Eternal Life: I Have the Favor System-Chapter 100: Saber Competition
The secret to the Continuous Slash Saber Technique lies in Borrowing Strength.
Chu Lingguang flicked his wrist and executed five consecutive slashes, determined to make each strike stronger than the last.
"SWOOSH!" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
The Sword Sound was exceptionally piercing in the dead of night.
With the first slash, Chu Lingguang felt all his strength pour out. For the second, he channeled the residual power from the first, making it stronger than its predecessor.
He repeated this process.
By the fifth slash, Chu Lingguang tried to merge the power of the previous four strikes into it. The ordinary-looking long saber became like Lifting Light as if it were Heavy, as if a thousand pounds had been added to the blade. The saber felt as if he were pulling it from a swamp; the power was there, but unfortunately, the resistance was too great.
In the end, the fifth slash was only slightly more powerful than the fourth.
"Sigh!"
Chu Lingguang sighed softly.
The Saber Technique examination was tomorrow. It was late at night, and he needed to rest and conserve his energy. He could only adjust his mood and return to his room to rest.
He didn’t see a figure standing behind a pillar in the corner. After he went back inside, it too vanished into the night.
「The next morning.」
Master Yan had once again prepared a sumptuous breakfast, mostly with ingredients that helped improve one’s Qi Blood.
「A short while later.」
Guo Wei brought Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu to the examination grounds.
Just as all the examinees were about to enter the preparation area, Guo Wei hesitated for a moment before saying to Chu Lingguang, "Don’t force a certain rank, and don’t worry about it. Just do your best!"
"Master."
Chu Lingguang was taken aback.
Guo Wei could sense Chu Lingguang’s pressure. He didn’t want him to become preoccupied with success and failure, which could affect the Martial Arts Heart Realm that Chu Lingguang had worked so hard to cultivate.
"Go on in."
Guo Wei waved his hand dismissively.
Chu Lingguang had no choice but to enter the preparation area with Hei Hu.
First place in the Qiao Pass.
The center of attention.
After Chu Lingguang entered, the gazes of all the other examinees focused on him. He became the focal point of the entire venue. The looks they gave him were of three kinds: amazement, suspicion, and hostility.
Chu Lingguang sat down in a central spot.
The gazes from all directions were like Lin Yuanfu’s Staff Technique, striking at Chu Lingguang one after another. Chu Lingguang’s chest swelled and then slowly deflated as Guo Wei’s words echoed in his mind.
"Don’t force a certain rank, and don’t worry about it. Just do your best!"
’Just do your best!’
A sharp glint appeared in Chu Lingguang’s eyes.
He repeated the last part of Guo Wei’s sentence in his mind.
’My aptitude is poor. I shouldn’t be too hard on myself. As long as I do my best, whatever the result, I’ll have done my duty.’
’Leader Ma understands the essentials of the Continuous Slash Saber Technique far better than I do. Even Da Wu and Xiao Wu can’t fully stack the power of their slashes, so how could I possibly do it so easily?’
’I’ll just give it my all later. The rest is up to fate.’
Chu Lingguang thought to himself.
The moment this idea appeared, the formless pressure seemed to instantly recede. Chu Lingguang felt as if his feet were back on solid ground, his spirit set free.
The gazes surrounding him seemed to turn into phantoms, unable to exert any pressure on him.
"Examinees, take your positions."
"Today’s event: Saber Competition!"
"There will be three rounds! First round: Listen for the Sword Cry! Second round: Observe the Sword Force! Third round: A duel of Saber Techniques!"
"Examinees Hei Hu, Jin Shan, Wu Tiexiong, Huang Feihu, and Yang Qing, the examination begins!"
Like the Qiao Pass, the Saber Technique event had three rounds, with five examinees competing in each group simultaneously.
’Why am I in the first group again?’
Hei Hu was a little frustrated.
The first group of examinees faced the most pressure.
He high-fived Chu Lingguang and walked onto the sandy field with his personal long saber.
The Stone Locks had been cleared from the sandy field.
They were replaced by five rows of small, circular windows. Each row of windows had ten layers of paper, with each layer separated by ten centimeters.
There were also five large wooden stakes, each with markings on them. Different markings indicated different colored lines.
Listening for the Sword Cry involved seeing how many layers of paper were shattered by the vibration.
