4: Half a month later, he reached the late stage of the eighth rank.

Lin Yi couldn't help but sigh.

However, despite being poor, it seemed there were truly no better ways for him to earn money for now other than working as a temporary bailiff.

After all, while his strength as a Seventh Grade Martial Artist wasn't considered weak in the entire Guangling Prefecture City, it was by no means strong. Furthermore, as a Disciple of the martial academy, he couldn't take on a full-time job, which imposed even greater restrictions.

Under these circumstances, even with Lin Yi's advantage in martial arts skills, at most he could work as an instructor for others to earn some silver. But because it would be a part-time role, the money he'd earn in a month as an instructor would likely be less than what he made as a temporary bailiff at the yamen.

Unless he could pass the examination to become a Martial Arts Scholar. At that point, his status and position would leap significantly; whether as an instructor or in other jobs, it would be much easier and he would earn far more.

“So after all that, I still have to pass the Martial Arts Scholar exam first!”

Shaking his head, Lin Yi left his room. After a simple meal with his parents, he continued practicing his martial arts... time passed slowly.

In the following days, Lin Yi became even more diligent than before. Aside from earning money catching criminals as a temporary bailiff at the yamen, he spent basically all his time at the martial academy focused on his training.

With the Profound Violet Level Talent 'Martial Dao Sacred Body' in his possession, even without many resources to assist him, Lin Yi's cultivation speed underwent a qualitative change just by eating meat and occasionally consuming a qi and blood pill.

First of all, his cultivation progressed toward the Eighth Grade Late Stage at a terrifying speed, increasing by about 6% to 7% every day.

Secondly, regarding saber techniques, since Lin Yi's talent was already high and the Martial Dao Sacred Body seemed to provide some boost to his Comprehension Ability—though the boost was far less than that to his physical Aptitude—it was still much stronger than the Crimson Grade talent 'Saber Dao Genius'.

Consequently, his Sixth-Grade Martial Art, the Bright Moon Saber Technique, was also improving at a much more fearsome pace than before.

Just like that, half a month flashed by... “Clang! Clang! Clang!”

Guangling Martial Academy, morning. Inside a martial arts training room, the sound of metal clashing rang out continuously in the air.

A youth holding a long saber was fighting a bronze mechanical man over two meters tall. Its body was made entirely of bronze, and its eyes flickered with a crimson light.

The bronze mechanical man swung a long staff, each strike smashing down like a falling boulder. Though its Moves were crude, it was extremely fast, its power fierce, and its manner utterly intrepid.

The youth, on the other hand, wielded his long saber like flowing ink, bursts of clever force erupting as he parried the bronze mechanical man's terrifying offensive.

“Clang, clang, clang!”

Inside the training room, the human and the machine attacked and parried, countering each other's Moves.

Finally, after about a hundred exchanges, the youth found a flaw in the bronze mechanical man. With a single slash, he swept aside the long staff in its hands and struck the energy core, about the size of a hen's egg, on its chest.

Suddenly... “Boom!”

The bronze mechanical man's body shuddered, and the red light in its eyes slowly faded. It turned into a statue, silenced.

“I've finally defeated this bronze mechanical man. With an Eighth Grade Late Stage cultivation, my strength is indeed a level higher than the Eighth Grade Middle Stage.”

Seeing this, a trace of a smile appeared on Lin Yi's face.

One must know that while this bronze mechanical man had almost zero martial arts skill, its strength could barely be considered at the Seventh Grade Mid-stage level due to its immense speed and power.

Over the past half month, Lin Yi had fought it dozens of times, but he had been unable to defeat it every single time.

It wasn't until this morning, after Lin Yi broke through to the Eighth Grade Late Stage, that he managed to defeat it in just over a hundred Moves.

“However, while breaking through to the Eighth Grade Late Stage increased my strength, the magnitude of that increase is still far inferior to reaching Perfection in the Bright Moon Saber Technique. Currently, I am still far from passing the Martial Arts Scholar exam.”

Lin Yi thought to himself.

Relying on the aid of the 'Martial Dao Sacred Body' over the past half month, his progress speed was indeed terrifying. Not only did his martial cultivation rise steadily, but even his Bright Moon Saber Technique had reached the level of (Major Achievement, 99%) seven days ago.

