Chapter 297 - 172: Might
The three youths in black, white, and yellow robes were Yun Hong’s junior disciples.
From the explanations provided by the Sima Army, Chu Lingguang gradually learned the details of their identities.
The black-robed youth was Long Xin, a descendant of a Noble Family from the Imperial City. The Long Family’s ancestors were among the founding elders of the Great Yuan Dynasty, and the family held significant sway within the Dynasty. Descendants of the Long Family didn’t need to participate in the civil or Martial Examinations. Upon reaching adulthood, they could immediately serve as officials in the court. From a young age, they enjoyed a wealth of cultivation resources. Long Xin was simply one of the more outstanding members of the Long Family’s younger generation.
For generations, members of the Long Family had entered the Trial Grounds to cultivate. In fact, Long Family disciples had been to all three of the Great Yuan Dynasty’s Trial Grounds.
The white-robed youth was Xia Tianzhong. The Xia Family served as the strongest personal guard to the Great Yuan’s Imperial Family. A Xia Family ancestor had once saved the life of the founding Emperor of Great Yuan. In the generations that followed, his descendants continued to charge into the fray for the emperors, saving the lives of Imperial Family members on numerous occasions. They were known as the Imperial Family’s most trusted blade.
The disciples of their family enjoyed treatment comparable to the Long Family and held a similarly influential position in the Great Yuan Dynasty. They had no need to participate in the Martial Examinations, as they were granted official titles at birth.
The yellow-robed youth was Xu Kanghui. The Xu Family had also been instrumental in the founding of the dynasty. The Xu Family’s ancestor was originally a strategist for the founding Emperor of Great Yuan, known for being incredibly resourceful and brilliant in his calculations. In several major battles, he had helped the emperor turn the tide of war.
Three members of the Xu Family had gone on to become Prime Minister of Great Yuan.
Legend had it that the Xu Family possessed a Divine Calculation Skill capable of helping the Great Yuan Dynasty seek good fortune and avoid disaster. The Imperial Family always treated the Xu Family elders with great respect. There was even a time when the Xu Family was revered as the guardian angel of the Great Yuan Dynasty.
Therefore, the three youths in black, white, and yellow were the nobility of the nobility, the kings among kings.
One must understand that the Great Yuan Dynasty’s system was exceedingly strict.
Even Royal Family and Relatives like Du Juan, or members of powerful noble houses like Liu Qingqing, had to earn their titles through the Martial Examination.
Yet Long Xin, Xia Tianzhong, and Xu Kanghui could obtain titles by birthright alone. They had no need to participate in the Martial Arts Examination and could become court officials upon reaching adulthood.
All the while, they enjoyed a variety of cultivation resources that were the envy of all.
Most people had to fight tooth and nail, overcoming countless hurdles, just for the slight chance to enter this Trial Ground. Yet these three had been personally escorted in by Yun Hong.
This just went to show how different they were.
To put it in perspective, not even Zhao Rushuang, with her status as a Commandery Princess, received such treatment.
Of course, the preferential treatment these three enjoyed was not just due to their status; it was also because their innate talent was truly astonishing.
That was why the staff of the Trial Ground placed particular importance on their assessment.
Chu Lingguang simply never imagined he would be assessed alongside them. When the Sima Army told him their true identities, he had been left speechless for a long time.
Now, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them before Yun Hong and the goatee-bearded elder, Chu Lingguang took a deep breath. ’Don’t think that just because I’m standing with them, I’m one of them,’ he told himself.
’The only reason I’m here being assessed with them is a pure coincidence—we just happened to awaken our Bloodline Dragon Elephants on the same day.’
’Forget me, not even Yan Zhen could compare to this group!’
At this thought, Chu Lingguang gradually calmed down. His expression became as still as water, unflustered by honor or disgrace. He felt neither pride nor shame.
"All of you, perform the Operation Technique together," the goatee-bearded elder said. "Let us see the extent of your compatibility and what level you’ve reached."
His name was Xu Zhongguo. He had been stationed at the Northern Territory Trial Ground for over thirty years and had taught many outstanding students. He was highly respected within the Trial Ground; even Yun Hong treated him with the utmost reverence.
As an instructor here, Yun Hong deferred to Xu Zhongguo’s arrangements on many matters.
Chu Lingguang wondered about the goatee-bearded elder. ’Could he be from the same clan as Xu Kanghui? Are they both from the Divine Calculation Clan, the Imperial City Xu Family?’
’If so, does that mean the old man knows the Divine Calculation Skill?’
"Yes!"
Chu Lingguang, Long Xin, and the others replied in succession.
"THUD!"
Long Xin, Xia Tianzhong, and Xu Kanghui spread their feet apart, first using a Pile Skill to make their feet take root where they stood.
The muffled thud was the sound of their feet pressing flat against the ground, as if a force was piercing through the stone tiles and boring into the earth beneath, causing the floor to tremble.
Chu Lingguang observed this detail.
’So Pile Skills also vary in strength and quality.’
’The Perfection value for the Chang Chun Pile Skill is only two thousand. But Long Xin, Xia Tianzhong, and Xu Kanghui have enjoyed abundant cultivation resources since childhood. The Pile Skills they practice are far beyond what the Zhenyuan Technique or Chang Chun Pile Skill could ever compare to.’
Chu Lingguang could clearly feel the difference. When the three of them rooted their feet, it was as if their feet fused with the very earth. His own Pile Skill, in contrast, felt more like using brute force to bore into the ground, like driving in a screw.
’Both might seem rock-solid, but there is a fundamental difference between them.’
’This is the difference between a strong and a weak Pile Skill.’
But regardless, he had already cultivated the Chang Chun Pile Skill to Perfection. All Chu Lingguang could do was push this Pile Skill to its absolute limit.
He didn’t complain about his circumstances.
Instead, filled with a sense of reverence, he reminded himself that there would always be someone stronger. In this assessment, he only wanted to surpass himself, not compete to see who was better than the other three.
"BOOM!"
As the thought crossed his mind.
Chu Lingguang spread his feet. He channeled the Chang Chun Pile Skill into his legs, and in an instant, his feet seemed to weigh thousands of pounds. The stone tiles beneath him cracked and shattered. His feet ground the fragments into dust, sinking firmly into the ground as if he had plunged them into soft earth.
Long Xin and the other two frowned.
Given their status, they could naturally tell at a glance that the Pile Skill Chu Lingguang was cultivating was on the same level as the Zhenyuan Pile Skill provided by the academy. In the eyes of the secular world, it was a top-tier Pile Skill, but compared to the techniques they practiced, the difference was like night and day.