Can He Comprehend Extreme Power?

"Forget it, I won't unleash it yet!"

After thinking it over, Lin Yi shook his head.

Although he was confident he could take first place in this Entrance Examination after breaking through to Late Seventh Rank yesterday with his Martial Saint Body, it was better to keep some trump cards hidden if possible before actually winning.

After all, the first round of the exam was merely to secure a spot in the second round.

In this round, whether one ranked first or twentieth, they would all advance to the second round.

If he revealed his trump cards too early now, not only would it be of no benefit, but it would also alert others.

Furthermore, his Martial Cultivation was too low, his physique too weak, and his mastery of Extreme Strength was not high enough, limiting the number of times he could unleash Extreme Strength per day.

If he wasted an opportunity to unleash Extreme Strength just to show off now, it would be truly foolish.

Lin Yi's thoughts raced, while across from him, the thin Martial Arts Teacher adjusted the Bronze Automaton.

Then...

"Clang!"

Following a crisp gong sound, the burly Martial Arts Teacher spoke again, his voice echoing in all directions:

"Everything is ready. Third batch of examinees, the examination begins now!"

"Boom!"

"Hah!"

"Little automaton, take this spear!"

As the burly man's voice fell, the Martial Arts Academy disciples unleashed their attacks, each using their unique skills.

Seeing this, Lin Yi also made his move under the watchful eyes of the teachers and fellow students, who were either nervous, sneering, or curious. His long saber moved instantly, transforming into a crescent moon that struck the Bronze Automaton.

"Clang!"

A sound of metal striking metal echoed across the Martial Arts Arena. The long saber and long staff collided.

In an instant, the long saber in Lin Yi's hand seemed to gain sentience. With a slight tremor, it deflected most of the force.

Then, Lin Yi stood firm on the ground, unmoved.

On the contrary, the Bronze Automaton, wielding the long staff, was thrown back by the recoil. It staggered and retreated three steps before finally stopping.

"What! Lin Yi, he... he repelled the Bronze Automaton, which is at Sixth Rank Early Stage."

The disciples in the Martial Arts Arena exclaimed in unison.

"This kid!"

Beside him, the thin Martial Arts Teacher's eyes widened in disbelief.

"This Lin Yi, his strength has indeed grown again!"

Wang Kai's face showed a hint of helplessness, yet it was as expected.

"His mastery of this saber art, I estimate he's already far beyond the Perfection stage of the Bright Moon Saber Art!"

"And his Martial Cultivation has also improved so much? He looks like he's already at Late Seventh Rank?"

"Compared to half a month ago, his progress is simply too great. Is Aperture Opening truly that powerful?"

Thinking this, Wang Kai couldn't help but feel a bit envious.

On the surrounding viewing stands, hearing the exclamations of these disciples, the dignitaries, wealthy merchants, and businessmen were all shocked.

Some influential families with resources were even starting to inquire about Lin Yi's background, seeing if they could recruit him.

However, at this moment, on the viewing platform, an elder dressed in green, surrounded by many Martial Arts Academy higher-ups, was not as shocked or happy as the others. Instead, he frowned slightly and asked the Vice Principal Li You beside him:

"Senior Brother, is this the Lin Yi you told me about before? Why is he a bit different from what you described?"

"Didn't you say that although his comprehension was good, his poor background caused his Martial Cultivation to remain stuck at Ninth Grade? And that his Martial Skill only broke through to Perfection in the Bright Moon Saber Art two months ago when you guided him?"

"But looking at him now, his strength is far greater than described. Has he truly achieved Aperture Opening, or..."

At this point, the Green-robed Elder paused slightly, then his expression suddenly became solemn, and he slowly spoke:

"Or is it another Long Tianhong?"

"Long Tianhong, this..."

Upon hearing these three words, Li You's face, which had always held a faint smile, instantly changed.

Long Tianhong was practically a taboo within the Tianshan Sect.

This person hailed from the Qingyang Prefecture, one of the eight prefectures under the Tianshan Sect's jurisdiction. He was a genius from a renowned first-rate prominent family in Qingyang Prefecture over eighty years ago, the Long Family.

Legend had it that in his childhood, he was dull-witted and his martial talent was extremely poor, even worse than ordinary children, let alone a genius.

But after achieving Aperture Opening and awakening at the age of eighteen, he soared to the heavens!

Ninth Grade in half a month, Eighth Grade in a month, Great Accomplishment Extreme Strength in two months, Seventh Rank with Minor Accomplishment Extreme Strength in three months.

After another two months, Long Tianhong had even broken through the Martial Arts Fifth Rank and the realm beyond Perfection Extreme Strength.

