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

Chapter 163 concludes, along with the struggle for destiny (4k).

More than an hour later.

It was on a rocky riverbank, a hundred miles away from Shen Bailian.

Crackling!

A blinding flash of lightning erupted, accompanied by a thunderous sound—or more accurately, a thunderclap.

Yuwen Changkong hovered hundreds of meters above the ground. Due to the special nature of his Sacred Body, he developed an effect similar to magnetic levitation. In addition, by controlling a small amount of the power of heaven and earth, he could stand in the void for a long time.

of course.

All of this is thanks to the Thunder Pearl on Yuwen Changkong's chest. It is the continuous supply of thunder energy provided by the Thunder Pearl that has enabled him to achieve this.

Lightning crackled around Yuwen Changkong, his figure appearing and disappearing within the lightning. Streaks of blue electricity, like nimble snakes, continuously poured towards the ape tribe on the ground.

The ape tribe on the ground could only flee in disarray, because the figure in the sky was too elusive; even if they threw boulders, it was difficult to hit it.

Compared to Shen Bailian's previous slaying of the Firestorm Ape, Yuwen Changkong at this moment is more like a ruthless killing machine.

The Razer's attack, with its millions of volts, was a devastating blow to the ape tribe, who had no insulation. They were caught off guard and had no way to escape.

More than ten minutes later.

The electric light on Yuwen Changkong's body gradually dissipated, and he slowly landed about 20 to 30 centimeters above the ground, where the ground was covered with blood and mud.

"Slaying a level 18.1 mid-stage Tier 2 ape, +5 points."

"Slayed the level 18.9 mid-stage Tier 2 Ape tribe leader, +8 points."

"..."

After another minute or so, all the points earned by the killed apes were successfully entered into the virtual AR glasses.

"There is only a little over an hour left until the end of the first round of the Golden Cup knockout stage."

"Based on my previous progress and my current record, I should be able to rank 10th, right?" Yuwen Changkong couldn't help but smile.

On the 25th, he relied on electromagnetic wave detection to reach the highest point on the leaderboard, ranking eleventh.

However, they only managed to reach eleventh place.

Because in the later stages, those martial arts students who are in the late Transcendent Realm and have a physical quality of 19.5 or above will not encounter any danger after scouting the surrounding terrain, unless they deliberately court death.

Therefore, Yuwen Changkong's ranking fluctuated, but finally stabilized at 11th place on the 2nd.

As the saying goes, human desires are endless; once basic needs are met, people will have higher aspirations.

Yuwen Changkong is in the same situation now. After confirming that he can steadily enter the preliminary stage of the top 64, he wants to rely on his electromagnetic wave induction to directly break into the top ten.

After all, he knew his own limitations, and it was impossible for him to use the Thunder Pearl cheat during the arena stage.

Furthermore, the martial arts students who made it into the top 64 were basically all experts in the late stage of the Transcendent Realm.

These martial arts students at the late stage of the Transcendent Realm were elites selected from among thousands of martial arts students by each martial arts university.

In particular, the top ten in the Golden Cup League are consistently dominated by late-stage Transcendent Realm martial artists from the six major academies, as the various martial arts halls rarely participate.

Occasionally, one or two dark horses will emerge from the top-tier martial arts universities, but this is basically impossible for second-tier martial arts universities.

Without the Thunder Pearl, Yuwen Changkong had no illusions about fighting against a late-stage Transcendent Realm expert who was a whole level above him in terms of physical attributes.

Although there is only one difference between eleventh place and tenth place, they represent completely different meanings for the Starry Sky Martial Hall.

……

Points: 7269
Ranking: 11
"Ok?"

Looking at the rankings on the virtual AR glasses, Yuwen Changkong couldn't help but feel puzzled. He murmured to himself, "Who is this tenth place? I gained over a thousand points this time, but I still couldn't surpass them. Are they that strong?"

Yuwen Changkong, who had originally planned to take a break, is now a bit of a dummy.

Without hesitation, he turned around, eager to continue searching for other groups of ferocious beasts, gain a large number of points, and quickly climb into the top ten.

however.

"click~"

Just as Yuwen Changkong was about to move, he suddenly froze, his steps halting in place. He seemed to hear a sound of something breaking, and an uncontrollable joy immediately appeared in his deep purple eyes.

"He's actually about to break through?!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Yuwen Changkong immediately activated the smart bracelet and selected the "give up" button. At the same time, the voice of artificial intelligence rang in his ears.

"You have chosen to end the first round of the elimination tournament. Your points are locked. Please wait patiently for the aerospace fighter to pick you up."

Yuwen Changkong clearly understood the relative importance of a breakthrough in physical fitness versus a Golden Cup league match.