Observing the Sword Force involved seeing which mark the cut on the large wooden stake reached.
As for the duel of Saber Techniques, that was a combat event. Only those whose results in the first two rounds were too close to clearly determine a winner would proceed to the final round. Generally, only those who entered the third round were qualified to compete for the top spot in the second event.
"SWOOSH!"
The five took their positions.
They each drew their sabers and slashed toward the small circular windows. Two Sword Sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
"PFFT!"
"PFFT!"
...
Hei Hu saw that six layers of paper had been shattered.
Holding his breath, he slashed his long saber at the wooden stake.
The blade cut a dozen or so centimeters deep, only two or three centimeters short of the yellow line. It was still a long way from splitting the large wooden stake in half.
Hei Hu pulled out his long saber and looked at the others.
The two Sword Sounds just now had come from him and Jin Shan.
Guo Wei had said that achieving a Sword Cry with one’s Saber Technique would earn an A Class grade.
Not every examinee could produce a Sword Sound.
Plus, with Noble Family Disciples participating this year, this session of the South City Daoist Examination was a bit more difficult than the previous few.
To measure each examinee’s strength, the Saber Technique event was broken down into the power of the Sword Cry and the Sword Force.
Hei Hu saw that Jin Shan had shattered six layers of paper, and his cut had just passed the yellow line mark. With that Sword Force, his opponent had bested him in Saber Technique by a slight margin.
As for the remaining three.
They didn’t even produce a Sword Sound. Not a single one of the ten layers of paper was shattered, and their Sword Force marks didn’t even reach the first black line.
In the end, Hei Hu and Jin Shan both received a Grade A Lower Grade for Saber Technique, with Hei Hu ranked below Jin Shan. The other three scored between Grade C+ Upper Grade and Grade B Lower Grade.
Hei Hu returned to Guo Wei’s side, a look of disappointment on his face.
A Grade A Lower Grade in Qiao Pass and a Grade A Lower Grade in Saber Technique. In the eyes of others, his scores in both events were excellent. Even with the increased difficulty of this year’s examination, as long as he received an A Class in all four events, he could still pass.
But he hadn’t made it to the third round of the Saber Technique event and couldn’t compete against the Noble Family Disciples. Hei Hu felt unwilling to accept this.
"Wang Lianbo, Liu Quan, Lin Longde, Li Kun, and Wu Bo, the examination begins!"
Chu Lingguang looked toward Xiao Wang. He hadn’t expected Xiao Wang to be in the same group as Liu Quan and Lin Longde. Lin Longde had placed third in the Qiao Pass; the stronger his Qi Blood, the greater his Sword Force, so he was also receiving a lot of attention.
Xiao Wang probably wouldn’t have an advantage in a group with him.
Lin Longde was broad and brawny, with dark skin and eyes like bronze bells. He stood up, gave Chu Lingguang a mischievous grin, and was the first to enter the sandy field.
After the five took their positions.
The examiner shouted, "Begin!"
All five drew their sabers at once.
Five distinct Sword Sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
The examiners perked up. A Sword Cry was not so easily achieved, yet unexpectedly, all five examinees in the second group had produced a Sword Sound.
Xiao Wang shattered seven layers of paper, and the eighth layer showed signs of tearing. His cut surpassed the yellow line by three centimeters. After all, he had participated in the previous Daoist Examination and had several more years of cultivation than Chu Lingguang.
Furthermore, Saber Technique was his specialty.
He received a Grade A Middle Grade for his Saber Technique score.
Liu Quan shattered six layers of paper, and his cut was two centimeters short of the yellow line. His Mental Realm had been damaged the day before, his confidence crushed by Chu Lingguang. In the end, his Saber Technique score was slightly lower than Hei Hu’s by one rank.
Lin Longde shattered eight layers of paper.
His cut reached all the way to the red line. His sheer Qi Power gave him a massive advantage; he nearly split the large wooden stake in two.
Among the five, his score was the highest: Grade A+ Upper Grade.
He was temporarily ranked first.
"Examinees Ji Hu, Chu Lingguang, Yang Xu, Wang Liankun, and Wu Hongwei, the examination begins!"
An hour later, Chu Lingguang finally heard his name called.
This time, he wasn’t in a group with Yan Chengdu. Instead, he was grouped with Da Wang and Ji Hu.
