We made you practice martial arts, and you've mastered the Great Golden Body?

Chapter 118 Nine Heavens Divine Thunder
September 1, 345th year of the New Era, Tianji Tower.

At the entrance of Tianji Tower, dozens of students were standing. Apart from the dozen or so familiar faces from Bozhou City, the rest were members that Chen Yifei had recruited in the past few days using Shen Bailian's reputation after Shen Bailian agreed.

In the first round of trials, the famous scene "Twelve Heroes Battle Hundred Refinements" has spread on the music video platform and has already garnered a considerable number of likes and views.

In addition, these freshmen from the four colleges had all personally witnessed Shen Bailian's charisma.

Therefore, after these past few days, the position of the senior disciple of the four academies has been subtly confirmed.

However, to truly confirm the outcome, we must wait until the results of the second round of trials are released. As long as Shen Bailian can take first place, everything will be settled.

Although, Shen Bailian didn't care about it.

"Brother Fei, look, it's already 7:30. Could Senior Brother Shen have overslept?"

A short-haired boy anxiously rubbed his hands together, his eyes constantly shifting between the smart bracelet and the entrance of Tianji Tower.

Chen Yifei stood in the middle of the crowd, trying his best to maintain his composure, but upon closer inspection, one could see that his brows were furrowed and a fine layer of sweat had appeared on his forehead.

He turned his head slightly, his gaze passing through the crowd, looking into the distance, constantly searching for Shen Bailian's figure.

"Don't worry, everyone, Senior Brother Shen should arrive on time." Chen Yifei tried to keep his voice steady, but he paused for a moment before adding:
"Don't worry, I know where Senior Brother Shen lives. If it really doesn't work, I'll go and call him myself."

The two were nervous because it was already 7:30 in the morning, even though there was still half an hour before the meeting time.

However, in general, students are expected to arrive early in such situations. If they arrive right on time, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the faculty and dean.

On a path not far from Tianji Tower.

Shen Bailian and Duan Wuyai walked side by side on the sidewalk. The second and third-year martial arts students passing by couldn't help but turn around and take a look.

This was because it was the first time these martial arts students had ever seen the Dean of the Fourth Academy, Duan Wuyai, the Mad Saber of the Vast Sea, treat someone with such kindness and amiability.

Who is this person?

But no one dared to go up and ask.

"How have you been feeling during your cultivation these past few days?" Duan Wuyai asked with a smile, he couldn't be more satisfied with the new student beside him.

"I haven't encountered any difficulties yet." Shen Bailian shook his head, but after a moment's hesitation, he asked, "I do have a problem right now."

"Oh?" Duan Wuyai was slightly pleased. He turned his head and said confidently, "If you have any questions, just say them. I should be able to answer them for you."

"I recently discovered that my physical defense capabilities seem to be much stronger than those of other martial artists of the same level."

Shen Bailian slowly voiced the 'question' in his heart.

Thanks to the [Iron Body] skill, even Shen Bailian himself is now unsure of the extent of his own defensive capabilities.

Such unusual events will inevitably be noticed by the school leadership during future battles.

Therefore, Shen Bailian wanted to bring this matter to the public eye as soon as possible, preferably by changing the narrative and attributing it to his own extraordinary talent.

Duan Wuyai was a very good mouth double.

"I see," Duan Wuyai said with a smile. "The reason we wanted to sign you ahead of time was also due to this consideration."

"what?"

Shen Bailian was slightly taken aback, but then he was overjoyed. Judging from Duan Wuyai's words, he had already discovered this matter and even filled in the blanks in his mind.

But he still pretended to be puzzled and asked, "Could you explain in more detail, Teacher Duan? I don't know much about this."

"Hmm, do you still remember Chen Yunsheng, that traitor, during the Sanqing Mountain Trial?"

"I remember it vividly." Upon hearing this, Shen Bailian nodded with considerable emotion, recalling the opponent he had to fight desperately and rely on the panel to absorb divine matter to defeat in the past.

Now, only a month or two has passed, and 'Chen Yunsheng' has even lost the right to stand in front of him.

It can be destroyed with a wave of the hand.

"Generally speaking, there are two major risks in fighting against the human form of a god. The first is that the god may make another bet at any time, at which time the human form's strength will suddenly increase."

"The second is divine power. Divine power is an extremely domineering and corrupting force. So once a divine invasion occurs, the invaded person is very likely to be turned into a puppet of the god, that is, a new human body."

“That’s not right.” Shen Bailian frowned slightly and continued, “Didn’t the gods fall? Why can they still bestow their power upon human beings?”

"Well..." Duan Wuyai pondered for a moment, his confident smile vanishing instantly, replaced by a somber expression, and his tone lowered.

"Gods cannot be killed; they are primordial beings. The universe is born, they are born, and only when the universe ceases to exist will they truly die."

