Rise in the Martial Chaos: Starting From a Martial Arts School

When Yang Jing heard this, his heart couldn't help but pound. He felt a wave of heat surge from his chest. The offer was truly irresistible.

Access to the fourth floor of the Talent Pavilion, long-term use of a Class-B Training Room, discounts on martial arts exchanges… Each of these privileges was exactly what he needed; the temptation was simply too great.

Seeing the way his eyes lit up, Lin Ziheng couldn't help but smile and shake his head. He lifted his teacup and took a light sip. "Don't get ahead of yourself. Privileges like these are still a long way off for us."

He sighed, his tone tinged with envy. "Across our entire Lingxi Peak, the only disciple who possesses these privileges is Senior Sister. She's a formidable character who ranks high on the Profound Truth List. Now that's a true daughter of heaven."

The excitement on Yang Jing's face faded slightly. He took a deep breath and slowly nodded.

'He knew Lin Ziheng was right; privileges like these were indeed beyond his reach for now.'

Seeing that he had calmed down, Lin Ziheng brought the topic back to the Hidden Dragon List. "Let's talk about the regular rewards instead. The higher the rank, the more astounding the rewards become.

"Take contribution points, for example. For the top spot on the Hidden Dragon List, the sect rewards over one hundred thousand contribution points every month."

"Second place gets around eighty thousand contribution points."

"Third place gets around seventy thousand."

"The top three are one bracket."

"Fourth to tenth place is another bracket, where the rewards are all above twenty thousand contribution points."

"For the ranks below that, the points decrease progressively. At the bottom, the disciple in thirtieth place on the Hidden Dragon List typically receives around three thousand contribution points a month."

"Next, let me tell you about the Elixir rewards..."

....

The afternoon sun was at its peak. Sunlight streamed through the carved window lattices of the Main Peak Steward Hall, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow on the flagstone floor.

The hall was bustling with disciples from the various peaks, all coming and going on sect business. The air was thick with the clamor of voices, creating a lively, busy scene.

Zhao Hongxiang stood before the contribution point exchange counter, handing over his Token with a somewhat sullen expression.

Ever since Yang Jing's stunning victory in the last Cyan Qilin Battle, life had become increasingly bitter for him.

Su Qingyue, who lived in the same courtyard, had once been exceptionally eager to curry favor with him. Now, however, she was gradually drifting away. When they met, she would only give a cool nod, showing none of her former warmth.

Lin Wenxuan, who used to spend all day sucking up to him, had also grown quite distant.

Following behind him now was Cai He Kang.

This kid, however, had stuck by his side, serving him hand and foot and showering him with flattery, effectively becoming his new lackey.

"Your contribution points have been exchanged," the Steward behind the window said, handing back the Token.

Zhao Hongxiang took the Token, tucked it into his robes, and said respectfully, "Many thanks, Steward."

With that, he turned to leave the Steward Main Hall.

But after just two steps, he realized Cai He Kang hadn't followed.

Zhao Hongxiang raised an eyebrow, glanced back, and quickly spotted Cai He Kang.

That kid was on his tiptoes, crowded in front of a nearby notice board and staring up at it.

Posted on the notice board were the two lists that the disciples of the Xuanzhen Sect valued most—the Profound Truth List and the Hidden Dragon List.

Disciples like them always paid close attention to these two lists. Even though they knew they'd likely never get their own names on the lists, every time they saw them, they couldn't help but daydream, imagining a day when they too would be listed, basking in the envious gazes of the crowd.

Zhao Hongxiang understood and walked over as well.

Before he even got close, a buzzing of discussion reached his ears. One name in particular made him stop in his tracks.

'Yang Jing?'

Zhao Hongxiang's brow furrowed, his mind filled with confusion.

'The Cyan Qilin Battle was days ago. Why are so many people still talking about Yang Jing?'

He quickly squeezed through the crowd and came up behind Cai He Kang, patting him on the shoulder. "He Kang," he asked in a low voice, "what are you looking at?"

Hearing Zhao Hongxiang's voice, Cai He Kang whipped his head around, a look of lingering shock still on his face.

He pointed toward the Hidden Dragon List on the notice board, his voice trembling. "Senior Brother Zhao, quick, look!"

Zhao Hongxiang's frown deepened, his confusion growing. He looked in the direction Cai He Kang was pointing.

