Chapter 275 - 273: Xu Nan
Over the next few days, Yang Shen prepared to break through to the True Gang realm, while Lin Yuebai readied herself for her Witchcraft research.
The Yang’s Eight Disciples continued their training under the cover of night, periodically taking turns to stake out the base they had discovered.
Time tends to fly when you have a full schedule.
Yang Shen felt swamped with the Yang Clan’s affairs. As he handled them one by one, the time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of November.
The hyper-competitive atmosphere at Jiangti was once again reaching its peak, because the Ranking Challenge was about to begin.
This was also the most active period for the "Yang’s Disciples."
With all sorts of backroom deals and strategic maneuvering, the scene was incredibly lively.
A disciple whose ranking was in the danger zone? Just arrange a promotion!
A female disciple being challenged maliciously? Just set up a gauntlet for her opponent!
Someone disrespected their master? Just arrange for them to be seriously injured and forced to take a medical leave!
Three challenges is the limit of the official system, but it’s not the limit of how many beatings you can take at this school! We’ll jump him on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and take turns on him Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. We’ll start with a month of that to get his body clock adjusted!
Yang Shen was even a bit worried, genuinely afraid the school might suddenly launch a "crackdown on nefarious elements." So, while handling the paperwork for his breakthrough to the True Gang realm, he decided to subtly probe the issue.
"Oh, that club of yours? I’ve heard about it. A very spirited bunch."
In an office at Qiangwu Academy, an instructor Yang Shen didn’t recognize—but who was two ranks higher than Sheng Qin—smiled warmly.
"Mutual aid and support, maximizing your potential within the school’s framework... that’s a good thing."
Yang Shen: ...
’Are you sure it’s not just corruption and backroom deals?’
"Besides, it seems your club has a great atmosphere. I hear you’ve helped many students in need."
’Are you sure it isn’t just a clique ganging up on people?’
"Oh, and I hear you’re a common sight in the cafeteria, the library, and the Medicine Hall. Always in neat, orderly formations."
’Isn’t that just marking your territory and forming your own little fiefdom?’
Yang Shen frowned slightly and asked with a hint of confusion, "So... does the school have any directives for our club?"
The instructor thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. Making a Hollow Grip with one hand, he summoned a form from the adjacent desk.
"How about I help you apply for some club funding! You should have enough members. You can also actively participate in some inter-collegiate activities, which the school will fully reimburse."
"I hope you can understand. The operational details regarding the development of the Exotic Realm have not yet been declassified. So even though everyone knows about your contributions, the school has to act as if it doesn’t, at least for the time being."
"The school has taken note of your combat merits and your performance, and you will undoubtedly be greatly commended when the time comes. We know you’ve been put in an awkward position lately, so if you face any difficulties, please don’t hesitate to let the school know."
Yang Shen was completely dumbfounded...
’Me? In difficulty?’
’Things are going great for me, man!’
’I can’t believe that after all that, I ended up getting funding for the Yang’s Disciples...’
But the reasoning was actually quite simple.
He was the unofficially recognized "Number One Genius of Yanhua," the youngest person ever to make it onto the Qilin List.
Even for a top-tier university like Jiangti, he was a rare and valuable asset for boosting its prestige.
So what if the school wanted to pour some resources into him?!
At the start of the semester, one could still say, "Jiangti has plenty of Champion Scholars."
But now, Jiangti had only one Yang Shen.
As for those minor scuffles, the school administration didn’t consider them a sensitive issue at all.
On the contrary, they saw it as a sign of vitality! It made the campus even more competitive!
With that, Yang Shen could finally relax.
However, as he left the academy office, he noticed something...
On the ranking board, next to his own name... Jiang Xin’s challenge placard was gone!
It had been there all this time, and Jiang Xin had long since declared his intent to challenge Yang Shen. For some reason, it had been canceled.
’Did he chicken out to save his own skin?’
’The guy’s been acting completely nuts lately, so it’s not surprising he’d suddenly have a spaz and change his mind.’
And yet, Xu Bamboo’s challenge against Jiang Xin was still there...
’Looks like I’ll be able to coast through this Ranking Challenge. No one’s stubborn enough to challenge me.’
’As for the other disciples... they’re going to give everyone a surprise as well.’
...
「December 1st.」
The first day of the new round of the Ranking Challenge.
Since Yang Shen had no challengers, he could spend the next few days at his leisure. According to the rules, the first matches to be scheduled were for the pair whose ranks, when added together, resulted in the smallest number.
Thus, the first match for the freshman class became Xu Bamboo’s challenge against Jiang Xin.
As for Cao Wei, Yuan Rui, and Tian Zihan, their matches were scheduled for later days, as their current rankings weren’t very high.
This was also a highly anticipated match, its buzz second only to the previous battle between Yang Shen and Jiang Xin.
