Invincible Beyond Heavens: Cultivating With A Broken EXP System

“Li Yun? That name sounds unfamiliar. I do not recall seeing it on the New Disciples Ranking.”

“A nobody who has not even appeared on the New Disciples Ranking dares to challenge Lu Changsan. That is far too reckless.”

“Wait, that is not right. I saw this person defeat Shen Feng earlier. If that is true, then he should have already replaced Shen Feng as the tenth-ranked expert on the New Disciples Ranking.”

“Hmph, tenth place may make him impressive to us, but in front of Lu Changsan, who stands among the top three, he is completely insignificant. I truly cannot understand where this Li Yun finds the courage to provoke someone like Lu Changsan.”

“Perhaps defeating Shen Feng and entering the top ten made him overconfident.”

“Soon enough, Lu Changsan will teach him just how vast the gap is between the top ten and the top three.”

“What an ignorant fool.”

The moment Li Yun announced his name, heated murmurs spread through the crowd.

“Heh. I thought you were some hidden powerhouse, given how bold you are. It turns out you are nothing special at all.” Lu Changsan’s expression filled with disdain as he listened to the surrounding discussion. He looked down at Li Yun and spoke coldly.

“So your name is Li Yun. Since I am in a good mood today, I will give you a chance to redeem yourself. Kneel at once, slap yourself ten times, and then apologize to my younger brother, Lu Potian. After that, you will serve him as a slave for three months. If you do all this, I will forgive you for offending me and for injuring my brother.“1

The words were unbearably humiliating, yet spoken from Lu Changsan’s mouth as if they were a generous act of mercy.

“I truly do not understand where these so-called geniuses get such an overwhelming sense of superiority.” Li Yun rolled his eyes slightly as he muttered to himself. He then looked at Lu Changsan and replied in an even tone, “And what if I refuse?”

“Refuse?” Lu Changsan let out a cold laugh. “Do you think you have the right to refuse me? What I said just now was not a negotiation. It was an order.”

A chilling glint flashed through Lu Changsan’s eyes, sharp enough to make one’s soul tremble. His voice carried a dense killing intent as he spoke slowly and clearly.

“If you dare to defy my command, then prepare to be buried here in the Eternal Sky Secret Realm.”

“Kill me? Heh.”

Li Yun lifted an eyebrow as he heard those words, a faint and inscrutable smile forming at the corner of his lips. He raised one hand and casually beckoned at Lu Changsan, his gesture calm and dismissive. “If you have the ability, then come.”

“You little bastard. Since you are courting death, I will fulfill your wish!”

Lu Changsan’s expression instantly twisted with fury. A nameless nobody like Li Yun daring to openly challenge him, one of the top three on the New Disciples Ranking, was nothing short of a blatant insult. To Lu Changsan, this was an offense that could only be washed away with blood.

Boom.

The moment his words fell, a terrifying aura burst forth from Lu Changsan’s solid frame, vast and oppressive like a prison and a raging sea. Under the pressure of that violent qi, the surrounding space trembled, and visible ripples spread through the air as if the world itself could not endure his presence.

“Even though Lu Changsan is arrogant and domineering, his strength truly justifies it.”

“Judging from this aura alone, he already seems capable of contending with a Xiantian Realm sixth-level mid-stage expert.”

The young martial artists watching from the surroundings felt their hearts pound violently as they sensed Lu Changsan’s aura. Horror filled their faces as they exclaimed in disbelief.

“Brat, congratulations. You have completely angered me.”

“Very soon, I will let you experience the miserable fate that awaits anyone who dares provoke me, Lu Changsan.”

“Do not think I will kill you with a single punch. I will first shatter your dantian, then break every bone in your body one by one, making you die amid endless pain and torment. Only then will you understand how foolish it was to offend me.”

Lu Changsan spoke each word with icy cruelty, his face contorted with malice. He slowly raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist. Dark, primal energy surged from his knuckles and condensed into the shape of a black dragon head. A vicious and malevolent aura continuously radiated from it, filling the air with suffocating pressure.

“Take this punch first!”

Lu Changsan roared and struck forward. The black dragon head coiled around his fist let out a deafening roar, tearing through the air as a venomous streak of black light and charging straight toward Li Yun.

Whoosh.

A sudden flash of light cut through the air, and the black dragon head disintegrated in an instant, exploding into a cloud of scattered dust.

The expressions of everyone present shifted as they instinctively looked upward. At the spot where the dragon head had vanished, a translucent light screen had appeared.

The light screen was as thin as a cicada’s wing, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, yet it radiated an unyielding solidity. Lu Changsan’s ferocious attack had failed to leave even the faintest mark on it. Instead, the black dragon head had been shattered on contact, revealing that the toughness of this barrier was so terrifying that even a divine sharp weapon might struggle to damage it.

