Chapter 1144: Chapter 1142: Are you interested in trying it_1
After Ling Wenyu left, many of the senior members from the two rows of Ling Family also stood up and walked out of the hall. Their goal of observing Ling Yujie’s son had been achieved today, and there was no point in staying any longer.
This child is fierce in temperament, resolute and daring, and his talent also belongs to the upper echelon. Even if he can’t compare to the three great talents of the Ling Family, he is still a first-rate existence of his time, not to be trifled with.
However, as long as he doesn’t surpass the three great talents, the people of Ling Wenyu’s lineage will not fear him turning the tables. If it weren’t for the sake of their reputation and the fear that Ling Wenlong’s lineage would retaliate, they would really like to make a move and test the other party.
Many eyes fell upon Ling Jianming, thinking deeply, revealing strange yet understanding smiles.
"Zixin, bring your brother over for dinner tonight."
With many eyes watching, Ling Cunyi couldn’t say too much to Shi Xiaole, and there were still many matters to handle. It was simply better to gather tonight, also providing Shi Xiaole with some time to ease in.
The senior members of Ling Wenlong’s lineage exchanged glances, their gaze shifting from Ling Jianming to Shi Xiaole, showing some concern, but ultimately could only leave helplessly.
In large clans, there are rules that the younger generation must resolve their own problems. Even though they knew full well that Shi Xiaole would be at a disadvantage, it was not their place to intervene at this time.
"Cousin, welcome to the Ling Family. I’ve heard that my uncle is an uncommonly handsome man in the world. Seeing you today, cousin, one can catch a glimpse of the flair my uncle possessed in his youth."
Ling Jianming, dressed in a purple silk garment trimmed with gold, his hair coiled up, revealing a pale face, eyes as dark as lacquer, and a nose like a gallbladder, spoke with the grace and ease that could easily endear people.
Combined with his status as one of the three great talents, it was not hard to see why the younger generation of Ling Wenyu’s lineage regarded him as their leader.
Shi Xiaole laughed and said, "Not at all, Cousin Jianming is the one with an impressive presence."
"Hahaha, there’s no need for such courtesies between brothers. How about this, cousin, since it is your first visit, I shall play guide and walk you through Lingtian Mansion, how does that sound?"
Ling Jianming displayed a very amiable smile.
A slender young man sneered, "Stop with the pretense, cousin. Don’t bother with him—let me take you instead."
Shi Xiaole remembered that this person was named Ling Jianxia, the only son of his uncle Ling Cunwei.
"Jianxia, what are you afraid of? Are you worried that Brother Jianming will bully him? Hehe, with Brother Jianming’s standing, not just anyone is worth his attention, you’re thinking too much," said a round-faced girl named Ling Zishuang, the daughter of Ling Cunlian, her arrogant demeanor the spitting image of her father’s.
Just as Ling Jianxia was about to get angry, another girl with a melon-shaped face laughed and said to Ling Zishuang, "Are you suggesting that Brother Jianming looks down on Cousin Shi, and all this is just for show?"
"Ling Zimo, don’t slander me!"
Ling Zishuang was furious.
"Am I not stating the facts?"
Ling Zimo shrugged her shoulders and, barely noticeably, retreated to stand in front of Shi Xiaole, pulling Ling Jianxia along with her. Shi Xiaole found it quite interesting; this girl was Uncle Ling Cunwei’s daughter, much more cunning than her brother.
Ling Zixin then straightforwardly pulled Shi Xiaole and urged in a tense voice, "Little brother, let’s go see grandfather first."
Ling Zixin couldn’t prevent the acknowledgment of kinship that had just occurred, but now she didn’t want to waste any time.
"Sister Zixin, if I remember correctly, great-grandfather should still be resting at this time. If cousin goes now, it might disturb him. It would be better to wait another 2-hour period, just in time for me to show cousin around first," replied Ling Jianming, ignoring the disputes of the others, showing himself to be magnanimous. Ling Zixin thought for a moment but had no response.
Shi Xiaole was discreet.
