166: Chapter 166 Wen Yan's Martial Arts Golden Core is Only Grade One

"Sister Wen Yan, may I ask you a question?"

Wen Yan raised an eyebrow: "Ask."

"When you initially achieved your Breakthrough to Tier 3 Martial Artist, what grade was the Martial Dao Golden Core you condensed?"

Wen Yan was stunned for a moment, then replied indifferently: "First-Grade."

Lin Yun frowned slightly: "Only First-Grade?"

"Sister Wen Yan, your talent is so good; you reached Tier 3 Martial Artist in your thirties, which is younger than many students at Martial Arts University."

"Why didn't you enter Martial Arts University to obtain a Secret Technique and condense a stronger Martial Dao Golden Core?"

Su Yingxue and the other women also nodded one after another, looking curious.

Wen Yan was clearly a Genius among Geniuses, so how could she only have the most ordinary First-Grade Golden Core?

Wen Yan rolled her eyes, her tone carrying a hint of annoyance:

"How do you know I didn't enter Martial Arts University?"

Lin Yun was taken aback: "You actually did?"

"Yes."

"Then how..."

Wen Yan sighed, looking at the moonlight outside the window, her tone becoming distant:

"Do you think it's easy for poor people to get by at Martial Arts University?"

Lin Yun fell silent; it wasn't easy to get by anywhere without money.

Wen Yan continued:

"At Martial Arts University, everything requires credits."

"The Nine-Story Cultivation Tower requires credits, the Combat Technique Analysis Hall requires credits, purchasing Medicinal Pills requires massive amounts of credits, and even borrowing Advanced Cultivation Techniques requires credits."

She turned her head and looked at Lin Yun: "Do you know how many credits I could earn in a year back then?"

Lin Yun shook his head.

"At most, three hundred a year. At least, less than one hundred a year."

Wen Yan smiled bitterly:

"Three hundred credits sounds like a lot."

"But do you know how many credits it takes to Cultivate for one day in the Nine-Story Cultivation Tower? The third floor alone costs fifty."

"I could only go to the cheapest floor, which cost ten credits a day, and I still had to be very careful with my spending, not daring to use too much."

She thought for a moment and continued:

"To challenge the Genius Ranking, you need your Realm to reach Second-Stage Perfection, and you must also Cultivate two yellow-rank peak Combat Techniques to Perfection."

"But I didn't even have the money to buy Combat Techniques, so I could only rely on the basic Combat Techniques provided for free by the school."

"You should know what kind of power basic Combat Techniques have."

Lin Yun was silent.

He certainly knew.

The gap between basic Combat Techniques and yellow-rank peak Combat Techniques was as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.

"From Second-Stage Early Stage to Second-Stage Perfection, if you rely only on hard work without the aid of Medicinal Pills, do you know how many years it takes?" Wen Yan asked.

Lin Yun shook his head.

"At least ten years," Wen Yan said indifferently.

"And that's only if you have good talent. For those with average talent, it might take twenty years."

Lin Yun was shaken inside.

Ten years... twenty years...

Wen Yan reaching Tier 3 Martial Artist in her thirties already showed excellent talent.

If she had resources and Secret Techniques, she would likely be far beyond this point now.

Before Wu Qingya married Lin Yun, she had spent a year at Martial Arts University and felt this deeply.

She added softly from the side:

"Sister Wen Yan is right. I spent a year at Martial Arts University, so I feel this most deeply."

"Credits are too hard to earn, and all Advanced Cultivation equipment requires credits. Progress for ordinary people is very slow."

"Before I suspended my studies, I had been enrolled for a year and was still at First-Stage Early Stage."

She looked at Lin Yun, her eyes full of tenderness:

"Unlike after marrying my husband, where in one year, I went from Early Stage to First-Stage Perfection."

Wen Yan glanced at her and snorted:

"So now you know how lucky you are, right?"

Lin Yun scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Wen Yan continued: "I stayed at Martial Arts University for a few years, and after reaching Second-Stage, I saw your grandfather recruiting Martial Artists, so I went to the Lin family. At that time..."

