Chapter 126: All Women Are Obstacles In Cultivation (2)
Apart from the researchers, the most well-known ranking was the Top 100 Ranking meant for the students that had yet to graduate. The Top 100 Ranking excluded those in the Skysoar Realm and those above 30.
The person in first place was Zhan Hai.
Peak Mental Tempering Stage, 99 percent willpower, and 26 years old. He walked the path of Divine Characters, with three Divine Characters mastered. All three were powerful, but the abilities of the characters were unknown.
Additionally, he was also very capable in physical cultivation. He was a ninth-stage Infinite Strength cultivator.
The manual speculated that Zhan Hai was planning to reach the Skysoar Realm through physical cultivation first before materializing his willpower, allowing him to stack the strengthening effect on his body that would appear during the advancement. Of course, the chance of him succeeding was quite low.
If he did not break through in a year or two, he would no longer be able to catch up to the likes of Bai Feng. If they were already in the Cloudbreach Realm by the time he reached the Skysoar Realm, not even double-forging would allow him to catch up with them. Furthermore, those people were all freaks too. They each had something they were good at.
"Zhan Hai..."
Su Yu was only casually reading about the researchers as he flipped through the pages. As for Zhan Hai, he did not know that person. Nor was he interested in knowing that person. He was only curious as to the strength of someone on the first place of the Top 100 Ranking.
...
Before long, Su Yu found the information he was looking for.
Top 100 Ranking, a ranking for students below 30.
Any student with 100 or more total earned merit is eligible to challenge a top 100 student.
For each challenge, the student is required to pay a fee of 10 merit points. If the challenger fails, the challenged student will receive the merit points.
If the challenger succeeds, the merit points will be returned to them.
The students on the ranking were grouped into multiple categories of 10. Those from the 91st to the 100th place will receive 3 merit points per month.
Those from the 81st to the 90th place will receive 4 merit points per month.
...
Those from the 21st to the 30th place will receive 10 merit points per month.
Those from the 11th to the 20th place will receive 15 merit points per month.
Those from the 4th to the 10th place will receive 20 merit points and an Infinite Strength original text per month.
Those on the top 3 will receive 30 merit points and an Infinite Strength original text per month. Those staying on top 3 for half a year will receive a chance to enter a secret grotto. Those staying on top 3 for a year will receive an additional drop of divine or devil blood essence.
...
Su Yu was stunned.
The rewards were too generous. Those on the top 3 could get 30 merit points and an Infinite Strength original text per month. That was a monthly reward, not a one-time reward. One ought to know that a single Great Strength original text could be sold for 30 merit points and above at Nanyuan.
How about an Infinite Strength original text? Just the original text alone was equal to a reward of over 100 merit points per month. And staying on top 3 for half a year would grant one a free chance to enter a secret grotto. As for the first place, one could even earn a drop of divine or devil blood essence.
Su Yu shook his head, "This is unrelated to me. My goal is to get into the top 100 as fast as I can. Then, I can start earning 3 merit points per month..."
That might not sound like a lot, but after a year, he could earn 36 merit points. That was a decent number. Where else could a Mental Tempering Stage student earn that many merit points?
Those Su Yu had earned previously were mostly due to luck. If he hadn't worked alongside the city guards and the Martial Dragon Guards, he would probably only be able to kill a high-stage Great Strength cultivator, earning him 3 merit points. To earn that many each month, he would have to kill a Great Strength cultivator each month.
It wasn't easy for a Mental Tempering Stage student to do that. And this was the capital. He might not even get that chance. Unless he was willing to go to the wilderness and hunt for cult members, it would be a lot harder. But if he actually went to the wilderness, he could easily get himself killed.
"Work hard and reach the top 100!"
Su Yu's gaze landed on the person on the last place of the ranking, Lin Qing.
"You'll be my next target!"
Lin Qing, 100th place on the Top 100 Ranking, a student for 5 years, peak Mental Tempering Stage, seventh-stage Great Strength Realm...
Even someone in last place was so strong. Almost nobody on the ranking was below the peak Mental Tempering Stage. The few that weren't at that level had Infinite Strength Realm cultivation, so they were just as scary.
This top 100 ranking was basically the equivalent of the Great Xia War Academy's Infinite Strength Ranking.
"Infinite Strength..."
Su Yu exhaled deeply. He still didn't have that much strength yet.
Even when using blood essence to obtain the offensive strength of a seventh-stage Great Strength cultivator and his Divine Characters, he was probably only strong enough to face a ninth-stage Great Strength cultivator.
The moment he encountered an Infinite Strength cultivator, things would turn bad. He had personally witnessed the strength of an Infinite Strength cultivator before.
A bunch of high-stage Great Strength cultivators had attacked such an opponent together only to suffer disastrous casualties. Any carelessness would grant the opponent the chance to even win the fight.
Back then, Su Yu had only interrupted that person for a split second and his head already felt like bursting.
And that was only a pure warrior. In the academy, these students had powerful willpower as well. Even Lin Qing in the 100th place was at the peak of the Mental Tempering Stage. Su Yu's Divine Character interruption might fail or even suffer a backlash against an opponent like that. He simply stood no chance against her.
