ASER - Chapter 42
Chapter 42: Surpassing
Within Jinling Academy, due to the activation of the Spirit Gathering Array in the ginkgo forest, many internally selected students already possessed cultivation qualifications. Those with a foundation had even mastered methods of controlling Spirit Power, not to mention their sensitivity to Spiritual Energy. Therefore, they had been paying attention to the activity in the ginkgo forest from the start. However, their focus wasn't on the examinees, but on the Spirit Gathering Array itself.
In the vast martial arts training room, a series of "thump, thump, thump" sounds erupted. With the final strike, the camera zoomed in, revealing a man in boxing attire frantically kicking and punching the "person" before him. After a rapid three-punch combination, he lifted his leg—bang! A terrifying leg whip struck "him."
Bang!
"He" flew out, soaring seven or eight meters, then flipped in mid-air and landed. Raising its head, its mechanical face showed no expression, only data: "Notification: Test concluded. Current tester's strength level is G2, an increase of 10% from the previous test. Congratulations."
Amidst the cheers of a few friends nearby, the young man raised an eyebrow, not with pleasure, but with a flamboyant declaration, "Still a bit lacking. If you ask me, we're enough. Why does the academy need to recruit more students with such a grand display? And they call it the Danzhou Top 500? That's hilarious."
"Ha, isn't this for show, for society to see? Besides, they're afraid of missing out on talent from the common folk. Don't forget, some of the internally selected students also come from ordinary families."
"Exactly, Wang Wei, don't get too arrogant. If you hit a wall, don't blame us for not helping you."
There were quite a few smart people who didn't support Wang Wei's ostentatious attitude. Their elders had repeatedly warned them that in the early stages of the Spiritual Energy revival, it was impossible to tell who would turn out to be a dragon or a phoenix, and who would be a mere insect. It was best not to offend anyone rashly.
That Cui Run fellow was just too flamboyant.
"I know, I know, I'm not that stupid. I'm just saying it here. But I really think those people's stats aren't all that great. Such a huge benefit from the Spirit Gathering Array... 20 Level 3 Spirit Cores! That's enough for us to absorb for a while, yet it's all being used for the exam. Isn't this just giving them a free opportunity to absorb Spiritual Energy?"
"If I'd known, I would have rather participated in the recruitment and mooched off this benefit."
Wang Wei wasn't wrong. If they hadn't just sensed the intensity of the Spiritual Energy from the Spirit Gathering Array, they wouldn't have known Jinling Academy was being so extravagant. It was no wonder they felt disgruntled.
Being internally selected meant their aptitude was the best. Why give so much Spiritual Energy to those people to absorb?
Good steel should be used on the blade's edge.
As these few were discussing animatedly, they suddenly heard someone speak, "Wang Wei, right? I'm Jiang Chao. Technically, I'm your senior. I see your boxing is pretty good. How about a round with me?"
After saying this, Jiang Chao added with a smile, "If I lose, I'll give you five million star coins. But if you lose, you don't have to pay a single cent. You in?"
The money was secondary; it was his confident attitude, as if he was certain to win, that was so irritating. Before others could dissuade him, Wang Wei immediately agreed.
The two changed into their gear and started fighting. Standing by the window, Chen Xun looked at the distant ginkgo forest, faintly seeing the white mist enveloping the Spirit Gathering Array. He then lowered his head to look at the ranking changes sent by his confidant. When he saw the name A'Diao begin to skyrocket, his eyes flickered slightly.
Huh, she's rising?
Is it because the adaptation period is over? No, her rate of increase is still unstable, the data fluctuates greatly, merely hidden beneath the surface of her ranking advancement.
Chen Xun, with his photographic memory, could instantly memorize most of the data on the screen, let alone specifically focus on A'Diao's performance. He quickly noticed that her Spiritual Energy absorption rate was still fluctuating up and down.
This didn't fit the characteristics of passing the adaptation period. It was more like...
"She's changing her method of absorbing Spiritual Energy."
Bang! A shout came from behind; someone had been knocked down. Chen Xun turned to look and saw the tall and imposing Jiang Chao, his palm glowing with spiritual light, pinning Wang Wei, who looked like a chick, to the ground with one hand. When Wang Wei's astonished friends asked Jiang Chao why he was so ruthless, he said with a grin, "Sorry, among those 500 people you were mocking earlier, are my sister and my brother's sister."
