Chapter 137: Shi Yong, You Have to Hold On!

【First place, Shi Yong, training score: 267,450】

【Second place, Zhao Xing, training score: 238,850】

【Third place, Zhuang Ziqing, training score: 235,330】

【Fourth place, Cai Jin, training score: 208,550】

【Fifth place, Feng Qiu, training score: 180,200】

【Tenth place, Li Feng, training score: 154,520】

【Fifteenth place, Han Bing, training score: 125,580】

……

【Twenty-first place, Guan Junyang, training score: 98,540】

【One hundredth place, Tao Tao, training score: 56,780】

"Second place in the final mandatory training?" Zhao Xing looked at the rankings. "Only a little over three thousand points more than Zhuang Ziqing, the gap isn't big. If you convert it to fourth-tier supplies, it's only a difference of three hundred jin."

The gap really was small. If they planted roughly the same number and the final survival rate fluctuated slightly in yield, there would be a difference of four or five hundred jin.

"But compared to Shi Yong, I'm behind by almost 30,000 points."

Thirty thousand points, converted to third-tier supplies, would be thirty thousand jin. If rationed, it would be enough to feed ten martial artists in his squad for three months, and still maintain sixty to seventy percent combat strength.

"Having a gap is normal too. I'm improving, and he's improving too. In just over two months, surpassing a genius who's been a military agricultural official for several years is still a bit difficult."

"But Little Zhuang got overtaken by me instead. I wonder what he'll think." Zhao Xing chuckled lightly.

"Brother Zhao." A voice came from behind—it was Zhuang Ziqing, who had just come down from the flying vessel.

"Brother Zhuang." Zhao Xing turned to look at Zhuang Ziqing.

"I didn't expect that in the end, you still won." A strange glint flashed in Zhuang Ziqing's eyes. "You've improved really fast."

Since they were both in the Geography Institute, and he would occasionally go ask Tian Hou for guidance, while Zhao Xing would also go ask his teacher, the two were fairly familiar with each other.

Zhuang Ziqing also knew that Zhao Xing had been selected into the Divine Might Army right after his official appointment was confirmed!

With zero experience as a military agricultural official, having entered the Ten Sun Grotto-heaven just over two months ago, and even having learned the three great secret manuals only after entering, he'd reached this level?

"That was just luck on my part." Zhao Xing smiled.

"Luck?" Zhuang Ziqing shook his head. "Although the gap between you and me isn't big, you don't have to put it that way. In this training, you truly have the edge over me."

Zhao Xing smiled.

Actually, it really was luck.

Objectively speaking, his ability to surpass Zhuang Ziqing and rank second was mainly because the gambling-dog tactics had done great work!

If the influence of the gambling-dog tactics were removed, Zhao Xing estimated he wouldn't have been able to surpass Zhuang Ziqing, and might even have struggled against Cai Jin and Feng Qiu.

After all, in just two months, there was too much he needed to learn, and time was very tight.

Especially his cultivation progress on the three great secret manuals—others had been studying them for several years, while he had only been learning for just over two months.

The three great secret manuals provided no small boost to spells.

The important treasured lands of the Agricultural Official Supervisorate were all related to the three great secret manuals.

Being able to rank second this time was actually somewhat unexpected for him.

At the beginning, Zhao Xing felt that as long as he could hold steady within the top twenty-one and his resources didn't drop a tier, that would be enough.

Surging to second place was purely the result of the gambling-dog tactics combined with his past life's experience and knowledge.

In the first ten days, the gap couldn't be pulled apart.

In the middle ten days, because his cultivation time on the three great secret manuals was too short, he should have been overtaken by the other geniuses. But thanks to the gambling-dog tactics, along with his past life's knowledge and experience, he held onto second place.

In the last ten days, the gap couldn't be pulled apart either, yet Zhao Xing's Five Elements Earth-Splitting Method could still bring about some effect.

Thus, he ultimately placed second.

"You have the edge over me this time, but next time, it won't be certain." A flash of fighting spirit appeared in Zhuang Ziqing's eyes. "After the second training ends, there will be a month of free time to arrange optional training. I've decided, just like you, to sleep only one shi-chen a day."

