Chapter 169: Passing the Exam

Meanwhile, on the other side, Yu Xinghan glanced at Zhang Yu's retreating back and then lost interest. He had more pressing matters at hand.

After the divine power of the God of Health Ministry reversed his sterilization surgery, Yu Xinghan initially didn't feel any different. He returned to the examination hall and began practicing the Heavenly Gang Qigong. However, as he cultivated, and with the circulation of his magic power and the condensation of strands of Pure Yang Qi, Yu Xinghan gradually felt his body grow hot and his mind become restless.

What made Yu Xinghan even more flustered was the uncontrollable appearance of beautiful female figures in his mind. These included Bai Zhenzhen, Yue Mulan, Zhang Pianpian, various female classmates he'd seen at Bailong High School, and even the Xiantu girls present today. These graceful figures flickered back and forth like endless distractions, gradually making Yu Xinghan restless and causing his control over his Qi to slightly weaken.

Eventually, all the figures vanished simultaneously, leaving only one person: Li Xuelian, Immortal Xinghuo's daughter and Yu Xinghan's senior martial sister. As Li Xuelian's image appeared, Yu Xinghan suddenly realized that his senior martial sister was actually very beautiful, exuding a mature allure that made his breathing grow heavier. The age difference of over a hundred years, and her identity as Immortal Xinghuo's daughter, made him feel a slight thrill just thinking about it.

Seeing his Pure Yang Qi about to spiral out of control, Yu Xinghan snapped back to reality: "No! How can I be defeated by Li Xuelian?" He bit his tongue and began to recall Zhang Yu, Song Hailong, Chu Qiuhe, and Xiong Wenwu in his mind. Especially Song Hailong; Yu Xinghan found that each time he thought of him, the heat in his body would subside slightly, allowing him to continue practicing the Heavenly Gang Qigong.

On the other side, Bai Zhenzhen was completely engrossed in mentally practicing the Ten Thousand Swords Unending Art. She didn't even hear that Zhang Yu had finished his exam. At this moment, her face was flushed, and her rapidly working brain emitted waves of heat, causing wisps of white steam to rise. In Bai Zhenzhen's mind, a simulated Zhang Yu, conjured by her imagination, was locked in battle with her, wielding boundless Formless Cloud Qi. As she unleashed the various sword moves of the Ten Thousand Swords Unending Art, Bai Zhenzhen's figure became faster and more agile, moving through the Formless Cloud Qi with layers of electric light. She was like a bolt of lightning tearing through the clouds, gradually finding a weakness in the simulated Zhang Yu.

Finally, with a rumble of thunder, Bai Zhenzhen defeated the Zhang Yu in her mind. At that moment, she realized that the simulated 'Zhang Yu' had been defeated because she could no longer find any flaws in her own swordplay. Simultaneously, a sword intent surged from her mind, and the various sword techniques of the Ten Thousand Swords Unending Art flowed through her consciousness as if she had practiced them hundreds or thousands of times.

She realized that intent precedes thought, and the sword moves with one's will—this was the true essence of the Ten Thousand Swords Unending Art. The sword techniques themselves were not important; what mattered was the condensed Unending Sword Intent. Bai Zhenzhen felt that with the refinement of this Unending Sword Intent, she could incorporate any sword move into the Ten Thousand Swords Unending Art, and even create new sword techniques on the spot to counter an opponent's moves. The moves of the Ten Thousand Swords Unending Art could actually be infinite. As long as one had the blessing of Unending Sword Intent, they could freely execute sword moves, combine them, and even create new ones to break through defenses. Unending Sword Intent was the key. However, for ordinary people, it would require repeatedly practicing tens of thousands of sword moves, turning all possibilities into instinct, before they could achieve the state where intent precedes thought and the sword moves with their will. But for a genius like herself, simply comprehending the sword intent allowed her to naturally master the Ten Thousand Swords Unending Art.

Bai Zhenzhen smiled confidently. Looking around, she noticed that many students had already disappeared. She later learned that they had all mastered their chosen martial arts and gone to the rest area. "Hmm? Hasn't Yu Xinghan finished yet?" Bai Zhenzhen looked towards Yu Xinghan, only to see his face flush red as he quickly turned his head away, appearing to be quite afraid of her. "What in the world is going on?"

Just then, Huang Zichou approached Bai Zhenzhen and said, "I have sensed your Unending Sword Intent. The exam is over; you may go to the adjacent room to rest."

As time passed and the two hours drew to a close, fewer and fewer students remained in the hall. Finally, Yu Xinghan, looking pale and utterly exhausted, completed his cultivation of the Heavenly Gang Qigong. At that point, only a few students remained in the entire hall. Huang Zichou checked the time, then looked at Li Tongyun, who was still trying, and calmly stated, "One minute left." Li Tongyun intensified her desperate efforts to cultivate, but she still couldn't master it. When the exam time ended, she quickly exclaimed, "I've mastered it, Examiner, I truly have..." Huang Zichou ignored her. With a wave of divine power, he simply swept away Li Tongyun, whose face was ashen, and the other unsuccessful candidates, dragging them out. Li Tongyun understood that with her complete failure in the Foundation Establishment Exam, it wouldn't be long before she became a company asset.

Moments later, all the remaining candidates returned to the examination hall. Yun Jing approached Ye Lingxiao and asked, "Did you cultivate a ten-star difficulty technique?" Ye Lingxiao calmly replied, "The Ten Thousand Swords Unending Art." Yun Jing pursed his lips. The other person had left five minutes before him; clearly, Ye Lingxiao had won this round. Ye Lingxiao was not surprised. When he had mastered the Ten Thousand Swords Unending Art in an hour and a half, he was already certain he would be first in this round.

