“Half-step grandmaster isn’t an official grade. It is just a description. You can understand it as a nick.”

  The system explained. “As the name implied, it means that your proficiency level has surpassed the expert-grade but is just half-a-step away from reaching the grandmaster-grade.”

  “However, for this half-a-step, some people could cross it in half a day while others wouldn’t even be able to move an inch past it throughout their entire lives.

  “At this level, training bitterly is not enough. It depends more on comprehension. If you cannot comprehend it, you will never be able to take this additional half-a-step forever. Do you understand now?”

  The system’s tone suddenly turned profound as though it was an enlightened expert guiding an ignorant disciple. It exuded the air of a great scholar. “Understood!” Sun Mo nodded. “But I choose to take a shortcut!”

  “What?”

  The system started. “Open the merchant store, I will use 1,000 points to purchase one 10-year time emblem!” Sun Mo requested.

  “Can I curse at you?” In the system’s heart, it was already cursing and it felt like roaring. (It isn’t easy for me to share my experiences with you, yet in the end, your attitude is like this?)

  (Where is the ‘adopting a humble attitude toward learning’?) “What? The merchant store is refusing to provide me with the service?”

  Sun Mo asked.

  “Naturally, it will provide!” If the system had teeth, it would be so angry that it would bite its tongue off. Ding! “Purchase successful. The time emblem has been sent to your storage!” Sun Mo’s lips curled. “Use it directly to upgrade the Wind King Divine Art!” Recently, Sun Mo had earned quite a lot of favorable impression points, and it was very close to 50,000. Ding! “Congratulations, your Wind King Divine Art’s proficiency has improved to the grandmaster-grade!” The system’s notification sounded dry, filled with zero emotions and exuded a robotic presence. Sun Mo felt as though he could smell the stench of engine oil.

  Sun Mo was with the system for about a year. Hence, he had a certain understanding of it. When it spoke like a human during their interaction, it meant that the ‘main person’ was here. However, when it replied emotionlessly, it meant that the ‘main person’ wasn’t around and the system was like Siri, only capable of interacting based on a set of parameters.

  “Could it be that the system needs to sleep?”

  Sun Mo was puzzled. (Speaking of which, what is the system exactly? Its life is linked to mine and will it die if I die? Or can it be separated from me and it will look for a new host after I died?)

  However, Sun Mo was soon too lazy to continue thinking about this question. As the Wind King Divine Art improved to the grandmaster-grade, his mind and spirit seemed to be enhanced.

  For the past Sun Mo, even if he focused all his concentration on it, he wouldn’t be able to hear the murmurs of nature.

  For example, on a hazy rainy day, some would be able to hear the sound of raindrops falling on the ground while the others could hear nature itself breathing

  When you opened an umbrella and took a walk on a grassy path, you would feel a connection with heaven and earth through the falling rain, becoming one with them.

  For some, they felt it was easy to quieten themselves down during rainy days. This was because their six senses were influenced by nature. Right now, Sun Mo closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He could hear the rustling sound created when little bugs crawled across green leaves. He could hear the chirping sounds of migratory birds preparing to return home. He could hear the ‘withering’ and ‘death’ of vegetation, the thudding sound created when ripe melons fell, and the sound of new lives being born. The Wind King Divine Art stated that a true godly archer didn’t depend on their physical eyes. They depended on the ‘mind’s eye’ instead. It was able to peer through all fog to see the truth. At the grandmaster level, there were basically no problems with the archer’s fundamentals. What they had to practice was their mind’s eye. They had to deepen their understanding of humans, nature, and society. A true godly archer…… Could kill the myriad of laws. Could kill the ‘reason’ of heaven and earth.

  Could kill the human heart.

  Could kill the world.

  Ultimately, they would reach a realm known as ‘firing without shots’. That was the highest realm in archery!

  Sun Mo suddenly stopped. He half-squatted on a thick tree branch.

  The sudden ‘movement into stillness’ action was simply filled with a wondrous charm and beauty.