"Can't God be killed?"

As Shen Bailian listened to Duan Wuyai's words, he couldn't help but think to himself, "If the divine substance in those gods' bodies is drained, wouldn't that be the same as having all the blood drained from them?"

Others may not know how he defeated Chen Yunsheng, but surely he himself knows?

“We’ve gone off-topic.” Duan Wuyai glanced at the boy who was deep in thought beside him, and then realized that it was a bit too early to talk about this topic. He smiled and said, “Don’t worry, if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. The Great Xia has no tradition of making children risk their lives to hold it up.”

"Based on my guess, your physique is most likely some kind of battle physique, and less likely a holy physique."

"Battle Body? Holy Body?"

A strange look suddenly flashed across Shen Bailian's eyes.

Could it be that the "innate body of physical strength" that he boasted about back then is now becoming a reality?

“That’s right.” Duan Wuyai nodded and said with a smile, “At the beginning, when fighting against the divine favor, the only way to resist the invasion of divinity was to rely on mental strength. The stronger the mental strength, the stronger the resistance.”

"But in the year 49 of the New Era, a special case emerged: a martial arts student in the apprenticeship stage was able to become immune to divine invasion."

"This is unprecedented and has shocked the entire high command of the Great Xia Dynasty. Afterwards, a relevant investigation was launched. In terms of the overall war situation, if this ability can be popularized, then we will have more advantages in the battle against the Gods' Favor."

"And then?" Shen Bailian couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. It seemed there was a precedent for this, so he didn't have to worry about being studied for no reason.

"Later it was discovered that this martial arts apprentice's DNA, blood, etc., were basically no different from those of ordinary martial arts apprentices, and his cell activity was also similar. However, his strength and defense were much stronger than those of martial arts apprentices of the same level."

"Furthermore, the appearance of this special physique is completely without any discernible pattern."

"By the year 99 of the new era, after fifty years of summarizing and researching, they were finally divided into battle bodies and holy bodies according to their performance characteristics."

"The characteristics of a battle body are generally to enhance itself, such as superhuman strength, speed, and defense, which are equivalent to buffs in a game. For example, the Bloodstained Battle Body's characteristics are strength and speed, which increase as the severity of injury increases."

"The Holy Body can not only strengthen oneself, but also cause extraordinary phenomena in heaven and earth. For example, Yuwen Changkong, who was in the same year as you, has the Holy Body of the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder."

"Of course, right now it's probably just playing with low-voltage electricity. Only after reaching the Transcendent Realm and washing away the mortal body will its true power be revealed."

"So, Teacher Duan, what you mean is," Shen Bailian grasped the key point in Duan Wuyai's words and continued to ask, "whether it's a battle body or a holy body, it requires the Transcendent Realm to be fully revealed?"

"Correct."

"Senior Brother Shen, you've finally arrived." Shen Bailian focused his gaze and saw Chen Yifei running over anxiously.

"Good morning, Senior Brother Shen."

"."

"Greetings, Senior Brother Shen." Behind Chen Yifei stood twenty or thirty martial arts students from the Fourth Academy, their eyes filled with respect as they greeted him warmly.

"Are these the people you recruited these past few days?" Shen Bailian hesitated, noticing that many of them were not familiar faces from Bozhou City.

"Yes." Chen Yifei nodded excitedly.

After all, there are other clubs in the school, and many of them have been around for over ten or even several decades, with a long and rich history.

Compared to joining a newly created club where no one knows what the future holds, joining an existing club is clearly more secure.

"Senior Brother Shen, hello, my name is Su Ruozhi." The short-haired boy from before came forward.

"My name is."

Subsequently, the dozens of people behind Chen Yifei also gave brief introductions of themselves, hoping to leave an impression on Shen Bailian.

"Okay." Shen Bailian said with a smile, "I've remembered everything. We're about to assemble, so let's not stay here. Let's go inside and gather first."

He would never refuse such behavior.

Humans are social creatures. Whether they are ordinary people or martial artists, they are all members of a human group.

With Chen Yifei's painstaking efforts in helping to lay a solid foundation and bringing together a group of martial arts geniuses, Shen Bailian only needed to focus on his cultivation and occasionally show himself.

Shen Bailian certainly wouldn't refuse such a good opportunity to be a hands-off manager. In the distant future, these gathered geniuses might prove invaluable.

"Senior Brother Shen." Chen Yifei quickly made way for the people behind him and said with a smile, "You can go first."

"it is good."

Shen Bailian did not refuse and walked straight through the crowd. Dozens of people walked into the lobby of the Tianji Building in a grand manner.

"Shen Bailian is here!"

"With Senior Brother Shen here, our Fourth Academy will definitely be number one this time."

"Don't even mention first place, breaking the record is not impossible!"

