his heart.  

[LV0 Element Gathering [Infinite [Elements]]]  

[Wood (45/70)]  

[Earth (41/70)]  

[Metal (5/70)]  

[Water (4/70)]  

[Fire (6/70)]  

His water affinity rose from three to four, increasing slightly!  

“This!”  

Li Pingcan’s heart pounded wildly, almost leaping out of his chest.  

He had thought the Five Elements Hall was just a super training ground to improve spell proficiency, but he never imagined it could directly enhance his most fundamental spiritual root aptitude!  

“All five elements? Superior spiritual root?”  

He laughed, “With this Five Elements Hall, those are just small goals!”  

His eyes burned as they swept over the three steles representing metal, fire, and earth, blazing with fierce passion.  

“No rush, take it slow.”  

Suppressing his wild joy, Li Pingcan sat again in front of the water element stele, a look of immense satisfaction and expectation on his face. “Let’s start with improving water affinity!”  

..........  

Inside the Five Elements Hall, there was no sun or moon, no reckoning of years.  

Li Pingcan fully entered his “buffet-style” cultivation mode.  

If he had felt unmotivated when comprehending the wood element before,  

now exploring the water, metal, and fire elements filled every second with novelty and challenge—painful yet joyful.  

He felt as if he had transformed into a single drop of water, experiencing the entire process from melting snow on mountain peaks to forming streams and rushing into the sea.  

The first stage of the Water Manipulation spell became increasingly effortless in his hands.  

When he approached the sharp metal stele, the atmosphere abruptly changed.  

“Ugh… so painful!”  

As soon as his divine consciousness touched the stele, an indomitable sharp energy pierced his soul, making him feel as if he had been thrown into a blade, every inch of his spiritual sense repeatedly sliced.  

This was completely different from the mildness of wood and water, filled instead with aggression and killing intent.  

“Wow, this metal element is really hot-tempered!”  

Li Pingcan gritted his teeth but dared not relax even a bit.  

He bit down hard, enduring the tearing pain in his soul, trying to comprehend the “way” within that sharp energy.  

The sharpness of metal was not only destructive but also about the essence of “condensing” and “breaking.” It could be an invincible spear or an indestructible shield.  

As for the fire stele,  

the moment Li Pingcan approached, he felt as if he was about to melt.  

The wild flames made the mana in his body restless. He even had the illusion that if he stayed longer, he might spontaneously combust from inside out.  

“Calm down, calm down! A calm heart cools naturally... my foot cools!”  

Sweating profusely, Li Pingcan felt like a chicken being roasted on a spit.  

He had to divert part of his consciousness, repeatedly running through his Water Manipulation insights, setting a faint layer of water vapor around his soul. Only then could he barely endure the scorching heat.  

In this extreme tug-of-war between ice and fire, he painfully comprehended the mysteries of fire’s “destruction” and “rebirth.”  

This tormenting cultivation would have driven anyone else mad long ago.  

Whenever Li Pingcan felt his soul about to be “destroyed,” he immediately exited the Five Elements Hall, returned to the real world, and ate a red berry created by Divine Berry Technique, “recharging” in the Emerald Dream for half a day.  

Once his soul recovered and his spirit was full, he would rush back to the Dragon Palace to continue enduring this “torment.”  

This cycle repeated endlessly.  

He was like a sponge, crazily absorbing the knowledge of the elemental origins.  

Finally, after a year, when he awoke again from his insights before the water element stele, the numbers on his panel had decisively changed.  

[Water (10/70)]  

[Metal (10/70)]  

[Fire (10/70)]  

The water, metal, and fire attributes all broke into double digits, rising from inferior spiritual roots to the level of lower-grade spiritual roots!  

At that instant, Li Pingcan felt an indescribable transformation in both body and soul.  

The previously distinct spiritual energies of various attributes within him now faintly began to flow and mutually nurture each other.  

Even more astonishing was the change in the Emerald Dream.  

The white jade lotus platform in the lake’s center, formed from the Saint Lotus Heart, had sprouted a budding flower next to its original two lotus leaves.  

The dream world was a projection of the real world, but its degree of reality and illusion stemmed from Li Pingcan’s understanding of the fundamental Five Elements constructing the world.  

It was obvious the Emerald Dream had become more solid, and…  

The thick mist surrounding the edges of the Emerald Dream slowly receded, revealing a completely new scene.  

It was a shattered ruin.  

Broken towering pillars, collapsed celestial palaces and shrines, cracked earth everywhere... emanating an ancient, desolate yet powerful aura.  

Countless strong and chaotic battle remnants, like silent imprints, deeply marked every inch of this ruined land.  

[Emerald Dream expanded, contacting powerful divine consciousness left from ancient battlefield, ‘Ancient Ruins Dream’ unlocked.]  

A timely prompt appeared on the panel.  

Before Li Pingcan could fully see it, a bone-chilling sword intent surged toward him, making his soul tremble.  