  Gu Xiuxun frowned. They had two wax pellets that were the targets of others. They absolutely couldn’t stop now and had to lengthen the distance to shake off their competitors.

  “What are you do-?”

  Gu Xiuxun instinctively asked. However, as she asked the question half-way, she suddenly stopped. The current Sun Mo had his eyes closed as he squatted there. It was as though he became a tree leaf, melding with nature as one. His personal aura had vanished. “His state of heart improved again?” Earlier, Gu Xiuxun could already sense that Sun Mo’s mental state was different, but it wasn’t that easy to discover it. But now, even a blind man could see that Sun Mo was currently in a state of epiphany.

  Swish~ Swish

  Gu Xiuxun moved lightly and leaped away from Sun Mo.

  Firstly, she was afraid that her presence might affect Sun Mo due to them being too near. Secondly, she was guarding him, not letting any uninvited guests disturbed him.

  An epiphany always struck you all of a sudden, however, it was too rare and fleeting. Many cultivators might not even encounter it in their entire lives. From this, one could see how valuable it was.

  (Even if we fail the competition, I must not let anyone disturb Sun Mo!)

  A thought flashed in Gu Xiuxun’s mind. But after that, she started. When did the relationship between her and Sun Mo become so good?

  She was thinking of him so much?

  Based on what?

  However, after the masochist turned and looked at Sun Mo’s handsome face, the unhappiness in her heart vanished.

  The current Sun Mo was expressionless. He was taciturn as metal and was like a mud statue. However, the aura exuded from his body during this state would cause one to revere him.

  It wasn’t a reverence for Sun Mo, but his mental state!

  How could a person weigh as heavy as a thousand gold bars?

  The answer was through their thinking and far-sight! The system also noticed this and was instantly speechless.

  The Wind King Divine Art was an archery-type cultivation art. In the end, Sun Mo didn’t even fire a single arrow and had reached the grandmaster-grade. He even had an epiphany on top of that.

  Ai~

  A genius would always cause others to despair! Why were the Wind King Divine Steps only improved to the half-step grandmaster level?

  Because it was a peerless-grade saint-tier cultivation art, one of the cultivation arts at the highest peak of the nine provinces. At this level, the time emblem could only give you ten years worth of experience. One had to gain enlightenment themselves through the experience they obtained. If the aptitude of the cultivator was too bad, they would have to use many more time emblems to gain more experience.

  However, Sun Mo had just used one and entered a state of epiphany!

  “Could it be that Sun Mo was an innate archery god until he took an arrow to the knee?”

  The system guessed.

  Sun Mo’s aptitude was simply too good. Or in other words, he was adept at thinking. For things others had to use tens of years to comprehend, he could comprehend them within ten years. In all industries, including learning, this was the case.

  For those with high comprehension abilities, they would learn things in a single day that would take others ten days to learn.

  Swish~

  Sun Mo opened his eyes. At that instant, his eyes seemed to resemble the stars.

  The masochist was stunned. She looked at Sun Mo’s eyes and was a little engrossed in them. (Isn’t he a little too good-looking?) His eyes were deep, steady, and intelligent, like an ocean of knowledge. A casual glance by him would immediately make others feel that he was a deep person.

  “Thank you!”

  Sun Mo smiled.

  Swish~

  Gu Xiuxun’s face instantly turned red. She hurriedly lowered her head, but because she was too frantic, her feet skid and she fell from the tree branch.

  Argh!

  Gu Xiuxun screamed. After that, she was held by a pair of strong arms. “Are you alright?”

  Sun Mo was worried.

  Sun Mo treated Gu Xiuxun as a friend. One must know that in the earlier situation, if the masochist was jealous and wanted to be up to mischief, she could have coughed a few times to disrupt his comprehension state. However, she didn’t do that and was guarding him instead.

  “I’m fine!”

  Gu Xiuxun pushed Sun Mo away, not daring to look him in the eye. “System, I’m praising you”

  Sun Mo felt heartfelt gratitude.

  “No need to thank me, it’s because your aptitude is good!”

