Zhang Dapang's heart was pounding too. When he heard what Bai Xiaochun said, he felt it made some sense and quickly nodded.
"Yes, yes! Master also told me not to look at failure and success too much. Ninth Junior Brother, hurry back to your room and test the spirit!" Zhang Dapang coughed, trying to appear calm, and quickly urged him.
Bai Xiaochun turned around and briskly walked back to his room. He glanced at the flying sword in his hand, frowned, and worried that he'd hit Zhang Dapang's confidence if he tested it recklessly. So instead, he formed a hand seal, and the Turtle Pattern Pot appeared with a flick of his finger.
"Ah, Senior Brother has been so repressed all this time, and he finally regained his confidence today. I can't let him be disappointed. Maybe this way, the spirit infusion will succeed…" Bai Xiaochun muttered to himself. He took out a first-grade flame and threw the unused silver flying sword into the pot.
The silver light was already dazzling, and now it flashed again. Bai Xiaochun put the Turtle Pattern Pot away, picked up the flying sword, gritted his teeth, and poured his spiritual energy into it. In an instant, his spiritual energy flowed into the sword without any hindrance. The silver light contracted violently and finally formed a silver rune on the blade.
"It worked!" Bai Xiaochun was overjoyed. He didn't know if Zhang Dapang had succeeded on his own or if it was because of his help. Without hesitation, he pushed open the door and rushed out.
"Senior Brother! It worked! It really worked! Senior Brother, you're amazing!"
In the courtyard, Zhang Dapang was nervous and anxious, his face stiff. When he saw Bai Xiaochun, he trembled. When he saw the silver rune on the flying sword, he slapped his thigh and laughed to the sky.
"How is it? How is it!"
"I knew it! I just didn't control my strength well before. Back on Ziding Mountain, I managed to infuse three weapons! Even my Master said I had great talent! Ninth Junior Brother, it worked this time, didn't it?" Zhang Dapang was so excited. He grabbed the sword from Bai Xiaochun and beamed at it.
Bai Xiaochun stood beside him, eyes filled with admiration, which made Zhang Dapang even more elated. He took a deep breath and waved his arm.
"Come on! I'm so happy today, I'll do it again! Let's infuse this sword a second time!"
"Senior Brother, maybe next time…" Bai Xiaochun felt this might not be appropriate. He vaguely remembered that the sect had many taboos regarding multiple spirit infusions.
"No worries!" Zhang Dapang dismissed Bai Xiaochun's concerns and, with high spirits, began the second spirit infusion.
This second attempt was clearly much harder than the first. Zhang Dapang used up almost all his spirit ores, his whole body trembled, and he even swallowed many pills to barely manage to draw the power of heaven and earth into the sword. The silver light on the sword shone brightly. Zhang Dapang collapsed to the ground, exhausted and gasping for breath like an ox.
But his eyes shone with excitement as he handed the sword back to Bai Xiaochun.
"Try it again!"
Bai Xiaochun nodded immediately and took the sword, but before he could test it, Zhang Dapang grabbed his hand and reminded him seriously.
"Don't test it here! Ninth Junior Brother, listen to me—testing the spirit is all about the feeling. When you feel good, it's like being blessed by the gods. Since you succeeded in your room, go back there and do it again!"
Bai Xiaochun blinked, feeling that Zhang Dapang really knew what he was talking about when it came to spirit infusion, so he nodded solemnly and ran back to his room.
"Maybe Senior Brother's infusion really is amazing. Just now, even without the Turtle Pattern Pot, it would have succeeded…" Thinking this, Bai Xiaochun looked at the sword in his hand and decided not to use the Turtle Pattern Pot. He unleashed his spiritual energy directly into the sword.
In a flash, the silver light flickered—then quickly dimmed. Cracking sounds echoed as cracks spread across the blade, turning it into scrap.
Bai Xiaochun pulled a long face. Just as he was fretting, Zhang Dapang's tense, anxious voice came from outside.
"Ninth Junior Brother, I think I saw silver light just now—did it work?!"
"Um… I haven't tested it yet! I'll do it right now…" Bai Xiaochun quickly responded, growing anxious.
In the courtyard, Zhang Dapang fell silent, his face full of bitterness. He wasn't stupid; he could tell what had happened. He'd even glimpsed a flash of silver light through the window.
He sighed deeply. He knew Bai Xiaochun didn't want him to feel bad. Taking a deep breath, he called out toward the wooden hut.
"Ninth Junior Brother, I know you tried. It's fine… I'll be going now."
He'd come with high spirits but now left dejected and disappointed. He knew he'd been rash. According to his Master, spirit infusion was a mysterious art. No one could guarantee a perfect success rate, but the entire cultivation world had a strange phenomenon: those who succeeded more often found it easier to succeed again, while those who failed often continued to fail.
It sounded contradictory, but it was really an unseen power of the mind—an almost mystical feeling that the more confident one was, the more likely they were to succeed.
