Chapter 624: Chapter 406: Perfection

"He should be able to fight his way to the eleventh layer," Gu Qingfeng said.

Although he did not get along with Huo Xiaochen, he had to admit that Huo Xiaochen, who concurrently cultivated the Azure Dragon Dominating Body and the Purple Extreme Heaven-Burning Technique, was indeed strong.

Dragon Blood could wash and refine the sinews and bones, increasing physical potential. After consuming Dragon Blood, Huo Xiaochen’s physical potential was likely second only to Tu Gang’s.

Xu Yang and the others nodded. With Celestial Essence Second Layer Perfection, plus his Azure Dragon Dominating Body having broken through to the Second Layer Realm, if Huo Xiaochen couldn’t even fight above his level, then he would truly be trash.

"It’s the eleventh layer."

After nearly a quarter of an hour, the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List rippled. The layer count behind Huo Xiaochen’s name changed to eleven—he had fought his way into the eleventh layer.

On the eleventh layer, he would face two Celestial Essence Third Layer Martial Artists. Everyone understood that it was highly unlikely for Huo Xiaochen to clear the eleventh layer. After all, even Spirit Bone Celestial Prides like Qi Ning hadn’t managed to clear it back then. The only question was how long Huo Xiaochen could last.

"The eleventh layer."

"Huo Xiaochen’s ranking is probably going to surpass Lu Wei’s. He will officially become the number one person beneath the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides."

When Huo Xiaochen fought into the eleventh layer, Lu Ren, Du Ziming, and the others flushed with excitement, as if they were the ones who had made it.

After a while, the entrance to the Battle Tower flashed with faint light. Huo Xiaochen emerged in a sorry state, his clothes torn in multiple places and his exposed skin covered in terrifying lacerations.

His hair was disheveled, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He could barely stand.

"Fifty-first place!" someone shouted.

Everyone turned to look. Huo Xiaochen’s name had appeared in the fifty-first position, surpassing Tu Gang and placing ahead of Lu Wei.

"He’s still inferior to those Spirit Bone Celestial Prides," Gu Qingfeng shook his head.

The Spirit Bone Celestial Prides were simply too strong. Even though Huo Xiaochen concurrently cultivated the Purple Extreme Heaven-Burning Technique and the Azure Dragon Dominating Body, his same-level Combat Power still hadn’t caught up to theirs.

"Congratulations, Brother Huo!"

"Congratulations to Brother Huo for officially becoming the number one person beneath the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides."

With his ranking surpassing Lu Wei and Tu Gang, people like Lu Ren and Fang Xu hurriedly rushed forward to flatter and compliment him, solidifying his title as the number one person beneath the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides.

"I wouldn’t dare claim that. It was merely a stroke of luck," Huo Xiaochen said. Though his words were modest, a look of smug satisfaction covered his face.

"He’s getting a bit carried away," Gu Qingfeng sneered.

Xu Yang and the others followed his gaze, only to see Lu Wei turn and walk away in silence not far away.

Huo Xiaochen’s claim to the title of the number one person beneath the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides had clearly provoked Lu Wei’s dissatisfaction.

"Let’s go!"

Xu Yang turned and walked away. Sun Tao and the rest nodded, following him out.

Returning to his courtyard, Xu Yang continued to bury himself in bitter cultivation, consuming resources like flowing water.

Over the following days, Wu Xiuyuan, Gu Qingfeng, Li Yunfei, and Sun Tao consecutively reached Celestial Essence Second Layer Perfection and began to challenge the tower.

All four fought their way into the eleventh layer, and their rankings significantly improved.

However, Xu Yang only went to watch Sun Tao’s attempt. Although Sun Tao had cleared the tenth layer, it was a bitter struggle. The moment he entered the eleventh layer, he was blasted out. He hadn’t lasted as long as Huo Xiaochen and the others, so his rank only rose to somewhere in the sixties.

After all, their cultivation time was still relatively short, and many of their Martial Techniques had yet to reach Perfection.

In the blink of an eye, over a month passed. It had been nearly a year since Xu Yang entered the Celestial Strategy Academy.

Meanwhile, aside from Spirit Bone Celestial Prides like Qi Ning and Leng Qiuyue, no one in their freshman cohort had broken through to the Celestial Essence Third Layer.

Even Lu Wei, who had been the first to reach Celestial Essence Second Layer Perfection, was still grinding away at the bottleneck of the Celestial Essence Third Layer. Huo Xiaochen, Tu Gang, Yang Ao, and the others hadn’t broken through either.

