Innate Mid-Stage

Inside a rock cave.

"You are absorbing Geng Metal Mother Qi of the same origin. Your Qi Absorption speed has slightly increased."

"You are absorbing Geng Metal Mother Qi of the same origin. Your Qi Absorption speed has slightly increased."

"In the unseen, you have grasped a few tricks to Qi Absorption."

Jiang Yan's breathing became smoother, his furrowed brow relaxing as he looked utterly at ease.

Then, as though he were enjoying himself immensely, he lay down on the ground.

Qi Absorption—whatever felt comfortable went. Who knew who had invented the rule that one had to sit cross-legged, making it all seem so solemn?

"Alright, let me switch the camera and see what Jiang Yan, the top candidate of the first two rounds, is doing right now."

"Uh... this."

As the live stream camera switched, the commentator's voice died instantly. The barrage from tens of millions of viewers went silent as well.

:Bro, is his sleep quality really this good? He doesn't even snore?

:Hey, Brother Jiang, are you getting up to eat?

:Excuse me, is this a crib live stream? My child always fusses in the middle of the night. I desperately need him to sleep like this.

:Wake up, big bro! You're taking the College Entrance Exam!

The viewers were speechless, but the commentators' professional standards were there. Before long, a man and a woman began desperately talking themselves in circles.

"I guess this may be one of Jiang Yan's tactics—rest up and gather his strength first, then make a stunning appearance in the later stages."

"Uh, right. Compared to the other candidates, our student Jiang Yan appears much steadier. Perhaps he has his own considerations."

:Pfft—who understands that fated feeling of commentators forcing out an explanation?

:HAHAHAHA, I'm dying laughing (not actually dead). Everyone else is diligently fighting monsters. Even Shang Xingren and the others wouldn't dare say they'd take zero points early on. But Jiang Yan? He's sleeping during the exam with a perfectly clear conscience.

:Could this guy have realized that he wasn't strong enough, so he found a place like this to hide?

:Don't force the hate upstairs. He should have some strength, but for now he still can't compare to Shang Xingren and the others. We'll have to see how he performs later.

The live stream switched again. They couldn't possibly keep broadcasting one person sleeping; it would make for terrible viewing.

Jiang Yan gradually entered a state of perfection. The Geng Metal Mother Qi of the same origin that he absorbed flowed through every meridian in his body, gathering in his Dantian after completing a Great Cycle, again and again.

Jiang Yan's limbs and bones were washed by the golden same-origin qi, becoming even tougher.

No wonder they say Xiantian is a threshold. The gap between it and the acquired realm is simply enormous.

An Innate Martial Artist had already transcended mere flesh, granting martial artists power beyond their physical bodies.

Jiang Yan was neither hurried nor impatient. He did not join the conflicts outside, instead continuing to strengthen his Geng Metal Mother Qi.

He still slept like a baby. Without any Breathing Technique to assist him, his Qi Absorption speed did not lose out in the slightest to martial artists with high-tier Breathing Techniques. If other martial artists discovered something so contrary to common sense, they would probably dissect Jiang Yan's brain to see what was inside.

Four days later.

The battles outside had reached a white-hot stage.

All candidates began exerting themselves. Those near the top of the rankings no longer hid their strength, and one unfamiliar name after another appeared on the list.

Now, resurrection chances had vanished. As long as your scoreboard was taken, your path through the exam would end there.

The weak began to hide and scrape by, while the strong went all out.

The viewers in Jiang Yan's private candidate live stream changed batch after batch.

Jiang Yan had been sleeping in the Live Stream Room the entire time. Even those who had eagerly anticipated him gradually lost interest and flocked to other live streams.

It was at that moment that Jiang Yan opened his eyes.

System Log
"Congratulations, your realm has broken through to Innate Mid-Stage."

"You have diligently absorbed qi these past few days and summarized a breathing rhythm of your own. Congratulations, you have created your own Breathing Technique."

"You have painstakingly practiced Abyssal Thunder Annihilation Slash. Congratulations, your Abyssal Thunder Annihilation Slash proficiency has reached Subtlety, and you have mastered Startling Thunder."

Jiang Yan's Status Panel received another major update.

Host: Jiang Yan

Talent: Battle Saint Armor (awaiting evolution)

Realm: Innate Mid-Stage

Breathing Technique: "Breathing Technique" (unnamed)

Martial Skills: (Unranked) "Basic Saber Technique" Perfected

(Yellow Grade Low Rank) "Fierce Bull Strength" Perfected

(Yellow Grade High Rank) "Burst Step" Perfected

(Mysterious Grade High Rank) "Nine Consecutive Steps" Perfected

(Heaven Grade High Rank) "Abyssal Thunder Annihilation Slash" Subtlety

Traits: Heaven Rewards Diligence (Innate) Desperate Truth (Blue) Swift (Blue) Wind Rider (Blue) Blade Bearer (Purple) Moment of Truth (Orange) Multiple Casting (Selectable Special) Demon's Scale (Purple) Flower Language Amidst Thickets (Purple) Premonition (White)

Special: Blade Momentum (can break through into Blade Intent)

Geng Metal Mother Qi

The few thousand diehard fans left in the Live Stream Room began to stir.

:He woke up. He finally woke up. I thought he'd sleep until the competition ended.

:Yeah. I stood guard in this live stream for four whole days. Who understands the salvation I felt when he opened his eyes?

:Awaken—the hunting hour has arrived!

:Northern Expedition! Northern Expedition!

:Reckoning!

Jiang Yan rose to his feet and stretched his body. At once, gongs and drums seemed to resound within him, crackling like popping beans.

Boom!

Jiang Yan took one step and landed directly at the cliff's edge.

Not far from Jiang Yan, an Air Wall stood quietly in place. It was probably the so-called "poison zone."

I didn't expect the map to have shrunk this much.

Jiang Yan had deliberately chosen a place near the center, yet the poison zone had still swept over. That meant the remaining candidates had already gone through several battles, and their Scoreboards were fat as pigs.

Jiang Yan licked the corner of his dry lips and leapt into the sky.

Whoosh!

Very quickly, he locked onto a target and dove down like a falling meteor.

Rumble!

Before that candidate could even strike back, Jiang Yan knocked him unconscious with the back of his saber.

He picked up the scoreboard. The number displayed on it was 300.

The next second, the scoreboard in his hand vanished along with the candidate, declaring the end of that candidate's College Entrance Exam.

After four days, gained points were no longer halved, and candidates no longer had resurrection chances.

Jiang Yan looked at his own scoreboard:

302.5

He curled his lip and flew back into the sky, searching for his next target.

One minute later.

Among several people, Jiang Yan locked onto a figure. The corner of his lips rose as he dove straight down.

Ai Ning had fought steadily these past few days, holding four hundred points. Though he had been robbed once midway through by a candidate at second-rank perfection and lost his resurrection chance, his luck afterward had been good. He had not encountered any other strong opponents and had successfully hidden until now.

A smile spread across his face. This score, added to his points from the second round, was already enough to get him into a decent university.

Suddenly, his face stiffened as his gaze met the man high in the sky.

The man blinked at him, then dove down.

"No, don't!"

"I can't fall here! I still want to go one step further!"

Ai Ning retreated in a panic, his legs pumping wildly as he fled backward at top speed.

His former disdainful words: If we meet in the exam, you'll be scattered like dust before you even know it.

Those words had finally become reality.

Only, the protagonist had changed.