Cultivation: But Not a Game-Chapter 93 - 45: Third Assessment, Crushing All Opposition
With the treasure in hand, Su Yu’s funds instantly dwindled to just 1 gold and 43 silver, with an external debt of 20 gold.
Returning home, he used mana to refine the Nine Orifice Treasure Pearl and immediately equipped it, feeling a burst of safety.
Unfortunately, he had no money now. Otherwise, he would buy nine Gang Sha Essences to refine into it, instantly gaining 27,000 defense points. Adding the treasure’s inherent 48,000, the defense could reach 75,000, with an additional 9% damage reduction, making it comparable to a precious item.
The Gang Sha Essence is a special spiritual object that reduces damage by 10% for a certain period after use. If the poor can’t afford dedicated Tribulation Crossing Elixirs, they can refine a Gang Sha Essence to reduce Celestial Tribulation damage by 10%.
This item costs 30 taels of gold each, needing 270 taels for nine.
If he could gather nine Gang Sha Essences, this magical treasure’s value would be quite high and usable without replacement until acquiring a seventh-tier defense treasure.
With a gulp, he swallowed the Seven Orifice Treasure Pearl and inventoried all his current treasures.
Fifth-Grade Spirit Gathering Robe.
Fifth-Grade Spirit Cage Belt.
Sixth-Grade Black Water Profound Pearl.
Fifth-Grade Silver Ring.
Seventh-Grade Golden Turtle Ring.
Tier Six Treasure Nine Orifice Pearl.
Tier Six Concealing Sun Flying Sword.
Tier Six Flying Sword Cyan Sparrow.
Sealed Spiritual Object Sea-Suppressing Pearl.
Flying Boat Spirit Fish Shuttle.
Looking over his all fifth-grade or above gear, Su Yu’s lips curled up, more satisfied the more he looked:
"Not bad!"
Through his unremitting efforts, he unknowingly gathered a decent set of equipment.
Besides, he also had a sixty-layer intermediate Qi Refining Heart Skill, sixty-layer Advanced Taibai Sword Formulas, forty-five-layer Refined Level Transformation Skill, not to mention skills like Jiezhi Concealment and Invisibility Skill.
This set of equipment is undoubtedly luxurious among loose cultivators, and his strength is at the forefront.
"The only challenge before joining a sect is Ding Lingyu."
He didn’t plan to wait for the year-end exam as originally planned; he wanted to try challenging Ding Lingyu for this minor exam.
"If I can defeat him, it’ll be a great accomplishment."
Su Yu clenched his hand in anticipation of the third minor exam in two days.
Two days flew by, and soon it was the day of the third minor exam.
Early that morning, Gu Zhiqiu and others came over, and upon meeting Zhuang Zhuo cheerfully asked:
"Which rank are we betting on this time?"
Shi Ning rubbed his hands with eager anticipation:
"Your odds changed this year, third place odds are 1 to 1.5, second place 1 to 2, and first place 1 to 3. Mr. Su, which rank do we bet on?"
Su Yu pursed his lips and said:
"Not betting this year."
The crowd was stunned, in unison:
"Why?"
Su Yu was about to explain, but Gu Zhiqiu explained first:
"Because Mr. Su aims for first place this time."
"Ah?"
"Mr. Su aims for first?"
"Are you confident?"
The group was shocked yet somewhat doubtful.
Su Yu solemnly said:
"I have some confidence, but it’s not very high."
"Hmm...."
"Alright."
No explanation needed; everyone understood and naturally wouldn’t blame him.
After chatting a bit more, the group left for the guild’s arena.
The venue was crowded with even more participants than before.
However, it didn’t affect Su Yu much as he was a seed player, exempt from the first-round eliminations.
In the seed player rest area below the podium, the seed players from the last round had mostly arrived. As He Shoucheng arrived, he immediately saw Su Yu chatting with Wei Xia in the corner and greeted from afar:
"Mr. Su."
He walked over with a grin and asked:
"I heard you got lucky recently, snagging a big boss’s head. You must’ve gotten something good; do you feel confident challenging Ding Lingyu this time?"
Su Yu nodded generously:
"I have that thought."
He Shoucheng paused, clearly surprised:
"What, you’re seriously challenging Ding Lingyu?"
Wei Xia teased with a grin:
"What, do you look down on Mr. Su?"
"Of course not."
He Shoucheng quickly waved his hand, seriously saying:
"I’m just surprised. To be honest, we all know Ding Lingyu’s strength isn’t in our league. I didn’t expect Mr. Su to grow this quickly."
Wei Xia sneered:
"How much did the Ding Family pour into Ding Lingyu? Mr. Su rose from scratch. If they started equally, Ding Lingyu wouldn’t match Mr. Su."
Su Yu waved modestly:
"Family background is part of one’s strength."
His gaze shifted to the other side of the rest area, where Ding Lingyu stood at the center, surrounded by over a dozen seed players chatting with him.
He responded to everyone with a smile, displaying elegance and composure, exuding grace and courtesy.
As the guild vice president’s son, he held an esteemed position. Being the undisputed first in consecutive minor exams, many admired his strength and naturally gathered around him, becoming the focal point of this year’s newcomers.
He Shoucheng also glanced towards Ding Lingyu, feeling both envious and moved as he said:
"Honestly, while Ding Lingyu relies on his family, his own talent is not lacking. His learned Transformation Skill is of a sect-stabilizing level, requiring over 30 innate roots, over 20 innate perception, and over 30 innate six senses. If one’s aptitude is lacking, they can’t learn the skill even if it’s right in front of them."
Wei Xia nodded in agreement:
"Indeed!"
He clicked his tongue and said:
"If he keeps first place through all minor exams and year-end exams, he’ll become a big deal, likely ensured a future guild vice presidency."
"???"
Su Yu looked over, confused.
