"Phew~"
Only after Jiang Ping stepped down from the stage did Chen An dare to raise his head and subconsciously let out a long sigh of relief. The grudges between the two sides could be resolved amicably; they were not mortal enemies, and the four thousand gold pieces were not something he could not afford to pay.
With Jiang Ping's talent, he is very likely to reach the Fourth Grade rank. He is just a small part of the scenery in the process of his growth, like a fleeting flower.
Group B's rest area.
As soon as Jiang Ping, who had defeated Chen An, sat down, he felt the dazzling light around him. He was surrounded by many geniuses, and all sorts of flattering words kept ringing in his ears.
Yes, according to these people, in thirty years, he will be the next New Saint of the Great Li.
The new Pillar of Great Li!
Until someone asked Jiang Ping to step aside.
"Greetings, senior."
Jiang Ping looked at the Elegant Middle-aged Man in front of him and immediately clasped his hands in greeting.
"My surname is Meng, my given name is Yun, and I am a teacher at the Martial Academy."
Meng Yun sized up the young man before introducing himself.
"Teacher Meng," Jiang Ping addressed him respectfully.
Instructor Meng smiled. "Young man, you have a sweet tongue. Not bad, not bad."
Then he said, "Your fight with Chen An was probably the limit of your strength. In the next few sparring matches, there's no need to compete; you can just admit defeat."
Meng Yun said that Jiang Ping started too late and was not as strong as the top few in terms of realm and strength, so he didn't need to strive for the top, and the ranking was not important.
Given their talent, they can receive excellent training at the Martial Academy and will definitely surpass them in the future.
"I understand," Jiang Ping replied.
He has already shown his "full strength," so it's definitely impossible for him to beat the Top Five.
Since the goal has been achieved—displaying one's talents and forcing Chen An to submit—there's no need to put on any more show.
"Are you currently refining your second organ?" Meng Yun asked.
"Yes." Jiang Ping nodded directly.
Then he saw the Martial Academy teacher take out a Glazed Bottle from his pocket, which contained a scarlet liquid.
"Rare Blood."
As soon as Meng Yun opened his mouth, he noticed the excitement in the young man's eyes and couldn't help but smile.
Despite their humble origins, they still yearned for such rare resources.
Jiang Ping certainly longed for it.
He is already on the path to refining the fifth organ. If he has the help of Rare Blood, he should be able to significantly shorten the time required to Organ Refining.
Subsequently, Instructor Meng directly gifted the Rare Blood to Jiang Ping.
The latter did not rush to accept it, politely declining, "Teacher Meng, this is too precious."
Meng Yun shook his head and smiled, "It's not valuable. For a genius like you, the academy will guarantee you enough Rare Blood before you reach the Fifth Rank."
"However, it will take some time before you enter the Martial Academy, but your Martial Dao cannot be delayed any longer. We should provide you with resources and support in advance."
"In that case, I'll accept it." Jiang Ping carefully tucked the Glazed Bottle into his robes.
With this blood, perhaps I can Fifth Rank even sooner.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ping remembered something and couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Meng, after entering the Martial Academy, is the Fifth Rank skill we cultivate the Great Freedom Furnace Sutra?"
"You have a very forward-thinking mindset," Meng Yun nodded, saying, "Once you enter the Martial Academy, you should naturally cultivate the best techniques to make your Martial Dao smoother."
The Great Freedom Furnace Sutra is a unique skill for those at the Fifth Rank who can stabilize their inner heaven and condense their Martial Dao Furnace.
It's not about how strong or powerful you become after practicing, but about its stability.
In fact, Ding Neitian's Martial Dao doctrines are not limited to this one; there are many other powerful classics as well.
Some can accelerate cultivation, while others can make one's strength several times greater.
Looking at all the martial arts scriptures in the world, only the Great Freedom Furnace Sutra a more solid foundation for Martial Dao and a higher success rate in breaking through realms. It has almost become the mainstream cultivation method pursued by experts Fifth Rank.
