Seat Contest, Changhe County's Face

Chapter 50: The Seat Competition, Changhe County's Reputation

Time flew by. Over the past week or so, Lin Mo had been diligently practicing his fist techniques and movement skills. He had even naturally broken through the Blood Essence bottleneck two days prior.

Reaching Second Level Entry was almost a natural progression.

Lin Mo wasn't surprised by this outcome. In the last half-month, his miscellaneous expenses had dwindled his initial eight to nine thousand taels of silver down to a mere two thousand.

He hadn't stopped taking low-year Precious Medicines to aid his cultivation, which had advanced by leaps and bounds. Not only had his Blood Essence broken through, but his fist techniques and movement skills also seemed to be nearing minor completion.

"There are still more than ten days until the competition begins. In a few days, I can start preparing to upgrade my next Destiny..."

Lin Mo had also considered using his remaining Luck to strengthen Destinies like Root Bone. However, once a Destiny entered the green tier, further upgrades required Luck like pouring water.

He could sense his Destinies and roughly estimated that each upgrade would cost at least two hundred points of Luck.

This was even based on the Destiny's potential. For example, upgrading the dharma eye would cost at least four hundred points of Luck, double that of his Root Bone.

"I only have a little over five hundred points of Luck. In a few days, I'll first upgrade White Ape Momentum to green, and the rest should be enough to upgrade my Root Bone once."

After a simple plan, Lin Mo continued to practice the Jade Shattering Flowing Water Fist in the training grounds.

With the opportunity approaching, every bit of improvement counted.

"Junior Brother Chen, you took down a White Lotus Sect branch by yourself this time? I heard you fought two opponents and held your own..."

"And they were White Lotus Sect fiends! Junior Brother, you handled them with such ease. Truly a formidable young talent!"

"Junior Brother Chen is only eighteen and has already reached Second Level. Such terrifying talent..."

In the Wang family's Personal Disciple residence, the hall was filled with Personal Disciples seated on both sides. Among them, Chen Qing sat with his eyes closed, resting, but he continuously heard the praises from his senior brothers.

He was clearly quite pleased.

When Wang Zhongtian strode in and took the head seat, the hall fell silent, all eyes on him.

Wang Zhongtian surveyed everyone, confirming they were all present before nodding and stating gravely, "Everyone, in half a month is the triennial Prefecture City competition. Dozens of counties in the prefecture will send representatives to compete. This not only represents the reputation of our Changhe Martial Arts School but also the resource development of our Changhe County for the next three years..."

Perhaps to foster regional friendly competition, the Prefecture City competition had added a bonus ranking system since its first establishment a hundred years ago.

Over time, this gradually evolved into a competition between the various counties within the prefecture. They certainly couldn't defeat the geniuses of the prefecture city, but as long as they performed better than the neighboring counties and ranked higher, their respective counties would gain more opportunities to trade with the prefecture city and connect with families.

This was no longer a simple matter of one person achieving success and benefiting everyone around them...

It was basically a matter of one person achieving success, and the entire county enjoying the benefits.

Therefore, those who knew about it generally valued this opportunity immensely, and Wang Zhongtian was no exception. In addition to instructing his Personal Disciples, he had coordinated with the County Magistrate to hold a preliminary selection martial arts event.

Simply put, there were only five spots available to represent Changhe County in the competition.

Of course, there were no restrictions on participation. It was fine for participants like Xu Changfeng to join on their own, but even if they received an evaluation, they would miss out on the rewards from the county.

"Later, the selection martial arts event will be held at our Changhe Martial Arts School training grounds. I expect you all to secure at least three of those spots..."

Wang Zhongtian instructed solemnly, his gaze sweeping over the people present. He picked out a few with young bone ages and high talent. "Chen Qing, Sun Dahai... you few, step forward. You are all within the age range this time. You must secure a spot."

Chen Qing and the others stood up in the hall, cupping their hands in acknowledgment. Wang Zhongtian continued, "Once these spots are secured, if any disciple can achieve an A-grade evaluation, I will reward them with a Human-grade High-tier cultivation technique and a High-tier Precious Weapon."

As he spoke, Wang Zhongtian's gaze lingered on Chen Qing for a moment. Chen Qing naturally understood.

Wang Zhongtian's generosity this time was undoubtedly to showcase the strength of the Changhe Martial Arts School. Secondly, the gifts were essentially tailor-made for Chen Qing, whether it was the Precious Weapon or the cultivation technique.

Even the A-grade evaluation was practically a sure thing for Chen Qing if nothing unexpected happened.

After briefly instructing his Personal Disciples, Wang Zhongtian led them to the upper level of the training grounds, where a crowd had already gathered.

It was also a sea of people. This time, there were many more influential families and young disciples than before, all gathered around the training grounds.

More carriages were parked outside the Changhe Martial Arts School, the County Magistrate's being the most conspicuous. He, with his bulging belly, alighted from his carriage and made his way towards the training grounds.

"Greetings, County Magistrate! May you be well!"

"This way, County Magistrate. Our Martial Master Wang has been waiting for a long time..."

People greeted him and bowed along the way. The County Magistrate responded casually and, under everyone's gaze, walked to the table and chairs set up above the training grounds to take his seat.

Wang Zhongtian, always decisive and straightforward, got straight to the point: "This Prefecture City competition concerns the livelihood and development of Changhe County for the next three years. We have specially invited everyone here to gather the talents of the entire county to demonstrate the might of the prefecture!"

"As a Martial Master of the Changhe Martial Arts School, I will naturally not shy away and will make my stance clear first. As long as any disciple can achieve an A-grade evaluation, regardless of their family or status, I will personally reward them with a Human-grade High-tier cultivation technique and a High-tier Precious Weapon!"

The County Magistrate didn't even lift his eyelids, merely whispering to the attendant beside him. The attendant stepped forward, channeling his Blood Essence, and shouted loudly, "The County Magistrate has decreed that whoever achieves an A-grade evaluation will be rewarded with a 30-year-old Precious Medicine, and three bottles of Human-grade High-tier pills of their choice!"

This announcement immediately caused a huge stir, and the crowd erupted in an uproar. It wasn't just the younger generation; even the elders of the families secretly gasped.

"Is this Wang Zhongtian crazy? Playing for such high stakes?"

"The County Magistrate is usually so stingy. Why is he so generous this time?"

As some were still astonished, others nearby noticed a subtle clue. "Isn't his disciple Chen Qing in the spotlight recently? He single-handedly took down a White Lotus Sect branch, fighting two Second Level fiends alone. Some even say he's a young prodigy, even more famous than Lin Mo before him!"

"Do you think Lin Mo can get these rewards?"

At that time, the two most prominent geniuses in Changhe County were both at the Changhe Martial Arts School. Mentioning one inevitably brought the other to mind, and someone immediately made a guess.

Discussions erupted all around. Some looked around but couldn't find Lin Mo: "Speaking of which, where is Lin Mo?"

"I think Lin Mo... is he afraid to come?"