Chapter 356 - 354: Future Goal

Chapter 356: Chapter 354: Future Goal

A few more days passed in a flash.

On this day, within a luxurious villa in the sophomore area of the Azure Sky Sixth Institute’s dormitory district.

In a spacious living room decorated in a classical Chinese style, a sumptuous meal was laid out on a brown dining table.

Three figures sat facing each other.

"Junior Brother, I couldn’t make it to your party these past few days because of the competition!"

"So today, I’m making it up to you with this!"

Li Qing, who had a scholarly air and handsome features, said as he raised his wine glass.

Wang Zixuan also spoke with a smile, "Today, just the three of us having a simple celebration is perfect!"

"Cheers!"

"CLINK!"

Lin Qi also smiled and raised his glass. After a simple toast, the three of them drained their glasses.

The wine they were drinking was no ordinary wine; it was infused with Source Energy.

While ensuring a mellow taste, drinking it also had a beneficial effect on the body’s Refinement.

However, it was not cheap, and ordinary Martial Artists couldn’t afford it at all.

Lin Qi had money, but he wouldn’t spend it on wine. He would rather purchase resources that had a better effect on his Cultivation.

Only someone like Li Qing, who came from a wealthy family, could afford it.

After finishing a glass, Lin Qi felt his body grow slightly warm, a pleasant heat enveloping his Six Viscera.

Halfway through the meal, Li Qing, who had had quite a bit to drink, shook his head, his cheeks slightly flushed.

"The Global Martial Arts Tournament is so unfair to us sophomores!"

"Our opponents are all geniuses from the junior and senior years. With my strength, there’s no way I can beat them."

"Why don’t they just organize separate tournaments for each grade level?" Li Qing complained.

Wang Zixuan spoke up from the side to explain, "They say it’s because as time goes on, the gap between Martial Artists widens more and more."

"For many top-level geniuses, competing against others in their own grade is no longer effective enough."

"Plus, holding separate events would be very troublesome and difficult to arrange."

"So they simply decided to gather the sophomores, juniors, and seniors for one large-scale tournament."

Pausing to take a sip of wine, Wang Zixuan continued:

"The Global Martial Arts Tournament is arguably the grandest event on our Blue Star!"

"Geniuses gather like clouds, and experts are as numerous as fish in the sea!"

"Not only are there S-class students on the verge of graduation, but also Awakened S-class geniuses, and even more powerful SS-level geniuses."

"There are even SSS-level geniuses, those at the very top of the Pyramid, who participate."

"There are always new levels to reach. An A-level contestant like me wouldn’t even make a splash."

Lin Qi asked in surprise, "There are SSS-level geniuses participating too?"

Li Qing replied after hearing him, "Yeah, it’s normal!"

"Our Blue Star divides geniuses into seven levels, with D-level being the lowest and SSS-level the highest!"

"SSS-level geniuses are exceedingly rare, like phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Even in our Xia Country, which is teeming with geniuses and produces several SS-level geniuses every year..."

"But SSS-level geniuses... out of a million Martial Arts geniuses a year, you might not even get one."

Lin Qi nodded. SSS-level geniuses were indeed too rare.

Every single one had a ninety percent chance of breaking through to become a Nine Realm Title Level Martial Artist.

The other ten percent was due to them dying prematurely in an accident.

And even among Ninth Realm Martial Artists, they would be extremely powerful existences.

Even if they did appear, they were kept hidden, so most ordinary people would never know of their existence.

Wang Zixuan nodded. "The Global Martial Arts Tournament is a true contest of Martial Arts, with no restrictions."

"Physical fitness, Martial Arts, Little Divine Powers, and Awakened Special Abilities can all be used."

"It’s very fair. If you want to win the championship, it’s purely based on strength."

"It’s a stage for the top-level fourth-year SS-level geniuses and SSS-level geniuses!"

"Ordinary geniuses like us are just cannon fodder in the tournament."

