Early the next morning, Zhou Qi was boxing in the courtyard, and there was a rhythmic knock on the door.
Zhou Qi retracted his fist and walked over to open the door.
Chen Fu stood at the door, followed by two young eunuchs, each holding a brocade box in their hands.
The brocade box is completely black, with golden cloud patterns engraved on it. You can tell at a glance that it is not an ordinary item.
"Mr. Zhou," Chen Fu bowed with a smile on his face, "Your Majesty asked the Zajia family to deliver something."
He turned sideways, and two young eunuchs came forward and held the brocade box in front of Zhou Qi.
Zhou Qi took it and opened the first one.
Inside is a thin booklet with a dark blue cover and no writing.
Turning the first page, System Panel pops up instantly--
[New Cultivation Method detected: <Golden Core Cultivation Manual·Part 2>]
[Proficiency:0/1000000]
[Practice to perfection and you can break through to Golden Core, Sixth Layer Peak]
Zhou Qi Close the book and open the second brocade box.
There is also a booklet inside, with a dark purple cover and new edges.
[New Cultivation Method detected: <Golden Core Cultivation Manual·Part 2>]
[Proficiency: 0/2000000]
[Practice to perfection and you can break through to Golden Core, Ninth Layer Peak]
Zhou Qi confirmed that it was correct, closed the booklet, and looked at Chen Fu: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for me."
Chen Fu waved his hand quickly. "Mr. Zhou is too polite. His Majesty said that you deserve this."
He paused, took out a palm-sized jade plaque from his sleeve, and handed it over with both hands. "This is the Token that goes in and out of Imperial City. If Mr. Zhou has something to do in the future, he can enter the palace directly without passing the news."
Zhou Qi took the jade token, glanced at it, and put it in his arms.
Chen Fu warned again, "By the way, Mr. Zhou, two days later, Ascension Platform Square, sixty-four strong competition, don't forget the time."
Zhou Qi nodded. "Remember it."
Chen Fu bowed and resigned, leading the two young eunuchs out of the courtyard. The sound of footsteps gradually faded away, and the alley became quiet again.
Zhou Qi Close the door and return to the main room.
After bolting the door, he sat down by the bed and took out the book "Golden Core Cultivation Manual·Part 2".
Open the first page, System Panel pops up--
[A usable proficiency balance has been detected. Do you want to use it?]
[Proficiency balance: 512300]
Zhou Qi took a deep breath and said silently, "Use."
In an instant, a wave of Spiritual Power appeared in the body out of thin air.
Then it flowed to the limbs and bones, Zhou Qi gritted his teeth, and veins popped out on his forehead.
Every such rapid promotion is a violent cleansing of the marrow, and the powerful impact will make him suffer endless pain.
But Zhou Qi could not bear to say a word.
Spiritual Qi washes away every inch of meridians, every bone, and every muscle.
It's like it's being reshaped.
Golden Core Realm turns faster and faster, and turns bigger and bigger.
From the size of a fingernail, it gradually grows to the size of a walnut.
The golden light became more and more solid and brighter, reflecting the whole room in gold.
I don't know how long it took.
The heat gradually subsided.
Zhou Qi Open your eyes.
In the depths of the pupils of those eyes, golden light flashed away.
He looked down at his hands and made a fist lightly.
In the palm of my hand, a ball of golden Spiritual Power condensed and never dispersed, like a miniature sun.
System Panel:
[Current training: <Golden Core Cultivation Manual·Part 2>]
[Proficiency:512300/1000000]
[Current state: Golden Core, Fifth Layer (mid-term)]
[Mental Power:10 (affects practice efficiency by 100%)]
[Proficiency Balance: 0]
Golden Core, Fifth Layer Mid Stage.
Zhou Qi stood up and stretched his muscles.
The bones made a slight crackling sound, and the Spiritual Power in the body was like a rushing river, more than twice as strong as the Golden Core Third Layer.
