140: Requirements for promotion to a third-rank warrior

【 Name: Shen Bei 】

【 Lingnan City Martial Arts University, First Year. 】

【 Strength: 95. 】

【 Physique: 60. 】

【 Spirit: 42. 】

【 Agility: 50. 】

【 Evaluation: Second-Rank Martial Artist ★ ★ ★ 】

Phew~~

Shen Bei breathed a sigh of relief.

His Agility attribute just barely hit the passing line for “Three Stars Unite.”

In the past few days of working, there weren't many opportunities to increase his Agility attribute.

His Spirit attribute was even less, showing no growth at all.

His Strength and Physique didn't increase much either.

Overall, there was progress, but it wasn't significant.

However, compared to his peers, he was still far ahead.

He tossed the test report into the shredder.

As he stepped out of the testing hall, he saw other new students lining up to enter.

“Shen Bei!”

Jian Tong stood at the back of the line, holding a transparent umbrella.

She was still wearing her form-fitting Cultivation attire, perfectly showcasing her figure.

“What are you all…?” Shen Bei stepped through the rain and approached Jian Tong, asking, “Are you all here for testing?”

Jian Tong nodded obediently, “It’s almost the holidays, so we’re doing one last test to know where we stand.”

After speaking, Jian Tong glanced around, then lowered her head and whispered, “Mainly, Principal Zhang is worried there might be some stragglers among us.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Bei understood.

According to Lingnan City Martial Arts University’s progress, second-year students should all be at the Second-Rank stage.

However, there were also some unmotivated second-year students who were still First-Rank.

It went without saying that if a second-year student was still First-Rank, they would inevitably be eliminated.

Most first-year students were First-Rank, but there were also some Second-Rank students.

The Principal organized this test to identify all the Second-Rank students and send them together for training in the underground caves.

This wasn't because the Principal was malicious.

Rather, it was for the students’ safety.

The more Second-Rank students there were, the stronger their collective power.

Going into the underground caves with second-year students was much better than the next batch of first-year students going in alone.

Jian Tong’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she said, “Oh, by the way, I’ve booked our train tickets home. Let’s go home together for the holidays.”

Shen Bei nodded, indicating he had no problem with it.

“That’s not fair,” Qi Chuanyu, who was standing nearby, said with a laugh, “Aren’t we from the same hometown? Book tickets for Liao Zhongyang and me too.”

Jian Tong’s delicate brows furrowed, as if she was about to get angry, “What’s it to you? Go buy your own.”

“I see, I’m in the way.”

Qi Chuanyu turned to Liao Zhongyang, pointed at his head, and asked, “Do you think my head looks like a light bulb?”

Liao Zhongyang nodded vigorously.

Shen Bei: …

You’re quite self-aware, aren’t you?

At this moment, Professor Gu Xinrou called out to Shen Bei.

Shen Bei walked over in a few steps.

“Did you just test your attributes too?” Professor Gu Xinrou asked curiously.

Shen Bei nodded, “I’m done with the test.”

“What were the numbers?”

“I didn’t remember.”

“Where’s the report?”

“I threw it in the shredder.”

Professor Gu Xinrou rolled her eyes.

Shen Bei, however, quietly asked, “Teacher, what are the conditions for achieving Third-Rank Martial Artist?”

Professor Gu Xinrou’s hand trembled slightly; she tried her best to suppress her excitement and stared, “You… you can’t be, can you?”

Shen Bei frankly said, “I’m just asking.”

Professor Gu Xinrou narrowed her eyes, gazing intently at Shen Bei, and said, “Any two attribute values adding up to 170 will suffice.”

“Surface attributes?”

“Yes.” Professor Gu Xinrou raised her delicate eyebrows, “Why, do you have an idea?”

Although Professor Gu Xinrou knew Shen Bei’s Cultivation progress was incredibly fast, she wondered if it could be this fast.

It was simply too exaggerated!

Professor Gu Xinrou genuinely hoped Shen Bei would soar, but she also worried that if his foundation wasn’t solid, the higher he flew, the harder he would fall.

One must know that for a Martial Artist, breaking through faster isn’t always better.

One also needs to settle down.

This settling down means solidifying one’s true attributes!

This is also why students have to Cultivate in the martial arts gym every day.

On one hand, to uncover their own attribute points.

On the other hand, through extremely demanding Cultivation, to make their true attributes overflow.

It can be said that true attributes are the key to combat power.

Excessively pursuing rank while lacking in true attributes will ultimately lead to great losses.

The above is not just theoretical speculation.

There are also vivid examples in reality.

The most famous one is “Little Goal Cong Ge.”

His family was incredibly rich.

He took Medicinal Pills like drinking water.

He consumed all sorts of Medicinal Pills.

In a short period, he forcefully took his way to Seventh Rank Martial Artist!

As a result, in simulated combat, he couldn't even defeat a Four-Rank Martial Artist, and was evenly matched with a Third-Rank Martial Artist…

It is clear that rapid advancement also comes with a price.

