Chapter 167: I’ve Mastered It
Within the righteous gods’ network.
Huang Zichou looked at the numerous students selecting their examination techniques and chuckled, “Choosing which cultivation technique is also very important in this exam.”
“If a technique is too difficult and isn’t mastered in the end, that’s a direct zero.”
“It’s better to choose a slightly simpler one with a greater chance of success.”
Another minor god said, “This is part of the test itself—having a clear understanding of one’s own talent, limits, and potential.”
“However, since most of the students here have made it this far, choosing a five-star difficulty technique, they should have no trouble mastering it.”
“Starting from six-star, there’s a possibility of failure.”
“A seven-star difficulty would be quite risky.”
“Eight-star and nine-star have a very high probability of failure.”
“As for the most difficult ten-star techniques, only Yun Jing and Ye Lingxiao should have the guts to choose them.”
Just then, Huang Zichou said in surprise, “Three people actually chose ten-star techniques?”
“And someone chose a nine-star difficulty technique? Another chose an eight-star?”
Huang Zichou laughed. “There are quite a few arrogant ones among this year’s candidates.”
…
Bai Zhenzhen looked at the Myriad Sword Everlasting Art she had selected, and her heart couldn’t help but start to race.
The Foundation Establishment examination was divided into three rounds. Apart from the first round’s comprehensive exam, the subsequent two rounds would be conducted along four tracks: Dao heart, magic power, body, and martial arts. In the end, a champion would be decided for each track, receiving a Foundation Establishment qualification certificate.
Yu-boy will test in the physical track, and I’ll test in martial arts.
Right now, I’m lacking a sufficiently powerful sword art.
Looking at the 1.49 million value, ten-star difficulty martial art, Myriad Sword Everlasting Art, Bai Zhenzhen thought, If I miss this chance… it might be a very, very long time before I have the opportunity to learn a sword art like this.
After a thorough search, Bai Zhenzhen knew that this Myriad Sword Everlasting Art was not only the most suitable for her among this batch of techniques, but also the most powerful.
And on the martial arts track, the young masters from the Immortal Capital I’ll have to face… I’m afraid they’ve all more or less mastered this kind of top-tier expert-grade martial art, right?
To defeat them, I must seize this free opportunity to learn such a martial art within two hours.
But despite her resolve, Bai Zhenzhen didn’t have much confidence. She had never learned such an expensive martial art, let alone personally experienced how difficult a ten-star art truly was.
But she had no choice. As a poor person wanting to compete with the wealthy students on the field, she had no other option but to go all out and bet all her chips.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Li Tongyun was already trembling uncontrollably, all because she had just chosen a nine-star cultivation technique.
She kept telling herself, I must master it! I must master it!
Li Tongyun had placed below twentieth in the first two exams. Especially in the second round, the Battle of Gluttony, continuous vomiting had caused her to drop into the thirties.
So, if she wanted her final total score to break into the top 20, she calculated over and over… she had to master a nine-star technique in this round.
On another side, Zhang Yu had chosen the eight-star difficulty, 1.55 million value Spring and Autumn Endless Zen.
Although it wasn’t the highest ten-star difficulty, Zhang Yu knew this technique was definitely one of the most powerful in today’s batch.
Sigh, both the Titanium Body Tempering Formula and the Great Heavenly Dragon Force are very strong, but the alloys and dragon blood needed to upgrade them later are too expensive.
In contrast, the Spring and Autumn Endless Zen doesn’t require any external materials to advance its level.
Once Zhang Yu figured this out, he knew he could only choose the Spring and Autumn Endless Zen.
As a poor person, he never had many choices to begin with. To have such an opportunity to cultivate the Spring and Autumn Endless Zen for free was already a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
As the 10-minute technique selection period ended, the examination officially began.
The cultivation technique materials and required training items for each student were delivered to them.
What was delivered to Zhang Yu was simple: a physical scroll with the five large characters for Spring and Autumn Endless Zen printed on it. This was his test paper for this exam.
After scanning through the entire Spring and Autumn Endless Zen, Zhang Yu began to condense the Longevity Magic Power described within.
Only by successfully condensing Longevity Magic Power and then coordinating it with the forty-nine body tempering movements of the Spring and Autumn Endless Zen would he be considered to have entered the gate of this body tempering martial art.
While Zhang Yu was cultivating the Spring and Autumn Endless Zen.
The other students were also making rapid progress with their respective techniques.
As Yun Jing cultivated the Samsara Myriad Manifestations Palm, his eyes, as bright as stars, could see every structure within his body, clearly observing the circulation of muscles and magic power, achieving an effect of internal vision.
Furthermore, once the content of the Samsara Myriad Manifestations Palm was memorized, as he practiced, he could see a figure demonstrating the technique superimposed over his own, allowing him to grasp any errors in his practice at all times, constantly adjusting and improving with almost every moment.
This was one of the effects of his bionic eyes, allowing him to look inward while quickly imitating various techniques and automatically detecting all errors during cultivation.
And when Yun Jing’s gaze shifted slightly, glancing at others who were practicing their martial arts, various numbers jumped out in his vision.
“500,000… 450,000… 700,000…”
These were the prices of the martial arts that many people around him were cultivating, marked by his bionic eyes.
Through this comparison of prices, Yun Jing constructed a mental impression of their relative strengths.
