We made you practice martial arts, and you've mastered the Great Golden Body?

Chapter 136 Funeral
If you look from the top of the Tianji Building, the highest point of the Tianji Academy.

"Can we confirm this now?"

Ji Chenghu's gaze was quite profound, like the deep sea at ten thousand meters, unfathomable. He stood in the void, towering in the sky, quietly watching the figure below that looked like a black ant.

"There should be... about... a 70-80% chance of being certain." Duan Wuyai looked flustered and became somewhat reserved, mainly because the information he had obtained yesterday was simply too astonishing.

Shen Bailian is a Holy Body?!
When Duan Wuyai heard the news, his first reaction was to check the date to see if it was April Fool's Day. His second reaction was that the teachers below must have been taking a nap and were still half asleep.

But when he received confirmation from the more than one hundred martial arts students, he was stunned.

More than a hundred martial arts students, who are the best among the millions of martial arts students in the Great Xia Dynasty, would normally have their own pride and it would be impossible for so many of them to tell such a huge lie in unison.

Duan Wuyai still has confidence in the current education system of the Great Xia Dynasty.

“If we want to conduct the test, we’ll probably have to apply for permission to go to the capital for testing, which will take about half a day,” Duan Wuyai said slowly after hesitating for a long time.

Based on the current technology of Great Xia, there are only two methods to determine the Holy Body.

The first type is the vision inherent in the Holy Body, but not all visions of the Holy Body can be clearly manifested.

Just like the difference between dominant and recessive genes, the Holy Body is also divided into dominant and recessive Holy Bodies.

The manifested sacred body is typified by Yuwen Changkong, who was in the same class as Shen Bailian. His sacred body, Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, begins to show its power after entering the Transcendent Realm.

When Yuwen Changkong fights, his body will be surrounded by high-voltage current, and his strength will be doubled when fighting on rainy days.

The hidden sacred body is something that can't be revealed. Generally speaking, even those in the Transcendent Realm find it difficult to manifest. It is only possible to reveal it when they reach the Sea Opening Realm or the Moon Embracing Realm.

The second method is a universal ability of the Holy Body, which is different from the Battle Body, which requires a high level of mastery to distinguish divine favor.

As long as it is a sacred body, whether manifest or latent, it is possible to roughly distinguish which one is the true divine priest from among the many false bodies of the divinely favored priest.

The second method of identifying the sacred body that Duan Wuyai mentioned was going to the capital, because only in the capital, where the star power is most concentrated, can the living divine sacrifices be better suppressed.

345 years have passed since the great catastrophe of 1999. After many years of development, the Great Xia has gone from being a defensive and evasive force to having the ability to fight back.

For some of the weaker divine priests within the territory, the powerful figures of Great Xia, in conjunction with the Zhou Tian Star Array, have been able to initially control them.

This is also why the priest favored by the gods thought of escaping instead of staying to fight back.

However, to use this method, one needs to queue up, because there are quite a few people who suspect they are the Hidden Body each year, and divine favor is not always so cooperative.

"And what about you?" Ji Chenghu withdrew his gaze, turned to look at Duan Wuyai, and said in a deep voice, "Shen Bailian is your student, and I would like to hear your opinion."

"Improve their benefits," Duan Wuyai said excitedly.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our Tiangang Academy. For so many years, we have been suppressed by the various Martial Halls. Principal, you should know what the consequences would be if we went to the capital for testing and it turned out to be a Sacred Body, right?"

"Besides, even if the gamble is wrong, with the strength and potential that Shen Bailian has shown so far, he is not much weaker than that so-called Holy Body. It would be right to improve his treatment."

"Hmm." Ji Chenghu nodded approvingly upon hearing Duan Wuyai's answer, a satisfied smile appearing on his face, and continued:
"So I think the same way as you, but we still need to ask the principal for instructions on the specifics."

Within the Great Xia Dynasty, there is an unwritten, domineering rule: all the Holy Bodies within the Great Xia Dynasty must report to the Martial Hall.

If Shen Bailian were to go to the capital and actually be found to have a Sacred Body, everyone except those who ascend to the Martial Hall would surely jump out to snatch him away.

"Since you have no objections, let's agree to this for now."

“Okay, then you’d better apply for more cultivation resources, otherwise if outsiders find out, they’ll think we’ve been mistreating the Holy Body, hehe.” Duan Wuyai said with a chuckle.

"Understood." Ji Chenghu glanced at his smart bracelet, his expression suddenly turning serious. He said in a low voice, "Go back and change your clothes. It's time to attend those children's funerals."

"Row."

……

"The eldest brother has arrived."

"Hello, Senior Brother."

"..."

Walking on the street, there were many first-year martial arts students wearing dark clothes, and the boys were mostly wearing dark jackets with trousers.

Most girls opted for dark-colored dresses or long skirts paired with tops, and none of them chose to wear makeup. Of course, given these girls' level of sophistication, ordinary cosmetics had become meaningless.

These first-year martial arts students all wore a white flower on their left chest.

This is a tradition of the Tiangang Academy. Every year during the second round of wilderness trials for new students, some martial artists will perish. This is something that cannot be avoided.

This year is particularly special, as 20 martial arts students have passed away, 13 of whom died after the opening of the Divine Ruins.