One was the star among the female Martial Artists in the freshman class, the third in her entire year to break through to the Innate realm.
The other was the high-profile Innate-level entrant who had suffered one defeat after another, generating a massive amount of gossip.
Although Jiang Xin himself no longer seemed to care, there was no shortage of people, both openly and secretly, waiting to watch the drama unfold.
The fall of a genius always stirs up more desire for gossip than their rise.
Many people were seated in the stands of Stadium 4. The Ranking Challenge didn’t have an official audience; everyone simply gathered on their own.
They were all just spectators eager for a show.
And in the crowd, the area around Yang Shen’s seat was filled entirely with his Yang’s Disciples, forming a separate, cordoned-off section.
The name Flame Fist had long since reached the pinnacle of the school’s hierarchy, granting its owner a unique status.
He vaguely recalled that during the first Ranking Challenge, this section had been occupied by some upperclassmen from Noble Family Descendants. Now, they too were part of the crowd of onlookers kept at a distance.
Don’t even try to get close!
In the area reserved for the Yang Family Army, Xu Bamboo was centering herself, a longsword resting across her lap.
She had been preparing for this challenge for a long time.
She had privately asked Yang Shen how her strength compared to Jiang Xin’s, and Yang Shen had replied that he didn’t know.
If Jiang Xin was at roughly the same level as their first encounter, having only accumulated a little more experience over time, then Xu Bamboo, who had since caught up, should be his equal in every way.
But once the "Fist Intent" factor was added to the equation, the outcome became impossible to predict.
In the stands, Yang Shen sat shoulder-to-shoulder with Xu Bamboo. His eyes were closed as he constructed a mental visualization of the "sun."
He was practicing the *Jade Observation Method*, a Cultivation Technique he had been focusing on recently.
Though it was called a circulation technique, in practice, it functioned as a Meditation Method that didn’t require Yang Shen to do much of anything.
Ninety percent of it was about controlling one’s thoughts.
The other ten percent was controlling the Spiritual Qi in his body, making it circulate in a specific pattern.
So he could practice it anytime, anywhere, without it taking up any real time.
An interesting point was that in the traditions of Cyan Blue, whether on the Martial Arts Side or the Qi Dao side, one needed to reach a relatively high realm to control their internal Spiritual Qi with perfect precision. This meant that 2,300 years ago, the barrier to entry for practicing the *Jade Observation Method* must have been quite high.
At least, it had the highest barrier among all the Qi Daoist Techniques he had found so far.
But the effects of the *Jade Observation Method* were extremely subtle, one might even say negligible.
Rather than strengthening the Divine Soul, it seemed to merely elevate one’s state of mind... it couldn’t even be considered a technique for cultivating one’s Dao Heart.
It seemed to work, but not completely.
It was like going to the bathroom right before bed: you feel like you have to go, but you don’t *really* have to go.
One needed to construct an "anchor point" in the mind, then continuously visualize it, master it, and turn it into an article of faith.
The goal was to be able to call upon it in one’s mind at any time and instinctively believe in its existence...
It was like... the Cultivation version of practicing shooting an imaginary basketball, believing in the power of belief itself.
The *Jade Observation Method* itself naturally involved imagining a piece of "Jade within the Divine Soul," but Yang Shen had modified the object of his visualization to be the "sun."
To be honest, it was difficult, as the "sun" was far more abstract than "Jade."
Believing it was real required an extraordinary level of conviction.
It wasn’t just a star; humanity’s understanding of it was a complex synthesis of time, space, temperature, and culture.
Fortunately, he was quite familiar with the sun.
Even if nothing came of it, the experience would serve as Nourishment for when he attempted to fuse Cultivation Techniques in the future.
Just as Yang Shen was deep in his visualization, he suddenly felt something—the sensation of being watched.
This was no illusion. It was an instinct born from his increasingly flourishing Divine Soul, a result of his progress on the Cultivation Side. The Martial Arts Side had a similar concept: "Heart-Eye Clarity, knowing autumn before the cicadas."
Yang Shen opened his eyes and turned his head. At the very top of the stands sat a woman he didn’t recognize.
She was dressed in an outfit that was clearly not student attire: a black trench coat paired with a large, wide-brimmed hat that obscured most of her face, revealing only her exquisite makeup.
Although her gaze had already shifted elsewhere, Yang Shen was certain she had been the one observing him.
𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
After a slight hesitation, Yang Shen used his daily "Life Chart Inspection" ability.
He disliked using this ability wantonly, lest he be left high and dry when he truly needed it. But since he was in the middle of hunting the Rebel Species, it was better to be cautious.
The result, however, was an unexpected one.
"Xu Nan: Qi Refining Ninth Layer (Approximate)"
"Life Chart: Deep Blessings and Shallow Fate"
"Deep Blessings and Shallow Fate: Blessed with a foundation for great prosperity, yet fated to have no lasting ties with kin."
—