40: Proton (II)

Golden streams of Qi, like an awakened true dragon, surged and roared through every limb and bone of Chi Yun's body.

With each passing moment, his Physical Body underwent a heaven-shaking transformation.

His bones became harder than metal, his Meridians widened several times over, brimming with resilience. Even his blood seemed to flow with a faint golden radiance.

"Is this the Dao Body..."

The wild joy in his heart lasted only for an instant before being replaced by the calm of an Earth Spirit Realm expert.

A cruel reality lay before him.

He was a hostage.

A hostage in an enemy empire, an awkward and precarious identity.

In a place like this, displaying oneself as too much of a Prodigy was definitely not a good thing. It would be akin to hastening one's own death.

"I must keep a low profile."

Chi Yun quickly formulated a strategy in his heart.

"First, find a way to Cultivate to the Spirit King Realm. By then, the sky will be vast enough for the bird to fly freely, and I can find a way to extricate myself."

Having made up his mind, Chi Yun settled into complete seclusion, embarking on a new round of hidden cultivation.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye.

Relying on the terrifying Aptitude of his Dao Body, Chi Yun's cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds. Despite lacking vast resources, he broke through the shackles of the Qi Nurturing Realm and officially stepped into the Spirit Nurturing Realm.

Spirit Nurturing Realm cultivation was enough to rank in the upper-middle tier even among the cloud of geniuses in the Middle Academy.

Soon, a new round of the academy examinations arrived.

This time, Chi Yun did not plan to concede defeat directly as he had last time. He needed more resources, but he also needed to continue hiding his true capabilities.

On the Training Ground, he suppressed his displayed cultivation to the Qi Nurturing Realm Seventh Level.

This level of cultivation was significantly higher than what he had shown last time, sufficient to explain the results of his three months of "arduous cultivation," yet not so shocking as to seem earth-shattering.

"First round, Chi Yun versus Zhao Kuo!"

"Second round, Chi Yun versus Sun Ming!"

...

In the following several matches, Chi Yun won "with considerable difficulty." Each fight was a back-and-forth affair, and he only managed a narrow victory by relying on "slightly superior" combat skills.

This shut the mouths of those disciples who had originally been waiting to laugh at him.

Soon, he faced his crucial match.

His opponent was a hostage from the Falling Clouds Empire, Chen Feng, with cultivation at the Spirit Nurturing Realm First Level.

"Someone from the hostage residence, this simplifies matters."

Chi Yun calculated in his heart.

This fight, he made it appear exceptionally "brutal."

With his displayed Qi Nurturing Realm Seventh Level cultivation, he forcefully clashed with Chen Feng of the Spirit Nurturing Realm. He allowed several gashes to be cut on his body by the opponent's spiritual energy, appearing utterly disheveled.

But just when no one favored him, he seized upon a moment of Chen Feng's underestimation. With a cunning and precise Mountain-Closing Shoulder Strike, he forcefully slammed the opponent off the arena.

"Chi Yun wins!"

The instructor's voice rang out.

The entire venue erupted in an uproar.

The weak defeating the strong!

Although it was only crossing two minor levels, the gap between Qi Nurturing and Spirit Nurturing was itself a massive threshold.

With this fight, Chi Yun completely washed away his reputation as the "useless hostage."

Below the arena, Chen Feng, his face ashen, was helped up by others. He glared venomously at Chi Yun's retreating back, his fists clenched so tightly they trembled.

He had lost. This meant the resources he could receive would be drastically reduced. His chances in the year-end promotion assessment would become incredibly slim!

And all of this was thanks to Chi Yun!

Chi Yun paid this no mind. In the next round, he cleanly conceded defeat, losing to a local disciple at the Spirit Nurturing Realm Second Level, thus ending his academy examination journey.

He obtained the resources he wanted—not too much, not too little, just right.

Another three months passed.

At year's end, the five great academies of the entire Xuan Yuan Dynasty welcomed the grandest annual event—the Promotion Assessment.

The Central, Southern, Western, Eastern, and Northern Academies—thousands of disciples gathered outside the imperial capital.

As far as the eye could see, a sea of people stretched out, with powerful auras soaring into the sky one after another.

Here, so-called Spirit Body geniuses were no longer rare.

Chi Yun even sensed several auras similar to his own, yet subtly different.

"Dao Bodies..."

His gaze sharpened slightly.

"I heard there's even a once-in-a-millennium Genius in this assessment, possessing a Heavenly Body above the Dao Body."

Disciples nearby whispered in discussion, their tones filled with awe.

Over these three months, Chi Yun's cultivation had quietly reached the Spirit Nurturing Realm Fifth Level.

With his combat experience, standing out in the assessment and securing one of the sixty-four slots for promotion to the Outer Academy Hall wouldn't be difficult.

But in the end, he abandoned this tempting idea.

Promoted after just one year in the academy?

Too conspicuous.

However, while promotion could be forsaken, a good ranking had to be fought for.

This was related to the resource allocation for the next quarter and was the guarantee for his rapid strength improvement.

On the high platform, the Hall Master of the Outer Academy Hall appeared in person. The pressure of an Earth Spirit Realm expert enveloped the entire venue.

"Assessment location: Black Wind Mountain Range."

"Time limit: Three days."

"Rules: Hunt Yao Beasts, seize their demon cores. After three days, ranking will be determined by the total value of demon cores. This will decide the sixty-four promotion slots and the resource rewards for the top three hundred."

The Hall Master's voice held not a trace of emotion.

"Finally, remember. This is a life-and-death assessment. The mountain range is fraught with danger. We will not interfere in conflicts between disciples. The Imperial Dynasty does not need flowers from a greenhouse."

"Death is the norm."

"Now, those afraid of death may withdraw."

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence. No one stepped back.

Everyone standing here was a person of unwavering resolve.

"Good."

The Hall Master waved his hand.

"Assessment, begin!"

Boom!

Thousands of disciples, like a floodgate opened, instantly surged toward the boundless black mountain range ahead.

Chi Yun blended into the crowd, inconspicuous.

But he keenly detected several malicious gazes locking onto him.

One of them, brimming with venom, came precisely from Chen Feng.

"Planning to finish me off during the assessment?"

Chi Yun sneered inwardly.

He deliberately slowed his pace, separating from the vanguard of the main force, and unhurriedly made his way toward a secluded dense forest.

The moment he stepped into the woods, the light abruptly dimmed.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Several figures flickered, appearing from different directions, instantly sealing off all his escape routes.

The leader was none other than Chen Feng.

Beside him stood three other hostages and a local disciple whose aura was noticeably stronger, all wearing sinister grins.

"Chi Yun."

Chen Feng crossed his arms, looking down at him with undisguised killing intent on his face.

"Didn't expect us to be waiting for you here, did you?"

One of the hostages beside him spoke with a sinister tone.

"Last academy examination, you made us brothers lose so much face. Today, we're going to settle that score properly."

Chi Yun swept his gaze over them, his eyes calm as still water.

"Just the few of you?"

"Hahaha! Still talking tough even at death's door!"

Chen Feng laughed as if he had heard the greatest joke.

"I know you have some skill, able to fight above your level. But no matter how well you fight, can you take on all five of us?"

"I won't make it too hard for you."

Chen Feng's smile turned cruel.

"Kneel down now. Hand over everything on you, including your assessment token. Then break one of your own arms. We might consider leaving you with a whole corpse."