  The system didn’t want to accept this praise.

  The effectiveness of time emblems actually depended on the individual. It could only give ten years of training experience to Sun Mo and couldn’t completely transform the experience into nutrients necessary for improvement and growth. That would still have to depend on one’s talent.

  For example, even if Qi Shengjia used a 100-year time emblem, his attainments in archery would merely reach the grandmaster-level. According to logic, Sun Mo could only live 100 years. There was a limit to his lifespan, and it was impossible for him to learn every subject. However, the time emblems gave him a possibility to do so. Seeing Gu Xiuxun not speaking and even distancing herself from him, Sun Mo scratched his hair. He didn’t know what he should say. Sun Mo was a single dog for so many years for a reason. Now, with such a good atmosphere, it was clear that he should just give up on speaking and kiss her directly! “F***, I spotted a couple engaged in an illicit love affair. Everyone is doing their best for the competition, yet they are having the time of their lives, taking a stroll for sightseeing?”

  A muscular guy cursed. He paused. “No, I can’t take it. I have to punch that guy or I won’t be able to eat for the next half of the month!”

  This emotion came from the anger of a single dog! Upon hearing a commotion, Sun Mo and Gu Xiuxun immediately became wary and stared at the 10 o’clock direction.

  Two teachers appeared in their vision.

  “Alright, hurry up and leave. This fellow is very powerful. He can even suppress Huang Shaofeng from Weima. It isn’t that you didn’t see it earlier!”

  A young man urged the muscular guy. These two teachers from Huaiqin had quite good luck and managed to snatch a wax pellet that they needed. If it wasn’t for the muscular guy being provoked, they wouldn’t have stirred trouble.

  “No, the thing I can’t stand the most is people having public displays of affection in front of me!”

  The muscular guy stared at Sun Mo. However, when his eyes shifted to Gu Xiuxun, his expression turned a little urgent as he quickly turned away.

  “Her legs are so long!”

  The muscular guy couldn’t control it and snuck another glance. Sadly, he wasn’t able to see her feet. How disappointing. Gu Xiuxun, who noticed this scene, immediately gripped her attire near her leg with her left hand and lifted it up slightly, revealing one of her fair ankles. Gurgle!

  The muscular guy involuntarily gulped down some mouthfuls of saliva. “Aiya, how shameful. That muscular guy must have been fantasizing about me, right?” Gu Xiuxun let her imagination run wild and didn’t let go of her grip. “Leave quickly!” The young man urged. “There are so many pretty girls in Lichun Brothel. After the competition is over, I will treat you for a trip there.” “Scram!”

  The muscular guy cursed. “Don’t insult me. What I need isn’t a body, I need love!”

  “Is that the reason why you hung a portrait of An Xinhui at your bedhead?” The young man teased. After hearing this, Gu Xiuxun involuntarily glanced toward Sun Mo. (Someone is secretly in love with your fiancee. What do you plan to do?) “Brat, in the future, you better find a private spot to display affection. If I see it again, I’ll make sure to smash both of your heads.”

  After the muscular guy scolded, he turned and prepared to leave. “Wait a minute,” Sun Mo spoke. “Did I allow you two to leave?”


  Chapter 350 Sorry, It Isn’t That I Want to Humiliate You. I Only Want Your Cultivation Art!

  Sun Mo’s voice was like a heavy hammer, resounding out loud in the air. It was impossible for the autumn wind to ‘blow’ it away. The muscular guy and young man, who originally wanted to leave, suddenly turned their heads and looked at Sun Mo. “What did you say?”

  The eyes of the muscular guy widened in rage as he glared at Sun Mo. “If you have the guts, repeat what you said one more time.” “Oh sorry, so you are a deaf person!” Sun Mo pulled out his wooden blade. “In that case, let me say it once more with a louder volume. Both of you, get your a*ses over here and prepare to die!” “I’LL SLAUGHTER YOU!”

  The muscular guy roared. Just when he wanted to lunge over, he was stopped by his colleague.

