Martial Arts Sainthood Begins with the Tiger-Taming Fist

Chapter 128 Sword Forging Society Internal Examination

After putting away the Cloud Mountain Fire Scroll, Chen Mo looked at Zhi Que again and nodded in response to her expectant gaze. "Please share this with me, Lady Zhi Que."

Zhique pulled him aside, cleared her throat, and said, "The first thing is what you know about Ren Yao. After the Nine Swords Mountain Elders' Council discussed it, his cultivation was abolished, and he was expelled from the sect."

"Ren Yao is an old-timer, wasn't he supposed to be sharing some new information?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Zhique quickly changed the subject, "Next month, the Hundred Academies Martial Arts Competition will be held, and all the martial arts academies from the five peaks will participate."

"What is the 'Hundred Schools Martial Arts Evaluation'?"

Chen Mo is usually engrossed in cultivating his skills in nature and practicing martial arts, and sometimes he is indeed a bit ignorant.

Zhique explained, "It means that all disciples of the martial arts academy can participate in round after round of competitions, and those who achieve excellent results can become core disciples of Nine Swords Mountain."

"Core Disciples————"

Chen Mo was aware of this title.

Once you become a core disciple, you will have access to a hundred times more resources and will be personally taught by high-ranking elders of the sect.

There is no shortcut to becoming a core disciple; one must demonstrate sufficient strength in the Hundred Academies Martial Arts Assessment or other martial arts trials.

Even the scions of powerful families are extremely envious of the core disciples of Nine Swords Mountain.

A hundredfold increase in resources—this alone was enough to tempt Chen Mo.

As for the timing, if arranged properly, it should not conflict with the sword-making association.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Shouldn't Nine Swords Mountain have disciples who have reached the Core Formation stage?"

"That's natural. The Liaoyuan Academy and Jingshui Academy on Linzhi Peak have disciples who have reached the Dan Jin level. To become a core disciple, one doesn't necessarily need to have the Dan Jin level, but there are very few exceptions."

Chen Mo nodded in understanding.

It seems that absorbing fire-attribute treasures in the Tai Chen Ying Huo chapter needs to be put on the agenda.

After exchanging a few words, the Weaver Bird headed towards the water phase area.

After half a day of observation, Chen Mo found an extremely secluded place that was rarely visited, and the treasures inside were covered in a layer of dust, indicating that it had been neglected for many years.

Such a place is an excellent spot to absorb fire elemental power.

The fear is that there might be powerful elders in the Treasure Pavilion who can sense his actions.

"How will you know if you don't try? If you're hesitant and timid, you'll end up achieving nothing."

After he made up his mind, he quietly crept towards that place and then found a red jade pendant at the bottom and absorbed its essence.

A quarter of an hour later, the jade pendant's color dimmed somewhat, and the fire element within it weakened a bit.

Unless you deliberately search for it, no one would know that the jade pendant hidden at the bottom has a color change.

As far as Chen Mo knew, for ordinary treasures like these, the Treasure Pavilion would only record their general condition, not the color depth or the intensity of their aura.

Unless it is something truly precious.

The truly valuable items are not on the first floor.

Even if he is discovered by chance in the future, he may no longer be in Zhenbaolou by then.

Thinking about this made him feel a little more at ease.

After absorbing the stale air, he quietly exhaled a breath of turbid air, then restored the scene to its original state, and moved on to another place, pretending to be on a routine patrol.

When he came in today, Huang Sheng, Hong Shu, and Bai Qing had already greeted him, and they had already gone to rest somewhere.

After wandering around for a while, Chen Mo found another place and quietly left.

Ten days passed in this manner.

At this moment, Chen Mo was in his dormitory at Fangyuan, sinking into his sea of ​​consciousness and summoning the enlightenment of cultivating his skills through mountains and rivers.

