Chapter 489 - 170: Dumbfounded

He stood in place, eyes closed and spirit focused, carefully sensing the improvements from his cultivation.

At the same time, with a thought, a panel appeared before his eyes even though they were still closed. The progress of his various martial arts was clearly visible—

[Mountain-Breaking Seal: Minor Achievement (260/2000)]

[Indestructible True Skill: Second Level, Initiate (55/500)]

[Indestructible True Skill: First Level, Perfection (2000/2000)]

[Mountain-Shattering Fist: Perfection (2000/2000)]

[Thunderous Leg: Perfection (2000/2000)]

In this period, his Mountain-Breaking Seal had steadily improved. At the same time, both his Thunderous Leg and Indestructible True Skill had successively reached Perfection.

After a moment, Yang Jing opened his eyes, a hint of joy flashing within them.

During his training, he clearly felt that compared to the difficulty of cultivating the Mountain-Breaking Seal to break through to the Qi Eating Realm, cultivating the Indestructible True Skill now was much easier. Since he had already stepped into the Qi Eating Realm, his Inner Qi was condensed and abundant, giving him a top-down advantage. The training difficulty had decreased significantly, and his efficiency had soared.

Yang Jing mentally calculated his progress and was secretly delighted. ’At this rate,’ he thought, ’breaking through to the Qi Eating Realm with the Indestructible True Skill before the Fushan Grand Competition starts shouldn’t be a problem.’

Amid his joy, Yang Jing didn’t forget his own shortcomings.

He frowned, pondering.

’Thunderous Leg has already reached Perfection. The potential of this martial art is fully exhausted.’

’Next, it’s time to find a True Skill-level Body Technique to continue with. That’s the only way to raise my combat power to the next level.’

But on second thought, Yang Jing shook his head.

’There are only about twenty days left until the Fushan Grand Competition. If I get distracted by training a new Body Technique, it will inevitably delay my progress in breaking through with the Indestructible True Skill.’

He mulled it over and decided to shelve the idea for now. First, he would cultivate the Indestructible True Skill to the Qi Eating Realm.

After he broke through with the Indestructible True Skill, he would then seek out a True Skill-level Body Technique that was highly compatible with Thunderous Leg.

As his thoughts settled, Yang Jing composed himself.

He pushed open the stone door of the Level C Training Room and walked out. Without stopping, he headed straight for Yunxi Peak.

As he walked, he organized his recent cultivation insights in his mind. At the same time, he was also secretly concerned about Sun Ningxiang’s situation.

A few days ago, Senior Sister Ning Xiang had failed in her attempt to break through to the Huajin Realm. She had suffered some internal injuries, but fortunately, they weren’t serious. A period of quiet recuperation would be enough for her to recover.

Yang Jing estimated that Sun Ningxiang’s foundation was already quite deep. Although this attempt to break through to the Huajin Realm had failed, she had gained valuable experience from it.

’Once she recovers from her injuries and gets back into peak condition, her next attempt to break through should be a success, and she’ll reach the Huajin Realm.’

...

Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye, five days had gone by.

Within the Xuanzhen Sect, the official announcement for the Fushan Grand Competition had not yet been posted, but rumors had already spread quietly, becoming the most popular topic of conversation among the disciples.

Whether in the Inner Sect living quarters halfway up the peaks or among the outer sect disciples at the mountain’s base, one could hear disciples gathering everywhere to discuss it, their words filled with both anticipation and anxiety.

「Zhenyue Peak, Mid-Peak.」

In the Inner Sect Disciple living area, Gao Yang’s courtyard was quiet. A pot of clear tea sat on the stone table in the yard, with steam wafting from two teacups.

Gao Yang and Xu Ziqiang sat opposite each other, each holding a game piece, but neither seemed to have any intention of making a move.

Xu Ziqiang was the first to break the silence. He picked up a black stone, twirled it between his fingertips, and looked at Gao Yang opposite him. "Lao Gao," he asked, "what are your thoughts on the Fushan Grand Competition the sect is holding?"

Gao Yang lifted his teacup and took a sip. The warm liquid slid down his throat. He pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, "The way I see it, the sect wants to use this competition to select a group of truly outstanding and promising young disciples for the priority training list, to fill the talent gap in the Xuanzhen Sect’s next generation."

He paused, then added, "Besides the top twenty who are openly stated to receive priority training, I also heard an Elder from our peak mention that the Elders from the Main Peak’s Elder Hall will be watching the entire competition. They’ll single out disciples they deem exceptionally talented for special cultivation. But those spots will surely be extremely rare."

Xu Ziqiang raised an eyebrow, a confident smirk playing on his lips. He slapped the black stone in his hand onto the stone table. "With our strength, isn’t breaking into the top twenty a piece of cake?"

Hearing this, Gao Yang couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head. "You’re certainly confident. But then again, the sect is specifically looking for young geniuses this time, which is why they set the under-thirty age limit for participants."

He pointed to himself, then to Xu Ziqiang, his tone firm. "If there were no age limit, it would be harder than climbing to heaven for the two of us to break into the top twenty. But with this condition, it’ll be quite easy for us. You know as well as I do that most of the veteran Inner Sect Disciples in the Inner Qi Realm from the various branches are over thirty and aren’t even eligible to compete."

At this point, however, Gao Yang’s smile faded slightly. He took another sip of tea, his voice tinged with regret as he sighed. "It’s just that I’ve heard the rewards for the top three in this competition are terrifyingly generous—ten, even a hundred times better than the top prize in the Cyan Qilin Battle. I’m afraid those great treasures are beyond our reach."

The confidence on Xu Ziqiang’s face also diminished. He frowned, looked at Gao Yang, and pressed, "Lao Gao, do you know what the specific rewards are for the top three?"