Chapter 133: Purpose

【Innate Talent: 70】

【Comprehension: 70】

"There are still more than two months left. By then, both innate talent and comprehension will reach 80. I wonder if 80 enters the Grade A realm."

Xu Yang glanced at the panel and got up from the bed.

His innate talent had reached 70, but no phenomenon like tendon-changing or bone-forging had appeared on his body, meaning that he was actually still at Grade B-plus innate talent.

Therefore, even with the same innate talent, there would still be a large gap between individuals.

After eating, Xu Yang went to the Liu family.

Wu Yongfeng, who had originally been able to speak a few words, had been transferred away. He went straight into his room to cultivate the Diamond Body Technique, and when noon arrived, he returned to the Weiyuan Hall.

With the Wu Ke Dragon Ascent approaching, everyone was putting their all into cultivation, and even Lin Cheng appeared more often, frequently showing up to guide the disciples in their fist techniques.

In the blink of an eye, a month passed. Fang Xing, Xiong Kui, and Zhang Yong had all reached Qi Gathering Major Success. As for what the situation was with Zhang Hong, Xu Yang did not know.

They rarely interacted anymore.

Zhang Yong had reached Qi Gathering Major Success, and it was only when Zhang Yong announced it in the inner courtyard that he learned of the matter.

This day, just as Xu Yang stepped into the Weiyuan Hall, Sun Tao sought him out: "Junior Brother Xu, do you intend to participate in the Wu Ke Examination?"

Xu Yang nodded: "That is natural."

Sun Tao said: "Registration has already begun. The registration fee is one tael of silver per person. The martial arts hall will collect it uniformly, and the hall will handle the registration matters."

Xu Yang was slightly surprised; he truly hadn't known that registration also cost money. He immediately took out one tael of silver and handed it to Sun Tao.

"Senior Brother Sun, I haven't reached Qi Gathering Major Success yet—how could registration have already begun?" Zhang Hong walked over with an ugly expression.

His innate talent was a grade lower than Zhang Yong's, and his resources were not as plentiful as Zhang Yong's, so he hadn't yet reached Major Success in his Qi Gathering.

If he missed it, wouldn't his previous trip into the mountains to risk his life have been in vain?

Sun Tao smiled: "If Junior Brother Zhang has confidence, you can register first; as long as you can reach Qi Gathering Major Success before the examination, that is fine. If you cannot reach Qi Gathering Major Success, the registration fee will not be refunded."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Hong breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that he could register in advance; there was still more than a month left, and he had a certain degree of confidence in reaching Qi Gathering Major Success.

"Please, Senior Brother, register for me."

Handing one tael of silver to Sun Tao, he looked up again, but Xu Yang had already disappeared.

"Sigh..."

He couldn't help but sigh. Without realizing it, his relationship with Xu Yang had actually reached the point of being as plain as water, no different from that with ordinary disciples in the inner courtyard.

As a group selected by the Huang family, they should have supported each other, but he had to integrate into the circle of Jiang Ping and the others, so he couldn't have too deep an interaction with Xu Yang.

"Senior Brother Sun, how many people have registered?" Withdrawing his thoughts, Zhang Hong asked Sun Tao curiously.

"A total of fifteen people have registered, but two of them are like you and haven't reached Qi Gathering Major Success yet."

Zhang Hong gasped: "Just how many people are participating?"

The Weiyuan Hall, which had the fewest disciples in Qingyuan County, had over a dozen people participating. If all the martial arts halls were added together, plus some family-taught martial arts halls and noble family disciples who hadn't entered a martial arts hall, wouldn't there be one or two hundred people?

The difficulty of ascending the dragon was even greater than he had imagined.

"Generally, it won't be fewer than one hundred and thirty; when there are many people, it's nearly two hundred," Sun Tao said.

Zhang Hong bit the bullet and asked: "What ranking must one obtain to gain the qualification to ascend the dragon?"

Obtaining the title of Martial Scholar did not mean one had the qualification to ascend the dragon.

Sun Tao glanced at him and said: "In most cases, you need to be in the top fifty to gain the qualification to ascend the dragon."

Fifty spots sounded like a lot, but when divided among a dozen martial arts halls and a crowd of noble families, there weren't many left.

Basically, one had to be in the top five of the martial arts hall to have a chance to ascend the dragon; to be safe, one needed to be in the top three.

Zhang Hong's face was extremely ugly. In the Weiyuan Hall, let alone the top five, he couldn't even get into the top ten.