Zhao Xing was stunned. He hadn't expected Zhuang Ziqing to start grinding too.

How did the fact that he slept only one shi-chen a day spread around?

Zhuang Ziqing's fighting spirit blazed—he was also a scion of a noble house, with decent talent and resources. He didn't spend much time on cultivation, at most four shi-chen a day, yet even so, his progress was fast.

But now, Zhuang Ziqing had also been spurred on by Zhao Xing.

"Zhao Xing, shall we compete again in the next training?"

Zhao Xing looked at Zhuang Ziqing and smiled. "Sure, I'll be waiting."

"I'm off." Zhuang Ziqing cupped his hands in a salute and turned to leave.

As for the others on the rankings, Zhao Xing also browsed through them briefly.

Feng Qiu and Han Bing, who originally only had mid Grade-A treatment, surged into the top twenty-one after the second mandatory training, so their treatment would be upgraded to top Grade-A.

Li Feng, because he had been eliminated early by Zhao Xing during the challenge stage, hadn't even made it onto the Grade-A list. But now that he'd surged into the top ten, his treatment had been restored to match his strength.

What surprised Zhao Xing somewhat was Cai Jin in fourth place.

Cai Jin was a student of Lu Bang at the Grand Granary Institute. He previously only had lower Grade-A treatment, but now he'd shot up to fourth place in one go, with his score exceeding 200,000.

Putting away his earth mirror, Zhao Xing headed toward Fuchun Garden. On the way to see Tian Hou, he also made some fine adjustments to his upcoming cultivation.

"Now the number of spells I've expanded is about enough. The four methods of Heaven's Timing and the four methods of Earth's Advantage are already complete. Of the four lesser methods of the True Self, I'm only missing two."

"Future cultivation should focus on training the three great secret manuals."

He couldn't rely on luck to win every time. The Five Elements Earth-Splitting Method would also fail when encountering anti-gambling-dog-tactics terrain like the Seven Peaks Basin.

At the Grand Granary Institute, Lu Bang looked at the final rankings that had come out.

"As expected, Shi Yong still took first place."

"But this Zhao Xing actually held onto second place?"

"Could his cultivation progress on the three great secret manuals have already caught up with the others?"

Since he wasn't on the scene, Lu Bang failed to see through Zhao Xing's underground operation, nor did he notice the abnormal power of the Five Elements Earth-Splitting Art.

"He spent two months catching up to the cultivation progress others took several years to achieve — it's simply inconceivable. Ge Jinsong and Cheng Qingming really are…" Lu Bang shook his head, ultimately refraining from uttering that 'blind as a bat' remark.

Because his student Cai Jin was still right beside him.

Setting down the Earth Mirror, Lu Bang looked at his student: "Cai Jin, in this training session your ranking surged to fourth, which was quite unexpected to me. However, you benefited from certain innate advantages of our academy — this is not your true strength. Are you aware of that?"

Cai Jin had dark skin and a sharp, capable air about him. Hearing his teacher's words, he hurriedly rose from his seat: "This student understands. Of the seeds and seedlings distributed in this training, seventy percent were derivative species. Having studied at the Taicang Academy, I basically recognized them all — I did benefit from that advantage."

"Mm." Lu Bang nodded with satisfaction. "That bit of insight can easily be caught up to. You must study even more diligently in the future. I've heard that Zhao Xing of the Dili Academy sleeps only one shichen a day, spending all his remaining time on cultivation — that is how he managed to place second in this training."

"You should take him as your model."

One shichen?

Cai Jin was momentarily stunned.

He had thought that following Lu Bang to study at the Taicang Academy was already diligent enough on his part.

But he hadn't expected Zhao Xing to be even more diligent than him.

This couldn't even be called diligence — it was simply grinding hardship!

"Yes, this student shall take him as his model."

"Since you have such resolve, as your teacher I'll give you a small gift to help you along." Lu Bang waved his hand, and a jade pendant flew into Cai Jin's hand. "A fourth-grade Mingsha Jade — it has the effect of clearing the mind and sharpening the wits. With it, sleeping only one shichen a day will be enough for you."