Within the ruins, a vague figure stood quietly. Its face was indistinct, body slender, and merely standing there it felt like an unsheathed peerless divine sword, radiating sharpness as if wanting to slice open the heavens and earth.  

Without any warning, a sword light, moving at extreme speed, instantly crossed the spatial distance and stabbed straight at his forehead!  

“Leave!”  

At the moment the sword light was about to strike, Li Pingcan decisively moved his willpower, and the white jade lotus platform suddenly blazed with light, wrapping him in a gentle force that instantly ejected his consciousness from the Emerald Dream!  

“Phew!”  

Back in his cave dwelling, Li Pingcan abruptly opened his eyes, heart still pounding.  

“Too strong... That is definitely the divine consciousness left by a sword cultivation master from ancient times!”  

Instead of fear, a determined expression appeared on his face.  

The greater the risk, the greater the reward.  

This sword cultivation divine consciousness was so powerful; if he could defeat it, he might gain a lot of valuable sword knowledge.  

In the past, he didn’t study swordsmanship because he couldn’t find a formidable sword technique. Now that this divine consciousness had exceptional swordsmanship, maybe in the future he could control flying swords with his mind.  

“You’re just a mere divine consciousness projection. I refuse to be bullied in my Emerald Dream!”  

In the days that followed, Li Pingcan completely locked horns with that sword cultivation divine consciousness.  

He entered the ruin dream repeatedly, only to be driven out again and again by the opponent’s unfathomable sword moves.  

Whenever he was in danger, he would automatically be ejected from the Emerald Dream, effectively a bug exploit.  

Though it consumed a great deal of his soul power and gave him headaches, it was far better than suffering soul injuries.  

During this intense “abuse,” his understanding of swordsmanship soared at a terrifying speed.  

After several days, Li Pingcan finally discerned a pattern.  

This divine consciousness projection seemed to only repeat a fixed sword technique set. Though exquisite, it lacked the true agility and adaptability of a real person.  

Fully prepared, Li Pingcan stepped into the ruins again, no longer foolishly waiting for the opponent’s moves.  

“Thunderclap Wave!”  

With a low roar, his Druid skill instantly exploded!  

“Boom!”  

The violent sonic shockwave spread outward from him, causing the sword cultivation divine consciousness to visibly stagger, clearly disrupted in its rhythm of attacks by the sudden area strike.  

Now!  

Li Pingcan unleashed his full power, his form transforming into a swift ghost shadow, advancing instead of retreating, fiercely charging at the opponent!  

The sword cultivation divine consciousness flicked its wrist, a sword light like a whip sweeping across, blocking all of Li Pingcan’s forward paths.  

Exactly the move Li Pingcan was waiting for!  

Though the sword technique was exquisite, it was still a fixed “program.” After countless “reloads,” Li Pingcan was intimately familiar with its opening moves, variations, and even the trajectory of each sword light.  

Facing this sweeping attack that blocked all retreat, Li Pingcan neither dodged nor avoided, his mind spinning rapidly.  

Five Spirit Play, Crane Dance!  

His spiritual form instantly became light and graceful. Instead of leaping upward, he crouched low, sliding like a feather close to the ground, slipping through the sword light with an incredible posture, narrowly escaping.  

The fierce sword wind grazed his scalp, sending a sharp pain through his soul, but he had successfully broken into the sword cultivation divine consciousness’s inner circle!  

Up close!  

An ordinary sword cultivator would lose composure when so close, but the divine consciousness showed no fear. It flipped its wrist, changing the sword momentum from sweeping to downward—simple, efficient, lethal!  

It was fast, but Li Pingcan was faster!  

The crane’s grace instantly transformed into the tiger’s ferocity!  

His fingers clenched like claws, no fancy moves, a single fierce tiger claw strike carrying immense force struck at the wrist holding the sword!  

The sword technique combining water, metal, and fire was exquisite, able to counter the crane’s agility and withstand the tiger’s strength.  

Li Pingcan’s wrist sank slightly, the sword tip twisted, striking the tiger claw’s center point with precision and force.  

However, just as the sword tip was about to touch, Li Pingcan’s attack changed again!  

Ape Dance!  

The tiger’s dominance vanished, replaced by the cunning trickery of a spiritual ape!  

That fierce tiger claw instantly turned into a feint attack; the real killing move was his other hand, stretching like an ape’s long arm, taking an incredible angle to bypass the sword tip and strike the open chest of the opponent!  

This was the tactic Li Pingcan had summarized through countless failures!  

The strength of the sword cultivation divine consciousness lay in its flawless sword technique “program,” but as long as it was hit with a combat logic rapidly switching between fierceness and agility, the “program” would momentarily falter!  

Sure enough, for the first time, a “lag” flickered across the divine consciousness’s vague face.  

