24: It all depends on whether he can grasp the ultimate power.

"Forget it, I won't go all out after all."

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yi shook his head.

Although Lin Yi was confident he could take first place in this Entrance Exam after breaking through to the Seventh-Rank Late Stage yesterday thanks to his Martial Dao Sacred Body, it was still better to keep some trump cards hidden until he actually secured that top spot.

After all, this first round of the exam was merely to compete for the qualification to enter the second round.

In this round, whether one ranked first or twentieth, they would ultimately move on to the second round.

If he exposed his trump cards too early now, not only would there be no benefit, but it would also put others on guard.

Furthermore, because his martial cultivation was currently too low, his Physical Body too weak, and his mastery of Extreme Strength was not high enough, the number of times he could unleash Extreme Strength in a single day was limited.

If he wasted an opportunity to unleash Extreme Strength just to show off at this moment, it would truly be a bit foolish.

As thoughts swirled in Lin Yi's mind, the thin martial arts teacher opposite him had also finished adjusting the bronze mechanical man.

Then... "Clang!"

Accompanied by the crisp sound of a gong, the burly man continued to speak, his voice echoing in all directions:

"Everything is ready. Third batch of examinees, the exam begins now!"

"Boom!"

"Ha!"

"Puny mechanical man, take my spear!"

...As the burly man's voice faded, the academy Disciples each showed off their own unique skills, launching their respective attacks.

Seeing this, Lin Yi also struck out under the nervous, sneering, or curious gazes of the surrounding teachers and students. The long saber in his hand moved instantly, transforming into a crescent moon as it slashed toward the bronze mechanical man.

"Clang!"

The sound of clashing metal rang out on the Martial Arts Arena as the long saber collided with the long staff.

In an instant, the long saber in Lin Yi's hand seemed to possess a spirit of its own; with just a slight vibration, it neutralized most of the force.

Then, standing upon the ground, Lin Yi did not move an inch.

Instead, the bronze mechanical man holding the long staff was shaken by the counter-shock, its form becoming unstable. With a series of "thud, thud, thud," it retreated three steps across the ground before finally coming to a halt.

"What! Lin Yi, he... he actually pushed back the Sixth Grade Initial Stage bronze mechanical man."

On the Martial Arts Arena, the Disciples all cried out in surprise.

"This kid!"

Nearby, the thin martial arts teacher's eyes widened upon seeing this, filled with disbelief.

"This guy Lin Yi, his strength has indeed grown again!"

A look of helplessness, yet one that said "as expected," appeared on Wang Kai's face:

"This saber technique Realm, I reckon he's already traveled quite a distance within the Bright Moon Saber Technique's Perfection stage!"

"And his martial cultivation has actually improved this much? It looks like he's already at the Seventh-Rank Late Stage?"

"Compared to half a month ago, his progress is simply too immense. Is 'Enlightenment' really that powerful?"

Thinking of this, Wang Kai couldn't help but feel a bit envious.

On the surrounding spectator stands, hearing the cries of these Disciples, the high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants were also shocked.

Some powerful clans and influential forces had even begun to inquire about Lin Yi's background to see if they could recruit him... However, at this moment, on the Viewing Platform, an old man dressed in green, surrounded by many high-level officials of the academy, was not as shocked or happy as the others. Instead, he frowned slightly and asked the Vice Dean, Li You:

"Senior Brother, is this the Lin Yi you mentioned to me before? Why does he seem a bit different from how you described him?"

"Didn't you say that although his Comprehension Ability is decent, he comes from a poor background, which caused his martial cultivation to remain stuck at the Eighth Grade? And as for his martial skills, didn't he only finally reach Perfection in the Bright Moon Saber Technique two months ago when you gave him some pointers?"

"But looking at him now, his strength is much greater than described. Did he really 'open his mind,' or..."

Speaking to this point, the green-robed old man paused slightly, his expression suddenly becoming solemn as he spoke slowly:

"...or is he another Long Tianhong?"

"Long Tianhong, this..."

Hearing those three words, the faint smile on Li You's face vanished instantly.

Long Tianhong was considered a taboo within the Heavenly Mountain Sect.

This person hailed from Qingyang Prefecture, one of the eight prefectures under the Heavenly Mountain Sect. He was a Genius from the Long Family, a renowned first-class clan in Qingyang Prefecture, over eighty years ago.

Rumor had it that he was dull in his youth, with martial talent so poor it was inferior even to ordinary children, let alone compared to Geniuses.

But once he experienced an Awakening and 'opened his mind' at the age of eighteen, he soared to the heavens!

In half a month, Ninth Grade; in one month, Eighth Grade; in two months, Extreme Strength; in three months, Seventh-Rank and Minor Achievement in Extreme Strength; in four months, Sixth Grade and Major Achievement in Extreme Strength.

Two months later, Long Tianhong even broke through to the Fifth Grade and the Realm beyond Extreme Strength's Perfection.