Shen Bailian and his group attracted the attention of many martial arts students as soon as they entered, because their extraordinary performance in the first round of trials had already made them famous throughout the school. Not to mention the four academies, everyone knew in their hearts that Shen Bailian was definitely guiding a Sun-level Dragon Gate Seed, and if nothing unexpected happened, he would also be the first place in the second round of trials.

but.

At the far end of the first-floor lobby, there were faint whispers and some discordant sounds.

"It's almost eight o'clock, and they're only just arriving. Are they trying to act like divas?" Some students looked puzzled.

Other people were discussing other things.

"Have you heard? On the night of the 28th, someone saw a teacher go to see Shen Bailian, and the two talked for quite a while."

"I thought it was something special," a boy said nonchalantly. "Geniuses are always under a lot of attention, so what's wrong with a teacher coming over to guide their training?"

"But today is the second round of trials. If we leak information about the trial location and the ferocious beasts beforehand, wouldn't that be..."

"Hey, even if it weren't leaked, first place would still be Senior Brother Shen's. Stop speculating, you should focus on improving your own strength."

"."

Shen Bailian's mental power has now materialized, and combined with his physical attributes of up to level 15.4, he could faintly hear the discordant voices among the crowd.

Only then did he understand why Duan Wuyai had recorded the video that night.

With fame comes trouble, and the bigger the tree, the more the wind blows.

To truly win the respect of all martial artists is no easy task; overwhelming strength can only earn them superficial obedience.

Half an hour later.

"The rules for this second round of freshman trials will now be announced," a burly military officer solemnly announced in the lobby on the first floor.
"First: The entire trial and assessment will last for one week. During this period, killing each other is strictly prohibited. Anyone found doing so will be expelled from the school and taken to a military court. They will bear all the consequences!"

Strictly speaking, the Great Xia Dynasty was almost always in a state of universal conscription. It was only after the Zhou Tian Star Array was established, coupled with the continuous emergence of geniuses, that the war situation gradually stabilized.

Therefore, within the city's protective perimeter, a false image of peace and prosperity has only emerged in the last two or three decades.

"Second: You can take the trial solo or in a team, with a maximum of four people per team. The specific points reduction mechanism will be sent to your respective smart bracelets."

"Third: Points Acquisition Rules. Killing a non-ranked ferocious beast below level 11.0 earns 1 point, with a limit of 10 points."

"Slay a Tier 1 ferocious beast of level 11.0 to 11.9 and gain 1 points."

"Slay a Tier 1 ferocious beast of level 12.0 to 12.9 and gain 3 points."

"Slay a Tier 1 ferocious beast of level 13.0 to 13.9 and gain 7 points."

"Slay a Tier 1 ferocious beast of level 14.0 to 14.9 and gain 12 points."

"Slay a Tier 1 ferocious beast of level 15.0 to 15.9 and gain 25 points."

"Second-tier ferocious beasts of level 16.0 and above are extremely rare. After killing one, you can get at least 30 points. For every 0.1 level increase, you get 5 more points."

"Fourth: Trial location selection. The first buffer zone of the One-Line Sky battlefield has a 90% coverage rate of Sky Eyes; the second buffer zone has a 98% coverage rate of Sky Eyes."

"fifth:"

"This is a final reminder: every one of you here has the potential to become a pillar of the Great Xia Dynasty in the future," the burly military officer said with a hint of advice in his voice.
"So if you encounter danger, immediately seek help. Your path in martial arts is still long. Don't ruin your bright future for a few points."

"Next, except for the smart bracelets and your own weapons, hand over all other equipment. You will have one and a half hours to apply for the supplies you need. Everyone can apply to temporarily borrow a two-cubic-meter storage ring. Boarding will be at 10 o'clock."

"I wish you good luck in martial arts!"

After finishing speaking, the burly man's 3D projection instantly disappeared from the hall.

At 9:30 a.m., at Tianqiao Building, the logistics department of Tiangang Academy, almost all the students came here to apply for the supplies they needed.

Since they are all students of the academy, logistics are naturally not something the students need to worry about during the trials. The Tiangang Academy will provide the students with the basic supplies, weapons, and storage rings they need.

Of course, students can prepare their own materials, but they will need to be checked by the school.

Shen Bailian didn't expect to be able to apply for Tier 2 basic nutritional potions, so he applied for 14 directly, which was also the limit, and then applied for several hundred arrows of various kinds.

An additional layer of armor, high-quality combat boots, and several sets of clothing.
The same was true for the other students; they had basically applied for all the available supplies.

The Heavenly Gang Academy naturally doesn't need to worry about losing money. After all, the corpses of the ferocious beasts killed by the students have considerable value and can be transformed into various cultivation resources.

