Sitting in the lotus position on the cold stone floor of the arena's meditation area, I found myself in one of the strangest situation I'd experienced since arriving in this world.

My body was here, fully conscious and aware, while part of my spiritual will was off fighting in another dimension entirely. It was like trying to read a book while having a conversation with someone else.

Usually, when I world-walked, my entire soul would transfer to the other realm, leaving my body in what appeared to be deep unconsciousness or even death-like stillness.

Anyone stumbling across me during those times would probably assume I was either in the deepest possible meditation or had suffered some kind of spiritual accident. Like the time, I'd returned from the Two Suns world to find Liu Chang and Su Yue frantically checking my pulse, convinced something terrible had happened.

But this tournament method was different.

Only a projection of my spiritual will had entered the inner world, while my main consciousness remained firmly rooted in my physical form. It allowed me to multitask in a way that would be impossible for a mortal.

"Master," Azure's voice whispered in my mind, "this compartmentalization technique is quite sophisticated. I suspect it's something you could learn to replicate for future world-walking expeditions."

"That would be useful," I replied internally, keeping one eye on Wu Kangming's battle while feeling my spiritual projection dodge another of Guo Xinyi's sonic attacks. "Though I have to admit, it's giving me a headache."

The mental strain was significant, but manageable. Thousands of hours of meditation had taught most cultivators how to partition their awareness, though usually not to this extent. I found myself grateful for all those boring hours spent learning to focus on multiple cultivation techniques simultaneously.

What I couldn't see, unfortunately, was my own battle.

The viewing screen that should have displayed the Realm of Living Lyrics remained stubbornly blank whenever I tried to focus on it, though I could tell from the excited chatter around me that the spectators were definitely watching something interesting.

"Formation interference," Azure explained when I wondered about it. "The sect doesn't want participants observing their own fights. Too much potential for tactical advantage through real-time analysis."

That made sense. If participants could watch themselves fighting from a third-person perspective, they'd not only have perfect situational awareness, but they'd be able to prepare for any trump cards that their opponent may be preparing.

But the other screens? Those were fair game.

I let my gaze drift across the various displays, each showing a different inner world with its own unique characteristics. What struck me most wasn't the exotic environments or the creative techniques being used, but the sheer number of different Civilization Realm inner worlds the sect had access to.

"Azure," I said internally, "how exactly does the Azure Peak Sect have so many inner worlds available for tournaments? This has to be like, what, over a dozen different Civilization Realm cultivators' personal dimensions?"

"Indeed, Master. It's quite an impressive collection, though perhaps not as surprising as it initially appears," Azure replied. "I've been cross-referencing what I observed with information from the sect library, and there's an interesting pattern."

I watched Wu Kangming navigate a world made entirely of different types of glass, each surface creating reflections and refractions that turned his sword techniques into a deadly light show. His opponent was having trouble with the environment, but Wu Kangming was adapting with that ridiculous protagonist-level flexibility.

"What kind of pattern?"

"Most of these inner worlds belonged to enemies of the sect rather than allies. They were conquered and claimed rather than donated or traded for."

That got my attention. "Conquered? You mean the sect went around defeating Civilization Realm cultivators and stealing their inner worlds?"

"Not the current generation of leadership," Azure clarified. "This collection was primarily built during the reign of the previous Sect Master, Li Tianyu. According to the historical records, he was... quite the remarkable figure."

I shifted slightly on my meditation cushion, intrigued despite myself. "Tell me about him."

On another screen, Luo Yichen was fighting in what looked like a perpetual thunderstorm, using his Mirrorwater Sword to absorb lightning strikes and redirect them at his opponent. Kid was getting scary good with that technique.

"Li Tianyu's story reads like something out of a cultivation novel," Azure began, and I could practically hear the amusement in his voice. "Born to a mortal farming family in a small village, showed no particular cultivation talent as a child, was actually rejected by three different sects before Azure Peak finally accepted him as an outer disciple."

"Let me guess," I interrupted, "he was looked down on, bullied, called trash, the usual protagonist origin story?"

"Exactly. For the first few years, he advanced at a completely ordinary pace. Seventh son of a farmer, no bloodline advantages, no ancient artifacts, no mysterious mentor. Just another average disciple destined for mediocrity."

I watched another battle where some girl was fighting in what appeared to be a world made entirely of flowing water, except the water defied gravity and formed impossible geometric shapes in the air. Her opponent kept trying to use fire techniques, which was working about as well as you'd expect.

"But then something changed?" I prompted.

"At age nineteen, his cultivation suddenly exploded. He went from Qi Condensation Stage 4 to Stage 9 in one month. Broke through to Elemental Realm before his twentieth birthday. Stellar Realm at twenty-one. Life Realm at twenty-four. And Civilisation Realm at thirty."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"That's... that's completely insane," I blinked. "Even by protagonist standards, that advancement speed is ridiculous."