Yun Jing thought to himself, "Hmph, when it comes to martial arts cultivation, I truly am not as good as him." He added, "If only this round had been a martial arts combat test." Seeing Ye Lingxiao's nonchalant expression, Yun Jing's irritation at not securing first place seemed to intensify. Just then, Yun Jing spotted Zhang Yu not far away. A slight smile played on his lips as he asked again, "If it were you, what star-difficulty technique could you master in 32 minutes?" Ye Lingxiao paused, a figure flashing through his mind. He asked in surprise, "32 minutes?" He considered for a moment, then replied, "A seven-star difficulty technique should be no problem. For an eight-star technique, it would depend on the specific method." Ye Lingxiao looked at Yun Jing: "So... what are you trying to say?" Yun Jing gestured towards Zhang Yu and said, "Number 55 mastered the eight-star difficulty Boundless Spring and Autumn Zen, taking 32 minutes."

Ye Lingxiao froze slightly, then looked in Zhang Yu's direction. Meanwhile, the ranking for the third martial arts exam appeared on the light screen:

First place: Number 23 (Ye Lingxiao)Second place: Number 11 (Yun Jing)Third place: Number 56 (Bai Zhenzhen)Fourth place: Number 55 (Zhang Yu)

Seeing this ranking, Ye Lingxiao immediately realized that Yun Jing hadn't been exaggerating. He looked at Zhang Yu, utterly astonished: "32 minutes to master the Boundless Spring and Autumn Zen?" Ye Lingxiao's first thought was whether he himself could achieve that. The answer was probably yes, but it would be extremely tight on time. "So..." Ye Lingxiao mused, "this Number 55's aptitude and ability in cultivating techniques are not inferior to mine?" This was the first time Ye Lingxiao had encountered an opponent comparable to himself in this regard, outside of the Ye clan.

Yun Jing smiled slightly at his side: "If it weren't for the fact that this person, for some reason, chose an eight-star technique this time, his score might have even surpassed yours." As a genius in technique cultivation—someone who understood simply by reading and mastered after one attempt—Ye Lingxiao felt he could perhaps guess some of the reasons. He wondered if Number 55 had already learned most of the ten-star and nine-star techniques, and only picked an eight-star one because he disliked the remaining unmastered ones. Recalling Number 55's performance in the previous two exams, the magic power and physical body tests, Ye Lingxiao suddenly felt this was highly plausible. "This guy clearly doesn't care about rankings," he thought.

Zhang Yu looked at the rankings, inwardly grumbling about only getting fourth place, and wondered if an eight-star difficulty technique simply wasn't challenging enough. Zhang Yu then looked at Yu Xinghan behind him and asked, "Why are you always hiding behind me, kid?" Yu Xinghan placed his hand on Zhang Yu's shoulder and replied, "Don't move around. Just help me block her view." Bai Zhenzhen poked her head over, asking curiously, "Why are you looking at me so strangely? It's like the gaze of those underachieving students in regular high school." Yu Xinghan said with a pained expression, "Just leave me alone!" He pointed at Bai Zhenzhen and exclaimed, "Stay away from me!"

Yu Xinghan had never before realized how beautiful Bai Zhenzhen was. Although she still didn't compare to Li Xuelian in his mind, her appearance agitated him, especially as the Pure Yang Qi within him grew increasingly restless. This feeling made him, who had always been extremely self-controlled, very uncomfortable. Yu Xinghan sighed inwardly, regretting that if he had known the reversal surgery would have such a major side effect, creating such a huge weakness for no reason, he would not have chosen the Heavenly Gang Qigong.

Bai Zhenzhen, however, asked curiously, "Oh? Are you afraid of me getting close to you?" Yu Xinghan nodded repeatedly, saying, "Don't come near me." Bai Zhenzhen held out her hand, "500 for a no-disturbance fee." Yu Xinghan's breathing grew heavier in irritation: "Alright, alright, I'll give it to you when we get back."

As the light screen appeared and displayed the rankings for the third exam, many eyes in the venue converged on Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen. Dai Xingzhi looked at Zhang Yu, thinking to himself that finishing in 32 minutes and ranking fourth meant what he completed was actually a high-star difficulty technique; it shouldn't be ten-star, otherwise he'd be first. Even so, Dai Xingzhi realized that Zhang Yu must possess an incredibly formidable ability to learn techniques. Anyone with such ability, who could also grow to participate in the Foundation Establishment Exam, must be incredibly wealthy. Indeed, this was just a rich person who didn't care about the ranking in this round and simply performed casually.

"And that woman," Dai Xingzhi thought, looking at Bai Zhenzhen. "Ranking third in this round also demonstrates her capability. Moreover, this woman seems quite familiar with Number 55. They must be wealthy individuals who associate with each other." At this thought, Dai Xingzhi's expression grew serious: "The true strength of these two might not be much less than Ye Lingxiao and Yun Jing. They are strong contenders for the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate."

Shortly after the rankings for the third exam appeared, today's total scores were also announced. First place, Ye Lingxiao, and second place, Yun Jing, were no surprises. Following them were Bai Zhenzhen in 14th place and Zhang Yu in 15th. Although Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen's rankings weren't high, in the eyes of many students, these two were wealthy outsiders who hadn't exerted their full strength, their true abilities unfathomable.

Deng Bingding looked at the assembled students and announced, "The top 20 will stay. The rest are eliminated and should prepare to leave." Looking at the remaining 20 students, Deng Bingding nodded with satisfaction. According to her grading system of 'ants,' 'beasts of burden,' and 'humans,' the standard of these twenty individuals meant they had one foot over the threshold into being 'human.'