Eternal Life Starts from Tai Chi-Chapter 79: The Sect Grand Competition in Full Swing
’After upgrading the Ox Demon’s Mighty Fist to Tier Three Mastery, the progress I get from adding points has slowed down a bit.’
After returning to the Cyan Yuan Sect, Yang Chan had been applying all the Potential Points he accumulated daily to his Ox Demon’s Mighty Fist. He also added points to his Ox Demon Martial Seal, improving both simultaneously.
The tempering of his fascia had also progressed significantly. The only issue was that his Potential Point gains had been a little low these past few days.
This was because the medicinal ingredients he’d purchased, such as the Dragon Bone, hadn’t arrived at the Cyan Yuan Sect yet. Furthermore, he had consumed fewer medicines during his days on the road, which had greatly reduced the rate at which he accumulated Potential Points.
It was the same every time he left the mountain. Traveling simply wasn’t convenient. Only pills like the Void Spirit Pill and Lantian Jade Refining Pill were easy to carry and consume on the go.
What Yang Chan truly wanted were elixirs. However, refining elixirs would only be possible after he was promoted to an Intermediate Pharmacist, which was why he had been spending so much time reading lately.
He was consuming many medicines now, but they didn’t actually grant him that many Potential Points. Elixirs, on the other hand, were different. The medicinal power they contained was something ordinary medicines couldn’t hope to match.
Since Yang Chan didn’t plan on investing his Potential Points into the Pharmacist profession, his only option was to spend some of his time reading books on the subject.
After all, he could use his spare time in the Medicine Hall to read, a common habit among many pharmacists. Yang Chan blended in perfectly, drawing no attention to himself.
"I heard Chu Mo joined the Sect Competition. He fought against another Elite Disciple but was defeated in under ten moves."
"It’s true. I was there. Chu Mo was knocked unconscious right on the spot and had to be carried away."
"For real? I thought all the Elite Disciples were on a similar level. Is the gap really that big?"
The Sect’s Grand Competition had begun, and quite a few people from the Medicine Hall, including some Pharmacist’s Assistants, had voluntarily joined.
Sun Qi Wu was just one of many.
The ones discussing this were also Pharmacist’s Assistants.
They were discussing Chu Mo because he had previously been a Pharmacist’s Assistant—the very position Yang Chan now held.
All told, he hadn’t even been an Elite Disciple for half a year.
In that context, it was easy to understand why he was no match for the other Elite Disciples.
Yang Chan knew full well that the gap between Elite Disciples could be immense. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
For instance, the External Refining Copper Skin stage had three distinct levels: Bronze, Brass, and Ancient Bronze. As for External Refining Steel, there were five levels in total—one for each of the four limbs and one for the torso.
Each level represented a fundamental leap in strength, a gap that became especially obvious in a direct confrontation.
Someone like Chu Mo, who had just begun the External Refining Copper Skin stage, was most likely at the Bronze Level. He stood no chance against those at higher levels. If the gap was wide enough, it would be an absolute rout.
The same was true for Sun Qi Wu. His Demon Suppressing Swordsmanship was decent enough among the Pharmacist’s Assistants, but the gap between him and battle-hardened Official Disciples who had killed before was stark.
After defeating one opponent, he lost to the next, ending his journey in the Sect’s Grand Competition. He had even sought out Yang Chan afterward to complain about how difficult Martial Arts Cultivation was.
Of course, he was only half-joking. Everyone knew that Martial Arts Cultivation grew more difficult the further one progressed. Otherwise, the entire Cyan Yuan Sect would be filled with Inner Masters and Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmasters.
The Sect’s Grand Competition was in full swing, but Yang Chan paid it little mind, though he couldn’t help but overhear plenty of news.
Yang Chan might have gone to watch if any Direct Disciples or Elders were fighting, as it would be a good chance to observe experts of that caliber. Unfortunately, figures of their stature would never participate in such a competition.
Even among the Elite Disciples, Yang Chan hadn’t heard of anyone using the Ox Demon Martial Seal in a duel. Clearly, the true top-tier experts weren’t participating. However, he would have to go watch the final matches, as attendance was mandatory for the entire Sect on the last day of the Grand Competition.
Servant Disciples were the exception, of course. They still had to attend to their various chores, though their workload would be lighter than usual. These memories were etched deeply in Yang Chan’s mind.
For Yang Chan, however, it was now just a memory.
...
"They’re finally here."
The Dragon Bone and other ingredients had arrived slower than Yang Chan expected. They had been sent after the new year, along with the tribute of medicinal herbs from Taiyu City.
’With the Dragon Bone Medicine Bath, I can increase my daily Potential Point income by another 0.3.’
After getting used to a daily income of 1.8 Potential Points, Yang Chan found the new rates jarring. His daily gain hadn’t surpassed 1.0 on the journey back, and it hadn’t even broken 1.5 since his return to the Sect.
It was all because most of his ingredients had been in transit. He had brought a small portion with him, thinking the rest would only be delayed by a few days. Who would have guessed it would take more than ten?
’As expected, you can’t trust the shipping speeds in a place like this. Not everywhere offers 24-hour delivery,’ Yang Chan thought, feeling a pang of nostalgia for the days of rapid package deliveries.
Yang Chan checked the delivered ingredients. ’The items I purchased were Dragon Bone, Bo Jie, Dried Ginger, Guanxiao, Aromatic Ginger... hmm, they’re all here.’
Nothing was missing, which was a good sign. He also checked their potency and found no issues.
Aside from the slow delivery, everything was in order. He had purchased these ingredients in Taiyu City because they were cheaper there.
The most important of these was the Dragon Bone, the fossilized ingredient Yang Chan valued most.
’The Dragon Bone Medicine Bath requires Dragon Bone, Bo Jie, Aromatic Ginger, and Berberidaceae... I have all of those now. I already prepared the other necessary ingredients before this delivery arrived. I can start mixing the formulas and brewing the medicinal packs. Time to get my Potential Point income back up.’
After checking all the ingredients, Yang Chan began to prepare the medicinal packs.
The Dragon Bone Medicine Bath was only part of it. Yang Chan also needed to prepare other medicines, such as the Cold Fragrance Essence Refining Powder and the Golden Wind and Rain Dew Soup.
He needed to restore his daily income of 1.8 Potential Points first. This would allow him to rapidly advance his Martial Arts and give him some much-needed peace of mind.
The Potential Point cost for advancing the Ox Demon’s Mighty Fist had increased significantly upon reaching the External Refining Steel stage. Therefore, his daily income of Potential Points also had to increase if he wanted to continue improving his strength at a rapid pace. And that was only part of the equation.
He also had to continue practicing the Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill and the Turtle Breath Body Cultivation Skill to extend his lifespan. Moreover, Yang Chan knew that the Cyan Yuan Sect had other Health Cultivation Techniques. When it came to techniques that could increase one’s lifespan, his attitude was "the more, the better." However, he would only make plans for those after his Martial Arts Cultivation had reached the peak of the External Refining Steel stage.
After all, he still felt a bit weak at his current External Refining Steel level. He wanted to first raise his cultivation to the External Iron Bone Refining stage. That would at least give him a decent means of self-preservation, enough to handle unexpected trouble.
Take the previous assassination attempt, for example. If he had possessed the strength of the External Iron Bone Refining stage back then, those assassins would have been a complete joke to him.
