Rise in the Martial Chaos: Starting From a Martial Arts School

This created a virtuous cycle, which also perfectly aligned with the sect’s overarching goal of nurturing its disciples.

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They moved quickly, and before long, they reached the summit of Lingxi Peak.

As they crossed Lingxi Plaza, which was growing lively with activity, disciples along the path saw Si Jiawen and immediately stopped what they were doing. They bowed respectfully, addressing her as, ”Senior Sister.”

Si Jiawen merely gave a slight nod, not breaking her stride as she headed straight for Lingxi Hall.

Once the pair was out of earshot, a few disciples in the plaza gathered together, whispering to each other with furrowed brows.

”Hey, do you guys smell that? Something smells a little... off,” one disciple said, sniffing the air with a confused look.

”I smell it too!” The others nearby nodded in agreement. ”I think it was coming from Senior Sister and Yang Jing, but I have no idea what could be causing it.”

They looked at each other, unable to guess the source of the strange odor.

Soon, Si Jiawen had led Yang Jing to the entrance of Lingxi Hall.

She instructed the two disciples guarding the entrance, ”Announce us. Tell the Peak Master I’ve brought Yang Jing.”

The disciples on duty didn’t dare to delay. They bowed in acknowledgment and hurried inside to deliver the message.

During the brief wait, Si Jiawen suddenly sniffed the air, her brow twitching almost imperceptibly.

She glanced back at Yang Jing, her eyes sweeping over him. It was only then that she belatedly realized that in her haste, she had completely forgotten to shove him into the mountainside stream along the way to wash off all the grime.

Yang Jing noticed this as well and rubbed his nose in embarrassment.

When he broke through to the Qi Eating Realm, he had expelled a great deal of grayish-black impurities. Although he had scrubbed some of it off his skin, what clung to his clothes still gave off a faint, acrid stench.

Just then, the disciple who had gone to announce them hurried back out. He bowed to them and said respectfully, ”Senior Sister, Senior Brother Yang, the Peak Master will see you now.”

Si Jiawen nodded, pushing aside her slight embarrassment. She took the lead and stepped into Lingxi Hall, with Yang Jing right behind her.

Yang Jing followed Si Jiawen into Lingxi Hall. The air was thick with curling sandalwood smoke, and candlelight flickered. The hall’s furnishings were exactly as he remembered.

This was only his second time setting foot in Lingxi Hall. The first had been right after his promotion to the Inner Sect, when he came to pay his respects to the Peak Master as required by sect regulations.

The moment he stepped over the threshold, Yang Jing’s gaze fell upon the cushion at the head of the hall.

Bai Bing sat cross-legged upon it, dressed in a pale cyan Taoist robe. Her jet-black hair cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall. With her stunning beauty and frigid disposition, she was like a flawless, naturally formed block of ice, exuding an aloofness that kept the world at arm’s length.

Si Jiawen stepped forward first and bowed deeply to Bai Bing, her voice respectful. ”Master.”

Yang Jing followed suit, also bowing. ”Disciple Yang Jing pays his respects to the Peak Master,” he said in a low voice.

The moment Yang Jing stepped into Lingxi Hall, Bai Bing slowly opened her eyes.

Her eyes, as clear as autumn waters yet as deep as a frozen pond, fell directly upon Yang Jing. In but an instant, they paused.

With a single glance, she could tell that the Yang Jing before her had broken through the shackles of the Inner Strength Realm and stepped into the Qi Eating Realm.

A flicker of surprise flashed across Bai Bing’s face.

To her, the bottleneck to the Qi Eating Realm was hardly an insurmountable chasm. In her youth, she too had breached it with ease, breaking through successfully without much effort.

But even with her own stunning talent, she had been stuck at the Peak of the Inner Strength Realm for some time, honing her mind and building her foundation before she could finally break through.

She hadn’t expected Yang Jing to break through to the Qi Eating Realm so quickly.

It hadn’t been long since he’d reached the pinnacle of that realm, had it?

His rate of progress was astonishingly fast.

Bai Bing looked at the bowing Yang Jing and nodded slowly. Her voice was cool, yet it held a trace of imperceptible approval. ”You’ve certainly surprised me. I called you here to discuss the Cyan Qilin Battle, but I didn’t expect you to have quietly broken through to the Qi Eating Realm.”

She paused, then added, ”It seems, from now on, you won’t need to participate in the Cyan Qilin Battle anymore.”

The Cyan Qilin Battle was a competition for disciples in the Inner Strength Realm. Now that Yang Jing was in the Qi Eating Realm, there was no reason for him to participate.

Hearing this, Yang Jing bowed again, his tone humble. ”This disciple was just lucky enough to break through today.”

”Lucky?” Bai Bing gently shook her head, her gaze resting on him as her tone grew solemn. ”The path of the Martial Dao is fraught with challenges, the most difficult and perilous of which are the bottlenecks. Countless people spend their entire lives trapped before a single threshold, unable to advance an inch. Your ability to shatter the barrier between the Inner Strength and Qi Eating Realms is a result of both talent and effort. It’s a feat that can’t be dismissed as mere luck.”

Yang Jing lowered his head and responded respectfully, saying no more.

Bai Bing looked at him, silent for a moment, before asking, ”You’ve just broken through to the Qi Eating Realm, and your foundation isn’t yet fully stable. Do you have any questions about your cultivation?”

Her voice softened slightly, carrying the gentle tone of a senior offering guidance. ”If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can come to Lingxi Hall to ask me at any time, or you can ask your Senior Sister.”

Hearing this, Yang Jing knew the Peak Master was genuinely concerned about his cultivation. His heart warmed slightly, and he quickly bowed in thanks. ”Thank you for your concern, Peak Master.”

He finished, then paused for a moment before continuing. ”Now that this disciple has broken through to the Qi Eating Realm, the subsequent manual for the *Mountain-Breaking Seal* I practice is still stored in the Talent Pavilion. I was just about to head there to apply for the next stage of the Cultivation Technique.”