Meanwhile, on the other side, after Ye Lingxiao scanned the Myriad Sword Everlasting Art, he did not choose to practice the sword forms. Instead, he sat down on the spot and began to practice it in his mind.
For Ye Lingxiao, who could completely control his own body and magic power, as long as there were no problems in his mental rehearsal, there would be no problems in reality.
And the speed of practicing in his mind was obviously much faster than practicing with his body.
Therefore, when he cultivated most techniques, he would often scan the manual, sit down, rehearse it in his mind, and by the time he made a move, he had already mastered it.
…
But for Bai Zhenzhen, who had also chosen the Myriad Sword Everlasting Art, things were not so simple.
With a training sword in hand, her figure flickered, and accompanied by arcs of electricity, she executed the sword techniques of the Myriad Sword Everlasting Art one by one.
But this Myriad Sword Everlasting Art was a top-tier sword art among expert-grade techniques, proclaimed to have exhausted all the variations of sword moves in the Qi Refinement stage, reaching the very end of sword form variations at this realm.
After all, in the Qi Refinement stage, divine abilities were not yet manifest, so the sword moves driven by pure strength, speed, and magic power were still limited.
Even so, this Myriad Sword Everlasting Art was said to have over ten thousand sword forms.
As Bai Zhenzhen flipped through the thousand-page manual of the Myriad Sword Everlasting Art and quickly practiced the sword moves, the more she practiced, the more something felt wrong.
This won’t work.
If I practice like this, move by move, how could I possibly learn the Myriad Sword Everlasting Art in two hours?
As her heart art circulated, Bai Zhenzhen stopped practicing blindly. Instead, she began to read the general principles of the Myriad Sword Everlasting Art again, starting to think.
Practice the sword ten thousand times, and its intent will naturally appear.
The normal way to practice the Myriad Sword Everlasting Art is indeed to go through these sword moves one by one. After mastering the various changes in sword forms, one eventually condenses sword intent, and with a single strike, can break all manner of external martial arts in the world.
But right now, there is obviously not enough time.
But since the righteous gods put this technique here, it means that it is theoretically possible to master this sword art in two hours.
As time ticked by, Bai Zhenzhen became increasingly calm, constantly contemplating the secrets within the Myriad Sword Everlasting Art.
Is there some rule that connects all these sword moves? If I can comprehend it, can I master it instantly?
Just then, Bai Zhenzhen saw Ye Lingxiao, who was meditating with his eyes closed.
Although she didn’t know what Ye Lingxiao was doing, Bai Zhenzhen had a flash of inspiration.
I can’t execute ten thousand sword moves in two hours.
My body can’t do it, but what if I practice them in my mind?
Bai Zhenzhen closed her eyes and began to rehearse the moves of the Myriad Sword Everlasting Art in her mind, but it still felt wrong.
No, what I think in my head is, after all, different from my body executing the moves. It can’t be considered mastered, right?
But since the Myriad Sword Everlasting Art is about condensing sword intent… does the form have to be precise?
Bai Zhenzhen recalled how Zhang Yu seemed to comprehend the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art even though his moves were all over the place.
Thinking of this, Bai Zhenzhen closed her eyes again and began to rehearse the sword moves in her mind, and at the same time, had a new idea.
The Myriad Sword Everlasting Art is a combat martial art, after all. What if I also imagine an opponent in my mind?
Speaking of opponents, the first person Bai Zhenzhen thought of was Zhang Yu.
As the opponent she had sparred with the most times and was most familiar with, Bai Zhenzhen quickly simulated a scene of Zhang Yu fighting her in her mind.
In the many sparring sessions of the past, her memory had long recorded Zhang Yu’s various performances in actual combat.
So at this moment in her mind, as Zhang Yu attacked with his full strength, he seemed like an invisible cloud blocking her way, appearing invulnerable, impossible for her to break through no matter how she struck.
Yu-boy is really tough to fight.
And in this mental sparring, Bai Zhenzhen continuously detected the flaws in her own sword moves.
This was something she used to try on her opponents, to see through the flaws in their attacks.
Now, as she sparred with herself in her mind, she was continuously seeing through the flaws in her own execution of the Myriad Sword Everlasting Art.
At once, Bai Zhenzhen felt she was on the right track.
That’s it… The Myriad Sword Everlasting Art is the limit of sword form variations. Why do sword forms need to vary? Naturally, to break other moves.
Practicing ten thousand times is rote memorization. Comprehending sword intent in the act of breaking moves should be the superior way to practice this martial art.
Next, she simply flipped through the Myriad Sword Everlasting Art while sparring with the Zhang Yu in her mind. Under this practical training, Bai Zhenzhen felt as if she were about to transform into a thunderbolt, tearing through the thick fog before her, a sword intent gradually rising in her heart.
In the time that followed, the other students also progressed rapidly.
After Yu Xinghan emerged from the temporary operating room with a tragic expression, the third eye in his mind opened, and channeling the hatred of a reversed life, he was advancing by leaps and bounds in his cultivation technique.
Yun Jing’s speed became faster and more standard with each repetition, getting ever closer to mastery.
Ye Lingxiao was in a league of his own, with hundreds of versions of himself practicing different sword moves in his mind, rapidly pushing the progress of the Myriad Sword Everlasting Art.
But just as Ye Lingxiao felt he could take first place.
“Examiner, I’m ready.”
Ye Lingxiao’s eyes snapped open to see Zhang Yu raising his hand and saying, “I’ve mastered it.”
(End of Chapter)