It could not immediately process this instant transition from “tiger’s brute force” to “ape’s stealth attack.”  

When masters clash, victory is decided in an instant!  

This one-in-ten-thousandth moment of hesitation was the long-awaited godsend for Li Pingcan!  

He seized the flaw, his spiritual form swelling suddenly, erupting with a wild and heavy aura.  

His five fingers formed claws, concentrating a strike, the Wolf’s Ferocity imprint smashing into the chest of the sword cultivation divine consciousness!  

“Disperse!”  

“Boom!”  

A tremendous roar exploded from deep within his soul!  

The sword cultivation divine consciousness staggered backward under the immense force, revealing a huge vulnerability.  

Strike while the enemy is weak!  

Using softness to overcome hardness!  

With a thought, the lake water in the Emerald Dream was stirred by him, an invisible yet omnipresent water realm quietly enveloping the entire battlefield.  

This was not physical water, but a manifestation of the “law of water.”  

The water realm enveloped the sword cultivation divine consciousness, infiltrating the crack just exposed by the Ape Dance, seeping in bit by bit, everywhere.  

If sword intent was refined steel, then this water realm was the dampness enough to rust that steel.  

Once the water intent fully penetrated, Li Pingcan manipulated the water flow to condense, instantly chilling the water into frost, radiating a cold chill.  

The first stage of Water Manipulation could drastically alter the nature of water flow—freezing and solidifying!  

“Crack!”  

A strange sound rang out as the brilliant sword light on the sword cultivation divine consciousness began to fade and corrode visibly, then shattered. Its solid form started to become unstable and illusory.  

It seemed to struggle, trying to swing the sword again to break this binding, but the cold water realm was intangible and formless, impossible to cut or dispel. Instead, the more it struggled, the deeper the infiltration became, freezing wherever the water flowed.  

“The highest good is like water; water benefits all things and does not contend.”  

Li Pingcan watched the scene calmly, “Your sword is too rigid, too sharp, and too fragile.”  

Finally, with a faint “crack,” the peerless divine sword that had made Li Pingcan suffer so much broke inch by inch, dissolving into countless points of light.  

The sword cultivation divine consciousness stared dumbfounded at its empty hands, its whole figure slowly dissipating like sand in the wind.  

[You have defeated the ancient sword cultivation divine consciousness, comprehending the ‘Sword Intent’.]  

[Your will has been tempered a hundredfold, and your soul power permanently enhanced.]  

[You have defeated the divine consciousness projection of ancient sword cultivator Lin Jinghong, gaining part of his sword inheritance, the ‘Thirteen Wind Returning Swords’ Set Three.]  

As the divine consciousness faded, a dazzling rune composed of countless tiny sword lights emerged from its dissipating form and entered his forehead.  

In an instant, a vast and pure sword cultivation insight surged into his mind like a breaking flood.  

After a long time, Li Pingcan slowly returned from the sword cultivation insight. He stretched out his hand, fingers curled slightly. Though no sword was in hand, he felt as if he could grasp sharpness.  

“Thirteen Wind Returning Swords...”  

He whispered, “What a fine wind return, what a magnificent phoenix!”  

This sword technique was less a fixed set of moves and more the ultimate expression of thirteen forms of wind.  

Each sword represented a form and artistic conception of wind.  

However, he only obtained three moves: the gentle and penetrating “Willow Breeze,” the swift and fleeting “Flowing Light Wind,” and the violent and continuous “Rolling Cloud Wind.”  

Having only part of the inheritance was very different from mastering it fully.  

Li Pingcan searched his storage pouch for a moment and took out a piece of seized Star Iron. This iron was heavy in hand and an excellent forging material.  

Though he did not know forging, he struck it with brute force, managing to roughly craft a crude, simple iron sword.  

The sword had no sharp edge and no sheath, resembling more an iron ruler.  

But he did not care. Holding the iron sword, he closed his eyes, recalling every move of that peerless figure. He imitated the remembered opening stance and slowly thrust the sword forward.  

His movement was stiff and the sword momentum heavy, lacking any lightness that swordsmanship should have.  

“Not right.”  

Li Pingcan immediately stopped. A true sword cultivator drove mana and relied on sword intent.  

He took a deep breath and slowly infused the natural mana within him into the iron sword.  

This time, when he swung the sword again, the feeling was completely different. The once heavy iron sword seemed like an extension of his arm, a faint sharpness flowing along the blade.  

“Thirteen Wind Returning Swords, first move, Willow Breeze!”  

His figure shifted slightly, wrist trembling lightly, the iron sword becoming a shadow, softly slicing through the air like willow branches swaying in the spring breeze.  

Where the sword tip passed, a faint yet deep sword mark silently appeared on the stone wall ahead!  

A glint of joy flashed in Li Pingcan’s eyes.  

Though Druid spells were profound, they ultimately lacked direct offensive power.  

Now, with this sword technique, his weakness was completely filled.