"Next time you run your mouth, even if you're a young master of the Wang family, I, Jiang Chao, will still beat you up!"
In the forest, Zhou Jiang watched A'Diao with a somber gaze, but he felt very uncomfortable because A'Diao's eyes were open. Could she see their attention and their pointing fingers?
Of course, she saw them; she wasn't blind. She just wasn't paying attention. She was trying to find the Spiritual Energy meridian pathways that corresponded to Song Ling's and Cui Yun's hand seal absorption methods.
It was indeed difficult, like a blind man trying to describe an elephant. She was even thinking of giving up.
But she also knew that if she followed the ordinary breathing method step by step, she would ultimately only stabilize around 200th place. With the method she was currently trying, she could very likely break into the top 150, as the absorption methods were vastly different.
To make a comeback, to make the academy see her value, and to stop the suppression from those scoundrels of the Cui Clan, she had to create a big stir.
Get famous, she had to get famous, she had to fight her way to a formidable ranking!
150th?
150th was far from enough.
She had to perfectly replicate Cui Yun's and Song Ling's absorption methods.
She had already wasted a lot of time fumbling around. Once the bow is drawn, the arrow cannot be recalled. A'Diao could only continue to try... fluctuating time and again, but at least her ranking was still rising.
Until she fought her way to 300th place!
A'Diao vaguely felt that her speed in breaking into the top 300 was a bit slower than before, but it was still acceptable. Continue!
Just then.
A'Diao sensed a fluctuation in the Spiritual Energy... She couldn't help but look to the side and saw that among the 500 people, the Spiritual Energy fluctuations were converging in one direction.
Who was that person?
"It's Bai He. His aptitude has probably broken through a latent bottleneck and is starting to erupt. Look, his absorption speed is too obvious; he's drawing all the surrounding Spiritual Energy towards him."
"Is this the person who ranked sixth yesterday? He seems to be from a humble background. His initial Spiritual Energy absorption was also ranked low, but he's so formidable. He was fixed at 100th place just now, and now he's 96th! You know, it's not easy to break into the top 100 and advance further."
"Those from humble backgrounds are starting to erupt. Just watch, Bai He isn't an exception!"
Bai He was also one of the files he had recommended. Zhou Jiang withdrew his gaze from A'Diao and, like a fickle admirer, began to focus on Bai He.
After the Tian siblings' initial burst, they started to lose steam later on. Now, Tian Zhongye was fixed at 68th, and Tian Zhongxiang at 78th.
The top 100 was truly too difficult.
These three were currently the most elite among those from humble backgrounds, and also had the best aptitude. Their future was limitless, but as for staging a comeback against the powerful and noble clans, perhaps...
Sure enough, because Bai He had begun to show signs of inducing Spiritual Energy, he pulled at the normally drifting Spiritual Energy, forming a small, snow-white serpent of spiritual mist that twisted and coiled towards him. This allowed others nearby to directly sense the fluctuation. Unfortunately for them, he was near Cheng Zhang and the others.
Because the Spiritual Energy was being dragged away, this stimulated the absorption situation for Cheng Zhang and the others.
"Aptitude needs suppression to erupt; geniuses need the contrast and stimulation of other geniuses." Zhou Jiang was very experienced; he knew the true high-speed eruption period was about to begin.
Sure enough, Cheng Zhang erupted, and the Spiritual Energy Bai He was absorbing over a wide area was instantly torn into two streams.
They were tearing at each other, and Xu Luo and his group were not to be outdone.
Small serpents appeared one after another.
The stimulation was too great, like raising Gu worms; only the stronger geniuses could survive.
Their eruption also made things difficult for A'Diao, because Song Ling also erupted, instantly snatching away all the Spiritual Energy around A'Diao.
A'Diao's rate of increase immediately slowed. She had just broken into the top 300, reaching 299th, when she was overtaken by those behind her, falling back to 300th.
"It's over. This Chen A'Diao's eruption period wasn't strong enough; it's already passed, but others have erupted."
"She won't fall back to the 400s, will she?"
"It's hopeless. Forget it, don't watch her anymore. Look, Song Ling has surpassed Cui Yun!"
