Lu Sheng slowly opened his eyes.
A glint of brilliance flashed through them.
"After one whole night... I finally suppressed the violent blood qi in my body!"
Lu Sheng's voice was slightly hoarse.
There were even faint bloodshot veins in his eyes.
A night of cultivation had also drained far too much of Lu Sheng's energy.
But the final result was good. After cultivating through the night, Lu Sheng had finally suppressed the violent blood qi within him.
Now, the blood qi in Lu Sheng's body was as docile as a lamb.
Though his cultivation had not improved, with Lu Sheng's control over the blood qi in his body, using blood qi to unleash martial skills would make his attacks even more powerful.
If Kong Xin and the others had been here and heard Lu Sheng's words, they would surely have been utterly shocked.
The reason the Nine Profound Golden Body Transformation was so difficult to cultivate was that this body-tempering martial art tempered the body using the cultivator's own power.
Thus, while strengthening the body, it could also feed back into one's cultivation.
Most other body-tempering methods used external forces to temper the body, but the Nine Profound Golden Body Transformation did the complete opposite.
Yet precisely because of this, before tempering the body, a cultivator needed extraordinarily meticulous control over their own power before they could begin cultivating it.
Therefore, the difficulty of cultivating the Nine Profound Golden Body Transformation was absolutely several times greater than that of other body-tempering methods.
The difficulty was higher, but if one could cultivate it successfully, it would bring tremendous benefits to the cultivator.
For a martial artist to gain perfect control over their own power required an extremely long amount of time.
The higher one's cultivation, the more time it took.
Even a Blood Qi Realm martial artist needed at least one or two months to perfectly control their own power.
And that did not even include the time needed to begin cultivation after gaining control over that power.
Yet Lu Sheng had used only one night to gain nearly perfect mastery over his own blood qi.
If such a terrifying speed were spread...
Who knew how many experts cultivating the Nine Profound Golden Body Transformation would be shocked beyond belief.
Lu Sheng simply did not know any of this.
Lu Sheng rubbed his throbbing brow and sighed. "Simply suppressing my blood qi is already this difficult, let alone circulating it through a full cycle according to the Nine Profound Golden Body Transformation's route!"
"The amount of time this will consume is simply astronomical!"
"Looks like I won't be able to get started with the Nine Profound Golden Body Transformation before the Ranking Assessment!"
Lu Sheng spoke helplessly.
The Ranking Assessment was held once every month, and only a few days remained until the next one.
"Forget it. I should spend this time properly cultivating the Nine Profound Golden Body Transformation."
Lu Sheng stretched lazily and began circulating his blood qi according to the Nine Profound Golden Body Transformation, silently tempering his body.
Time trickled by, bit by bit.
In the blink of an eye, several days slowly passed.
Lu Sheng sat cross-legged on his bed, like an ascetic monk meditating there, as though he had been seated upon it for an unknown length of time.
Only...
If one observed Lu Sheng's body closely, one would discover that a faint current of power was slowly flowing through him.
That power carried an explosive sensation.
Suddenly, Lu Sheng slowly opened his eyes, and a faint red gleam flashed through them.
"Five days. Five days have passed, and the blood qi has only circulated through one-third of the first level of the Nine Profound Golden Body Transformation. To complete the entire route, it will take at least half a month!"
Lu Sheng murmured softly, the corners of his lips rising involuntarily.
"It seems fulfilling First Senior Sister's requirement won't be too difficult after all."
At that thought, the smile on Lu Sheng's lips deepened.
Lu Sheng took a deep breath, and the faintly discernible power from before instantly vanished, as if it had never existed.
Lu Sheng's aura also began to withdraw.
Judging by his aura alone, Lu Sheng was no different from an ordinary person at this moment.
"It's about time. This third Ranking Assessment..."
"I wonder whether I can challenge for first place now!"
Although Martial Arts Class training was already little more than a drop in the bucket for Lu Sheng, the Martial Arts Class's resources...
Were still very tempting.
The higher one ranked, the more resources one could obtain.
The resources for first place...
Lu Sheng was very interested in them!
With that thought, Lu Sheng hurried to the restroom to wash up briefly, then rushed toward Cloud City First High School.
Before long, Lu Sheng arrived at the Martial Arts Training Hall of Cloud City First High School.
By the time Lu Sheng arrived, quite a few people were already inside the Martial Arts Training Hall. Perhaps noticing his arrival, many turned to look at him.
Lu Sheng was now extremely well-known within the Martial Arts Class.
Aside from taking third place in the previous Ranking Assessment, there was also the matter involving the Bai Family.
