High Martial Arts: Grinding for the Supreme Talent

Chapter 418 -402: Breakthrough—Mountain and River Realm

The announcement of the Celestial Vault Competition plunged the entire academy into an atmosphere of intense effort.

Lin Qi was no exception. He had a total of 1,200 kilograms of Level 7 Disaster Beast Flesh and Blood, and he consumed 100 kilograms of it every day.

The astonishing Source Energy and nutrients it contained continuously nourished his inner organs, which, combined with the dense Source Energy in the Martial Arts Room, left him full of vigor, allowing him to train tirelessly.

Every day, his Qi and Blood Value increased at a visible rate.

Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye. Lin Qi learned that Jiangtao and the others had arrived in the Otherworld and were staying in the residential area of the Disaster Beast Pyramid, right next to the Celestial Vault Institute.

Lin Qi invited them over to his Star Residence for a simple get-together.

“Brother Qi, one day I’ll make it into the Star Residence and work hard alongside you.”

Jiangtao said seriously before leaving.

He was captivated by the top-level cultivation environment of the Celestial Vault Institute.

…

「On this day, in Villa 36 of the Star Residence」

Inside the Martial Arts Room, Lin Qi—dressed in a black Martial Arts Uniform, with a straight posture and a domineering aura—suddenly snapped his eyes open.

Golden Light shot from his eyes, as if a Platinum Evil Tiger had just awakened. A Golden Sharpness swirled around him, and golden patterns flickered in and out of existence on his skin.

“WHOOSH~”

He exhaled, releasing a breath of turbid air that stirred up a strong gust of wind.

[You have consumed Organ Cultivation Liquid and completed one session of Source Energy Cultivation. Your inner organ refinement has greatly progressed. The spleen of your Five Viscera is now fully refined. Qi and Blood Value +10]

[Qi and Blood Value: 790→800]

Lin Qi let out a breath.

He looked at the panel with a satisfied smile.

‘It’s already been a month since I came to the Celestial Vault Institute.’

‘I’ve finished all 1,200 kilograms of the Level 7 Disaster Beast Flesh and Blood.’

‘I’ve also taken another bottle of the Five Elements Marrow Cleansing Ointment.’

‘Combined with my usual Source Energy Cultivation and underwater training, my Qi and Blood Value has reached a solid 800. I’m getting very close to 1,000.’

‘The Fifth Realm of Refining Inner Organs is divided into six minor realms. I’ve now completed the refinement of my heart, lungs, liver, and spleen.’

‘Next, I just need to finish refining my kidneys and the Six Viscera, and then I can prepare to break through to the Sixth Realm.’

Looking back, Lin Qi still felt his cultivation speed was absurd.

He had only broken through to the Fifth Realm in August, and now in September, he was already preparing for the Peak of the Fifth Realm. It had only been a month.

But then he thought about the money he had spent—hundreds of millions of Xia Country Coins.

Transactions were in the tens of millions.

It had all just become numbers to him.

He slowly rose, took the Tiger Slaying Spear from the wall, and held it in one hand.

“BZZZT!!”

The shaft of the spear hummed. He went up to the rooftop swimming pool, where the water rippled with the wind.

“SPLASH!”

He took a deep breath and jumped in, sending up a huge splash.

“WHOOSH!!”

Feeling the immense water pressure, the resistance, and the constantly flowing water, Lin Qi began to swing the long spear.

He gripped the greatspear with both hands, no longer rigidly fighting against the water’s pressure.

Instead, he moved with the current, his body exerting force and causing the surrounding currents to tremble.

He swung the long spear fiercely, creating a vortex in the swimming pool.

Lin Qi began to execute the Mountain and River Spear Technique.

In one month, he had practiced this spear technique tens of thousands of times. He was now incredibly proficient with every minute movement, every breath, and every muscle contraction.

His spiritual will merged with the spear technique, allowing him to become the mountain and river. An intangible Mental Realm emerged from him.

“RUSH!!”

An endless torrent of water manifested around him, like the ceaseless flow of a great river.

Lin Qi’s eyes lit up!

‘The River Realm!’

“BOOM!!”

Within the river, majestic, unmoving mountains emerged, merging with the endlessly spreading range to become a landscape of mountains and rivers!

Mountain and river—one hard, one soft, complementing each other—united as one.

When the spear moved, it was as if the mountains and rivers resonated in unison, shaking heaven and earth.

“WHOOSH!!”

Lin Qi continually swung the greatspear. Power covered his entire body, and all the water in the swimming pool was churned into a frenzy.

