A Wager

Jin Yuanbao was stunned by his words and hurriedly explained, "Brother Chen, I was telling you to be careful. That was a peak Fierce Beast, with strength comparable to the Body Tempering Realm."

"Then you worried for nothing."

Lin Chen pointed at the Fierce Beast. "It's no match for me."

Before his words had even faded, he had already charged out.

All they heard was the Great Tiger let out a mournful cry before falling silent.

Jin Yuanbao rubbed his eyes, but Lin Chen was nowhere to be seen.

"What a monster. I'd better stick close to Brother Chen. Once the assessment is over, I'll go look into that Storybook."

Muttering to himself, Jin Yuanbao followed closely behind Lin Chen and left the Trial Ground.

"Elder Liu, two hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

Lin Chen held out his hand, demanding his Spirit Stone reward.

Black lines formed across Elder Liu's forehead.

"You little money-grubber, is there nothing in your eyes but Spirit Stones?"

Though Elder Liu said so, he was deeply shocked inside.

From the moment Lin Chen entered the Trial Ground to the moment he came out, not even a quarter of an hour had passed.

They had moved from the entrance to the exit, and before their backsides had even warmed their seats, the boy had come out.

This had shattered the assessment record that had stood throughout history.

He still remembered that the previous record-holder had been the Sect Leader's Senior Disciple, who had taken half an hour.

Compared with Lin Chen's record, that was not worth mentioning at all.

Just how had this kid done it?

He was simply an anomaly.

"Wow!"

At that moment, the elders behind them cried out in astonishment.

Elder Liu turned around and saw them using a Formation to inspect footage from inside the Trial Ground.

Whenever they reached an exciting moment, they burst into waves of exclamations.

Some elders even stood there gesturing wildly, imitating Lin Chen's fighting movements.

"This kid's body is practically a cheat device. He charged through the entire way."

"Yeah. The Fierce Beasts inside couldn't withstand even a single punch from him. No wonder he climbed the Ninety Thousand Steps."

"Look at that final punch of his—it's glowing. That isn't spiritual power. It's... Extreme Dao Force!"

What?

Extreme Dao!

What an ancient name.

They had not heard those two words for a very long time.

They had even forgotten that such a realm existed.

"Impossible. Your eyes must be playing tricks on you. The Extreme Path Method was lost long ago. How could Lin Chen possibly have learned it?"

"Right, right, right. That's impossible. Lin Chen is only at the Qi Condensation First Layer. That glow must have been caused by an eruption of spiritual power."

"Lin Chen, you're very impressive."

Hearing the elders talk themselves around it, Lin Chen finally relaxed.

He explained, "Elders, after my Five Elements Root was tested, I began cultivating the Body Forging Art. In less than a year, I achieved some minor results. It's nothing worth mentioning."

Upon hearing this, all the elders could not help wanting to laugh.

Elder Liu commented loudly, "Common Body Forging Arts are incomplete to begin with. You cultivated for less than a year and achieved results like this?"

"Elder Liu, I already told you before. My talent is poor, but my comprehension is high."

Lin Chen emphasized once more, "During my cultivation, I corrected many mistakes and flaws. I won't claim it surpasses the complete version of the Body Forging Art, but it is at least no worse."

Lin Chen's words struck the elders like lightning.

With their cultivation and age, even they were unable to repair incomplete cultivation methods and Dao arts.

Yet Lin Chen, at such a young age, could do it.

If this was true, it was enough to prove that Lin Chen's comprehension was utterly heaven-defying.

Even with a Five Elements Root, he could still be classified among geniuses.

If he could help Green Mountain Sect restore ancient fragmented scrolls... even if he restored only one in his lifetime, it would be an immense blessing for Green Mountain Sect.

At that thought, the elders' breathing quickened.

Forget ancient fragmented scrolls—even if the incomplete techniques and broken arts the sect had acquired from various secret realms could be restored, it would be a tremendous achievement.

Lin Chen had no idea the elders would make such wild connections.

The reason he said all that was to raise his own value.

Of course, it was not exactly a lie. After all, with the system and a supply of Spirit Stones, he could cultivate rapidly.

More gifted than geniuses themselves.

"Lin Chen, you are already at the Qi Condensation First Layer. This is Flame Primer. Cultivate it here."

After glancing at the footage from the Trial Ground, Elder Liu continued.

