Chapter 144: Heavenly Silkworm Transformation: Straw Dummy Training Lesson

【Divine Might Army Zhao Xing, you have been randomly matched against opponent 'Wei Chen' (Town Sea Army).】

【Random environment: 'Ocean Lake Wetlands'.】

【Combat will begin in sixty breaths. Please prepare yourself.】

"Wei Chen? Seems like a Lower-A tier genius from Pinghuai Academy."

Zhao Xing saw the name and felt a flicker of familiarity.

There were only so many A-tier geniuses; Wei Chen was fairly well known within Pinghuai Academy.

"I've been matched against Zhao Xing!"

On another preparation platform, Wei Chen was a little thrilled.

He had just finished watching Zhao Xing's battle against Feng Qiu, so on a whim he queued for a match.

He never expected to actually run into him.

Wei Chen was already at the third tier in the Nine Section Arena, though he had always hovered between one and two stars.

"I hope I can last a bit longer against him."

Wei Chen waited for the battle to begin, full of anticipation.

Five breaths later, Wei Chen reappeared on the preparation platform, his face full of shock.

"I was taken out in a single move? I couldn't even last five breaths?!"

"The gap between people really is goddamn huge."

Wei Chen shook his head and sighed.

The Ocean Lake Wetlands was an environment he was skilled in. After entering the match, Wei Chen immediately cast a defensive spell.

Wei Chen's specialty water technique was called 《Heavy Water Gate》.

It was a technique that combined the Water Element with the Mysterious Earth Element.

He could open nine Heavy Water Gates; each gate could use the power of Water to dissolve and distort an opponent's spell attacks. They could also be used to trap an opponent.

"Nine Heavy Water Gates, and he broke through them all in a single move."

"Like they were made of paper."

Wei Chen felt a touch of melancholy.

He had originally thought the gap between himself and Upper-A tier geniuses wasn't that big; at worst he could exchange a few moves.

The result: an instant kill.

…………

【Divine Might Army Zhao Xing, you have completed your third-tier promotion battle!】

【Arena Points: 69】

【Net Wins: 69】

【Arena Rating: Third Tier, One Star】

【Arena Points Ranking: 712,452 (Ten Sun Grotto-Heaven)】

【Nine Section Arena Points Ranking: 55,214 (Ten Sun Grotto-Heaven)】

【Once your Arena Rating reaches the third tier, you may choose to challenge opponents of the same tier, or accept challenge invitations.】

"One elective training course completed." Zhao Xing smiled slightly.

For the second battle of the third-tier promotion, since Wei Chen posed no pressure, Zhao Xing directly cast a water technique and instantly took his opponent out.

After promoting to the third tier, his Nine Section Arena ranking also reached over fifty thousand, and his overall Ten Sun Arena ranking climbed by two hundred thousand places.

"With Cen Sanji's elective training course done, I can go complete Lu Bang's. Planting third-tier plants now, with unlimited Earth Power, having them enter the maturity stage within a single hour is no problem."

"Once that's done, two of the ten elective training courses will be complete." Zhao Xing thought to himself.

As an Upper-A tier genius, his elective training also had to earn an A-tier rating.

To maintain Upper-A tier training at the Agricultural Supervisor Bureau from start to finish, beyond performing outstandingly in required training, he also needed ten A's in elective training.

"Buzz~"

Suddenly, the Earth Mirror trembled.

【Divine Might Army Zhao Xing, Tiger Jiao Army 'Zhuang Ziqing' has issued you a challenge. Do you accept?】

【Divine Might Army Zhao Xing, Mystic Armor Army 'Guan Junyang' has issued you a challenge. Do you accept?】

【Divine Might Army Zhao Xing, Mystic Armor Army 'Cao Shuang' has issued you a challenge. Do you accept?】

【……】

In an instant, many prompts appeared on the Earth Mirror.

"So many people waiting for me to promote." Zhao Xing couldn't help but laugh.