"Senior Brother Shen, I heard that Wang Yuxuan, Feng Yanqiu, and Chen Jiyue have teamed up, and Li Feiyu has also teamed up with Qin Wuyang and Li Shaoyang. Do you want to join us?"

Chen Yifei and Su Ruozhi approached and said nervously.

"Hmm?" Shen Bailian looked at the two of them in confusion and asked, "I remember, Wang Yuxuan and Chen Jiyue are not from the same college, right? They don't care about the college competition anymore?"

This second round of trials is similar to the first round, and will still be divided into two parts: the academy and the individual.

“Children from large families like theirs have at least a dozen peers, and they all want to get preferential treatment from their families,” Su Ruozhi stepped forward and explained.

"Oh, I see."

Shen Bailian couldn't help but smile wryly. He hadn't expected that Wang Yuxuan and the others would show signs of fear before the competition even truly began.

He looked at the two of them, seemingly understanding what they meant, and said, "So you two mean you want to team up with me?"

"Yes, that's exactly what we meant."

Su Ruozhi and Chen Yifei exchanged a glance and replied happily.

"No need." Shen Bailian patted the two on the shoulders and said with a smile, "Just do your best. The two second-in-commands of the club can't be ranked too low, can they?"

There will be a point reduction mechanism when forming a team.

In a two-person team, the player who contributes the most receives 80% of the total points, and the second-highest receives 60%. In a three-person team, the players receive 70%, 60%, and 50% of the total points respectively, based on their contributions. (This is not an error, but part of the game's design.)
Furthermore, when calculating the total points for the academy, only the team with the highest score is counted.

Teaming up with Shen Bailian meant giving up the individual ranking competition, something Shen Bailian was unwilling to accept.

He didn't want to owe people favors for no reason.

Moreover, with Shen Bailian's current physical attributes at level 15.4, plus the divine skill Eye of God, what can Wang Yuxuan and the others do even if they team up?
Four hours later.

"Candidate No. 1801, please prepare for your arrival. You have arrived at your randomly selected location."

Upon hearing the ethereal notification sound in his ear, Shen Bailian slightly opened his narrowed eyes, his gaze sharpened, his blood rushed through his body, and his muscles and bones throbbed.

Ready to fight.

A moment later
boom!
In an instant, a crack appeared beneath Shen Bailian's feet, and two thousand meters in the air, he and the chair beneath him fell through the massive opening.

Within seconds, flames erupted from beneath the seat, stabilizing the descent speed at just over fifty meters per second.

The weather is great today, and the view is very wide.

Shen Bailian focused his mind and looked down to observe the surrounding terrain. There were towering trees, hundreds of meters tall, everywhere, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was much denser than inside the city's defensive perimeter.

This level is comparable to half the concentration of elemental energy in an underground cultivation room.

When they were about 150 meters from the ground, Shen Bailian tapped the side of the seat, and the seatbelt immediately came off.

He chose a tall tree canopy and jumped down.

In the sky, upon detecting the disappearance of Shen Bailian's figure, the flight seat immediately stopped, then suddenly rose, activating automatic return navigation.

"Is the assessment location really this far from the Heavenly Gang Academy?" Shen Bailian turned his head and glanced at the black dot in the sky: "Could it be near the border?"

We set off at 10 a.m. and didn't reach the first buffer zone of Yixiantian until 2 p.m., which is at least three or four thousand kilometers away, according to the speed of aerospace fighters.

Judging from the trees on the ground that are hundreds of meters tall, the core area of ​​the Zhou Tian Xing Dou Grand Array is under control because the primordial energy of heaven and earth is being regulated in order to suppress the strength of the ferocious beasts.

Therefore, trees that tall would not exist.

While deep in thought, Shen Bailian was not idle. With a slight thought, he entered the state of the Eye of God.

His field of vision was condensed into a cylinder one hundred meters long and about twenty centimeters in diameter, which he rapidly and randomly swept around the surroundings with himself as the center.

This is the exploration mode, which consumes less energy and can last for up to 8 hours at a time.

Sudden.

Shen Bailian's lips curled up slightly. He randomly chose a direction and quickly arrived on the ground in a few flashes. At the same time, two silver lights flashed in his hands.

Star-shooting warbow and explosive arrows.

Whoosh!
Before Shen Bailian even landed, he turned around, nocked an arrow, and shot it straight behind him in one swift motion. With a sharp whooshing sound, the arrow shot into the depths of the dense forest.

then.

boom!
The moment Shen Bailian landed, a bright flash of light exploded about seventy meters away from the boy, followed by billowing smoke and a tremendous roar.

"Battle live stream has been uploaded. Congratulations to 1801 for gaining 7 points. Remaining points: 7; Ranking: First."

"You still want to ambush me now?"

Shen Bailian put away his battle bow and moved toward the spot where the ferocious beast had died.

(End of this chapter)