As time passed, the focus of the Outer Court disciples gradually shifted from the dining hall incident to the upcoming Outer Court's Grand Competition.
Ever since Instructor Huang informed them two days ago that various factions would be coming to observe the Grand Competition and select outstanding disciples for sponsorship, the cultivation atmosphere in the Seventh Courtyard had grown visibly tense.
Even before dawn, the hard-working figures of many disciples could already be seen on the martial arts field.
Li Zigeng was a prime example, almost always being the first to arrive and the last to leave.
Meanwhile, Yan Pingsheng, controlled by Zhuang Xun, continued his "clock-in, clock-out" style of training, completely unaffected by the tense atmosphere.
He simply refused to let the pressure get to him.
After all, while such frantic training could boost one's progress in the short term, it could easily leave behind hidden injuries that were difficult to recover from. To Zhuang Xun, it simply wasn't worth it.
He was confident he could secure a sponsorship for Yan Pingsheng during the Outer Court's Grand Competition, so there was no need to push himself so hard.
...
There was only one week left before the Outer Court's Grand Competition.
In a clearing deep within the bamboo forest, a cold, aloof youth who looked like a banished immortal was holding a strange posture, breathing in an odd rhythm.
Beneath his skin, where no one could see, nerves were rapidly growing, rooting themselves into his blood qi and connecting his brain to every inch of skin and flesh in his limbs.
Suddenly, Zhuang Xun opened his eyes. The muscles in his limbs seemed to breathe as if they had a mind of their own.
Eighth Rank, attained!
The Lower Three Ranks stage of the Formless Phaseless Sublime Method required weaving a new neural network within the body, making every inch of skin and flesh as agile and responsive as one's fingers.
This was the Formless Phaseless martial physique.
This was the profound secret that allowed the Formless Phaseless Sublime Method to adapt any martial arts in the world for its own use.
Even multitasking was merely a byproduct of the mental cultivation method, developed to help the brain adapt to such a body.
“Martial arts are truly miraculous.”
Zhuang Xun looked at his right hand, which was wriggling like a tentacle, and found it incredibly novel.
He spent a good while flailing his limbs like an octopus before finally sitting down to assess his gains from breaking through to the Eighth Rank.
The physical changes, such as the increase in strength and the strengthening of his blood qi, went without saying.
What was more, his soul had indeed grown stronger as Bai Yujing's brain developed, receiving feedback just as Zhuang Xun had hypothesized last time.
Now, when he controlled Yan Pingsheng, using his powerful soul to govern that weak body gave him an incredibly effortless, natural feeling.
It felt as though he could mold Yan Pingsheng into any shape he desired.
“The gap is getting a bit too wide. Bai Yujing is already at the Eighth Rank, while Yan Pingsheng only has a strength of four stones.” Zhuang Xun wanted to laugh.
However, since Yan Pingsheng's Skeletal Structure, Comprehension, and resources were all vastly inferior to Bai Yujing's, expecting him to keep pace with Bai Yujing's cultivation progress was simply asking for the impossible.
He would just have to rely on cheating and allocating points to him in the future.
It was still highly necessary to keep a plain, unremarkable clone around.
“Reaching the Eighth Rank in just two weeks... I've probably broken the record of Zechuan City. I'm really playing this masterfully.”
“I'll go share the good news with Master tonight.”
Zhuang Xun felt it was necessary to report his cultivation progress to the Principal.
Without the Principal's resources and daily guidance, he wouldn't have been able to make Bai Yujing break through to the Eighth Rank so quickly.
Furthermore, only by letting the Principal see the results of Bai Yujing's training would the Principal provide even more cultivation resources.
Hiding his talents would bring no benefits.
The daily precious meat that nourished his blood qi, the medicinal baths that repaired his injuries, and the medicinal powders that restored his vitality... all of these were obtained because Zhuang Xun had fully showcased Bai Yujing's talent.
The points on his panel had accumulated to ten without affecting Bai Yujing's cultivation speed, leaving him ninety points away from creating his next clone with maxed-out talent and Comprehension.
