Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 299 The Battle for the Strongest Soul (Second Update)
The next day!
On the martial arts mountain.

After shooting down his opponent with an arrow, Lin Chen retreated back to the steps.

I glanced at my ranking on Wudao Mountain.

[Martial Arts Mountain Ranking: 85308]

【Points: 4700】

After the panel update, his ranking on Martial Arts Mountain rose by another two thousand places, reaching a two-thousand-win streak.

Two thousand consecutive wins means that his martial arts comprehension has doubled and his spiritual power has also increased by 20%.

This growth is extremely obvious, especially in terms of the soul. When he used the "Thousand Machines Refining God Technique", he had already gone from being able to separate nine divine thoughts after entering the first grade to now being able to separate eleven.

After glancing at the moonlit night sky, Lin Chen decided to stop cultivating and return to his room to rest.

Silent all night.

……

……

The training ground on the back mountain of the Yan State Martial Arts Academy.

As the sun rose in the east, the warriors from the nine kingdoms were already standing in their respective areas of the training ground.

At this moment, Murong Song, the dean of the Royal Martial Academy of Yan, stood at the forefront with Hou Zhantian and other powerful figures from various countries. A stone gate stood at the very front of the martial arts arena.

The stone gate stands in front of the square, with clouds and mist constantly gushing out, making the stone gate appear and disappear intermittently.

Once the stone gate was completely obscured by the clouds and mist, Murong Song spoke: "The first round of the Martial Academy Ranking Tournament has begun. Does anyone have any objections?"

Seeing that Hou Zhantian and the others did not speak, Murong Song did not hesitate. He turned his head to look at the disciples of the various martial arts academies present and said with a smile: "You are all geniuses from the martial arts academies of your respective countries. I will not waste any more words. The first round of the points competition is to enter the Thousand Illusions Secret Realm of my Yan Kingdom."

"Although there is no danger in the Thousand Illusions Secret Realm, I still have to give you a piece of advice: do not be reckless. Once your soul is damaged, the consequences are self-evident."

As soon as Murong Song said this, the atmosphere at the scene became tense.

Everyone present knew how important the spirit and will were to a martial artist; physical injuries were easy to heal, but injuries to the spirit and will were difficult to cure.

The Nine Kingdoms have no shortage of martial arts geniuses, but because their souls are damaged, they end up as ordinary martial artists, or even their cultivation levels stagnate.

Lin Chen looked at the area shrouded in mist, his eyes gleaming. The booklet provided by Murong Yan contained detailed information about the Thousand Illusions Secret Realm.

"However... the Thousand Illusions Secret Realm cannot accommodate so many people. After discussions between myself and the deans of your respective countries, we will first conduct a soul test. Those who fail the soul test will not be allowed to enter."

As Murong Song finished speaking, several martial artists appeared in the square carrying a huge black cloth object.

"Uncover it!"

Murong Song gave a soft shout, and the black cloth was lifted, revealing a stone tablet covered with black runes.

The stone tablet is three zhang tall.

It exudes an ancient and weathered aura. When a martial artist gazes at the surface of the monument, the runes subtly shift and generate a captivating fluctuation, as if trying to draw the soul into it.

Lin Chen was momentarily lost in thought, but as the little figure in his dantian trembled slightly, he regained his senses. At that moment, Murong Song's cough also woke up many people present.

Lin Chen glanced at his senior brother Li Yuan and the others beside him. They had all regained consciousness the moment Murong Song coughed, while Meng Xing and the other junior brothers took a moment for their eyes to regain their color.

This monument... is no ordinary monument.

"Everyone can place their hands on this Soul Testing Stele. Once the soul meets the standard, the Soul Testing Stele will emit light. Those whose light reaches a full zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) are considered to have passed, while those whose light is less than a zhang are eliminated. Those who pass will accumulate ten points."

The rules were simple, and Murong Song said no more, standing quietly with his hands behind his back, waiting for everyone to begin the test.

