I Can Upgrade My Talent Infinitely

"The Magical Combat is over! The rank exchange is successful!"

Feng Tianrui announced the final result.

Fang Yun had defeated Zhou Hongchang, rising from third to first on the Inner Sect Ranking.

After the exchange, Zhou Hongchang fell to third place. If he wanted to claim the second-place reward before the ranks were finalized for the month, his best bet was to challenge the current number two within the next three days.

"Junior Brother Fang, I’ve finally witnessed your true strength today." Zhou Hongchang accepted his defeat completely.

If they were to fight again, he knew he still wouldn’t be able to block Fang Yun’s assault.

After all, that seventh sword hadn’t even attacked him, and he had no idea what kind of effect it would have had.

In this Magical Combat, Zhou Hongchang admitted complete defeat.

However, if it had been a life-or-death battle, he was still very confident in his abilities.

He had a powerful trump card, but its side effects were too severe. There was certainly no need to use it in a mere contest between Sect Disciples.

"Thank you for the match, Senior Brother Zhou." Fang Yun was perfectly courteous.

Now that he had secured first place on the Inner Sect Ranking, all he had to do was wait for the rewards to be distributed.

This included both the ranking rewards on the fifteenth of the month and the Contribution Point settlement at the beginning of the next month.

After bowing to Feng Tianrui and Bai Qinying, Fang Yun stepped down from the Dueling Platform.

"Junior Brother Fang, seeing your strength gives me more and more confidence for the upcoming Four Sects’ Trial," Wu Junxin said sincerely.

With Fang Yun’s participation, the Celestial Cloud Sect should be able to achieve excellent results in this trial.

First place, in particular, was very important to Fang Yun. Wu Junxin had said before that if the opportunity arose in the Secret Realm, he would definitely help Fang Yun take the top spot.

"I haven’t slacked off in the slightest for this Four Sects’ Trial," Fang Yun replied, implying that he was improving his strength little by little every day.

"With Senior Brother Yang’s strength, he should have a chance to participate in the Four Sects’ Trial as well."

As Fang Yun spoke, both Wu Junxin and Song Qiaoqiao turned to look at Yang Yingjie.

The two of them were already on the list for the Four Sects’ Trial.

Song Qiaoqiao, in particular, was already at the Peak of the Qi Refining Tenth Layer.

Four months ago, during a conversation with her great-grandfather, Song Qiaoqiao had gotten his permission to attempt Foundation Establishment after participating in the Four Sects’ Trial.

Otherwise, she could have already entered seclusion for Foundation Establishment.

Her great-grandfather had already prepared a Middle Grade Foundation Establishment Pill for her, as well as a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object: the Water of Life.

The Water of Life could assist Cultivators at the Peak of Qi Refining who practiced a Water Attribute Technique with their Foundation Establishment.

With a Middle Grade Foundation Establishment Pill and the Water of Life, Song Qiaoqiao’s chance of failing her Foundation Establishment was only one in ten thousand.

Only a Cultivator with a Celestial Spirit Root could achieve a one hundred percent success rate in Foundation Establishment.

Cultivators with other types of Spirit Roots, no matter how many Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects they used, theoretically still had a chance of failure.

However, if the chance of failure was less than one in a thousand, it could be considered negligible.

"Not me. Doing missions is more my style," Yang Yingjie said, shaking his head. He had no intention of participating in the Four Sects’ Trial.

The four of them chatted for a while.

Fang Yun then prepared to return to his cultivation, while Song Qiaoqiao planned to have a few Magical Combat spars on Battle Peak to improve her proficiency with her Supreme-Grade Magical Artifacts.

"Did Junior Brother Fang leave?"

"Looks like it. Why do you ask?"

"I was hoping to have a Magical Combat spar with Junior Brother Fang, but it seems I’ve missed my chance."

"Damn! I completely forgot we could challenge Junior Brother Fang to a spar today. That rank exchange match just now was too distracting."

It was only after Fang Yun had left Battle Peak that some disciples remembered the matter of sparring with him.

As long as Fang Yun was on Battle Peak, other disciples had the opportunity to challenge him to a Magical Combat spar.

Having missed this chance, the next one would likely be on the fifteenth of the month.

That was because on the fifteenth of every month, disciples on the Inner Sect Ranking could come to Battle Peak to collect their rewards.

In previous years, quite a few disciples from the Inner Sect Ranking would show up at Battle Peak around this time.

Of course, not all disciples on the Inner Sect Ranking would appear at Battle Peak on that exact day, but they would all collect their rewards within the following half-month.

...

「The night of December 18th.」

At this moment, Fang Yun was refining and absorbing an Upper Grade Qi Enhancement Pill.

Two days prior, he had made a trip to Battle Peak.

The moment he appeared at the foot of Battle Peak, a Senior Brother at the Qi Refining Tenth Layer immediately approached him and issued an invitation for a Magical Combat spar.

As the man approached, Fang Yun could see he had been standing there for a while. He suspected this Senior Brother had been waiting for him for a long time.

Naturally, he accepted the Senior Brother’s request for a spar and, at the other’s behest, focused mainly on defense.

His purpose for coming to Battle Peak that day was to collect his rewards from the Inner Sect Ranking.

Five hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones!

After receiving his reward, Fang Yun checked the Inner Sect Ranking. He saw that Senior Brother Zhou Hongchang, whom he had knocked down to third place, had already climbed back up to second.

When he had challenged Zhou Hongchang, he had already learned that although the first and second-ranked disciples were both at Half-Step Foundation Establishment, there was still a considerable gap between them.

It was perfectly normal for Zhou Hongchang to reclaim the second-place spot after falling to third.

’Perfect. Peak of the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.’

After absorbing the medicinal power of one Upper Grade Qi Enhancement Pill, the Spiritual Power in Fang Yun’s Qi Sea could not accumulate any further.

The next step was to break through to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

Before attempting his breakthrough, Fang Yun chose to rest and fully recover his mental energy.

Just as the sky began to brighten at dawn, Fang Yun awoke from his sleep. He had rested extremely well the previous night.

Now, he could prepare to break through to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

Before beginning the process, Fang Yun first opened his door and hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the outside.

He could be interrupted during daily cultivation or while refining and absorbing pills; stopping his training wouldn’t cause any problems.

But when breaking through to a new Realm, he could not be disturbed.

He also needed to lay out the pills he would use before attempting the breakthrough.

Two Upper Grade Qi Condensing Pills!

He had prepared these pills nearly half a month ago.

For a Cultivator with Five Spirit Roots, breaking through from the Peak of the Qi Refining Eighth Layer to the Ninth Layer was less difficult than breaking through from the Peak of the Qi Refining Sixth Layer to the Seventh Layer. Normally, one Upper Grade and one Middle Grade Qi Condensing Pill would be enough to all but guarantee success.

However, to be on the safe side, Fang Yun had chosen to use two Upper Grade Qi Condensing Pills.

The cost of three hundred twenty Lower Grade Spirit Stones was no longer a burden for him. After receiving his first-place reward from the Inner Sect Ranking, he now had an extra one hundred eighty Lower Grade Spirit Stones on hand.

He began the breakthrough!

Fully prepared and in his optimal state, Fang Yun quickly began to circulate the final Mental Method of the eighth level of the Cyan Wood Technique.

As time passed, well into the night, Fang Yun, still in the process of his breakthrough, reached the most critical moment.

Without a moment’s hesitation, an Upper Grade Qi Condensing Pill entered his mouth.

As soon as the first pill’s medicinal power was depleted, he took the next one.

Shortly after, Fang Yun’s aura changed.

Qi Refining Ninth Layer!