It seemed everyone wanted a match against him, the second-place finisher of the last required training.

Especially after Feng Qiu's defeat, the geniuses were itching to try, all wanting to step up and test themselves.

"I'll take one match."

Zhao Xing accepted Zhuang Ziqing's invitation.

He also wanted to see what the result would be when he tested the Water Drop technique he had comprehended against Zhuang Ziqing in actual combat.

Because Zhuang Ziqing and Shi Yong had clearly entered the fourth revolution of the Knowing Realm.

As for the others? Zhao Xing had no idea.

If he was going to accept a challenge, of course he had to pick a worthy opponent.

"Accept." Zhao Xing selected confirm on the Earth Mirror.

【This challenge is a secret challenge. Spectating is not permitted. Combat will begin in sixty breaths…】

"A secret challenge? Little Zhuang is still hiding things, afraid of people seeing his secret techniques?"

Private challenges can be set to public or private; if public, followers can watch the battle through the Earth Mirror.

If private, it only shows that a battle has begun and will not reveal the result.

………

"He agreed?" Zhuang Ziqing stood on the preparation platform, and the moment he saw Zhao Xing accept the invitation, he too grew excited at once. "Looks like he's really entered the fourth revolution of the Knowing Realm—he's got real confidence."

Zhuang Ziqing couldn't even sleep, all he wanted was to have a match with Zhao Xing.

Because Shi Yong was too strong—he simply couldn't be beaten, and sparring with him offered no sense of experience at all.

After much difficulty, a Zhao Xing had finally appeared—of course he was itching for a fight.

"The random map is Spring Grassland?"

Zhuang Ziqing glanced at it, put away the Earth Mirror, and waited quietly.

After the third tier, personal invitation battles have a slightly longer wait time—after all, once one reaches the third-tier rating, the map must expand accordingly, to give the combatants room to fight at full stretch.

Spring Grassland—the sky was an incomparably deep blue, without a single wisp of cloud.

Two figures appeared on the grassland.

"Zhao Xing!"

After entering, Zhuang Ziqing didn't make the first move right away, but called out to Zhao Xing.

"You should have already entered the fourth revolution of the Knowing Realm and comprehended a high-grade technique, right?"

"Let's not bother with any other techniques—just go straight to our strongest moves, one strike to decide the win or loss. How about it?"

Zhao Xing nodded: "Fine."

Zhuang Ziqing flew a little closer: "You attack first. You've only just comprehended a Knowing Realm technique, while I've already learned several secret arts. If I attack first, you won't get a chance."

"Alright."

Zhao Xing didn't stand on ceremony either. Primordial Qi circulated at his fingertip, and the Solar Term Command within his Origin Dantian trembled slightly.

This map was 'Spring Grassland', which was naturally suited for casting 【Dripping Rain】.

In just an instant, he easily borrowed the momentum of heaven and earth.

A droplet of water appeared at his fingertip.

"Whoosh!"

Zhao Xing flicked his finger, and the water droplet shot rapidly toward Zhuang Ziqing.

"Hm?"

A strange glint flashed through Zhuang Ziqing's eyes.

It was clearly just a single drop of water, yet he felt as though the entire heavens and earth were crashing down on him.

He couldn't help but cast a technique to resist.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle~"

Around Zhuang Ziqing's body, a great mass of fluffy matter suddenly appeared; at the same time, the grass beneath his feet began growing wildly.

Strand by strand, thread by thread, countless filaments intertwined with one another, and soon formed an oval-shaped white shell—like a silkworm cocoon—that enveloped Zhuang Ziqing.

The moment the water droplet arrived, the cocoon also formed.

"Boom!"

The cocoon seemed to receive a tremendous impact, and both man and cocoon were sent flying backward.

"Rumble rumble~"

Soil churned, green grass flew through the air.

The cocoon plowed a trench over ten meters long and half a meter deep into the ground before finally coming to a stop.