"This Soul-Testing Stele is truly amazing. Just now, I felt like I was falling into boundless darkness. If it weren't for that cough, I probably wouldn't be awake yet."

Kong Qing's face showed a look of trepidation. He had only glanced at the Soul Testing Stele, but his mind was immediately drawn into it.

"The Royal Martial Academy of Yan Kingdom recruits disciples using the Soul Test Stele as an assessment, but the requirements are not that high. As long as one can observe the Soul Test Stele for ten breaths without fainting, one can enter the academy."

Upon hearing his junior brother's words, Dang Baixuan, the senior disciple of Qingyun Martial Academy, turned around and offered an explanation.

"The entrance examination requirement is to remain unconscious for ten breaths, and among the disciples of the Royal Martial Academy, the highest record on the Soul Test Tablet is ten zhang," Li Yuan added.

"Ten zhang?" Lin Chen stared at the stone tablet. It seemed that making the stone tablet emit light for a full zhang was not a simple matter.

"Yes, this is the highest record announced by the Royal Martial Academy of Yan. Most of the disciples of the Royal Martial Academy can only make the stone tablet shine, and they can't even reach a zhang."

Lin Chen nodded, so this one-zhang distance should be enough to eliminate half of the disciples from each martial arts academy present.

As Li Yuan explained the Soul Verification Tablet to Lin Chen and Meng Xing, a commotion arose in the crowd, and some martial artists began to walk towards the tablet.

“Fellow disciples, since our Royal Martial Academy is the host, let me, Wan Fei, start by offering my humble opinion.”

Wan Fei walked up to the Soul Verification Stele, his words seemingly humble, but his expression was full of arrogance.

"It seems this person's spirit is quite strong."

"It's definitely at least a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) long."

Kong Qing and Zhang Ming exchanged a whispered conversation. Everyone present was not stupid; since Wan Fei dared to be the first to step forward, he must be confident in his performance.

This Soul Testing Stele was used by the Royal Martial Academy to test its disciples, so Wan Fei must have been tested beforehand.

Lin Chen blinked. The booklet given by Murong Yan recorded that among the disciples of the Yan Kingdom Royal Martial Academy, Wan Fei's divine soul was the second strongest.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Wan Fei placed his hand on the stone tablet. Without any change in his aura, black light burst forth from the stone tablet. This black light flowed through the runes on the tablet and converged towards the top of the tablet, finally bursting out directly from the top of the tablet.

One foot, two feet, three feet...

One foot, two feet, three feet...

When the black light broke through the three-zhang mark, it began to decline slightly before finally stabilizing at the same height.

"It's embarrassing."

Three breaths later, Wan Fei withdrew his hand, turned around with a smile, clasped his hands in greeting to the crowd, and walked to the side of the stone tablet.

With Wan Fei leading the way and reaching a height of three zhang, the other martial artists present did not delay. The second one to take the stage came from Zeguo and was the senior brother of Zeguo Martial Academy.

The other party also caused a black pillar of light to appear at the top of the Soul Verification Stele, but it was only two and a half zhang high.

With the two of them leading the way, the martial artists in the square took turns to test themselves. Most of them met the requirement of a height of one zhang, but no one broke Wan Fei's record.

"Fellow disciples, I'll go first."

On the Liang Kingdom's side, Li Yuan didn't delay either. He stepped forward and placed his hand on the Soul Verification Stele. Soon, the pillar of light on the Soul Verification Stele lit up, also reaching three zhang in height.

Seeing this, the disciples of Canglan Martial Academy breathed a sigh of relief. Senior Brother Li Yuan and Wan Fei were tied, which is also the highest record so far.

Within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, forty people have already been tested, and all of them have met the requirement of one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters).

However, the remaining martial arts academy disciples who had not yet been tested did not become more relaxed. The reason why the senior brothers in front were able to meet the one-zhang requirement was because they had enough confidence in their spiritual strength. Those who were weaker had not yet gone up to be tested.

