Chapter 143: The Foundation Of A Qi Refiner (2)
Days flew by.
Wu Yuan spent his time immersed in cultivation within his private courtyard house. Unlike most disciples of the martial academy, he never joined others for meals.
Most disciples of the Cloud Martial Hall were extremely diligent, especially the disciples of the senior academy. There were almost no lazy bones. However, humans were not machines, they needed to rest and relax. It was rare to see anyone as outright obsessed as Wu Yuan.
His way of unwinding from cultivation? It was to read in the library, to meditate in various special cultivation environments in Cloudhill, pondering the mystery of Unity.
Because of this, almost all disciples in the Cloud Martial Hall couldn’t help but admit that Wu Yuan was simply superior to them. He had such exaggerated talent, yet still cultivated so rigorously?
Soon, it was time for the annual competition of the Cloud Martial Hall. The first snow had arrived, but the weather was still pleasant on Cloudhill.
"Senior Brother Wu!"
"Senior Brother." Early in the morning, two disciples of the martial academy arrived outside Wu Yuan's courtyard house, both looking quite excited.
Clang~ The door opened.
"Jiushan, Longhe, up so early?" Wu Yuan stepped out, a smile lighting up his face as he greeted the two figures in the distance. The two were both robust young men, one slightly older than the other.
One was called Fang Jiushan, a member of the Fang family and a disciple of the martial academy. More than two years ago, Wu Yuan rejected the Fang family's marriage proposal, but the Fang family did not give up, and this Fang Jiushan quickly became Wu Yuan's number one fan in the martial academy. Despite being older than Wu Yuan, Fang Jiushan still addressed him as ‘Senior Brother’ without hesitation.
The other, Wu Longhe, had only enrolled in the Cloud Martial Hall a year ago. He was the most outstanding talent of the Southdream Wu Clan in this generation after Wu Yuan. He did not hail from Cloudhill City, but from another branch. Naturally, as soon as he entered the martial academy, he immediately reached out to Wu Yuan.
Being part of the Wu Clan himself, Wu Yuan naturally did not reject his friendship. Moreover, after some observation, he felt Wu Long’s personality was decent and occasionally gave him some guidance. The Wu Clan needed talent to stand firmly on Cloudhill.
“Let them in,” Wu Yuan chuckled, and the servant at the door finally admitted the two of them.
"Senior Brother, why did you wake up so late? All of us junior academy disciples have been waiting." Fang Jiushan's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"Waiting for what?" Wu Yuan laughed.
"Senior Brother, today is the day of the annual competition and the highly anticipated major tournament," Wu Longhe's voice trembled with excitement. "Rumor has it that this year, you will challenge the ten Cloud Heirs!"
"The ten Cloud Heirs?" Wu Yuan smiled wryly.
"Senior Brother, which rank are you aiming for this time?" Fang Jiushan excitedly asked, "Are you challenging the eighth or ninth first, or going straight for the top five?"
"The top five? Seems a bit difficult," Wu Long hesitated slightly.
Having just entered the Cloud Martial Hall, he had yet to witness Wu Yuan in battle. Meanwhile, he had seen several of the top-ranking Cloud Heirs in action, and their prowess had left a deep impression on him.
"Longhe, you didn't witness Senior Brother's overwhelming victory in the junior academy last year." Fang Jiushan said earnestly. "Another year has passed, and Senior Brother's strength must have grown once more. I believe he might even secure a place in the top three."
"Top three?" Wu Long was taken aback.
"Alright, that’s enough guessing. We’ll know the outcome once we get there," Wu Yuan laughed, skirting a direct answer.
The annual competition?
I've turned seventeen this year, this should be my final year in the Cloud Martial Hall.
He had no intention of staying in the Cloud Martial Hall forever. According to Wu Yuan's plan, once his golden developmental stage ended, he would leave Cloudhill to venture through the various continents of the world.
The Middle Land was vast, encompassing thirteen continents. Beyond that, there were three overseas continents and countless islands. Once he had made some progress in his cultivation, he planned to see these sights. Why would Wu Yuan confine himself to the tiny Cloudhill?
Moreover, as per The Rain Hierarch's instructions, I'll go challenge level two of the Skystride Pavilion after this year's competition.
Since that’s the case, let's show some real strength this year, rounding off my cultivation career as a disciple of Cloud Martial Hall with a perfect finale.
Soon, the trio reached the largest training ground of the martial academy. Here, dozens of stages had already been set up and most of the 800 plus disciples of the Cloud Martial Hall had already arrived.
As Wu Yuan's group made their entrance, heads turned, and the training ground buzzed with excitement.
"Senior Brother Wu is here!”
"Senior Brother!"
"Senior Brother." Many disciples revealed expressions of excitement and adoration. In terms of fame and prestige, Wu Yuan's standing within the martial academy was extremely high.
...
On one side of the training ground, three young men observed the scene, shaking their heads in resignation.
"Although we are the top three Cloud Heirs, our junior brothers and sisters certainly didn't greet us with such fervor when we arrived," a young man with a red birthmark on his face remarked helplessly. "What’s so great about being a Cloud Heir?"
Another young man in blue robes shook his head, jokingly saying, "Senior Brother Xu suppressed us in our early years. We thought we could finally breathe easy once he left, but now we have this Junior Brother Wu."
"Junior Brother Wu is indeed unimaginably talented, and practices extremely diligently," the young man in black robes on the far right said softly. "In due time, he will be even stronger than Senior Brother Xu!"
"But he's been in the martial academy for less than three years! Are we really going to allow ourselves to be bested by him this year?" The young man in black robes asked solemnly. "If we are to lose, it should at least wait until next year."
"Indeed." The young man with a red birthmark and the young man in blue robes both nodded, their eyes filled with fighting spirit.