"Junior Brother Zhang, don't be discouraged. The Wu Ke Dragon Ascent is seventy percent strength and thirty percent luck. If only those in the top five could ascend the dragon, why would everyone else bother?"

"Perhaps your luck is good, and you can also get into the top fifty. Such lucky people appear every year."

Zhang Hong's spirits lifted.

That was right. The Wu Ke Examination involved combat. People like Sun Tao had a chance to ascend the dragon, but if their luck was bad and they encountered a genius like Kong Yu in the first round and were injured, they would inevitably be eliminated.

People with good luck but no strength could pick up the scraps; perhaps they could truly ascend the dragon through sheer dumb luck.

A tingling sensation spread throughout his entire body. Xu Yang's veins bulged, his expression extremely ferocious, and he was sweating everywhere as if he had been dehydrated.

His spine, arms, and leg bones roared, emitting a series of cracking sounds.

"My innate talent has finally reached Grade A-minus."

Although it was uncomfortable, what flashed in his eyes was a look of excitement.

Not to mention comprehension, just in terms of innate talent, he was already on the same level as Kong Yu.

After a while, this discomfort, like tendon-changing and bone-forging, subsided, and the improvement of his innate talent ended.

【Innate Talent: 80】

【Comprehension: 70】

【Cultivation Base: Qi Gathering Major Success】

【Cultivation Method: Diamond Body Technique · Entry-level (603/1000), Flying Swallow Technique · Major Success, Turtle-Snake Grand Stance · Major Success, Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist · Major Success】

【Skill: Mining lv. 3 (283/400)】

【Remaining Lifespan: 65】

【Martial Dao Longevity Points: 20】

"Only the Diamond Body Technique is left!"

Xu Yang helplessly closed the panel. The Flying Swallow Technique had already reached Major Success a few days ago, and only the Diamond Body Technique was still lingering at the entry-level stage.

Having spent a year, the cultivation of the entry-level stage of the Diamond Body Technique was only half finished; the progress was maddeningly slow.

According to this progress, for the Diamond Body Technique to reach Major Success, it would take at least ten years.

Even for someone like him who had achieved an alternative longevity, he felt this time was somewhat long.

"Should I use some points to improve it in the future?" Xu Yang pondered.

The Diamond Body Technique was very profound. In a year, although it was still lingering at the entry-level stage, under the day-by-day tempering of the Diamond true qi, his physique had become astonishingly hard.

He could resist the attacks of Qi Gathering Minor Success experts with his flesh alone, and he was confident that ordinary blades and swords could not break his defense.

Even Qi Gathering Major Success experts, if they hadn't grasped techniques like the Wind-Thunder Strength that specifically targeted the internal organs, would find it very difficult to injure him.

"Five more days!"

Five more days until the Wu Ke Dragon Ascent, but he was still a long way from cleansing his marrow. However, with his cultivation base, obtaining a good ranking would not be difficult, and he had no intention of competing for first place.

His innate talent had changed too much; it would be troublesome if noticed by people with ulterior motives. Being able to obtain the opportunity to ascend the dragon was enough.

At noon, Xu Yang arrived at the Weiyuan Hall. The atmosphere here was no longer so tense. With the Wu Ke Dragon Ascent approaching, everyone began to relax their spirits and conserve their energy.

"Senior Brother Xu!"

"Greetings, Senior Brother Xu!"

In over a year, he had also become an old disciple of the inner courtyard of the Weiyuan Hall. With his Qi Gathering Major Success cultivation base, every disciple who saw him cupped their hands in salute.

Walking to the positions of Qiu Wenjie and Tian Li, he set up his stance and began to cultivate the Turtle-Snake Grand Stance.

"Senior Brother Zhang Hong is here!"

"Look at his satisfied and proud appearance; I fear he has reached Qi Gathering Major Success at this final moment."

Listening to the whispered discussions of the disciples around him, Xu Yang looked up and saw Zhang Hong, who hadn't been to the Weiyuan Hall for many days, stepping into the inner courtyard.

His face was glowing, and he was in high spirits.

"Senior Brother Zhang Hong, have you reached Qi Gathering Major Success?" a disciple asked.

Zhang Hong's gaze swept over the people in the inner courtyard, and he smiled: "I succeeded by luck."

Once these words were out, many people stood up and stepped forward to offer congratulations.

Qi Gathering Major Success was only the threshold for the Wu Ke Dragon Ascent, but for most people, this was a height they could never reach in a lifetime. ===== CHAPTER 134 =====