Li Yun stared at the thin light screen, a trace of surprise flickering across his face.

His surprise did not come from its strength, but from the fact that it was not something he had summoned.

“What is going on?”

Lu Changsan and the surrounding young geniuses were equally baffled by the sudden turn of events.

“I remember now. The Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet has a rule. Anyone who occupies an Eternal Sky Meditation Cushion cannot be attacked or harmed before their comprehension ends. The Heavenly Tablet will release a protective force to shield the cushion’s owner and isolate all external attacks.”

“That must have been the power of the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet. Among all those present, only the Heavenly Tablet itself could so easily neutralize an attack from someone like Lu Changsan.”

“That barrier was meant to protect the owner of a meditation cushion, yet it has now become an obstacle preventing Lu Changsan from attacking Li Yun. One has to admit, this Li Yun is truly fortunate.”

“Indeed. Lu Changsan’s punch just now would have been difficult for even a Xiantian Realm fifth-level expert to withstand. Li Yun is only at the half-step Xiantian Realm. Without that protective screen, he would probably have been smashed to pieces.”

As the murmurs spread through the crowd, Li Yun merely smiled without comment.

Lu Changsan was undoubtedly powerful, but did these people truly believe he was defenseless?

Among all the experts gathered here, Li Yun was confident that aside from Ye Beichen, who gave him a faint sense of danger, he feared neither Zhu Ximen nor Lu Changsan.

“Brat, consider yourself fortunate.”

After understanding what had happened, Lu Changsan’s expression darkened completely. Murderous intent surged in his eyes, as if he wished he could tear Li Yun apart on the spot.

Yet he was seated on an Eternal Sky Meditation Cushion. The rules of the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet prevented him from breaking its protection to harm Li Yun, forcing him to swallow his rage and retreat for the time being.

Lu Changsan glared at Li Yun with a twisted sneer and spoke coldly. “Do not think this luck will last forever. Once my comprehension of the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet ends, that day will be your death.”

“Heh, the same words as always. If you have the ability, then come.”

Li Yun could not be bothered to argue. After leaving behind that indifferent reply, he walked directly to the sixth Eternal Sky Meditation Cushion and sat down cross-legged.

Although he appeared calm on the surface, a cold sneer rose within him.

If Lu Changsan chose not to seek trouble after the comprehension ended, then Li Yun would not pursue the matter. But if he dared to come, Li Yun would make this arrogant braggart understand exactly how hard a bone he had chosen to bite.

Buzz buzz buzz.

The instant all six comprehension spots were occupied, the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet seemed to awaken. It trembled violently once more, and six hazy white lights flowed out from its surface, enveloping Li Yun, Ye Beichen, Zhu Ximen, and the others.

As the misty white light descended, Li Yun felt a strange force seize his consciousness and pull it away from his physical body, drawing it into the interior of the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet.

Throughout the entire process, he had no power to resist.

Guided by that force, Li Yun’s physical body remained seated in place, while his consciousness was carried elsewhere.

When the strange power faded, Li Yun found himself formed into a body of pure consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes.

What greeted him was an endless expanse of pitch-black space, empty and silent, without the slightest trace of form.

The consciousness bodies of Ye Beichen, Zhu Ximen, and the others were nowhere to be seen.

He was alone.

Suddenly, an ethereal and hollow voice echoed through the void. “Soaring Cloud Sect disciple, welcome to the Eternal Sky Trial. You have ten breaths of time to rest and adjust. After ten breaths, the Eternal Sky Trial will begin.”

“Eternal Sky Trial? What is that?”

Li Yun raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Was this not supposed to be an opportunity for comprehension? How had it turned into a trial instead?

The hollow voice sounded again, patiently explaining. “The Eternal Sky Trial is a test created by the Soaring Cloud Sect to evaluate its disciples. The trial consists of four stages. Each stage you pass will grant a certain score. Only after passing all three preliminary stages and reaching the required total score can the ultimate trial be unlocked. If you successfully complete the ultimate trial, you will receive a reward.”

“What are the stages of the trial, and what rewards can be obtained?”

Li Yun’s eyes immediately lit up as he asked.

At the same time, he understood that this voice was not human. It was more likely an existence similar to a tool spirit, created to guide and explain the rules to those who entered the Eternal Sky Heavenly Tablet for the first time.

Guys, my dao of reading cultivation novels have reached such high level that I can speak these lines with fluently without a hitch. In that case, I had to at this line here otherwise how else could my novel be qualified to be cultivation novel. 😂