Ti slipped by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of December.
The winter in Yuntai City was bitingly cold, but the campus of Star Martial University was buzzing with undiminished excitent. This was all because of the upcoming inter-departnt tournant in early January.
Hidden Dragon Garden, Villa #7, underground Cultivation Room.
Xu Wuyi sat cross-legged in the center, his gaze fixed on a piece of Stone Marrow about the size of a fist.
Its entire body was dark red, with natural lava-like patterns on its surface. This was the A- Level resource he had just redeed from the university’s resource vault for a full 800 points—Earth Fire Marrow.
The Stone Marrow appeared dormant, but with his perception as a Martial Artist, he could clearly sense the vast and pure Earth-Fire Energy contained within, gently radiating outward.
"I finally got my hands on it," Xu Wuyi murmured to himself.
Over the past month, he hadn’t been frantically accepting missions. Instead, he had selectively gone out a few tis.
The mission difficulties ranged from Basic to Middle Level for Martial Artists, and the point rewards were mostly between 20 and 40 points.
Adding what he had left over, he had just barely scraped together the 800 points.
The process hadn’t been easy; he had even encountered considerable risks twice. But the rewards were also obvious.
Not only had he t his point goal, but his combat experience had also beco more refined. Through steady accumulation, his Life Energy Level had risen to 20.6.
Xu Wuyi stood in the center of the Cultivation Room and carefully placed the piece of Earth Fire Marrow into a specially made, antique-styled tal lamp.
The inner wall of this lamp was inscribed with fine Energy-Guiding Runes, and its top was a hollowed-out protective cover. It was a fixture designed to be used with the Earth Fire Marrow.
He had bought it on Anna’s advice. It could regulate the intensity of the Energy released by the Earth Fire Marrow, making it perfectly suited for Xu Wuyi’s current use.
The price wasn’t steep either—just 100,000 Federation Coins, the cost of a single C-Level Life Potion.
He connected the lamp to a power source and lightly touched the switch with his fingertip.
HUM—
With a soft hum, the runes inside the lamp lit up one by one with a faint glow. The Earth Fire Marrow in the center seed to awaken as its dark red patterns began to flow.
A stream of pure and vast Earth-Fire Energy spread out. It wasn’t violent; instead, it steeped the entire Cultivation Room like warm water, causing the temperature to rise steadily and the air to shimr slightly.
"This way, I can control it with a switch and use it sparingly." Xu Wuyi nodded in satisfaction.
The Energy of this Earth Fire Marrow was potent, but if it were allowed to dissipate naturally, the loss would be significant.
With this special lamp, he could concentrate its Energy when cultivating and turn it off when he wasn’t, maximizing its lifespan.
A mont later, a warm current of Energy spread out, enveloping his entire body.
Xu Wuyi imdiately began circulating the Hundred Refinents lting Furnace Pile Skills. The crimson-gold Heart Fire in his Dantian seed to be nourished, its flickering frequency quickening slightly.
Imrsed in the Earth Fire Marrow’s energy field, the circulation of his Qi and Blood seed to beco smoother. Its heavy, dense quality gained a trace of gentle vitality.
’The effect is indeed remarkable.’
Xu Wuyi closed his eyes, and through Introspection, he could feel that the growth rate of his Heart Fire and the efficiency of his Qi and Blood refinent were both over thirty percent faster than with simple, arduous cultivation.
’These 800 points were well spent.’
While Xu Wuyi was imrsed in the highly efficient cultivation brought by the Earth Fire Marrow, the power structure among the freshn was undergoing a new round of reshuffling and upheaval.
The geniuses from each courtyard seed to be giving it their all, preparing for the upcoming inter-departnt tournant. News of students breaking through to the Martial Artist realm ca one after another.
After Xu Wuyi, the first to successfully advance was, unsurprisingly, Qin Rui.
Less than ten days after Xu Wuyi’s breakthrough, the top scholar from Central Province officially certified as a Martial Artist with a Life Energy Level of 20.1, his talent on full display. He hadn’t been left far behind.
