Chapter 112: The Third Trial and the Nine Veins Divine Sword (Request Subscription)

In the Practical Training Realm, watching the countdown about to hit zero, Xu Jin exhaled in relief.

Finally, he wasn’t so unlucky anymore.

Since encountering the eighth-rank barbarian of Star Refinement Level Five, not a single barbarian had appeared until now.

If a Cloud Feast Level Six or Seven had shown up, Xu Jin might have worn it down with his Star Weapon, even at the cost of serious injury.

But if two had come, Xu Jin would be dead.

The next instant, the countdown in the sky vanished completely.

In an instant, starlight flared, and a long leaderboard composed entirely of starlight descended from the horizon.

At just one glance, Xu Jin froze.

【First Place: Xu Jin, 324 points】

【Second Place: Meng Qingqiu, 161 points】

【Third Place: Yuan Feiqing, 149 points】

【Fourth Place: Yan Chen, 142 points】

【Fifth Place: Ji Hongli, 133 points】

【Sixth Place: Guan Li, 127 points】

【Seventh Place: Fang Mingchun, 119 points】

【Eighth Place: Ying Ge, 109 points】

【Ninth Place: Ceng Yao, 104 points】

【Fifteenth Place: Miao Long, 93 points】

【Sixteenth Place: Wang Weisheng, 92 points】

【One hundred twenty-eighth Place: Zhang Han, 68 points】

【Four hundred ninety-seventh Place: Yu Xianghua, 47 points】

Seeing this leaderboard, Xu Jin’s first thought was that he’d overperformed.

His score was way too high.

It was double that of second place.

This made Xu Jin slightly uneasy.

During the first round’s selection trial, he had indeed been delayed and his ranking affected, but he felt Meng Qingqiu’s speed was roughly equal to his own.

So in this second round, Xu Jin gave his all—it was just normal performance.

Yet he hadn’t expected his score to be outright doubled over second place.

After carefully recalling the events of this second round, Xu Jin relaxed, no longer tense.

He had never revealed any power he shouldn’t have.

During the trial, he had used his Star-Scent Pattern ability, but it was a passive ability enhanced by external force—he never actively channeled Star Qi into it, so no one would notice.

“Wait, are the disciples of Chen Guo Dao Academy really this weak?” Though relieved, Xu Jin couldn’t help muttering—during the first round, they’d all seemed so fierce.

Each one looked terrifying!

But now, after fifth place, everyone’s scores were only a third of Xu Jin’s.

Xu Jin scanned a few more times; several Jinshan Dao Academy disciples ranked quite well.

Many had climbed significantly.

Soon, Xu Jin found Lu Xianbing’s rank.

【Seven hundred ninth Place: Lu Xianbing, 42 points】

Lu Xianbing’s rank had improved dramatically—he was outside the top thousand in the first round, yet now he’d surged to seven hundredth place, proving his practical combat ability was strong.

This was closely tied to his grueling practice in the Star-Picking Tower’s Training Realm before the trial.

Ren Xiaoxiang, at the same Star Refinement level, ranked beyond two thousand; Xu Jin didn’t find Yu Guan’s name.

The final rank on this massive leaderboard was three thousand nine hundred fifty-second.

That meant the elimination rate for this second round’s Practical Training trial was as high as fifty percent.

So what would the third round be?

As Xu Jin pondered, the atmosphere on the Observation Platform grew slightly silent.

Especially Vice Academician Liu Qingzhu—she no longer pinched her waist, instead burying her head deep into her ample chest.

So embarrassing.

They’d lost first place, and even top five.

Into the top five had slipped Ji Hongli from Wan Yi.

Ji Hongli making top ten wasn’t surprising, but now a stranger from Songzhou, Ying Ge, had also slipped in.

This was Practical Training.

For the first time, Chen Guo Dao Academy lost three slots in the Autumn Exam, and for the first time, lost the top rank in the Autumn Exam.

