Ninth Rank, Heretical Path

It could be said that in all of Qinghe County, there might be people who do not know who the county magistrate is, but there is basically no one who does not know who Chu Kuang, the master of the Blazing Sun Martial Hall, is.

This is because everyone grew up listening to the exploits of Chu Kuang, especially the young talents present who have achieved success in their martial arts training.

They all view Chu Kuang as an idol, having once vowed to take him as their role model, hoping that after achieving success in martial arts, they could uphold justice and rid the people of harm.

"Master Chu is not only a true ranked expert like Senior Xu Song, but by relying on his two great ultimate techniques, the Blazing Sun Palm and the Blazing Sun Sword Technique, he is able to rival the strength of an ordinary Eighth-Rank Flesh-Refining Realm expert, despite only being in the Ninth-Rank Skin-Refining Realm."

Huang Hui looked at Chu Kuang with an expression of amazement, unable to help but sigh.

"Master Huang, could you tell us about the specific details of becoming a ranked expert?"

Zhang Feng asked Huang Hui, filled with curiosity.

The others immediately turned their gazes toward Huang Hui as well, clearly all very interested in this question.

"The so-called 'entering the ranks' actually requires one to first open up a Dantian within the body. Once you have a Dantian, you can not only contain more blood-qi, but you can also continuously compress and refine that blood-qi, eventually giving birth to internal force."

Huang Hui nodded with a smile and continued, "The birth of internal force is the hallmark of a martial artist entering the ranks. Next, one only needs to use this internal force to polish the skin and membranes all over the body; this is the Ninth-Rank Skin-Refining Realm. Only when the skin and membranes are as tough as iron can one enter the next level."

"However, wanting to make one's skin as tough as iron requires not only day-after-day polishing but also the assistance of vast resources. If you have precious medicinal herbs to help, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort; otherwise, even if you successfully enter the ranks, it will take years or even decades of hard work."

His words left everyone feeling somewhat helpless.

Resources are always the greatest problem on the path of martial arts.

"Master Huang, once the skin is as tough as iron, does that mean one is impervious to blades and swords?"

Wang Chao's eyes brightened as he asked.

"That is indeed the case. A Ninth-Rank martial artist who has achieved iron skin can hardly be harmed by ordinary blades or swords. Only existences such as blade energy, sword energy, or even true divine weapons and treasures can easily injure them."

Huang Hui nodded, then sighed with a strange look in his eyes, "It is a pity that, let alone achieving iron skin, even opening the Dantian and condensing internal force is as difficult as ascending to heaven for an ordinary martial artist. Without excellent natural talent and a sufficient pile of resources, one might not be able to achieve it in their entire lifetime."

Once these words were spoken, the crowd, who had been full of anticipation, all fell silent once again.

They not only lacked superior natural talent but also lacked the resources to pile up. Unless they encountered a great stroke of luck, they would likely have to grind away for many years before they could truly enter the ranks.

"Cao Yang, you don't need to worry. You not only have excellent natural talent, but the Zhou Family will also spare no cost to pile up resources for you. Entering the ranks is a certainty; it is only a matter of time!"

Master Huang looked at Cao Yang and said.

"If I had that Century-Old Blood Ginseng to assist me, I would not only be confident in reaching the Ninth Rank before the Martial Examination, but it wouldn't even be impossible to truly achieve iron skin!"

Cao Yang said in a deep voice, his expression still looking rather unpleasant.

Clearly, he was still brooding over that Century-Old Blood Ginseng.

"Cao Yang, rest assured, my Zhou Family will definitely find a way to get you another precious herb like the Century-Old Blood Ginseng!"

Zhou Wen could only look at Cao Yang with a forced smile as he spoke.

Precious herbs are rare and hard to come by; they cannot be obtained just because one wants them.

The accumulation of the Zhou Family over these years had only yielded one single Century-Old Blood Ginseng.

Although he also wanted to give this Century-Old Blood Ginseng to Cao Yang, he could not go back on his word.

