Chapter 139 – Two Geniuses
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Lin Ming turned and saw that this person was an elder of the Seven Profound Martial House’s Heavenly Abode, Sun Sifan.
Before, during the entrance examination at the start of fall, Lin Ming had managed to pass all three trials in first place. However, because of the limit of his talent, some elders did not agree that Lin Ming should have the first place spot. But this Sun Sifan was actually one of those who had supported Lin Ming.
After that, Lin Ming had severely wounded Wang Yanfeng, and Elder Xu and rushed on stage to look for trouble with Lin Ming. That time, it was also thanks to Sun Sifan helping Lin Ming that Elder Xu was forced to back down.
Because of his timely help and graciousness, Lin Ming had a very good in impression of Sun Sifan. He respectfully bowed and said, “Greetings, Elder Sun.”
Sun Sifan quickly held Lin Ming up, and said, smiling, “There is no need to be so polite between us. Soon when you become a core disciple, our statuses will be the same… mm?” Sun Sifan paused. “You already reached the Altering Muscle stage?”
Sun Sifan’s eyes were like a torch, and he immediately saw through Lin Ming’s cultivation. Before, Lin Ming had restrained his true essence within him, so the many young junior apprentice brothers and sisters, who were mostly at the Second Stage of Body Transformation, did not see that Lin Ming had already made another breakthrough.
“Yes. I had a lucky breakthrough yesterday, so that’s why I have the confidence today to challenge the top ten spots of the Ranking Stone.”
“Good, good! The young are truly great! There is still more than a year left in the Seven Profound Valley’s core disciple test. Since you are at the Altering Muscle stage, you must have easily broken through the bottleneck from the Viscera Training stage to the Altering Muscle stage. With your fast progress, it is only a matter of time until you reach the peak Altering Muscle stage. This test has already been decided!
A 15 year old Altering Muscle martial artist was simply extraordinary. Even a fifth-grade talent would be mediocre by comparison!
“This young disciple has confidence to pass the test, but to defeat someone like Senior Apprentice Brother Lin, this young disciple does not truly have the confidence to win.”
“Haha, passing the test is already a wonderful achievement. If you could also beat Ling Sen, that would be a true miracle!”
Ling Sen was known throughout the Sky Fortune Kingdom as being invincible within his own cultivation stage, and even undefeatable to those below the Pulse Condensation Period. There were even some weak Pulse Condensation Period martial artists that Ling Sen would be victorious over.
If Lin Ming could defeat Ling Sen, then that would mean he would be a 15 year old at the early Altering Muscle stage with strength equivalent to a Pulse Condensation Period martial artist!
In the entire Sky Fortune Kingdom, there were only a mere 100 or so Pulse Condensation Period Martial artists, and most of those were concentrated in the Seven Profound Martial House.
If Lin Ming could defeat Ling Sen, then that would mean that in the Sky Fortune Kingdom, his individual strength would be in the top 100.
This ranking, at such a young age, really caused one to feel alarm and horror!
At this moment, another elder entered the ashlar square. It may have been a coincidence, but this elder turned out to be Elder Xu, the Xu Fengyuan who had made things difficult for Lin Ming.
Not even in Xu Fengyuan’s wildest dreams would he have thought that Lin Ming would achieve this level of fame four months ago. Now that he was a Seven Profound Martial House core disciple, he might even become the Martial House Master in the future. That would make him his own immediate superior!
When he remembered the entrance examination and how he had tried to meddle with Lin Ming, Xu Fengyuan felt such a deep, aching regret that even his intestines turned blue. Recently, Xu Fengyuan had been having difficulty sleeping and eating.
Although Xu Fengyuan loathed this to his heart, he reluctantly came today for a chance to meet with Lin Ming and come to terms with what happened. If they could bury their past animosity, perhaps this Lin Ming would not retaliate against him in the future. For the Martial House to get rid of a Heavenly Abode elder, it wasn’t a small matter, but it also wasn’t too difficult.
Choosing this time to come, he didn’t anticipate that he would bump into his old rival, Sun Sifan. Xu Fengyuan immediately complained of this hardship in his heart. This was a time when he was already planning on losing face, but he had actually managed to run into an old rival; would this guy not just make a joke of him?