  “Forget it, if we can’t endure a small thing like this, it will spoil our great plan. We should focus on the competition.” The young man persuaded. “Sun Mo, I know that because he places Sister Xinhui’s portrait at his bed’s head, you are very angry. But now, we should also focus on the competition and try to avoid stirring up troubles.”

  Gu Xiuxun advised.

  “You are mistaken. This matter has nothing to do with An Xinhui. I only want to finish them off and get one more name list of mysterious species of darkness!”

  Sun Mo shrugged.

  “Eh?”

  Gu Xiuxun started before coming to a realization. That was right. The flower carp was a kind of fish and lived in freshwater lakes. It wasn’t easy to capture one. Hence, they had to prepare some backup plans.

  But……

  Gu Xiuxun glanced at the young man and muscular guy. From the looks of their insignia, they came from Huaijin Academy. For the first round, they obtained the #25 ranking. And from their results of the past years, they were also a school that had a chance to ascend to the ‘C’ grade. It wouldn’t be easy to deal with them. From Gu Xiuxun’s point of view, if they wanted the name list, they should hunt the weaker schools instead. “Teacher Gu, I understand your meaning. We should be weighing the cost-performance ratio, but I don’t want to do this. I feel that if we want to return to being a part of the Nine Greats, we need tyranny even more than cost-performance ratio.” Sun Mo glanced at the muscular guy. “What is tyranny? It is when the other schools have to take a detour or retreat when they see the students and teachers of Central Province Academy walking by. The other schools have to be so frightened that they voluntarily conceal themselves, not daring to stand out.”

  Putong~ putongGu Xiuxun’s heartbeat was very fast. Her face was slightly red, as her spirits stirred.

  That was right!

  Wasn’t she following An Xinhui because she wanted such a day to come? She wanted everyone in the world to feel respect, worship, a deep sense of inferiority, and sorrow when they mentioned the Central Province Academy.

  She wanted to make it so that others wouldn’t dare to think about challenging the Central Province Academy!

  ClangGu Xiuxun brandished her sword and stared at the two of them.

  “Sun Mo, you are correct.”

  “Hehe, it goes without saying!” Sun Mo laughed loudly. “Those who offend our Central Province Academy shall be destroyed no matter the distance!”

  When Gu Xiuxun heard this, she mulled it over and the light in her eyes grew increasingly brighter. This sentence of Sun Mo was incomparably tyrannical.

  Ding!

  Favorable impression points from Gu Xiuxun +500. Reverence (3,110/10,000). “Teacher Jin, now we can’t leave after hearing that!” The muscular guy coldly snorted. The teacher with the surname ‘Jin’ wasn’t deaf. Moreover, Sun Mo didn’t lower his voice to hide it from them when he said this. Hence, they heard his words very clearly. “How brazen, do you really think I’m a pushover?!”

  Jin Ze roared.

  “Which one do you want to pick?”

  Sun Mo ignored Jin Zhe. He turned and asked Gu Xiuxun.

  “I’ll take this Teacher Jin!” Gu Xiuxun continued, “That muscular guy is too ugly. I’m afraid I might puke if I face him!”

  “Courting death!”

  The muscular guy couldn’t take it anymore. His legs exerted force as he shot forth like a cannon.

  “Teacher Yuan, calm down. They are intentionally provoking you!” Jin Ze reminded his colleague. His expression was somewhat heavy. Even at this moment, their opponent was playing psychological tricks. Besides, there were no expressions of nervousness on their faces at all. Their mental state was overbearingly strong. The muscular guy was named Yuan Zhuanghan, and his weapon was a heavy long blade. From the looks of things, it seemed that it was heavier than 300 jin. Without powerful arm strength, it was impossible for anyone to wield it. “Go to hell!”

  Yuan Zhuanghan rushed to Sun Mo and slashed out with his blade.

  Galloping Thunder! BOOM!

  This blade was not only quick in terms of speed, but it also caused a thunderous sound. Besides, when it slashed out, the weapon’s speed suddenly increased. If it was an ordinary person, they would surely be caught unaware. However, Sun Mo was different. Under ‘Copy’ and Divine Sight, Yuan Zhuanghan’s blade was as slow as a crawl!