Since he had promised from the beginning that this Century-Old Blood Ginseng would be the reward for rescuing Zhou Wu, he naturally had to keep his word, or he would lose his integrity.

If he were to lose his integrity, the efforts he had made over these years would likely come to nothing.

"Brother Lu, you don't need to mind it. That Century-Old Blood Ginseng was something you obtained through your own ability. If my Zhou Family's foundation weren't so limited, we would certainly spare no cost to pile up resources for you and help you successfully enter the ranks!"

Zhou Wu reached out and gently patted Lu Yuan on the shoulder, saying with a smile.

"What the Zhou Family has given me is already more than enough!"

Lu Yuan nodded with a smile and said directly.

In fact, apart from high-level resources like the Rejuvenation Pill and the Blood-Qi Pill, the Zhou Family had already provided him with an unlimited supply of meat, Qi-Replenishing Soup, and Essence-Replenishing Soup.

Although the effects of these had significantly diminished after he broke through to the Force-Refining stage, they were still barely enough to keep his progress steady without needing to lower his training efficiency.

What's more, although a small portion of that Century-Old Blood Ginseng had already been used, it was still enough to support him in truly stepping into the Ninth-Rank Skin-Refining Realm, or even achieving iron skin.

"Everyone, the reason my Blazing Sun Martial Hall is hosting this Gathering of Heroes is mainly to allow the young talents of each family to spar and exchange pointers before the Martial Examination, and to accumulate some practical combat experience."

At this moment, Chu Kuang waved his hands at the crowd with a smile, then said loudly, "As for the rules of the sparring, they are actually quite simple: stop at the point of contact. Do not use heavy blows, and absolutely do not use lethal force. Furthermore, insidious methods such as hidden weapons or poisons are strictly forbidden here. Does anyone have any objections?"

"No objections. Sparring between martial artists should be open and honorable; naturally, one should not use insidious methods like hidden weapons or poisons!"

"Since it is a friendly exchange, it is not a life-or-death struggle; it is only right to stop at the point of contact!"

Everyone expressed their agreement.

"Hidden weapons are just crooked paths anyway. We don't mind, but it certainly affects some people more than others."

Cao Yang sneered, speaking with a pointed tone.

The crowd turned to look at Lu Yuan, all knowing that the reason he was able to kill the Third Stronghold Master, Liu Chao, at the Black Cloud Stronghold was by relying on the power of that special hidden weapon.

"There is no such thing as a crooked path. Anything that can defeat the enemy and secure victory is the righteous path!"

Lu Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he said calmly.

"Well said. When dealing with an enemy, no method is excessive!"

Zhang Feng, Wang Chao, Chen Zheng, and the others all nodded in succession to express their agreement.

"That is indeed true!"

Even Huang Hui nodded with a smile.

"I want to see if you can still rely on that hidden weapon to win during the Martial Examination!"

Cao Yang let out a cold snort and said nothing more.

Lu Yuan couldn't be bothered to pay him any mind; whether now or during the Martial Examination, his true confidence had never come from the Flick Finger Technique or the Iron Pellet.

"I wonder which friend is willing to offer some pointers?"

At this moment, Chu Jun walked into the center of the arena holding his sword, speaking with a faint smile on his face.

"I'll do it!"

Seemingly brimming with pent-up anger, Cao Yang walked over with quick strides.

"Please, enlighten me!"

Chu Jun offered a slight cupped-fist salute.

"Take my spear!"

Cao Yang didn't waste any words, directly swinging the long spear in his hand.

The first stance of the Angry Dragon Spear Technique, Dragon Raises Its Head!

It could be said that a single point of cold light arrived first, followed by the spear striking out like a dragon!

The crowd not only saw the flickering spear aura at the tip of the weapon, but they also faintly seemed to hear the sound of a dragon's roar.

"Although this guy is arrogant and looks down on everyone, he is truly a first-class genius!"

Zhang Feng couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.