There was, however, one piece of news: Lu Ren had broken through to the Celestial Essence Second Layer.

Although his cultivation talent wasn’t particularly good, his Weapon Forging Talent was astounding. The Celestial Strategy Academy naturally tilted resources in his favor. Coupled with his Weapon Forging Skill, he managed to break through to the Celestial Essence Second Layer earlier than many geniuses who had entered the academy through real martial prowess.

[Yunling Technique·Minor Achievement (6847/15000)]

[Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture·Third Layer (4611/10000)]

[Azure Dragon Dominating Body·Second Layer (3042/10000)]

[Blood Prison Heart Blade Scripture Celestial Essence Chapter·First Layer (3149/10000)]

[Formless Thousand Illusions Skill·Great Success (13417/15000)]

[Eight Ferocious Hidden Dragon Strength·Great Success (8346/30000)]

[Extreme Prison Heaven-Slaying Technique·Sixth Layer (5763/10000)]

[Black Tortoise Mountain Suppression Fist·Great Success (12597/20000)]

[Roaming Dragon Sky Step·Great Success (13028/16000)]

Xu Yang had gone to the Spirit Tower to cultivate twice more. As a result, although the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture and the Azure Dragon Dominating Body broke through at around the same time, their progress now differed by over a thousand points.

He had always tried his best to let the Azure Dragon Dominating Body’s progress keep pace with the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture, but Body Refining was a Water Grinding Technique. Unless he obtained rare treasures, the Azure Dragon Dominating Body was unlikely to ever catch up to the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture—not unless he halted his cultivation of the latter entirely.

He pondered, "In another month, both the Formless Thousand Illusions Skill and the Wandering Dragon Void Step will reach Perfection."

Once the Formless Thousand Illusions Skill and the Wandering Dragon Void Step reached Perfection, his life-preserving and disguising abilities would greatly increase. Then, he could go take a look at Jade Dragon Mountain.

After all, in another month, his resources would be nearly depleted.

He couldn’t just keep robbing the Fuhu Gang. Setting aside whether the Fang Family would even rebuild the Fuhu Gang, if they did, they would likely just be setting a trap, waiting for him to dive in.

Without Celestial Essence Fifth Layer Combat Power, going to the Fuhu Gang to scrounge for scraps would be courting death.

Aside from the issue of resources, the Celestial Strategy Academy mandated a tempering mission every six months. If a student didn’t voluntarily go out for tempering, the teachers would arrange one for them.

KNOCK KNOCK...

Suddenly, there was a knock on the courtyard door. Xu Yang opened it to find a man standing outside.

Xu Yang recognized him. His name was Ma Jin, one of the Purple Sun Sect disciples stationed at Dragon Ascending Street.

"Ma Jin greets Brother Xu," Ma Jin cupped his hands.

"Please come in, Brother Ma," Xu Yang smiled, inviting him into the courtyard.

After taking a seat, Ma Jin handed over a letter. "This is a letter your sister, Xu Qing, sent to you, Brother Xu."

Xu Yang was momentarily dazed. In the blink of an eye, it had been over a year since he left the Purple Sun Sect.

Aside from sending some things back for Xu Qing when Bai Shaoling and Yue Zhong returned to the Purple Sun Sect, he hadn’t mailed back a single letter.

"Thank you, Brother Ma."

He took the letter, stood up, walked to the side, and opened it.

"Xu Yang, you jerk. It’s been nearly a year, and you haven’t even written to me on your own. Have you forgotten about me...?"

Looking at the elegant handwriting, Xu Qing’s playful demeanor seemed to appear right before his eyes.

Xu Qing’s letter was mostly filled with trivial domestic matters. Though ordinary, they were laced with her deep longing for him.

In the letter, the little girl informed him that she had learned how to refine the Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pill, her Marrow Cleansing had reached Perfection, and she had begun to attempt a breakthrough to the Celestial Essence Realm.

But Xu Yang knew that with Xu Qing’s talent, unless a miracle happened, it would take her at least three to five years to break through to the Celestial Essence Realm, if not longer.

If it took three to five years to break through, it would be almost impossible for her to undergo a Secondary Dragon Ascension and enter the Celestial Strategy Academy in the future.

He thought to himself, "It seems I need to prepare the Celestial Spirit Pill as soon as possible..."

He hadn’t forgotten about helping Xu Qing prepare the Celestial Spirit Pill, but the Purple Sun Sect was simply too far from the Celestial Strategy Academy. Even if he acquired a Celestial Spirit Pill, he wouldn’t be able to deliver it to her hands.

