Kong Yunzhang fell silent for a moment, then said calmly, "Secure a spot first. If he refuses, tell that old fellow to come find me!"
"As for the assessment... I think the kid will be fine!"
Kong Xin nodded. "Alright, I'll make the arrangements when the time comes."
"But if Junior Disciple Brother goes there, won't that mean he can't take the college entrance examination?"
"If he fails, won't he be unable to enter a Martial Arts Academy?"
Kong Yunzhang reclined in his wicker chair, his expression still incomparably calm.
"What? Even if your Junior Disciple Brother fails, could it be that this old man, you, and your Junior Disciple Sister combined can't teach him as well as those people from the Martial Arts Academy?"
A trace of pride surfaced on Kong Yunzhang's aged face.
Kong Xin smiled faintly at his words and stretched lazily, fully outlining her alluring curves.
"That's true. Those who come out of Martial Arts Academies still have to undergo tempering on the battlefield before they can truly be cultivated. Sometimes, they're not even as good as the talents trained by our Military!"
"In that case, I'll go secure a spot later!"
Kong Xin smiled.
Beside them, Lan Linglong listened to their conversation, sitting quietly in her chair with a gentle smile on her lips.
Lu Sheng made his way back to the rented apartment with difficulty.
Although he had rested for a while at the Heaven and Earth Dojo, the pain brought about by breaking through his limits still made walking difficult for him.
Fortunately, the rented apartment was not too far from the Heaven and Earth Dojo, so he managed to make it back by walking slowly.
Lu Sheng dropped onto the bed and let out a long breath.
"This Standing Meditation... it really is exhausting. I'd rather kill Fierce Beasts for an entire day than stand in meditation for five minutes!"
Lu Sheng shook his head.
He then began examining the changes in his body.
"My physique... seems a little stronger than yesterday, but the improvement is still far too slow."
Lu Sheng muttered to himself.
"Compared to slaughter, its strengthening effect on the body is like heaven and earth apart!"
No wonder Slaughter was a Purple Talent. If Lu Sheng relied on Standing Meditation, he might practice for an entire month and still not gain as much as he did from one day of slaughter.
After all, Standing Meditation consumed an enormous amount of energy and required enduring all kinds of pain.
Slaughter, on the other hand, only required him to keep killing.
Sitting on the bed, Lu Sheng lay down for a while before taking out the Golden Core Kong Xin had given him from his clothes.
A faint golden radiance shimmered across the Golden Core.
A tremendously dense energy continuously swirled within it. Merely taking it out made Lu Sheng feel as though the atmosphere in the entire room had become somewhat oppressive.
"As expected of a Golden Core that only a Golden Body expert can condense. Even after death, it can still possess such terrifying pressure!"
Lu Sheng's eyes lit up slightly.
Yet as he looked at the Golden Core in his hand, Lu Sheng fell into deep thought.
The energy contained within the Golden Core was incredibly abundant. If he could devour it, his cultivation would surely advance by a considerable amount.
But the system's upgrade also required this Golden Core.
For a moment, Lu Sheng did not know whether he should devour it himself or use it to upgrade the system.
After pondering for a long time, Lu Sheng ultimately decided to use the Golden Core to upgrade the system.
After all, the energy contained in the Golden Core was simply too vast. Setting aside whether Lu Sheng even had a way to absorb it, even if he could—
just a tiny wisp of energy from the Golden Core would be enough to keep Lu Sheng absorbing it for a long time.
But if he used the Golden Core to upgrade the system, the chances of refreshing higher-grade talents would increase.
Higher-grade talents could, at certain times, bring far more benefits than raising his cultivation!
If he could refresh a god-grade cultivation talent, then perhaps a single day of cultivation would surpass the results of absorbing the Golden Core for a long time.
For the current Lu Sheng...
using it to upgrade the system was undoubtedly the best choice.
After pondering for a moment, Lu Sheng's thoughts stirred, and he directly summoned the system panel.
"System, how do I upgrade?"
Lu Sheng asked softly in his heart.
The system did not answer him. Instead, in the next instant, the Golden Core in Lu Sheng's hand vanished.
Only then did the system display a message.
Ding, devouring Sword Demon Clan Golden Core. Estimated devouring time: nineteen hours and thirty-six minutes. Please wait...
Lu Sheng's eyes lit up slightly as he looked at the message before him.
It was roughly noon now. In other words, the system would successfully upgrade by tomorrow evening.
When that time came...
the next time he refreshed his Martial Arts Talent, he would have a greater chance of obtaining a higher-grade Martial Arts Talent.
"I hope... you won't disappoint me!"
Lu Sheng muttered softly.
He then lay down on the bed, and before long, Lu Sheng drifted off into a hazy sleep.
Though he had only practiced Standing Meditation for a few minutes, it had greatly drained both Lu Sheng's body and spirit.
As a result, he fell asleep only a few minutes after lying down.
The next day.
Outside Cloud City.
Lu Sheng stood in the wilderness with silver Knuckle Dusters on both hands.
Around Lu Sheng lay the corpses of many Fierce Beasts, quietly strewn across the ground as blood flowed everywhere.
Before Lu Sheng stood an incomparably terrifying black bear, glaring at him like a tiger watching its prey.
Lu Sheng stepped forward, and in an instant, surging Blood Qi burst forth.
He threw a sweeping punch.
Golden light surged explosively.
The terrifying force directly pierced through the black bear's chest. Blood spurted out as its life force drained away.
Boom!
The bear's corpse crashed heavily to the ground.
Lu Sheng took a deep breath, gradually steadying his breathing. Then, a curve appeared at the corner of his lips.
After resting for an entire day yesterday, Lu Sheng had come outside the city to hunt Fierce Beasts and strengthen his physique as soon as Cloud City's gates opened this morning.
"My cultivation has already reached Blood Qi Layer Ten. According to Senior Sister, in the Blood Qi Realm, one must cultivate their Blood Qi to the utmost limit. Once that limit is reached, one will feel as though shackles are binding them."
"But I haven't felt those shackles yet. I don't know whether it's because of Level Up! or because Slaughter has strengthened my physique."
"But for me, that can only be a good thing!"
Lu Sheng smiled.
Then his thoughts stirred slightly, and a line of text appeared before his eyes.
Time required for upgrade: one minute and six seconds!
The number on the message continued to decrease.
Looking at the message that only he could see, the smile on Lu Sheng's lips became even broader.
"The system... is about to finish upgrading!"
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