A massive, transparent blue current gradually gathered before he suddenly thrust the greatspear forward.

“BANG!!”

The Mountain and River Realm descended. He pushed off the bottom of the pool and leaped out of the water, spear tip pointing down, the weapon’s shaft seeming to unite heaven and earth.

All the Power in his body gathered into one point as he stabbed downward fiercely.

“BANG!!”

Mountain and River Spear Technique—River Fury!

The spear tip stabbed out like a furious wave, its shaft moving like a rushing river, like a raging tide crashing against the shore.

“BOOM!!”

As the spear tip struck, a terrifying Power shot through the pool and exploded.

With a deafening roar, the entire swimming pool erupted in a colossal wave, and all its water was sent flying.

It transformed into a torrential downpour that rained down upon the villa’s entire courtyard.

[Your Shaking Mountain Realm has completely transformed into the Mountain and River Realm. Your Spear Technique Realm has greatly improved. Spear Technique +5%]

[Spear Technique: Tier Four 18%→Tier Four 23%]

“DRIP… DROP!!!”

Lin Qi let the droplets fall on him as he looked around. The water in the swimming pool was completely gone, leaving only small puddles.

He let out a breath.

‘I’ve finally and completely mastered the Mountain and River Realm.’

‘I learned the Mountain and River Spear Technique at the end of August.’

‘It took me nearly a month to transform the Shaking Mountain Realm into the Mountain and River Realm.’

‘That’s a month faster than even an SSS-level genius.’

‘It’s a shame I have so much to practice every day, or I could have been even faster.’

He jumped out of the pool, went into the Martial Arts Room, and picked up his phone.

‘It’s September 20th already. There are just over two months until the end of November.’

‘My next goal is to reach at least the Peak of the Fifth Realm by the time of the Celestial Vault Competition.’

…

「Villa 8, Star Residence」

Villas 1 through 15 were top-level luxury villas reserved for SSS-level geniuses.

Inside a spacious Martial Arts Room…

Wang Hailong, a handsome youth in a special-made blue Martial Arts Uniform, had blue patterns forming profound designs on his skin.

He swung his long spear, his body enveloped in layers of flowing water.

The entire Martial Arts Room seemed to have transformed into a vast ocean.

His spear movements were like one furious wave after another crashing against the shore.

“SWOOSH!!”

With a thrust like a great whale emerging from the sea…

“WHOOSH~”

A strong wind swept through, and the Martial Arts Room returned to calm.

Wang Hailong retracted his spear and shook his head.

“The Vast Sea Realm is still too difficult to comprehend. It will take me at least another month to grasp it from my Furious Wave Realm.”

‘Soon, I will surpass Lin Qi.’

The thought of Lin Qi filled him with fighting spirit.

That SS-level genius made him feel intense pressure.

At the same time, he was unusually excited. Surpassing his rival would be an incredibly fulfilling achievement for him.

…

「In the neighboring villa」

Chu Yu stepped out of a Virtual Cabin and looked at a screenshot of the overall rankings on his phone.

[Twelfth Place: Chu Yu, Floor: 14]

…

‘Soon. Give me two more months, and I’ll be able to break into the top ten.’

His targets had always been the fourth-year seniors. As for Du Shanyan, Lin Qi, and the others, he didn’t care about them. It was impossible for them to surpass him.

Of the five SSS-level geniuses in the Celestial Vault Institute, he believed his own Talent was the strongest.

…

At the end of November every year, all the major Martial Arts Universities around the world held a national tournament for new students.

It was to determine the strongest among the freshmen.

At the same time, the Celestial Vault Institute in the Otherworld would be holding its Celestial Vault Competition.

「November 25th」

It had been three months since the Celestial Vault Institute opened.

In the spacious living room of Villa 36, a large green screen was projected.

Jiang Miaoyin, dressed in a red and white school uniform, appeared on the screen, her delicate little face on display.

“Brother, Brother Lin Qi, I’m participating in the national new student tournament today.”

“I’m really confident I can get into the top three this time.”

Jiangtao smiled as well.

“Of course! All the Awakened geniuses are at the Celestial Vault Institute now.”

“Brother Qi has his own competition here, so he can’t just suddenly join the national new student tournament.”

“With your strength, isn’t the championship in the bag?”

Jiang Miaoyin smiled. “I believe Brother Lin Qi will get great results.”

After the video call ended,

Jiangtao, sitting on the sofa, took a big gulp from a sports drink and asked curiously:

“Brother Qi, about this Celestial Vault Competition.”