……

Aerospace Warfare Base, Operations Conference Room.

"Congratulations, Lao Lei. It seems your luck has really turned around this time. Chang Kong is only eighteen years old and has already broken through to the mid-stage of the Transcendent Realm. He is expected to start striving for the Sea Opening Realm next August or September."

“Indeed.” Li Mingxuan sighed almost imperceptibly, raised his head, smiled and congratulated Lei Zhentian, the representative of the Starry Sky Martial Hall: “If this progress continues, it is not impossible to break the record of the Great Xia Dynasty over the years.”

Representatives from other universities also offered their congratulations.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Lei Zhentian wore an awkward smile. He was somewhat puzzled when he saw Yuwen Changkong choose to give up, but then Yuwen Changkong sent a message that he was about to break through.

He was stunned by the sudden news and blurted out that Yuwen Changkong had already broken through to the mid-stage of the Transcendent Realm.

This incident immediately shifted the attention of all the academy representatives, except for Cheng Shangwu, from Shen Bailian to Yuwen Changkong.

After all, Cheng Shangwu had been keeping information from Shen Bailian's side a secret, failing to provide a single useful piece of information for a long time, while it was already a foregone conclusion regarding Yuwen Changkong's side.

A 19-year-old martial artist at the Opening Sea Realm is not unheard of in the Great Xia Dynasty.

Wu Lingyun of the Supreme Martial Hall is currently ranked fifth on the Heavenly Gang Ranking, but he broke through to the Sea Opening Realm just one day before his 20th birthday. By the time he broke through to the Sea Opening Realm, he had already turned 20.

Strictly speaking, he wasn't a 19-year-old Sea Opening Realm martial artist, but a group of Moon Embracing Realm experts from the Supreme Martial Hall publicly claimed that he was—

Wu Lingyun broke through to the Sea Opening Realm at the age of 19.

As for why they would fight for such a hollow title, that involves a struggle for destiny.

The current mainstream trend in Great Xia is to select the best from the best through various martial arts universities and Starry Sky Martial Hall training programs, as well as by holding national competitions and wilderness trials.

Ultimately, one was selected who possessed top-tier combat power, a martial god-level warrior comparable to a deity.

This is the path of self-reliance.

Of course, there are alternative routes, such as becoming a god through destiny, faith, or seizing divine authority, among others, with multiple paths developing simultaneously. Overall, the Great Xia Dynasty is still in a state of exploration regarding how to resist deities and become a new god.

However, one thing has been confirmed.

That is, for a martial artist, the greater their reputation, the stronger their luck, the greater their chance of breaking through to a higher realm, and the greater their chance of becoming a martial god, provided they can withstand the pressure.

Moreover, judging from the various forces within the Great Xia Dynasty, each side undoubtedly hopes that its own martial arts students can be the first to ascend to the Divine Ascension Steps.

Especially regarding the various martial arts halls that overshadow the six major universities, the principals of each university harbored a burning desire to "take their place."

"A record-breaking achievement? A 19-year-old martial artist at the Sea Opening Realm?"

Cheng Shangwu outwardly congratulated Lei Zhentian, but inwardly he didn't care much about it.

Although Ji Chenghu and Duan Wuyai did not tell Cheng Shangwu specific information about Shen Bailian's physical attributes, after observing him for the past few days, he realized that it was definitely not as simple as the early stage of the Transcendent Realm.

If we calculate based on Shen Bailian's current cultivation speed, Shen Bailian is currently 17 years old, and Shen Bailian's birthday is April 25th, which means one thing.

Shen Bailian is very likely to become the only 18-year-old martial artist in the Great Xia Dynasty to reach the Sea Opening Realm!
"What's wrong?" Yu Linglong looked at Cheng Shangwu, who was standing there in a daze, patted him on the shoulder, and couldn't help but show an awkward smile. She asked with a smile, "Are you angry with me?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shangwu was about to shake his head in denial, but after a moment's thought, he immediately put on a pitiful expression and nodded.

"Alright then." Yu Linglong gave an awkward smile. She also felt that she had gone a bit too far just now. She glanced at the representatives of the other academies and sent a telepathic message: "I'll make it up to you when we get back."

Compared to transmitting sound as a line, transmitting sound with mental energy is more discreet and less likely to be detected by others.

However, to achieve stable mental transmission, one needs at least late-stage second-tier mental strength.

"Hmm!" Cheng Shangwu nodded, his heart filled with joy, but on the surface, he pretended to be sullen.

……

As time goes by, the first round of the Golden Cup League knockout stage is coming to an end.