"The records don't specify what caused the sudden change, but from that point forward, Li Tianyu was essentially unstoppable. He conquered rival sects, defeated rogue cultivators, and according to some accounts, single-handedly turned Azure Peak from a second-rate regional power into one of the major sects of the Eastern Continent."

That explained a lot about the sect's current resources and reputation.

"What was his cultivation method?" I asked, expecting nothing less than a Beyond Heaven technique.

"Unknown. The sect library has biographical information about his accomplishments, but the actual techniques he used were apparently either lost or classified beyond our access level. What I can tell you is that whatever he practiced, it allowed him to collect inner worlds from defeated enemies rather than just destroying them."

I found that detail particularly interesting. Most cultivation methods I'd encountered were focused on personal advancement. The ability to claim and preserve entire worlds from others suggested something much more sophisticated.

"So, what happened to him? I'm assuming he's not still around, or he'd probably be running the sect instead of Yuan."

"The records become vague about his final fate," Azure admitted. "Some sources claim he achieved transcendence and ascended to a higher realm. Others suggest he fell during a particularly severe tribulation. There are even some texts that hint he simply vanished one day, leaving behind only his collected inner worlds and a letter naming Yuan as his successor."

Ah, transcendence.

Every xianxia story seemed to have a different interpretation of what that actually meant.

Some treated it as achieving true immortality and godhood within the current realm.

Others described it as breaking free from the constraints of the current world entirely and ascending to a higher plane of existence.

Then there were the versions where transcendence meant merging with the Dao itself, or becoming one with the universe, or even just advancing beyond the need for physical form.

The variety was honestly exhausting.

But the most common interpretation, and the one that made the most sense given what I'd experienced, was the idea of literally moving to a higher world.

An example of that would be if Mo Yuhang somehow managed to break free from the Realm of Living Lyrics and manifest in the cultivation world as an independent being, that would be his form of transcendence.

Following that logic, cultivators in this world might eventually find ways to escape to whatever higher realm contained them.

"You know," I mused to Azure, "I'm actually curious what kind of energy system a higher realm would use. I'm already having fun experimenting with qi, red and blue sun energy, and lower forms like harmonic essence. Just imagine how interesting an energy type that's even more fundamental than qi would be."

"Assuming such a thing exists," Azure replied. "Though given the hierarchy we've observed, with qi commanding lower forms and the sun energies showing their own unique properties, it does seem likely that there could be something even more powerful."

Our philosophical speculation was interrupted by a sudden shift in my consciousness. I felt my spiritual manifestation beginning its return journey from the Realm of Living Lyrics, emerging from the portal and preparing to merge back with my main awareness.

The process was smoother than I'd expected.

Since I'd maintained conscious awareness of everything happening in the inner world, there was no jarring integration of memories or experiences. Instead, it felt more like closing a book I'd been reading.

What I was interested in, however, was the small concentration of harmonic essence that my spiritual projection had managed to bring back with it. The musical energy felt alien compared to qi, vibrating in patterns that my cultivation base didn't naturally recognize but found oddly appealing.

I directed the foreign energy toward my inner world, curious to see how the Genesis Seed would react to yet another new form of power.

The moment the harmonic essence entered my inner world's atmosphere, the Genesis Seed began resonating with it, drawing the musical energy into its root system with obvious interest. But rather than simply absorbing and converting the essence like it had done with other foreign energies, the tree seemed to be learning from it.

Within minutes, I could feel changes spreading throughout my inner world's plant life.

The Moonlight Clover in my garden quadrant began swaying gently, despite the absence of any wind.

The Azure Bellflowers started producing a soft, barely audible humming that harmonized perfectly with the realm's spiritual energy circulation.

Even the Shadow Ferns were rustling in rhythmic patterns that suggested they were moving to the beat of some unheard music.

"Master," Azure said with obvious excitement, "the plants are incorporating musical principles into their growth patterns. This could revolutionize how we approach cultivation techniques."

"Get started on analyzing it," I said, genuinely interested in the possibilities. "If we can figure out how to replicate some of those musical cultivation methods using qi instead of harmonic essence, it could give us entirely new categories of techniques."

"Already beginning the analysis," Azure replied. "Though I suspect it will take considerable time to develop practical applications."

That was fine by me. I didn't expect to have magical scrolls joining me in battle anytime soon.

I opened my eyes and began to stand up from my meditation posture, ready to observe the conclusion of the other battles and prepare for whatever came next.

But before I could settle into a comfortable viewing position, I noticed someone approaching me across the arena floor.

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