Chapter 320: The Name of the Star General, Passed Down in Qinzhou

The bleak, biting wind weaves wantonly between the cracked gullies and the desolate wilderness.

In such a silent realm.

A massive golden pagoda stands towering, proudly erect between heaven and earth.

Solemn, majestic, spanning across the firmament.

Thousands of examinees are either sitting or standing, gazing at that enormous golden pagoda.

The golden pagoda is layered and stacked, with points of light flickering.

"Zhu Lili has already reached the hundredth floor; so strong, her natural talent is too high!"

"Zhang Luobai only arrived the day before yesterday, and today he has broken through to the eighty-seventh floor; he might just surpass Zhu Lili."

"An Yunan from the Wild Market isn't progressing very fast; he is a heaven-gifted genius who broke the limits of his realm, so why is he only on the seventy-fifth floor?"

"He is only in the Golden Body Realm; his willpower is indeed strong, but his own cultivation is too poor."

"An Yunan's speed over these past two days has already been very fast; I guess he will be the true dark horse."

"Has Chen Yan not arrived yet? I have high hopes for him."

"He went to the Slaughter Forest; it will still take some time for him to reach the Seeking Sun Pagoda."

…………

Sound after sound of shock rings out.

The battle for the Seeking Sun Pagoda!

It contains the mysterious treasure left behind by Lu Xunyang, and this year's college entrance examination is clearly different.

The Seeking Sun Pagoda has revealed its divine radiance twice; many people speculate that the anomaly of the Seeking Sun Pagoda is due to the presence of An Yunan.

Just as the crowd was discussing.

A white light came from afar; everyone looked over, and all fell silent.

The moment that white-clad figure arrived, a powerful aura descended, his entire body overflowing with terrifying might.

Yu Changsheng.

Yu Changsheng had actually come as well.

Many people realized that Yu Changsheng cultivates both Qi-Blood and Body-Refining; it was no surprise that he came to the Seeking Sun Pagoda.

Yu Changsheng stood in the void, his eyes indifferent, whispering in his heart:

"That Youlan is somewhat strange, but my blood truly felt a connection belonging to the Four Blood Arts.

It should be correct."

He murmured, pondering deeply in his heart:

"That Chen Yan wouldn't dare to deceive me; he dares..."

He whispered, murderous intent appearing in his eyes.

Chen Yan wouldn't dare to deceive him?

That day, Chen Yan had deceived him many times in a row.

In the end, Yu Changsheng was blasted by Xue Qi and suppressed by a grand formation cast from a great distance by the people of Slaughter Village.

It could be called perilous in the extreme.

He had wanted to kill Chen Yan, but that Xue Qi was somewhat abnormal, so he dismissed the idea of killing Chen Yan.

But letting an enemy go was not his style.

"I hope you will come to the Seeking Sun Pagoda." Yu Changsheng murmured, looking at the Seeking Sun Pagoda that towered into the clouds, his gaze cold:

"Lu Xunyang, you are indeed a legend, but the current era is mine."

As he spoke, his body darted into the Seeking Sun Pagoda like a stream of light.

…………

"The martial arts and techniques you are proficient in are very broad, and precisely because they are broad, you have neglected many things."

Xue Qi's voice rang out in Chen Yan's mind.

Chen Yan thrust his spear, and a fourth-tier ancient beast was pierced through the body by his spear.

"I ask for your guidance, Senior."

Chen Yan spoke earnestly; Xue Qi was definitely no ordinary person.

The current Xue Qi only had the last sliver of mental energy remaining, surviving until now only to annihilate the Fei Yi.

Since Xue Qi was willing to teach him, he certainly had to listen carefully.

"Relying on your physical body and techniques is fine, but your techniques are fought in alignment with your own breathing method and Qi-Blood cultivation method.

You have always fought like this, which is fine, but it is too rigid."

Xue Qi's voice sounded.

Chen Yan thought while blasting apart ancient beasts.

"Combat is not about following a rulebook rigidly, but finding the method most suited to the battle amidst the changes.

Punching speed, the way the body exerts force, and understanding your own reaction time are all very important."

Xue Qi guided him patiently:

"When I was young, I knew neither mental energy nor Qi-Blood, yet I could fight a second-tier ancient beast to the death.

It was not because my physical body was stronger than his, but because I understood myself better."

Chen Yan's brows lifted slightly; within his Saint-Breaking Realm, golden light flickered due to his contemplation.

He suddenly had an epiphany.

Inside the examination space.

The Blood Sword Saint could easily wipe him out precisely because these combat techniques were stronger than Chen Yan's.

The 【Heaven-Patrolling Ultimate Dao】 is very powerful, but the 【Heaven-Patrolling Ultimate Dao】 is dead.

Yet the types of movements a martial artist can execute are infinite.

