Head Down, Train Hard

"Yang Chuan, Area 8 was able to squeeze into second place, and you deserve no small share of the credit."

Lin Chuan smiled. "Therefore, I have decided to reward you with 200 spirit crystals."

"Thank you, sir!"

Yang Chen was beside himself with excitement. He had never expected Lin Chuan to reward them so generously. With these 200 spirit crystals, he would no longer have to scrimp and save; he could immediately put his cultivation plan into action.

Lin Chuan nodded. After handing the bag of spirit crystals to Yang Chen, he patted his shoulder as well. "I have high hopes for you. Work hard, kid, and don't let me down."

"Yang Chen will never forget his original aspiration."

Only then did Lin Chuan turn his satisfied gaze toward the eagerly waiting Wei Xiao. Smiling, he said, "Wei Xiao, you haven't disappointed this steward either. I've decided to reward you with 150 spirit crystals. Cultivate well, and do not forget the sect's efforts in nurturing you."

"Wei Xiao will never forget it, even if his teeth fall out!"

Wei Xiao happily accepted the bag containing 150 spirit crystals, the delight in his eyes nearly impossible to suppress.

Although it was less than Huang Tianyu and Yang Chen received, 150 spirit crystals was still an enormous sum to him, enough to make his cultivation in the Blood Martial Realm proceed far more smoothly.

"You've all done very well too!" Lin Chuan looked at the remaining people. "Therefore, I've decided to reward each of you with 60 spirit crystals. I hope you will not forget your original aspirations and strive courageously to rise above!"

Zhu Xi and several other lower-ranked disciples were overjoyed. Sixty spirit crystals were enough to rapidly raise their strength over the next few months.

Yet some felt miserable inside, and Xue Cang was one of them. If he had still been in the top ten, then even if he could not have gotten Yang Chen's 200 spirit crystals, Wei Xiao's 150 should at least have been his.

Only two short days apart, yet the reward he received was 90 spirit crystals less. It was a tremendous loss.

After all the rewards had been distributed, Lin Chuan declared loudly, "Only three months remain until the cultivation Rankings Board ends. I hope you can defend Area 8's honor. Can you do it?"

"Yes!"

"Junior Brother Yang, these are the resources you needed!"

At Yang Chen's residence, Wang Feng beamed as he handed Yang Chen a Storage Bag containing resources worth 160 spirit crystals.

"Thank you for the trouble, Senior Brother."

Yang Chen took the Storage Bag and carefully checked through it.

Less than an hour had passed since the month-end review ended. After receiving the spirit crystals, he had immediately contacted Wang Feng and exchanged all the spirit crystals he had on hand for resources such as Qi and Blood Pills and Spirit Calming Incense.

This Storage Bag alone had cost him 50 spirit crystals.

"You're too polite, Junior Brother! I should be thanking you for your generous support!"

Wang Feng spoke with complete sincerity. He had thought Yang Chen would be like last time and buy only one Qi and Blood Pill, but he had never expected such a heaven-shaking surprise this time!

The total value of this transaction exceeded 200 spirit crystals. He could earn at least ten from it. Just by making a delivery run, he had earned ten spirit crystals. How could he not be delighted?

He was truly glad for the decision he had made back then. Had he really fallen out with Yang Chen over Zhou Tao, how could these spirit crystals possibly have fallen into his hands?

Yang Chen smiled. "Senior Brother, you give me too much credit. We are both taking what we need. There's no need for either of us to thank the other."

The prices in Nineteen Peaks Town were not much different from Wang Feng's, but Wang Feng delivered directly to his door, saving him the time of making two trips. It was only fair for Wang Feng to earn a little fee for his labor.

After chatting for a while, Wang Feng took his leave.

Once he had left, Yang Chen did not rest for even a moment before immediately beginning his cultivation.

He was no longer short on cultivation resources. What he lacked instead was time. Zhou Han's threat still echoed in his ears, and he did not dare slack off in the slightest.

Thus, even though he had obtained another new sword technique today, he had no interest in practicing it.

The night passed without incident.

The arrival of a new day also meant the beginning of a new month.