For the first time, in the Practical Training portion of the Autumn Exam, the top ten disciples were outscored by an outsider—double, even triple—their points.

Liu Qingzhu felt her face slapped hard, burning and stinging.

It felt like the heat was scorching even the spot where she buried her face.

This made Liu Qingzhu wonder: was her teaching ability really that poor?

This year’s Star Refinement cohort at Chen Guo Dao Academy was under her supervision as Vice Academician—this result was simply unbearable.

On the Observation Platform, Dong Zhao sat calmly, while the deans of Songzhou Dao Academy and Wan Yi Dao Academy both wore broad, untroubled smiles.

What could they do? Their disciples had excelled.

Their teachers now wore glory on their faces.

For the next year, their voices would carry louder.

In contrast, the Academicians and Vice Academicians of Chen Guo Dao Academy wore grim expressions; when they glanced back at Liu Qingzhu, she’d buried her head in her chest.

No honor left!

Song Bing, the Right Libationer, had recovered his composure, but clearly, his earlier calm was gone.

This time, he’d lost face.

Worse, the foundational secret of the Song family—centuries of ancestral effort refining a single Star Pattern—had been inadvertently leaked by Dong Zhao.

And worse still, Dong Zhao had set the trap with brutal precision.

One trap after another!

He’d directly delivered the prize to the Grand National Master.

Originally, Song Bing had planned that no matter whether Xu Jin won or lost the bonus trial, he’d suffer no loss.

His Song family’s ancestral Rain Curtain Star Pattern led the academy by six tiers—but could a Cloud Feast cultivator like Xu Jin even recognize it?

Absolutely not!

Even if Xu Jin won the bonus trial, Song Bing would just hand over a mid- or high-grade Three-Tier Rain Curtain Star Pattern and be done with it.

Who would dare investigate whether the Star Pattern he gave Xu Jin was the latest version?

No one dared.

And few had the ability anyway.

But the Grand National Master did.

Song Bing could deceive anyone—except one person he could never, never deceive: Grand National Master Cheng Yuexiao.

Come on, unless the Song family wanted to be driven out of Chen Guo.

Helpless, pinned by Dong Zhao, Song Bing had no choice but to hand the latest high-grade Four-Tier Rain Curtain Star Pattern to the Grand National Master.

He hadn’t expected Xu Jin to win.

Now, Song Bing was frantically brainstorming how to fix this mess.

The Song family’s foundational secret couldn’t be casually leaked.

Lu Chenfeng, dean of Yanzhou Dao Academy, also wore a grim expression.

Xu Jin was originally from Yanzhou—his better performance meant more glory for Lu Chenfeng.

Unfortunately, Dong Zhao had intervened, and Lu Chenfeng had initially conspired with his master against Dong Zhao.

No one here was foolish.

Everyone clearly understood the truth beneath the surface of civility.

So now, the better Xu Jin performed, the more Lu Chenfeng’s face burned.

As for his prized disciple Miao Long, his rank had plummeted out of the top ten.

This left him frustrated—his special tutoring had been a complete waste!

Beneath the Jinshan Dao Academy banner, Ning Yuchan’s almond eyes sparkled with joy, her corners crinkling.

Among the spectators, including disciples who’d been eliminated but still watched, the shock was even greater.

Back when they were at Jinshan Dao Academy, Senior Brother Xu Jin hadn’t felt particularly imposing to them.

He’d just seemed a bit stronger than them.

But now, look at this score and ranking.

They now felt as if gazing up at a towering mountain.

They had to look up to him.

In the Chen Guo Dao Academy spectator zone, Lu Kun clenched his fists, stunned.

“Impossible—how could his score be double Senior Sister’s?”

They’re giving him special treatment!

The Jinshan Dao Academy must be giving this Xu family member special treatment—he’s been through intensive training!

Otherwise, how could he possibly have reached the same score we couldn’t even achieve!

