Chapter 86: At the Pinnacle of the Third Tier, I Advanced by Leaps and Bounds in a Single Day!
After the two prodigies of the Zhou clan had finished, the Zhou clan’s retraining team went up in full force, one after another entering the formation.
“Third level, middle stage.”
“Third level, middle stage.”
“Third level, early stage.”
...
It began with a string of third-level Qi Refining cultivators, from middle stage down to early stage, with not a single late-stage third level among them.
Then came peak second level, then late second, middle second, early second—astonishingly, there was not a single first-level cultivator at all.
After this round of testing, the murmuring among the Zheng and Ning cultivators grew much quieter. Many of the Zheng clansmen looked solemn, while most of the Ning cultivators looked even worse.
Though the Zhou clan’s retraining team was small, it was exceptionally elite.
By order of appearance, it was then the Zheng clan’s turn.
Zheng Jian stepped forward without hesitation and was the first to enter the testing formation.
“Third level, peak stage,” the family elder announced in a ringing voice.
“Ohhh!!”
The Zheng cultivators burst into cheers, raising a wave of fervent noise far louder than the Zhou clan’s earlier celebration.
They seemed to be competing in this very manner.
Many of the Zhou clan’s young cultivators watched in silence, most of them calm-faced.
Inside the reception hall, the Zhou clan patriarch complimented them, saying, “The Zheng clan’s family discipline is admirable. United in purpose, tightly bound as one, truly thriving and full of vigor. This is all due to Brother Zheng’s able governance.”
The Zheng clan patriarch laughed heartily and did not demur. “Like forged iron. Steel should be struck a hundred, a thousand times before it can be tightly unified into a fine weapon.”
The Zheng cultivators were noisy, sometimes cheering and sometimes teasing.
The Zhou clan had clearly tested their cultivators’ realms in advance, entering the formation in descending order of cultivation.
The Zheng clan had not done so.
As a result, after each Zheng cultivator went in, it was hard to judge what the outcome would be. If one of their own tested at a good realm, they raised their arms and cheered. If a companion’s result was less than ideal, someone would loudly mock him, though never maliciously.
That kind of healthy competitive atmosphere left even the Ning clan patriarch faintly envious.
“My Ning clan was once like that too.”
“Alas, we suffered heavy losses during the migration, and after entering the city there was a coup within the collateral branches. We could only adopt a policy of strengthening the main trunk while weakening the branches.”
“Sigh. Only when the main branch has both quality and numbers can I gradually ease the suppression of the collateral branches and restore a fine family spirit.”
Having held high office for many years, the Ning clan patriarch was not unaware of the dangers within his own clan.
But he had no choice.
He was a man of the main branch; his birth had already determined his stance.
He could not betray the main branch to support the collateral branches. The cultivators of the collateral branches would not accept him, and the cultivators of the main branch would directly overthrow him.
“Every family has its own hard scripture to read,” the Ning clan patriarch thought, quietly adjusting his mindset.
He knew the situation of his retraining team very well. A large portion were only at the first level of Qi Refining, and the results of the upcoming test would certainly be ugly.
Then, at last, it was the Ning clan’s turn.
Ning Xiaohui, face cold, walked into the testing formation under the worried gazes of the Ning clansmen behind her.
“Third level, peak stage,” the family elder declared.
The Ning cultivators also erupted into cheers.
Zheng Jian and Zhou Zeshen looked at Ning Xiaohui as she emerged from the formation. She still wore that frosty expression, and an air of proud aloofness seemed to radiate from her from head to toe.
Inside the reception hall, the Zheng clan patriarch looked at the Ning clan patriarch. “Your Ning Xiaohui has not been retraining for long, and yet she has already reached the peak of the third level?”
The Zhou clan patriarch also looked over, his expression inquisitive.
The Ning clan patriarch stroked his beard with a smile. He had long been waiting for this moment, and said with deliberate composure, “Our clan only belatedly came to understand the Lava Immortal Palace, and we deeply felt the gap between us. So I asked the ancestral elder for help, and with his permission, one talisman from the clan treasury was put to use. It is called the Cloud-Flowing Talisman.”
“When this talisman was made, our forebears took a strand of ice spring from a snow mountain, which contained a trace of the world’s spiritual essence. Thus it can aid cultivators in joint cultivation and provide a little extra assistance.”
The Zhou clan patriarch smiled and praised the Ning clan a few times, privately thinking that the Ning clan really did possess a certain foundation.
The Zheng clan patriarch then said, “Brother Ning, our two clans ought to grow closer. To tell the truth, our clan is currently forging a treasured artifact with all our strength, and we are sorely lacking a method for tempering it in extreme cold. Your Ning clan came from the Northwind Kingdom; I wonder if you might lend a hand or two?”
The Ning clan patriarch stroked his beard. “That would be easy enough, easy enough.”
Yet inwardly he felt considerable regret.
This Cloud-Flowing Talisman possessed innate spirituality and could help cultivators train together very effectively, but it had a limited number of uses.
If they could make a Boat-Leaping Mountain Pass Talisman with its own spirituality, then according to the Ning clan’s secret method the two talismans could interact with each other, nourishing and replenishing one another’s spirit. Though the accumulation would be slow, if the number of uses were strictly limited, it could still reach a level of cyclical reuse.
