Chapter 171: Final Martial Exam

On the other side of the examination grounds.

As milky-white sweat continuously discharged from Yu Xinghan's body surface and was then evaporated by waves of heat emanating from within him, layers of white marks were left on his skin.

In this process, Yu Xinghan gradually began to feel discomfort in his body.

He knew that this state of incomplete digestion could not be sustained for long.

If he forced himself to keep going, the burden on his digestive system would grow heavier and heavier, eventually damaging his own digestive system in turn.

But seeing that he could not pull ahead of Zhang Yu no matter what, Yu Xinghan gritted his teeth and continued to devour and digest frantically, maintaining his ranking.

"Damn body, hold on for me!"

He slapped his stomach fiercely, a surge of unwillingness to lose rising in his heart.

"I am a Golden Core disciple, a direct disciple chosen by Starfire Zhenren—how can I lose to Zhang Yu..."

Although he usually seemed cheerful and chatty with many students, his identity as a Golden Core disciple had always given Yu Xinghan a hint of pride in his heart, making him understand that he was ultimately different from the other students.

Especially when facing Zhang Yu, a candidate disciple he had eliminated back then—if he said he felt no sense of superiority... that would be impossible.

But this sense of superiority was well hidden, especially when Zhang Yu paid him money.

Yet at this very moment, when Yu Xinghan was giving his all in this exam and found he couldn't shake off Zhang Yu, that sense of superiority turned into wisps of resentment.

"How could I lose to him?"

"I have been trained by a Golden Core True Person, and I’ve spent so much money learning techniques from Zhang Yu..."

"How could I... lose to him?!"

Just as Yu Xinghan was about to fight Zhang Yu to the bitter end, a violent discomfort from his internal organs suddenly woke him up.

Feeling the discomfort in his organs, a saying from Starfire Zhenren suddenly flashed through Yu Xinghan's mind.

"Xinghan, it is a good thing that you cultivate the Heavenly Martial Heart-Forge Technique with me, forging an undefeatable battle will and boundless fighting spirit."

"But in this world, there is always someone better, and beyond the sky there is another sky. Who dares claim to be undefeated for life? Who can be invincible against all comers?"

"When you encounter someone better and a sky beyond the sky, this boundless fighting spirit may instead harm you, making you lose even more."

With a sigh, Starfire Zhenren said, deeply and wearily, "When it's time to let go, let go."

"Defeat is not terrifying."

"As long as the money remains, there are countless opportunities."

"I leave these words in your mind today, hoping they will be of use someday."

As Starfire Zhenren's words flashed through Yu Xinghan's mind, his originally battle-filled thoughts suddenly calmed down, and he quickly accepted a fact.

"Zhang Yu... has indeed surpassed me."

"Judging from this exam, at least in terms of physical techniques, he is completely above me, has utterly surpassed me, and has left me with no power to resist."

Though difficult, though unwilling, Yu Xinghan knew that facts were facts, and he had to admit them.

"If I keep stubbornly fighting, once my digestive system can no longer handle this overloaded state, my eating speed will drop severely, and I might not even keep the 20th place."

Letting out a breath in his heart, Yu Xinghan knew it was time to let go.

So the next moment, his body stopped secreting milky-white sweat and returned to a normal eating state.

A moment later, on the holographic screen, the pillar for No. 55, representing Zhang Yu, surpassed Yu Xinghan and reached the 15th place.

Seeing this, Yu Xinghan again let out a deep breath in his heart, constantly telling himself it was fine.

"It's okay to lose. As long as the money is still there, there is a chance to catch up."

Watching Yu Xinghan give up, Huang Zichou said appreciatively, "I didn’t expect this Golden Core disciple to know when to let go; he’s managed to keep his current rank."

Another Little God sighed, "Desperately charging upward is very simple."

"But knowing when to slow down, knowing your own limits even when you're in the spotlight, knowing what debts you can't owe and what contracts you can't sign—that isn’t easy."

Watching this scene, Deng Bingding thought to himself, "It seems that after that kid Starfire fell to the 1st layer, he not only reflected deeply but also properly trained his disciple."

"It's a pity—though a person has improved, if the money is gone, what use is it?"

Just then, as the contest was gradually drawing to an end, Huang Zichou said, "Lord Deng, this round of the Gluttony Competition is proceeding smoothly. The contestants are all showing off their skills—it's clear that the immortal teachings on Kunxu Layer 1 are flourishing day by day."

Another minor god, while filming the scene as material for a report, praised, "I still remember the earliest Foundation Establishment exams—students only needed to compete in physical strength."

"Later came refined tests of strength, speed, and various techniques."

"And now look at this."

The gods watched the students on the field—some were smoking all over, some had bellies swollen bigger than their bodies, some ran to the bathroom once a minute, some crazily beat themselves to produce thunderous sounds, some vibrated like blenders, some vomited and then shoved the vomit back into their mouths... Deng Bingding smiled slightly and nodded, "Today's students are stronger with each generation—truly the way of immortality is thriving, and the world is blessed."