“All the Awakened geniuses will be participating, including five SSS-level talents. Are you confident you can beat them?”

Lin Qi shook his head and said calmly:

“I’ll just do my best.”

Jiangtao chuckled. “Brother Qi, I know you.”

“With your talent and strength, you’re probably going to shock everyone again this time.”

…

「A few minutes later, Jiangtao left.」

Only Lin Qi remained in the living room.

“BEEP!”

His phone vibrated. He took it out and saw it was a message from Dean Liu.

[Dean Liu: Assemble in the classroom at 12:00. I have an announcement.]

…

「Half an hour later」

Celestial Dome Tower, third floor, second-year classroom.

The classroom was filled with a restless atmosphere; everyone knew what Dean Liu was about to announce.

Dean Liu, dressed in a long robe, walked in and said with a smile:

“I’ve gathered you all on short notice to announce one thing.”

“Tomorrow, the Celestial Vault Institute will kick off the first-ever Celestial Vault Competition.”

“The rules of the competition are very simple!”

“There are 181 contestants. You will be matched against each other, and the odd person out will get a bye.”

“During the matches, there are no restrictions. Special Abilities and Little Divine Powers are all permitted.”

“A match only ends when one party is completely incapacitated.”

“The competition will continue until a final champion is crowned!”

“I hope you all achieve good rankings.”

“I have uploaded information on students from other years to the group chat. You can review it at your leisure.”

After explaining a few more points, Dean Liu dismissed the assembly and left.

After he departed, the classroom buzzed with excitement.

“One hundred eighty-one… that means only 91 people will make it to the second round.”

“Most of us are going to be eliminated in the first round.”

“My goal is just to make it to the second round.”

“Only Du Shanyan and Chu Yu have a chance of making it to the later rounds. They might even break into the top 12!” someone exclaimed.

The others nodded in agreement.

After spending three months together, everyone had to admit that the SSS-level geniuses were truly in a different league.

Just then, Wan Ming also spoke up:

“I’ve collected more detailed information, especially on the SS-level and SSS-level geniuses from the third and fourth years.”

“Including the two SSS-level geniuses, Du Shanyan and Chu Yu.”

“They are the main contenders in this Celestial Vault Competition!”

Lin Qi nodded. Although his strength was considerable within his class, Du Shanyan and Chu Yu were still ranked above him.

「Half an hour later」

In the living room of Villa 36, Star Residence, Lin Qi sat down.

He was eating a Level 5 Nutritional Meal, but he found it tasteless now.

He was starting to miss the flesh of Level 7 Calamity Beasts. In three months, his strength had improved tremendously.

During those three months, his rank in the Disaster Beast Trial Tower had been steadily climbing.

He had now reached 30th place.

His monthly allotment of Level 7 Disaster Beast Flesh was also increasing; it was now 1,350 kilograms per month.

He ate at least 150 kilograms a day, usually finishing his supply in less than half a month.

He had truly experienced the benefits of Level 7 Disaster Beast Flesh and Blood. His Qi and Blood Value was now very close to the Peak of the Fifth Realm.

After a moment of thought, he opened the file Wan Ming had collected and projected it.

It contained information on all the geniuses from the first, third, and fourth years.

He began to study it carefully.

There were 181 geniuses, five of whom were SSS-level. One was a first-year: Wang Hailong from their own Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy.

There were two in the second year: Du Shanyan and Chu Yu.

There was one in the third year, an SSS-level genius from Nether Sea Martial Academy named Meng Yuxuan.

She was currently ranked fourth in the Disaster Beast Trial Tower, very close to third place.

The last one was the first-ranked student, Shen Heng.

Aside from these five, there were eight SS-level geniuses from the third and fourth years.

Four from the third year and four from the fourth.

Excluding Wang Hailong, the rest of the top fourteen contenders were from this group.

Lin Qi analyzed the data carefully and realized that with his current strength, he might actually have a chance to break into the top ten.

At this thought, he closed the screen.

He changed into his Martial Arts Uniform, took down the black and gold Tiger Slaying Spear, and began practicing his spear technique.

‘Before the competition begins, every bit of strength I can gain counts.’

“SWISH! SWISH!!”

Streaks of the spear’s afterimage filled the air, constantly piercing and tearing through it. Lin Qi’s spiritual will sank completely into his body, perceiving the changes in his spear technique.

He was now very close to mastering the first Killing Technique of the Mountain and River Spear Technique.