The exchange between the two martial arts schools had drawn many wealthy families from Qingshan Town. Guande Martial Arts School's impressive results had pleased them greatly, proving that they had made the right choice in sending their sons and daughters there to learn martial arts.
The wealthy families from other large towns regretted their choices bitterly. They hadn't known Guande Martial Arts School was so strong! One after another, they had their children withdraw from the local schools and transfer to Guande Martial Arts School.
This had made business at Guande Martial Arts School even better.
Afterward, Jin Guangqing had even publicly declared that the disciples of Donglai Martial Arts School were no match for him.
He had truly embodied the young and arrogant!
Jin Guangqing's strength had also made the many disciples at the school realize that the geniuses from these martial arts schools were all formidable characters who weren't to be trifled with.
Even Xie Baolin was far stronger than ordinary Martial Artists at the same level.
"Su Mo, you have no idea. Baolin really stole the show at the martial arts exchange with Donglai Martial Arts School. He might not have been as terrifying as Jin Guangqing, but he still soundly defeated his opponent and drew plenty of attention."
After the martial arts exchange, Ye Zongsheng and Sha Pengxiao had found Su Mo for a chat. Ye Zongsheng said enviously, "Baolin made a name for himself in a single battle, and I heard that one of the senior female disciples in the school's upper ranks has decided to reward him with the Thunderous Fist martial art, so he can keep up the good work."
"You should know that Thunderous Fist is the prerequisite martial art for the body-tempering Cultivation Technique, Thunderous Body Refining Fist!"
As Ye Zongsheng spoke, his eyes shone with undisguised envy. If only he'd known Donglai Martial Arts School was so weak—he should've entered the match too.
However, the senior disciples in the school's upper ranks hadn't let him or Sha Pengxiao compete. If they had, wouldn't they have had a chance to earn the Thunderous Fist martial art too?
Thunderous Fist was extremely precious. It was the prerequisite martial art for one of Guande Martial Arts School's three most powerful body-tempering Cultivation Techniques, Thunderous Body Refining Fist. Once mastered, it made its practitioner utterly formidable.
Put simply, the school's upper ranks clearly valued Xie Baolin so highly because they intended to pass Thunderous Body Refining Fist on to him later.
"Baolin did well this time. The school's upper ranks will certainly reward him."
Su Mo spoke calmly. He'd watched Xie Baolin's performance in person, and it had indeed been impressive. Baolin had fought with effortless ease. Still, the school's upper ranks had certainly been willing to spend big, giving him Thunderous Fist as the reward for the exchange.
Normally, disciples had to reach the peak of the late Body Tempering Realm before turning nineteen to qualify to practice Thunderous Body Refining Fist. Now, however, they were already letting Xie Baolin train in its prerequisite martial art.
It was only the prerequisite martial art, Thunderous Fist, but once Xie Baolin mastered it, the school's upper ranks would certainly let him practice Thunderous Body Refining Fist.
That was the kind of treatment the school gave its geniuses. Even though Xie Baolin's performance hadn't been as dazzling as Jin Guangqing's, the school was still investing heavily in him.
Over the next while, Su Mo continued training, refusing to let outside matters distract him.
"At most twenty days, and I'll break through to the late Body Tempering Realm."
Under the night sky, the practice yard was empty. Only Su Mo remained, training with all his might. His powerful body struck a sturdy stone lock weighing over a hundred pounds, making it shudder again and again. Countless cracks had appeared across its surface.
It was a sign that his physical strength had reached an exceedingly fearsome level.
The school had specially made these stone locks, each weighing over a hundred pounds. Even a Martial Artist at the peak of the late Body Tempering Realm couldn't easily damage or break one. Yet Su Mo could shatter them with nothing but his physical strength.
Su Mo punched the enormous stone lock again. It shuddered, and the force reverberating inside it nearly blew it apart.
But it was the middle of the night, and Su Mo didn't want to make too much noise and disturb anyone's rest. So at the last moment, he pulled back some of his strength, preventing the stone lock from bursting apart on the spot.
Afterward, Su Mo left the practice yard in the front courtyard.
Not long after Su Mo had left, a figure entered the practice yard.
The figure paid no attention to Su Mo's departing silhouette. Su Mo was only at the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm, which, in his eyes, was nothing special.
The newcomer was a young man, no more than seventeen. He was tall and broad, clad in a black martial robe, with a stern face and an impressive presence.
His name was Jin Guangqing.
He was the martial arts school genius who had dazzled everyone at the exchange with Donglai Martial Arts School.
But Jin Guangqing looked rather troubled just then, as though he'd just fought a fierce battle.
"Zheng Mengyang and I are both considered geniuses at the school. I thought that after the exchange, even if I couldn't match Zhong Wanyu, Qi Yaxue, or Qin Shuqin, at least I'd be able to hold a clear advantage over Zheng Mengyang. But I never expected our spar just now to end in a draw."
Jin Guangqing's expression was grave as he muttered, "It was a draw, but I could clearly tell Zheng Mengyang wasn't taking it seriously. Are they really that strong?"
Even among geniuses, there were differences in strength.
Though Jin Guangqing had fought nine opponents in a row and nearly crushed Donglai Martial Arts School single-handedly, he wasn't the strongest genius at Guande Martial Arts School. Zhong Wanyu, Qin Shuqin, and Qi Yaxue were all stronger than him.
Even Zheng Mengyang, whom he'd looked down on, was stronger than he was.
Jin Guangqing found that hard to accept. That evening, he'd sparred with Zheng Mengyang, and the result had been a draw.
But Jin Guangqing knew that Zheng Mengyang hadn't fought seriously. If he'd used his full strength, Jin Guangqing would probably have lost.
So he'd come to the practice yard in the school's front courtyard in the middle of the night, hoping to squeeze in some extra training.
His spar with Zheng Mengyang had left him feeling immense pressure.
Then Jin Guangqing walked over to an enormous stone lock.
He was about to train.
But the stone lock in front of him suddenly made him freeze.
These stone locks weighed over a hundred pounds. Cast from a blend of special materials and stone, they were unique training equipment used by the school.
Ordinary Martial Artists in the late Body Tempering Realm couldn't break these stone locks. At most, they could leave a few cracks on the surface—an impressive feat in itself.
Only experts at the Meridian Opening Realm could shatter these specially made stone locks, using their incomparably powerful inner energy.
But to Jin Guangqing's surprise, several cracks had appeared on the stone lock's surface. Some were as thick as a finger and a half, which left him astonished.
The person who'd just left seemed to have been training with this stone lock.
"That person's pretty strong. He actually managed to leave marks on the stone lock."
Jin Guangqing was surprised.
Then he went to one side, intending to find an undamaged stone lock for his training.
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