If You're Bad, Practice More

Dong, dong!

In the early morning, a melodious, winding bell rang out, as though proclaiming the awakening of all things.

"The assessment period is already more than halfway over, yet I no longer have the courage to complete the missions."

Quite a few people had gathered in the square, and someone sighed.

"Yeah. A few days ago, another batch of people was eliminated and sent home. I heard quite a few of them were geniuses with Azure Cauldron Dao Foundations."

"Even Azure Cauldron disciples are being eliminated. Shangqing Mountain is really ruthless. Do they not even need these geniuses?"

"What's there to pity? Shangqing Mountain is the number one immortal sect in the Southern Territory. The thing they lack least is geniuses!"

"Look, the Golden Ranking has been updated!"

At that moment, someone pointed at the Golden Ranking and hurriedly spoke.

It instantly drew everyone's attention.

"Now that half the time has passed, people should be making the rankings one after another, right?" Many people looked forward to it.

Li Huai'an had monopolized the Golden Ranking alone for over two months, looking down upon everyone else. It was time for a change.

Sure enough.

Beneath Li Huai'an, one golden name after another emerged.

"Ling Qinghe, two Grade As!" Many people exclaimed as they looked at the second-ranked person on the Golden Ranking.

This woman was also quite famous at the outpost. She was the most outstanding disciple of this cohort following the path of alchemy.

Then, one familiar genius name after another appeared.

"Xu Shan?" When the seventeenth place appeared, many people revealed strange expressions.

"I'm afraid he's the only disciple among them with an Azure Cauldron Dao Foundation," someone said.

Xu Shan had attracted quite a bit of attention during the previous assessment, so many people had been watching him and knew of his true talent.

"Indeed. This man is very clever. He earned one of the few all-Grade-A evaluations in the last assessment, and now he has done something astonishing again. Even if he cannot become an overlord of one region in the future, he will certainly achieve great things."

A Violet Cauldron Genius said this sincerely. His talent surpassed Xu Shan's, yet he had not completed even one mission.

"Speaking of which, I heard this man was once ostracized by companions he had been close to, merely because he broke through to the third stage a few days later and was looked down upon for it." Someone remembered the matter and could not help laughing.

"Petty fools with tunnel vision. People like them think that having a little talent means they can look down on this one and disdain that one, when in truth they themselves have accomplished nothing. I seem to have heard of those two people you mentioned. One was called Ping something, and the other Chu something. Why haven't they made the rankings yet?"

The Violet Cauldron Genius snorted disdainfully.

"Indeed, Fellow Daoist speaks reasonably. None of us have even entered Shangqing Mountain yet, so who is truly better than whom? The outcome has not been decided, yet they were already putting on airs, saying this person had fallen behind and that person had fallen behind. In the end, weren't they the ones left behind?"

A group of people hurriedly echoed him.

Not far away, two disciples who had been listening closely to their conversation turned green at these words. They then slunk away in disgrace, terrified of being recognized.

"Still, Bai Jing will probably find it difficult to repeat his previous feat. After all, the gap in talent is right there." Someone glanced at the names on the Golden Ranking and casually remarked.

Bai Jing had previously burst into fame with a single brilliant feat, so naturally, people had dug up his identity.

Mm, certain two people had spread it around.

"Indeed. This round of assessment is extremely difficult. It absolutely cannot be won through tricks. I fear no one will be able to shake Li Huai'an's position anymore!"

Looking at the name at the very top of the Golden Ranking, the Violet Cauldron Genius sighed.

Elsewhere.

Before a thatched cottage in District Eight.

Bai Jing sat cross-legged, the Minor Formless Technique circulating within him as wisps of Morning Glow Spiritual Tide continuously gathered toward him.

At his side lay two brand-new manuals.

After a month of frantically completing missions, he had finally earned enough cultivation resources and exchanged them for the supreme art and array formation he had selected earlier.

Now, he could finally cultivate in peace and prepare for the missions ahead.