The sunlight slanted across the list, making the gold characters on the black background perfectly clear. His gaze swept over a line of rankings and instantly froze.

[23rd Place: Lingxi Peak, Yang Jing.]

That short line of text struck Zhao Hongxiang like a bolt of lightning.

His eyes widened in an instant. In disbelief, he rubbed them hard and looked at the spot again.

That's right. Those two words, clear as day, were unmistakably "Yang Jing"!

"Th-this... how is this possible?"

Zhao Hongxiang gasped, his voice filled with utter disbelief, causing several nearby disciples to glance over at him.

'Back then, even Gao Yang of Zhenyue Peak and Xu Ziqiang of Fen Yang Peak—with their supreme strength at the Peak of the Inner Strength Realm—had only managed to reach 27th place on the Hidden Dragon List.'

'What right did Yang Jing have?'

'Was it because he took first place in the Cyan Qilin Battle?'

'The Hidden Dragon List is based purely on strength. For the Elder Hall and Steward Main Hall to rank him 23rd... Don't tell me his strength is actually greater than those other two?'

Just as the crowd was buzzing with discussion, full of confusion, a piece of news spread from inside the Steward Main Hall.

A Steward in charge of updating the lists, growing impatient with the questioning of the surrounding disciples, finally announced in a loud voice, "What's all this racket! Yang Jing is now a Qi Eating Realm Cultivator! This ranking is the result of a comprehensive evaluation by the Elder Hall!"

Those words struck like a thunderclap, leaving every disciple in the Steward Main Hall stunned and reeling.

Qi Eating Realm?!

Yang Jing had actually broken through to the Qi Eating Realm!

The memory of Yang Jing cutting a path through his opponents in the recent Cyan Qilin Battle was still fresh in everyone's minds.

Everyone knew he was one of the top experts in the Inner Strength Realm.

Just the other day, Gao Yang of Zhenyue Peak and Xu Ziqiang of Fen Yang Peak had both put out the word that they would "properly test" Yang Jing in the next Cyan Qilin Battle. The implication was clear, wasn't it? They wanted a chance to teach this up-and-coming star a lesson.

So many people had been waiting for the Cyan Qilin Battle at the end of the month to see a clash of titans. Who could have expected that in less than a month, Yang Jing would ascend to the heavens in a single step and break through directly to the Qi Eating Realm!

The difference between the Inner Strength Realm and the Qi Eating Realm was a world of difference. Now, Gao Yang and Xu Ziqiang probably couldn't even stand tall in front of Yang Jing!

Zhao Hongxiang was completely dumbfounded, his mind a total blank.

'How long has it been since Yang Jing became an Inner Sect Disciple? How could he have broken through to the Qi Eating Realm so quickly?'

He and Cai He Kang stood rooted to the spot, staring at each other in blank dismay. It was a long while before they slowly came to their senses.

Now Zhao Hongxiang understood why Yang Jing was ranked twenty-third on the Hidden Dragon List.

'Not only had he broken through to the Qi Eating Realm, but he had also previously demonstrated the power of the Mountain-Breaking Seal in the Cyan Qilin Battle.'

'That martial art was rumored to be extremely difficult to cultivate, but once mastered, its offensive power was comparable to a Top-grade True Skill.'

'With that, even if Yang Jing had just broken through to the Qi Eating Realm, in the estimation of the Steward Main Hall, his strength was likely far beyond that of an ordinary Martial Artist who had just made the same breakthrough.'

A wave of dizziness washed over Zhao Hongxiang, leaving him at a complete loss.

Ever since meeting Yang Jing, his worldview had been shattered again and again. The disciple he once looked down on, the one who just buried his head in bitter training, now stood at a height he could only gaze at from afar. The whole thing felt surreal.

At that moment, the entire Steward Main Hall was in an uproar.

If someone else had broken through to the Qi Eating Realm—like Gao Yang, Xu Ziqiang, or even Zhao Chong, Zhou Tong, or Wei Dongting—they could have accepted it. After all, those long-famous experts at the Peak of the Inner Strength Realm had been stuck at that bottleneck for years.

But Yang Jing had only just been promoted to the Inner Sect last month, hadn't he...?

Soon, the news that Yang Jing had broken through to the Qi Eating Realm and claimed the twenty-third spot on the Hidden Dragon List spread like a hurricane, with the Steward Main Hall at its eye, rapidly sweeping through the entire Xuanzhen Sect!