She looked at Lin Yun, the corners of her mouth slightly raised with a hint of teasing amusement:

"You were still just a little brat."

Lin Yun felt ashamed.

Su Yingxue covered her mouth and laughed from the side: "This is fate; Sister Wen Yan is also a member of the Lin family now."

Wen Yan reached out and pinched her waist, causing Su Yingxue to let out a dainty cry.

"Let him defeat me first before saying that," Wen Yan said indifferently.

Lin Yun suddenly thought of a question and couldn't help but ask:

"Sister Wen Yan, did you never take any Medicinal Pills before reaching Second-Stage?"

Wen Yan rolled her eyes and said irritably:

"What else? Do you think everyone is like you, popping Medicinal Pills every day, even more fierce than the wealthy heirs in Tianshui City?"

Lin Yun smiled awkwardly; this was indeed the truth.

Even people from big families like Qiao Shiyu and Bai Lulu didn't pop pills as fiercely as he did.

Lin Yun marveled at Wen Yan's strength in his heart.

Without eating a single Medicinal Pill, relying only on hard work, she broke through to Second-Stage in just a few years at Martial Arts University.

Later, relying on the Lin family's resources, she stepped into Tier 3 Martial Artist in over a decade.

Such talent was truly worthy of the mystic grade mid-tier rating given by the System; even without the support of resources, she could forcefully carve out a path of Martial Dao.

Lin Yun dared not imagine, if Wen Yan had been born into a wealthy family...

What Realm she would be at now.

Wen Yan seemed to see through his thoughts and shook her head with a smile:

"Don't overthink it. Medicinal Pills increase Realm fastest, and the price your grandfather offered back then was high, so there was a crowd of people applying for the job."

A flash of reminiscence crossed her eyes:

"It was also thanks to the Lin family that I have the achievements I have today."

"In over ten years, becoming a Tier 3 Martial Artist."

"If I had stayed at Martial Arts University, without the support of Medicinal Pills and resources, maybe even now, I wouldn't even be close to Second-Stage Perfection."

Lin Yun was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked:

"Sister Wen Yan, do you regret it? Do you regret leaving school back then, not challenging the Genius Ranking, not Cultivating a Secret Technique, and only condensing a First-Grade Golden Core?"

Wen Yan turned her head, the moonlight plating her beautiful face with a silver glow.

She looked at Lin Yun, her gaze calm and deep:

"Lin Yun, are you worried about me?"

Lin Yun did not deny it.

Wen Yan smiled, revealing a gentle expression:

"Don't worry. Although I didn't Cultivate a Secret Technique in advance, which led to the Martial Dao Golden Core I condensed being only First-Grade, so what?"

Her tone was relaxed, as if she were speaking of a trivial matter:

"The Martial Dao Golden Core can be slowly Cultivated and gradually improved."

"As long as I raise the Golden Core to Fourth-Grade, I will meet the minimum requirement for advancing to a Tier 4 Martial Artist."

"Don't look at those people on the Genius Ranking; they all seem infinitely glorious right now."

"Some people currently have high-grade False Cores, Third-Grade or Fourth-Grade, but whether they can achieve a Breakthrough to Tier 3 Martial Artist is still hard to say."

Lin Yun was taken aback: "Why?"

Wen Yan said indifferently: "The higher the grade of the False Core, the harder the Breakthrough. You should have already heard of this."

Lin Yun nodded.

He had indeed heard of this today.

Some Geniuses could clearly Cultivate the Void Embryo Core Planting Art, but chose to give it up and instead Cultivate the simpler False Core True Tempering Technique.

It was precisely because the Void Embryo Core Planting Art was too difficult, and they feared getting stuck at Second-Stage and being unable to achieve a Breakthrough for their entire life.

Wen Yan continued: "Throughout history, many people, in pursuit of a high-grade Martial Dao Golden Core, ended up unable to even achieve a Breakthrough and could only shatter their Golden Core to restart their Cultivation."

"Shatter their Golden Core to restart their Cultivation?" Zhao Qingyue asked nervously from the side, "What is that?"