Although he could ask people like Ma Jin to take it back to the Purple Sun Sect, the Celestial Spirit Pill was too precious. He couldn’t set his mind at ease. If someone swallowed the Elixir halfway and completely disappeared, he would be helpless to do anything about it.

"Wait a moment, Brother Ma."

After excusing himself, he went into his room and fetched a pen and paper. He quickly penned a reply, stuffed some silver banknotes into the envelope, and sealed it.

Stepping out of the room, he handed the letter to Ma Jin. "I’ll have to trouble Brother Ma to deliver this back to the Sect for me."

"It’s merely my duty."

Ma Jin soon departed.

Xu Yang continued his systematic cultivation. Ten days later, news spread. A little over two months after reaching Celestial Essence Second Layer Perfection, Lu Wei had broken through to the Celestial Essence Third Layer, pulling ahead of everyone else.

In terms of same-level Combat Power, he might not be a match for Huo Xiaochen, but when it came to cultivation talent, Huo Xiaochen couldn’t hold a candle to him.

In the hearts of many, Lu Wei had always been the number one person beneath the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides, not Huo Xiaochen.

For a time, the students of Basic Class A felt the pressure, and everyone intensified their cultivation.

"Damn it, how much longer is he going to stay in the Celestial Strategy Academy?" Huang Yi was getting anxious.

She had thought she could find an opportunity to kill Xu Yang, but Xu Yang simply refused to leave the Celestial Strategy Academy. At this rate, Xu Yang would soon break through to the Celestial Essence Third Layer.

By then, even if an opportunity presented itself, it would be Xu Yang killing her; she wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

Time flowed on slowly. One day, upon returning from cultivating in the Spirit Tower, Xu Yang heard another piece of news. Yang Ao had also broken through to the Celestial Essence Third Layer, while Tu Gang, who ranked above him, was still trying to smash through the bottleneck.

Xu Yang remained unmoved. He returned to his courtyard and continued his cultivation.

A few days later, in the Quiet Chamber, his body flickered with radiant light—sometimes green, sometimes gold, sometimes purple.

"The Formless Thousand Illusions Skill has finally reached Perfection," Xu Yang slowly opened his eyes.

His Formless Thousand Illusions Skill had finally attained the Thousand Transformations Perfection Realm. Not only could his outward appearance change at will, but even his aura and the color of his Gang Yuan could transform freely.

He thought, "Unfortunately, while appearance, aura, and even the color of my Gang Yuan can change, Martial Techniques cannot be hidden."

Every Martial Technique possessed corresponding Martial Dao Imagery. Such a thing couldn’t be concealed, not even by the Formless Thousand Illusions Skill. If he were to make a move while hiding his identity, his Martial Techniques would still easily give him away.

He mused, "I’ll need to cultivate some more Martial Techniques to use while concealing my identity."

Among all his Martial Techniques, only the Black Tortoise Mountain-Suppressing Fist remained unknown. His trump cards like the Extreme Prison Heaven-Slaying Technique and the Wandering Dragon Void Step were widely recognized.

Furthermore, the Bright King Unmoving Body and the Golden Gang Skill had also been exposed.

The Azure Dragon Dominating Body was exclusive to the Celestial Strategy Academy, so it couldn’t be used while hiding his identity either. It was just that right now, he didn’t possess any suitable Celestial Essence Martial Techniques.

He pondered, "The cultivation of a Spirit Bone Martial Technique must also be put on the agenda as soon as possible."

But despite saving up for several months, his current academic credits were still far from enough to exchange for even the Entry Level content of a Spirit Bone Martial Technique.

He decided, "Once the Wandering Dragon Void Step also reaches Perfection, I’ll go accept a mission."

If he didn’t take on missions, he’d have to wait another half a year or so to scrounge up enough credits to exchange for a Spirit Bone Martial Technique, which was too much of a waste of time.

Moreover, with his current Realm, even if he entered Jade Dragon Mountain, his safety would be greatly enhanced. He wouldn’t have to act so cautiously anymore.

Right now, the progress of his Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture’s Third Layer had already exceeded the halfway mark. He figured that against an ordinary Celestial Essence Fourth Layer cultivator, even if he couldn’t kill them, he could at least defeat them.

Most importantly, he had to make a trip to Jade Dragon Mountain. This way, when his Spirit Bone was eventually exposed in the future, he would have a ready excuse.

Another seven or eight days passed, and the Wandering Dragon Void Step also reached Perfection.

Taking advantage of the early hour, Xu Yang headed straight for the Hero Hall.

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