So, in the world of spirit infusion, there were two schools of practice. One was orthodox—true spirit refiners only infused the item but never tested the spirit themselves. They would hand it over to the client and forbid them from testing it in front of them. This way, no matter the result, the refiner's state of mind remained pure and untainted. Once the item was given away, the refiner would forget about it entirely to maintain inner calm.
The other, more extreme school was called the Ancient Spirit-Focusing Method. It demanded the refiner see the result with their own eyes. The more success they witnessed, the stronger their skill became. But it was extremely risky—too many failures could ruin one's confidence forever and destroy their talent, leaving them afraid to ever attempt it again.
Even so, many people pursued this path. Zhang Dapang's master, Xu Meixiang, even admitted that if someone could use this extreme method to succeed repeatedly, their confidence would reach an unmatched peak, and their spirit refining skill would shake the heavens.
The Lingxi Sect's treasured Skyhorn Sword, refined ten times, was forged ten thousand years ago by just such a mad spirit refiner.
Zhang Dapang felt bitter. He knew his lineage on Ziding Mountain practiced the orthodox way. In his excitement, he'd made a mistake and lost his peaceful mind. He had no idea how long it would take to recover.
Inside the room, Bai Xiaochun looked through the window at Zhang Dapang's lonely back. He gritted his teeth—he didn't want to disappoint him. He quickly took out another identical flying sword from his storage pouch, used the Turtle Pattern Pot, and refined it twice.
Zhang Dapang forced a smile and was about to leave the courtyard when Bai Xiaochun's delighted voice rang out behind him.
"Senior Brother! It worked!!" The wooden door burst open, and Bai Xiaochun rushed out, holding the sword with two silver runes, his face full of joy.
"Really?!" Zhang Dapang's body trembled as he turned sharply. Seeing the sword, he grabbed it, his whole body shaking with disbelief, his eyes filling with excitement.
"Haha! I, Zhang Dapang, really am a genius at spirit infusion! Twice in a row—two refinements—and I succeeded both times!!"
He hugged Bai Xiaochun in a burst of joy, tears nearly spilling out. His cultivation talent was average—if not for family ties, he'd never have made it into Lingxi Sect. Back in the furnace room, rare treasures let him reach Qi Condensation Tier 3, but once he joined the outer sect, cultivation became increasingly difficult. He watched He Sanpang and Bai Xiaochun surpass him—though he blessed them, he couldn't help feeling dejected.
Now he knew he had a gift for spirit refining. His joy was indescribable. He felt useful—his self-confidence soared, and a faint, mysterious force began to condense within him. This faint force was the embryo of the so-called "spirit power."
This extreme path of spirit refining: the more success, the greater the confidence, the stronger the spirit power, and the greater the success!
Perhaps, even if it wasn't done personally, as long as he believed it was his own success, these steps could still nurture this mystical spirit power.
Zhang Dapang left, full of passion and vigor. Bai Xiaochun saw him off in the courtyard. He didn't know if what he'd done was right or wrong, but seeing Zhang Dapang so happy, he felt he'd done the right thing.
A few days later, Bai Xiaochun finally learned from Xu Baocai why Xiangyun Mountain was so empty. Nearly every outer sect disciple at Qi Condensation Tier 6 or above had gone into seclusion to break through to Tier 8—they all yearned to qualify for the sect's grand once-every-30-years Genius Battle!
The South and North banks' outer sect Genius Battle would happen in three months and draw the entire Lingxi Sect's attention. Cultivator families and small sects all across Donglin Continent paid close attention too.
This battle would decide the top ten geniuses of the South and North banks, who would then ascend as inner sect disciples—celebrated Dragon Sons and Phoenix Daughters. Their status would be far greater than any who advanced at other times.
Every thirty years, the top ten of the Genius Battle shone on for decades, becoming famous across the land. Even other sects equal in power to Lingxi paid attention.
The rewards were staggering—just the contribution points for first place could reach hundreds of thousands, not to mention rare treasures and even a chance to enter the sect's secret realms.
It was enough to drive everyone crazy with longing.
Even the legendary and mysterious inheritance sequence used this Genius Battle's top ten as a major source of candidates.
Before the Genius Battle was the Qualification Battle, held separately on each bank, choosing the ten strongest outer disciples to represent each side in the Genius Battle.
This time, the minimum was set at Qi Condensation Tier 8. To become an inner sect disciple, there were two requirements: Tier 8 cultivation and passing a trial. Normally, there were many ways to pass the trial, but during the once-every-30-years Genius Battle, the sect customarily counted the Qualification Battle as the trial.
This "trial" was known among disciples as the strongest and most prestigious test!
So many outer disciples had never advanced, just waiting for this chance. Place in the top fifty in the Qualification Battle, and you'd become an inner disciple; place in the top ten, and you'd fight for the South in the Genius Battle.
Figures like Shangguan Tianyou, Lü Tianlei, and Zhou Xinqi all had this plan: to become the South Bank's top ten, battle the North Bank's geniuses, and win the top ten spot in the Genius Battle—earning the right to step into the sect's inheritance line someday.