Chapter 35: Graduation Exam
Still in the cave where the ice lotus grew, Yang Feng was sitting on the ground practicing, and his face kept changing with various colors, red, blue, green, all kinds of colors were there, and finally disappeared.
At this time, Yang Feng also opened his eyes. After more than two months of continuous cultivation, his Qiankun Dazhuan True Qi finally reached the first layer realm. The amount of true qi was equal to that of Jiuyang Shen Gong and Jiuyin Zhen Jing, and the relationship between the three was very harmonious, without any conflict.
After sensing the true energy within his body, Yang Feng's heart was filled with excitement. Possessing the true energy of these three extraordinary divine abilities allowed Yang Feng's current strength to rise to another level. Especially the Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi true energy, which could play a huge role in Yang Feng's current stage. Because the Jiuyin True Classic and Jiuyang Divine Ability true energies were still at the first layer, their power was not that great. Moreover, Yang Feng had yet to break through to the Xiantian realm and was only at the peak of the Houtian Great Completion realm. Compared to those Xiantian experts, it was like heaven and earth apart. With Yang Feng's current cultivation, going to find trouble with the Yang family would undoubtedly be like hitting a stone with an egg, seeking death. Because there were too many Xiantian experts within the Yang family, even this generation's eldest son, Yang Wen, had become a Xiantian expert under the family's strong nurturing and the infusion of various heavenly treasures.
However, Yang Feng, who had cultivated the first layer of Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi True Qi, now possessed the strength to rival that of a Xian Tian expert. Although he was still far inferior to a Xian Tian expert, when facing one in battle, Yang Feng could rely on his current cultivation of Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi True Qi to transfer a large portion of the opponent's internal energy into his own body, preventing himself from being killed in battle. This allowed Yang Feng to preserve his life even if he couldn't defeat the Xian Tian expert.
There are only a few days left until the graduation exam, Yang Feng is making the most of the last moments to cultivate himself, consolidating all the martial arts he can currently practice over and over again. Every day, he has to practice the martial arts he has cultivated dozens of times before stopping. Among them, the Nine Yin White Bone Claw that Yang Feng cultivates is still the most powerful martial art he can exhibit at present. After all, this Nine Yin White Bone Claw is the one that Yang Feng spent the most energy on, and every time Yang Feng's power increases, the Nine Yin White Bone Claw gives him a different feeling, making him feel that it will be very helpful for his future cultivation, so he cultivates even more diligently.
As for other martial arts, Yang Feng also didn't fall behind in any of them. He would diligently practice each one, but when it came to practicing Tai Chi Fist and Tai Chi Swordsmanship, he encountered difficulties. The reason was that Yang Feng currently lacked the kind of atmosphere required for Tai Chi. When he performed Tai Chi Fist and Tai Chi Swordsmanship, they only resembled the real thing in form, but lacked any spiritual essence, and their power wasn't very great either. However, Yang Feng didn't become discouraged because of this. He still persisted in practicing these two martial arts every day, firmly believing that one day he would grasp the essence of Tai Chi. Although for now, when he performed them, they weren't very powerful, learning was still better than not learning!
Xiao Qing has eaten and refined all the ice lotus in the cave. When Xiao Qing woke up from its cultivation, its body had grown to 100 meters long, with a thickness similar to that of five adults combined. The scales on Xiao Qing's body had mostly turned white, with only a small portion remaining green. It is believed that the name Xiao Qing will soon be unsuitable for it and should be changed to Xiao Bai instead. As for the two flesh-like protrusions on Xiao Qing's head, they have also undergone significant changes, clearly forming horns now. It seems that Xiao Qing's Tao has increased greatly, and perhaps it won't be long before it can transform from a python into a dragon!
Yang Feng has already broken through to the first layer of Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi today, and the cold air in this cave has also been basically absorbed by him. In the future, even if he comes here to practice again, there will be no effect, so Yang Feng decided not to come here to practice anymore. After letting Xiao Qing change back to one foot in size, he put it in his arms, and then Yang Feng left this cave.
Arriving at the stone platform outside the cliff, Yang Feng looked up and couldn't help but smile slightly. A few days ago, Yang Feng was already able to use Wudang's Treading Clouds to climb to the top of the cliff, and this time he had cultivated the Great Void Transference to the first level, so it was even more effortless to go up directly.
