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Chapter 78: You’ve Gone Easy On Me
The changes happened so swiftly that everyone's gasps of surprise were still in their throats when Cheng Zicheng was already facing a sea of dark green.
Cheng Zicheng tried to break free from Tang San's grasp, only to find her body suddenly weakened, unable to escape. Then, in an instant, the wind blades arrived. The vast green light filling her vision sparked sudden panic in her heart.
How can this be... was the only thought she could muster.
But in the next moment, those streaks of green light suddenly halted before her, pausing a meter away. At this time, Guan Longjiang and Mu Enqing had already arrived on either side of them. But before they could act, the wind blades had already stopped and dissipated into gentle breezes.
Tang San released his grip on Cheng Zicheng's shoulders and stepped back a little.
Cheng Zicheng swayed slightly as she abruptly turned around.
What she saw was Tang San's faint smile.
"Senior sister, thank you for the match."
Cheng Zicheng's eyes reddened instantly. She had lost, just like that, without even being able to put up a proper fight. She had been defeated by Tang San, who had just joined the academy and was much younger than her. The shame and grievance in her heart almost exploded instantly.
"You, you..." She wanted to say something but didn't know what to say. She had simply lost!
Mu Enqing patted Cheng Zicheng on the shoulder, "Victory and defeat are common in battle. When you lose, you must find the reason. This is also the purpose of our practical combat lessons."
Guan Longjiang turned to Tang San, "You've reached the fifth order?"
Tang San had no intention of concealing his cultivation level. In the Redemption Society or the academy, the stronger one’s ability, the higher the access to privileges and resources. Moreover, his newly acknowledged teacher also knew he was at the fifth order, so secrecy was unnecessary.
"I just broke through," Tang San confirmed.
At nine years old, being at the fourth order would’ve been astonishing enough, and now he's at the fifth order?
For a moment, the students present looked at Tang San with some amazement. There were sixteen students apart from Tang San, but the one with the highest cultivation was at the sixth order and had barely passed its threshold. Most were at the fourth order, similar to Cheng Zicheng, with only three people at the fifth.
How could they not be shocked that this child, only nine years old, had already attained the fifth order of cultivation?
Cheng Zicheng was also stunned. The fifth order? Yes! The strength of his wind blade attack didn't seem like something a fourth-order can do. So he’s reached the fifth order already?
Guan Longjiang laughed, "No wonder, no wonder the mayor took you as a disciple. Indeed impressive. Take a rest, and later, we'll have another real combat session."
Tang San was in a good mood. When he had grabbed Cheng Zicheng's shoulder, he had subtly absorbed some of her bloodline power. A new Demonic God Transformation bloodline imprint had appeared within him. Since he had only absorbed a small amount of bloodline power, the imprint it formed was only at the third order. But this was enough! He could now retain his fifth imprint.
Of course, he couldn't yet try what effect the Golden Roc Transformation would have on him, but it should allow him to fly. This was different from the vision of the white falcon demon. The Golden-Winged Roc's greatest strength was flight, and it soared up to ninety thousand miles daily. Among flying demons, it was definitely one of the greatest.
"Okay." Tang San didn't need to rest, but he refrained from saying anything; there was no need to look arrogant. He agreed, apologetically nodded to Cheng Zicheng, and returned to Du Bai's side.
Cheng Zicheng, puffing with anger, followed him and stood beside him, whispering, "Are you really at the fifth order? How can you cultivate so fast?"
Tang San spread his arms in helplessness. "I don’t know what to tell you. I just cultivate normally!"
Du Bai, however, grabbed him and shook him. "The fifth order, you've already reached the fifth order! I'm jealous, I'm envious, when will I ever reach the fifth order?!"
As the absolute bottom dweller in cultivation in the academy, Du Bai thought that with Tang San's arrival, he might not be at the bottom anymore. But now, he realized the gap between him and Tang San was enormous, and it wasn’t in the direction he had expected it to be.
While Du Bai held his arm, Tang San silently activated his Mysterious Heaven Technique, drawing a trace of bloodline power from Du Bai. Given Du Bai's weaker cultivation and the fact that he was both slightly injured and very tired, he drew only an imperceptible amount of bloodline power, unnoticed by Du Bai.
In Tang San's body, this power formed a bloodline imprint that seemed to be somewhere around the first order.
The Golden Roc Transformation was meant to become a true ability of his own. At the same time, he hoped that the Celestial Fox Vision could merge with his Discerning Eye, fostering the latter's evolution.
As his cultivation progressed, the benefits of the Discerning Eye became more apparent. Firstly, it significantly enhanced Tang San's vision, which meant that it synergized excellently with the Purple Demon Eyes. Secondly, the fact that he could directly observe elemental energy meant that he could use his spiritual power more efficiently, bringing marked changes in his control over elements. That's why he could better utilize the Hidden Weapon Hundred Separation techniques.
Moreover, the Discerning Eye could, to some extent, observe an opponent's weaknesses. This made it extremely useful in combat.
The effect of Celestial Fox Vision was wholly different, however; as far as Tang San knew, it was among the most overpowered abilities within the demon race, but it was not used for combat. From the information he had gotten, Du Bai was likely the only human with Celestial Fox Vision, and his ability was one of the greatest secrets of the Redemption Society. If the Celestial Fox clan discovered his existence, they would immediately take him away. Tang San didn’t know much about what exactly this ability did, but given how high it was regarded, he knew that it was well worth exploring.
Mu Enqing said, "Next up, Gu Li, Zhang Zebin, come forward."
Two boys, around the ages of thirteen or fourteen, stepped out. Each bowed to the teachers and took their positions.
The next match was about to begin, and Du Bai released his grip on Tang San, though the envy in his eyes was still apparent.
Tang San quietly asked him, "What's the usual process for a practical combat class?"
Du Bai replied, "Normally, everyone must do at least one sparring session. The opponent in each class differs. After all the combat sessions, the teachers will give us feedback, they’ll point out our strengths and weaknesses in the battle, and guide us so we can improve and enhance our skills."
"Stop with your ‘we.' You're not doing anything," Cheng Zicheng said irritably.
Du Bai's mouth twitched. "Don't kick a man when he's down, okay? You'll lose friends that way."
Cheng Zicheng snorted. " As if I care. I don't make friends with third-order weaklings."
Tang San looked from Du Bai to Cheng Zicheng and couldn't help but chuckle. Clearly, Cheng Zicheng was venting her frustration from the recent defeat!
“What are you looking at? Once I reach the fifth order, I'll definitely be able to beat you.” Cheng Zicheng glared at Tang San, clearly still disgruntled about the recent battle.
“Hmm, keep it up, senior sister. I’m rooting for you,” Tang San responded.
Two young men in the arena had already taken their stances.
“Begin!”
With Mu Enqing’s command, the second round of real combat began. The young Gu Li was visibly thinner and not much taller than Tang San. At this moment, his body began to transform.
His ordinary-looking skin turned into a thick, keratinous scale armor; his head began to deform, and a long tail sprouted from his tailbone.
The transformation was indeed massive.
Generally, the Demonic God Transformation caused changes in a human’s body, but these changes were limited. The greater the change, the closer the bloodline was to that of a demon.
After the transformation, Gu Li’s body had changed so drastically that it was hard to even recognize him as human.