  Pak! Pak! Sun Mo used the Wind King Divine Steps and moved behind Yuan Zhuanghan, attacking with his wooden blade.

  Eighteen Words Order!

  Swish~ Swish~ Swish~

  The wooden blade struck out continuously, forming a ball of shadow that instantly enveloped Yuan Zhuanghan. “What?”

  Yuan Zhuanghan was so shocked that his soul shuddered. Why did his enemy disappear in the blink of an eye? Also, after hearing the sound of sonic booms behind him, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to evade in time. He could only brace himself and defend against it.

  Multi-directional Vajra!

  Hu~

  The long blade whirled angrily, making a large circle. In that instant, that muscular guy seemed to have three-heads and six-arms.

  Ding! Ding! Ding! The wooden blade was blocked 15 times and only managed to hit three times. The places it hit were covered with thick flesh. It was meaningless to strike there.

  “This cultivation art is quite interesting!”

  Sun Mo’s lips curled as he attacked again. Crows Crying at Night! Dotting Crimson Lip “So strong?”

  Yuan Zhuanghan panted heavily. Blocking the attacks earlier had taken a lot out of him as he was using his trump card, an ultimate defensive move. Although he had blocked the attacks, his arms were numb from the impact, and before he could recover, Sun Mo’s attacks came again.

  Woosh

  The wooden blade was like a poisonous snake, stabbing toward Yuan Zhuanghan’s throat. When the muscular guy blocked that area, the wooden blade suddenly twisted upward and pointed at his forehead.

  Pak!

  In Sun Mo’s vision, motes of golden light akin to gold coins emerged and transformed into a golden page that flew out from the muscular guy’s head.

  “Damn!”

  A look of lingering fear could be seen on the face of Yuan Zhuanghan. He was angry as well. If Sun Mo used enough force for that strike, his skull would have been penetrated. However, Sun Mo didn’t do so. “Is he humiliating me?”

  After the muscular guy roared, he was engulfed in Sun Mo’s might again. (Sorry, I don’t want to humiliate you. I only want your cultivation art!) Sun Mo continuously attacked.

  Right now, he was at the seventh level of the blood-ignition realm. Let alone saint-tier cultivation arts, even if he used a garbage cultivation art where one could find from roadside stalls, he would still be able to depend on the disparity of cultivation bases to secure a win against Yuan Zhuanghan. “So powerful!” Jin Ze clashed against Gu Xiuxun. After exchanging two blows, he knew that he had rammed his toes into an iron board. This woman was terrifyingly powerful. Even if he could win, it would be a pyrrhic victory. Hence, he could only depend on Teacher Yuan now. However, when Jin Ze turned his head for a look, his eyeballs almost exploded from shock. Teacher Yuan, who had always been advocated as someone proficient in attack and with the physique of a bull, was currently being crushed by the young man. The scene looked like a parent using a rod to hit a disobedient child.

  Strength to retaliate?

  Sorry, Yuan Zhuanghan didn’t even have time to cry. When Yuan Zhuanghan had heard fairy tales in his childhood, he had also learned the term ‘hell’, but he had no idea what hell looked like.

  However, he knew it now!

  Boundless terror, a sense of helplessness that caused one to feel despair, as well as self-loathing from being crushed by someone. All these emotions erupted in the muscular guy’s heart. He wanted to die as a means of escape. Colors of Autumn!

  Swish

  Yuan Zhuanghan felt a pain in his cheek. His chin was then hit and before he lost consciousness, he felt himself flying through the air. After that, his head drilled into the shrubbery as the smell of soil assailed his nostrils. Sun Mo glanced at the floating golden pages in the air and snapped his fingers.

  Pak!

  The pages were like birds returning home. They gathered together and formed a book. Ding!

  “Congratulations for obtaining a peerless-grade earth-tier cultivation art – Berserk Blade Nine Stances!

  “Trash!”

