I was told I'd be a late bloomer, but I was born with the potential to achieve great things!

"Sense...sense the Qi and blood!"

"It's only been 20 days, and it's only been a short time."

"Completing a three-month assessment in just 20 days—could this person be the legendary genius?!"

Looking at Sun Wenhao, who was dignified and composed on the stage, everyone, whether they were the Ningshan youths dressed in fine clothes or the group of poor teenagers, felt their breathing become rapid.

Mountain.

The mountain is pressing down on us.

In an instant, the image of the emperor, holding a stick in one hand and calling out to other people's children, involuntarily appeared in everyone's minds.

"Wow, so fast! The first person to sense the Qi and blood has appeared so quickly. I really can't be careless."

Below the stage, Zhou An, like the other teenagers, looked surprised and solemn.

"I really can't be careless. This kid sensed the Qi and blood so quickly. I'm afraid it won't be long before he can circulate the Qi and blood throughout his body and catch up with me."

I wonder if there will be any extra benefits or rewards after the first person to sense the Qi and blood appears?

Thinking of this, Zhou An and Liu Shuqing, who was equally shocked not far away, exchanged a glance and then quickly looked towards the stage.

Sensing the flow of Qi and blood signifies becoming a formal disciple of the Seven Mysteries Sect.

Is it a generous reward, or will you be immediately dragged into the fray to become cannon fodder?

Zhou An felt he needed to take a good look, because it meant he had to do something next.

"Not bad, no wonder you were able to increase your strength significantly four times in a row."

On the stage, head coach Guo Tao looked at the boy in front of him with satisfaction, patted him on the shoulder, and showed a bright white smile that said, "I approve of you."

"From today onwards, you are an official disciple of my Seven Mysteries Sect, and there will be no ranking for you."

You can receive double the nutritional supplements for each meal, plus an extra medicinal meal. After this ranking ends, I will teach you a human-level martial art.

In addition, after your cultivation ends this morning, Qian Ming will arrange a private courtyard for you, a formal disciple.

"Thank you, Coach Guo and Instructor Qian."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wenhao's face lit up with joy. He immediately bowed to Guo Tao and Qian Ming on the stage, and then walked off the stage with high spirits.

"Double the nutritional supplements, two medicinal meals a day, plus an extra set of martial arts skills and a house."

Zhou An's eyes reddened.

so envious.

Should I reveal right now that I've also sensed the flow of qi and blood?

"Calm down, I need to calm down."

Zhou An took a deep breath and forced himself to suppress the impulse in his heart.

"It's too early to expose myself now. I'll be even more dazzling than Sun Wenhao. It would be troublesome if the Black Tiger Gang targeted me."

If we stabilize ourselves a little longer, Liu Shuqing will be able to sense the qi and blood next time. With him standing in front of her, things will be much safer.

Five days, at most five days.

Looking at Sun Wenhao, who was surrounded by a group of Ningshan disciples, Zhou An thought to himself.

"Liu Shuqing, 158 jin (approximately 84.5 catties)."

Soon, Liu Shuqing's test results came out.

But with Sun Wenhao as a potential threat, people clearly didn't pay much attention to him.

"***, 148 jin (78 catties)."

"***, 146 jin (78 catties)."

"Qian Youde, 143 jin (76.5 catties)."

......

In the blink of an eye, it was Zhou An's turn to take the stage, who was ranked ninth.

"This time, let's aim for the top five. It's not like we weigh that much anyway."

Zhou An originally only planned to improve his ranking by two places in this test, but Sun Wenhao's reward was too generous, and he couldn't resist.

Five days is enough, but five more days... Zhou An felt his stomach would protest.

Why is he looking at me?

Down in the audience, Qian Youde was still thinking about Sun Wenhao's reward when he suddenly noticed Zhou An on the stage glancing at him, which puzzled him.

But he soon understood.

"Zhou An, 145 jin (72.5 catties)."

"..."

Looking at Zhou An on the stage, whose face was red and who was panting heavily, Qian Youde was initially full of questions, but his face quickly turned extremely ugly.

That's too much.

He was overtaken so quickly.

27 pounds.

Another 27 jin (18.5 catties), this country bumpkin... I wonder if he'll have to sense his qi and blood next time.

Watching Zhou An, whose steps were unsteady, walk down the stage step by step, and listening to the cheers of the teenagers around him, Qian Youde, who was lost in thought, felt his head go numb.

"How does it feel to be overtaken?"

At this moment, Liu Xuehui quietly crept over and whispered in Qian Youde's ear.

"Hmph, I'll sense my Qi and blood in five days at most. What does a little ranking matter?"

Qian Youde blushed and snorted coldly.

"Hmm, Qian Youde is also about to sense his Qi and blood... I was right to make the right choice. Next time he and Liu Shuqing are together, I will be even less conspicuous."

Zhou An, who was passing by, twitched his ears and nodded in satisfaction.

Just then, he suddenly felt a gaze upon him.

"Did he glance at me twice just now?"

Looking at Sun Wenhao, who quickly turned his head away, Zhou An was somewhat uncertain.

After all, from his previous interactions with Liu Shuqing, he had heard that Sun Wenhao was a cold person and didn't seem to communicate much on a daily basis.

"Liu Xuehui, 127 jin (63.5 catties)."

A moment later, Guo Tao's voice came from the stage.

"This time I gained 15 pounds more than last time, and since Sun Wenhao doesn't care about rankings, he should at least let me get back into the top ten."

As he stepped off the stage, Liu Xuehui glanced at the former top nine, now tenth, and felt a surge of anticipation in his heart.