The three of them were currently the top three Cloud Heirs of the senior academy and shared a close bond. They didn’t envy Wu Yuan, understanding that their future achievements were incomparable to his. But as Cloud Heirs, they all had their pride, and were unwilling to concede defeat.
...
Bang~ The final blow descended like a bolt of lightning.
The spear wielded by the youth with the red birthmark was knocked out of his grasp. In an instant, the opponent's staff connected with his body, sending him flying off the platform!
"Senior Brother Ju, thank you for going easy on me." Wu Yuan smiled politely with his hands cupped in respect.
...
Bang! Bang! Bang! After several rapid exchanges, Wu Yuan swiftly pivoted and delivered a strike. His staff transformed into a spear, erupting with raw power as it connected with the chest of the young man in blue robes, propelling him through the air.
"Senior Brother Yu, victory is mine," Wu Yuan beamed.
"From today onward, you're my Senior Brother," the youth in blue robes reluctantly conceded.
The gap was simply too immense, Wu Yuan’s strength was overpowering, leaving him with no room to counterattack. He was led by the nose the whole way, and in the end, he was sent flying by a reverse spear strike. The two were on completely different levels.
"Senior Brother Wu!"
"Great Senior Brother!"
"He’s aiming for the number one Cloud Heir spot!" The training ground grew rowdy with the exclamations of hundreds of disciples. The deafening shouts echoed in all directions, especially from Fang Jiushan and Wu Longle.
Such dominance!
Once Wu Yuan stepped onto the platform, he scored nineteen consecutive wins, sweeping the junior academy. This was within everyone's expectations and did not cause much of a stir.
Following that, Wu Yuan, the number one in the junior academy, directly challenged the top ten Cloud Heirs of the senior academy.
He first challenged the tenth. At that time, the tenth Cloud Heir's face turned green. He thought that even if Wu Yuan wanted to challenge someone, he would directly challenge the top five. Unexpectedly, Wu Yuan chose him, the seemingly easy target.
But soon, this Cloud Heir understood that he was wrong, Wu Yuan wasn’t going after easy prey. Instead, he was targeting everyone!
Tenth! Ninth! Eighth!... Wu Yuan challenged them one by one. Not a single Cloud Heir could withstand more than ten moves from him. Facing Wu Yuan, the ten Cloud Heirs were as helpless as ordinary junior academy disciples in the Cloud Martial Hall.
As he fought his way up to the second Cloud Heir. The entire Cloud Martial Hall bubbled over with excitement. Regardless of whether they were senior academy disciples or junior academy disciples, everyone felt their hearts conquered by Wu Yuan’s might.
Soon, it was the final battle.
On the dueling platform, under the gaze of nearly 1000 pairs of eyes, a young man in black robes stared intently at Wu Yuan, gripping a sword tightly.
“Wu Yuan,” he spoke in a low voice, “I know I’m no match for you. But I hope you can use your full strength to defeat me.”
“Full strength?” An odd look flashed through Wu Yuan's eyes, then he chuckled. “Alright, Senior Brother Tang, I'll grant your request.”
Boom! Under the keen observation of the audience, the two crossed paths. The black-robed youth was blasted off the platform by a casual swing of Wu Yuan's staff and landed flat on his bottom.
Wu Yuan won in one move.
"Senior Brother Tang, this is my full strength. I hope I didn't disappoint you." Wu Yuan grinned, "Thanks for going easy on me."
Wu Yuan then leaped off the stage, ignoring the screams and cheers of the disciples of the Cloud Martial Hall.
As for the young man in black? Not many people were paying attention to him anymore.
He sat on the ground, dazed for a long time, with nothing in his mind but that one staff strike. No matter how hard he thought and pondered, there was only one conclusion: guaranteed defeat! No matter how one tried to hide, defeat was inevitable in the face of that staff swing.
Damn, what level has Wu Yuan reached? The black-robed youth sighed inwardly.
He felt that the profoundness of that single staff swing might be worth pursuing for a lifetime.
Suddenly, his expression changed again.
Among the Ten Cloud Heirs, I am probably the only one defeated in a single move. The black-robed youth revealed a bitter smile.
He didn’t just lose face, he even asked for this humiliation himself.
...
Only two hours later, another piece of news quickly spread through the Cloud Martial Hall. The new Great Senior Brother of the Cloud Martial Hall, Wu Yuan, passed the second level of the Skystride Pavilion, once again breaking the record set by Grandmaster Fang Xia.
The news that Cloudstride’s Wu Yuan possessed the strength of a first-rate Adept at seventeen spread like a hurricane from Cloudhill, and could not be contained.
It wasn’t just the entire Cloudstride Sect that was shaken. All factions who had been paying attention to Wu Yuan were also shocked.
...
Situated in the far west corner of the Jiang Continent was the Jinyang Province.
The city of Jinyang was the western gateway of the Jiang Continent. It bordered the Chu and Yuan Continents, and served as the Great Jin Empire's main base for launching attacks on the Jiang Continent.
Within a super mansion situated in the east of the city, a purple-robed elderly man, around 60 years of age, wore a look of utter shock upon seeing the unexpected visitor before him. "East King, what brings you here?" he asked.
"If I hadn’t come, I'm afraid the three of you wouldn’t do a thing even as the Cloudstride Sect produces another Great Grandmaster." East King Jin Jiu, dressed in his usual attire, spoke in a cold voice.
The purple-robed elderly man’s face froze.
"Cloudstride’s Wu Yuan. His power grows stronger by the day. At only seventeen years old, he already possesses the strength of a first-rate Adept." East King Jin Jiu fixed his gaze on the purple-robed elderly man. "You, Chen Luo, and Lu Jiangyin, are the three of you just going to sit back and do nothing?"
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