41: Martial Arts Third Grade and Breaking Limits

Twenty thousand taels of silver—that was enough for a full hundred tiger tendon leopard blood pills.

If he used his status as a Disciple of the Dongshan Martial Academy to buy them at a thirty percent discount within the academy, he could even get nearly a hundred and fifty pills.

If he swallowed all one hundred and fifty pills, with the absorption efficiency of his "Martial Dao Sacred Body," he might truly be able to Breakthrough to Sixth Rank, Late Stage before the end-of-month competition.

By then, he would have the strength to compete for the top three and have a chance to enter the Red Dragon Pool.

Thinking of this, Lin Yi was internally excited, and he was also incredibly grateful to Dean Zhao Haishan.

“Dean Haihong! If you have the chance to see Dean Haishan next time, please thank him on my behalf.”

“Throughout my journey, Dean Haishan's help has been far too great. I truly don't know how to repay him.”

“Haha, there is no need for repayment.”

Zhao Haihong shook his head with a smile.

“Haishan's Aptitude is average, and he is now old. Barring any accidents, he basically has no hope of becoming a Third-Rank Martial Artist in this lifetime.”

“He was born and raised in the Sect, receiving great kindness from it. So, in the final days of his life, his greatest wish is to Cultivate more experts for the Sect.”

“Therefore, as long as you Cultivate well and strive to become stronger, eventually becoming a Third-Rank or even Second Rank expert, that will be the best repayment for him.”

“Yes! I will certainly work harder in the future and will never fail Dean Haishan's expectations.”

Lin Yi nodded heavily.

“Good! It's enough that you have this heart.”

Hearing this, Zhao Haihong said with a smile:

“As for those twenty thousand taels of silver, I will have them ready for you tomorrow. Now, I will take you to the Scribble Tower for a look.”

“Thank you, Vice Dean!”

With that, Lin Yi followed behind Zhao Haihong and quickly walked toward the Scribble Tower... The Scribble Tower of the Dongshan Martial Academy was located in the southwest corner of the academy. It occupied a massive area of nearly ten acres.

Inside, there were over a hundred pavilions, each exquisitely constructed and uniquely decorated.

With over a hundred pavilions connected together, rather than calling it a single building, it was more like a continuous complex of buildings, looking incredibly spectacular.

“Lin Yi, this is the Scribble Tower of our Dongshan Martial Academy.”

In front of the main gate of the Scribble Tower, Zhao Haihong introduced:

“The entire Scribble Tower consists of one hundred and three pavilions. Each pavilion contains scribbles left behind by the Martial Artists in the history of the Dongshan Martial Academy.”

“The lowest Rank of these scribbles is Fifth-Grade Martial Art, while the highest is First Rank.”

“Of course, because the scribbles for First and Second Rank martial arts are too profound, usually only the Dean, myself, and the other Vice Dean will look at them.”

“Most other academy teachers and Disciples generally look at scribbles for Third, Fourth, and Fifth-Grade levels, so the number of scribbles for these three levels is also the largest.”

“For instance, the Fourth Grade Martial Art you Cultivate, the Full Moon Star Saber, is quite common in our Dongshan Martial Academy; many Disciples and teachers Cultivate it. Combined with the fact that it is a Fourth Grade level technique, I estimate there should be at least three thousand copies of its scribbles.”

“As for exactly how many copies there are and which pavilion they are hidden in, you can just ask the guarding teacher at the bottom of each pavilion.”

As he spoke, Zhao Haihong personally took Lin Yi to ask a nearby guarding teacher. After clarifying the specific storage location for the Full Moon Star Saber scribbles, he led Lin Yi straight to that pavilion.

Thus, very soon, on the third floor of Pavilion No. 97, on bookshelf number five.

At Zhao Haihong's signal, Lin Yi casually pulled a scribble from the second row of the bookshelf, opened the cover, and began to read.

“Junior of later generations, welcome to read the scribbles I have recorded. Since we are fated to meet in this book hundreds or thousands of years later, before reading the scribbles, why not listen to my life story first!”

