Two days later, the Outer Court's Grand Competition arrived as scheduled.
Many unfamiliar faces appeared in the academy.
This Grand Competition was divided into three categories: strength, agility, and Comprehension. It would take place over two days.
The Seventh Courtyard's competition was scheduled for the afternoon of the first day.
Therefore, during the morning, Zhuang Xun went with his roommates to watch the competition of the other courtyards.
From what he saw that morning, five stones of strength was now the average level for the Outer Court disciples. A small portion had six stones of strength, and only a select few had seven stones.
No one higher than that had appeared yet.
Compared to a month ago, the strength of most Outer Court disciples had risen by a level; Yan Pingsheng was not the only one who had made progress.
In terms of the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique, the general mastery level among the Outer Court disciples was entry-level, with a small handful having reached minor accomplishment.
As for great accomplishment, Zhuang Xun had only seen three people reach it so far.
After getting a grasp on the average level of the Outer Court disciples, Zhuang Xun immediately decided to only let Yan Pingsheng display a great accomplishment level of the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique that afternoon.
Mastering the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique to great perfection in just one month seemed a bit too exaggerated. It was better to leave that display to Bai Yujing. He couldn't let both of his clones be so conspicuous. It would be disastrous if both of them ended up on some hostile faction's assassination list.
Having Yan Pingsheng display a great accomplishment level of the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique was just right.
From what he could see, this was considered genius-level in the Outer Court, and would probably be considered a minor genius in the Inner Court.
This level would allow him to receive favorable treatment from the academy without attracting too much attention from hostile factions, making it perfect for keeping a low profile and staying safe.
Furthermore, when he used his cheats to assign points to Yan Pingsheng in the future, breaking through realms wouldn't seem too abrupt. He could easily explain it away as high Comprehension and a stroke of minor luck.
...
By afternoon, the crowd in the spectator stands had visibly grown compared to the morning. Most of them had come specifically for Bai Yujing, who was renowned as the future Chief Disciple of the Wanxing Martial Academy.
Under the arrangements of several instructors and deacons, the disciples from the Sixth to Tenth Courtyards went to draw their numbers, after which they would take the stage in numerical order.
Yan Pingsheng drew a very early number. Less than fifteen minutes after the Grand Competition began, it was already his turn.
For some reason, Zhuang Xun recalled his physical education exams from his previous life, and a wave of nervousness washed over him.
It's fine. I'll have to go through this exact scene again later. Wow, when I think about it that way, I have to be nervous twice.
He took a deep breath, stepped onto the martial arts stage, and began his competition.
For the strength category, since Yan Pingsheng had only just broken through to five stones of strength and hadn't stabilized it yet, Zhuang Xun couldn't hold the five-stone lock for very long. His score was a bit lacking, earning him a B-minus.
For the agility category, one had to dodge the examiner's attacks; the longer one held out, the better the score.
Relying on the effortless sense of absolute control that his powerful soul had over this weak body, Zhuang Xun easily dodged the initial attacks. However, as the examiner picked up the pace, even though Zhuang Xun could clearly read the movements, Yan Pingsheng's physical condition was simply too poor. After barely dodging a few more strikes, he was hit.
Still, his final score was quite good, earning him a B-plus.
At this point, the expressions of Zhang Tie and An Dafu, who had been closely watching Yan Pingsheng from below, began to look a bit strange.
For the final category, Comprehension, Zhuang Xun directly demonstrated a great accomplishment level of the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique.
The three examiners sitting in a row directly in front of him widened their eyes in surprise at first glance.
The disciples below the stage and the representatives of various factions in the spectator stands, who had initially been quite uninterested, all froze in unison after casting a glance.
In the end, Yan Pingsheng's score for Comprehension was an A-plus.
His overall grade was an A-minus. In previous years, this would already be a top-hundred result for the entire Outer Court.
Below the stage, the disciples of the Seventh Courtyard stared in collective shock at this otherwise ordinary, low-profile, almost invisible figure who had somehow achieved such an outstanding score.
A decent-looking disciple nudged Zhang Tie next to him with an elbow and asked in astonishment,
“Isn't he from your dorm? How is his score so good? I barely ever see him on the martial arts field. How does he usually train?”