The ashes and belongings of the deceased will be sent back to their homes by special plane, and Tiangang Academy will also make certain compensation measures.

Inside the school, a special funeral will also be held, a cenotaph.

Each new student can choose whether or not to participate, and this will not be included in any assessment; it is simply a tradition.

With the courtesy of the martial arts students, Shen Bailian, Wang Yuxuan, Li Feiyu, and other top-tier martial arts students of the Sun-level Dragon Gate, who were among the best of all the new students, once moved to the front of the line.

Shen Bailian even moved up to the front of the team.

Shen Bailian did not mince words in response. He was not yet 18 years old, but he had already won over everyone with his strength and personal charm, and was among the top three thousand martial arts students in the Great Xia Dynasty.

Although it was still early morning, the surrounding area seemed to become somber due to the emotional resonance of thousands of martial arts students.

All the second- and third-year martial arts students who passed by were either joking around or doing a warm-up jog...

But when they saw the new students' attire, they immediately stopped smiling and quietly made way for them.

Although this tradition at Tiangang Academy is not mandatory for every freshman, almost no one is absent.

Because that's the path of a martial artist; you never know when you might die.

The newly established training grounds are all located in specially created buffer zones, with the sky filled with surveillance and security systems, which have greatly reduced the mortality rate.

On the real battlefield, death could be the next thing to happen to anyone present, including Shen Bailian.

More than three thousand martial arts students marched in an orderly and unobstructed manner toward the east gate of Tiangang University, heading toward the university's cemetery.

The cemetery was already filled with flowers, and there were also many wreaths around it.

Because of the confidentiality requirements of the Tiangang Academy, the parents of those deceased martial arts students were unable to come here.

Those who came to the funeral as elders were the deans of the six major combat divisions of Tiangang Academy, as well as the vice principal Ji Chenghu.

"Qingqing, how's the application for 0527 (Zhou Xiaowei)'s merits and the compensation measures going?" Ji Chenghu looked at the cenotaphs and clenched his fists, his mood becoming increasingly somber.

If it weren't for the Shenxu event, so many martial arts students wouldn't have died, and an innocent father wouldn't have sacrificed his life.

"The compensation measures are almost complete, tentatively set at 5 million Daxia coins, and... in addition, when Zhou Xiaowei's son takes the college entrance examination, the admission score will be lowered by 500 to 10 points, only once."

"As for the military, it is still in the review stage and it will take about three more days to issue the results. But at the very least, they can give a third-level combat hero fearless medal, with a chance of a second-level medal."

"Given Zhou Xiaowei's contributions to our school, awarding him a 'Second-Class Combat Hero Fearless Medal' is entirely justified, and I even feel it's a bit too little." Ji Chenghu lowered his head in thought, and after a moment, he had an idea and continued:
"How about this, in my personal capacity, I will add one million to the compensation and a precious medicine that can be used at any time and is suitable for martial arts apprentices."

Huang Qingqing was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, somewhat taken aback, because a precious herb suitable for use by martial arts apprentices was already worth more than three million.

"What? Do you have any other questions?"

“No problem,” Huang Qingqing replied immediately.

Anyway, the latter two awards were issued in Ji Chenghu's personal name and not through the school's account, so they didn't have much of an impact.

"The students have arrived."

"Alright, let's begin preparing for the funeral."

……

Because it was a funeral held by the school, none of the martial arts students' relatives were present, so the process was simple and quick.

After Ji Chenghu, the deans of various colleges, and other elders finished speaking, the moment of silence for the group began, which lasted only one minute.

Finally, there was the part where friends spoke. Those who were able to speak were basically the deceased martial arts student's close friends.

Throughout the entire process, apart from the faint sobs, the surroundings were extremely quiet, eerily quiet, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Strictly speaking, martial arts students studying away from home are generally not alone; they have friends from the same city or classmates from the same grade.

There was only one exception: Shen Bailian.

He took the martial arts college entrance exam ahead of schedule, while Li Hongling, another prodigy from Bozhou City, went to the Mountain and Sea Academy. Unless he participates in the league, there is basically no possibility of seeing him again.

Therefore, Shen Bailian cannot empathize with the people around her.

In just over half an hour, the entire funeral process was over, and it was time for everyone to go back to their cultivation lives.

"time to go."

Shen Bailian slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, intending to return with the others.

The deceased are gone, but the living must continue to strive.

Only by becoming stronger can one improve their survivability on the battlefield and increase their survival rate.

Not being afraid of death doesn't mean you want to die.

"Xiao Shen, stay here for a moment." Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in Shen Bailian's ears; it was Duan Wuyai.

Strangely, everyone around seemed not to hear anything and continued walking forward.

The sound is so powerful it's almost a line!

"Senior Brother, aren't you going back?" Feng Yanqiu asked, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, looking at Shen Bailian who had stopped.

"Something came up, you guys go back first." Shen Bailian didn't say that Duan Wuyai had stopped him, but instead gave a vague and perfunctory reply.

"or"

"Hey, let's go." Feng Yanqiu was about to say something when Wang Yuxuan pulled her away and added, "Senior Brother, we'll head back now."

(End of this chapter)