The moment Song Ling surpassed Cui Yun, she reached first place, while Cui Yun fell to second. But behind them, Bai He was frantically charging towards the top fifty.
And people like Rao Xueya were also entering their eruption period.
But not everyone could erupt. After the small spiritual serpents appeared, the strong became stronger, and the weak became weaker.
The true echelons had appeared.
Top ten, top fifty, top one hundred.
Below one hundred, the rest were all ordinary.
This was the stage for geniuses.
"The situation is starting to become clear. All the aptitudes that should have erupted have done so. It's a pity about our Third Miss..." The old servant feigned regret, speaking pretentiously. Lao Wang's face darkened, and he was about to turn and leave in displeasure.
Ding-a-ling.
A wind came.
This gust of wind came very suddenly. According to the weather patterns, it should have been a due south wind, blowing from outside the academy inwards. But suddenly, it was a wind from within the academy blowing towards the entrance, stirring the hexagonal wind chimes hanging beneath two rows of ancient red bricks and black tiles.
A total of 99, swaying in unison.
The sound of the bells was crisp and clear. At the same time, many ginkgo leaves flew out from within the academy.
From suspended crimson gold, a tribute to the sedimentation of time, they fell elegantly, landing with indifference to share their ephemeral glory with the earth. But today, a wind came.
The wind stirred them, carrying them to unknown places.
Just like the screen suddenly came alive, it seemed as if everyone's names were moving.
That was because... a python had appeared in the Spirit Gathering Array within the academy.
Two minutes ago, when A'Diao dropped to 305th place, she was numb. The look she gave Song Ling was utterly mournful.
I just want to get a ranking that won't condemn me to being a concubine, why is it so hard!
Looking at how ferocious these geniuses were now, forget about getting famous, Jinling Academy might not even let her in.
No way, screw it! This time, it has to work!
Song Ling sensed such an intense gaze and couldn't help but open her eyes. Then she saw A'Diao's mournful look and the afterimages of her rapidly moving hands. She saw this person quickly form a hand seal extremely similar to her own.
Song Ling: "?"
The reason it was described as similar was because half of it was her hand seal, and half was Cui Yun's hand seal.
When the final seal was formed, buzz!
Song Ling's expression changed, her lips moved slightly, and she almost stopped the other person because she sensed signs that they were about to suffer cultivation deviation.
But...
The Spiritual Energy circulating within A'Diao's body rolled along her meridians, almost instantly falling into chaos.
Crap, no, am I going to suffer cultivation deviation?
But in that extreme chaos, A'Diao quickly used the toilet's internal vision function to forcefully correct the disorder.
And then... a python appeared.
Its head devoured the spiritual mist, its tail swatted the small serpents; it was incredibly formidable.
Because of its birth and coiling presence, it instantly disrupted the Spiritual Energy absorption trajectories of all the examinees.
Zhou Jiang and the others had just shifted their attention away from A'Diao. Suddenly sensing the python's appearance, they were extremely shocked. Looking back, they saw the python's location, and their first reaction was that it was caused by Cui Yun or Song Ling.
Once a stable trajectory was affected, the Spiritual Energy, as the power source, would undergo incalculable changes, such as...
A small Spiritual Energy storm!
Zhou Jiang and the others outside the array hadn't even gotten a clear look at the situation when the small storm appeared. The examinees inside were blown dizzy and disoriented, and their eyes all flew open.
Holy crap, what's going on!
The teachers: "The rate of Spirit Core consumption has accelerated!"
"Quick, go allocate other Spirit Cores, or the pre-set Spirit Gathering Array will explode if there isn't enough Spiritual Energy!"
"Hurry up!"
Zhou Jiang roared. The examinees inside the array were also exclaiming in shock. Where was the Spiritual Energy? Spiritual Energy, so much of it! But damn it, none of it was coming their way! It was all being swept away by those beasts!
Which beasts?
Was it Song Ling who had taken down Cui Yun, or Cheng Zhang who had taken down Xu Luo? Or the dark horse Bai He, or the "cheating" humble background fighter jets, the Tian siblings? Or the someone-or-other who had silently climbed to 18th place?
