Chapter 153: Chapter 130: Fighting Spirit

“Mr. Yue, the good news about Nephew Yue has arrived.”

Fan Zhibian said, taking the scroll.

“Ah, anything can happen. My son isn’t guaranteed to take first place. Please don’t laugh later, Lord Fan.”

Yue Yuanshan was only being modest; deep down, he didn’t believe any candidate in this year’s class possessed the talent to surpass Emperor Yue Xuan.

Besides, before even entering the academy for advanced training, Emperor Yue Xuan was already practicing an Advanced Breathing Method. He was just one step away from achieving full circulation through his bloodlines. On top of that, he was number one in North City. Excelling in the first round of the academy’s training was not a problem at all.

“There’s no one else here, Mr. Yue, so you can drop the pleasantries. Come, let’s open it together and take a look.”

Fan Zhibian found Yue Yuanshan’s false modesty extremely irritating. If not for Emperor Yue Xuan’s undeniable talent, he would never have gotten so close to the man.

“Alright.”

Yue Yuanshan dropped the formalities.

He grabbed one end of the scroll.

Fan Zhibian, meanwhile, unrolled it, and lines of information appeared before the two of them.

The information was laid out clearly.

The scroll clearly listed who had first activated their Breathing Technique and who had been fastest to clear their bloodlines. It was also divided into sections for those who had failed to activate the technique at all, or those who had activated it but had yet to clear their bloodlines.

As it happened, the very first section of the scroll listed the names of the sixteen candidates who had failed to activate their Breathing Technique and had been placed in the Outer Courtyard.

Fan Zhibian instinctively searched for the names of Chu Lingguang and Lin Longde in this group. Forgetting to unroll the scroll any further, he scanned the sixteen names back and forth several times but saw no sign of them.

Having brought up Chu Lingguang moments before, Yue Yuanshan, despite his inner scorn, found himself curious about the man’s results. When he also failed to find Chu Lingguang’s name among those who hadn’t activated the technique, he couldn’t help but exchange a look with Fan Zhibian.

“To think the heavens were merciful enough to let him activate the Breathing Technique in just ten days,” Fan Zhibian said, somewhat awkwardly.

He then continued to unroll the scroll.

The thirty-five names of those who had activated the Breathing Technique but had not yet cleared their bloodlines gradually came into view.

Fan Zhibian quickly spotted the names of Lin Longde and Yan Chengdu. Assuming Chu Lingguang must also be among these thirty-five, he continued reading down the list, name by name.

It was a short list of thirty-five names.

Fan Zhibian saw Yu Jiaxin and several other familiar candidates from Jin City, but he still didn’t see Chu Lingguang’s name.

He thought he must have missed it.

He couldn’t help but read it over again.

But in the revealed section of the scroll, Chu Lingguang’s name was nowhere to be found.

“Could that kid have both activated the Breathing Technique *and* cleared his bloodlines?” Yue Yuanshan said doubtfully.

Ever since he hadn’t found Chu Lingguang among those who failed to activate the Breathing Technique, his interest in him had skyrocketed. Now, not finding his name in the section for those who had only activated the technique, his instinctive conclusion was that Chu Lingguang had done both.

Hearing this, Fan Zhibian yanked the scroll fully open.

The last section, with its handful of names and a final line of text, was exposed to their view.

There, displayed prominently at the top of the list, was the name: Chu Lingguang.

“That bastard Feng Junyi really lucked out.”

Fan Zhibian was incredibly annoyed that a promising talent like Chu Lingguang had ended up in Feng Junyi’s hands.

“My son, he…”

Yue Yuanshan saw Emperor Yue Xuan’s name among the nine.

But he was ranked below Chu Lingguang. Confused, he looked at the last line of text and felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

Puzzled, Fan Zhibian glanced at the line of text and was similarly thunderstruck. Then he picked up the scroll to examine it more closely.

The line of text read: “Chu Lingguang: Full circulation achieved throughout his body. The hundred rivers roar. His performance in the first round of selection is the most outstanding.”

“Full circulation throughout his body… how did that kid manage it?”

Fan Zhibian found it inconceivable.

When Chu Lingguang fought Yu Jiaxin in Jin City, his Qi Power was clearly weaker. He only won by finding the resonance point for the Unity of Man and Gun. There had been absolutely no sign that he had cleared his bloodlines.

Could he have accomplished this in just ten short days using the Day and Night Breathing Technique?

Fan Zhibian sank, devastated, into the Golden Rattan Wood chair.

If Chu Lingguang could clear his bloodlines in ten days, then his talent was immeasurably greater than that of Emperor Yue Xuan, Yan Zhen, and the others. A prodigy like that would surely earn the Emperor’s personal favor in the future. When he reached the pinnacle of Martial Arts, Fan Zhibian himself would be the one looking up to him.

“Clearing one’s bloodlines in ten days? Unheard of. I don’t believe it.”

Yue Yuanshan’s heart pounded, but he shook his head confidently.

“I must be overthinking it. I just didn’t expect him to have hidden his abilities so deeply.”

Fan Zhibian thought that made sense. But Chu Lingguang had still taken the top spot in the first round of the academy’s training. And having already cleared his bloodlines, he would hold a massive advantage in his future cultivation. A person like that could no longer be ignored.

’I need to find a way to pull him into my faction.’

Fan Zhibian was filled with regret. He hadn’t shown enough sincerity when he’d tried to win Chu Lingguang over earlier. If he’d just given him a priceless bottle of Qi Blood Pills, he might already be in his camp by now.

“Young Master, the news has arrived.”

「In the tavern next door.」

Yan Zhen had also just received the news he was waiting for.

Unlike Fan Zhibian and Yue Yuanshan, who had postured pretentiously, one holding the scroll while the other unrolled it like a winning lottery ticket, Yan Zhen’s approach was far more direct.

After untying the cloth ribbon, he simply tossed the scroll onto the table. It unfurled completely, displaying the names in all three sections for him to see.

His eyes were instinctively drawn to the smallest group: the nine individuals who had both activated the Breathing Technique and cleared their bloodlines.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep