Due to the elder's objection and the restricted space's destruction, the duel between Xiang Shaoyun and Di Lin was forced to be postponed. They withdrew rapidly from the restricted space, while those who had not left were forever lost.

The Gleamstar Blessed Land mission had come to an end. A large majority of the Dragon Phoenix Academy disciples had returned with some gains. However, about one fifth of the participants had perished.

Everyone lamented the untimely death of those young prodigies. As for the survivors who had also returned with gleamstar water, they were considered to be fortuitous, capable of reaching even higher heights in their cultivation.

Led by the elders, the disciples quickly returned to the academy. And when they arrived at the academy, the duel between Xiang Shaoyun and Di Lin became everyone's focus. The two agreed to fight to the death at the arena in half a month. The academy would not interfere in life-or-death duels if both parties agreed.

Di Lin was ranked within the 30s on the Dragon Phoenix List and had great talent. He was also known as one of the freaks most likely to enter the top 10. At the same time, he was also the personal disciple of a previous generation elder, Elder Situ. He was a dazzling and extraordinary individual.

At first, more people thought that Di Lin had the higher chances of winning the match. However, after one particular news spread, the people changed their minds. The news said that An Lulu, also known as Lady Violence, had been bullied by Xiang Shaoyun.

Who was An Lulu?

She was the renowned Lady Violence. Not only was she strong, she was one of the four great guardians of the Crushing Sky. In the entirety of the academy, fewer than 10 people were capable of bullying her.

And yet, Xiang Shaoyun had bullied a woman that few dared to provoke. This news amazed the academy's numerous disciples. They had not expected that Xiang Shaoyun's combat prowess had already reached such a terrifying level.

Back when they had heard about Xiang Shaoyun's defeat in the hands of Xiao Xie, they had all acknowledged that he was qualified to enter the Dragon Phoenix List's top 20.

However, it had been about half a year since that fight. Each disciple was progressing, while Xiang Shaoyun's cultivation level had seemingly remained stagnant. Why then, was he able to unleash such terrifying combat prowess?

They suspected him of hiding a trump card. However, that wasn’t the most shocking news. A different piece of news had spread as well, and it was truly shocking. Ouyang Chuanqi had accepted the Overlord Legion's recruitment, becoming their first deputy commander. As for Tang Longfei, he was now a second deputy commander. It created a massive commotion.

"What is happening exactly? Ouyang Chuanqi actually joined the Overlord Legion? How had Xiang Shaoyun managed to make that freak join him?"

"Perhaps Ouyang Chuanqi had encountered danger in the Gleamstar Blessed Land and was saved by Xiang Shaoyun? Is that the reason he willingly joined them? I really can't think of any other reason." 

"Or maybe Xiang Shaoyun and Ouyang Chuanqi had long known each other, keeping their relationship hidden until now?"

"Looks like the Overlord Legion is about to rise. I am going to join them too."

...

The news created a sensation that increased the number of people joining the Overlord Legion. Ouyang Chuanqi was a deputy commander only in name. He wouldn't normally get involved with the faction's affairs and would only help when they required it. Even so, many disciples were still attracted to join the Overlord Legion due to his very presence.

Tang Longfei, Zhuge Zhantian, and Lady Shura became increasingly busy. They were in charge of the new joiners. As the leader, Xiang Shaoyun did not have the time to handle all the miscellaneous affairs. In any case, he needed to focus on his match with Di Lin.

Currently, Xiang Shaoyun was within his cultivation room, studying a green sapling. It was the very sapling he had obtained in the Gleamstar Blessed Land. The sapling looked completely unassuming, but Xiang Shaoyun had a feeling it was something special.

However, he couldn't quite pinpoint what was so special about it. He only had an instinct that it was not a normal sapling.

After reading so many ancient records, I can recognize most plants in existence. However, I can't recognize this sapling. Is it because it's still too young? Maybe I need to check again after it grows more, thought Xiang Shaoyun with a sigh.

After thinking about it for a while, he threw the matter to the back of his mind. His current focus was to refine the gleamstar water he had gotten. The many disciples had worked very hard to gather the gleamstar water so they could expand their stars, increasing the amount of astral energy they could store.

The bigger one's energy storage capacity, the longer one could last in a battle. Furthermore, one could also erupt with more explosive power than cultivators with the same cultivation level. That was why the disciples had tried so hard to collect the gleamstar water.

Xiang Shaoyun used 18 drops of gleamstar water at the same time. The moment each star touched a drop of gleamstar water, changes started occurring. The gleamstar water was created from a star's essence. Thus, its power had a high affinity with one's inner stars.

Generally, a cultivator only needed a drop of gleamstar water to expand a single star's capacity.

Xiang Shaoyun was using 18 drops at the same time. He was obviously relying on the sheer amount of gleamstar water he had collected, trying to see if he could achieve a better effect through quantity.

As the power of the gleamstar water fused with his stars, their capacity started increasing, as if the power of the water was forcefully stretching his stars. The sensation of his stars expanding did not bring Xiang Shaoyun any discomfort. Instead, a comfortable sensation welled up in him. Using his inner gaze, he could see his nine stars shining brightly. It was as if there was a divine river of stars within his body.

At that moment, Xiang Shaoyun sensed that something was happening to his astral cosmos sea as well. While he was refining the gleamstar water, a large portion of the water's power had spread to the rest of his body. Thus, his astral cosmos sea had benefited and was expanding alongside his stars.

At that discovery, Xiang Shaoyun refined two more drops of gleamstar water and fed the power to his astral cosmos sea without hesitation. Sure enough, the moment the power reached the astral cosmos sea, it expanded even faster.

He also found that his astral cosmos sea was going through a qualitative change. If his astral cosmos sea and nine stars were akin to translucent bodies before this, then right now, the astral cosmos sea was turning into a true solid entity.