Chapter 144: Rapid Progress

Huang Zhantian's heart sank. He valued Jiang Fan's comprehension of cultivation techniques, but he wasn't confident about Jiang Fan's future prospects in martial arts strength. However, he didn't want to expose Jiang Fan's extraordinary abilities, fearing others might become interested, so it was inconvenient to explain clearly. He could only brace himself and say, "He has exceptional qualities, regardless. You must vote for him."

Zheng Qiushuang remained unmoved, saying, "Let's observe him first." He scanned the crowd, seeing that most people had arrived. He slowly stood up and announced, "Form a line, and register your merit points one by one!" Everyone knew he was a Grand Elder; who would dare to cause trouble? Even the proud Tang Tianlong was as docile as a child, diligently standing in line.

After registering most of the disciples, Zheng Qiushuang remained expressionless. Only when Tang Tianlong presented forty-one merit points did he nod slightly in approval. Soon, it was Jiang Fan's turn. Huang Zhantian craned his neck to look, muttering, "Don't let this kid embarrass me. I went out on a limb to recommend him."

Zheng Qiushuang gave him a meaningful look and asked, "How many merit points?" Jiang Fan took out the certificate given by the Reward and Punishment Hall deacon and placed it before him. Zheng Qiushuang lowered his head, glanced quickly, and was surprised: "Eighty? Tang Tianlong only had forty! This young man actually has twice as many as Tang Tianlong. He really does have some skills. No wonder Huang Zhantian thinks highly of him. Eighty points, not bad!" Zheng Qiushuang smiled slightly.

However, when he carefully verified the certificate, his smile froze. Because there were two characters before "eighty" that he had overlooked. They were "one hundred"!

"One hundred eighty?" Zheng Qiushuang exclaimed incredulously. "How did he do this?" One Foundation Establishment realm beast was worth ten points. One hundred eighty? Didn't that mean he had single-handedly killed eighteen Foundation Establishment realm beasts? Could it be that the Foundation Establishment realm beasts in Hundred Beasts Mountain had all become wooden stakes, just standing there waiting for him to kill them one by one with his sword? He even suspected the certificate was fake.

Upon closer inspection, he found a detailed description on the certificate and couldn't help but murmur, "Foundation Establishment realm beasts, eight. Core Formation realm beast, one." "Wait! A Core Formation realm beast?" Zheng Qiushuang suddenly raised his head, staring at Jiang Fan with a ghost-like expression, and asked in astonishment, "You killed a Core Formation realm beast?"

Jiang Fan was startled by his reaction and, not daring to lie, said, "It was heavily wounded by someone else. This disciple merely took advantage of an opportunity." But Zheng Qiushuang knew very well. Even a dying beast was extremely dangerous; as the saying goes, a cornered beast will fight. The closer to death, the more dangerous the beast's attacks would become. Without considerable skill, it would be impossible to kill.

Huang Zhantian pushed his way over. Looking at the spoils listed on the certificate, he was also dumbfounded, then smugly said, "Old man Zheng, try saying I'm seeing things now?" Zheng Qiushuang stared blankly at Jiang Fan. He had to admit that Huang Zhantian had indeed found an extraordinary young man. He pursed his lips and retorted, "It's too early to say that. Let's see how he performs in the Sacred Hall." Then, he allowed Jiang Fan and the two women to pass.

Upon entering the Sacred Hall, a mist enveloped them, making the surroundings hazy. It was so thick one could barely see their own hand. "Mist?" Jiang Fan paused, then quickly recognized it, his pupils contracting: "It's spiritual energy mist!" Only when spiritual energy is so dense that it can't get any denser will it condense into mist. This was the most abundant spiritual energy he had ever encountered! No wonder everyone wanted to cultivate in the Sacred Hall! Cultivating here for a few days, it would be difficult *not* to break through!