Zhang Tie's expression was more twisted than if he had eaten sour grapes. “Train my ass! He leaves early every single day. When he's in the dorm, he's either sleeping or reading novels. He relies purely on talent.”
“Holy crap. And here he was, telling us every day that his Skeletal Structure is mediocre and that he has no hope of becoming a martial artist.”
In the spectator stands.
Representatives of the major factions were whispering among themselves, discussing Yan Pingsheng.
“His Comprehension is truly remarkable. He actually trained the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique to great accomplishment in just one month. It's a pity his Skeletal Structure is somewhat lacking.”
“His Comprehension is more than enough to make up for it. Besides, his Skeletal Structure isn't terrible, just a bit mediocre. As long as he doesn't lack resources, his chances of becoming a martial artist are actually higher than some disciples with upper-middle Skeletal Structure.”
“Indeed, indeed. Although sponsoring him requires a larger investment, the high probability of him becoming a martial artist makes it a low-risk, highly profitable deal.”
“Haha, please don't compete with me for him, everyone. My Zhou family might not have much else, but we certainly don't lack all kinds of precious meat resources.”
...
The moment Zhuang Xun stepped down from the martial arts stage, he was surrounded by Zhang Tie and An Dafu.
Both of them wore expressions as if they had eaten sour grapes.
“Pingsheng, that wasn't very cool of you. You... man, an A-minus! No, wait...” An Dafu suddenly asked with utmost sincerity, “How did you do it, Brother Pingsheng? Do you have any tips to teach your younger brothers?”
Zhuang Xun thought for a moment and said, “Well... just work hard on regular days, relax when you go up on stage, and perform as you normally would...”
“Wait, hard work?!” Zhang Tie was so angry he laughed. “You're the one who leaves the earliest every single time. How do you have the face to say that?”
“Come on, spill the beans. Don't hide it. How did you get that grade? Did you eat some good treasure, or did you secretly train when we weren't around?”
“If I had eaten some good treasure, how could my strength score only be a B-minus?”
Zhuang Xun said helplessly, “Aside from classes, I basically stay in the dorm. You guys know how exhausting it is to train for so long every day. How would I have the energy to secretly train?”
An Dafu asked, “So you're saying you just play around like that every day, and then you went and got an A-minus in the Grand Competition?”
“Hey, what do you mean play around? I train very hard every day, okay?” Zhuang Xun strongly disagreed with that statement.
“Hard work my ass! You don't even train half as long as I do.”
“Man, an A-minus... Pingsheng, what are you doing? We were all slacking off together, so why did you have to go and get an A-minus? I'm talking to you!”
Having truly confirmed that Yan Pingsheng had achieved an A-minus just by playing around every day, the brothers Zhang Tie and An Dafu felt a deep, wrenching pain in their chests. It felt worse than if they had died themselves.
“Senior Brother Yan! Um, and the other two senior brothers, may I trouble you for a moment?”
A voice as clear and pleasant as wind chimes drifted over from behind the three of them.
Zhang Tie and An Dafu turned around to look, only to see a cute-looking young girl. They immediately turned back, closing their eyes as the jealousy on their faces practically overflowed.
“Sigh!” They shot Yan Pingsheng a pained look and tactfully walked away.
“Senior Sister, is there something you need?”
Zhuang Xun couldn't recall the girl's name for a moment, so he could only address her as Senior Sister.
The girl covered her mouth and giggled. “What Senior Sister? I can't bear to have Senior Brother call me that. I just wanted to come over and introduce myself.”
“A Grade A score! Senior Brother, you're so amazing.”
She stood on her tiptoes, leaning her upper body forward and looking up at him, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
Zhuang Xun shook his head. “It's just an A-minus, the lowest of the A grades. It's nothing amazing. I'm still far from Senior Brother Bai.”
“Well, everyone looks dull compared to Senior Brother Bai. Don't be discouraged, Senior Brother! In my eyes, you are very impressive. A great accomplishment level in the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique is super amazing, okay?” The girl finally revealed her true motive. “Senior Brother, how did you do it? Can you teach me?”
She's overreaching. She should have started by asking about my family background first...
Zhuang Xun said, “Whenever there's something I don't understand, I just look up and watch how Senior Brother Bai trains. That's pretty much it.”
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