"Understand yourself, understand how many seconds your reaction speed is, understand how many seconds your punching speed is, understand what your subconscious movements are, and understand whether your movements can change direction for the better."

Xue Qi said:

"That white-clothed examinee who snatched the fake Youlan was very powerful; the feeling he gave me was that he had fought at least tens of thousands of times, and fighting was as natural to him as drinking water.

My physical strength is greater than his, but I couldn't completely kill him, and even severely injuring him was difficult."

Chen Yan listened.

Yu Changsheng.

Was the evaluation of Yu Changsheng in Xue Qi's words actually this high?

He was very surprised.

He knew Yu Changsheng was powerful, but he hadn't expected Yu Changsheng to be this powerful.

The other party looked to be only in his twenties; could it be that he had been fighting since birth?

Xue Qi's voice no longer sounded.

But as Chen Yan continuously attacked and killed ancient beasts, he thought about more things.

He suddenly discovered that the real reason he couldn't combine Qi-blood and horizontal refinement was that he didn't understand himself at all.

If you don't understand yourself, then you cannot make completely correct choices!

Roar!

All around, there were bursts of beast roars.

The surging beast horde almost suppressed the entire abyss.

And it was at this moment.

Bang!

A pitch-black bone spur suddenly pierced through the bodies of several ancient beasts and stabbed toward Chen Yan.

Chen Yan's pupils constricted slightly, golden light erupted beneath his feet, and his body dodged like lightning.

Roar!

A roar resounded, and the ancient beasts that had originally surrounded and killed Chen Yan retreated like a tide, clearing a path.

At the end of the path they cleared was a five-meter-tall, pitch-black humanoid monster.

Its head was like a cockroach, ferocious and strange, with antennae waving disorderly in the air.

And behind it, bone spurs stood like a forest of deadly weapons, sharp and emitting a cold glint.

Fifth-rank Ancient God Beast!

Chen Yan's gaze trembled slightly.

This was the first Fifth-rank Ancient God Beast he had encountered in the college entrance examination secret realm.

"It came because of me; Fei Yi doesn't want me to pass." Xue Qi's voice sounded:

"However, using it to practice techniques is a good choice; the only worry is that you will be eroded by malice."

Chen Yan focused his mind, and the radiance around his body dissipated.

The strength of Ancient God Beasts is generally higher than that of ancient beasts of the same rank, and they can even rival human martial artists at the peak of the same rank.

The strength of this mantis Ancient God Beast should be able to rival the peak of the Dharma Truth Realm, far more powerful than the one his younger sister dealt with.

Killing this Ancient God Beast would yield at least one hundred million Dao-slaying points.

Indeed, it is extremely good for practicing; without considering killing it outright, simply use it to hone one's own skills!

"Senior, is it alright if I waste some time?" Chen Yan asked.

"It doesn't matter." Xue Qi said faintly:

"I also want to see more of this human world."

His voice was distant, always carrying sadness.

Chen Yan nodded, his internal Qi-blood and force humming, and he stepped out, looking like a straight line interwoven with azure and gold.

His own speed, his own reaction time, his method of attacking.

Chen Yan kept thinking.

All around, the other ancient beasts dared not participate and hid far away.

As the mantis Ancient God Beast lashed out with a kick, Chen Yan's own movement trajectory changed.

"My speed can be triggered by force, or by Qi-blood, but a dual eruption cannot achieve a one-plus-one effect.

Moreover, as my strength improves, the speed bonus provided by the protective patterns seems like trash."

Chen Yan whispered, his body sweeping high over the head of this Ancient God Beast, and he swung his long spear like a whip, smashing into the creature's head.

But the next instant, Chen Yan was startled.

He hadn't hit it at all, but had instead struck a phantom image.

Such fast speed!

While Chen Yan was still marveling, an incredibly ugly, pitch-black mantis face appeared ten centimeters in front of him.

Within its two pitch-black eyes, two strange formation patterns condensed.

This is a Formation-Condensing Ancient God Beast.

The formation contained within its eyes was actually related to speed.

A Morning Star-level formation!

Although this pair of eyes was not cyan, it was clearly a relative of the Cyan-eyed Ancient God Beast.

Boom!

Chen Yan unleashed a punch, sending this ancient mantis divine beast flying with a single blow.

"I'm starting to feel a bit embarrassed; why do I always end up doing these things that wipe out entire clans?"

Chen Yan murmured.

Within the Saint-Breaking Realm, golden light representing techniques and yellow light representing the energy of the formation disk emerged.

Chen Yan was incredibly excited; this battle was perfectly suited for him.

Moreover, it should last for a long time!

…………

Time passed slowly.

Outside, bursts of exclamations would always ring out beside the plaza.

"Zhu Lili's progress is lightning fast."