Despite the best efforts of the martial arts students, the number of ferocious beasts in the Wutai Mountain training grounds plummeted due to the killings committed by thousands of martial arts students.

Many highly intelligent ferocious beasts chose to hide, and not all martial arts students possess the same abnormal reconnaissance abilities as Shen Bailian and Yuwen Changkong.

Therefore, the academic rankings have gradually stabilized, and many martial arts students are choosing to take advantage of this last period of time to search for rare and precious materials from earlier years.

On a rocky, high ground.

At the Wutai Mountain training grounds, where temperatures reached 50 or 60 degrees Celsius, the stench of blood, carried by a gentle breeze, permeated every crevice within a radius of 100 meters.

Furthermore, in the nearby mountains and forests, there were many ferocious beasts whose heads had been pierced by heavy arrows, their deaths more gruesome than imagined.

Above the sky, dozens of ferocious birds resembling vultures hovered hundreds of meters in the air, not daring to come down.

Simply because there was a terrifying figure below.

Congratulations, you have gained 3 points of Divine Matter.

[Divine Matter: 1083]

"Not bad." Shen Bailian glanced at the panel and found that the divine matter was about to break through 1,100 points, which was undoubtedly good news for him.

According to his speculation, the reason why the divine skill [Following Shadow] cannot be upgraded is because its active effect has not been activated.

Shen Bailian cannot rely on divine matter to refresh cooldowns indefinitely, as it is simply too expensive, requiring 100 points of divine matter per refresh.

Therefore, it is necessary to spend divine matter to upgrade it.

Moreover, at this stage, the three advanced skills, Gale, Heavenly Qi, and Iron Body, require 1000 points of divine matter to advance to the next level.

Shen Bailian slowly walked to another dead silver-armored demon wolf. Its head had been shattered into a pulp, and there was a huge wound on its body, through which the white bones could be clearly seen.

As soon as you approach, a strong, pungent smell of blood fills the air.

Shen Bailian ignored this and stood next to the Silver Armored Demon Wolf. After staying there for nearly a minute, he obtained three more points of divine matter.

In just over ten minutes, the divine matter reached an astonishing 1150 points.

finally.

At 2:00 PM on November 3rd, all the martial arts students still in the Wutaishan training ground unlocked their smart bracelets at the same time and received multiple messages from the organizers of the Golden Cup League.

"The first round of the Golden Cup knockout stage has ended, points are locked, and the leaderboard is locked."

"To express our gratitude to all the martial arts students for their contributions, the Qingcheng representative will convert all their points into Great Xia coins at a ratio of 1:100..."

"Because there are a large number of martial arts students this time, please stay where you are and wait patiently for a moment. There will be... backup."

"The points ranking is now published. All martial arts students can check it themselves."

Points Leaderboard:
First place: Zhan Taimingyue, total score 9503 (second-year martial arts student at Sixiang Academy)
Second place: Murong Fu, total score 9203 (third-year martial arts student at Longxiang Academy)
……

Fourth place: Lu Yingzi, total score 8998 (third-year martial arts student at Tiangang Academy)

……

10th Place: Shen Bailian, Total Score 7833 (First-year Martial Arts Student at Tiangang Academy)
……

15th Place: Yuwen Changkong, Total Score 7269 (Ninth Holy Son of the Starry Sky Martial Hall)
……

54th place: Han Tiemei, total score 3455 (third-year martial arts student at Tiangang Academy)

55th place: Wang Haoran, total score 3369 (third-year martial arts student at Tiangang Academy)

……

After the points leaderboard was announced, everyone immediately looked at it as usual, and to everyone's surprise, the first place was a second-year martial arts student.

However, Zhan Taimingyue is not without a reputation among the martial arts university students. Although it seems a bit unreasonable, it makes a lot more sense when you consider that he is a bloodline martial artist who is good at prolonged battles.

The second to ninth places were all as expected, firmly occupied by the geniuses from the six major universities, and they were all "familiar faces".

However, when it came to the tenth place...

"Fuck!"

"Junior Brother Shen's ranking is so high!"

Wang Haoran couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, his eyes fixed on the light screen in front of him.

He was so shocked he almost doubted his own eyes, so he quickly rubbed them to try and refocus, to make sure it wasn't a hallucination.

Although Wang Haoran had already witnessed Shen Bailian's strength on December 2nd, he was still in the top ten of the points ranking!
The fact that there is a first-year martial arts student among the top ten is simply unprecedented.

Wang Haoran wasn't the only one shocked; all the martial arts students in the Wutai Mountain training grounds were dumbfounded. Some couldn't help but have an absurd thought: that Shen Bailian had a backdoor to open his Heavenly Eye.

(End of this chapter)