I became a martial arts saint while playing games.

Linjiang Military Science Academy Notice:

All first-year students gathered at the central square of Teaching Building No. 1 at 9:00 a.m. today to participate in the Relics Trial Assessment.

This assessment is mandatory for all first-year students. The assessment result will affect your final grade, martial arts resources, and the distribution of cultivation potions. Please do not be late or absent.

Gu Yan received SMS notifications on both his mobile phone and the built-in communication system in the villa.

After quitting the game, he drank a bottle of Qi and Blood Restoration Elixir, then meditated and practiced Qigong for a while. Feeling that his condition had basically recovered to its full potential, he got up, left the villa, and headed to the meeting point.

The assessment was still some time away, but the square outside the teaching building was already bustling with people. A group of martial arts students had gathered there, chatting in small groups about the assessment content.

"Junior Brother Gu!"

Gu Yan heard someone call his name. He turned around and saw that it was Chu Yue, his classmate from the same year as him in the research lab.

Gu Yan greeted her, "Senior Sister Chu."

Although Chu Yue was in the same year as him, she entered the sect earlier than him, so it was not inappropriate for him to call her "senior sister".

Hearing his address, Chu Yue seemed pleased and said with a smile, "If our research lab were ranked by ability, then apart from Senior Sister Su, you should be the eldest brother."

She sighed and said, "With my mediocre grades, I'm just here to make up the numbers and get by. Junior, you'd better do your best. I think you're a shoo-in for the top ten."

If you perform well and get a good ranking, our research lab's reputation depends on you, and it will make Lao Zhong look better too.

Gu Yan said, "I don't even know the content of the assessment or the depth of the ruins, nor do I know if it's something I'm good at."

Chu Yue was somewhat surprised: "Didn't you ask the previous year's students?"

But then she thought about it again and said, "That's right. Junior brother, your cultivation level and strength are there, so what does it matter what the content is? You'll just have to get a ranking by easily passing through. It doesn't matter if you know the content or not. It's alright, I'll tell you now so you can be mentally prepared."

The school ruins were discovered about ten years ago. After exploration and assessment by higher authorities, it was classified as a trial-type ruin... You should know the concept of a 'trial ruin,' right?

This is content that is taught in general education courses in junior and senior high school. She was afraid that Gu Yan might not have listened carefully back then, which is why she asked this question.

"I know, most of them are ancient mythical martial arts masters who opened up caves to train their own disciples," Gu Yan said. "These kinds of relics are usually set up for the assessment of their own descendants, so they are generally the least dangerous of all types of relics."

Of course, there are also some old demonic sects that enjoy having their disciples fight to the death, and the trial ruins they open may also carry the risk of death. But those are a minority and are not included in the regular discussion.

Chu Yue said, "That's right. We believe that the ruins discovered by the school are a trial cave left by a master in the past, currently codenamed 'Ascending to Heaven Trial Tower'."

The ruins are primarily an ancient tower with seven levels, each containing a trial challenge. Each trial participant enters into a separate space and must face one or more opposing consciousness entities on each level.

Each trial, each obstacle overcome, allows you to advance to the next level. The challenges progress in stages, each presenting both danger and opportunity. Therefore, this trial is commonly referred to among students as "climbing the tower."

Climbing towers, opponents with conscious entities... Even without a general education, Gu Yan, who had read countless online novels in his previous life, was no stranger to similar settings and accepted them quickly.

He thought for a moment and asked, "If I clear all seven levels, what kind of reward is there for the ruins?"

Chu Yue smiled and said, "Then you're overthinking it. It's said that when it first opened, there were some ancient spiritual plants and precious medicines as rewards for clearing the dungeon, but the resources in the ruins aren't unlimited. As more people cleared it, the resources naturally decreased until they disappeared completely."

It's said that when the ruins were fully developed and opened to us Linjiang students, there were no resources left. Therefore, its only value now is for trials and assessments, to verify the students' abilities.

Gu Yan understood. In other words, this ruin is now purely a single-player instance; there are no rewards for completing it. However, as long as the completion score meets the requirements, the school will provide resource rewards.

"As for clearing the seventh floor, Junior Brother, you'd better not even think about it," Chu Yue said with a smile. "You were certainly unstoppable in our freshman year, but to be honest, the Tower of Ascension is not something a freshman can clear... After your fight with Senior Brother Lu last time, I think I heard Teacher Zhong mention that you had just entered the second stage, right?"

Yesterday I was just entering the second stage, and today I'm almost at the third stage.

Gu Yan thought this to himself, but there was no need to say it aloud and scare others, so he asked, "What's wrong?"