It wasn’t convenient for him to explore the whole Lingtian Mansion with his spiritual sense to avoid detection; since he was free anyway, taking a tour was just what he wanted. He said, "In that case, I’ll trouble Cousin Jianming."
The group left the hall and walked along a path paved with pebbles. At every garden and pavilion they passed, Ling Jianming would enthusiastically introduce them to Shi Xiaole.
Guards and servants who saw Ling Jianming greeted him respectfully, and even maids turned to steal glances at his figure.
Among the three great talents of the Ling Family, Ling Jianming was born in the direct line, the other two were somewhat inferior in status and only focused on training, and were not on par with Ling Jianming.
Now, many even said that Ling Jianming was the designated heir of the Ling Family, making him seem all the more unattainable to outsiders.
Unknowingly, the group arrived outside a bamboo forest.
"What a masterful Array System."
The Array System inside the bamboo forest was only of the Void Origin Realm level, but the key was that many Void Origin Realm Arrays seamlessly interconnected into a whole, the skill involved almost matching the Colorless Realm Array that Shi Xiaole once breached in the Colorless Realm!
Ling Jianming said, "This place is called Hundred Refinement Forest, and it’s where the experts of our Ling Family enhance their combat capabilities. Almost every member of the Ling Family has entered here for testing at some point."
As he spoke, he suddenly cast a meaningful glance at Shi Xiaole: "Hundred Refinement Forest was personally created by Aunt Yu Ji."
Shi Xiaole was shocked and looked towards Ling Zixin, who nodded to him.
On the way to the South Sea, Shi Xiaole had already heard from Ling Zixin that his mother Ling Yujie was not a martial arts talent but a rare talent in Array Systems. Before, Shi Xiaole had no concept of this, but now he knew.
She was not just a talent in Array Systems, but an unparalleled genius!
Just at that moment, a green light suddenly illuminated Hundred Refinement Forest, lasting for two breaths before dissipating.
"Damn, it’s the fifth barrier again. But it’s better than last time, I lasted fifteen breaths longer."
"Don’t be dissatisfied. Hundred Refinement Forest has only seven barriers in total. If you can break through to the sixth, you would be one of the top fifty experts of the Ling Family."
As the group paused outside, two middle-aged men emerged from the forest. Startled for a moment, they quickly bowed and greeted Ling Jianming.
As for the others, they were not of much concern.
Although they were from a collateral branch of the Ling Family, their strength had reached the second-tier Heaven Realm level, and they had also made multiple contributions. Ordinary direct lineage young masters and ladies were not necessarily regarded by them.
"Is the young master going to challenge the Hundred Refinement Forest?"
The man on the left, the one with the beard, who had broken into the fifth stage, suddenly looked excited with anticipation.
The man on the right was also excited, "Ever since we had the Hundred Refinement Forest, in the history of our Ling Family, only three people have successfully passed all stages. I believe our Young Master certainly will be the third."
There are seven stages in total in the Hundred Refinement Forest.
Making it to the sixth stage proves one possesses the strength of a top-tier Heaven Realm Martial Emperor, and must be among the best of the best.
Over the years, a total of forty-nine people have made it to the sixth stage, with Ling Jianming leading the pack by completing it in half a 2-hour period, his performance even surpassing the other three who reached that stage in the same period.
To reach the seventh stage is to show strength near that of the Forbidden Martial Emperor, something that only eleven members of the Ling Family have ever achieved.
As for successfully passing the seventh stage, to this day, only three people have done so—they are the two great Forbidden Martial Emperors of the Ling Family, and the former Ling Wenlong.
Given Ling Jianming’s displayed talent and progress, many believe he will become the fourth to clear the stages and that he will do so faster than the previous three.
During this conversation, several more experts of the Ling family walked out of the forest and upon seeing the situation, they stayed as well, all standing to one side.
"Brother Jianming, why hide your talents? Let us witness it. I heard from my dad that you’ve made progress recently."
Ling Zishuang could not help but urge him on, not forgetting to tilt up her chin and look disdainfully towards Ling Zixin and her brother and behind them, toward Shi Xiaole.
