I Cheated While Cultivating

"This,” I am actually no distance away from Ninth Grade,” Zhou Heng said with a smile.

He didn’t keep them in suspense and directly explained the situation to Lin Cang.

This really wasn’t something worth concealing.

In fact, the distance should be negative.

"It’s alright as long as you’re willing to work hard, stepping into Ninth Grade before the age of twenty is still very hopeful,” Lin Cang didn’t catch on for a moment, thinking that Zhou Heng meant he was still far from Ninth Grade.

But he quickly realized what was meant, suddenly widening his eyes in disbelief and looking at Zhou Cheng,

“What, what did you just say? You, you’ve reached Ninth Grade already!?”

His words were almost a shout, expressing the utmost shock.

Once this was said, the entire hall of Longxing Martial Arts Hall fell silent, dead quiet.

The fifty or sixty apprentices and about a dozen trainers in the hall all ceased what they were doing, turning their heads to look at Zhou Heng.

What had they just heard?

Zhou Heng had reached Ninth Grade?

He had attained Ninth Grade in Martial Arts?

Wasn’t he only in the Martial Arts Hall for two years?

Whoosh!

The crowd gathered around, surrounding Zhou Heng like they were witnessing some rare creature.

"Ninth Grade! Zhou Heng, have you really reached Ninth Grade?”

"My heavens, how old are you to have reached Ninth Grade?”

"That’s so impressive!”

"A seventeen-year-old Ninth Grade, could it be that our Longxing is going to produce a genius on the martial arts prodigy rankings?”

"Take me with you, big bro!”

Everyone had something to say, looking at Zhou Heng with envy, jealousy, shock, and admiration.

A seventeen-year-old Ninth Grade!

To them, this was too shocking.

Longxing wasn’t any major martial arts hall.

The disciples it recruited mostly came from ordinary families.

The case of Yu He was exceptional.

They only had this one venue, not even two acres large.

Therefore, the

“intake” level was generally not high.

Most apprentices would only reach Ninth Grade in their forties.

By this age, they had already exceeded the age limit for discipleship recruitment by the Chang Xing Sect, naturally unable to learn advanced martial arts from the sect.

And if one wanted to continue training at the martial arts hall, they would need to stay as a trainer, which would inevitably divert their attention and make martial arts progression even more difficult.

Therefore, some would venture out into the martial world after reaching Ninth Grade, hoping to encounter some fortuitous adventure to progress further.

If one could step into Ninth Grade in their thirties, that was already quite rare.

The martial arts hall would unconditionally impart higher-ranked martial arts to them.

As for Ninth Grade at the age of twenties, in the seventy years since the hall was established, only once, fifty years ago, did such a person appear—that was the now aging hall master.

But a seventeen or eighteen-year-old Ninth Grade, let alone a martial arts prodigy on the rankings—

Such a person, even in the great Martial Dao Sects, would be considered an outstanding disciple,

And it was almost impossible for such a person to emerge from the small Longxing Martial Arts Hall.

If the Chang Xing Sect knew that a seventeen-year-old Ninth Grade had appeared in Longxing Martial Arts Hall, they would certainly value him highly, and entry into the Outer Sect would be assured.

With some luck, one might even directly become an Inner Sect Disciple of Chang Xing Sect, inheriting the secret techniques of a Sixth Rank master!

This was truly like soaring into the heavens, ascending thousands of miles!

“Quiet down, everyone, quiet down.” Lin Cang raised his hand to signal for silence. It seemed like he thought of something, the joy on his face fading, his expression becoming serious as he said to Zhou Heng,

“Zhou, come with me for a moment.”

After speaking, he headed to the back where the trainers ‘practice rooms were located.

Zhou Heng nodded and followed.

People in the martial arts hall continued to marvel at Zhou Heng’s talent.

A seventeen-year-old at Ninth Grade!

That was too few!

However, some people noticed that Lin Cang’s expression just now didn’t seem quite right and couldn’t help but fall into thought.

Martial arts trainers had their own private practice rooms.

Where they wouldn’t be disturbed.

At this moment, only Zhou Heng and Lin Cang were facing each other in this room.

