Chapter 557: Chapter 339: End

Outside the Celestial Strategy Academy, numerous Sect Elders hovered in the air.

"I didn’t expect this to be the final trial. They’re actually not letting the geniuses on the Lingyun List fight each other," Yue Zhong said, frowning.

Chu Nanguai’s decisive and sweeping actions had completely cut out the most important part of the Secondary Dragon Ascension.

"Xu Yang excels in Body Refining. He’s likely to suffer a disadvantage in this trial. Without a genius tournament, his ranking on the Lingyun List probably won’t be high," Bai Shaoling sighed.

Xu Yang possessed excellent Body Refining Talent and formidable Combat Power. If a genius tournament were held, he might have had a chance to fight his way into the top dozen of the Lingyun List. Entering the Celestial Strategy Academy with such a ranking would have granted him far more abundant resources.

As time passed, some had already closed their eyes to deduce the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist with their Heart Spirit, while others were still staring at the stone stele, frowning in bitter thought.

Xu Yang was completely focused, deducing the nine stances of the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist one by one. Finally, the nine stances were thoroughly comprehended in his mind. All the profoundness of the Techniques, the essence of the Fist Technique, and the secrets to circulating Gang Yuan became crystal clear to him.

[Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist - Entry Level (1/5000)]

He thought, "It’s done!"

The nine stances of the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist had been completely comprehended by him. Next was simply practicing step by step to increase his proficiency. Looking up, the sun was high in the sky. Unknowingly, it was already noon.

He thought, "I should be the first one to master it!"

Sweeping his gaze around, Xu Yang found that everyone was still comprehending the technique. No one had gone to take the test yet. After all, besides him, no one would intentionally hide their talent.

Xu Yang thought, "This person’s Comprehension must truly be at the Perfection Level. His speed is almost on par with mine."

Suddenly, Xu Yang saw Lu Wei—known as the number one person below the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides—stand up from the crowd and stride toward the nearby palace for testing. Lu Wei’s time to comprehend the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist was only a few breaths apart from his own.

Lu Wei’s actions immediately caused an uproar. Many people who were currently comprehending the Fist Technique were startled awake, staring in shock at the figure striding into the palace.

"Lu Wei is truly a monster. He’s actually mastered it already!"

"The number one person below the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides—truly terrifying."

"I’ve only just mastered the first stance!"

"He’s not human. Out of the nine stances, I haven’t even figured out which one is the first yet."

Even Chu Nanguai, who was meditating with his eyes closed not far away, opened his eyes and nodded in satisfaction.

"The number one person below the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides is terrifying indeed. I’ve only reached the seventh stance," Gu Qingfeng sighed, finally convinced of this person ranked seventh on the Lingyun List.

"Brother Gu has also reached the seventh stance," Sun Tao said.

"Mhm!" Gu Qingfeng nodded, a sharp light surging in his eyes. He had keenly caught the word "also" in Sun Tao’s sentence, meaning that this guy had also reached the seventh stance.

"Don’t waste time. Hurry up and comprehend. This will affect our final rankings on the Lingyun List," Xu Yang reminded them.

For geniuses ranked in the top dozen, wasting even a single breath of time might mean someone else would snatch the initiative. They had to race against the clock. Xu Yang didn’t care about the ranking himself, but seeing Sun Tao’s demeanor, he guessed his friend intended to reveal all of his talent in this trial and stop hiding.

He wasn’t actually surprised by this. He himself kept a low profile mainly because he was immortal and his body would remain at its peak forever; he had all the time in the world to waste. As for the others, it wasn’t that they didn’t understand that keeping a high profile brought more trouble, but their time was limited. For the sake of resources and climbing higher on the Martial Dao, they could only showcase their talent as much as possible to secure what they needed.

Sun Tao and Gu Qingfeng stopped talking and hurriedly closed their eyes to continue deducing.

Xu Yang thought, "Another genius with Perfection of Comprehension!"

Just a few breaths later, Xu Yang saw someone else stand up and leave. It wasn’t the eighth-ranked Tu Gang, but the ninth-ranked Yang Ao. The time he took to master the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist was only a dozen breaths slower than Lu Wei. With such a minuscule gap, he too had to be a genius with Perfection of Comprehension.

The crowd stirred restlessly once more, gazing in shock at Yang Ao’s departing figure. Xu Yang remained unmoved, observing everything coldly from the sidelines.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, several figures stood up almost simultaneously. Two of them were right next to him—Sun Tao and Gu Qingfeng. Almost immediately after the two stood up, the twelfth-ranked Wu Xiuyuan also rose.

Both Wu Xiuyuan and Gu Qingfeng stared at Sun Tao in bewilderment. They never expected that this guy, who was merely ranked ninety-ninth on the Lingyun List, would actually master the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist at this time.

"Sun Tao?"

"He actually mastered the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist already?"

"Could he be grandstanding to please the crowd? In terms of reputation, he’s inferior to Xu Yang and Huo Xiaochen. Even they haven’t succeeded yet, so where would he get such Comprehension?"

Wu Xiuyuan and Gu Qingfeng weren’t the only ones shocked; the others were equally astonished. Some even suspected he was just grandstanding. Even Xu Yang was a bit surprised. Based on Sun Tao’s performance at the Kong family, he shouldn’t have mastered the technique this early, yet here he was, standing up.

Knowing Sun Tao, Xu Yang knew grandstanding was impossible and unnecessary. This meant Sun Tao had genuinely mastered the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist. There were only two possibilities. First, back at the Kong family, Sun Tao had lied to him and hidden his true Comprehension. Second, Sun Tao’s Comprehension was still growing, and it had improved even more compared to his time at the Kong family.

