Free Web NovelChapter 485: Chapter 213: Provincial Martial Arts Examination, The Final Round
Guo Wei wasn’t sure what had happened to Chu Lingguang, but he knew Chu Lingguang wasn’t one to make empty boasts.
However difficult it might be to become a Triple Champion Scholar, since it was what Chu Lingguang wanted, Guo Wei—as his master—would do everything in his power to help him achieve his goal.
At that moment, he wasn’t thinking about whether Chu Lingguang could succeed, nor did he care if the two of them would become a laughingstock. All he thought was that once you have a goal, you should stride boldly toward it. Whether or not you reach the end is a different matter entirely.
The evolution of his Mental Realm allowed Chu Lingguang to hear more responses from within. Aspects of cultivation he previously didn’t understand now came to him in a flash of insight.
Not only was his Flesh and Blood Divine Power released, able to be used completely separate from his Spear Technique, but his second Potential Power, Slow, also began to change with the evolution of his Mental Realm.
Cultivation was about gaining power from these "responses," fusing various forces to break through the body’s limitations.
Chu Lingguang had first discovered and grasped the response of his "Slow" Potential Energy after entering the state of Unity of Heaven and Man, guided by his Wind and Wave Power.
But initially, the release of both his Wind and Wave Power and his "Slow" Potential Energy had been inseparable from his Spear Technique.
The evolution of his Mental Realm created a resonance between Chu Lingguang’s flesh, Sea of Consciousness, and heart. This allowed his Flesh and Blood Divine Power to break free from his Spear Technique, enabling it to be released through many other methods, such as Fist Technique, Saber Technique, and Staff Technique.
Now, the "Slow" Potential Power was also beginning to resonate with his Sea of Consciousness and his flesh.
This was a special "response" that Chu Lingguang could only hear after his Mental Realm’s evolution, and he wasn’t about to miss this rare opportunity.
Flipping his palm, Chu Lingguang used his powerful Perception Power to sense the air above it spreading outwards.
The power of Slow, at that moment, formed visible fragments of fluctuation, like ripples on water.
Those ripples acted like a series of dams, creating a sensation of delay in the airflow that was about to either disperse or converge.
This Potential Power, too, could finally be separated from the confines of his Spear Technique.
Then, Chu Lingguang moved a finger, and a vortex of wind appeared, swirling around the tip.
That was his Wind and Wave Power. Not only had Chu Lingguang long since freed this power from his Spear Technique, but he could now even manipulate it with his Consciousness Power, making a small boat glide across the water’s surface.
Now, he summoned a small amount of Wind and Wave Power, attempting to fuse the two powers.
If he succeeded, Chu Lingguang’s combat strength would leap to another level. His attention gradually became completely absorbed in fusing the Wind and Wave Power with his Slow Potential Energy, and he began to ignore the ongoing matches of the Martial Arts Examination.
The day passed in a blur, both fleeting and endless.
Chu Lingguang lost count of how many times he tried. It felt as though a dozen years had passed before he finally managed to fuse his Wind and Wave Power with his Slow Potential Energy.
But when he snapped out of it, he realized the second round of the Martial Arts Examination had only just concluded.
Everyone’s results had been posted, along with a ranked leaderboard.
To Chu Lingguang’s surprise, Yan Zhen had only placed third, while he himself was outside the top ten, ranked eleventh.
Hu Yuanwu was ranked first.
In the first stage, the Qi Power test, he had shattered sixteen wooden stakes with a single punch.
He achieved a Grade A+ Upper Grade result, but Chu Lingguang and Yan Zhen had both matched his score.
But in the Fist Technique assessment, Hu Yuanwu was the only one to defeat ten Government Soldiers and nine other examinees in his group at the same time.
Ranked second was Ye Zhongsheng, who had defeated nine Government Soldiers and eight other examinees.
Ranked third was Yan Zhen; he defeated seven Government Soldiers and eight other examinees.
Ranked fourth was Ma Weibing, who defeated eight Government Soldiers and seven other examinees.
Ranked fifth was Zhang Yan. She had also defeated eight Government Soldiers and seven other examinees, but took longer than Ma Weibing, hence her lower ranking.
The person ranked tenth was a female examinee named Nong Yiyi, who defeated five Government Soldiers and five other examinees.
As for Chu Lingguang, his score of defeating ten Government Soldiers and one other examinee put him temporarily in eleventh place.
These results made Chu Lingguang realize that defeating other examinees was weighted much more heavily than defeating Government Soldiers.
"If you hadn’t held back, maybe you would be the one in first place right now? Do you regret it?"
Lin Longde asked.
He himself had "stolen" one examinee and two Government Soldiers from Yan Zhen, earning a Grade B+ Upper Grade result.
"This is the Martial Arts Examination. We’re fighting for rank and reward, not making friends. Even my brother only slowed his pace for twenty breaths, yet you defeated only a single other examinee."
Yan Chengdu came over and said.
Everyone still vividly remembered the scene where Chu Lingguang had thrown a single punch, causing ten Government Soldiers and nine other examinees to collapse almost simultaneously. Even though Hu Yuanwu had taken first place, everyone was still talking about Chu Lingguang. Both Yan Chengdu and Lin Longde felt that his ranking didn’t do him justice.
"Thank you. I’ll pay more attention next time."
Chu Lingguang humbly accepted the advice. He had achieved an epiphany during the Martial Arts Examination, and the evolution of his Mental Realm had allowed his Flesh and Blood Divine Abilities to be fully unleashed. In that moment, he had been as confident as Yan Zhen and hadn’t considered the other examinees a threat, focused only on seizing the moment to draw more "responses" from within his body.
But Yan Chengdu was right. The Martial Arts Examination was a competition for rank and reward, not a friendly gathering. To win the title of Jie Yuan, he would have to be at the top of the rankings in every single round, even taking first place. That was the only way to make it to the final stage and earn the right to contend for the Jie Yuan title.
"Agh!"
Suddenly, a pained cry rang out.
Chu Lingguang turned to look and saw Guo Wei crouching on the ground, treating an injured examinee.