"They will need at least another hour to come out. If you can cultivate Crimson Flame, it will count as entry-level mastery."

"Elder Liu, are you serious? He has not cultivated Green Mountain Sect's foundational techniques. How could he understand Flame Primer, much less cultivate flames?"

An elder beside him immediately objected. "Besides, he has not officially entered the sect yet. It is inappropriate for you to teach him an Alchemy Hall cultivation method."

"Yes, Elder Liu, this responsibility..."

"It's fine." Elder Liu waved a broad hand. "I'll bear all responsibility."

As he spoke, he sent a copy of Flame Primer floating before Lin Chen.

The other elders said no more.

In the cultivation world, the ranks of cultivation methods and Dao arts were clearly defined.

Yellow, Spirit, Profound, Earth, Heaven...

Each rank was further divided into beginner, intermediate, advanced, and peak grades.

Flame Primer was not an entry-level cultivation method. It was a high-grade Spirit-tier cultivation method.

Forget Lin Chen—even disciples who had been in the sect for three years might not be able to learn it.

And Elder Liu had said he needed to cultivate flames within one hour.

How was this a test? It was clearly a lesson meant to put Lin Chen in his place.

"However..."

Elder Liu's expression suddenly darkened. "If you fail to cultivate it, don't ever use comprehension as an excuse again!"

There's actually something this good?

Lin Chen's eyes lit up. He accepted Flame Primer with both hands, and a system notification rang out in his mind.

[Ding! Detected that the host has obtained the high-grade Profound-tier cultivation method Flame Primer. Cultivate it?]

"Cultivate!"

[Ding! Deducting 38 Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Exchanging for 38 years of cultivation. Flame Primer has reached entry-level mastery.]

An unprecedented flood of memories surged into his mind.

Compared to the Body Forging Art he had cultivated before, these memories were far more vast and profound.

They involved cultivation in many aspects: the principles, core, essence, use, and control of flames.

According to these memories, one needed to condense at least nine Qi Meridians—in other words, be a cultivator at the Qi Condensation Ninth Layer—to cultivate this method.

Lin Chen had only just condensed a single Qi Meridian and reached the Qi Condensation First Layer.

By all reason, he should have been completely unable to cultivate it.

But because of the system, he had forcibly succeeded.

However, with only one Qi Meridian, he could only unleash the first layer of the cultivation method.

That was the Crimson Flame Elder Liu had mentioned.

No wonder Lin Chen was angry. If he had reached the Qi Condensation Ninth Layer, he definitely would not have needed to spend so many Spirit Stones. Elder Liu was despicable, cheating him out of his Spirit Stones.

Though Lin Chen had successfully cultivated it, he continued leafing through Flame Primer.

After reading it from beginning to end, he raised his head and looked at Elder Liu.

"Elder Liu, cultivating like this is boring. How about we make a wager?"

The moment they heard the word wager, every elder became interested and gathered around.

"How shall we wager?" Elder Liu's eyes gleamed, clearly revealing him to be an expert.

Lin Chen swallowed. Is this even a proper sect?

The Sect Leader loved Storybooks.

The Supreme Elder liked kicking people.

The Inner Sect Elders loved gossip.

And these elders in front of him actually loved gambling?

But with the arrow on the string, he had no choice but to fire.

Lin Chen showed no fear. "Don't you still owe me a reward of two hundred Spirit Stones? Let's wager that. If I condense Crimson Flame within half an hour, you give me double. If I fail, the reward belongs to you."

"Good lad, you've got guts!" One elder in a purple robe immediately stepped forward. "I'll guarantee this wager. It's on."

As soon as he finished speaking, another elder wiped his ring and, with a bang, pulled out a table. Then he shouted, "Place your bets! Lin Chen pays ten to one, Elder Liu pays one to one!"

The other elders swarmed around the table and slammed down Spirit Stones with bang after bang.

"I'm in!"

At that moment, Elder Liu took out a bag of Spirit Stones. "Let's see how you manage to reach entry-level mastery within half an hour."

How could he not know the cultivation requirements of Flame Primer?

The reason he had taken it out was to teach Lin Chen a lesson and make him curb his habit of boasting.

Now, not only could he teach him a lesson, he could also reap an extra reward. How could Elder Liu possibly let such an opportunity slip by?