Yang Feng lightly tapped the stone platform with his foot, and his body was like a soaring eagle, directly entering the clouds. This time he rose nearly twenty meters, and afterwards Yang Feng didn't use the cliff to borrow strength, but only had his right foot tap on his left foot, using a bit of power to propel himself upward again by several dozen meters. Very quickly, Yang Feng relied solely on his own bodily strength, without borrowing any strength from the cliff, and flew all the way to the top of the cliff.
Yang Feng took a glance at the place where he had been cultivating for nearly half a year, then turned around and walked back. Now that it was evening again, Yang Feng returned to the small valley but surprisingly didn't see Jīn Gāng waiting for him, which made him feel somewhat strange. He thus headed towards the cave. As soon as Yang Feng entered the cave, he found Jīn Gāng and Dōng Fāng Xuě sitting beside the fire pit, seemingly waiting for him.
"Haha, Number One, how did you come back so early today?! We thought we'd have to wait a long time for you!" Jin Gang said to Yang Feng. Now, Jin Gang was more and more admiring of Yang Feng, because no matter what kind of training he underwent, he still couldn't defeat Yang Feng, and every time he was crushed by Yang Feng. Under Yang Feng's crushing, his body could now withstand eight times the gravity, and his physical strength was enormous. A giant boulder as tall as an adult, which several people together couldn't even hug, could be shattered with just one punch from him. This terrifying power made Jin Gang extremely satisfied, and now his head was even bigger, close to 2.3 meters in height, plus the bulging muscles on his body, he was simply a real giant ape!
"Oh, what are you waiting for me?" Yang Feng said to Jin Gang.
"What?! You don't know that we have our graduation exams in a few days?!"" Jin Gang exaggeratedly said to Yang Feng, after nearly half a year of contact, Jin Gang's Mandarin was already very fluent, which was an incredible feat for this big and silly Jin Gang!
"Of course I remember, what's wrong?! Did something happen?!" Yang Feng asked Jin Gang.
"Hmm, Number One, this time something is different. I went to the camp on the other side today and heard some news. It's said that the topic of this year's graduation exam has changed. Originally, it was just a competition among our batch of trainees, and getting in the top 50 would allow us to join Black Ice. But this time, it's been changed to competing against those who graduated a long time ago and have completed many missions all over the world!" Jin Gang said to Yang Feng.
"Oh, what's the big deal?! Don't you have confidence in yourself?!" Yang Feng said to Jin Gang, but in his heart, he had a hint of worry. Although he was still quite confident in his current abilities, if compared to those who had gone through life-and-death tests time and again, his actual combat experience was clearly insufficient. On the battlefield, things changed in an instant, and until the very last moment, no one dared guarantee that they would be the ones standing."
"I've lost all confidence, otherwise why would we wait for you to come back?! It's said that this time it's not just about competing with those old mercenaries, but also passing the test of our respective instructors in order to graduate! As for facing those old mercenaries, that's fine, I don't believe they can withstand my Great Demon Palm. But if I were to face an instructor, I'd have no confidence at all - those instructors are all perverts!" Jin Gang said to Yang Feng with a dejected expression.
Yang Feng was also shocked to hear the news, and he hadn't expected such a requirement this year. The thought of competing with instructors made him shudder. Although Yang Feng had never seen any instructor actually take action, it was impossible for someone who could become an instructor in the Black Ice Mercenary Corps to be an ordinary person! Those instructors usually wore gravity belts, and the minimum gravity displayed on those belts was 15 times that of normal gravity. From this point alone, it was clear that those instructors were extremely powerful. If he wanted to pass the instructor's test, it would probably be very difficult indeed!
Yang Feng was also at a loss for what to do, and he looked up to see Dongfang Xue with a worried expression as well. It's no wonder they were worried, because in the Black Ice Mercenary Corps, those who couldn't pass the test were trash, and trash needed to be disposed of. If they couldn't pass the test, all that awaited them was death!
Yang Feng leaned against the stone wall, closed his eyes and thought about how to get through this crisis.