Unlike now, where with only a single talisman in use, the spirituality expended could never be recovered.
Fortunately, after Ning Xiaohui’s retraining, she was only at the first three levels of Qi Refining, her foundation still weak, so her consumption of the Cloud-Flowing spiritual talisman was relatively small.
There was no other choice but to use the talisman.
For one thing, on the night the Scripture Bell rang, Ning Xiaohui had fallen asleep from exhaustion after making talismans, and the customized Five Elements Breath Rhythm Art, adjusted specifically for her, had not been passed on to her at all. She could only use the compiled version comprehended by others, which was not very efficient.
For another, Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother, the school elder, and others in her faction had made a stir, securing many rights and benefits for her.
And third, the Ning clan patriarch also considered the competitive relationship with the Zhou and Zheng clans. If even a leader like Ning Xiaohui had poor cultivation, the Ning clan would suffer a great loss in the division of the three clans’ interests.
For all these reasons, the Ning clan had temporarily infused the Cloud-Flowing Talisman into Ning Xiaohui’s body, constantly helping her circulate breath and refine spiritual power, allowing her to advance at astonishing speed.
After Ning Xiaohui returned to the ranks, the results of the other Ning cultivators were no longer so pleasing.
A few were at the second level, but the majority were shockingly only at the first.
This was not really their fault; the Ning clan’s sudden expansion had only happened not long ago.
But with the three clans testing together now, the Zhou family elder’s announcements seemed to grow louder and louder each time, making those Ning cultivators at the first level feel as though they were being publicly beaten.
The Zheng clan’s cultivators were mostly younger and more impetuous, and from time to time they let out bursts of laughter.
The Zhou clan’s cultivators maintained their composure, but the scorn in the corners of their eyes grew ever stronger.
Ning Xiaohui’s face turned livid with anger as she glared at the cultivators beside her and said coldly, “A pack of useless trash!”
Ning Chen and Ning Yong returned to the ranks one after the other wearing defeated expressions. Both of them were at the peak of the first level.
“Since we began retraining, we’ve been going nonstop all day and all night, circulating breath to our limits every single day.”
“I heard that the Zheng clan and the Zhou clan provide resources for free, but in our Ning clan’s retraining team, only the main branch gets that treatment!”
“That’s right. If we had the same treatment and the same amount of time, we might not necessarily be worse than them.”
Ning Chen and Ning Yong were both deeply unconvinced.
Ning Zhuo reached out and patted both of them on the shoulders, saying bluntly, “Watch me.”
Under Ning Chen and Ning Yong’s puzzled gazes, Ning Zhuo stepped out of the line and entered the testing formation.
The entire martial arena was noisy and restless.
By this point, the quality of the three great clans was already clear at a glance.
Although the Ning clan had the largest number of cultivators, many of them were only at the first level. With so many such cases, no one expected much from Ning Zhuo.
Yet the light of the testing formation blazed fiercely.
The Zhou clan elder was stunned for a moment. After confirming it once more, he finally announced in a voice filled with disbelief, “Ning Zhuo, Qi Refining, third level, peak stage!”
The whole venue fell silent.
Many people began asking those beside them what they had just heard.
When Ning Zhuo stepped out of the testing formation, he immediately drew countless gazes.
Facing the crowd, the sixteen-year-old boy showed no trace of stage fright. He merely smiled faintly, then lifted his head and strode back to the Ning clan’s ranks with composure.
A flood of eyes followed him. Even Zhou Zeshen, Zhou Zhu, Zheng Jian, and the others looked over with searching expressions.
“Who is this person? To have such cultivation!”
“The intelligence reports never mentioned him.”
“Could the Ning clan have hidden a gem all along?”
Similar questions and emotions swirled in everyone’s hearts.
Even the patriarchs of the three great clans were no exception.
If this had been any other time, they would never have placed such importance on a clan’s Qi Refining cultivators.
But now the Lava Immortal Palace stood upon the mountain peak, and the Qi Refining cultivators of the clans were the main force in exploring it. No amount of attention could be considered excessive.
The Zhou clan patriarch looked at the Ning clan patriarch and said, “I never expected Brother Ning to be hiding such a trump card.”
The Ning clan patriarch stroked his beard and smiled with easy grace. “Brother Zhou flatters me.”
He offered no further explanation, which in turn made the Zhou and Zheng patriarchs exchange a glance, both of them raising their estimation of the Ning clan a notch.
They did not know that the Ning clan patriarch himself was harboring the same confusion.
Ning Zhuo’s return drew cheers from the Ning cultivators.
Ning Chen and Ning Yong crowded around him, both speaking with disbelieving delight. “Zhuo, how did you suddenly reach the peak of the third level?”
“That’s right, you’re as strong as Ning Xiaohui now!”
Countless ears pricked up, all of them waiting for Ning Zhuo’s answer.
Ning Zhuo smiled faintly. “Perhaps I’m simply more suited to the Five Elements Breath Rhythm Art. Cultivating this method advances very quickly, like a great river surging forward, covering a thousand miles in a single day.”
The crowd fell silent.
P.S. I forgot to mention this: if you have a monthly ticket, please save it for after this book goes on sale at noon on June 3, when voting with monthly tickets opens. Thank you, and thank you again.