If he had tried to play the fool to catch the tiger like the protagonists in those web novels from his previous life, he wouldn't even be able to afford food right now.
Of course, Zhuang Xun only dared to be this flashy because he possessed the Character Creation Panel. Otherwise, with only one life, he would have chosen to lay low as well.
That evening, Zhuang Xun informed the Principal of his breakthrough to the Eighth Rank.
The Principal was overjoyed, repeatedly praising him. Before Zhuang Xun could even ask, he proactively increased Bai Yujing's share of cultivation resources.
The daily precious meat he consumed was upgraded to two-year-grade, and other resources were increased proportionally.
Afterward, he explained the key points of cultivating the Eighth Rank of the Formless Phaseless Sublime Method to Zhuang Xun, telling him to think about what kind of weapon he preferred, as he would teach him once his realm broke through to the Seventh Rank.
Zhuang Xun naturally chose the sword without any hesitation. After all, with Bai Yujing's ethereal, immortal-like image, he absolutely had to wield a sword.
As for Yan Pingsheng, he could wield a great hammer or a large cleaver. Since Yan Pingsheng looked completely average, trying to look cool would be useless anyway. He might as well go for raw power to look fierce, and maybe he'd even be called a powerhouse.
...
There were only two days left before the Outer Court's Grand Competition.
Zhuang Xun still waited until Yan Pingsheng's body had slept enough before controlling him to cultivate.
Regarding this, even An Dafu, the laziest person in the entire dorm, teased him for being too carefree, slacking off when the Outer Court's Grand Competition was just around the corner.
Zhuang Xun merely smiled faintly.
He believed he possessed the same persistent quality as Fang Yuan, and since he was walking the path he desired, why would he care about the opinions of ordinary people?
Zhuang Xun walked up to a piece of training equipment that was as tall as a person and shaped like a bow. He sank into a horse stance, executed the opening stance of the first form of the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique, and repeatedly pulled the bowstring to train.
One shichen later, Zhuang Xun had trained with various equipment and completed five repetitions of the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique, feeling slightly exhausted. He didn't force himself and walked straight to the shade of a tree to rest.
Once his strength had recovered a bit, Zhuang Xun stood up and walked over to the stone lock area. He first lifted a four-stone lock to warm up, then walked over to a five-stone lock to give it a try.
He bent down, grabbed the handle, and took a deep breath.
The stone lock rose tremblingly to his knees, then suddenly shot up to his waist.
Bang!
The stone lock crashed heavily back onto the ground.
Zhuang Xun screamed in excitement in his mind, “Holy crap! Holy crap! I actually lifted it!”
He opened the Character Creation Panel, and sure enough, the realm column under Yan Pingsheng now read: Five Stones of strength.
A profound sense of achievement welled up in his heart, feeling even more satisfying than when Bai Yujing broke through to the Eighth Rank.
Five stones of strength, coupled with a great perfection level Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique, meant that securing a sponsorship during the Outer Court's Grand Competition was now a guaranteed certainty.
The great perfection level of the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique had been mastered by Bai Yujing.
However, since both were controlled by a single soul, Bai Yujing's great perfection in the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique naturally meant that Yan Pingsheng possessed great perfection in it as well.
“That's enough for today.” Zhuang Xun exhaled and walked toward the dining hall.
Seeing Yan Pingsheng's departing back, An Dafu stopped training and asked in surprise, “Pingsheng, you're stopping already?”
Zhuang Xun said, “Yeah, I'm heading off to eat.”
“You...” An Dafu hesitated, stopping himself.
Zhuang Xun waved his hand. “See ya.”
“Alright.”
“Man, Pingsheng is leaving so early. Is he not worried about the Outer Court's Grand Competition?” Zhang Tie walked over to An Dafu, staring at Yan Pingsheng's distant figure with a face full of surprise.
“Exactly. He's way too carefree. It feels like Pingsheng is different from us, like he only came here to play,” An Dafu said regretfully. “He clearly trains the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique so well, but his personality is just too lazy. If he worked a bit harder, he might actually stand a chance at getting sponsored.”
Zhang Tie shook his head. “Sigh, let's keep training. Only two days left.”
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