After seventy people, a disciple from the Wu Kingdom took the stage, but this time the black beam of light on the stone tablet only reached three feet.

This was the first martial artist to fail to meet the requirements. The appearance of the first failed martial artist was like opening the floodgates of failure; the next ten disciples all failed.

Lin Chen understood that it seemed that only about eighty people would be able to pass the test.

Those who meet the requirements have already taken the test. The remaining candidates who meet the requirements but haven't been tested are not in a hurry, but their numbers are definitely small.

There are sixty martial arts academies in nine countries, with ten disciples from each academy, totaling six hundred disciples. However, in the end, less than one hundred people can meet the requirements. The elimination rate is really high.

Fortunately, eight senior brothers from the four martial arts academies in Daliang have met the requirements. If I include myself, that makes nine people. Currently, we are only one less than Han Guo. However, the three Han Guo members who made it onto the Heavenly Ranking have not yet made a move.

"It seems there are no dark horses. In that case, I'll go, my two senior brothers."

The three top-ranked martial artists from Han Kingdom stood in a row. At this moment, the man on the far right chuckled and stepped towards the stone tablet.

Upon seeing this person walking towards the stone tablet, a disciple from the State of Wu, who was originally about to walk towards the stone tablet, quickly stopped in his tracks.

"Lu Chuanning, seventh on the Heavenly Ranking."

Li Yuan whispered something, and as Lu Chuanning walked toward the stone tablet, the previous noise subsided.

The top-ranked warriors had no problem passing the test, but what they wanted to know was how high Lu Chuanning could go.
"I wonder if there are any extra points awarded if the height exceeds a certain threshold?"

When Lu Chuanning reached the stone tablet, he didn't rush to place his hand on it. Instead, he looked at Murong Song and the others in front of him.

These words caused a stir among the crowd.

"He needs extra points? Could it be that he can reach five zhang?"

"Five zhang is definitely not enough. It should be at least six zhang. The current record is four and a half zhang."

To date, the highest record belongs to Zuo Fei, the senior disciple of the Royal Martial Arts Academy of Yan Kingdom, who reached a height of four and a half zhang.

"Those who can break through nine zhang will accumulate ten points for every zhang they gain!"

Murong Song spoke calmly, explaining that these were the point reward rules agreed upon by the various countries yesterday.

"it is good."

Lu Chuanning nodded, and the next moment he placed his right hand on the stone tablet. Instantly, a black beam of light shot up from the stone tablet, faster than anyone else had done before.

Everyone present held their breath, eager to see what level Lu Chuanning, ranked seventh on the Heavenly Ranking, could achieve.

One foot, two feet, three feet...

The beam of light grew at an extremely rapid rate, only slowing down after reaching seven zhang (approximately 33 meters), and eventually stopping at a little over nine zhang (approximately 33 meters).

Seeing his results, Lu Chuanning shook his head with a look of regret, seemingly not very satisfied with the results, but the upturned corners of his mouth betrayed his true thoughts.

"Senior Brother Lu has actually broken through nine zhang, just a little short of breaking the record of the Yan Kingdom Royal Martial Academy."

"He surpassed Zuo Fei, who had the best score, by more than double. He truly deserves to be called Senior Brother Lu."

The Korean warriors were thrilled to see this, while the disciples from the other countries were filled with despair. Lu Chuanning alone had overpowered them all, and two Koreans were ranked ahead of Lu Chuanning on the Heavenly Ranking.

Once these two entered the arena, the scores of the four martial arts academies from South Korea were already far higher than theirs.

"Junior Brother Ling, shall we go first or should we go first?"

"Junior brother, I'll go first."

Ling Tianhao walked confidently toward the stone tablet. The disciples of the Han Kingdom Martial Academy had expectant looks in their eyes. Senior Brother Ling was ranked fifth on the Heavenly Ranking, two places higher than Senior Brother Lu. Perhaps he could break the ten-zhang record.