But that remaining 1% was incredibly difficult to overcome. Lin Yi had practiced for seven days, and although he occasionally gained some insights, he simply couldn't grasp the Opportunity for a Breakthrough.

It was as if there were a hard but transparent steel gate between Major Achievement and Perfection, blocking him firmly outside and leaving him unable to Move an inch.

However, he also knew that while being stuck at the 1% Bottleneck was frustrating, comprehending martial arts could not be rushed. The more anxious one became, the easier it was to get stuck.

The path of the Martial Dao values both epiphanies and accumulation.

In the absence of an Opportunity or an Epiphany, one must first Cultivate hard and slowly accumulate a foundation. Once the foundation is sufficient, perhaps the Breakthrough will happen naturally one day.

“Let's continue training!”

With his mind set, Lin Yi reactivated the bronze mechanical man and continued practicing his saber.

After practicing for another hour in one go, just as Lin Yi was taking a short break, suddenly—

“The Vice Dean is here! The Vice Dean is here! The venerable elder is about to give a lecture at Number One Training Ground. Everyone, hurry over!”

Outside the training room, a series of joyful exclamations suddenly reached Lin Yi's ears.

“The Vice Dean?”

Hearing these voices, Lin Yi's eyes lit up.

The Vice Dean they spoke of was named Li You. He was one of the two Vice Deans of the Guangling Martial Academy, a powerhouse at the Fourth Grade Martial Realm. His strength was among the very top even in the entire Guangling Prefecture City.

Only the Old Ancestors of the top families or the heads of the local branches of other super organizations could compare to him.

Moreover, compared to the other Dean and Vice Dean who didn't involve themselves much in affairs, Li You was far more dedicated to the Disciples. He would come to the academy to guide them once every month or two.

Back when Lin Yi only had the Crimson Grade talent 'Saber Dao Genius,' he felt he benefited greatly every time he received guidance, and his martial arts skills would improve significantly.

And now, Lin Yi not only had 'Saber Dao Genius' but also the bonus of the 'Martial Dao Sacred Body'.

If he had the Vice Dean's help again, he might be able to break through that final Bottleneck in one fell swoop and reach the Perfection Realm of the Bright Moon Saber Technique!

“To the training ground, immediately!”

With that thought, Lin Yi's heart filled with anticipation. He immediately got up and left the training room, heading for Number One Training Ground... At this moment, on a vast open space at Number One Training Ground, hundreds of people were already standing in scattered groups. They were all Disciples who had joined the Guangling Martial Academy in the same year as Lin Yi or a year later.

As for those a year senior? They had already graduated last month.

After all, the schooling system at the Guangling Martial Academy was only three years, with admissions every September and graduation in June.

Since it was now July, it was exactly the time when the previous batch of Disciples had left and the next batch had yet to arrive.

Thus, Lin Yi, who had been at the Guangling Martial Academy for two years, was already part of the most senior class. As people saw Lin Yi approaching, they all began to greet him.

“Lin Yi.”

“Senior Brother Lin Yi! Good morning!”

“Senior Brother Lin Yi, morning!”

“Hello, Junior Brother Chen!”

“Anzi, morning.”

“Wang Lin...” Lin Yi responded with a smile.

His reputation in the Guangling Martial Academy was quite significant. Although he came from a poor background and had average cultivation, his level of martial arts skill was exceptionally high.

In terms of martial arts skill level alone, he was not only firmly in the top five among Disciples of the same grade, but he could even rank in the top thirty among the Senior Brothers and sisters who had just graduated.

It was only because of his low cultivation that Lin Yi's overall ranking was relatively low, yet he still earned the admiration of many Disciples, who treated him with quite a bit of respect.

In this manner, Lin Yi chatted and laughed with everyone. After waiting for nearly half an hour...

“The Vice Dean has arrived!”

Outside the training ground, a heavy voice like a great bell suddenly rang out.

In the next moment, Lin Yi saw an old man about seventy or eighty years old, wearing loose Daoist robes. His hair and beard were completely white, but his face was lean and elegant, possessing an otherworldly air. He arrived at the training ground surrounded by a dozen martial arts teachers.

Seeing this, the crowd of Disciples, including Lin Yi, immediately fell silent and then hurriedly performed a respectful bow:

“Disciples pay their respects to Vice Dean Li! Respects to the teachers!”