92: Chapter 92: The Monthly Exam Begins Again

After the excitement and joy passed, she looked at Qin Yan beside her again, who was seriously organizing medicinal herbs with a focused expression.

For some reason, the scene from the classroom not long ago suddenly flashed through her mind—the moment when Qin Yan's ear had accidentally brushed against her lips...

In an instant, an even more surging heat rushed to her cheeks.

Lu Youyou only felt her face burning intensely, and her heartbeat involuntarily quickened by a few beats.

“Little Senior Sister, don't space out. We're starting the next furnace.”

Qin Yan seemed to notice her abnormality, turned his head, and reminded her.

“Ah? Oh! Okay... okay, Little Junior Brother!”

Lu Youyou was like a kitten that had its tail stepped on, hurriedly withdrawing her gaze.

She forced herself to focus her attention on the alchemy furnace in front of her.

However, that throb deep within her heart...

...was like a stone thrown into a lake; the ripples it created were difficult to calm for a long time.

After successfully guiding Lu Youyou to refine a perfect batch of ten high-grade qi and blood pills...

...Qin Yan did not continue to play the role of "guiding teacher" for the next few days.

Too much of a good thing can be counterproductive.

Demonstrating such an amazing success rate and deep understanding of refining first-grade qi and blood pills in a short period...

...was already enough to leave a deep impression of being an "alchemy genius" in the hearts of his teacher and Senior Sister.

If he continued to reveal more, it would instead be ungraceful.

Moreover, with the Monthly Exam approaching, he had to race against time to increase his strength.

Thus, Qin Yan's life returned once again to that dull yet fulfilling rhythm.

He stabilized his "revenue generation" in the Alchemy Room during the day and worked up a sweat in the manor's cultivation room at night.

He unhesitatingly invested the earned Skill Points and resources into the cultivation of the Nine Revolutions Golden Body Spear and the Golden Body Medicinal Bath.

Cycle after cycle, with single-minded focus.

Time flew by rapidly during his focused cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, it was the eve of the Monthly Exam, the night of September 29th.

Qin Yan finished a round of Spear Technique tempering that lasted several hours and slowly withdrew his stance.

Feeling the surging qi and blood and the tough skin membrane within his body, he gently exhaled a breath of turbid, hot air.

“As expected, I still couldn't break through to the seventh Skin Tempering.”

He carefully sensed his own state and clearly realized...

...that there was still a significant distance to accumulate before reaching the barrier of the seventh Skin Tempering.

“However, with my current six times Skin Tempering...

...my qi and blood reaching 16 Cal, combined with the strength of Third Stage intermediate Spear Technique skill...

...what level would I be at in the grade?”

Qin Yan silently evaluated in his heart.

Thinking of this, he felt a slight regret: “What a pity. If I were given a few more days, the Nine Revolutions Golden Body Spear could break through to the seventh revolution and enter the Great Success Realm!

At that time, the true power of this top-tier Body Tempering Martial Art could be initially displayed.

My combat power would surely rise to another level.”

He glanced at the panel.

The progress of the [Nine Revolutions Golden Body Spear] Skin and Flesh Chapter had reached 81% of the sixth revolution, only one step away from the seventh revolution.

However, tomorrow was the Monthly Exam; time waits for no one.

...

September 30th, early morning.

Inside Martial Arts Arena Number One, the crowd was bustling, and the atmosphere was enthusiastic.

The third Monthly Exam of the new semester arrived as scheduled, still presided over by Instructor Lin Jian personally.

The Monthly Exam rules were no different from the previous two times, divided into two stages: the selection matches and the arena matches.

Since Qin Yan was absent from the last Monthly Exam due to spirit damage...

...his ranking had automatically dropped from tenth to eleventh.

This meant that if he wanted to return to the top ten, he had to initiate a challenge during the arena match stage.

At the edge of the Martial Arts Arena, Qin Yan was loosening his muscles and bones, doing warm-up preparations.

At this time, Lu Youyou leaned over.

Those agile big eyes scrutinized him carefully, and then she showed a look of surprise.

“Little Junior Brother, you... you've done Skin Tempering six times?!”

Qin Yan was stunned upon hearing this, feeling somewhat surprised in his heart.

Between martial artists of the same realm, if one does not actively erupt their qi and blood, it is usually difficult to accurately judge the other's specific number of Skin Tempering.

How did the Little Senior Sister see it?

Seeing the obvious doubt on Qin Yan's face...

...Lu Youyou blinked playfully and explained with a light laugh: “Wangshu told me.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Yan's gaze couldn't help but turn toward Xiao Wangshu, who was standing quietly nearby with a temperament as cold as snow.

At this moment, this number one of the grade was looking calmly toward the arena, as if she hadn't heard the conversation between the senior sister and junior brother.

“I feel like this cold girl is getting a bit ‘not so cold’...”

Qin Yan thought to himself.

At the same time, he couldn't help but marvel once again at the terrifying nature of her talent.

To be able to see through his realm, this indicated... her cultivation level was no longer on the same level as his.

In other words, this New Student number one, Xiao Wangshu...

...had now stepped into the Second Grade Bone Forging Realm!

Breaking through to the second grade within just three months of enrollment.

This kind of cultivation speed could only be described as "terrifyingly formidable."

This "pseudo-genius" of his, who relied on "adding points" and stacking resources...

...in terms of pure martial arts progress...

...indeed still had a gap compared to these true favored children of heaven.

However, he did not feel discouraged in his heart; instead, his fighting spirit grew even stronger.

He had a premonition.

Once he broke through to become a Second-Rank Martial Artist...

...the amount of Skill Points he could obtain daily would likely increase accordingly!

By then, his improvement speed would surely quicken again.

He believed that one day...

...his, Qin Yan's, talent would surely compete with the sun and moon for brilliance, and stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun!

Although many thoughts crossed his mind, only a moment had passed in reality.

Qin Yan collected his thoughts and nodded to Lu Youyou.

He frankly admitted: “Well, with sufficient resource support...

...plus a recent breakthrough in martial arts, the speed of Skin Tempering has indeed quickened quite a bit.”

Lu Youyou's eyes flashed with a hint of understanding upon hearing this.

At the same time, she felt happy for her Little Junior Brother's progress.

The two chatted for a few more moments about cultivation and alchemy, the atmosphere relaxed and harmonious.

Before long, Instructor Lin Jian's steady and penetrating voice rang out in the center of the Martial Arts Arena, announcing the official start of the Monthly Exam!

Qin Yan ended his conversation with Lu Youyou.

His gaze began to carefully observe the performance of those students on the arena.

Evaluating their changes over the past month.

In the initial stage, qi and blood erupted on the arena, and the sound of weapons clashing was constant.

But the challengers were mostly students ranked between fifty and one hundred.

The qi and blood intensity they erupted was generally around 12 Cal to 13 Cal.

Not a single one of their Martial Arts Skills had reached the Third Stage level.

After watching a few matches, Qin Yan shook his head slightly, feeling a bit disappointed.

For the current him, contests of this level...

...no longer held much reference value and could only be considered an "appetizer" before the formal matches.

He was well aware that the real highlight was still to come.

After all, the students ranked in the top thirty of this Monthly Exam would gain the qualification to enter the "Key Class"!

This meant better teachers, more generous resources, and a more intense competitive atmosphere.

For this slot, those students with formidable strength who had hidden themselves deeply would definitely no longer hold back.