For a moment, the full spectrum of human nature surfaced throughout the Autumn Exam Mirage.

But one thing was beyond doubt.

From today on, Xu Jin’s name would resound throughout Chen Guo.

Before the Observation Platform, the Chief Instructor Yu Da’s voice broke the silence.

“Grand Master, the third stage of this year’s Autumn Exam is a continuous sequence. Should we proceed now? Your guidance, Grand Master.” Yu Da requested. “Proceed.”

“At your command.”

After bowing, Yu Da seized his token and activated it forcefully.

Meanwhile, within the Combat Training Mirage, Xu Jin felt puzzled.

The leaderboard had been floating in the sky for several minutes, yet the Combat Training Mirage had not dissolved.

And he remained inside the Combat Training Mirage.

He didn’t know what was going on, and this made Xu Jin anxious.

The main issue was that his star force was completely depleted, with no means to restore it—this left Xu Jin uneasy.

Just as Xu Jin was puzzled, several streaks of starlight messages shot toward him instantly.

【Autumn Exam Stage Three: Wasteland Bloodbath】

【Rules: All who passed Stage Two will now engage in unrestricted combat on the wasteland】

【Every fifteen minutes, the bloodbath map shrinks by half】

【Stage Three has no time limit; the Wasteland Bloodbath ends automatically when only one hundred participants remain】

【Passing Rule: After the Wasteland Bloodbath concludes, the top eight hundred in score advance to the next phase】

【Scoring Rule: Each participant’s initial score is one-tenth of their Stage Two score. Killing one opponent grants a base one point, plus half of the victim’s current score. Final ranking is determined by total score. Only the final killer scores when multiple attackers strike one target】

【Equipment: Use equipment from Stage Two. Each combatant receives two Superior Star-Replenishing Pills and two Three-Element Star-Restoring Pills】

【Rewards: First place: one hundred fifty strands of starlight; Second and third place: one hundred strands; Fourth to tenth place: eighty strands; Eleventh to hundredth place: fifty strands; All who pass receive ten strands of starlight】

【The top ten in Autumn Exam Stage Three will directly earn Core Disciple status】

As each rule appeared, Xu Jin was stunned.

He hadn’t expected Stage Three to be a continuous sequence.

The rewards were quite generous—first place offered one hundred fifty strands of starlight, a fifty percent increase over Stage One.

Could it be that later stages offered higher rewards?

Also, the rule about retaining Stage Two equipment was crucial.

In theory, those who chose pills in Stage Two were at a disadvantage in Stage Three.

Because pills are consumable.

If one chose three star weapons instead, Stage Three would grant a clear advantage.

But the lead from star force was undeniably real.

And most critical of all—his star force was gone.

His star force was empty.

Were they expecting him to use the issued pills to restore star force?

If so, Xu Jin would be at a disadvantage.

Eating both Superior Star-Replenishing Pills and both Three-Element Star-Restoring Pills would restore only eighty percent of Xu Jin’s star force.

Just as Xu Jin was pondering, another starlight message appeared.

【Xu Jin: The Wasteland Bloodbath will begin in two quarters of an hour. The Mirage will now approach the real world closely—allowing you to restore star force on-site. Use your time wisely】

The moment this starlight message appeared, Xu Jin exhaled in relief.

As long as he had star force, he feared nothing.

It was just combat and killing!

But the note about the Mirage approaching the real world gave Xu Jin pause.

The Chen Guo Dao Academy’s control and use of the Star-Taking Tower was incredibly powerful.

Presumably, other national Dao Academies and Star Palaces operated the same way.

The Star-Taking Tower must conceal great secrets.

As he pondered, Xu Jin swiftly sat cross-legged, visualizing the Great Star Cluster Pattern on his chest, and began restoring his star force.

After successfully engraving the Great and Small Star Cluster Patterns, he could restore star force rapidly even without assuming the Morning Mist or Starlight Sip postures.

The difference in restoration speed was negligible.

