Breaking Through (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

After concluding his negotiations with Magistrate Tian.

Xu Xing relayed Magistrate Tian's words to Chang Ji, who was pretending to doze.

He guessed that, given Chang Ji's skill, he had probably heard everything Xu Xing and Magistrate Tian had said long ago.

Chang Ji's cultivation had likely reached the Reality-Preserving Realm of inner training. It was even possible that he had practiced external training martial arts as well.

In this extraordinary world, who could say what formidable hidden methods military aristocratic families possessed?

"Lord Xu..."

"I, Chang, acknowledge you as my brother."

At those words, the nine-foot-tall man's voice immediately grew choked with emotion, tears glimmering in his eyes.

He puts on a better act than I do. Fake at a glance, Xu Xing thought.

Having been Chang Ji's cellmate for over a month, how could he not know what sort of character Chang Ji was? If one truly regarded military officers as simple-minded fools..., one would absolutely get played so badly they would not even know north from south.

The reason he had proposed to Four Bright Mountain Stronghold that they rescue Chang Ji in exchange for his service—

First, it was for the banner of "righteousness," to lend legitimacy to his coming betrayal of the imperial court.

Second..., if he joined Four Bright Mountain Stronghold alone, fighting by himself with no backing, he would inevitably be checked and constrained by the local faction at Four Bright Mountain. That was a foreseeable future...

He who does not plan for ten thousand generations is unfit to plan for a single moment.

He who does not plan for the whole board is unfit to plan for a single region.

If Chang Ji joined Four Bright Mountain, then under pressure from the local faction, the two outsiders would surely form their own small clique. With Chang Ji's military acumen to rely on, only then would Xu Xing truly be like a fish returned to water after entering Four Bright Mountain.

Moreover, by joining them on the condition that he rescued Chang Ji, it would be equivalent to Chang Ji owing him a life. Among rebels bound together by brotherhood and loyalty, Chang Ji might betray anyone, but he would never betray him.

The moment he betrayed him, he would be cutting off his own road of retreat!

"Still..."

"Before escaping the Heavenly Prison, I should raise my cultivation as much as possible."

"The 'me' in the instance world is also nearly at the Reality-Preserving stage."

Once silence returned to the Heavenly Prison, Xu Xing resumed sitting cross-legged in cultivation, nurturing his inner qi.

After the county examination ended.

Xu Xing checked his ranking. It was neither high nor low—fourteenth on the main list.

The prefectural examination was generally held in April each year.

Having finished the county examination, he still had more than two months to prepare for the prefectural examination.

Compared to the county examination in Jingyang County, the prefectural examination in Jingzhao Prefecture was far more difficult. Jingzhao Prefecture in the north had always been a center of learning and culture, and the competition was fierce. With Xu Xing's abilities, he was ninety percent certain of passing the prefectural examination in other prefectures of Qin Province, such as Phoenix Soar Prefecture, Tongzhou Prefecture, and Hanzhong Prefecture.

But in Jingzhao Prefecture, his odds were only fifty or sixty percent.

Even a starved camel was bigger than a horse.

Jingzhao Prefecture was, after all, a former ancient capital.

Since Taste Classics Academy operated in Jingyang County, County Magistrate Wu had shown extra appreciation for Xu Xing's examination paper. But in Jingzhao Prefecture, Xu Xing's background as a student of Taste Classics Academy... was not enough to make him stand out among the many candidates.

Thus, one month before the examination.

Using the excuse that he needed peace and quiet to prepare, Xu Xing temporarily moved out of Taste Classics Academy's dormitory and went to the temporary base of Filial Righteousness Hall, intending to seek the Elder Brothers Society's help regarding the examination...

"Prefect Yin's preferences?"

"And the essays he wrote in the past?"

In the side hall of the guest quarters, Master Ma sat in the seat of honor. Hearing the first request Xu Xing made after becoming an incense master, he pondered briefly, then nodded. "I'll have the brothers under me handle it. Barring any surprises, you should receive this information before the examination."