Lin Cang looked at Zhou Heng with a serious expression and said in a deep voice,

“Zhou, tell me the truth, did you take some kind of drug?”

"Ah? Drug”? Zhou Heng was momentarily stunned by the question before he realized what Lin Cang was asking and then nodded,

“Um, I took a Tiger Bone Refining Pill to replenish my body’s qi and blood. Is there a problem, Master Lin?”

This wasn’t something taboo, so he spoke openly about it.

After all, using pills to assist with cultivation at the Lower Third Rank stage was actually quite common.

Because this stage primarily involved cultivating the body’s qi and blood, even the inner qi was transformed from qi and blood vitality, which is known as

“refining essence into qi.”

And where does

“essence” come from?

It requires the human body to absorb nutrients from food for transformation.

This is why those who practice martial arts usually consume a lot of food, with some martial artists even capable of devouring an entire cow in a day.

Ultimately, this is because the nutrients in the vegetables, fruits, and fresh meat that people usually eat are not very abundant, necessitating a large intake to transform enough

“essence.”

If one were to consume pills concentrated with the essence of spiritual beings, or eat food made from the blood, flesh, and marrow of strong beasts, it would greatly supplement one’s nutrition and accelerate one’s cultivation speed. Zhou Heng took the Tiger Bone Refining Pill, which, in fact, is just a convenient way of absorbing a large amount of nutrients.

Essentially there is no harm, so naturally, it would not be prohibited.

"Tiger Bone Refining Pill?” Lin Cang, having heard Zhou Heng’s explanation, let out a slight breath of relief but was extremely shocked,

“How can you afford such pills? They cost at least a thousand taels each, and I heard that the superior ones could even be worth more than five thousand taels.”

He had fully understood why Zhou Heng had managed to reach Ninth Grade so quickly.

Because, the phase from not having entered a rank to becoming a Ninth Grade Warrior is essentially a process where one uses standing meditation to let the blood and Qi absorb nutrients and catalyze power.

As long as nutrition is sufficient, one has the money and the connections to buy good nutritional supplements, and practices standing meditation diligently and assiduously, then stepping into Ninth Grade is not particularly difficult.

Actually, the reason why the martial artists from Longxing Martial Arts Hall cultivate so slowly, only reaching Ninth Grade in their thirties or even forties, is because most of the apprentices here are quite poor.

The annual income of most apprentices’ families is around a hundred taels of silver at best, and after deducting the costs for normal living expenses and tuition fees, it’s difficult to have even forty or fifty taels left.

Being able to eat meat once every three or four days would already be considered well-off.

They simply can’t afford any good stuff to supplement their nutrition.

Moreover, such families practice martial arts mostly for the purpose of acquiring a skill to protect homes and earn a living, so many people don’t wait until their thirties or forties; once they’ve learned the martial arts moves somewhat, they’ll leave to make money.

For most people in Longxing Martial Arts Hall, the Tiger Bone Refining Pill, which costs at least a thousand taels each, and even more than five thousand for the best quality, is an exorbitantly priced item.

It’s damn expensive!

Zhou Heng consumed a Tiger Bone Refining Pill, which provided a massive amount of nutrition, and through the cultivation of standing meditation catalyzed his power, naturally allowing him to swiftly step into Ninth Rank. It was completely smashed out with money!

But the most critical point is, compared to a Ninth Grade Warrior painstakingly cultivated bit by bit with consumption of meat, vegetables, and rice, a Ninth Grade Warrior

“smashed” out in such a way has no disadvantage, but instead even more advantages.

Thanks to the nutrients from

“nutritional supplements” being far stronger than those found in regular grains, vegetables, and meats, such a Ninth Grade Warrior’s Qi and blood are even more vigorous, strength greater, and power stronger, and even the later transformation into Inner Qi is easier.

The saying ‘the poor study literature, the rich study martial arts’ is indeed true. Quite true indeed.

"It was given to me by Liu Changsheng of the Five Elements Sect,” Zhou Heng briefly explained the previous events, also mentioning the need for Ninth Rank Inner Qi to treat Yu He’s condition.

"I see,” Lin Cang suddenly realized, and sighed helplessly,

“Actually, taking medicine to assist in cultivation is not a big deal, but the problem is, you are going to participate in the Chang Xing Sect’s selection of outer sect disciples.”