Almost simultaneously, the Mingji Star Pattern in Xu Jin’s lower dantian activated, sensing the dense star force around him.

Xu Jin’s depleted star force began to recover swiftly.

Time passed quickly.

Just past twenty minutes, Xu Jin’s star force had returned to peak.

After successfully engraving the Great Star Cluster Pattern, not only had his star force cap increased dramatically, but his restoration speed had also surged.

This was only possible because Xu Jin had undergone Eightfold Bone-Marrow Cleansing.

Otherwise, it would have taken him only about fifteen minutes to restore his star force to peak.

After restoring his star force, the two-quarter-hour limit had not yet expired, so Xu Jin tried to move around.

But he immediately realized he couldn’t move—his range of motion was confined to a one-meter square space, like a cage.

This level of control was truly formidable.

Amidst his awe, Xu Jin began strategizing for the coming battle.

In the first two stages, Ning Yuchan had quickly analyzed the rules and clearly pointed out what they needed to watch for and focus on.

Now, it was Xu Jin’s turn to analyze the rules himself.

The key to rules was identifying what lay beyond them.

In short: anything not forbidden by the rules could be done.

First, killing opponents for points was inevitable.

Beyond the initial one point, you gained half the victim’s current score.

In other words, Xu Jin’s current ranking was highly vulnerable to being surpassed.

For example, if someone killed Xu Jin, they’d gain seventeen points; if they killed Meng Qingqiu, they’d gain nine.

It was the best way to rapidly accumulate points.

Moreover, the bloodbath had no rules.

You could kill however you wanted—your skill alone determined your success.

Forming teams was inevitable.

Instantly, Xu Jin thought of his fellow disciples from Jinshan Dao Academy, recalling Ning Yuchan’s earlier worries and instructions.

Honestly, personally, Xu Jin wasn’t afraid of team-based combat.

Even if the dozen or so behind him in Stage Two banded together to ambush him, he wouldn’t fear them.

First, Xu Jin’s speed was exceptional—he was no slower than anyone.

Except for Meng Qingqiu, no one else could match Xu Jin’s speed.

He could swiftly break out of encirclement and pick them off one by one.

Even if five or six, or even seven or eight surrounded him, his Ten-Finger Rapid-Fire technique—forged through millions of repetitions on the Star Lamp—was no illusion.

These past few days, Xu Jin had given this Ten-Finger Rapid-Fire a better name.

Nine Veins Divine Sword!

He’d originally wanted to call it Ten Veins Divine Sword, but it sounded awkward.

Nine represented the ultimate number, so he chose nine.

Thus, Xu Jin wasn’t afraid of being surrounded—he actually welcomed it.

Who doesn’t like receiving free points?

It spared him the trouble of searching for targets himself.

Instantly, Xu Jin formulated his strategy for Stage Three.

His score shouldn’t be lacking, and as the combat zone shrank further, acquiring points would become even faster.

As for his fellow disciples from Jinshan Dao Academy, honestly, aside from those who had lit the Star Together, he felt no deep bond and had no strong desire to help them.

But helping them meant helping Ning Yuchan.

In this regard, Xu Jin’s motivation was intense.

“Move swiftly, locate fellow Jinshan Dao Academy disciples first, while gathering points along the way.”

Xu Jin settled on his plan.

【Xu Jin: Wasteland Bloodbath is about to begin. Prepare for combat.】

The ranking screen in the sky had transformed into a countdown. Moments later, the countdown reached zero.

Under Xu Jin’s feet, light and shadow shifted.

The barrier trapping him vanished; the ground beneath him changed from mountain terrain to wasteland.

But it was not an endless, flat wasteland.

There were hills, dense forests, and canyons with massive rocks.

There was a possibility of ambush.

In the next instant, Xu Jin chose a direction and shot off instantly.

The third stage of the autumn examination, the blood battle on the wasteland, had begun.

(End of chapter)