When Rao Xueya noticed the Spiritual Energy around her diminishing, she felt something was wrong. Later, forced to open her eyes, she discovered the situation with the Spiritual Energy, and her whole mood soured.
Where did this python come from? Which beast caused this?
Wang Shen, who was nearby, also opened his eyes, his expression gloomy. If everyone was a small serpent, then strengths and weaknesses could barely be distinguished. But the gap between a python and a small serpent was too vast. Was it destined that a genius with aptitude far exceeding theirs would emerge from their group?
Who would be willing to endure this?
Seeing the rankings, Xu Luo was conflicted. I'm actually fifth? I should have been first! I'm the study god of Jinling's first and second years! How could these outsiders!
Seeing the rankings, Cui Yun was furious! Was it Song Ling? Where did this damned woman come from, how could she be so strong! And Cheng Zhang, what did the Cheng family amount to?! And these lowly commoners, how could they also snatch so much Spiritual Energy...
Seeing the rankings...
Suddenly, Cui Yun's expression changed. He realized he might have misjudged.
Because he saw a name piercing through many others at a terrifying speed.
Jumping three or four names in the blink of an eye, was that even possible?
And this name, he recognized.
The people at the academy entrance, after hearing the bells, hadn't yet noticed the changes inside. They only felt that the rankings on the screen were sizzling and churning like boiling water poured into hot oil.
No one could tell who was rising or falling, but as soon as it stabilized, they saw several names rapidly piercing through those ahead.
The internet celebrity and the veteran paparazzi both analyzed the situation as if they were on steroids.
Internet celebrity: "If I'm not mistaken, there must be someone inside with extremely strong talent who suppressed everyone else, absorbing a large amount of Spiritual Energy. This caused others to be affected, leading to significant fluctuations in their absorption speeds, which in turn caused the ranking changes."
Veteran paparazzi: "As for who it might be, everyone look at the big screen. Look at who's sprinting the hardest now. The Tian siblings are progressing so quickly! I understand now, this is the true eruption of aptitude. The previous phase was actually the adaptation period. Their adaptation period is longer than others; it seems the adaptation period for those from humble backgrounds is generally longer."
Internet celebrity: "So who is it exactly? Is it Bai He, or Song Ling? Or Cheng Zhang, or Zhao Lingyun who suddenly broke into the top 100 from over 100th place and is still rapidly improving? Is it Xu Luo who refuses to fall behind, or the second-placer Cui Yun who was overtaken, or... Chen A'Diao?"
He suddenly blurted out a name. The veteran paparazzi, who had been leading the commentary with his loud voice, was stunned for a moment. Who?
They looked towards the screen.
"Is it XX, or XXX?" Such speculative questions soon went unheeded, because the academy entrance fell silent, witnessing one person's unstoppable slaughter.
From 300th to 290th, from 290th to 285th, from 285th to 278th, from...
She tore through the 300-200 ranking bracket at a terrifying speed.
When A'Diao broke into the top 200, Lao Wang, lacking a grand perspective, was overjoyed: The thigh I'm hugging should be able to get into Jinling Academy, right? She's about to take off, and I'm about to take off too!
When A'Diao broke into the top 150, Lao Wang began to openly mock the old servant who held a higher status than him.
When A'Diao fiercely broke into the top 100 ten minutes later, the old servant was numb, his face crestfallen as he reported the news to the old steward in Lingcheng.
When A'Diao broke into the top 50... the number of people she had surpassed coincidentally reached 250. Their parents were speechless, asking everywhere whose child Chen A'Diao was. Had this child taken performance-enhancing drugs during the exam?
The third hour was already more than halfway through; there was still half an hour left.
At this moment, in the Spirit Gathering Array, 99% of the 500 examinees were numb.
Originally, A'Diao thought it was good that these people had their eyes closed, to avoid them resenting her. But now that they had all opened their eyes due to the incident, wouldn't they be able to see the changes on the leaderboard?
In that case... that was freaking great!
From Cui Yun +999!
From Cheng Zhang +888!
From Song Ling +99!
From Cui Yun +999!
From Bai He +777!
From...
From Cui Yun +999!
Out of the 500 people, more than half had contributed mental power to A'Diao, causing her mental power to surge to 100,000!
