"Everyone, you're all planning to take the Martial Examination this year, right?"
Zhang Feng turned to Chen Zheng, Wang Chao, and the others and asked.
"Of course. It took us so much effort to reach the Hidden Energy Realm, and now the Martial Examination is here. How could we let this chance pass us by? We have to give it a try!"
Wang Chao nodded and answered without hesitation.
"Maybe Cao Yang was right that without reaching the Transformation Realm, there's almost no chance of passing the Martial Examination. But taking part is what matters. We can broaden our horizons and gain experience for next time."
Chen Zheng nodded with a smile as well.
"I've heard that this year's Martial Examination will not only be harder than in past years, but more dangerous too. We're all in the Hidden Energy Realm, but I'm afraid our chances are slim, and we might even..."
"We're martial artists. How can we worry about every little thing, cower, and fear death? At other times, perhaps, but we absolutely can't miss the Martial Examination!"
"Exactly! Even if we die in the Martial Examination, we'll have no regrets!"
Everyone chimed in, and nearly all of them were resolved to take part in this year's Martial Examination.
After all, for ordinary people like them, who came from humble backgrounds, the Martial Examination was already a relatively fair, accessible, and fast path to advancement.
Once they passed, they would earn the title of Martial Scholar, cross the class divide, and enjoy all kinds of privileges. They would also have a chance to enter official service and receive a direct entry slot at the Prefecture Martial Academy.
Lu Yuan was naturally determined to pass the Martial Examination too.
If necessary, he would even do his utmost to claim the title of Martial Champion.
With the prospect of the Martial Examination to spur them on, everyone seemed to train even harder.
Lu Yuan, however, was unaffected. After finishing the free meat, he took home his daily serving of Qi-Replenishing Soup and Qi-Supplement Pill.
Over the next two days, Lu Yuan waited for the Five Animals Fist to break its limits while training the Blazing Sun Sword Technique with all his might.
He had thought the Five Animals Fist would break its limits in two days at most.
Unexpectedly, it seemed he would have to wait one more night.
Besides, although training the Five Animals Fist could still increase the qi and blood in his body, the gains were getting smaller and smaller. So Lu Yuan simply stopped for now, devoting all his time and energy to the Blazing Sun Sword Technique.
As a result, his progress with the Blazing Sun Sword Technique sped up considerably.
Under the night sky, after Lu Yuan had completed a full set of the Blazing Sun Sword Technique,
[Blazing Sun Sword Technique: Great Mastery (789/50000)]
Lu Yuan lowered his sword and stood still, a glint flashing briefly in his eyes. At last, the Blazing Sun Sword Technique had reached Great Mastery.
He immediately swung his sword.
"Shhk!"
The next moment, a foot-long streak of crimson light burst from the tip. It carved a deep gash into the ground, and the cut surface was charred black, as though it had been scorched.
"The sword light from the Blazing Sun Sword Technique seems not only sharper than the blade aura from the Wind-Breaking Blade Technique, but hot as well."
Lu Yuan's eyes shone with surprise.
The Blazing Sun Sword Technique truly lived up to its reputation as a Mystic Grade technique. It could produce sword light once mastered, and that sword light was far more destructive. He reckoned that even a true Grade-Ranked martial artist would struggle to withstand it.
Perhaps even at the Blazing Sun Martial Hall, there were only a handful who could master the Blazing Sun Sword Technique.
But that wasn't Lu Yuan's goal.
His true aim was to cultivate the Blazing Sun Sword Technique to Perfection and successfully condense the more powerful Blazing Sun Sword Qi.
By then, even as a martial artist in the Transformation Realm, he might be able to defeat a Grade-Ranked martial artist against the odds.
Although it took fifty thousand proficiency points to advance the Blazing Sun Sword Technique from Great Mastery to Perfection, Lu Yuan could now gain more than eight hundred points with each practice session. And the more he trained, the more proficiency he gained each time.
He reckoned it would take no more than ten days or so to reach Perfection.
[Five Animals Fist: Perfection (Limit Break: 97%)]
Lu Yuan glanced once more at the Five Animals Fist's limit-break progress, then went straight to bed.
He could only hope for good news when he woke up tomorrow.
The next day, as soon as Lu Yuan opened his eyes, he eagerly checked the Ancient Scroll.
[Five Elements Vajra Body, Skin Refining Chapter: Not Started (1/1000)]
The entry for the Five Animals Fist on the Ancient Scroll had completely changed.
Not only had the technique changed from the Five Animals Fist to the Five Elements Vajra Body's Skin Refining Chapter, but a new proficiency counter had appeared beside it as well.
Clearly, when the Five Animals Fist broke its limits, it had fused the essence of the first three chapters of the Vajra Technique into a brand-new technique: the Five Elements Vajra Body.
Perhaps because the Vajra Technique only had three chapters to begin with, the Five Elements Vajra Body also had three for now: the Skin Refining Chapter, the Flesh Refining Chapter, and the Bone Forging Chapter.
Lu Yuan still couldn't determine the grade of the Five Elements Vajra Body, but the fact that it took a thousand proficiency points just to begin cultivating the Skin Refining Chapter—twice as many as the Blazing Sun Sword Technique—was enough to show that it was at least Mystic Grade.
"So that's what becoming a Grade-Ranked martial artist means. After opening the dantian, you condense qi and blood into something even more powerful: inner force. Then you use that inner force to temper and cleanse your body, continually breaking through its limits!"
With the Five Elements Vajra Body as a guide, Lu Yuan easily grasped the path of a Grade-Ranked martial artist.
Simply put, tempering the body with qi and blood three times could only raise a martial artist's physical limits to the Transformation Realm.
To continue breaking through the body's limits, they needed a higher level of energy.
That energy was inner force, condensed by repeatedly compressing the qi and blood within the dantian.
Only by tempering and cleansing the body with inner force could a martial artist continue to break through their physical limits and reach a higher level.
For any martial artist, the body was fundamental, the true foundation on the path to the peak of martial arts.
The process of cultivating martial arts was, in essence, a process of continually breaking through the body's limits.
It proceeded from the outside in, beginning with the skin.
The skin was the body's first line of defense. The tougher it was, the better it could protect the body.
The Skin Refining Chapter of the Five Elements Vajra Body would allow Lu Yuan to forge the toughest skin possible.
To begin cultivating it, however, he first had to open his dantian.
The dantian was indispensable to a Grade-Ranked martial artist and the foundation for continually breaking through the body's limits.
Yet for any martial artist in the Transformation Realm, opening the dantian was even harder than tempering the body with qi and blood three times.
It required an almost terrifying accumulation of qi and blood, and failure was not an option.
If the attempt failed, at best, qi and blood would surge back into the internal organs. At worst, he would lose all his cultivation—or even explode and die. It was an exceedingly perilous process.
That was why, for most martial artists in the Transformation Realm with ordinary constitutions and no resources to support them, this stage was truly a life-or-death trial.
Even a first-rate genius with an exceptional constitution had to make thorough preparations before opening the dantian: a plentiful, robust accumulation of qi and blood, enough Blood-Qi Pills, and even precious medicinal treasures.
Fortunately, Lu Yuan's accumulation of qi and blood had already nearly reached the limit his body could bear. Although he didn't have enough Blood-Qi Pills, he did have something better: a Century-Old Blood Ginseng.
"Time waits for no one. Let's begin!"
Without hesitation, Lu Yuan held a slice of Blood Ginseng in his mouth, then followed the Five Elements Vajra Body's method, driving the qi and blood in his body with all his might as he attempted to open his dantian.
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