This news immediately shook the entire Tianshan Sect, with most of the sect's high-ranking officials concluding that Long Tianhong had the potential to break through to the Above First Rank.

Subsequently, the Tianshan Sect not only immediately dispatched a First Rank expert to personally escort him to Qingyang Prefecture, but also gave him preferential treatment all the way after he officially joined the sect. Various resources, cultivation techniques, martial arts, and Martial Arts Teachers were basically configured with the best options, with the sole intention of cultivating him into another Above First Rank existence in the Tianshan Sect.

However, since joining the sect, Long Tianhong's initial performance was acceptable, and his progress could barely be considered worthy of his identity as a peerless genius. But after reaching the Peak Fifth Rank, his breakthrough speed instantly slowed down.

His progress rate was no longer comparable to before, and he even fell behind some other powerful geniuses within the Tianshan Sect.

In the end, despite expending countless resources, Long Tianhong only became a Peak Second Rank martial artist, failing to even achieve First Rank, let alone Above First Rank.

Seeing this, the Tianshan Sect was both angry and helpless. However, as things had come to this, they could only reluctantly admit that they had misjudged him and did not take any action against Long Tianhong.

More than ten years later, an anonymous letter was suddenly sent to the Tianshan Sect. The letter detailed that Long Tianhong had extraordinary talent since childhood, and had already reached the Perfection Extreme Strength and Peak Fifth Rank martial arts realm before awakening his Aperture Opening.

All the subsequent terrifying progress was a deception to trick the Tianshan Sect into providing resources and protection for the Long Family.

The detailed description of the various deceptions was vivid and the evidence was conclusive.

Thus, the Tianshan Sect was immediately enraged. The Sect Master personally ordered Long Tianhong to be executed by slow slicing, and the entire Long Family was uprooted, with all nine generations of relatives exterminated!

But even so, the resources wasted by the Tianshan Sect on Long Tianhong could never be recovered.

More importantly, after this incident, the Tianshan Sect completely became a laughingstock among the major powers of the Nine Provinces, and it is still circulated among various major forces to this day as a cautionary tale.

Therefore, after Long Tianhong, major powers generally only consider what talent you displayed at what age when recruiting geniuses.

As for the speed of progress, no matter how fast you are, it's useless!

This can be considered a case of someone else doing the hard work, and others reaping the benefits.

And the name Long Tianhong has since become a complete disgrace to the Tianshan Sect!

Once Lin Yi is labeled as Long Tianhong, he will likely have no place in the Tianshan Sect.

"This, should not be!"

After thinking carefully for a moment, Li You shook his head and replied:

"The reason Long Tianhong was able to deceive everyone in the Tianshan Sect into believing he was a peerless genius back then was because he had the assistance of a Second Rank Ancestor from the Long Family who was on the verge of death."

"Moreover, that ancestor was himself about to die, and his family had no successor. He feared that his family would be destroyed by enemies after his death, so he took a desperate gamble."

"As for Lin Yi, he comes from a poor background. His family has no enemies, and the strongest martial artist in his family's history is not even as strong as he is now. His father is merely a Peak Eighth Rank martial artist in a mere county town."

"With such strength, wealth, and connections, how could he replicate Long Tianhong's scheme?"

"In my opinion, Lin Yi should have achieved Aperture Opening. After all, although Aperture Opening is rare, it has occasionally appeared throughout the thousand-year history of our Guangling Prefecture City."

"Moreover, Lin Yi's current performance is only average among the Aperture Opening martial artists in our prefecture's history, let alone compared to those in the Nine Provinces' history. This would not attract the attention of the Tianshan Sect at all; at most, it would only make us pay attention to him."

"And our Guangling Academy, having failed to cultivate a genius who could be admitted into the Tianshan Sect for a full seven years, was already planning to invest a great deal in nurturing disciples like Lin Yi. What's wrong with valuing him a bit? At most, it'll cost us ten to twenty thousand taels of silver!"

"As long as these ten to twenty thousand taels can help him comprehend Extreme Strength and break through to the sixth rank before the Tianshan Sect's disciple recruitment next year, allowing him to successfully enter the Tianshan Sect, then this money will be well spent!"

"Exactly! Senior Brother is right!"

Upon hearing this, the Green-robed Elder also nodded and said:

"Whether he's faking it or not, as long as this Lin Yi can display his talent and become the top disciple among this batch, then I'm willing to spend money."

"It's been seven years, and it's time for our Guangling Martial Academy to produce a genius admitted into the Tianshan Sect."

"Indeed!"

Li You also spoke softly:

"All of this depends on whether this little fellow can comprehend Extreme Strength within a year."