This news immediately shook the entire Heavenly Mountain Sect. The high-level officials of the Sect almost all judged that Long Tianhong had the potential to break through beyond the First Rank.

Subsequently, the Heavenly Mountain Sect not only immediately dispatched a First Rank expert to Qingyang Prefecture to personally escort him to the Sect, but they also gave him the green light all the way after he officially joined. Various resources, Cultivation Techniques, martial arts, and martial arts teachers were all provided according to the best configurations, with the sole intent of nurturing him into another existence beyond the First Rank for the Heavenly Mountain Sect.

However, after joining the Sect, Long Tianhong's initial performance was acceptable, and his progress barely matched his status as a peerless Genius. But once he reached the Fifth Grade Peak, his Breakthrough speed slowed down instantly.

Not only could his rate of progress no longer compare to before, but he couldn't even keep up with some of the other formidable Geniuses within the Heavenly Mountain Sect.

Ultimately, after consuming countless resources, Long Tianhong only became a Second Grade Peak Martial Artist. He didn't even achieve the First Rank, let alone anything beyond it.

Seeing this, the Heavenly Mountain Sect was furious and helpless. But since things had reached this point, they could only reluctantly admit they had misjudged him and did nothing to Long Tianhong.

It wasn't until over ten years later that an anonymous letter was suddenly sent to the Heavenly Mountain Sect. The letter detailed how Long Tianhong had been extraordinarily talented since childhood and had actually already reached the Realm beyond Extreme Strength's Perfection and the Fifth Grade Peak of martial arts before his supposed Awakening and 'opening of the mind'.

All the terrifying progress that followed was a deception to trick the Heavenly Mountain Sect into giving Long Tianhong resources and protecting his Long Family.

The various details of the deception were described vividly and were backed by solid evidence.

Consequently, the Heavenly Mountain Sect was instantly enraged. The Sect Master personally ordered Long Tianhong to be executed by a thousand cuts, and the entire Long Family was uprooted, with nine generations of the clan exterminated!

But even so, the resources the Heavenly Mountain Sect had wasted on Long Tianhong could never be recovered.

More importantly, after this incident, the Heavenly Mountain Sect became a complete laughingstock among the various major powers of the Nine Provinces. To this day, the story still circulates among the great powers as a cautionary tale.

Thus, after Long Tianhong, major powers generally only looked at what talent you displayed at what age when recruiting Geniuses.

As for the speed of progress, no matter how fast you were, it was useless!

This could be considered a literal case of the predecessors cutting down the trees and the successors being scorched by the sun.

And from then on, the name Long Tianhong became an absolute disgrace to the Heavenly Mountain Sect!

Once Lin Yi was labeled as another Long Tianhong, he would likely have no future within the territory of the Heavenly Mountain Sect.

"This... it shouldn't be the case!"

After thinking carefully for a moment, Li You shook his head and replied:

"Back then, Long Tianhong was able to deceive everyone and make the entire Heavenly Mountain Sect believe he was a peerless Genius because he had the help of the Long Family's Second Grade Old Ancestor, who was nearing his end."

"Furthermore, that Old Ancestor was about to die himself, and the Family had no successors. He feared that after his death, the Family would be destroyed by enemies, which is why he took such a risky gamble."

"But Lin Yi comes from a poor background. His Family has no enemies to speak of, and the strongest Martial Artist in their Family history wasn't even as strong as he is now. As for his father, he's merely an Eighth Grade Peak Martial Artist in a small county town."

"With this kind of strength, wealth, and connections, how could he possibly replicate Long Tianhong's scheme?"

"In my view, Lin Yi must have simply 'opened his mind' in the martial way. After all, while such an occurrence is rare, some have appeared from time to time in the thousand-year history of our Guangling Prefecture City."

"Furthermore, based on Lin Yi's current performance, he would only be considered average among the 'mind-opened' Martial Artists in our prefecture city's history, let alone compared to those in the history of the Nine Provinces. This won't attract the Heavenly Mountain Sect's attention at all; at most, it will just make us pay more attention to him."

"And since our Guangling Academy hasn't managed to produce a Genius who could test into the Heavenly Mountain Sect for seven whole years, we already intended to pay a great price to nurture this batch of Disciples like Lin Yi. What does it matter if we give him some extra attention? At worst, we lose ten or twenty thousand taels of silver!"

"As long as these ten or twenty thousand taels can help him comprehend Extreme Strength and break through to the Sixth Grade before the Heavenly Mountain Sect recruits Disciples next year, then this money will be well spent!"

"Right! Senior Brother makes sense!"

Hearing this, the green-robed old man also nodded:

"Regardless of whether he's faking it or not, as long as Lin Yi can demonstrate his talent and become the first among this batch of Disciples, I'm willing to spend the money."

"It's been seven years; it's about time my Guangling Martial Academy produced a Genius who can enter the Heavenly Mountain Sect."

"Indeed!"

Li You also spoke softly:

"It all depends on whether this little fellow can comprehend Extreme Strength within a year."