But what bothered A'Diao was that Cui Yun repeatedly sent her mental power, with such high frequency and intensity that it was comparable to the overwhelming barrage of discount and reduction ads before a certain Taobao Double Eleven event.
A'Diao: Does he hate me?
Why?
Oh, it's probably because he can't absorb any Spiritual Energy, so he's about to die of anger.
A'Diao: O(∩_∩)O
Cui Yun and Song Ling, who were next to A'Diao, both had their absorption speeds slow down.
"Look, Cui Yun is third! Cheng Zhang has surpassed him!"
"My god, Cheng Zhang has also surpassed Song Ling!"
"Cheng Zhang is first! What a Cheng family, too amazing!"
Amazing my ass, that's because there's no python coiling around him!
Cui Yun didn't have Song Ling's level of mental fortitude; his emotional fluctuations could be a bit large (extremely large!).
He knew that the instigator of all this was this A'Diao, and she was still frantically charging up the rankings.
Watching his own ranking continuously fall behind, intense hatred and unwillingness ignited an exceptionally strong fighting spirit in him.
Cui Yun calmed his mind and began to absorb diligently. Sure enough, he was still outstanding, so some Spiritual Energy was absorbed by him... Suddenly, with 20 minutes left on the countdown, a second python abruptly appeared beside him.
Song Ling's python.
Cui Yun: "???"
If one's aptitude was strong enough and their willpower firm enough, it would activate certain latent potential, which was equivalent to another form of aptitude refinement, unearthed ahead of time.
This was the Spirit Gathering Python. However, they were still young now, so it could only be considered a small python.
With two pythons coiling and devouring Spiritual Energy, the mentality of everyone around them collapsed. As for Cui Yun, caught between the two, he had no mentality left—he couldn't even absorb a single strand of Spiritual Energy.
Cui Yun couldn't absorb Spiritual Energy, but others were progressing.
Thus... in just three seconds, swish!
Song Ling directly overtook Cheng Zhang, once again becoming first. Cheng Zhang wanted to solidify his second place... but he found two people charging up.
Bai He and Zhao Lingyun.
They had finally broken into the top ten.
Cui Yun, originally recognized as number one, was now spiraling into the despair of dropping out of the top ten.
However... A'Diao had ferociously fought her way to 20th place.
No one could block her edge.
Bai He and Zhao Lingyun couldn't help but look at A'Diao.
50th! It took us at least twenty minutes to get from 100th to 50th, and she only used ten minutes?
Why is there no joy in breaking into the top ten—while we're cutting through others, we could be cut through by her at any moment?
Zhao Lingyun and Bai He felt immense pressure; beads of sweat couldn't help but form on their foreheads.
The two pythons were too strong.
Cheng Zhang had thought he could surpass Song Ling and Cui Yun to become first, bringing glory to his family. He hadn't expected Song Ling to activate her potential. Was the Spirit Gathering Python really that powerful?
Cheng Zhang watched as the gap in Spiritual Energy between himself and Song Ling grew larger and larger. He also saw Cui Yun, under the pressure of the two pythons, plummet from third place all the way down to seventh. He couldn't help but grit his back teeth.
Too strong!
Cheng Zhang's pressure was definitely not as great as Cui Yun's and Xu Luo's, because Cui Yun was surrounded by two pythons, and Xu Luo was also particularly close to them.
What kind of divinely chosen position was this?
Xu Luo: "..."
Why did I come to participate in this exam?
Cui Yun suddenly stood up. Whoa! Was he going to attack A'Diao and Song Ling?
Outside the array, Zhou Jiang and the others had sharp gazes. Fortunately, Cui Yun remained calm. He moved to another spot, quickly sat down, and continued to absorb Spiritual Energy.
After being chosen by him, the group of examinees here was devastated. Damn Cui Yun, if you can't beat Chen A'Diao and Song Ling, you come to harm us!
But Cui Yun's Spiritual Energy quickly began to increase, and he also charged back towards the front.
3:52.
15th: Chen A'Diao.
She reached 15th!
At this time, Zhao Lingyun and Bai He were still in ninth and eighth place.
3:55.
12th: Chen A'Diao.
Her speed was too fast; everyone in the top ten felt their sphincters tighten, as if they could be pierced through by this person at any moment.