After hearing this, Lin Qi let out a soft breath.

A fourth-year SS-level genius would be on the same level as Yu Zhuoran.

It was hard to imagine just how powerful they would become after four years of Cultivation.

And then there were the SSS-level geniuses, who were even more terrifying existences.

And next year, he would have to participate.

"Junior Brother, next year and the year after, you should just go for the experience."

"By the time you’re a senior, you’ll be able to sweep the Global Martial Arts Tournament."

"Even against an SSS-level genius, you won’t need to be afraid!"

Li Qing said with a confident smile.

Wang Zixuan shook her head. "He won’t need three years. Two will be enough. By the time Junior Brother is a junior, he’ll probably be able to make it to the top 32!"

"Our Junior Brother isn’t like other people!"

Li Qing nodded. "Junior Brother is a peerless genius. He might even make it to the top 16!"

Lin Qi smiled silently from the side. ’Three years? Two years?’

’That’s too long. I can’t wait that long!’

’One year is enough!’

「 」

After returning from Senior Brother Li Qing’s villa and taking a short rest, Lin Qi entered his Martial Arts Room.

With his powerful physique, drinking alcohol had almost no effect on him anymore.

He changed into a Martial Arts Uniform and, feeling the heat inside him, began practicing his Spear Technique.

He would use the effects of the wine to push his strength another step further.

’The Global Martial Arts Tournament, SSS-level geniuses, Special Abilities...!’

"SWOOSH! SWOOSH!"

The 500-kilogram Big Gun pierced the air, kicking up fierce gusts of wind.

Lin Qi recalled what his Senior Brother Li Qing and Senior Sister Wang Zixuan had said today.

He now had a rough idea of his goal for the next semester, his sophomore year.

There were many future opponents. He needed to become even stronger!

「 」

May passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was June 1st, Children’s Day.

Only three days remained until the final exams.

In a lecture hall for Class One of the Azure Sky Sixth Institute.

The bespectacled Teacher Tong walked down the aisle of the classroom, smiling.

"The day after tomorrow, the final exams for our first year’s second semester will begin!"

"It’s also a time to test the success of your Cultivation this semester."

"Just like last semester, everyone’s results will be ranked."

"Students with high rankings will receive generous scholarships!"

"RING! RING! RING!!"

"Alright, class dismissed!"

"WHOOSH!"

As Teacher Tong heard the bell and dismissed the class,

The entire classroom erupted into a clamor.

"Let’s go, let’s go, back to Cultivation!"

"I’ve used up all my time in the Gravity Room, so I can only go back to my dorm to cultivate."

"I’m definitely getting a scholarship this time!"

The students got up, chatting among themselves as they headed for the door.

Lin Qi also stood up and headed downstairs with Jiangtao and the others.

"Brother Qi, I just got back from the Otherworld. I have to say, that money was well spent."

On the way back, Jiangtao sat on the tram, his expression filled with excitement.

The others looked at Jiangtao with envy. They also wanted to enter the Otherworld like him.

But they hadn’t broken through to the Fourth Realm yet and could only wait until next semester.

Jiangtao had earned a large sum of prize money from the Global Freshman Tournament, in addition to the increasing rewards from the Calamity Beast Trial Tower.

He gritted his teeth and exchanged his earnings for the opportunity to go to the Otherworld and cultivate the Intermediate Source Energy Technique.

And by using the environment of the Otherworld, he completed his Cultivation in 20 days.

According to him, he only spent 16 days in the Pyramid to succeed in his Cultivation, then stayed to continue absorbing the Source Energy there.

His strength had now undergone a massive transformation.

Lin Qi observed that his Qi Blood was vigorous, and his whole body exuded a powerful aura.

He radiated confidence, the kind that comes after Bone Tempering.

"Taozi’s on the rise!"

"He might even break into the top three freshmen!" the others discussed.