Yang Chen headed early to the spirit field area. After making his inspections, he threw himself wholeheartedly into cultivation.

Two days later, Xu Qingqing broke through into the Blood Martial Realm, rising one place to fourteenth on the Rankings Board.

No explosive wave of breakthroughs followed. From then on, only about one person broke through on the cultivation Rankings Board every four or five days.

Time swiftly slipped away as Yang Chen focused single-mindedly on cultivation.

Eighteen days later, Yang Chen sat cross-legged on the ground, and the aura around him visibly surged by a substantial amount.

[Realm: Blood Martial Second Level, Punching Force: 23,513 kilograms]

"Just as expected! The breakthrough came faster than I anticipated."

Joy glimmered in Yang Chen's eyes. Only twenty short days had passed since he broke through into the Blood Martial Realm, yet his cultivation had already risen by another level. If word of this speed got out, it would be enough to make people's jaws drop.

"At this rate, breaking through to the Blood Martial Third Level before the new disciples arrive will be no problem at all."

Yang Chen was extremely satisfied with reaching the Blood Martial Third Level from a Quasi-Martialist in a year. The Blood Martial Third Level might not amount to much in the Sun Moon Sword Sect, but out in the wider world, it was still the strength of an expert.

Do not be fooled by the fact that Labor Disciples stood at the very bottom of the Sun Moon Sword Sect. In truth, those who could enter the Sun Moon Sword Sect possessed martial roots of at least the seventh grade, making them minor geniuses. Coupled with the resources supplied each month, nearly all of them could break through into the Blood Martial Realm.

That did not mean Blood Martial cultivators were everywhere like cabbages. On the contrary, they could be considered experts in the outside world.

Not only did outside martial artists have poorer martial roots, they might not even get to eat a single Qi Strength Pill in an entire year. In terms of cultivation speed, they could not catch up to Sun Moon Sword Sect disciples even on horseback.

Many people cultivated for an entire lifetime yet found it difficult to reach the later stages of the Qi Martial Realm, much less the Blood Martial Realm. Therefore, even in a prosperous place like Fulong County City, Blood Martial cultivators were still experts capable of standing on their own.

In short, if Yang Chen went to a county town now, he might not be the strongest there, but he would at least be someone whose stomp could make the entire town tremble.

Happy as he was, Yang Chen did not become smug. The Blood Martial Realm was still the bottom rung in the Sun Moon Sword Sect. His current strength could not even reach the top three among disciples of his cohort. There was truly nothing to be proud of.

Keeping his head down and cultivating bitterly was the true path!

Before he knew it, the eleventh month had drawn to a close.

On the month-end review day, the cultivation Rankings Board had changed greatly compared to the previous month. The top twenty were now all Blood Martial Realm cultivators.

Zhang Zhixian, sitting high at the top of the board, once again led the pack. He was now at the Blood Martial Fourth Level, while Gu You and Huang Tianyu followed closely behind with Blood Martial Third Level cultivation.

Fourth place belonged to a disciple named Cai Yang, who was at the Blood Martial Second Level.

And fifth place was Yang Chen!

This ranking once again caused a huge uproar. Many disciples marveled that after others entered the Blood Martial Realm, their cultivation speed only grew slower and slower, while Yang Chen remained ferocious beyond belief.

Yang Chen did not lose himself in others' praise. He continued cultivating diligently every day, to the point of nearly forgetting food and sleep.

Another five days passed. Just as Yang Chen planned to press forward in one vigorous push and cultivate to the Blood Martial Third Level, he received a message from Wang Feng.

Wang Kui had failed his attempt to enter the Outer Sect!

When Yang Chen learned the news, he was stunned for a moment.

He had not seen Wang Kui for a long time, yet he had never expected Wang Kui to have already failed his attempt to enter the Outer Sect.

He felt regret for Wang Kui. After struggling for five years, Wang Kui had ultimately been defeated in the promotion assessment.

Suddenly, he thought of Zhou Han.

He remembered Wang Kui mentioning before that Zhou Han was from the same cohort as him. Did that mean Zhou Han had also already launched his attempt to enter the Outer Sect?