"To reach the second tier in your first year of university, junior brother, you are indeed monstrous..." Chu Yue sighed again, and continued, "But as far as I know, the lowest standard tested so far is that only a third-tier martial artist has a chance to pass the Tower of Ascension."

Very few undergraduates can break through to the third tier, let alone those who are top-tier third-tier martial artists. In our entire university right now, from freshmen to seniors combined, the number of students who can clear the Tower of Ascension is no more than five.

"Is it that difficult..." Gu Yan pondered.

A third-tier martial artist... In the game, does that mean only those at the Condensation Realm have a chance?

In terms of cultivation level, he is currently only at the peak of Qi Control. Of course, he possesses the ability to shift the universe, and his palm techniques and movement techniques are also first-rate. Furthermore, his palm techniques have been directly upgraded to the "Return to Simplicity" realm, which is almost impossible to achieve through normal means. Therefore, he cannot be compared with ordinary Qi Control cultivators.

So he doesn't have Tier 3 yet, but he definitely has Tier 3 combat power.

I wonder just how deep the water is in this Trial Tower, and what kind of trial it is.

For example, if he were to fight an opponent at the Qi Condensation level on the seventh floor... no, even if two opponents came up at once, he might not necessarily lose, relying on his skills that far surpass those of opponents at the same level.

But if the seventh floor just throws a broken rock there to test one's internal energy level, and only those with the internal energy strength of the Condensation Realm are considered to have passed, then he, a mere Qi Control Realm cultivator, really wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Just then, a voice came from the platform: "Students, quiet down."

The speaker did not seem to be deliberately raising his voice, but his steady tone was like a resounding bell, as if it exploded in everyone's heart, causing everyone to fall silent unconsciously.

All eyes turned to him, and there stood a middle-aged man who had walked onto the stage. He didn't need a microphone; his voice was loud and clear, indicating that his cultivation of Yuan Energy had reached a considerable level.

Chu Yue whispered to Gu Yan, "This is Dean Zhou Chongshan of the Academy of Martial Arts."

Gu Yan nodded. That was a very powerful leader in the school.

Zhou Chongshan said, "The Ascension Trial Tower assessment is about to begin. Let me briefly explain the rules."

Everyone here is a freshman, so the requirements aren't too high. Passing the trial tower means breaking through the second level, and everyone who meets the standard will receive ten bottles of Qi and Blood Restoration Elixir.

Those who fail the test will be placed under supervision and observation for one month, and will be allowed to retake the test. If they fail the retake test, they will be expelled from the martial arts school.

Although there were many students in the square, you could hear a pin drop, and no one dared to utter a sound.

"Of course, there are rewards and punishments. The school cannot afford to waste the country's precious resources on those who are lagging behind. But those who perform exceptionally well will also receive additional rewards."

Zhou Chongshan continued.

"Anyone who makes it into the top ten of this list will receive an additional cash reward of one million, in addition to the basic potion."

Each of the top ten gets a million, so ten people would be ten million... Gu Yan figured this martial arts school was much wealthier than the university in his previous life. They probably didn't even care about ten million.

Zhou Chongshan continued, "In addition, those who can break into the top three on the list will receive an extra bottle of Condensing Essence Energy Enhancement Liquid, in addition to the aforementioned medicine and cash reward."

Energizing Fluid...

Gu Yan had previously looked through the potions sold by the academy and had seen them before, so he had a general idea of ​​what they were.

This is a drug that directly enhances one's Yuan Energy cultivation level, suitable for first and second-tier martial artists. Those who haven't reached a certain tier risk exploding if they use it, and its effects are minimal for those above the second tier.

However, even martial artists within the applicable scope should not use it excessively, otherwise it may lead to an unstable foundation and side effects. But if used only occasionally two or three times, it can indeed save some of the hard work of cultivation and speed up the progress.

Especially when some martial artists feel that their Yuan Energy cultivation has reached a bottleneck and they can hardly make any progress, occasionally using the power of this medicine can increase the probability of breaking through the bottleneck, which is quite effective.

Of course, for Gu Yan, whether his cultivation is at a bottleneck or not depends entirely on whether he has enough potential points. This kind of potion, which provides little boost and has the risk of side effects with frequent use, is really useless to him.

Of course, even if it's useless to him, it might be useful to others. This thing is priced at over two million on the market, not cheap at all, and reselling it would bring in a considerable sum.

Zhou Chongshan added, "As for the chosen one among you who has won the top spot on this year's list, in addition to all the aforementioned rewards, you will also receive an extra Huiyuan Capsule."

Gu Yan: "!"