“Life story?”

Seeing this, Lin Yi frowned slightly. At this moment, his only focus was on increasing his strength; how could he have the leisure to read someone else's life story?

However, since this Senior wrote it on the very first page, it meant he placed extreme importance on his life story.

Forget it, since I am reading his scribbles and inheriting his legacy, I might as well spend some time reading it!

With that thought, Lin Yi did not turn the page but continued reading.

As he browsed through line after line of text, the life of a powerful Martial Artist unfolded before Lin Yi's eyes.

“My name is Sun Lushan. I was born into the Sun Family, a second-rate Family in Dongshan Prefecture of Qingzhou that possessed seven Fourth Grade experts. I was a direct descendant of the Sun Family.”

“Because of my good background, and because the Family spent great amounts of medicinal herbs to build my Foundation from infancy, I showed astonishing Aptitude when I first touched the Martial Dao at the age of six.”

“I began practicing martial arts at six, entered the Ninth Rank within three months, broke through to the Eighth Rank at seven, and reached the Seventh Rank at ten.”

“At twelve, with the strength of the Seventh Grade Peak Stage and a Fifth-Grade Martial Art at Major Achievement, I successfully enrolled in the Dongshan Martial Academy for cultivation.”

“After cultivating in the academy for less than a year, I broke through to the Sixth Rank at the age of thirteen and comprehended the Limit of Strength Realm, becoming the fastest descendant in our Sun Family's history to do so!”

“Immediately, the entire Sun Family was shaken. Not only were my father, mother, and uncles all overjoyed,”

“But even our Family's long-secluded Fourth Grade Peak Old Ancestor came out of seclusion to personally receive me. He placed high hopes on me and took me by his side to teach me personally, hoping to Cultivate me into the Sun Family's first Third-Rank Martial Artist expert.”

“At that time, I was also high-spirited and full of mettle, thinking the world was at my feet. I was certain that once I joined the Heavenly Mountain Sect two years later, I would definitely be able to Breakthrough to the Third-Rank Martial Artist Realm in this life and become the pride of my Family!”

“However, what I never expected was that the Third-Rank Martial Artist Realm was too difficult! Difficult beyond my imagination!”

“I joined the Heavenly Mountain Sect at fifteen, and after cultivating there for only twelve years, I broke through to the Fourth Grade Realm, much faster than many Disciples of the same generation.”

“But after the Breakthrough, I didn't expect that I would actually waste away in this Fourth Grade Realm for over twenty years.”

“In those twenty-plus years, through continuous cultivation, my Martial Dao cultivation had long reached the Fourth Grade Peak level, my power exertion Realm had reached the Limit of Strength Perfection, and as for my martial arts technique Realm, it had even reached the Third-Rank Martial Art Great Perfection! I was no worse than many Third-Rank Martial Artists.”

“However, no matter how high my martial arts technique Realm was, I could never comprehend the mystery of Limit Breaking and could not become a Third-Rank Martial Artist.”

“Just like that, in the blink of an eye, I am already fifty-six this year. In four more years, I will be sixty.”

“And once I reach sixty, even with the robust blood and qi of a Fourth Grade Peak Martial Artist, my body's blood and qi will slowly decline.”

“At that time, even if I comprehend Limit Breaking, I won't be able to Breakthrough to the Third-Rank Martial Artist Realm.”

“So in the next few years, I will go to some extremely dangerous places on the Kyushu Continent for life-and-death tempering, hoping to stimulate my potential in the midst of life and death and allow me to comprehend Limit Breaking.”

“Finally, junior of later generations, wish me luck in successfully comprehending Limit Breaking and breaking through to the Third-Rank Martial Artist Realm!”

“If I am ultimately able to Breakthrough, then I will return again and add my insights on Limit Breaking to the end of this scribble for later generations to reference. This can be considered my final contribution to the Dongshan Martial Academy!”

“—Third day of the eighth month, Year 5896 of the martial god calendar, left by Sun Lushan.”