Huang Zichou quickly said, "This is all thanks to the wise guidance of the Heavenly Court, and to the Righteous Gods of every ministry, like you, Lord Deng, who always have the people in mind."

Deng Bingding smiled faintly and said, "Make sure to capture these arena champions on film—pick a few and submit them together so that the higher-ups above can also see this vigorous vitality in Kunxu Layer 1..."

Huang Zichou immediately did as told—he knew well that what the major gods and the immortals of the Heavenly Court most enjoyed seeing were scenes of these younger generations of immortals striving fiercely and climbing bravely along the immortal path.

With the end of the Gluttony Competition, the rankings were finally settled.

And many students, too impatient to glance at the rankings, hurriedly rushed off toward the restrooms.

But Ye Lingxiao stood firmly in place without moving. He looked at his own second place and at Yun Jing in first—a cold glint seemed to flash through his eyes.

As if sensing Ye Lingxiao's hostility, Yun Jing smiled at him and said, "You won the last round; I'm just taking this one back."

"The perfect bloodline of the Ye clan doesn't seem so perfect after all? At least when it comes to eating, it appears to be no match for my furnace-style digestive system."

Ye Lingxiao did not reply, but the intense desire to win in his eyes said it all—he had to win the third round.

No mistake, not a single error, all content is here!

Ye Lingxiao thought to himself, "Before, because of the clan, because of the company, because of the stock price, because of the ads... I could never settle the score with this guy Yun Jing."

"But here in this Foundation Establishment exam, I can go all out against him."

Dai Xingzhi looked at his own seventh-place ranking and revealed a satisfied smile, thinking that today's Foundation Establishment exam probably wouldn't get him eliminated.

Then he glanced at Meng Tao, who had dropped to tenth place and possessed a Gluttony Spiritual Root, and at Zhang Yu, who had surged to fourteenth place—a hint of doubt rose in his heart.

"That outsider, No. 55... he must be quite wealthy, right? But why is he in fourteenth place this time?"

Dai Xingzhi thought to himself, "Is he doing it on purpose again?"

He recalled Zhang Yu's performance during the contest and shook his head slightly. "Doesn't seem like it."

"And his digestive system doesn't seem to have anything special about it either."

Dai Xingzhi looked at Zhang Yu with curiosity: "Could it be that this guy's actual strength isn't as strong as I imagined before?"

And obviously, Dai Xingzhi was not the only one thinking this—many students cast glances at Zhang Yu tinged with puzzlement.

Huang Zichou commented, "As always, Ye Lingxiao and Yun Jing are far ahead of the pack."

"The others in the top ranks are also all Xiandu students."

"It looks like these four Foundation Establishment certificates of this session will once again be swept by Xiandu students."

"But as for those three from Songyang..."

Looking at Zhang Yu in 14th, Yu Xinghan in 16th, and Bai Zhenzhen in 20th, Huang Zichou sighed, "They have a lot of potential. In next year's Foundation Establishment exam, they might have a chance to touch the Foundation Establishment certificate."

But at the same time, the Righteous Gods, including Huang Zichou and Deng Bingding, were also quietly wondering what on earth had happened in Songyang that suddenly produced three students with the potential to obtain Foundation Establishment certificates.

"But what does it have to do with me?" Huang Zichou thought to himself. "I'm just in charge of their Foundation Establishment exam."

After a period of rest and adjustment,

the third exam, also the last one of the day, officially arrived.

Deng Bingding announced in a clear voice, "The martial arts exam tests an individual's mastery and understanding of martial arts techniques."

"It can be said that a person's martial arts cultivation is not only reflected in actual combat—the process of learning techniques also reveals it..."

Huang Zichou sneered inwardly: "That's just to save the budget. The Heavenly Court and the Eight Ministry Righteous Gods take pity on the examinees of the lower realm—in previous Foundation Establishment exams at Kunxu Layer 1, the practical combat assessments all covered medical expenses."

"The great gods just move their upper and lower lips, say one sentence to cover the medical fees, and then we have to make up the shortfall down here, don't we?"

"If we don't eliminate more earlier, letting so many students go all out in real combat so early—they'll be battered and bloody, and who knows how much money that would cost."

Then Deng Bingding clapped his hands together, and a beam of light appeared before each and every student.

"For this martial arts exam, you will each select a technique and spend the next two hours comprehending and cultivating it."

"These techniques are ranked by us according to difficulty, with one-star being the easiest and ten-star the hardest."

"The higher the difficulty of the technique you master, the higher your score will naturally be."

"But if you cannot master the selected technique, then you will receive a score of zero for this round."

"Also, the reward technique for today's exam is the technique you choose."

"If you ultimately do not make it into the top 20 of the total score and are eliminated... then you will have to pay for the technique's cost yourselves."