A moment later, he opened his eyes.

"Mountain River Arrow!" Bai Jing picked up the copied Mountain River Arrow manual and began reading.

Before long, after reading through the main text of the supreme art once, he had already gained some insight.

Buzz!

Immediately afterward, a bubble shimmering with multicolored light appeared in the Scorched Earth within his mind.

Pop!

With a thought from Bai Jing, the bubble directly landed on the fourth branch.

As the bubble burst into foam and scattered away, lines of text began appearing upon the branch.

Supreme art inscription successful!

Mountain River Arrow (1/100)

"This is the benefit of the Talent Tree. There is no need for extensive practice before directly getting started."

Bai Jing smiled.

He then stood up and began truly cultivating this supreme art.

Bai Jing recalled the contents of the supreme art, lowered his body slightly, and assumed its opening stance.

Buzz!

Then, invisible gusts swept forth as wisps of scarlet blood essence rose from his body.

The dense blood essence gradually condensed, transforming toward a tangible form.

Yet in the end, it only condensed into thick pillars of blood, like viscous bloody water.

It could not transform any further. Bai Jing steeled his heart and shouted softly, "Go!"

In an instant, three pillars of blood transformed into streams of light too swift for the naked eye to catch. They first shot into the sky, then plunged straight down under Bai Jing's control.

Boom!

Accompanied by a violent explosion, the ground was directly pierced through, leaving behind three small holes a foot deep.

Yet Bai Jing was far from satisfied. Looking at the pool of bloody water before him, he shook his head and sighed. "I clearly condensed ten arrows, but three became blood pillars as thick as bowl mouths, consuming too much blood essence, while the other seven simply fell without control."

"If you're bad, practice more!"

He looked toward the Talent Tree: Mountain River Arrow (2/100).

His proficiency had increased by one point, but he still needed much more practice. He would not leave until he had reached perfection.

Bai Jing continued the opening stance as time slowly passed.

It was not until the sun shone directly overhead that he stopped, collapsing to the ground, panting heavily.

Mountain River Arrow (5/100)

Only upon seeing his proficiency rise did Bai Jing feel a trace of consolation.

But just as the manual had said, its demands on blood essence were extremely high. Even the bloody water within his Azure Cauldron had been greatly depleted.

After resting for roughly the time it took to burn an incense stick, he rose again, though he did not continue cultivating the supreme art.

Bai Jing picked up the array formation manual Star Array Basics and began reading it carefully.

Buzz!

Within his sea of consciousness, a radiant bubble gradually formed.

A moment later, the bubble condensed perfectly and landed upon the array formation branch.

Star Array Basics (1/150)

Bai Jing discovered that compared to the supreme art, this relatively inexpensive array formation was far more obscure and profound.

But with the Talent Tree, no matter how profound it was, it was no problem.

He took out the array disk and Array Flags.

That evening, just as Bai Jing was preparing to head out for the Pill Pavilion, he discovered that the neighbor living to his left was carrying two large bundles of belongings and walking outside with a gloomy expression.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, what happened to you?" he could not help asking.

"Brother Bai!" The man turned around. As if he had thought of something, he became despondent and said with a mournful face:

"I was too impatient. I rushed to take that Level One mission and nearly died. Fortunately, an expert from Shangqing Mountain saved me, but I no longer have the qualifications to continue the assessment."

"That is truly regrettable." Bai Jing did not know what else to say after hearing this.

"Oh, right, Brother Bai." The neighbor raised his head and said:

"Unless you have reached a certain level of strength, do not rush into the assessment. Too many people have been chasing quick gains. In barely over ten days, more than three thousand people have already been eliminated."

"Mm, and I am one of them." He smiled miserably.

Bai Jing nodded. In truth, he was steadier than anyone.

Afterward, he watched his neighbor leave in the distance.

"Shangqing Mountain only recruits around three thousand disciples. It seems there is a reason for that. The final stage will weed out many people." On the way to the Pill Pavilion, Bai Jing murmured.