Under such extreme high pressure...
Four buzzes!! Buzz!
Two new pythons appeared.
Another two?
It was actually Cheng Zhang and Bai He.
The teachers were all: "???"
Are geniuses so worthless nowadays?
Zhou Jiang's eyes flickered: Because of the pressure, A'Diao's comeback had placed almost unbearable pressure on those recognized geniuses like Cheng Zhang. Only under oppression could there be a breakthrough.
Relying on his own Spirit Gathering Python, Cheng Zhang began to frantically pursue Song Ling, while Bai He started to charge forward from his eighth position.
3:59.
09th: Chen A'Diao.
Ding! The timed clock rang. All the bees vibrated their plump tails and issued a notification sound.
"Spirit gathering has ended. Spirit gathering has ended. Everyone, stand up, stand up."
"Those who do not stand up will all be killed!"
Crap! Scared me to death.
Everyone had to stop absorbing. In truth, there was no more Spiritual Energy to absorb because the Spirit Gathering Array had ended. As a concluding measure, the array disc reversed, and the Spiritual Energy was sucked back... A'Diao lowered her head, observing the Spirit Gathering Array thoughtfully, but soon raised her head and looked at the crowd.
Many people were looking at her, especially Cui Yun, whose gaze seemed to be laced with poison.
A'Diao narrowed her eyes and suddenly smiled at him, a somewhat shy smile.
From Cui Yun +666!
Well now, like a sieve, is he this easy to farm?
The leaderboard was now fixed.
The top ten were respectively: Song Ling, Cheng Zhang, Bai He, Tian Zhongye, Tian Zhongxiang, Cui Yun, Xu Luo, Zhao Lingyun, Chen A'Diao, Lin Yunmo.
People like Tang Zhongxiao and Wang Shen, who were originally in the top ten, were now in the teens. But overall, the strengths and weaknesses from yesterday's assessment were roughly maintained today; the top ten were mostly the same people as before.
Someone suddenly felt that this assessment method was still quite scientific; after all, there were only isolated cases.
The only isolated case was Chen A'Diao.
Everyone ranked ahead of her knew this well in their hearts at this moment, including Song Ling.
She was thinking: If Chen A'Diao had mastered a breathing method equivalent to theirs, or at least not so vastly different, from the very beginning, then she should have been first from the start, leading everyone from beginning to end.
Song Ling lowered her eyes, thinking of how ecstatic the Song family elders were after testing her aptitude in advance. Some had even asserted that she would become the most dazzling brilliance in this Jinling Academy recruitment, not even inferior to those monstrous talents from the internal selection.
But now it seemed... the world was vast, and there were many geniuses.
For example, Chen A'Diao.
Song Ling even wondered: Why did she master an absorption method similar to hers and Cui Yun's? Not using it at first meant she didn't know it. Learning it later, that meant... If so, she was even more terrifying than she had imagined.
At this moment, Chen A'Diao suddenly received a notification from the toilet.
From Song Ling +2500!
Holy crap, this is currently the second highest mental power cap received, second only to Cui Yong.
An intermediate conquerable target was indeed extraordinary.
Chen A'Diao said thoughtfully, "Little Toilet, I think I've found the best way to conquer her."
Toilet: "?"
Chen A'Diao: "Hang her up, beat her, beat her to death's door, and she'll send me lots and lots of mental power."
As A'Diao said this, she was still looking at Song Ling not far away. The latter sensed her gaze, looked at her, hesitated for a moment, then tucked a stray strand of black hair behind her ear and gave a slight nod in response.
Although Song Ling was from a collateral branch of the Song family, her parents were very accomplished, leaders in their respective academic fields. Her upbringing was deeply ingrained, with a rich family scholarly tradition. Therefore, she admired from the bottom of her heart people who could grow strong from adversity, and she also revered the law of the strong.
If before, A'Diao had made her feel special because of her unique personality, then now... Song Ling felt that the other person deserved her respect, especially when that person repeatedly expressed goodwill towards her.
Cool and composed, yet understanding and simple; elegant and refined, yet modest and beautiful.
A'Diao: "And she's not even angry, she even looks like she likes me a lot! She must be a pervert! O(∩_∩)O."
Toilet: "..."
For some reason, it couldn't respond.
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