High Martial Arts: Grinding for the Supreme Talent

Chapter 556: Chapter 521: Three Months and Killing Intent

Gu Jian muttered to himself. He knew that during the Seventh Realm Blood Exchange, every additional exchange built a stronger foundation.

He had greater ambitions. Not many people in the Xia Country had Awakened two Abilities, and he was one of them.

Among the current Seventh Realm geniuses, he considered himself ranked third.

Other than Sunx Saint and Li Tianxing, he feared no one.

That was why he wanted to attempt eight Blood Exchanges, surpassing the commonly known limit of seven.

Unfortunately, it was just too difficult.

As for Lin Qi, he was just a minor interruption in his Cultivation.

If his old man hadn’t demanded it, he wouldn’t have bothered to act at all.

...

「North River Province, Black Dragon Base」

Lin Qi walked through the residential area. The entire base was massive, divided into several residential zones.

These included the military barracks, dormitories for independent Martial Artists, deluxe apartments, and the top-level apartments that only Ninth Realm Martial Artists could inhabit.

”Lin Qi!”

A burly, well-built man walked toward him. His aura was powerful—he was clearly a Seventh Realm Martial Artist.

The burly man smiled.

”Three months. I hope you can defeat Gu Jian. You got this!”

Lin Qi nodded.

”I will!”

A moment later, he arrived at the top-level apartments and stopped before one of the doors.

BEEP!

After he stood at the door for a moment, the black alloy gate slid open silently, and Lin Qi walked inside.

The first thing that greeted his eyes was a spacious living room decorated in a classical, antique style. There was even music playing.

In the living room, three figures were sitting together drinking tea.

When Lin Qi entered, the four of them turned their heads.

”The man of the hour has arrived!” Dean Liu, dressed in a white robe, said with a smile.

The four were the King of Mountains and Rivers, who occupied the host’s seat, with the North River Sword King and Lin Qi’s teacher, Mu Hong, beside him. Dean Liu was the one responsible for brewing the tea.

’Dean Liu must be incredibly well-connected,’ Lin Qi thought. ’For a Seventh Realm Martial Artist to be drinking tea with the King of Mountains and Rivers...’

”Master, Senior Sword King, Teacher, Dean Liu.”

Lin Qi greeted them one by one in order of their perceived strength, behaving with due respect.

The tall and burly King of Mountains and Rivers nodded.

”Sit. Have some tea with us.”

Lin Qi nodded and sat down opposite the King of Mountains and Rivers, while the other three sat to the side.

Dean Liu handed a cup of hot tea to Lin Qi.

Lin Qi took the cup. A rich fragrance wafted from it, and after just one sniff, he felt his Spirit surge with energy.

He then took a small sip. It felt as if a stream of spiritual energy shot from his mouth straight to his mind, causing his brain to start working at incredible speed.

”What great tea!”

Lin Qi’s eyes lit up as he exclaimed in admiration. ’There’s no way Dean Liu could own tea like this.’

The King of Mountains and Rivers chuckled.

”It is indeed fine tea. You’re in luck today. It’s not something you get to drink every day.”

”When you leave, you can take ten grams with you. Drinking a little during your Cultivation will be of great benefit to your Martial Arts Skills.”

At these words, the North River Sword King, Mu Hong, and Dean Liu all revealed envious expressions.

Lin Qi also knew this tea was a rare treasure.

So he said,

”Thank you, Master!”

The King of Mountains and Rivers nodded, took a sip of tea, and said,

”We already know about your duel with Gu Jian.”

”Three months. Are you confident?”

At this, the North River Sword King, who was sitting nearby, also spoke up.

”Gu Jian is not like Gu City. In the last few decades in the Xia Country, there have only been ten geniuses, including yourself, who have Awakened two Abilities.”

”Currently, there are five of them in the Seventh Realm: Sunx Saint, Li Tianxing, Gu Jian, Xu Qin, and now you.”

”We don’t even need to talk about Sunx Saint and Li Tianxing.”

”And you already know about Xu Qin.”

”Let me give you the details on Gu Jian.”

”Gu Jian is an SSS-level genius who has Awakened two Special Abilities. He is the foremost genius of the Gu Family.”

”He is ranked ninth on the Ten Thousand Beasts Blood Pillar.”

”His teacher is the Sword Emperor, one of the founders of the Chongming Martial Arts Dojo.”

”In the House of War, he is ranked seventh on the Seventh Realm leaderboard.”

”Just today, a Seventh Realm Martial Artist broke through to the Eighth Realm, so Gu Jian has now moved up to sixth place.”

”A genius of his caliber is the kind that might only appear once in several decades, out of hundreds of millions of other talents in the Xia Country.”

”What’s more, he has already undergone six Blood Exchanges. As soon as he completes the seventh, he’ll be able to break through to the Eighth Realm.”

”And he has a verifiable record of killing an Eighth-Level Calamity Beast!”

”Faced with a genius like that, do you think you can win in three months?”

After reciting Gu Jian’s long list of achievements, the North River Sword King looked at Lin Qi.

Dean Liu, Mu Hong, the King of Mountains and Rivers—four pairs of eyes—all focused on Lin Qi.

The classical music continued to play in the living room, but Lin Qi felt a palpable sense of pressure.

Gu Jian seemed like a great mountain looming before him, one he had to surmount.

After listening, Lin Qi didn’t rush to speak. Instead, he raised his teacup with one hand and drained it in a single gulp.

Then, he slowly looked up and spoke.

”To be honest, after hearing your description, Senior Sword King, Gu Jian does sound pretty strong.”

The North River Sword King was taken aback. ’After all that I said, your only evaluation is that he’s ”pretty strong”?’

’Are you that confident in your own abilities?’

Lin Qi continued, ”The reason I said three months was to put some pressure on myself.”

”A year is too long. Defeating Gu Jian a year from now would be no different from defeating Gu City. It would be too easy, with no challenge to it.”

Dean Liu and Mu Hong exchanged a glance. ’What is he talking about?’

’He can easily defeat Gu Jian in a year?’

But then they remembered Lin Qi’s age. In just three years, he had successively surpassed countless geniuses.

’A year really might be too long for him.’

Upon hearing this, the King of Mountains and Rivers broke into a smile.

”Very good!”

”Surpassing Gu Jian in a year’s time would be a foregone conclusion.”

”Now that you only have three months, you will need to put in even more effort.”

Lin Qi nodded and smiled. ”I understand!”