"Taozi, keep up your Cultivation for the next two days. You might be able to challenge the top three."

Lin Qi also encouraged him.

"Of course!" Jiangtao chuckled.

「 」

A few minutes later, the students returned to their respective dorms to cultivate.

Lin Qi also returned to his villa, where two Level 4 Nutritional Meals sat on the table.

After his meal, he went straight into the Martial Arts Room.

"Master, you have a message!"

Little Chan, with her black hair and blue robe, projected a large green screen showing a new deposit message.

[Student Lin Qi, for your outstanding performance in the Calamity Beast Trial Tower in May, ranking first in the Azure Sky Sixth Institute, our school will award you a prize of 5,000,000 Xia Country Coins!]

[For ranking first among all freshmen, our school will award you a prize of 8,000,000 Xia Country Coins!]

[For being ranked first in the Tenth Academy, our school will award you a prize of 20,000,000 Xia Country Coins!]

「 」

Lin Qi nodded. The rewards from the Calamity Beast Trial Tower had arrived.

Without the bonus for clearing it for the first time, and since he hadn’t managed to pass the seventh floor of the Trial Tower this month,

the reward was only 33 million Xia Country Coins this time.

He was very satisfied with this amount.

’This final exam is also very crucial for me, because the scholarship prize is very generous.’

’I also need a large sum of money to sustain my Cultivation next semester.’

With that thought, Lin Qi pulled up his golden panel again.

[Name: Lin Qi]

[Template: True Monarch Erlang Yang Jian]

[Template Fusion Degree: 24.8%]

[Spiritual Power: 315 (Fourth Realm)]

[Qi and Blood Value: 299 (Fourth Realm)]

[Fist Technique: Tier Three 85%]

[Spear Technique: Tier Three 79%]

[Body Technique: Tier Three 75%]

「 」

This was his harvest for the month. His Spiritual Power was the first to break 300.

But as the Cultivation of his torso reached a critical point, the efficiency had actually decreased, and his Qi and Blood Value had only just reached 299.

The rate of improvement for his Fist Technique, Spear Technique, and Body Technique had also slowed down.

Even so, in the eyes of others, his progress was still astonishing.

’I’m still ranked first in the Calamity Beast Trial Tower. In this, I’ve already surpassed Yu Zhuoran.’

’The only difference is our Qi and Blood Value!’

’If I take first place among the freshmen, the scholarship prize will definitely be more than I imagine.’

’My Qi and Blood Value still needs to increase. I’ll break through to the late-stage of the Fourth Realm today!’

Thinking of this, Lin Qi changed into a black Martial Arts Uniform.

He then opened the metal cabinet beside him, took out the last bottle of Top-Grade Bone Tempering Liquid from inside, and drank it down.

A liquid like black jade entered his mouth, carrying a bitter taste as it went down into his stomach.

"HUU..."

Then, Lin Qi took down the Tiger Slaying Spear and began to practice his Spear Technique.

He could now skillfully wield the 500-kilogram Big Gun, performing the Mountain Shaking Spear Technique.

"SWOOSH SWOOSH!!"

As he thrust the Big Gun, he also swung it in a wide arc. All fifteen techniques carried traces of the Mountain Shattering Spear Technique and the Mountain Splitting Spear Technique.

He had already trained these techniques until they were etched into his very bones.

The difficulty of applying Power was also increasing.

It would likely take a long time to break through to the Tier Three Late-stage.

Even a genius like Wang Zixuan needed until the end of her junior year to make the breakthrough.

He too would need a considerable amount of time.

’Perhaps I can study a new Mental Realm Secret Manual for reference!’ Lin Qi suddenly thought.

Just then, the Top-Grade Bone Tempering Liquid in his body began to take effect.

A tingling numbness spread through his torso.

He calmed his mind, sensing the changes in the bones within his body.

Compared to a month ago, the bones in his body had undergone a massive change.

Most of them had already become rounded and smooth.

「 」