[Refined through countless trials, nurtured by mountains and rivers]

[Inner walls of the gilded statue: sculpted gilded body, cast iron skeleton and steel reinforcement]

Comprehension: 1/500 (Perfect)

【The Mysterious Art of Separating Fire: An Ancient Technique for Controlling Fire】

Comprehension: 138/200 (Mastery)

[Tai Chen Yinghuo Chapter: Changing Tendons and Marrow, Yinghuo Enters the Body]

Comprehension: 126/200 (Mastery)

【Dragon-Slaying Sword Technique: Wielding a three-foot sword, cross the sea to slay the dragon】

Comprehension: 17/200 (Mastery)

[A Marvel of Casting: The Art of Casting, Evolving Without End]

Comprehension: 90/100 (Minor Success)

【Thousand Machine Technique: A body without a soul, yet containing a spiritual essence】

Comprehension: 45/50 (Beginner)

He noticed that after the Iron Light Skill broke through to the Great Perfection, a progress bar for perfection appeared and evolved into the inner wall of the golden body.

Iron Sharpness enhances external defense, while the description of the Golden Body Inner Wall suggests it is a true martial art for strengthening the body.

"It seems that some cultivation techniques and martial arts skills do indeed have a perfected stage."

His face lit up with joy, and he murmured to himself.

Furthermore, his Dragon-Slaying Sword Technique had already reached a minor level of mastery, and his current swordsmanship was incomparable to what it had been before.

The world's most extraordinary forging techniques and the art of creating a thousand machines are also close to a breakthrough.

After completing the inspection, Chen Mo went to the dining hall for lunch.

At this moment, Xu Yan walked in and asked loudly, "Chen Mo, where have you been these past few days?"

"I have always worked at Zhenbaolou."

"Oh, that's a good place! The Sword Forging Society's internal test is being held today, let's go together."

Chen Mo was surprised, "I can go too?"

"Of course! I went to great lengths to get this opportunity for you, you can't miss it!"

"Thank you so much, Senior Sister!"

"Stop talking nonsense, let's go!"

Before leaving, Xu Yan grabbed two fist-sized meat buns, happily stuffed them into her bosom, and started munching on them along the way.

The two arrived at the Sword Forging Pavilion and heard a series of noises.

The first people we see are Yun Zan and He Can.

Yun Zan smiled and greeted Chen Mo, while He Can unconsciously showed a strange expression when he saw Chen Mo.

"Today's participants in the Sword Forging Association's internal test are quite a star-studded group," Xu Yan said.

"Who are they?" Chen Mo asked.

Xu Yan pointed to each of them, "Besides you and me, there are three others from Nine Swords Mountain. One is Chu Jun from Zhengyang Peak. He became a third-grade swordsmith earlier than me and is a favorite to be among the top three in this year's swordsmithing competition."

"The second is Li Hong of Yunhan Peak, who is also a third-grade swordsmith and has the strength of the peak of the Transformation Realm in martial arts."

"The third one is Yue Yinyin from Xuewu Peak. She is a shy little girl, but she is also a third-grade swordsmith."

"In addition, there are the closed-door disciples of several renowned swordsmiths from Chuzhou, among whom Guo Sheng is the strongest."

"The biggest favorite in this sword-making competition is Chen Zhiyi, the disciple of the Sword-Forging Pavilion Master. He is already a fourth-rank sword-forging master."

After listening to Xu Yan's introduction, Chen Mo nodded, having gained a general understanding. He asked, "Senior Sister, where do you rank among these people?"

Xu Yan frowned and pondered for a few moments before replying, "With my extraordinary skills, I should be able to rank in the top five. However, every year there are bound to be some low-key, hidden masters who suddenly emerge in the main competition. I can only say that I'm confident I can make it into the top ten."

She turned to Chen Mo, "As for you, it's safer to aim for the top ten, since you're only a second-grade swordsmith right now."

Chen Mo nodded seriously.

Upon seeing Chen Mo and Xu Yan arrive, Elder Wu took a few steps towards them, "We've been waiting for the two of you—"

Then, Elder Wu turned to another dignified white-haired old man, "Vice Pavilion Master, now that all twelve have arrived, the internal examination of the Sword Forging Association can begin."