He led the two women by hand, groping their way to a corner, and whispered, "Activate the cultivation method I taught you, and let's see if there are any shortcomings." With such abundant spiritual energy, cultivation speed depends on spiritual roots and cultivation techniques. Spiritual roots increase absorption speed, and cultivation techniques increase refinement speed. The higher both are, the faster the cultivation speed.

The two women also realized this was an extremely rare opportunity and immediately sat cross-legged to circulate their cultivation methods. They were usually guided by Li Qingfeng. However, the Profound-grade cultivation methods they practiced were taught by Jiang Fan, and Li Qingfeng was unfamiliar with them, thus unable to detect their deficiencies. As soon as the two women demonstrated their methods, Jiang Fan immediately noticed numerous shortcomings. After guiding them point by point, the circulation speed of their cultivation methods more than doubled!

"Thank you, husband!" Chen Siling exclaimed excitedly. "In five days, I wonder what realm I'll reach." She was currently at the ninth level of Qi Condensation. Xu Youran was at the first level of Foundation Establishment. Jiang Fan also felt a sense of anticipation. He immediately sat cross-legged and began to cultivate silently. All three were cultivating Jiang Fan's "Dragon Seeking Scripture." The difference was that Jiang Fan had a transparent spiritual root, Xu Youran had a seventh-grade spiritual root, and Chen Siling had a sixth-grade spiritual root.

A day and a half later, Jiang Fan opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing within them. Feeling the endless spiritual power, he couldn't help but reveal a look of joy. "Foundation Establishment, fifth level!" In just a day and a half, such a result was truly astonishing. He then looked at Chen Siling and Xu Youran. Chen Siling had successfully established her foundation! And Xu Youran had reached the second level of Foundation Establishment, catching up to Xu Yining! Although their cultivation speed would gradually slow down later, it was very possible for them to advance another level!

At the entrance of the Sacred Hall, most of the disciples had already left. Tang Tianlong and Xu Yining were among those who had cultivated for a relatively long time. Xu Yining's eyes gleamed with pleasant surprise, and she said gratefully, "Thank you, Senior Brother Tang, thank you, Senior Brother Tang!" Under Tang Tianlong's guidance and the unique environment of the Sacred Hall, she had broken through her bottleneck, reaching the third level of Foundation Establishment! Tang Tianlong smiled gently, then turned to look at the Sacred Hall behind him, huffing through his nose, "Three days from now, I'll come back to this place and see! I want to know if he can also help two women advance a realm, just like I did!"

Two days later, Jiang Fan broke through another realm, reaching the sixth level of Foundation Establishment! He tried to continue cultivating but found his meridians stinging. This was due to impurities in his spiritual power and insufficient smooth circulation. In simple terms, his foundation was unstable! Later in the Foundation Establishment realm, each advancement required solidifying one's foundation. Breaking through two levels consecutively was already the limit; he couldn't keep blindly improving. Helplessly, Jiang Fan had to stop cultivating.

Seeing that there were still two days left, he recalled his thrilling experience of being chased by the Beast King. "I need to further cultivate the movement technique 'Lone Swan's Shadow,' and 'Roaming Dragon Palm' cannot be neglected either." So, he switched to cultivating martial techniques.

After half a day, he tapped his toes, and his body became as light as a wild goose, crossing several tens of feet in a single step! It was even better than the effect of a high-grade magical artifact, the Swift Wind Bead! "The second layer, perfected!" Jiang Fan exclaimed with delight.

Next, he began cultivating the "Roaming Dragon Palm." Compared to the movement technique, "Roaming Dragon Palm" was much easier. In less than half a day, he successfully mastered the second stance: "Dragon Control!" As his fist struck out, it was accompanied by a deafening dragon roar. Its power was incredibly fierce. Combined with his sixth-level Foundation Establishment cultivation, no one at the same realm should be able to withstand this punch. The force of his punch swept forward into the mist.

At this moment, only the three of them remained in the Sacred Hall; there was no one else. So Jiang Fan didn't pay much attention. But to his surprise, a woman's pained grunt suddenly came from not far away: "Ouch! Who was that? Can't you watch where you're going?"