"You don't need to worry about this," Meng Yun continued, mentioning that the technique was in the Martial Academy's Scripture Pavilion, and anyone who became a student of the Martial Academy could access it without any barriers.
Of course, this is a special cultivation method provided by the Great Li for training talents, and it is strictly forbidden to spread outside. Ordinary families would have to pay a considerable price to obtain it.
"That's good." Jiang Ping nodded.
Shortly after parting ways with his academy teacher Meng Yun, Jiang Ping returned to the arena for his fourth battle.
His opponent was an acquaintance, Wei Rou, a genius who also came from Yang City.
The somewhat spirited woman looked at the young man with an indescribable complexity in her eyes.
She had previously thought that the two were not on the same level and that it would be difficult for them to have any interaction.
In retrospect, that could be said, except that it was the other person who soared to the top, while she remained at the bottom.
"I concede." Wei Rou chose to give up directly. She once said that she would not have the courage to fight Chen An, let alone make Chen An bow down and submit.
"Thank you for your kind offer."
Jiang Ping clasped his hands in a fist salute, seemingly unaffected by Wei Rou's drunken words, and wore a smile on his face.
But Wei Rou knew that the two sides could no longer have any contact.
The final match of the second round.
Jiang Ping's opponent is Aristocratic Genius, and also an acquaintance, Jin Tao, the younger brother of Jin Ze.
The man's eyes no longer held their former disdain; instead, they held a hint of respect, or perhaps even fear. He clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Jin, concede defeat."
With this, Jiang Ping advanced to the third round with a record of three wins and two losses, where he will compete for a place in the top three.
However, many people lost interest.
The Top Five, at the very least, are at the fifth rank of the Half-Step Fifth Rank Martial Dao realm. They have already cultivated the Great Freedom Furnace Sutra, condensed their Martial Dao Furnace, and begun to Gathering Qi.
The power displayed at this level is at least comparable to that of Half-Step Artistic Conception; how could anyone later possibly rival it?
Therefore, in the final round, only the Top Five were competing, while Jiang Ping and the others became spectators.
The following day at noon.
With Cao Qingzhi, the Number One on the Ranking, decisively defeating Bai Ji to claim first place, the rather lively Martial Examination in Changping Prefecture came to a close.
However, after defeating his opponent, the Number One on the Ranking player did not immediately leave the stage. Instead, he turned around and glanced at the rest area.
Everyone followed his gaze and immediately understood.
In this Martial Examination, regardless of who wins first or second place, there is one person who is indispensable.
In fact, when they recall this Martial Examination in the future, they probably won't think of Cao Qingzhi won first place, first.
Instead, it was the even more dazzling young man, Jiang Ping.
Looking at this handsome young man, some people were happy, some were envious, and some were annoyed.
Who would have thought that a Prodigy would emerge in a small county town, a genius with innate talent and comprehension approaching that of Martial Bone Talent?
The Rank Three embodies the fourth emotion: intense unease.
"I may have to move to another province."
In the rest area, Mo Zicheng suddenly whispered.
"Oh?" Jin Ze raised an eyebrow and said, "In the Black River Provincial Academy, there are many acquaintances, so you can thrive and grow faster."
The top three from each prefecture can compete for the Martial Scholar examination; those who fail can choose Martial Academy in another province, and are not limited to their own province.
Those with exceptional talent, like Cao Qingzhi, could choose Martial Academy in stronger provinces, even if they didn't enter the National Academy, as these academies offer more resources and opportunities.
As for the less talented ones, if they go to a stronger Martial Academy, they might only get the scraps.
Therefore, many talented individuals who fail to become Martial Scholar will choose to go to the provincial academy where they have many acquaintances and resources.
Mo Zicheng, Rank Three, glanced at the young man in the Group B rest area and whispered, "When I sparred with this person, he showed Killing intent. I'm afraid that if I go to the Black River Martial Academy, he will target me."