Before an examination, it was quite common nowadays for candidates to analyze the chief examiner's preferences and the essays he had written.

Only when one's writing suited the examiner's tastes could one earn the chief examiner's appreciation.

A very simple example.

Suppose Prefect Yin was a conservative. If Xu Xing's essay was too sharp and aggressive, Prefect Yin would certainly dislike it upon seeing it and reject the paper. If Prefect Yin was a reformist, while Xu Xing's essay was overly rigid and stuck in old ways, then... it would likewise end in rejection.

Once a paper was rejected, the candidate had no channel through which to appeal.

He could only wait for the following year.

Therefore, Xu Xing's request of Filial Righteousness Hall was entirely reasonable.

Gathering information on Prefect Yin would be extremely difficult for an individual, but not for the Elder Brothers Society. They only needed to pay a certain price to obtain a detailed dossier.

The brothers who joined the Elder Brothers Society were not merely downtrodden folk; it lacked no people from every trade and profession.

"Besides that..."

"Recently, this disciple has made progress in cultivating his inner cultivation method and is nearing the point of breaking through. I ask Master Ma to lend this disciple a helping hand."

After speaking of the imperial examination, Xu Xing brought up another matter.

The reason he differed from the other brothers at the bottom rung and had earned Master Ma's favor was that he could read and study, that he could use the imperial examination to raise his status and gain an opportunity to enter officialdom...

Therefore, upon meeting Master Ma, he first made it clear that he was fairly confident of passing the prefectural examination, subtly displaying his value, before asking Master Ma to use his inner force to help him break through...

That way, even if Master Ma wished to refuse inwardly, he would first weigh the gains and losses before deciding whether to turn him down.

Of course, asking Master Ma to gather information on Prefect Yin was also an important matter.

It was simply not as urgent as breaking through.

"Help you break through..."

Master Ma hesitated before saying, "Using inner force to forcibly help you smash through the barrier is certainly possible. But if you wish to make another breakthrough in the future, it will... become far more difficult. Often, the results of cultivation will be twice the effort for half the gain."

Helping someone break through would not only consume the inner force he had painstakingly accumulated.

Moreover, after such a breakthrough, that martial artist's road ahead would be cut off as well.

In a word, the losses outweighed the gains!

"Master Ma, with this disciple's... aptitude, it is likely that breaking through to a higher realm in the future will be difficult even in an entire lifetime..."

"Rather than that, it would be better to break through now while I am still young."

"Furthermore, once one's realm increases, one's memory and thinking will also improve greatly."

Xu Xing cupped his hands and spoke.

He was unlike ordinary people. After breaking through, he would give birth to a Fate, then use the [Dao Fruit] to solidify it. Just like his red Fate [Mediocre Martial Talent], it had not only altered his body in the real world, but had also fed back into his body in the instance world, improving his aptitude by quite a bit.

Thus, according to his prediction, forcibly breaking through might leave some aftereffects, but they certainly would not be severe.

Besides... this was only an instance world.

His real-world self would not be affected!

"What you say does make sense..."

Master Ma nodded slightly.

He counted as half a master to Xu Xing and understood Xu Xing's martial aptitude. He knew Xu Xing's aptitude was only a tiny bit better than that of ordinary people. With such aptitude, it truly would be difficult for him to achieve great fortune in the future.

It would be better to break through ahead of time, raise his body's potential somewhat, and prepare for the prefectural examination.

"This disciple thanks Master Ma."

A flicker of delight crossed Xu Xing's face, and he hurriedly thanked Master Ma.

Though he had schemed against Master Ma this time, which was somewhat contemptible.

Master Ma was no fool. If helping him break through brought no benefit at all, why would Master Ma help him? To put it bluntly, it was merely mutual benefit.

He had simply raised his own value along the way, making Master Ma more willing to invest in him.