Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Advancement

At the observation deck by the highway in Xiajiang Village.

Huai Yongge’s eyes were locked onto the light screen projected by the Investigation Crystal. It displayed the scene of Fang Chen slicing a Cyan-faced Fox in half with a single strike, especially that fleeting flash of sharpness.

"Was that... Sword Qi just now?"

Huai Yongge tapped his fingers lightly against the desk, seemingly talking to himself, yet also asking a question.

A middle-aged man next to him, dressed in the clerical uniform of the Martial Arts Association, stared intently at the replay and answered cautiously, "Although the image transmission is a bit blurry, to be able to slice through a Tier 1 Demon Beast from a distance with his Power condensed and unfading... that should undoubtedly be Sword Qi."

"Sword Qi? True Martial Realm?"

Huai Yongge raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised. He looked at the Martial Arts Association official. "Old Zhao, here in your Jinchuan Branch, how many of the registered True Martial Level Swordsmanships can cultivate Sword Qi within the True Martial Realm?"

The official known as Old Zhao pondered for a moment, a troubled look crossing his face.

"Inspector Huai, generally speaking, projecting Sword Qi outward is a more common method for High Martial Realm Martial Artists.

"As for the True Martial Realm... our association does have a few top-tier True Martial Level Swordsmanships in our collection. In theory, cultivating them to a profound stage can touch the threshold of Sword Qi, but..."

He paused and emphasized his tone.

"But that requires cultivating a Swordsmanship to at least Great Success, or even Perfection, to possibly comprehend its true essence and generate a wisp of Sword Qi. This is absolutely not an easy task."

Huai Yongge snorted. "Nonsense, do you think I don’t know that cultivating a True Martial Level Swordsmanship to Perfection can produce Sword Qi? The question is, how long does that take?"

Old Zhao smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"It’s hard to say. Those with ordinary talent might spend their entire lives only reaching Minor Achievement in a True Martial Level Swordsmanship, barely able to use it.

"Even for a promising seedling with good talent, touching the edge of Sword Qi during the True Martial Realm stage would take eight to ten years of grinding effort, right? And that’s under the premise of having abundant resources and the guidance of a master teacher."

"Eight to ten years?"

Huai Yongge scoffed, pointing a finger at Fang Chen’s figure on the light screen while picking up Fang Chen’s file nearby with his other hand.

"How old is he? The file says he just turned eighteen this year! At sixteen, after receiving the Righteous Qi Technique at school, he broke through to the True Martial Realm in just one week?"

He looked at the records in the file, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

"It seems this kid is a rare genius. Most likely, he comes from an ordinary family background and lacks resources. Coupled with the fact that a run-of-the-mill Cultivation Technique like the Righteous Qi Technique progresses slowly, he must have put most of his energy into refining his Swordsmanship."

He thought for a moment. "Two years to cultivate Sword Qi?"

Old Zhao gasped. "This... is simply unheard of!"

Huai Yongge, however, slowly shook his head, his gaze deepening.

"It’s more than that. Think about it. When he first started cultivating at sixteen, what level of Swordsmanship could he have possibly accessed?"

Old Zhao was stunned. "You mean... it might be a lower-grade, ordinary Swordsmanship? But how could an ordinary Swordsmanship produce Sword Qi?"

"Who says it can’t?"

Huai Yongge’s tone was firm. "You’ve stayed in the local areas too long, so your knowledge is a bit lacking. At the provincial headquarters, or even Celestial Mist City, some Martial Artists are restricted by their poor family background or lack of opportunities. Without many high-tier Martial Skills to choose from, they cling to a Basic Sword Technique and practice it relentlessly for their entire lives.

"There are people who, through sheer perseverance and immense comprehension, have forcibly trained an ordinary Swordsmanship to a realm where ’skill approaches the Dao,’ cultivating their very own Sword Qi!"

His gaze swept over the few people present, carrying a hint of warning. "However, that often takes over twenty years, or even longer, of blood, sweat, and tears. But this person..."

