Chapter 99: Chapter 99: First Place

“Hah!”

Chu Lingguang surged his Qi Blood and unleashed his Heavenward Force, hoisting the 470-jin Stone Lock above his head.

At that moment, his feet were sinking into the sandy ground.

His body trembled slightly.

But the Stone Lock remained high overhead, showing no signs of giving way.

In the candidates’ waiting area, Liu Quan’s vision went dark. He felt as if that 470-jin Stone Lock was crushing his heart, suffocating him.

Chu Lingguang’s Qi Power had surpassed his by a full sixty jin.

It was even ten jin more than Yan Chengdu.

Chu Lingguang’s current form was even steadier than Yan Chengdu’s had been when lifting 460 jin. Liu Quan never imagined the gap between them was so vast.

Beside him, Jin Shan was also stunned speechless.

CRUNCH.

Tie Zhennan crushed a walnut in his hand and closed his eyes, defeated.

Hei Hu’s mouth hung open, too excited to speak.

Guo Wei sat in his seat, his heart in his throat, mentally counting the seconds. After one breath—THUD. The five Stone Locks hit the ground, and Guo Wei’s suspended heart finally settled. His broad, rough hands fidgeted, unsure what to do, before he finally gave his own thigh a light pat, as if applauding Chu Lingguang.

“Hahaha! Senior Brother, Lin Guang has made us proud! First place in the Qiao Pass is his for the taking.”

After his initial shock, Master Yan was the first to break the silence. As Chu Lingguang’s martial uncle, he also shared in the glory of his nephew taking first in the Qiao Pass and crushing the Noble Family Descendants.

Da Wang and Xiao Wang glanced at each other and let out a helpless sigh. They both realized that Chu Lingguang had become their number one rival, one who could even contend with the Noble Families for the top spot.

Da Wu and Xiao Wu also wore grave expressions. If Chu Lingguang took the top spot in the Daoist Examination, they would meet him on the Governor’s Mansion’s tournament stage at the Provincial Examination in a year. Against him, they no longer had any certainty of victory.

Leader Ma’s face was a mask of envy and jealousy.

Two young men in the crowd remained silent, their gazes fixed on Chu Lingguang with fiery intensity. They were Teng Qingshan and Lin Yuanfu.

A month ago, at the Guo Wei Martial Arts Hall, neither of them had been able to gain an advantage over Chu Lingguang.

They had long considered Chu Lingguang an evenly matched opponent. Now, seeing him dominate the competition, with even a Governor’s Mansion Family disciple’s Qi Power falling a notch below his, their estimation of Chu Lingguang’s standing rose even higher in their hearts.

The examiners put their heads together, whispering amongst themselves.

In the three rounds of the Qiao Pass, Chu Lingguang had outshined everyone in the final round. This event was a test of pure, unadulterated Qi Power; there was no room for cheating.

After a brief exchange, they wrote next to Chu Lingguang’s name: Grade A+ Upper Grade, Qi Power 470 jin, temporarily ranked first. Next to Yan Chengdu’s name, they wrote: Qi Power 460 jin, temporarily ranked second.

Inside the sandy ring.

Ji Hu stared viciously at Chu Lingguang.

’I was actually crushed by a Civilian Disciple.’

Beside him, Shi Guangzhong and Chai Yaolong also clenched their fists. Chu Lingguang had not only brought them shame but also an undeniable pressure.

Yan Chengdu, however, remained silent.

But his eyes were fixed intently on Chu Lingguang. He hadn’t expected to lose, especially not in the Qiao Pass, and to a candidate from a small county town at that.

One could only imagine his feelings at this moment.

But having presented himself as approachable and refined from the start, he maintained his composure. He cupped his fist to Chu Lingguang in congratulations. “Congratulations, Young Master Chu, on taking first in the Qiao Pass. Let us compete again in the next round, the Saber Technique.”

“The competition isn’t over. It’s too early to say for certain who will take first,” Chu Lingguang replied, cupping his fist as well.

“Mm.”

Yan Chengdu nodded. Chu Lingguang’s calm and composed demeanor made him take his opponent even more seriously. ’But I can’t possibly lose to him in the remaining events,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, the top spot really will be his.’