"……"

Cai Jin had actually just been paying lip service, never expecting his teacher to take it seriously.

Damn it — it's all that Zhao Xing's fault!

Why the hell is he grinding so hard?!

"Yes, thank you, teacher, for bestowing this treasure." Cai Jin was helpless inside, but didn't dare show it on his face. He accepted it solemnly.

Only now, whether he wanted to grind or not, he had no choice but to grind.

At the Fengqiu Prefecture, a cold-looking youth stared at the Earth Mirror.

"Shi Yong is close to 270,000 points, Zhao Xing is close to 240,000 points… and I only have 180,000?"

"His progress is actually this great?"

Fengqiu gripped the Earth Mirror, his gaze somewhat gloomy.

He was a person with a strong competitive streak. He had thought that by training hard, he would achieve a dazzling record this time, but the result was still less than satisfactory.

"I didn't surpass Zhuang Ziqing or Shi Yong, didn't even surpass Zhao Xing, and there's even a Cai Jin I've never heard of…"

Fengqiu took a deep breath, put away the Earth Mirror, and rushed into the cultivation room to train like a madman.

At the Tiashi Academy, after flying boats descended one after another, many geniuses disembarked and also received the ranking information from the Earth Mirror.

"Hahaha, my rank went up 50 places — from Lower-Jia to Middle-Jia!"

"Sigh, I dropped 37 places, my resources got downgraded."

"Phew~ that was close, one more place and I'd have been demoted."

"Looks like there's still quite a few problems with my spell cultivation and combinations."

"Right after being assigned to the academy, I was so busy comprehending the Solar-Term Steles that I neglected the Dili spells. As a result, in the last ten days I only scored 3,000 points."

Everyone buzzed with discussion.

Even the Upper-Jia tier saw people moving up and down, let alone Middle-Jia and Lower-Jia.

The second training session had more comprehensive content. Many people, after being assigned to their academies, had an unreasonable allocation of cultivation time — they might have scored a lot of points in one area, only to lose points in another.

"Zhao Xing actually ranked second? He even surpassed Zhuang Ziqing." Guan Junyang looked at the Earth Mirror, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "The Divine Might Army really picked up a talent this time."

Hua Zhilin also looked at the Earth Mirror: "I heard he was selected into the Divine Might Army right after being promoted from clerk to full official. Back during the Cloud-Law Pass and Rain-Law Pass, I already sensed he was extraordinary — and sure enough, it's proven true now."

Guan Junyang nodded: "I heard from Cao Shuang that this person doesn't show up often at the Dili Academy — he spends all day cultivating. But I didn't expect his progress to be this huge."

Cao Shuang, Guan Junyang, and Hua Zhilin were all from the Xuanjia Army and were in regular contact.

Hua Zhilin said: "Brother Guan, you really need to work harder. You dropped to twenty-first this time, barely holding onto your Upper-Jia rating. If you drop out, the Xuanjia Army will only have Cao Shuang as its lone seedling."

Guan Junyang nodded: "I do need to work harder. I heard from Cao Shuang that Zhao Xing cultivates ten shichen a day — it's simply inhuman. Back when we were in the Weikou Army, when did we ever push ourselves this hard? Coming here has really been an eye-opener…"

"Still, if I'm going to work hard, I won't just chase Zhuang Ziqing and Zhao Xing — I'll surpass Shi Yong along with them!" Guan Junyang looked at that tall figure in the distance.

But Shi Yong paid no attention whatsoever to the gazes of the crowd. After disembarking from the flying boat, he simply left the Tiashi Academy on his own.

Tiashi Academy, Qiushui Residence.

"The training rankings are already out. In our Tiashi Academy, two people were squeezed out of the Upper-Jia list this time." A middle-aged man in a cloud-brocade long robe looked at the colleagues around him. His name was Mei Zhiru, the Agricultural Overseer of the Tiashi Academy. The Grand Agricultural Overseer generally didn't handle training new recruits, so he was the official with the greatest say here.

"In the top five, only Shi Yong remains from our Tiashi Academy."

"Looking at the top hundred list overall, many people from our Tiashi Academy have slipped in rank."