He looked again at Fang Chen’s youthful face on the light screen.

"By the way, what tier is his Superpower rating?" Huai Yongge suddenly asked.

The assistant next to him immediately replied, "Inspector Huai, it’s Tier 2." Inwardly, however, he grumbled, "You have the file right in your hand. Can’t you read it yourself?"

"Tier 2..."

Huai Yongge nodded slightly. "Then we can basically rule out the effect of a special Superpower. It seems this kid truly possesses extraordinary comprehension and resilience on the Martial Dao."

A look of satisfaction appeared on his face as he made his decision.

"Not bad. Regardless of his subsequent performance, based solely on this Sword Dao talent and disposition, consider this person having passed the first stage of the martial exam."

"Yes, Inspector Huai."

Meanwhile, Fang Chen and his group marched through the dense forest, constantly gathering scattered classmates or those trapped in bitter struggles along the way.

Soon, the team swelled to nearly sixty people. Even Su Zhe and the other three True Martial Realm students joined them.

Fang Chen counted their numbers, estimating in his heart that most of the other students had already been eliminated. They were either severely injured and carried away by the observers, hadn’t found the right direction, or perhaps were too afraid to enter the forest and planned to swim out via the waterways.

Through the information he had spied earlier, Fang Chen knew that Demon Beasts had also been released at the far end of the river. Moreover, humans were at a disadvantage in the water, meaning they would only be eliminated faster.

These remaining sixty people could be considered to have preliminarily passed the first round of screening.

He gathered the collected Water Mist Fruits and Purifying Sponge Grass to distribute them uniformly. Each person received a two-set portion, enough to temporarily deal with fire attacks and poisonous mist.

Since the ordinary students mainly focused on self-preservation and didn’t clash head-on with the Demon Beasts, their resource consumption was reduced. The main combat tasks, on the other hand, were taken up by the few True Martial Realm students.

This approach not only greatly slowed down the team’s overall resource consumption rate but also reduced unnecessary casualties.

As they delved deeper, although the number of encountered Demon Beasts and wild beasts noticeably increased and their attacks became more frequent, the team proceeded steadily under Fang Chen’s coordination. Due to the reduced consumption, the resources they collected actually began to show a surplus.

Hope was rekindled among the crowd.

During the subsequent journey, Fang Chen intentionally slowed down his own frequency of attacking, leaving more combat opportunities for the others. He needed to observe their true strength and also wanted to see if anyone among this group of students was hiding special methods or trump cards.

Relying on their Combat Suits and weapons empowered by Spiritual Crystal Stones, Su Zhe and the other True Martial Realm students couldn’t achieve one-strike kills like Fang Chen. However, when facing a Tier 1 Demon Beast one-on-one, they could still slay it after a protracted struggle, displaying the standard expected of True Martial Artists.

The Ordinary Martial Artist students, however, struggled much more. They often needed a dozen or so people cooperating, surrounding a single Demon Beast and relying on their numerical advantage and sharp weapons to barely grind it to death.

However, to Fang Chen’s slight surprise, a few students in the team, when the energy of their Spiritual Crystal Stones was about to run out, actually pulled out a second or even a third spare Spiritual Crystal Stone from their bags to replace it.

Fang Chen took all this in, understanding dawning in his heart. "It seems this is the other underlying reason why the organizers set such a high registration fee of five hundred thousand. If one’s own strength is slightly insufficient, they can use the power of money to forcefully close some of the gap."

Just as Fang Chen and the others steadily explored deeper into the forest, back at the observation deck in Xiajiang Village, Huai Yongge answered his communicator.

"Inspector Huai! This is bad! We... we have a situation over here!"

Huai Yongge frowned, his tone darkening. "What are you panicking for? Speak clearly!"

"It’s... it’s that Cyan-faced Fox! We don’t know what happened, but it... it seems to be breaking through to Tier 2!"

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