Lin Ming also remembered this Elder Xu. The spatial ring that he had was from Xu Fengyuan. The spatial ring had been very convenient.
Lin Ming did not even bear a grudge against Wang Yanfeng, much less Xu Fengyuan. While Xu Fengyuan had been unfair, it was still understandable. After all, it was a natural human reaction. Xu Fengyuan was old friends with Yuelu City’s Wang Family, and Wang Yanfeng was from the Wang Family.
Lin Ming greeted him with the same respect, “Greetings, Elder Xu.”
Xu Fengyuan awkwardly coughed. He had immediately discovered that Lin Ming had broken through to the Altering Muscle stage. This caused him to not know how to react to this sudden development. Wang Yanfeng was still trying to reach the peak Viscera Training stage, but this Lin Ming was already at the Altering Muscle stage!
At the beginning of fall, Wang Yanfeng’s cultivation had been his greatest advantage against Lin Ming. But now he had already fallen behind!
The test had only started two months ago, and he had reached the Altering Muscle stage. There was also more than a year left of time. To achieve the peak Altering Muscle stage would simply be child’s play.
If there wasn’t some catastrophic accident, then Lin Ming would definitely become a core disciple of the Seven Profound Martial House!
Because Sun Sifan was present, Xu Fengyuan didn’t wish to tarry. He dryly coughed, and said, “I just passed by and heard that Lin Ming was going to take the assessment. I came here to take a look, and… well, good luck in the array. If you come across problems in your cultivation, feel free to come ask me anything.”
These remarks of Xu Fengyuan were a tactful apology on his part. Lin Ming naturally would not argue for anything more. Xu Fengyuan was still a Houtian stage master; such a humble dialogue already showed much face to Lin Ming.
Lin Ming said, “Many thanks to Elder Xu. This young disciple will come pay a visit another day.”
“Mm. Good!” Listening to Lin Ming say this, Elder Xu was finally relaxed.
With the presence of the two elders, the lower-order disciples of the Earth Hall stood at a distance and did not dare to go forward. But at this moment, there was another stir within the ashlar square. This rippling wave of awe was no less than that caused by Lin Ming!
Another person had arrived in the square. This person was unexpectedly – Qin Xingxuan!
If there was anyone in the Seven Profound Martial House who could compare with Lin Ming, then that person, without a doubt, would be Qin Xingxuan!
When Qin Xingxuan’s fame was rising, Lin Ming was still an unknown. Now, the halo of prestige that surrounded Qin Xingxuan was no less than Lin Ming’s.
With these two monstrous geniuses of the Seven Profound Martial House gathering together, how could it not be thrilling?
Lin Ming was also quite a bit surprised at seeing Qin Xingxuan arrive. He hadn’t thought that she would come. Qin Xingxuan was a core disciple, so there was no reason for her to participate in the Ten Thousand Killing Array assessment. That meant that the only reason she came here was to see him.
Thinking this, Lin Ming felt a very unusual feeling percolating in his mind.
Today, Qin Xingxuan was wearing a very simple martial outfit. It was neat, loose, and tied at the waist with a band. It perfectly served to accentuated her beautiful shape, and combined with both her slender legs, it gave off a very pure and valiant feeling.
However, what Lin Ming noticed was not Qin Xingxuan’s beauty and temperament, but her cultivation. Qin Xingxuan had already broken into the Fifth Stage of Body Transformation, the Bone Forging stage!
When Lin Ming had first entered the Seven Profound Martial House, Qin Xingxuan was already at the peak Altering Muscle stage. Now, in fourth months, she had crossed the Bone Forging bottleneck.
But Qin Xingxuan was also younger than Lin Ming by several months!
A sixth-grade talent was simply too terrifying.
“Xingxuan greets Elder Xu, Elder Sun.” Although Qin Xingxuan’s status was similar to these elders of the Heavenly Abode, she still displayed the etiquette of a child to and elder, and bowed to these two elders.
The two elders also noted Qin Xingxuan’s cultivation. They exclaimed with surprise in their heart. The Sky Fortune Kingdom had never before in their entire history had a martial artist reach the Bone Forging stage at only 15 years of age!
