Invincible Beyond Heavens: Cultivating With A Broken EXP System

The moment Li Yun stepped inside, his eyes fell on the two figures seated within. The City Lord herself, Bai Xueqin, in her flowing light-purple robe, radiated an untouchable nobility that made the air feel heavier. Beside her sat Pavilion Master Guan Long, his expression unreadable, eyes gleaming with calm authority.

Li Yun paused for half a breath. For the City Lord and the Pavilion Master to appear together… whatever this was, it was no trivial matter.

“City Lord, Young Master Li Yun has arrived,” Bai Futian announced. With a single nod from Bai Xueqin, he respectfully withdrew, leaving only the three inside.

“Greetings, City Lord. Greetings, Pavilion Master.” Li Yun cupped his fists and bowed deeply.

In Azure Wind City, these two were like living deities, untouchable, above all others. To offend either of them would be courting death.

Although Li Yun had sold potions at the Treasure Pavilion many times and even joined some of its small auctions, he had never truly dealt directly with Pavilion Master Guan Long. He had no idea that the old fox had been quietly watching him for a long time.

“Li Yun, please sit.” Bai Xueqin’s voice was calm, carrying the grace of someone long used to authority. A faint smile tugged at her lips, and for a fleeting moment, Li Yun found her beauty comparable even to Director Lan of the Treasure Pavilion, though the aura Bai Xueqin exuded was on a completely different level.

As Li Yun lowered himself onto the seat, stray thoughts flickered in his mind. But before he could settle in—

’Hmm?’

His expression darkened. A faint, formless power slipped into his body without warning, sliding through his meridians like an invisible serpent. It bore no fluctuation, no presence, as though it had always existed inside him. But Li Yun’s Spirit Soul had reached the Orange Stage, and he knew beyond doubt that this was not his own energy.

’Not good!’ His heart jolted violently. The foreign power tried to snake its way into his sea of consciousness.

Without hesitation, Li Yun circulated the Crimson Flame Scripture. A surge of blazing internal energy roared to life within his meridians, colliding with the alien force and shredding it apart.

The struggle lasted only a breath before the strange energy dissipated, vanishing without a trace.

The danger had passed, but Li Yun’s back was damp with cold sweat. Though it was only a probe, the fact that it could sneak into him so silently sent shivers down his spine. Narrowing his eyes, he slowly lifted his gaze, fixing it firmly on City Lord Bai Xueqin.

If anyone here had done this, it could only be her.

Bai Xueqin, however, only smiled faintly, her crescent-moon eyes narrowing in quiet amusement. Yet for the briefest instant, a flash of astonishment rippled across her expression, quickly hidden, but not quickly enough.

In truth, Bai Xueqin was genuinely astonished. She hadn’t expected Li Yun to detect the probing strand of energy she had released so effortlessly.

That power was subtle and concealed to the extreme. Even cultivators who had stepped into the Xiantian Realm often failed to notice it. Of course, her intent had not been malicious, she had merely wanted to verify Li Yun’s cultivation level.

Her gaze slid toward Guan Long, and a faint smile touched her lips.

“Pavilion Master Guan, it seems your judgment is sharper than I imagined. Li Yun has indeed already stepped into the first level of the Body Tempering Realm,” Bai Xueqin said softly.

“Hmm?” Li Yun blinked, taken aback.

So the strange energy from earlier had only been a test? Just to probe his realm?

’Really now… You, a powerhouse in the Xiantian Realm, have nothing better to do than test the realm of me, a mere Body Tempering cultivator?’

He frowned inwardly but didn’t dare to let his expression change too much. After all, this was the City Lord herself. If Bai Xueqin truly wished to harm him, that single probing power would have crushed him beyond resistance. The fact that he was able to disperse it only proved she hadn’t intended real harm.

Across from him, Guan Long chuckled.

“When Li Yun was still only at the peak of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, he defeated Li Xian, who had already reached the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm. City Lord, tell me, now that he has officially stepped into the Body Tempering Realm, do you believe anyone else in Azure Wind City could be more suitable than him?” Guan Long said, his eyes glinting.

He naturally knew Bai Xueqin had already tested Li Yun’s strength. What he didn’t know was that Li Yun had actually detected and forcefully erased her probing strand of power. In truth, if Li Yun’s Spirit Soul hadn’t advanced to the Orange Stage, even he wouldn’t have sensed it. The concealment was too fine, too well-hidden. Most ordinary Xiantian experts would have missed it completely.

“Indeed… Li Yun is very good.” Bai Xueqin’s crescent-moon eyes flickered with an unreadable light as she nodded. Her words carried a double meaning. Not only had Li Yun reached the Body Tempering Realm at such a young age, but he had also managed to sense something she hadn’t expected him to.

Then she turned her gaze directly on him.

“Li Yun, I invited you here today because I need your help with something.”

Li Yun’s expression stiffened.

’My help?’

Before coming here, he had considered countless possibilities for why the City Lord might summon him. But never once had he thought she would personally ask him for aid. With her strength and authority, what matter could possibly require the help of a junior who hadn’t even touched the threshold of the Xiantian Realm?

So for a moment, he was left stunned.

“I’ll be direct.” Bai Xueqin didn’t wait for his reply. Her voice was calm, but there was weight behind it. “Li Yun, you should be familiar with Water Cloud City, yes?”

“I am,” Li Yun nodded at once.

Water Cloud City lay right beside Azure Wind City, both cities falling under the same Moonriver County. Naturally, Li Yun knew of it, it was the neighboring city to the west, a major hub not far from his own home.

“Yes,” Bai Xueqin continued, her tone calm but deliberate. “A low-level Mist Spirit Pool has been discovered at the border between Azure Wind City and Water Cloud City.”

“Mist Spirit Pool?”

Li Yun’s eyes lit up instantly.

He already had some understanding of these rare wonders. Even a small, low-grade Mist Spirit Pool was an extraordinary treasure. The only drawback was that they were immovable, anchored to the land where they appeared.

But if one cultivated inside a Mist Spirit Pool, drawing in its dense mist-like essence, the conversion to internal energy would be astonishingly fast. A cultivator’s realm could leap forward in just days or weeks.

The discovery of such a place was enough to spark conflict between major forces. Small families or lesser clans didn’t even dare to think about claiming it, such treasures attracted envy and greed far beyond their ability to bear.

Though Li Yun had never personally seen one, he knew enough of their value to feel a rush of excitement.

’If I could enter a Mist Spirit Pool… my cultivation would soar.’

He had only just stepped into the Body Tempering Realm. But with a Mist Spirit Pool’s support, he might reach the third or even fourth level of Body Tempering Realm in a short span of time.