The West Courtyard was ecstatic, certain that Qin Rui would bring honor to their courtyard in the tournant.
However, the next person to break through was a complete surprise to everyone.
It wasn’t Luo Liang, who previously had a Life Energy Level of 18.9, second only to Xu Wuyi and Qin Rui. Nor was it Zhao Qingwei from the North Courtyard. Instead, it was Li Hao from the border of the Southern Domain, whose montum had faltered slightly after his defeat to Luo Liang!
What was even more shocking was the speed of his advancent.
At the end of November, when he fought Luo Liang, his Life Energy Level was only 17.6.
In just one short month, he had shot up like a rocket, leaping 2.4 Energy Levels and ascending in a single bound. At the end of December, he audaciously advanced to beco a Martial Artist, certifying at a Life Energy Level of 20.0!
This news swept through the entire freshman class like a hurricane, causing an even greater sensation than when Xu Wuyi and Qin Rui had broken through.
"A 2.4-level increase in one month? Are you kidding ? How is that possible?"
"Even the core disciples of top-tier clans, with ample resources, probably couldn’t improve at such an absurd rate, right?"
"Isn’t Li Hao from a commoner background? Where would a small place like the Southern Domain get the resources to pile on him like that?"
Shock, doubt, curiosity... all sorts of emotions spread among the freshn.
Soon, well-inford individuals found out the truth through various channels.
"I’ve got news! It turns out Li Hao accepted a sponsorship from the Qin Family of Central Province!"
"The Qin Family? Qin Rui’s Qin Family?"
"Yes! That’s them! Rumor has it the Qin Family provided a massive amount of resources and just brute-forced Li Hao’s Life Energy Level up in a short ti!"
"So that’s how it is... no wonder."
"With his resource shortage taken care of, it’s not surprising that soone with Li Hao’s talent—enough to reach the top ranks of the freshman challenge—would soar to new heights."
"The Qin Family really went all out! Did they only sponsor Li Hao?"
"No, the news I heard is that the Qin Family only planned to sponsor one genius at Star Martial University this year. Originally, their first choice was..."
The discussion would often pause here, and everyone’s gaze would invariably turn toward Hidden Dragon Garden.
Xu Wuyi.
The genius from the East Courtyard, the first of his class to beco a Martial Artist, who had seed sowhat "quiet" ever since.
Why did the Qin Family end up sponsoring Li Hao instead of Xu Wuyi, who had broken through earlier and had a more eye-catching performance?
Soon, the answer was revealed by the person involved.
Just as Li Hao completed his Martial Artist certification and his reputation was at its peak, he was surrounded and questioned by a few familiar classmates after a public class.
Li Hao didn’t avoid the questions. His expression was calm, but his tone carried a clear sense of clarification:
"You’ve all misunderstood. The Qin Family’s initial candidate of choice was indeed Mr. Xu. It was Mr. Xu who took the initiative to refuse the Qin Family’s sponsorship."
He paused slightly, glanced at the surprised expressions on everyone’s faces, and continued, "It is precisely for this reason that the Qin Family’s sponsorship budget for this year ultimately fell to . For this, I am deeply honored, and I also feel imnse pressure."
These words were like another huge stone thrown into a lake, creating even bigger waves.
"Xu Wuyi refused the Qin Family’s sponsorship?"
"Is he crazy? He just refused resource support worth at least tens of millions a year?"
"No wonder he still had to work so hard doing missions for points after his breakthrough... turns out he rejected resources that were handed to him on a silver platter!"
"Really... I don’t know whether to call him noble or just plain stupid."
"Maybe he has his own reasons. But as things stand now, Li Hao accepted the sponsorship and his strength is soaring. It’s entirely possible he’ll co from behind to take the lead."
"anwhile, Xu Wuyi’s progress might slow down because of resource issues. One waxes while the other wanes..."
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