He walked to the window and opened it.
In the yard, the morning light is just right.
He raised his hand and flicked it towards the green bamboo in the courtyard.
A golden Spiritual Qi shot out from the fingertips, silently and as fast as lightning.
"Pfft--"
Spiritual Qi passed through the bamboo pole, leaving a smooth round hole in the bamboo body, and then passed out from the other end and submerged into the ground without even splashing soil.
The green bamboo swayed and remained motionless, as if nothing had happened.
Zhou Qi took back his hand and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
Golden Core, Fifth Layer Mid Stage.
Even Golden Core Fourth Layer's Lu Xuan is no longer his opponent.
Two days later.
It's not bright yet, Zhou Qi got up.
Wash up, change clothes, hang up your knife, and push out the door.
There are already pedestrians on the street. There are many more peddlers carrying burdens, merchants driving carts, and people rushing on their way than in the past.
Today is the 64th strong competition, and Yongjing City has become lively early.
This residence is very close to Ascension Platform Square, Zhou Qi can reach the place within a few steps.
The square was already crowded with people.
Eighteen of the twenty arenas were demolished, leaving only the two largest ones in the center, which stood side by side. The surrounding stands were raised by one level and could seat thousands more people.
There were twice as many stalls selling food as in the previous days, and shouts and shouts kept coming.
At the entrance of the contestant passage, the guards changed. They were not the previous City Defense Army, but Imperial City Guards. All of them had straight waists, straight eyes, and breaths above Sixth Layer of Qi Refinement.
Zhou Qi handed over Token.
The leader of the forbidden army took it and glanced at it. His face changed slightly. He handed it back with both hands and stepped aside. "Mr. Zhou, please."
He personally led the way, passed through the side corridor, bypassed Ascendant Immortal Platform, and came to the row of quiet rooms.
The door opens.
The five people inside have already arrived.
Several people were still sitting in the same seats as the day before yesterday. Only Xiao Huo was sitting in the corner with an untouched cup of tea in front of him, closing his eyes and relaxing.
Zhou Qi The moment he stepped across the threshold, the chatter in the room stopped again.
Four eyes fell on him at the same time, but they looked away instantly.
Xiao Huo didn't open his eyes, but swept around with Divine Sense, and quickly retracted it.
No one spoke.
Zhou Qi glanced at everyone, walked to an empty chair against the wall, and sat down.
The quiet room was so quiet that I could hear the voices of people in the square outside the window.
Half an hour.
No one came to disturb him.
Only Xiao Huo seemed to have heard something. He opened his eyes midway and glanced across Zhou Qi's body with some scrutiny, then quickly withdrew his eyes.
The time is right.
There was a knock on the door.
The door was pushed open, and a staff member walked in. He was in his thirties, wearing the uniform of the Forbidden Army, with a bronze medal hanging on his waist.
He stood at the door, clasping his fists and bowing to everyone in the room.
"Everyone, the selection of the top sixty-four is about to begin. Please follow me on stage and appear."
After hearing this, several people got excited, put their teacups on the table, and strode out.
Zhou Qi follows at the end.
The staff led the way, passed through the side corridor, and went around from the back of Ascendant Immortal Platform to the front of the stage.
The morning light shines from the east and falls on the arena, making the bluestone ground white.
Two arenas stand side by side, each thirty feet square. The pillars at the four corners have been activated, and a pale golden light curtain is looming.
The center of the ring was already full of people.
Fifty-eight contestants who made it out of the knockout rounds were surrounded by darkness, divided into two rows, and stood on both sides of the ring.
Zhou Qi Divine Sense swept across silently.
The weakest ones are also Foundation Establishment, Fifth Layer Mid Stage. Those applicants of Foundation Establishment Early Stage were wiped out in the three rounds of elimination.
Fifty-eight breaths gathered together to form an invisible pressure, and even the air seemed a bit heavier.