Rise from a Low-class Family to Martial Artist-Chapter 194 - 54: Merging Technique Within the Thousand-Step Mist
In the white mist, Lin Chen walked forward.
He couldn’t see his own hand when he extended it.
The only sound around him was his own footsteps.
People walk very slowly without sight, even knowing there’s no danger ahead, it’s a natural bodily caution towards the unknown.
Walk slowly, and likely in the wrong direction.
Although Lin Chen didn’t close his eyes, it made no difference in this fog.
Yet, even so, Lin Chen’s pace didn’t slow, maintaining a half-foot distance per step.
He didn’t know if there would be danger in the mist, but even if there was, it wouldn’t be fatal.
The Military Affairs Hall wouldn’t arrange special training that sends them to their deaths.
If there’s danger, it’s within a controllable range, and with his Iron Bone Skill reaching perfection, he could withstand general threats with his body’s strength.
This is what gave him the confidence to stride boldly.
[After fifteen minutes of walking, his pace hadn’t slowed, and his expression hadn’t changed.]
The man beside him glanced at the hourglass Jiang Kui was holding and noted Lin Chen’s condition on the record book.
Jiang Kui, watching Lin Chen’s steady pace, showed a look of anticipation.
From the moment they disembarked, the first examination had already begun.
This test assessed how far the trainees could walk in the mist, how long they could walk, and how straight their direction was.
The further they walked, the higher the examination score.
The longer they walked, the higher the examination score.
The straighter the direction, the higher the examination score.
But for trainees like Lin Chen, the real test truly starts from here.
Every young trainee arriving here could last for fifteen minutes, some even moved faster than Lin Chen.
At Lin Chen’s current speed, he was only mediocre compared to the few trainees who arrived with him.
"Something feels wrong."
After taking a few more steps, Lin Chen felt a chill invading, seeping through his pores.
But as his Qi Blood circulated within, the chill dispersed.
"It seems I guessed correctly, this is indeed an examination, but what are the assessment criteria?"
Is it testing how long he could persist in the chill?
After fifteen minutes.
Lin Chen was still walking, having surpassed the thirty thousand Qi Blood threshold, his body was like a furnace, and the cold within the mist melted and was expelled the instant it entered him.
The man recording at the side noted with a hint of surprise as Lin Chen maintained his speed for half an hour:
[His speed is steady!]
"Indeed, traveling the Extreme Martial Arts Path, his Qi Blood far surpasses an average martial artist. The abundance of his Qi Blood should be comparable to those with twenty acupoints."
Jiang Kui also marveled, as trainees reaching this point had realms around twenty acupoints, give or take one.
For Lin Chen to reach this far with only fourteen acupoints indicated that his Qi Blood could be compared to those with twenty acupoints.
He’d only heard that martial artists on the Extreme Martial Arts Path had much higher Qi Blood, but it was his first time seeing one in practice.
Does every extreme martial artist have such abundant Qi Blood?
This was more than mere invincibility at the same realm; this level of Qi Blood was comparable to twenty acupoints, yet Lin Chen was only at fourteen, lacking six acupoints.
If I had known, I would have taken the Extreme Martial Arts Path too, then wouldn’t I now be...
This thought barely surfaced before Jiang Kui mockingly smiled at himself; even reaching the Grade with one cultivation technique took him a year, starting a completely different one might take several years, affecting his realm breakthrough during that time.
Three years for Opening the Acupoints, five years for Refining the Viscera...
Most martial artists spent three years from Opening the Acupoints to Refining the Viscera, then another five years reaching Great Success in Viscera Cultivation, preparing to Enter the Grade.
It was the same for him. Choosing the Extreme Martial Arts Path would mean it might take five years to go from Opening the Acupoints to Refining the Viscera conservatively.
After an hour.
Lin Chen’s breath became heavy; even with Qi Blood surpassing thirty thousand, he felt a cold throughout, an imposing chill.
A quarter-hour earlier, he noticed the chill in the white mist grew stronger, and even by fully circulating his inner Qi Blood, he couldn’t dispel it.
As the chill invaded, his entire body’s pores stood, goosebumps covering every inch.
If it were just that, it would be manageable, but once the chill entered, it clung to his bones, constantly burrowing throughout his body.
Into his limbs, into his chest, and into his scalp...
His arm movements started to stiffen, even his steps became rigid.
"From now on, every step is a heavy burden. The ones I brought could last at most a hundred steps."
Jiang Kui’s eyes were like torches; this phase was crucial for all trainees as they faced the chill’s invasion.
While their Qi Blood could resist the chill, the examination’s score wouldn’t be too high.
A trainee with twenty acupoints could walk for an hour, whereas one with sixteen might only last half an hour due to Qi Blood differences.
But the thirty-minute discrepancy only amounted to a four-point differential, with one more point awarded for every additional fifteen minutes walked.
