Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The other forces weren’t qualified to teach this kind of knowledge, but it wasn’t a problem for Jiang Chen. Among the books he had read, there was a book called Muscle Change Classic, which he assumed the Sacred Institute couldn’t possess.
The test was held in the same place. A guy from the east courtyard drew a round pattern on the ground, which was composed of several symmetrical triangles and some mysterious runes.
“Stand inside it and follow my orders. Your level of using holy points will be evaluated automatically when you produce force.”
“There are four levels: superior, good, satisfactory, and poor.
“You have to get a superior in each part to qualify for the superfine class.”
When Shi Gandang had finished speaking, Jiang Chen entered the circle to stand in the center.
The pattern started to give off a gentle yellow light that looked mysterious.
The people around held their breath. The atmosphere was charged with tension. It was time to decide whether Jiang Chen could join the superfine class as a short-term disciple.
“Will he succeed?”
Even Yi Yuechuan, who had made all this happen, couldn’t believe it.
“Punch!” Shi Gandang shouted while staring at Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen punched immediately.
They heard a whoosh when his fist was thrown out. Although he was punching nothing but air, the outsiders had the illusion that he had broken something.
“Superior!”
A mechanical voice came from under Jiang Chen’s feet.
Undoubtedly, Jiang Chen had amazed the spectators once again. He was overqualified for the superfine class.
“Accumulate your force to attack!” Shi Gandang shouted again. He seemed intrigued.
Jiang Chen moved his right leg back and tensed his muscles, then suddenly his force erupted. He shouted as loud as thunder.
He threw his fist out. Along the path his fist had passed, the air was distorted. The air billow travelled as far as ten yards.
“Superior!” The voice came again.
“Attack fast!” Shi Gandang ordered again, without giving Jiang Chen any time to rest.
Jiang Chen followed his order immediately. The orders were getting more and more complicated and difficult.
“Superior!” But he managed to achieve the best.
“Defense after an attack!” Shi Gandang said right away.
Jiang Chen moved his body as soon as he heard the order.
“Superior!”
“Dodge flying arrows as fast as possible!”
Jiang Chen took a deep breath and started to jump left and right repeatedly where he was standing. He was jumping so fast that the people could only see his shadow. In the end, they weren’t even able to differentiate between him and his shadow.
“Superior!”
The voice came again when he had stopped.
It seemed as if only two voices existed in this world, the voice of the machine and the voice of Shi Gandang.
All of the spectators were petrified. They didn’t know what to say.
“What a freak!” Shi Gandang said. It was what everyone was thinking.
“He wasn’t bragging!” Shui Yuechuan recalled what Jiang Chen had told her. This time, she was completely convinced.
“The leaders told us to treat the disciples fairly. This guy did pass all of the tests and got a superior grade. He has qualified for the superfine class of the east courtyard. What do you think?”
Shi Gandang looked towards the masters, managers, officials, teachers, and everyone else there.
The only excuse they could use to refuse Jiang Chen was that he was a short-term disciple.
However, although they couldn’t really treat the short-term disciples the same way they treated the formal disciples, they couldn’t show it in public.
“Well, from now on, you’re a member of the east courtyard.”
No one had aired any opinion. Shi Gandang gave a rare smile and looked towards Shui Yuechuan. He said, “Dean Shui, Jiang Chen is a promising disciple. I’m really surprised that you gave him up. I thought you’d brought me a dud.”
Shui Yuechuan glanced at Yi Qing with a helpless expression. She said, “It suddenly occurred to me that we still have a vacancy in the superfine class of the west courtyard…”
“Come on. You don’t.”
Shi Gandang interrupted her and came up to Jiang Chen. He said, “Men should prove themselves with strength. You’ve succeeded. Just ignore what I said to you.”
“I wouldn’t dare…”
Jiang Chen hurried to step back when he saw Shi Gandang was going to grasp his shoulder. This dean’s force was as terrible as his temper, but he was much better than the other people Jiang Chen had seen at the Sacred Institute.
All of the spectators had witnessed a short-term disciple had qualified for the superfine class.
Some of them weren’t convinced, but they couldn’t offer any persuasive reason against it.
Jiang Chen’s test result was almost perfect.
“Darn!”
Yi Qing couldn’t take the result. She couldn’t take more the conversation between Shi Gandang and Shui Yuechuan. It sounded like it was her fault that the west courtyard had missed out on a genius like Jiang Chen.
Although it was true that she was the one who opposed his joining most strongly, she didn’t think Jiang Chen was a genius!
“Let’s wait and see at the great competition of the four courtyards!” Yi Qing thought.
Eventually, Jiang Chen moved to the east courtyard from the west courtyard, and he got a single room of the same level.
He had spent one day in the west courtyard. For the time, he didn’t see any differences between the two courtyards.
However, since Nan Gong, who had helped him a lot, was obviously a member of the west courtyard, and felt kind of sorry for him.
But as well as he knew Nan Gong, he was sure the latter wouldn’t find it a big deal.
On the second day, Jiang Chen started his practice as a member of the superfine class of the east courtyard.
Since he had had an excellent performance during the test, the Sacred Institute wasn’t going to waste anymore of his time.
“You’re different from the other short-term disciples, so we’ll train you in a different way. Focus on your state and martial arts techniques, just as you’ve learned. I’ll supervise your practice in person.”
Dean Shi Gandang took full charge of his training and gave him some requirements.
“First of all, starting from the day before yesterday, when you arrived at the Sacred Institute, you should form all of the holy points in the Twelve Standard Meridians in one month. That’s forty-nine holy points.”
“But I just achieved the completed middle stage.”
This goal wasn’t hard for him to achieve, as long as he could achieve the peak of the middle stage, but average people would see it as impossible.
“Do you think no one knows about your holy pulse? Your Holy Pulses of Nine Clouds is the reason you haven’t been expelled after all the disturbances you’ve caused these days.” Shi Gandang curled his lips. He didn’t think what Jiang Chen had said was justifiable.
Jiang Chen smiled and said, “Dean, you mean I should break through my state in one month, don’t you?”
“Exactly.”
“But I achieved the completed middle stage only six days ago. It’s impossible to enhance further in such a short time.”
“If you were in another place, of course it would be impossible, but you’re in the Sacred Institute. It’ll be a piece of cake.”
Shi Gandang didn’t find it very difficult. He said again, “You shouldn’t stop when you’ve got forty-nine holy points. You will continue to form the thirty-two holy points in the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. You’ll break through to the Reaching Heaven State after forming all eighty-one of the holy points.”
“You should accomplish all of these goals in one year. If you make it, you’ll be able to stay here and enter the Hall of Heroes.”
“Yeah?”
It was a tempting prospect for a short-term disciple. It would be a big leap. He would gain a firm foothold in the most famous place in the Nine Heaven Continent.
Disciples of the Sacred Institute could only spend three years there.
After three years of study, excellent graduates would be able to join the Hall of Heroes and become a formal member of the Sacred Institute.
They could be masters, or even deans, of the Sacred Institute in the future.
In short, the Sacred Institute was composed of two sections.
The School aimed to train excellent disciples of the Nine Heaven Continent with no strings attached.
The Hall of Heroes was the kernel of the Sacred Institute and the guardian of the continent.
“Is that too much to ask?”
Jiang Chen wasn’t very happy with the goals Shi Gandang had set for him, because they were very demanding.
The Twelve Standard Meridians, the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and eighty-one holy points, accomplishing these goals before breaking through to the Reaching Heaven State would be very beneficial to him. He would be able to go further than the Reaching Heaven State.