"Two months of training, and yet they're going backwards the more they train? What do my lords think about this?"

"Lord Mei, at the start of training, the geniuses' rankings moving up and down is perfectly normal," an official responded. "We teach with all our hearts, and the students are also studying hard. Sooner or later, we'll reclaim more Upper-Jia seats."

"Oh? Then how is it that the Dili Academy has more moving up and fewer moving down?" Mei Zhiru pointed at the list. "Take this Zhao Xing who ranked second — at the time of academy assignment, his evaluation was that this lad lacked experience and his performance was only middling-to-lower. Now he's advancing so vigorously — wouldn't that prove that the Dili Academy's teachers teach well and are more conscientious?"

"Cough, cough…" Mei Zhiru's question left the responding official completely at a loss. He could only cough twice and look toward a certain seat.

Everyone else's gazes also turned toward two seats.

Seated there were Ge Jinsong and Cheng Qingming.

Under the colleagues' gazes, the corner of Cheng Qingming's mouth twitched, while Ge Jinsong took a tactical sip of tea.

Mei Zhiru had not participated in the academy assignments at the time. Seeing the subtle atmosphere in the room now, he more or less understood what had happened.

He spoke lightly: "I am not accusing any of you of any fault. However, our Tiashi Academy has always led the four academies. We can't possibly take over this cohort and end up at the bottom."

"Right now Shi Yong is still holding up first place, but the top hundred as a whole is inferior to the previous cohort. Cultivating Military Agricultural Officials for the imperial court is our duty. The Tiashi Academy should not rest on its laurels and coast, nor should it cling to old ways. My lords and I must be more diligent from now on."

"Lord Mei speaks wisely." The other officials echoed in agreement one after another.

Cheng Qingming and Ge Jinsong also voiced agreement.

It just didn't sit right with him, no matter how he listened.

What do you mean muddling along, sticking to the rulebook... this was clearly saying that when they had picked people back then, they hadn't been careful, and hadn't given Zhao Xing the rating he deserved!

Mei Zhiru was just short of pointing at their noses and calling them blind.

Cheng Qingming and Ge Jinsong exchanged a glance, both eyes showing a hint of helplessness.

If this Zhao Xing kept excelling in the future, the two of them would probably see this year's teaching record go down the drain.

"Sigh... I let my guard down." Ge Jinsong thought silently to himself.

"Shiyong, you have to hold on." Cheng Qingming had a different thought in his heart.

Fuchun Garden.

Tian Shan looked at Zhao Xing, who had just returned from training.

Beyond his happiness, Tian Shan also felt some doubt in his heart. "You say your three great secret manuals haven't made a sudden leap forward, so how did you manage to get second place?"

"Teacher, I practiced the Five Elements Earth-Splitting Method, and the Condensation Method and Foundation-Strengthening Method also had some breakthroughs. As for those complex terrains, I used the Divine Step Guardian to easily enter underground and adjust the ley lines. I think these should be the reasons." Zhao Xing answered.

"I see." Tian Shan said, "Then for the next month of your cultivation, focus your efforts on comprehending the three great secret manuals. This month happens to have a selective training session related to the 【Nine-Section Dao Arena】."

"When you usually comprehend the three great secret manuals, if you gain anything, you can go to the 【Nine-Section Dao Arena】 to verify it."

"You probably haven't obtained a rating in the 【Nine-Section Dao Arena】 yet, have you?"

"No." Zhao Xing shook his head. The Nine-Section Dao Arena was a place for combat and sparring. Over the past two or three months, he had just buried himself in cultivation and hadn't gone even once.

"Shiyong, Zhuang Ziqing and the others have already begun training in this arena. Now that you're starting to comprehend the three great secret manuals, it happens to coincide with the selective training month." Tian Shan said, "You can set aside Lu Bang's selective training course for now, and go meet the training requirements of the 【Nine-Section Dao Arena】 first."

The centipede bite isn't a big deal, it's just that running back and forth today wasted a lot of time, so the update is only coming now.

Three updates as usual today. Just the timing will be a bit late, don't stay up late everyone.