"Hm? This is the secret art Heavenly Silkworm Transformation?" Zhao Xing looked at Zhuang Ziqing in surprise. "I thought your forte was thunder techniques—why is the high-grade technique you comprehended a wood-element technique?"

"Aren't you the same? Everyone says your Cloud-Devouring Technique has no equal, yet what you comprehended was a high-grade water-element technique." Zhuang Ziqing's voice came from within the cocoon.

The water droplet failed to break through the cocoon's defense; although it cracked it in many places, the characteristic of wood-element techniques is endless regeneration, and the Heavenly Silkworm Transformation secret art is an even more masterful application of that principle.

Wood-element force moved like needles and threads, weaving up and down, and the cocoon quickly repaired itself.

"Didn't break through, hehe—my turn."

The cocoon wrapping Zhuang Ziqing suddenly lifted into the air of its own accord and began spinning wildly.

Countless silken threads flew toward Zhao Xing.

Some of the silken threads drifted and twisted, others were pulled taut and straight like arrows.

Dodging was actually still an option, but dodging would defeat the purpose of this training.

Zhao Xing didn't cast any defensive technique either, because they had agreed at the start not to use any other techniques.

"Dripping Water."

A water droplet appeared once more in Zhao Xing's palm, circling around itself as it flew, trying to destroy those silken threads.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

When the water droplet touched the silken threads, it produced an unnervingly loud explosion—clearly both the droplet and the threads were utterly insignificant objects, yet the commotion they caused was tremendous.

Zhao Xing had originally borrowed the momentum of heaven and earth with ease, but as the water droplet touched the silken threads, he distinctly felt a sense of sluggishness—because Zhuang Ziqing was also borrowing the momentum of heaven and earth.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle~"

The silken threads quickly wrapped around Zhao Xing's right arm, interrupting his casting; the water droplet lost control, shot toward the ground, and blasted out a deep crater.

More and more silken threads gathered, quickly embedding themselves into his flesh.

"Hum~"

The Dao-Protecting Barrier appeared; Jin Guang swept across Zhao Xing's entire body and teleported him out.

On the preparation platform, the wounds on Zhao Xing's body healed rapidly—they were only superficial injuries to begin with, and recovered in an instant.

He flew out of Cloud Gate, arrived at the plaza, and met up with Zhuang Ziqing.

"Hm? What's the matter with you?" Seeing the person, Zhao Xing was somewhat surprised.

"What do you mean, what's the matter?" Zhuang Ziqing was taken aback.

"You look like you've lost your mind — how long has it been since you slept?" Zhao Xing saw at a glance that Zhuang Ziqing's condition was off. Having cultivated the "Great Dream Spring and Autumn," he could sense that Zhuang Ziqing's life soul was overstimulated — the result of using fatigue-clearing treasures many times.

Physical fatigue could be eased, but life-soul fatigue was hard to resolve. Zhao Xing had to sleep an hour every day, mainly to let his life soul rest.

"It's nothing — I'll go back and sleep." Zhuang Ziqing didn't care in the slightest.

"You came all this way just to have a match with me?"

"You've had a breakthrough, of course I have to come spar." Zhuang Ziqing smiled. "Among the reserves now, only the five of us — you, me, Shi Yong, Cao Shuang, and Guan Junyang — have learned high-grade arts from the Solar Terms Tokens. What you've comprehended is different from the rest of ours, so naturally I have to come test it."

He actually had another thought as well — Zhao Xing was improving so fast that if he didn't seize the chance to fight now, he might not be able to win later!

After all, among the Sinong Bureau reserves, Zhao Xing's growth rate was the fastest — the only clerk who had been selected and transferred upon becoming full-fledged.

Even with the resource boost inside the Ten Sun Grotto-heaven, raising a Solar Terms Token to the fourth revolution of the Knowing realm in just a few short months was simply terrifying.

"Still very shallow — I've only just grasped the basics." Zhao Xing shook his head. Zhuang Ziqing's Heavenly Silkworm Transformation was clearly very practiced, and he had mastered secret arts — those silkworm threads and silkworm cocoons were advanced extensions of wood-attribute arts.

