Chapter 103 – The Mine Test
From the time that he first entered the wild realm, Xuanyuan had finally felt the difficulties that normal people faced when cultivating. The gap between the wild realm and the king realm was enormous. Many geniuses were unable to improve after they reached certain realms, despite their talent. It was extremely hard for people to sense how the parts of their body were connected.
With the help of the pearl and the devouring technique, Xuanyuan had already refined and strengthened the marrow in his hands and feet over the three-day period. The marrow contained in the hands and feet were the smallest within a person’s body. Still, Xuanyuan’s strength had improved from ninety-six dragons to a hundred and eight dragons. The speed of his improvement even shocked the Xian’s that were watching in the shadows.
“It only took him three days to gain twelve dragons of strength. That is four dragons of strength a day.”
“What a wonderful talent!”
They had no idea that Xuanyuan’s mind was completely focused on studying the first chapter of the Book of Acquisition and he wasn’t actually concentrating on enhancing his strength. If he practiced using the one of the Heavenly Dragon Techniques, he would have improved even faster.
Xuanyuan lifted his body into a stretch. He was able to notice the feng shui of the landscape around him after studying the first chapter. He quickly stepped out of his room. The landscape of the sect was designed so that it could attract the purest Qi to aid the disciples’ practice. With a land filled with dense Qi, the beasts could gain intelligence and evolve, even normal people would see the benefits.
Almost every inch of land inside the sect was cultivated into quality land. Ordinary people who didn’t have the ability to cultivate could still benefit from the feng shui of the sect. Even normal people would see their life span double if they lived here. On the other hand, normal people who lived in bad lands would have a much shorter life span.
Xuanyuan let out a long sigh and his mind relaxed. He wanted more time in the future for him to continue studying the Book of Acquisition.
—
Zhao Manfeng arrived on time. Seeing Xuanyuan’s energetic face, he knew that Xuanyuan must have had a small breakthrough.
“Brother Xuanyuan, looks like you’ve recovered and are in your best condition.” Zhao Manfeng’s voice was deep and strong.
Xuanyuan grinned, “Elder Zhao, it looks like you’ve reached the realm of king fighters. A man’s potential is limited at birth, but a strong will can defy the heavens. You had no confidence and believed in your limited potential, this is what held you back from breaking your limit.”
Xuanyuan knew that Zhao Manfeng was awakened from his despair thanks to him, this allowed him to break the mental barrier that stopped him from progressing. Xuanyuan gave him his confidence back.
“I have you to thank for everything. I would have continued to believe that my potential was limited to the wild realm if I didn’t meet you. Anyway, the mine test is about to begin, so please follow me.” Zhao Manfeng’s face had a big smile.
“Extreme excess fat or lack of, are signs of a damaged spleen. When you’ve fully refined your spleen, you’ll naturally slim down. I hope that Elder Zhao will continue to stay motivated and reach the grandmaster realm soon.” Xuanyuan said kindly. He knew that Zhao Manfeng was a man worthy of friendship.
Zhao Manfeng was touched. No one had ever been so kind to him, so he would make sure to remember the kindness shown to him.
—
“The kid was right about Zhao Manfeng. The potential test is not the most reliable test. Many people only reach the realm of their test potential and do not attempt to progress further and break their limit.”
“Don’t fuss about such things. There’s a reason why we have such a test. It allows people to find their talents; some people are born to cultivate and will naturally break their limit, some people find their strength is forging instruments or concocting pills… We also need people to manage the finances and the law. Even though we are powerful practitioners, we’d probably run the sect into the ground if we needed to handle these affairs ourselves.”
“That’s right. The practitioners enjoy their freedom to roam. Let other people fuss about the annoying problems. Let’s go. I am liking this kid more and more.”
—
They soon arrived at the portal square.
The Fighting Dragons Sect covered a total of eight million square miles of lands. It was not realistic for everyone to walk to the mine, so there were portals established for people to move to certain locations. The square was densely packed with people. Large groups of wild fighters and newly promoted inner disciples were sent to the mine for their final test.
“Brother Xuanyuan, I can only guide you to this point. You can only rely on yourself within the next ten days. You have to complete your task before you are declared as an official inner disciple.”
Xuanyuan’s name attracted many whispers within the square.
“That’s Xuanyuan. I heard he’s the one who produced the Xian light. That’s crazy. Is something like that real?”
“Of course. No one wanted to be recruited by Zhao Manfeng before, but now he’s an Elder. The story must be true.”
“The sect will put in a lot of effort into training him. How nice.”
“Have you heard? A few days ago, he killed twelve king fighters on the Judgment Stand!”
“How come I’ve never heard of him when we were in the outer sect?”
“There’re many powerful people in the outer sect that don’t like attention.”
Xuanyuan enjoyed the attention. He used to be an insignificant nobody, but now was famous within the Fighting Dragons Sect. Such a drastic change was a great achievement.
“Elder Zhao, I’ll go ahead.” Xuanyuan leapt forward into the crowd. He was swift like a dragon. Before anyone could see his shadow, he had already passed them. He was stopped by four elders before the entering.
“Present your token!”
He took out the token for verification and was quickly granted access. One of the elders said, “The mine test is extremely dangerous. Half of the disciples who take the test, do not return with their life. Another thirty percent of them are unable to complete their task. You must finish within ten days. Your task is to secure a hundred jin of jade and fifty jin of crystals, regardless of quality. You must also bring ten elixirs from Mo creatures that you killed. Do you understand?”
On average, there would only be one elixir in every one hundred Mo creatures. If a person was unlucky, they might not be able to get one even after killing three hundred Mo creatures. In every ten jin of fighting stones, you might find a jin of jade. There might be a jin of crystal in every five hundred jin of stones.
“I understand.” Xuanyuan nodded,.
“Please make sure you have everything you need before entering, such as pills and talismans. You can buy what you need from us, but it is double the price.” One of the elders said.
There were many people who forgot some of the basic necessities because they were nervous. If they went back to collect their forgotten items, they’d miss the test. This was one of the way the elders made money.
“I’m fully prepared.” Xuanyuan put away his token and entered the portal. The elder then turned to another disciple.
After half an hour, the portal was filled with one thousand disciples. With a bright light, Xuanyuan saw the room bending and he suddenly found himself inside a dark cave. The other disciples who stood beside him a moment ago were sent to other locations within the mine.
The mine was dark, lit only by the glowing grass. Suddenly, a dozen blood red eyes glared at Xuanyuan. He wasn’t expecting to fight immediately and quickly brought out his Wind Spirit to fight.