"Yu Changsheng is the one with the fastest speed; when he first entered the College Entrance Examination secret realm, he had almost no points at all—I heard he was entangled by something."

"Chen Yan is still in first place; he's just too amazing."

"Some examinees said that Chen Yan's first trial was the Slaughter Forest, which mainly tests intelligence; it's no surprise that the clever Chen Yan took first place."

"But these past two days, Chen Yan's progress speed has slowed down a lot, and since this morning, he hasn't gained a single point."

…………

Many people were discussing it.

The top ten of the College Entrance Examination leaderboard did not differ much from the initial rankings of the College Entrance Examination Prodigy List.

The biggest variables were the two newcomers, Chen Yan and Zhu Lili.

Especially Chen Yan, who had held the first-place position the entire time, which was astonishing.

But these past two days, the speed at which Chen Yan gained points had clearly slowed down, while Yu Changsheng had shown a late-blooming momentum, constantly catching up.

The massive College Entrance Examination leaderboard shimmered with golden radiance, with names that shook Xiaoyang imprinted upon it.

【First Place Chen Yan: 560,000,000】

【Second Place Yu Changsheng: 340,000,000】

【Third Place Zhu Lili: 330,000,000】

【Fourth Place Zhang Luobai: 300,000,000】

【Fifth Place Qiu Changji: 220,000,000】

【Sixth Place Jiang Yuan: 200,000,000】

…………

After all, it was a major event concerning Xiaoyang.

News regarding the College Entrance Examination was also spread far and wide to every city and county in Qinzhou.

Qingshan Town.

A sedan drove into the village entrance, and a man wearing a Martial Administration uniform got out, walked straight to the old tree with a blackboard hanging on it, and began to write.

The old man who had been sitting under the old tree saw the man arrive and hurriedly shouted:

"Come out quickly, the news for today's leaderboard is here!"

Following the old man's shout, the doors of every household nearby opened, and villagers rushed out.

"Yesterday, Chen Yan already had 500 million points; he's going to pass that today!"

"That's right, that's right, it's such a face-saver, hahaha."

"The genius of our Qingshan Town is the real genius!"

Many people rushed over, clearly having been prepared.

After all, since the College Entrance Examination began, someone from the Martial Administration would come to Luoshan County every day to write down the leaderboard rankings.

It wouldn't have been like this in previous years, but who told them Chen Yan was from Luoshan County.

One villager after another rushed to the blackboard to look at the rankings.

Whether it was Yu Changsheng, Zhang Luobai, or Zhu Lili, these people were all big shots in their eyes—existences they dared not look directly at and would never have any intersection with.

But at this moment, Chen Yan, who came from Qingshan Town, was firmly suppressing these powerful existences, which made them proud.

Immediately after, all the villagers looking at the leaderboard fell silent for a moment.

"Great, it went up another 20 million!"

An old man laughed out loud.

Many people echoed him.

The speed of Chen Yan's point growth had clearly slowed down a lot, but he was still in first place, which was shocking.

"It's slowed down; maybe he'll be caught by Yu Changsheng."

Someone spoke up, and the crowd fell silent, all looking over.

The young man who spoke shrank his neck repeatedly and was led away by a middle-aged man.

Hu Zeyuan slapped Hu Yuan on the back of the neck:

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting!

Daring to recklessly discuss Chen Yan!"

Hu Zeyuan's eyes were red, angry at the lack of restraint.

That was a Third-Rank General Star, commissioned by the Great Xia Imperial Clan, with a status even higher than the Chief of the Martial Suppression Administration in Yunmeng City.

Hu Yuan lowered his head:

"I wasn't talking nonsense."

With a slap.

Hu Zeyuan slapped down again and let out a heavy sigh:

"Regardless of whether he is number one later on, he is already someone we cannot discuss."

Hu Yuan nodded, but a trace of bewilderment appeared in his eyes.

For a very, very long time, he would think about how he had a relative named Chen Yan.

That relative whom he looked down upon, and even loathed.

But this relative had become an existence he now dared not even discuss.

This was a powerful sense of tearing that made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

He could not even muster the slightest intention to catch up.

"Dad, it was agreed back then to give Chen Yan's family a year and a half to pay back the money; why did you insist on collecting the debt early? Our family wasn't short on money back then either."

Hu Yuan muttered.

Beside him, Hu Zeyuan's body stiffened, and an indescribable rage surged in his eyes.

Slap!

He struck Hu Yuan with a palm, leaving him stunned.

Slap!

Another strike.

"Dad..." Hu Yuan was frightened.

Slap, slap, slap!

"You're still talking! I told you not to talk, yet you're still talking, you're still talking!!!"

Hu Zeyuan struck him repeatedly, tears bursting from his eyes.

"You're still talking!"

…………