With such progress, Qin Xingxuan had the possibility of breaking through to the Pulse Condensation Period at 16 years of age.
At present, between this boy and girl pair, one’s combat capabilities were unrivaled, and the other’s cultivation speed went against heaven’s will. These two youths were simply the true monsters among monstrous geniuses!
Unfortunately, Qin Xingxuan had already made it clear to all that she planned to pursue the Xiantian path, and had no intention of staying in the Sky Fortune Kingdom. Otherwise in the future, Lin Ming could be the Martial House Master and Qin Xingxuan could be the Seven Profound Envoy. They could marry as one, and they would be the definition of a golden couple, simply a match made in heaven.
Their children would inevitable be gifted with an astonishing natural talent, and there would be a new legendary family within the Sky Fortune Kingdom. With these two people, the destiny and future of the nation would be much more stable, and the nearby enemies would not dare to invade the Sky Fortune Kingdom.
“Lin Ming, long time no see.” Qin Xingxuan faintly smiled. Of all his peers, only Qin Xingxuan directly called Lin Ming by his name, smoothly and naturally, with a nice ring to it. Others would call him Senior Apprentice Brother Lin, maybe Sir Lin, or even Mister Lin.
“Mm. It’s been two months since we’ve seen each other.”
“Haha, you two chat first. We shall go sit in the bamboo grove.” Sun Sifan saw these two youths talking, and created an excuse to leave of his own initiative. He knew that Qin Xingxuan would certainly not ask these two old men to leave.
“Elder Sun, Elder Xu, please walk carefully.” Qin Xingxuan sweetly said.
“Mm. Have fun catching up.” Xu Fengyuan hurriedly said. This was one of the few times that these two were of the same opinion.
After seeing these two walk away, Qin Xingxuan brightly smiled and said, “Lin Ming, I’ve recently been in seclusion for cultivation. When I came out, I heard that your inscription technique has already reached the pinnacle of Sky Fortune City. Hehe, since I was the first one to know of your status as an inscription master, can you give me a discount? I have a sword, and I would like your help with it.”
Qin Xingxuan’s eyes twinkled like stars as she winked. It showed a rarely seen playful demeanor that only highlighted her peerless enchanting beauty.
Even Lin Ming was stunned speechless for a moment. He finally smiled and said, “I am willing to serve Miss Qin. In fact, I can help you for free.”
“Really? Then I am honored.” Qin Xingxuan coyly smiled and continued, “Lin Ming, please call me by my name, there is no need for us to be strangers. Ah! Since you came today, you must be confident in entering the top ten ranks of the Ranking Stone, right?”
“Mm.” Lin Ming nodded. He had a 100% assurance that he could enter the top ten ranks today.
More and more people began to stream into the Ten Thousand Killing Array’s ashlar square. The originally lonely scene, because of the sudden appearance of Lin Ming, had become very festive, and some people were even rushing in.
As the Ten Thousand Killing Array assessment was soon to begin, Bai Jingyun and Murong Zi also arrived.
Seeing Lin Ming and Qin Xingxuan having such an engaged conversation, Murong Zi curled her lips and plopped down. There was no way that she was going to go up and say hello.
As Bai Jingyun saw Murong Zi like these, she laughed silently. In truth, Murong Zi was actually quite proud. But unfortunately, in the face of someone like Qin Xingxuan, she had lost all of her self-confidence and couldn’t find it anywhere. Qin Xingxuan was younger than Murong Zi. When Qin Xingxuan’s name was shaking the entirety of Sky Fortune City, Murong Zi had yet to be convinced; she wanted to compare herself to Qin Xingxuan. After a long time and much effort spent, she had discovered that the two of them were simply not on the same playing field.
And now, as Murong Zi saw Qin Xingxuan and Lin Ming happily chatting with each other, she felt something in her heart that was hard for a little girl to explain. It was a somewhat inexplicable, bewildering jealousy that clouded her mind. Murong Zi had a very simple disposition; she was never one to hide her feelings, therefore she just sat down on the spot.
Bai Jingyun smiled and said, “Ah Zi, didn’t you just say a few days ago that you had a medium-grade human-step sword that you wished Junior Apprentice Brother Lin to help you with?”