“The Chang Xing Sect specifically prohibits taking medicine for cultivation? That shouldn’t be right,” Zhou Heng said, puzzled,

“That doesn’t make sense.” As long as they are not the kind of pills that sacrifice the foundation in exchange for a short-term increase in cultivation, they should be considered reasonable aids for cultivation.

This is equivalent to the supplementation of nutrients from food.

Completely banning the use of medicine during cultivation is no different from banning martial artists from eating meals and meat during their training.

"It’s not about banning the use of medicine for cultivation,” Lin Cang shookhis head,

“but rather testing apprentices who have had a significant breakthrough in their levels recently and who have done so by using medicinal cultivation.”

“Is this to prevent apprentices and martial arts halls from using elixirs that sacrifice their foundation to increase their cultivation levels in a short period of time?” Zhou Heng guessed.

"Exactly,” Lin Cang nodded, speaking gravely, “This time, the one coming to our Huangtong Mansion for the selection test is the True Disciple of the Chang Xing Sect’s Law Enforcement Elder, ‘Fading Sunset’s Flying Sword’ Kong Chengshun, ranked ninety-nine on the Hero List.

"At just twenty-three years of age, he has become an Eighth Rank on the Martial Path, a genius within the Chang Xing Sect attracting much attention, and just like his master, he is known for his stern impartiality and detests those who exploit loopholes in the rules.

"You have reached the Ninth Rank on the Martial Path, and under normal circumstances, you could be exempted from the assessment and directly obtain the status of an Outer Sect Disciple of the Chang Xing Sect. However, now with the issue of medicinal cultivation, you will need to undergo Kong Chengshun’s testing.”

"How does the testing work?” Zhou Heng was somewhat curious.

"Combat,” Lin Cang answered succinctly,

“As for the specific rules, I’m afraid we’ll have to wait until Kong Chengshun arrives to lay them out himself.”

“Combat?” Zhou Heng laughed upon hearing this,

“That’s good, simple and straightforward.”

An Eighth Rank Martial Artist.

An Eighth Rank Martial Artist who uses a sword.

Hmm.

This is really good!!

"Hey, you kid, do you think you’re so great just because you’ve reached the Ninth Rank? That’s a True Disciple of a major sect on the Martial Dao, a disciple of a Sixth Rank expert, a talent on the Hero List!”

Seeing Zhou Heng’s confident demeanor, Lin Cang suddenly felt annoyed. He was still worrying about the youth’s future, yet the latter seemed completely unconcerned.

"Come on, let’s continue with what we were discussing earlier. Let’s spar, and let me see how strong you’ve become after reaching the Ninth Rank.” He needed to teach this kid a lesson!

He couldn’t allow him to become complacent. It was good for a young person to be spirited, but they also shouldn’t get too carried away!

So, Lin Cang took a longsword from the nearby weapons rack.

"Lin Cang is using the Martial Arts ‘Thousand Mountains Sword

Technique’ [Ninth Grade]to attack you. You have successfully parried. Your proficiency with the ‘Thousand Mountains Sword Technique’ has increased by +0.05.”

"You use 1 assignable Martial Arts proficiency point[Ninth Grade], increasing the proficiency of ‘Thousand Mountains Sword Technique’[Ninth Grade].”

“Congratulations! The proficiency of your Martial Arts ‘Thousand Mountains Sword Technique’tNinth Grade]has reached 1. Since you have mastered a higher tier of swordsmanship and have perfected a similar tier, your proficiency in this Martial Arts is increased by +3000.”

"Congratulations! The proficiency of your Martial Arts ‘Thousand Mountains Sword Technique’[Ninth Grade] has reached an advanced level, deepening your understanding of the ‘Dugu Nine Swords Technique: Sword Breaker’[Eighth Grade], increasing your proficiency by + 200.”

"Congratulations! For defeating the effortlessly defeated opponent Lin Cang, you have been awarded a Fortune Bag[Copper)+l.”

Lin Cang was somewhat doubting life.

He glanced at the sword in his hand, then at the empty-handed Zhou Heng, and asked in bewilderment,

“When did you learn the Thousand Mountains Sword Technique?”

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