Seeing this, several other young people from the Ling Wenyu lineage were also impatient, with a showy and intimidating air about them.
Ling Jianming tried to decline in every way he could, until finally, seemingly without a choice, he smiled and said, "Since that’s the case, your foolish brother will embarrass himself. Cousin, please wait a moment."
With or without meaning, Ling Jianming spoke a word to Shi Xiaole before entering the Hundred Refinement Forest.
"What do you guys think, how long will the Young Master take this time?"
"Probably still around half a 2-hour period, give or take twenty breaths. After all, at the Young Master’s level of cultivation, improving further is no easy task, unless one is a monster like those of the South Sea’s top ten."
"That’s true, but I see the Young Master looking very confident, as if it’s not going to be that simple."
While the Ling Family experts were discussing, a red glow lit up in the Hundred Refinement Forest.
"That was fast! Less than ten breaths."
Ling Jianxia’s eyes widened slightly.
Although the first stage corresponds to the secondary Earthly Realm level, even among the Ling Family’s top thirty experts, it is very difficult to pass within ten breaths. Could it be that Ling Jianming truly made a breakthrough again?
After fifty breaths, an orange glow shone from the Hundred Refinement Forest.
"He’s at the second stage already."
The bearded man who first emerged took a deep breath.
If he remembered correctly, the last time Ling Jianming went through the first two stages, it took him seventy-nine breaths, but this time, it was fifty-nine breaths. He was twenty breaths faster for the first two stages.
The state of a martial artist can certainly affect their speed in the stages, but such a twenty-breath difference in the first two stages suggests an improvement in strength rather than a mere fluctuation in condition.
The experts of the Ling Family looked at each other, all feeling an inexplicable tension.
This time, it took eight hundred breaths.
A layer of yellow light suddenly appeared.
"Hahaha, Brother Jianming is indeed Brother Jianming, he has indeed made a breakthrough,"
The one laughing out loud was Ling Cunlian’s eldest son, Ling Jianhua.
Having also cleared the third stage, last time it took Ling Jianming eight hundred ninety-five breaths; this time, it was only eight hundred fifty-nine breaths, advancing a full thirty-six breaths quicker.
This discrepancy could not be explained by mere differences in condition; it clearly indicated that the other party’s strength had improved, and not by a small margin.
"Brother Jianming is indeed the number one talent in our Ling family, of course not something the common folk can compare to."
Ling Zishuang was so excited that her face flushed red.
Earlier, she had been deliberately targeting Shi Xiaole, but suddenly she felt that her own scope was too narrow. Comparing Ling Jianming to Shi Xiaole was giving too much credit to the latter.
When the green glow appeared, exactly one thousand breaths had passed.
Ling Zixin sighed.
The rivalry between the two branches of the Ling family was far from as peaceful as it seemed on the surface; she even heard her intoxicated father mention once that the death of Aunt Yu Ji was no accident and was suspected to be connected to a family intrigue.
From her point of view, she naturally did not wish for the Ling Wenyu branch to grow stronger. But currently, whether it was her grandfather’s generation or her father’s, both were suppressed.
As for their own generation, it was Ling Jianming alone who took away all the glory.
A deep sense of despair welled up in Ling Zixin’s heart.
Three thousand six hundred and fifty breaths!
When Ling Jianming walked out of the Hundred Refinement Forest, the experts on site all gasped in shock. He had improved by fifty breaths from his last attempt, setting the strongest record to date for reaching the sixth stage. Chances were, it might not be broken for another fifty years.
It’s important to note that the less time it takes to reach the sixth stage, the better the performance.
But actually, when it comes to the sixth stage, the longer the time, the stronger the proof of your strength. Because the less powerful would have been eliminated early on.
"Cousin, interested in giving it a try?"
Ling Jianming’s face still wore a faint smile, seemingly not excited about the achievement, as he looked at Shi Xiaole and said, "After testing, you can know your strength more accurately and have a clearer direction for effort in the future. Moreover, this place was personally constructed by Aunt Yu Ji."