His true attributes were too weak.

But clearly, Professor Gu Xinrou’s concerns were not Shen Bei’s concerns at all.

He was currently doing mental calculations.

Strength 95, Physique 60.

Total 155 points.

Still 15 points short of reaching 170 points.

To be honest, this amount of attribute points isn't much, but it's also quite a lot…

For normal students, some Prodigies with good luck can increase 3 attribute points in a day, which isn't a problem.

When luck is bad, they might not even be able to increase one point in 3 days.

Every student’s situation is different.

Shen Bei once heard that a Martial Artist student once set a record, increasing 20 attribute points in one day without any Medicinal Pill consumption, just by tempering his body!

And for Shen Bei to increase 15 points, working part-time was undoubtedly the best option.

But after a quick calculation, he realized that even if he worked himself to death, he wouldn’t be able to increase 15 points before going home for the holidays.

Shen Bei pondered for a moment, then waved his hand, “No ideas, Teacher, you should get back to your work.”

Professor Gu Xinrou shrugged.

Shen Bei returned to the group, chatted with the Zha Tian Gang and Jian Tong for a while, and after watching them enter the testing hall, he returned to his villa dormitory.

He rummaged through his belongings.

Shen Bei dug out all the reward Medicinal Pills the school had given him these past days, as well as the rewards from competitions and suppressing the underground caves that the country had given him.

He simply categorized them.

“8 Strength attribute Medicinal Pills, 7 Physique Medicinal Pills.”

Shen Bei counted them.

He was somewhat surprised, “They’re coming for my family fortune!”

If no drug resistance developed, it would just be enough to increase 15 points.

Shen Bei wasn't worried about drug resistance either.

The ingredients of these Medicinal Pills were all different, and this point had already been considered before the school distributed them as benefits.

“Take them!”

Shen Bei rolled up his sleeves, “Take them until I reach Third-Rank!”

Although he didn’t know if the attributes gained from taking Medicinal Pills were true attributes, Shen Bei made a note of this 15-point value.

In the future, no matter what true attribute requirements for Strength and Physique arose, he would deduct them all from this.

The main goal was stability!

Crunch~~

One by one, the Medicinal Pills were thrown into his mouth.

This was Shen Bei’s first time taking this kind of attribute Medicinal Pill.

Eating them… the taste was definitely a negative review.

It was a bit like his fourth aunt’s foot wrapping cloth.

“Why aren’t they using technology and good ingredients at a time like this?!”

Shen Bei almost threw up.

He was truly speechless.

Medicinal Pills made from Materials from the underground caves might have a unique taste, but they shouldn't be so raw!

“So disgusting.”

Forcing down the nausea, Shen Bei swallowed all the Medicinal Pills until they were completely gone.

Looking at his Medicinal Pill stock again, the most expensive one was Super-Modified Adrenaline; the others were just some Hemostatic Pills, pain-relieving pills, and other not-so-valuable items.

“These attribute Medicinal Pills, each costs about 2 million on the market…”

Hiss~~~

“I just consumed 30 million?”

Goodness gracious~~

It’s true, you don’t know until you do the math, and when you do, it’s a shock.

And this was only after Shen Bei achieved feats that others could barely conceive, allowing him to obtain these Medicinal Pills.

Other students, relying solely on school benefits, lived a rather hard life.

Looking at it this way, odd jobs were truly incredibly cost-effective!

Next, Shen Bei began to meditate and rest.

However, in the school's daily Cultivation, there was no such thing as sitting meditation.

When tired, one would just collapse and sleep.

If one had energy, one would continue to train.

And Shen Bei’s sitting meditation had another name: “zoning out.”

Not thinking about anything, not doing anything, just emptying his mind and zoning out.

The next day.

Shen Bei first Cultivated the Hidden Breath Technique.

As his proficiency in Cultivation increased, the True Qi within his body was slowly compressed.

His life magnetic field was like a bonfire covered by sand.

Although not completely extinguished, it could still block a certain amount of heat.

“There’s progress!”

Shen Bei stood up, suddenly thinking of a question: “If this Hidden Breath Technique is Cultivated to Major Achievement, will it cause suspended animation?”

Because Shen Bei discovered that the so-called Hidden Breath Technique was about suppressing the magnetic field and True Qi emitted by the body.

This process required a sharp decline in bodily functions.

Heartbeat slowing down.

Blood flow slowing down.

Body temperature dropping.

Isn’t this heading towards “suspended animation” or “hibernation”?

Shen Bei became increasingly surprised, “It’s highly possible; upon Major Achievement in Cultivation, in the eyes of underground cave creatures, I would just be a human-shaped rock…”

“Hiss~~ The Martial Skill I originally thought least of, now that I think about it, it’s absolutely terrifying!”

“This is fantastic!”

Shen Bei suppressed his excitement.

He left, heading straight for the testing hall.

After a series of tests, Shen Bei slowly opened his test report.

His heart thumped.

“I should be Third-Rank now, right?” Shen Bei wondered suspiciously.