The Bai Family, a Martial Arts Family that was a local tyrant in Cloud City, had been exiled to the Alien Demon Battlefield merely for attempting to assassinate Lu Sheng.
If Lu Sheng had merely been an ordinary person, no one would have believed it.
Later, no one knew where they had learned that Lu Sheng seemed to have joined the Heaven and Earth Dojo, and only then did they understand.
The Heaven and Earth Dojo was exceptionally mysterious in Cloud City, and it was notoriously protective of its own.
If Lu Sheng had become an Outer Disciple of the Heaven and Earth Dojo, then the matter was easy enough to explain.
"Lu Sheng!"
Suddenly, a soft and delicate voice rang out.
Chu Yanran wore a black short-sleeved shirt and a black pleated skirt. Her jet-black hair fell gently around her, making her look youthful and pretty.
Chu Yanran looked at Lu Sheng and walked over openly, a sweet smile on her face.
"Today's the Ranking Assessment. Are you confident you can challenge for first place?"
As soon as she said this, many people turned to look at Lu Sheng.
Even Hong Wu and Jian Yunlong, who had taken first and second place respectively in the previous Ranking Assessment, could not help looking toward Lu Sheng, their gazes carrying a trace of apprehension.
Lu Sheng had already taken third place in the last Ranking Assessment. This time...
Given Lu Sheng's terrifying cultivation speed, perhaps... he truly could challenge for second place, or even first!
Feeling so many gazes settle on him, Lu Sheng's brows furrowed slightly.
This Chu Yanran really knew how to stir things up. With one offhanded remark, she had drawn so much attention to him.
As expected, women only affected his cultivation speed!
Especially beautiful women!
Of course, First Senior Sister and Second Senior Sister were exceptions!
Lu Sheng thought to himself.
Then, without even sparing Chu Yanran a glance, Lu Sheng walked past her and found an unoccupied spot to sit down.
Did Lu Sheng not understand what Chu Yanran was thinking?
Before he had displayed his potential, even though they were old classmates, she had never sought him out. But once he took third place in the last Ranking Assessment, she had proactively come to speak with him.
That kind of calculation...
Heh!
Lu Sheng sneered inwardly.
After being ignored by Lu Sheng, Chu Yanran's hand remained suspended in the air, and the smile on her face stiffened somewhat.
Seeing this scene, quite a few people began looking at Chu Yanran strangely.
Lu Sheng's actions also stirred a nameless fury in Chu Yanran's heart, but when she thought of Lu Sheng's talent and what had happened to the Bai Family, she forcibly swallowed that anger.
She found a seat and sat down as though nothing had happened, but her expression remained exceedingly stiff.
Meanwhile, in a corner of the Martial Arts Training Hall, Bai Mo's gaze had remained fixed on Lu Sheng, cold and sinister.
The moment he saw Lu Sheng, Bai Mo could not help clenching his fists.
"Lu Sheng..."
Bai Mo's face twisted slightly, his eyes filled with savage fury.
"Heh heh, how does it feel to rise by stepping on my Bai Family? Today..."
"I'll make you lose everything you have now, completely and utterly!!"
Bai Mo roared inwardly, his expression becoming almost hysterical. It was only because he sat in the corner that no one saw his ferocious appearance.
Bai Mo took a deep breath, forcibly calming himself as he slowly opened his palm.
There, lying quietly in Bai Mo's palm, was a dark-red pill.
As he looked at the pill in his hand, the savage light in Bai Mo's eyes grew even stronger.
"With this, when the Ranking Assessment comes... I'll make you lose all face!!"
A cold glint flashed through Bai Mo's eyes.
Lu Sheng sat in his seat, waiting quietly.
Before long, Chen Zhen also appeared in the Martial Arts Training Hall. With Chen Zhen's arrival, the hall gradually fell silent.
Chen Zhen glanced over the crowd and said calmly, "I won't mention what day it is today. I don't want to see anyone else being eliminated from the Martial Arts Class today!"
As soon as he said this, the hall became even quieter.
The person who had ranked second to last previously, only to become last because the bottom-ranked student had been eliminated, revealed a bitter smile.
"However, before the Ranking Assessment begins, let me announce something!"
Chen Zhen's voice slowly rang out.
Everyone looked at Chen Zhen in confusion. Chen Zhen did not keep them in suspense and calmly continued.
"For this Ranking Assessment, the Cloud City Guardian and the Martial Alliance branch leader will come to observe. Your performances will all be seen by them."
"I don't need to tell you what benefits await those who perform well, do I?"
As Chen Zhen's words fell, scorching breaths instantly filled the entire Martial Arts Training Hall.
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