At this thought, Xu Yang was moved. He hadn’t expected that even now, Sun Tao still hadn’t fully digested the effects of that unknown Spirit Medicine. Sun Tao’s current Comprehension was likely no less than that of the Lin Jingyu he had beaten to death, reaching a state of near Perfection.

As Sun Tao and Gu Qingfeng strode away, Xu Yang still didn’t move. A while later, Li Yunfei, Huo Xiaochen, Tu Gang, and others consecutively stood up and left.

As time passed, over a dozen people had successfully mastered the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist, yet Xu Yang remained sitting in his original spot.

"We thought too highly of Xu Yang," Wu Xiuyuan chuckled.

By executing Li Yunzhou and then killing Lin Jingyu, Xu Yang’s reputation was arguably greater than all of theirs combined. After all, no matter how high their rankings were, none of them had a record of beating a peer genius to death. Many assumed he would display extraordinary Comprehension in this trial, never expecting his performance to be so underwhelming.

"Brother Xu excels in Body Refining, so it doesn’t matter if his Comprehension is slightly lacking," Gu Qingfeng smiled.

"He merely cultivated for a few more years. How could his talent possibly compare to ours?" Huo Xiaochen sneered.

Sun Tao thought with a cold sneer, "A bunch of idiots!"

If Xu Yang hadn’t lied to him back at the Kong family, he should have mastered the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist by now. Since everyone in the top twenty of the Lingyun List had already succeeded, it was impossible for Xu Yang’s Comprehension to fall short. The only explanation for Xu Yang still comprehending was that he was hiding his strength once again. Moreover, this fit perfectly with Xu Yang’s usual style of always holding something back.

He frowned slightly and thought, "The Lingyun List ranking will dictate our treatment after entering the Celestial Strategy Academy. Why is Junior Brother Xu still hiding his strength?"

He didn’t intend to be recruited by any major family, which was why he revealed all his talent this time—so he could secure enough resources upon entering the academy. Without the backing of a Noble Family, he truly couldn’t understand why Xu Yang would continue to hold back. However, despite their good relationship, it wasn’t his place to persuade him on such matters. He could only help keep the secret.

Xu Yang thought, "It’s about time!"

Finally, Xu Yang felt it was time to stand up. By now, nearly twenty people had mastered the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist. If he factored in the six absent Spirit Bone Celestial Prides, mastering it at this moment should place him within the top thirty of the future Lingyun List rankings. A top thirty ranking wasn’t considered high, but it wasn’t low either. He wouldn’t be looked down upon, nor would he stand out too much, which perfectly mitigated the impact of killing Lin Jingyu.

Just as he stood up, he realized that Jiang Fan and Li Chuyang had also risen at the exact same time. The three exchanged glances. Xu Yang’s expression was calm, Jiang Fan smiled and nodded, while Li Chuyang looked utterly gloomy. Clearly, Li Chuyang was very displeased that Xu Yang and Jiang Fan had completed the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist at around the same time as him.

Chu Nanguai’s gaze swept over Xu Yang, and he secretly shook his head. He thought, "His Comprehension is slightly lacking. What a pity."

To ordinary people, this level of Comprehension was top-tier, but in a place like the Celestial Strategy Academy, it wasn’t fast enough. There were too many geniuses. If one couldn’t stand out, they would ultimately fade into the crowd. Of course, this was only from Chu Nanguai’s perspective. To the others, Xu Yang’s Comprehension was actually quite terrifying. To master the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist at this stage meant his Comprehension had absolutely reached the A-class.

"Xu Yang’s Comprehension is actually this good as well?"

"With his Body Refining Talent paired with such Comprehension, his final ranking on the Lingyun List might just reach around twenty-fifth."

"If nurtured properly, he might very well become a regional overlord in the future."

Outside the Celestial Strategy Academy, quite a few people began discussing Xu Yang’s Comprehension. After all, his initial ranking on the Lingyun List had only been ninety-eighth.

By evening, Xu Yang, Sun Tao, and the others descended the mountain.

The trial hadn’t actually ended yet. Only a little over a hundred people had successfully comprehended the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist. Those who passed the trial were permitted to descend the mountain, while those who hadn’t completed the assessment remained at the summit to continue their comprehension. Ye Qiuling and Qi Xuancheng were still on the mountain. Whether or not the two of them could become one of the top three hundred and sixty was anyone’s guess.

Just as Xu Yang and the others reached the bottom of the mountain, several figures walked over. Some approached Liu Rumei, some headed for Zhang Jun, and others walked toward Sun Tao.

A fair-skinned middle-aged man with a handlebar mustache walked up to Xu Yang and cupped his hands. "I am the Fifth Elder of the Wei family. Greetings, Fellow Xu."

Xu Yang cupped his hands in return. "Greetings, Elder Wei."

He had heard of the Wei family. Although they weren’t a Thousand-Year-Old Noble Family and didn’t have as long a history, their strength was hardly inferior. The Wei family could be considered the top-tier family just below the Thousand-Year-Old Noble Families, boasting a massive reputation in Yunzhou City.

"I heard that you haven’t partnered with any faction yet, Fellow Xu. I wonder if you would be interested in becoming an Honored Guest Elder for our Wei family?" the Fifth Elder of the Wei family smiled.

Only then did Xu Yang realize that these people were here to recruit them. Previously, when he, Sun Tao, Liu Rumei, and the others had been targeted by Huo Xiaochen, no one thought highly of them, so no one tried to recruit them. Now that the dust had settled and their entry into the Celestial Strategy Academy was set in stone, the major families of Yunzhou City had once again sparked the thought of recruiting them.

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