Chapter 151: Chapter 129: In the Spotlight (2)

He had been striving toward this goal, hoping to reach it before the Provincial Examination. He never expected to see a fellow candidate from his year achieve this realm today.

“The top examinee from South City.”

“Chu Lingguang.”

“A Lower-class Youth?”

“Hmph!”

Everyone was lost in their own thoughts.

A mix of envy, jealousy, and hate.

At Liu Wan’s reminder, they re-entered a state of Breathing and Exhaling.

’There’s no need to compare myself to him. As long as I can surpass myself, that’s all that matters.’

Lin Longde comforted himself inwardly and once again entered a state of cultivation.

「An hour later.」

Everyone had grown accustomed to the sound of a hundred rivers roaring from within Chu Lingguang’s body. Just then, Chu Lingguang’s brow furrowed. The warmth in his body suddenly surged, and as the qi flowed through his blood vessels, it felt like stones scraping against his flesh. He had no choice but to stop.

He looked at Liu Wan and Li Dayao in confusion.

“Opening the blood vessels is just the foundation of Inner Strength. To truly achieve the Hundred Rivers Operation, you must also know how to strengthen every blood vessel in your body. Only then will you avoid damaging them during qi circulation. Otherwise, forcing the qi will lead to damaged blood vessels, which will in turn cause your Inner Strength to collapse. You’ll never be able to open your Dantian Qi Sea.”

Liu Wan had been keeping a close watch from the side.

When he saw Chu Lingguang’s brow furrow and the pained expression on his face, he knew exactly what problem he was facing and quickly offered his advice.

“How can I strengthen my blood vessels?”

Chu Lingguang asked.

“The Day and Night Breathing Technique you’ve activated can both increase your Qi Power and strengthen your blood vessels. Don’t be too hasty. Find your rhythm. When you discover that your blood vessels and qi are resonating during the Hundred Rivers Operation, this Breathing Technique will be able to strengthen your blood vessels while simultaneously increasing your Qi Power.”

Liu Wan explained.

It was rare to find a talent who had already opened his blood vessels, and Liu Wan couldn’t bear to let Chu Lingguang take a wrong step and ruin his own cultivation.

“Thank you, Mr. Liu.”

Chu Lingguang committed it to memory.

He hadn’t realized that the path of Inner Strength cultivation was fraught with peril at every level. It was no wonder that the number of masters dwindled the higher one climbed.

His blood vessels were now overloaded.

His earlier display had earned Liu Wan’s approval, so Chu Lingguang no longer felt the need to generate the “roar of a hundred rivers” and overshadow everyone else.

He followed Liu Wan’s teachings and began to search for the point of resonance between his blood vessels and qi, allowing the qi circulation to both increase his Qi Power and strengthen his blood vessels.

Clearly, this stage was much more difficult than activating the Day and Night Breathing Technique, perhaps even as difficult as opening all the blood vessels in his body.

Fortunately, Chu Lingguang wasn’t in a hurry.

He began by trying to absorb a faint stream of qi, attempting to strengthen his blood vessels. But as the qi entered his body, the painful sensation of stones scraping against them returned.

“Foolish boy, you already have enough qi in your blood vessels to strengthen them. There’s no need to keep absorbing external qi; that will only increase the burden on your blood vessels.”

Li Dayao chimed in, puzzled by Chu Lingguang’s actions.

“Oh.”

Chu Lingguang flushed with embarrassment. ’Why didn’t I think of something so simple?’

He then sealed his apertures.

Using the Day and Night Breathing Technique, he controlled the barely perceptible qi within his blood vessels, trying to make this stream of qi resonate with them.

「Six hours later.」

The candidates stopped their Breathing and Exhaling.

Those who had yet to activate the Day and Night Breathing Technique—sixteen in all—were grouped together.

Those who had activated the Breathing Technique but hadn’t yet opened their blood vessels—thirty-five in all—were placed in another group.

Finally, those who had both activated the Breathing Technique and opened their blood vessels were grouped together. They were the smallest group, with only nine people, including Chu Lingguang, Chen Jin, Qi Shiwei, Emperor Yue Xuan, and Gao Yimu.

Lin Longde, Yan Chengdu, and even Yu Jiaxin had only activated the Day and Night Breathing Technique and had not yet opened their blood vessels. However, judging by the commotion they made earlier, they were not far from opening a main vessel.

“You nine, you will practice with me tomorrow.”

Li Dayao said to Chu Lingguang and the other eight.

“Yes!”

The nine said in unison.

“Those who haven’t activated the Breathing Technique will stay in the Outer Courtyard on your own. Before you activate it, no one is to take a single step out of the Outer Courtyard. Otherwise, you will be expelled from the academy. Even if you achieve official rank in the future, you will never be allowed to set foot in this academy again.”

“Likewise for those in the Central Courtyard. Before you open your blood vessels, no one is allowed to leave. However, you are luckier; I will continue to instruct you.”

Liu Wan said to those two groups.

The sixteen people assigned to the Outer Courtyard had various expressions. Some were dejected, lamenting that the academy wouldn’t grant any Favors, while others were gathering their strength, waiting to successfully activate the Day and Night Breathing Technique in a few days.

Everyone dispersed, returning to their respective courtyards according to their assignments.

「In the Inner Courtyard.」

Chu Lingguang felt eight pairs of eyes staring at him.

Everyone was staring at him as if he were a monster. There was apprehension, hostility, and even more admiration and curiosity.

“Chu Lingguang, when did you open your blood vessels?”

Qi Shiwei asked.

Chu Lingguang looked at Emperor Yue Xuan. In the eyes of others, Emperor Yue Xuan was the first person to have opened his blood vessels.

“You opened your blood vessels before I did.”

Emperor Yue Xuan said magnanimously.

“Mhm.”

Chu Lingguang nodded.

Although they had expected it, when they heard it, even Emperor Yue Xuan felt a twinge of jealousy.

’Who was Chu Lingguang to deserve this?’

’He was from an obscure place like South City.’

’And from a Humble Family background.’

’Yet he had managed to utterly suppress a group of them, all Noble Family Disciples.’

“Activating the Breathing Technique and opening the blood vessels are just the first step of the academy’s assessment. There are still two more rounds of tests, which will see how well we all use this Breathing Technique.”

Chen Jin said.

“That’s right. Even if you opened your blood vessels a step ahead of us all, I don’t believe you can continue to surpass us when it comes to using the Breathing Technique.”

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