The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#152 - Question (Happy Lantern Festival~)

Those who came to the academy to participate in the assessment were basically young people, and most of them were young people like Guan Pingping who were locally famous and quite proud.

They also attached great importance to the changing of the Qingyun and Tianji lists every time.

Of course, the focus of their attention was mainly on the Qingyun List.

They would check if their own names, or the names of those they cared about, were on the list, whether their ranking had risen or fallen compared to the previous list, and whether there were any new people or competitors worthy of special attention after the list change.

Only after reading the entire list would they move on to look at the Tianji List on the other side.

Compared to the Qingyun List, which was closely related to them, the Tianji List was much more distant.

Any name on it, when placed in the martial world, would be a grandmaster who shook all directions.

Someone like Yan Yun, who entered the list at the age of nineteen, her name appeared quite different among a group of sect leaders and elders.

Fortunately, she was not alone, because just below her, there was another name that was as different as her.

Even the sensation caused by this name was far above hers.

After all, it was well known that Yan Yun had stepped into the ranks of first-rate martial artists, and everyone had expected her to rise to the Tianji List.

But the person below was truly a dark horse, catching everyone off guard.

Three years ago, let alone the Tianji List, Lu Jing's name hadn't even made it onto the Qingyun List.

But now, as soon as he appeared, he went straight to the top.

Several people standing in front of the list couldn't wait to look at the annotation under that name.

Then someone read it out loud.

Lu Jing, nineteen, from Wu Jiang, apprenticed to Zhang Sanfeng, the Somersault Falcon, suspected of joining the sect with skills.

Weapon: Refined Iron Zen Staff, seven feet six inches long, weighing seventy-nine pounds.

Cultivated martial arts: Mad Demon One Hundred and Eight Staff Techniques, perfected; Inner Strength: Lesser Vajra Strength, first-rate realm; Lightness Skill: Startling Waves and Raging Tides, perfected; Auxiliary Skill: a leg technique, Wind and Cloud Change, progress unknown; a palm technique, Stone Breaking Palm, minor success.

Comment: This child's origin is quite mysterious, and he does not seem to be a native of Wu Jiang. His current master, Zhang Sanfeng, was originally a镖师 in a small镖局, and later became a供奉 in a small gang in Wu Jiang City. His own martial arts realm is not in the 流, so it is suspected that his apprenticeship has another origin.

Lu Jing's rise to fame began two years ago with a battle against He Qing, the Yama of the Flute, in which he single-handedly killed this demon. After that, he went into seclusion to cultivate until last month when he let out a long roar outside a small village outside Wu Jiang City, shaking the four fields, and since then he has entered the first-rate realm.

This person is not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also has a reputation for chivalry in the Wu Jiang area and is deeply loved by the local people. Zhao Banshan of 镖铁胆 praised him, saying that he is unparalleled in benevolence and righteousness, and can be called a侠者 among the younger generation, perhaps only this person.

It is a pity that he has taken action too few times, and his true strength is difficult to examine, so he is temporarily ranked after Yan Yun.

After reading this passage, it caused an uproar.

First-rate realm, it really is a first-rate realm! And he also has a first-rate realm with a perfected martial art and a perfected lightness skill.

However, compared to these, everyone is more concerned about another issue at this time.

Someone couldn't help but say, "Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Can a street-level inner strength like Lesser Vajra Strength be cultivated to the first-rate level?!"

As soon as he said this, everyone's eyes shifted to a delicate-looking little monk.

The little monk was fair-skinned and clean, and his arms looked as if they were carved from white jade. Through his skin, one could faintly see the blood vessels and meridians underneath.

There was a hint of shyness between his brows. When the list was changed, everyone was crowding forward. Although he also seemed very curious, he still stayed in place honestly, as if waiting for everyone else to finish watching before he went over.

Seeing that everyone was suddenly looking at him at this moment, the little monk couldn't help but feel shy again, and he lowered his head to stare at his monk shoes.

However, no one dared to urge him.

The most outstanding heir of this generation of the Hanging Temple has already cultivated the Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Strengthening Scripture to the fourth level, which is why he looks like a white jade Buddha.

After a while, the little monk spoke, his tone very gentle, "Amitabha, as far as this little monk knows, different inner strength cultivation methods do indeed have different speeds of progress, and the inner strength cultivated is also somewhat different, but in theory...they can all be cultivated to the first-rate realm."

After a pause, he continued, "This mental cultivation method called Lesser Vajra Strength was created by a senior of my Buddhist sect, and it is not as useless as the rumors in the martial world say. It's just that, um...it is indeed a bit unsatisfactory in terms of cultivation speed. It is said that the senior himself only cultivated to the second-rate realm."

"So this...donor Lu, perhaps he is really the first person to cultivate this technique to the first-rate level. Without great perseverance, it is absolutely impossible to do this. This little monk has heard of it and is really impressed."

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted again.

Those who can pass the assessment and enter the academy to study are all leaders of the younger generation.

However, they put themselves in Lu Jing's shoes and thought about it. If they were Lu Jing, they would never be able to cultivate a street-level Lesser Vajra Strength to the first-rate level.

This is not only a question of ability, but also a question of willingness.

Even if they couldn't find other skills at the beginning, they would basically have better choices after cultivating to the third-rate realm. At this time, few people can resist the temptation and not change their cultivation methods midway.

Therefore, everyone could understand what Little Monk Zhaoming meant by being truly impressed.

In addition, everyone also thought of another more terrifying thing. This guy named Lu Jing can cultivate to the first-rate level with a Lesser Vajra Strength, so how terrifying should his talent be?

If he also came from a famous sect like Wei Zixian and Little Monk Zhaoming, wouldn't that mean...even Yan Yun, who is recognized as the number one among the younger generation, is not as good as him?

Just as everyone was discussing, another message suddenly came.

— Yan Yun passed the assessment.

It took twelve days.

When he heard this news, Bai Yu Gongzi of Xiaoyao Villa showed a hint of joy in his eyes, because the person with the best assessment score so far was him. He stayed in that trial realm for a total of twelve days.

If Yan Yun also stayed for twelve days, it would mean that the scores of the two should be very close.

As one of the most outstanding people of the younger generation, Bai Yu Gongzi has been constantly compared with Yan Yun since he was a child. However, the gap between the two sides has become larger and larger. Now, Yan Yun has opened up a whole level with the others.

Bai Yu Gongzi has also become a pursuer from a former competitor.

But no matter what, he will still subconsciously want to compare with Yan Yun, even if it is only to be close to her in some aspect.

However, the joy on his face did not last long, and soon he heard another piece of news that shocked him. The news came from another female disciple of Yunshui Jingci Pavilion.

She said that Yan Yun had already solved the exam question.

She is also the only one among the many examinees who, by her own strength, solved the sandstorm crisis and saved the small oasis city.