The five of them walked out of the sandy ring.

The examiner announced, “Liu Quan, Jin Shan, Lin Longkun, Wu Tiexiong, Yuchi Zhuo—your test begins!”

“Master.”

Chu Lingguang returned to Guo Wei’s side.

“Rest well. Regulate your Qi Power first, and don’t let anything go wrong,” Guo Wei instructed.

“Yes.”

Chu Lingguang obediently complied, taking his place behind Guo Wei, with Hei Hu on the other side.

Liu Quan walked into the sandy ring, utterly dejected.

“Third round, prepare!”

“Lift!” the examiner shouted.

Liu Quan attempted to lift the 410-jin Stone Lock.

The Stone Lock reached his chest, but it suddenly felt as heavy as a mountain. No matter how much Qi Power he used, he couldn’t raise it over his head.

Seeing this, Hei Hu clenched his fists and muttered under his breath, “Quan, you’re going soft, you’re going soft.”

THUD!

In the end, Liu Quan failed to lift the 410-jin Stone Lock over his head.

Seeing this, a disappointed Tie Zhennan left the examination grounds.

Liu Quan had 410 jin of Qi Power, which should have been enough to secure a Grade A Middle Grade without issue. Unfortunately, the shock from Chu Lingguang’s performance had been too great, shattering his composure. He was unable to exert his full strength and ultimately only achieved a Grade A Lower Grade.

Because he failed the third round, his Grade A Lower Grade ranking put him at the bottom, even lower than Hei Hu.

Beside him, Jin Shan, whose Qi Power was less than Liu Quan’s and about the same as Hei Hu’s, lifted the 400-jin Stone Lock in the third round. He received a Grade A Lower Grade, ranking on par with Hei Hu.

In the first event, the Qiao Pass, Guo Wei’s disciples had crushed Tie Zhennan’s.

「Two hours later.」

All the candidates had completed the Qiao Pass test.

An hour after that, the examiners posted the rankings.

Chu Lingguang, without a doubt, took first place in the Qiao Pass.

Yan Chengdu took second.

A local candidate from South City named Lin Longde took third.

In the end, of the Governor’s Mansion Families, only Yan Chengdu placed in the top three of the Qiao Pass, taking second place.

Ji Hu, Shi Guangzhong, and Chai Yaolong ranked somewhere between fourth and tenth. After this first event, everyone felt, in a daze, that perhaps the Governor’s Mansion Families weren’t so impressive after all.

Even though Yan Chengdu had lifted a 460-jin Stone Lock, the ten-jin gap in Qi Power between him and Chu Lingguang led to all sorts of criticism directed at him.

In an alley in the Central Courtyard.

Master Yan had prepared a grand feast to celebrate Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu’s excellent results and the glory they had brought to their school.

After they had their fill of food and wine, Guo Wei asked, “How much of the Continuous Slash Saber Technique have you two mastered?”

“Master, I feel I’ve mastered about fifty percent of its power,” Hei Hu replied.

“I’m probably at less than thirty percent,” Chu Lingguang said, somewhat ashamed.

His stats for the Continuous Slash Saber Technique had already reached Perfection, but it had yet to be fully activated. The power of the fifth slash was only slightly stronger than the fourth; he still couldn’t fuse the force of the first four slashes together.

Meanwhile, the power of Hei Hu’s fifth slash already contained the combined force of two slashes, making it a bit stronger than Chu Lingguang’s.

“Just do your best tomorrow. Don’t overthink it. With your Saber Technique, achieving an A Class grade will be no problem at all,” Guo Wei said, afraid of putting too much pressure on them.

That night, Hei Hu went to bed early to conserve his energy for the Saber Technique competition the next day.

But Chu Lingguang couldn’t sleep.

He took his saber to the front courtyard, his wrist turning unconsciously as he sought the true secret of Borrowing Strength. ’If I want to compete for the top spot, I have to completely master the Continuous Slash Saber Technique.’

*(Today’s follow-up reads and ranking push are especially important. They’ll determine whether this book can continue to get recommended over the weekend. Over 200,000 words are already free on the public account. I’m asking everyone to please help me climb the ranks. There are still another week or two of free Chapters to come. I need your support!)*

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep