Chapter 12: Power Test, A Shining Example!
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First update today: Chapter 012!
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"Not bad, not bad. It's clear you've undergone specialized training. Your control over your own strength is excellent, and your use of life force weapons is very skillful!"
Since Ling Xiao took charge of the interviews, this was the first time a smile of approval had appeared on his face.
Yu Le’s gaze fell on Su Rui, who was scratching his head with an endearing awkwardness. It was easy to see that although Su Rui was plain in appearance, his clothing and accessories, though seemingly casual, were actually quite expensive.
One could conclude that this man came from a well-off family.
Through Ling Xiao’s current conversation with Su Rui, Yu Le also learned some additional information about him.
At seventeen, Su Rui was blessed by fate and awakened his life force weapon. Now only twenty-two, he had already cultivated to the eighth stage of the Rock Realm.
By contrast, Yu Le had awakened his life force weapon three years ago, right after he crossed over, at the age of twenty-six.
Among all the people Yu Le had met or heard of, Su Rui was undoubtedly the top-tier genius!
Young in age, high in realm, and powerful in burst strength!
Although in this society, cultivators’ ages were not heavily emphasized—since whether one obtained a destiny weapon and the time of awakening varied, so the path of cultivation could start early or late—talent could not be judged by age alone.
But one thing was certain: awakening a life force weapon early meant the potential for early fame and ample room for growth, naturally attracting more attention.
Moreover, the peak of human physical function was around the golden age of twenty. For a blessed one like Yu Le to awaken at his age, unless his life force weapon was strong enough, he would have long missed the prime cultivation period.
After all, the essence of the Rock Realm was external training of flesh and blood. If you were seventy or eighty with deteriorated flesh and blood, what use would training be?
The timing of awakening and the level of the life force weapon were not controlled by humans, but family background was a given from birth.
Some blessed ones possessed decent life force weapons but, due to family limitations, didn’t even know the basics of cultivation, let alone afford the various medicines used to refine the body.
Meanwhile, some people, even without awakening a life force weapon, could still embark on the cultivation path through their family background, becoming ordinary martial artists or mechanical warriors like Ling Xiao.
But for a non-blessed individual to become a martial artist required far more resources—far beyond what an average family could bear.
Money isn’t everything, but without money, nothing is possible—this holds true in any era.
Medicines to enhance physical function are just the foundation. Without training in exertion techniques and professional training, merely having a high realm is insufficient.
All these problems did not exist for Su Rui.
After praising Su Rui, Ling Xiao turned to the remaining eight who had not yet been interviewed and calmly said, "Our Blazing Sky Squad will only recruit one new member this time. Although this interview is not the final result, now that we have Su Rui, if you think you can compete with him, then participate in the test. If not, there’s no need to waste your time."
Reality was harsh. The appearance of a genius like Su Rui put great pressure on not only the three who had passed the preliminary but also the eight remaining candidates, including Yu Le.
As soon as Ling Xiao finished speaking, some sighed and left.
However, a few, adhering to the principle of "a dead horse can still be treated as a living one," decided to give the test a try.
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The result was obvious—the scores were disappointing, not even worth Ling Xiao’s further comment.
Naturally, Yu Le did not withdraw. According to the order of registration, he was originally the second to last.
Until the six before him either passed or dropped out, and the one behind him—the young man he had chatted with in the corridor—upon seeing Su Rui’s results, immediately fled.
This made Yu Le the very last tester.
Ling Xiao picked up the registration form, frowning slightly. "Who is Yu Le?"
"It’s me," Yu Le stepped forward.
"Twenty-nine years old, yellow-grade life force weapon, sixth stage of the Rock Realm. Are you sure you still want to participate in the test?" Ling Xiao’s tone held no mockery—he was simply stating a fact.
Yu Le nodded. "Yes."
"Alright then, since you’ve signed up, we’ll run the test. At least it won’t be in vain." Ling Xiao casually reopened the test chamber.
Yu Le took a deep breath and stepped inside.
Unlike Ling Xiao’s attention and instructions before Su Rui’s test, it was clear he held no hope for Yu Le.
But it was understandable—if he were in Ling Xiao’s place, he would feel the same way.
The weak are not worth attention.
[Beep, beginning physical strength test...]
The chamber door closed, and a mechanical voice sounded.
In the next moment, an invisible pressure spread over Yu Le’s entire body inside the chamber. He was not surprised.
When he first awakened his life force weapon, he had undergone a similar test that confirmed his position at the second stage of the Rock Realm.
It was like being enveloped by an increasingly compressed waterbed—the greater the pressure, the greater the elasticity. That was the principle of the test chamber.
Soon, the realm detection result appeared.
[Beep, your physical strength is 7.6 stones. Current realm: mid-level seventh stage of the Rock Realm.]
Hmm?
Both Yu Le inside and Ling Xiao outside the chamber were somewhat surprised.
"I’ve already reached the seventh stage of the Rock Realm?"
When registering, Yu Le had not tested his physical strength himself, so he gave a conservative estimate.
When his Panlong fishing rod advanced to a heavenly weapon, his physical strength had received a significant boost, and at that time, Yu Le judged himself at the sixth stage of the Rock Realm.
Later, after inhaling a substance from a jade vial, his physical strength was further enhanced, making it difficult for Yu Le to judge.
"Um… Mr. Ling, is this a false declaration of realm?" someone asked.
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Ling Xiao shot a glare at the speaker. "What if he were at the Bone-Strength Realm?"
Uh–the man was speechless.
The demon-hunting squad had realm requirements, but those were minimums. Overstating was not allowed, but understating was naturally fine.
Nearby, Su Rui smiled as he looked at Yu Le’s displayed realm, but disdain flickered in his eyes.
Inwardly, he thought, "Seventh stage of the Rock Realm? Just a mite among yellow-grade blessed ones."
With the realm confirmed, the power exertion test began.
Inside the test chamber, an air wall appeared before Yu Le, and a prompt sounded.
[Please attack the air wall ahead.]
Yu Le slowly clenched his fist, not rushing to strike.
He pondered what kind of test result he should aim for.
If he used the Shockwave Force, capable of twice his physical strength, it would be too fake.
He could easily be sliced!
"No matter what, I have to join the Blazing Sky Squad. It’s the only way I can think of to find An’an!"
Rallying his emotions, he unleashed his strength.
Yu Le did not use either of his two heavenly weapons but simply struck the air wall with his own power!
Never underestimate a father’s determination to protect his daughter!
Bang!
Yu Le felt as if his punch hit a mass of cotton.
[Beep, burst power: 3.2 stones; burst ratio: 42%.]
Looking at the result, Yu Le felt neither satisfied nor disappointed.
This was his strongest punch. He thought of the parents who had searched for lost children for years or even decades in his previous life. He did not want to experience that helplessness, so he needed to solve all problems with his own strength.
His conviction was strong, but without specialized training, his burst power was ultimately insufficient!
Outside the chamber, the crowd shook their heads.
By convention, even if Yu Le’s burst power could improve somewhat, there were limits. At least compared to Su Rui’s shining example, it was not impressive.
But was that really the truth?