"I've only grasped the basics too," Zhuang Ziqing said. "If your Dripping Rain art were a bit more practiced and you'd mastered a secret art, I wouldn't have won so easily. Among the five of us, only Shi Yong is faster — you could say he's truly entered the door."

"Have you fought Shi Yong?" Zhao Xing asked.

"We have," Zhuang Ziqing nodded. "We're both in the Tiger Flood Dragon Army, and we're fairly close. Since entering the Nine Section Dojo, I've fought him ten times."

"What's the win-loss record?"

"Don't ask about sad things." Zhuang Ziqing shrugged. "Once I've surpassed him, I'll come tell you."

So that means he hasn't won a single one… Zhao Xing thought to himself.

"I'm off, I should go back and sleep." Zhuang Ziqing yawned. "In a few days there's a selection training coming out with point rewards — I have to prepare well. Zhao Xing, let's practice together when you have time."

"Easy to arrange."

Zhao Xing and Zhuang Ziqing parted ways, and he did not re-enter the Nine Section Dojo.

There was no harm in waiting to train again once he had new insights.

On July 17th, Zhao Xing obtained a third-grade rating at the Nine Section Dojo, and also received an A-grade score from Cen Sanji.

On July 18th, Zhao Xing came to the inner hall of the Earth Vein Hall to contemplate. The earth-vein map within the inner hall was far more profound than that of the outer hall — only nine earth veins, yet these nine earth veins were far more powerful than those of the outer hall. It was on this very day that his Dili Sect arts had a breakthrough.

Divine Step Guardian likewise broke through to the tenth revolution, because both the Mysterious Earth art and the Divine Step Earth Palace were related to earth veins. This dual-art breakthrough also gave Zhao Xing two arts that had reached high-grade power.

From July 19th to July 23rd, he once again came to the Heavenly Timing Court to observe the one hundred and eight Solar Terms Steles.

Five days later, Zhao Xing left the treasured land with some reluctance.

"The Heavenly Timing Court's treasured land — my two free contemplation chances are used up."

"But my Twenty-Four Solar Terms Tokens have all reached the third revolution of the Knowing realm — only 【Start of Spring】 is at the fourth revolution."

"The Earth Advantage Court still has one free contemplation chance left. The Taicang Court and Pinghuai Court's treasured lands still have two chances each."

"The high-grade art 【Dripping Water】 has reached the third revolution. To break through in the short term is difficult — unless I purchase 【Dripping Water Domain】." Zhao Xing's progress was fast.

But upon reaching the high-grade art level, he had also encountered a bottleneck.

High-grade arts were the standard for sixth rank; among seventh-rank Army Sinong, perhaps only thirty percent knew a single high-grade art.

As for those who mastered high-grade arts at eighth rank, they were exceedingly rare — precisely because cultivation was so difficult.

"I only have just over ten thousand points now. To purchase 【Dripping Water Domain】, I'm still quite short."

He couldn't ask Tian Hou for more either — after all, Tian Hou had already given him something worth eighty thousand points.

Asking again would be excessive and against the rules.

"During training, one cannot take on missions, unless the Sinong Bureau has an assignment."

"But the selection training courses that opened starting July 15th will reward points, because the reserve Sinong have gradually grown stronger after several months of training, and their demand for points is growing greater and greater."

"Let's see which selection training courses reward points." Zhao Xing pulled out his Earth Mirror to check.

"Hm? Scarecrow Art training course?"

The very first line that caught his eye was a Scarecrow Art training course.

"Begins on the afternoon of July 23rd, location at Tianning Villa, conducted by the fifth-rank Sinong 'Liu Tianning' — isn't that today?"

"First place rewards fifty thousand points?"

"A Scarecrow Art training course — why does it give such high points?"

Adjusted to nothing — drowsy and muddled all day, wide awake the moment night comes.

There's more today.