Sun Wenhao's encouragement greatly boosted everyone's enthusiasm for the test.

Soon, it was Wang Yi's turn from College B.

"Wang Yi, 130 jin (65 catties)."

"Hmm, there are still experts!"

Almost the instant Wang Yi's result was announced, Zhou An's gaze immediately fell on the young man on the stage, who was covered in sweat but had a ruddy complexion.

"To increase arm strength by 32 pounds in one go, no wonder he's the kind of person who can say 'thirty years east of the river and thirty years west of the river,' he's truly extraordinary."

Zhou An glanced at Liu Xuehui, who was standing there dumbfounded, and commented in his mind.

"Brother Zhou, can you feel the pressure? After Wang Yi received Qian Youde's financial assistance, his arm strength has increased by several pounds compared to when you were young."

At this moment, Liu Shuqing, who appeared out of nowhere, spoke up.

"There is some pressure, but compared to sensing the flow of qi and blood, it's nothing."

Zhou An nodded, then looked at Liu Shuqing.

"To be honest, how confident are you that you can sense qi and blood? Can you do it within five days? Then I'll be able to rely on you and learn from you."

Although Wang Yi put a little pressure on him, Zhou An was more concerned about whether Liu Shuqing could sense the blood and qi during the next test.

If that doesn't work, he can only place his hopes on Wang Yi, the young man from Hedong.

"Starting today, I will spend money to eat two servings of medicinal cuisine every day. Within five days, I will definitely be able to sense the flow of qi and blood."

Meeting Zhou An's gaze, Liu Shuqing gritted her teeth and said with a resolute look.

"I have a feeling you're in a bit of trouble."

Seeing Liu Shuqing's desperate appearance, Zhou An ultimately didn't say those words, after all, she was his first sugar daddy.

"It seems I'll have to practice my martial arts in front of him more in the next few days. Hopefully, this scholar Liu can prove me wrong."

After glancing at Liu Shuqing's face, which was noticeably fairer than his own, Zhou An sighed inwardly.

As time passed, one by one, the teenagers went up on stage to take the test.

Although most of the poor teenagers still lagged behind the Ningshan students in the test results, no one except Wang Yi made it into the top ten.

But this doesn't mean that the Ningshan youths, who used to consider themselves city dwellers, can relax, because there are three others who, although they didn't make it into the top ten, have already surpassed many others.

According to Zhou An's assessment, after at most two or three rounds of testing, other impoverished teenagers will be able to challenge for a spot in the top ten.

Just as Liu Shuqing said, as time went on, the poor boys who had enough to eat and meat every day had begun to close the gap between each other with their excellent martial arts aptitude.

Soon, the results of the new round of top ten were released.

Liu Shuqing ranked first, Zhou An ranked fourth, and Qian Youde had a special fondness for the fifth place.

Liu Xuehui was lucky; with Sun Wenhao no longer occupying the top spot, he swapped positions with the previous top ten, and they both stared at Wang Yi, whose face was flushed, with grim expressions.

At this moment, Zhou An saw Guo Tao on the stage take a long knife and a long sword down from the weapon rack.

With a clang, the longsword was drawn, its sharp, cold light shining brightly in the sunlight.

"Originally, this martial art could only be formally taught to you after you had sensed the flow of qi and blood."

However, since Sun Wenhao has already sensed Qi and blood within a month, I'll let you all see for yourselves.

Upon stepping onto the stage, head coach Guo Tao swept his gaze over the crowd below before speaking in a deep voice.

"As formal disciples of the Seven Mysteries Sect, you may choose any set of human-level martial arts techniques to practice in the future."

Each human-level martial arts technique is worth at least 20 taels of silver if sold outside.

Next, I will demonstrate two human-level martial arts techniques to you.

The first type is the "Qingfeng Sword Technique" of my Seven Mysteries Sect. This sword technique is as swift as a gentle breeze and is a fast sword technique that incorporates both body movement and sword skills.

The second type is the signature sword technique of my Seven Mysteries Sect, "Blood Battle in All Directions." This sword technique is extremely fierce, and when driven by one's own blood energy, it becomes even more powerful and heavy, making it most suitable for Tongbei Fist...

"Coach, I want to learn swordsmanship."

Although not a single teenager spoke up, Guo Tao felt a tightness in his chest as he watched the crowd's enthusiasm waning as the performance progressed.

"These clueless bastards."

Guo Tao felt quite helpless.

Ultimately, since the emergence of sword immortals, swordsmanship has become the mainstream practice in both the imperial court and the martial arts world.

Even though not everyone can become a sword immortal, they still harbor fantasies in their hearts.

Even he himself learned swordsmanship first. After failing at swordsmanship, he switched to the easier-to-learn saber technique in order to enhance his own strength.

"Fine, considering how hard you guys have worked this year, I'm too lazy to keep talking to you. You'll find out eventually."

At that moment, Guo Tao stopped rambling.

Ultimately, at this stage, only Sun Wenhao is qualified to cultivate.

"I'm going to demonstrate twice, once slowly and once quickly. You guys... watch carefully."

After giving Sun Wenhao, who was at the front, a look, Guo Tao held his sword in his right hand and ran his left hand along the gleaming blade. His eyes, after a hint of longing for something he couldn't have, suddenly became sharp.

"The first move of the Qingfeng Sword Technique, Sword Piercing the Clouds..."

With a loud shout, a flash of cold light burst forth from Guo Tao's hand.

"Great, very energetic, just like that!"

Below the stage, Zhou An stared intently at the figure on the stage, his eyes unblinking.

He wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to get 40 taels of silver for free.

......