As for Wei Zhao himself, matters were rather more troublesome. Beyond continuing to explore the knack and utility of the half-primordial-spirit state, breaking through to the great perfection of Foundation Establishment was, by all appearances, nearly as hard as ascending to heaven. For some reason, no matter how he tried, he always fell just a little short.

Anyone else might have thought success was only a hair's breadth away and would have thrown every effort into trying, but Wei Zhao was, after all, an expert at the early stage of the Mystic Ascension realm. He had ample experience with breakthroughs of this kind and knew full well that some necessary condition must be lacking; forcing it would only produce the opposite of the desired result.

But the question was: which necessary condition was missing? Or was the limit of what a primordial-spirit body could reach simply the great perfection of Foundation Establishment? That he could not know. In the former case there was at least a glimmer of hope; in the latter, there was truly nothing to be done—even Wei Zhao could only stand by helplessly.

Wei Zhao was secretly resigned. Though the half-primordial-spirit state counted as a trump card of extraordinary subtlety, carrying on this way was no long-term solution. Already even a figure like Xue Jianming had become an expert at the Golden Core stage, and by the time of the Primordial Trial there would be stronger ones still, while he remained stuck at the great perfection of Foundation Establishment without the slightest progress. Wei Zhao did feel somewhat unequal to the task.

A month and a half later, Xin Yi'an summoned them all together again, though they were split into two groups. One group was full of ambition, eager to try their hand, for they were about to begin the once-in-a-millennium Primordial Trial. The other group was listless and dejected, for they were the losers of the Trial Tournament—no matter how rare and excellent the opportunity of this Primordial Trial was, it no longer had anything to do with them.

"Everyone, the year-long training in the mortal world officially ends today. Though many things happened along the way, it has at last come to a satisfactory close. This is cause for celebration." As Xin Yi'an spoke in a ringing voice, he gave Wei Zhao a slight nod full of gratitude.

Had Wei Zhao, this martial grand-uncle, not appeared out of nowhere to turn the tide, there was no telling what state affairs between the Primordial Alliance and the mortal world's cultivator alliance would have descended into. Quite possibly the mortal world would by now be a scene of utter devastation, and the Primordial Alliance would have lost a whole pile of disciples. Once the situation had spiraled beyond control, he, as the supervising martial uncle, would have been hard-pressed to escape blame.

The rest of them were noncommittal about this. For the vast majority of the Primordial Alliance disciples present, training in the mortal world was in essence a pleasure outing; beyond seeing a little of the mortal world's dazzling variety, they expected no substantive gains. In fact, most of them, after an initial look around, had stayed on the transfer isles cultivating the whole time—one might as well call it seclusion as training abroad.

"Now that the mortal-world training is over, in accordance with the orders of the Primordial Alliance's higher-ups, everyone is to return to their proper places." Xin Yi'an paused, then announced: "First, the disciples eliminated in the Trial Tournament. Your task is to be transported directly back to the Primordial Little Jianghu and report to your respective sects. No lingering of any kind."

Everyone had anticipated this outcome. Though they were all reluctant to leave the transfer isles' uniquely favorable spiritual energy, this was an order from the Primordial Alliance's higher-ups, and they had not the nerve to defy it. They could only answer in unison.

Under Xin Yi'an's supervision, they entered the teleportation array together. With a flash of white light, they soon vanished within it.

That done, Xin Yi'an turned to Wei Zhao and the others. "As for the rest of you, you are the elite who earned your trial qualifications through the Trial Tournament. The place you go next is, naturally, the legendary site of the Primordial Trial."

"Martial Uncle Xin, where exactly is this site of the Primordial Trial?" someone asked impatiently.

"That's right. You had us dig that undersea spirit-jade mine for so long, saying it was to prepare for activating the Primordial Trial. But there's still no sign of a third teleportation array?" others chimed in. Two arrays there were—one connecting to the mortal world, one to the Primordial Little Jianghu—so where was the third?

"There is one. It simply has not appeared yet." Xin Yi'an smiled faintly, affecting an air of profundity.

"Not appeared yet?" Everyone was startled and looked at one another. Could a teleportation array hide itself?

"Patience, everyone. According to the Primordial Alliance's higher-ups' reckoning, the day the array appears should be today, so a little waiting is all that is needed." As he spoke, Xin Yi'an actually sat down of his own accord.

Wei Zhao smiled faintly at the sight and sat down as well. The others exchanged glances; though their hearts itched as if clawed by a cat, since Xin Yi'an was set on keeping them in suspense there was nothing to be done. They sat down one after another to wait quietly.

Just then Duanmu Yu suddenly walked over and, under the astonished gazes of the crowd, sat down directly beside Wei Zhao. Ordinarily a woman sitting down beside a man would blush with some embarrassment, but her expression was composed and natural, without the least hint of discomfort—indeed, she was more free and at ease than most of the men.

"Brother Lin, thank you for lending a hand last time," Duanmu Yu said with a cupped-hand salute.

"Think nothing of it. It was a small effort," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile and a shake of his head.

"It may have been a small effort to you, but it was no small matter to me. Without your help, Brother Lin, I fear I would have missed this Primordial Trial and been sent home early like those others," Duanmu Yu said gravely.

This was no polite falsehood. Had Wei Zhao not stepped in to cure her frostbite, the frostbite from the shattering of the ice-prison mirror alone would have plagued her for months. Never mind taking part in the Primordial Trial—she might well still be busy healing herself at this very moment.

"So Miss Duanmu has made a full recovery?" Wei Zhao asked with some curiosity. The period of weakness after Withering Leaf Returns to Spring lasted a full three months. Duanmu Yu had used only an incomplete version of it, and barely a month and a half had passed; whether she had fully recovered was still a matter of some doubt. Perhaps the woman was recklessly forcing herself in order to take part in the Primordial Trial.

"You could say so." Duanmu Yu's answer was equivocal. After all, they were not close; if she simply laid all her cards on the table before Wei Zhao, that would show a sorry lack of reserve.

"Good to hear." Wei Zhao nodded. (To be continued.)