Snapped!
Ling Tianhao lightly slapped the stone tablet with his palm, and the stone tablet's light surged, instantly reaching six zhang in length, and the growth rate continued to be rapid thereafter.

Nine zhang, ten zhang, eleven zhang, twelve zhang...

Twelve and a half zhang!

The height of the black beam of light instilled a sense of despair in many martial artists.

Li Yuan and Dang Baixuan also looked solemn. Although a martial artist's strength is not solely determined by their soul, the soul greatly enhances their control over their martial will. The stronger the soul, the more refined the application of martial will.

"Senior Brother Bian, please."

Ling Tianhao looked at Bian Xinjie, and everyone's eyes also fell on Bian Xinjie, who was ranked third on the Heavenly Ranking in Han Country.

Of the ten people on the Heavenly Ranking, four are from Han Kingdom, but the number one on the Heavenly Ranking did not come.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Bian Xinjie stepped forward to the stone tablet and slapped it down with his palm.

boom!
The beam of light emitted by the stone tablet instantly broke through to a height of ten zhang, and in the blink of an eye, it reached a height of fifteen zhang.

"At this speed, it can't possibly exceed twenty zhang, can it?"

Some people screamed, but fortunately, although the beam of light grew very quickly, it stopped after reaching fifteen zhang.

Seeing the beam of light stop at fifteen zhang, many martial artists on the scene breathed a sigh of relief, but Hou Zhantian, who was standing in front, frowned.

The reason why the light pillars of other disciples rose slowly was because they did not have strong control over their own souls. The Soul Testing Stele had to slowly sense the strength of these disciples' souls. However, Bian Xinjie's light pillars reached fifteen zhang in an instant, which not only represented the strength of his soul, but also showed that he was extremely proficient in using his soul.

"Fifteen zhang, plus sixty points, his points alone are equivalent to the combined points of the two martial arts academies. How can we even compete like that?"

The atmosphere on Daliang's side instantly fell silent, and at that moment, Bian Xinjie's gaze turned over, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"It's not surprising that Bian Xinjie, who is ranked third on the Heavenly Ranking, has this strength. Even if he loses the points competition, it will only mean that his ranking will be lower. In the end, it still depends on the competition. We must not be discouraged."

Although Li Yuan was also shocked by Bian Xinjie's strength, as the senior brother of Canglan Martial Academy, he could not let his junior brothers lose heart and affect the points competition and subsequent battles.

"In my opinion, there's no need to enter the Thousand Illusions Secret Realm. We can just determine the rankings based on the points of the various martial arts academies. Who can surpass Senior Brother Bian and his two companions?"

Someone from Zheng Guowu Academy spoke up, their words full of flattery.

"Or perhaps some people are still unwilling to give up and can continue to try?"

The speaker looked toward Liang, as everyone knew that Han and Liang had a conflict, and Han's points were now completely overwhelming Liang's.

Kong Qing was about to retort when he heard this, but Dang Baixuan stopped him.

"There's no need for a verbal argument, Junior Brother Lin..."

"I want to try it too."

Lin Chen had already taken a step forward when Dang Baixuan spoke, and responded with a smile upon hearing Dang Baixuan's words.

"What does he want to do?"

Seeing Lin Chen walk towards the stone tablet, the martial artists present all showed expressions of confusion.

After yesterday's battle, the martial artists from various countries present all recognized Lin Chen and acknowledged that his strength was enough for them to take him seriously.

Even if you can leave your name on the Soul Verification Stele, you shouldn't go up there at this time.

We should wait until some people have finished their tests before going up. Even if we can reach one zhang now, it will only look ridiculous in front of Bian Xinjie's fifteen zhang.

It's impossible for Lin Chen to think he can surpass Bian Xinjie.

P.S.: Keep writing, there will be another update before 2 AM!
(End of this chapter)