  Sun Mo had no regard for it. After glancing at it, he tossed it away.

  Pak!

  The golden book vanished into the air. Sun Mo’s lips twitched. (My time is so precious. If it’s a heaven-tier art, I would still consider whether I want to learn it or not.)

  “It can’t be, right? How is he so strong?”

  Gu Xiuxun was bewildered. “Did you grow stronger since I last saw you fighting a few days ago?”

  Ding!

  Favorable impression points from Gu Xiuxun +100. Reverence (3,210/10,000). “I ate a lot recently!” Sun Mo smiled, he then looked at Jin Ze. “What reason is this? Are you trying to fool me?” Gu Xiuxun rolled her eyes.

  Yet, Jin Ze was as nervous as a dog. He turned and fled immediately. Going to help Teacher Yuan? Stop joking. If he did that, he would surely fall here.

  Now, the most important point was to survive.

  If he was eliminated, the new student group of his school would have two teachers less. It could very well be imagined how disadvantaged they would be. “Wanting to run?” When Gu Xiuxun wanted to chase him, she already saw Sun Mo appearing before Jin Ze despite reacting later than her.

  “So fast!”

  The masochist was stunned. What movement art was Sun Mo using?

  “If you run again, I will break you!”

  As Sun Mo spoke, he put away his blade. However, Jin Ze didn’t even dare to move a single finger. “Alright, hand me your paper and I can let you leave.”

  Sun Mo commanded.

  “Eh?”

  Jin Ze didn’t expect that Sun Mo would let him go. However, he soon understood. It was already impossible for him to pose any threat to the Central Province Academy. However, if Sun Mo let him go, he might bring trouble to the other schools. This fellow was so scheming!

  “I’ve torn the strip of paper!”

  Jin Ze squeezed out a smile. “But I have memorized it. I can reveal it to you!”

  “Do you think I’m so dumb to trust your words?” Sun Mo’s eyes narrowed. “One last chance, hand over the paper!”

  Jin Ze hesitated awhile but still took out the paper. He had wanted to give false information, but it was a pity that Sun Mo wasn’t fooled.

  After Sun Mo inspected the paper, he was very satisfied. “Alright, you can leave now!”

  “Can I bring him along?”

  Jin Ze glanced at his unconscious colleague. “Up to you!” Sun Mo didn’t really care. Jin Ze carried his colleague and left. Right now, he simply hated the fellow on his back so much. If it wasn’t for him being nosy and wanted to stop here, they wouldn’t have to endure such humiliation. One could say that Sun Mo let them go because he completely didn’t have them in his eyes. This made Jin Ze even more sullen compared to being defeated.

  (Speaking of which, that fellow is really powerful. With his strength, he should just go and join the other competition. Why is he in the new student competition? Is it fun to bully those weaker than you?)

  (The Central Province Academy? Handsome and charming? Could he be Liu Mubai?) Jin Ze pondered. He truly regretted the fact that he didn’t check the Central Province Academy’s information in advance. It wasn’t that he was lazy. The info network of his school simply felt that the Central Province Academy wouldn’t constitute any threat, hence, they didn’t prepare anything. “Too cool!” Seeing Jin Ze leave in such a miserable state with his colleague, Gu Xiuxun was so happy that she lifted her hand.

  Sun Mo responded and high-fived her.

  Pak!

  The sound was crisp and clear. “It’s too invigorating! The satisfaction of completely crushing someone is simply too pleasurable!” Gu Xiuxun exclaimed. She then looked at Sun Mo. “How many times have you ignited your blood?” “Seven times!”

  Sun Mo didn’t conceal this.

  “How many times?”

  Gu Xiuxun felt that she had heard wrongly. She fell silent after Sun Mo repeated once more. Sun Mo was 20 years old and was already at the seventh level of the blood-ignition realm. This cultivation talent was explosively strong, alright?! “Sun Mo, why didn’t you manage to join the Nine Greats when you were a student?”

  Gu Xiuxun was like a curious baby, surveying Sun Mo.