"I'm still not strong enough to challenge the 100th place. Only when I reach the Great Strength Realm and Mental Tempering Stage and further strengthen my two Divine Characters can I challenge her."
Su Yu took a deep breath and clenched his fists. He encouraged himself that he could do it. Life was too hard for a poor person like him.
As for the fact that Lin Qing was a woman...so what if she was a woman? He did not care about gender when he needed to beat someone up. It wasn't like caring about gender would give him merit points.
His mentor was right. All women were obstacles in the path of cultivation. Just look at Lin Qing. She was his first obstacle in the academy.
...
At the same time.
Residential District, Teaching Assistant Zone.
In a small villa.
Wu Lan was in high spirits as she spoke to a girl beside her, "Big Sister Qing, I'll be challenging you soon! Wait for me!"
Lin Qing flashed a gentle smile and said, "Lan, you need to get 100 total earned merit points first. But by that time, I might have reached the top 50 already."
Wu Lan clenched her tiny fist and declared unyieldingly, "I won't take long at all! I'm already at the Mental Tempering Stage. Before long, I'll reach the peak of the Mental Tempering Stage. At that time, I'll be able to accept a lot more missions than now..."
The more she spoke, the more excited she was. She continued, "Big Sister Qing, I've decided. After the registration, I'll follow the Great Xia Army out for some missions."
...
Lin Qing first looked at her with astonishment. Then, she worriedly said, "Ridiculous! You're planning to accept the Great Xia Army's missions?"
"Of course."
Wu Lan continued speaking with excitement, "Only then would I be able to earn merit points quickly. I know a guy. He's very weak with only 20 percent willpower. But he joined the Windcatcher Department on a mission and managed to kill an Infinite Strength cultivator, earning him an additional 10 merit points. His total earned merit is even higher than mine."
...
Lin Qing stared at her for a long time before saying, "I'll tell Teacher about this."
Her teacher was none other than Wu Qi. A 20 years old freak.
After entering the Skysoar Realm, she became a teaching assistant. Five years ago, she accepted Lin Qing as her personal student. Now, Lin Qing had entered the Top 100 Ranking. Meanwhile, not even some junior and intermediate researchers could nurture a disciple capable of entering the Top 100 Ranking.
Wu Lan objected rebelliously, "If that fellow can take these missions, why can't I? I know. You all think that I know nothing. How can I know nothing? Tempering at the edge of life and death is the best way of strengthening myself.
"You're all simply afraid that I would die during the mission. If that really happens, that's my fate. Back then, my elder sister wouldn't have been able to reach the Skysoar Realm so early if it wasn't for the missions she took either."
Lin Qing advised, "Lanlan, you've just joined the academy. You aren't even at the Great Strength Realm yet. It is ridiculous to accept those missions now. That's the same as throwing your life away."
"But he's not at the Great Strength Realm either."
"Who?"
"Su Yu." Wu Lan fumed, "That fellow from Nanyuan. Teaching Assistant Bai Feng's student."
"Su Yu?" Lin Qing muttered and said, "It's different. Lanlan, the students from small cities are willing to risk their lives for a better future. It's different for you. You have a higher starting line. That is a part of your assets. Why neglect your advantage and pursue something that will put you at a disadvantage?"
Wu Lan frowned, "I don't care. I'll keep my eyes on him. Last time, he placed first while I placed second. At the time, he was so cocky when he laughed! I need to repay him for that! And I need to do this myself!"
Lin Qing did not say anything else. However, she had already decided to inform her teacher the moment she left seclusion. There was no way she would allow Wu Lan to mess around.
One of the teachings of the Wu Family was to not take any dangerous missions before the Skysoar Realm. Things would be troublesome if something happened to Wu Lan during one of these missions.
While she was thinking, Wu Lan said, "Since my sister is still in seclusion, I'll be leaving. That fellow is probably here already. He is definitely secretly cultivating somewhere. I need to go back and cultivate as well."
…
Lin Qing did not know whether to laugh or cry. This was an academy. Was there a need for that fellow to secretly cultivate? This Wu Lan was clearly seeing Su Yu as her rival.
"Don't be rash. Lanlan, if you really don't like him, I'll teach him a lesson for you."
"No thanks!" Wu Lan furiously said, "I want to compete fairly! I'll defeat him and arrogantly laugh in front of him. I'll make him furious. I've decided. I will no longer accept the merit points of the family. I need to earn my own merit points! I will rely on myself to defeat him!"
...
Lin Qing was helpless. She could only tell herself that this Wu Lan was being immature. Was refusing her family's merit points the correct way to prove herself? Wu Lan was too young, too rash, and too immature. There was no comparing her with Wu Qi. Even neglecting their talent, their mentality was very different as well.
When Wu Qi first joined the academy, she was prejudiced against by many people as well. But being born in the Wu Family was one of her strengths. What was the point of denying that?
If Wu Qi had the same mentality as Wu Lan, she wouldn't have been able to come this far, becoming one of the top genius teaching assistants of the academy. Lin Qing gave up on persuading Wu Lan. She wouldn't be able to change her mind.
She could only wait for her teacher to leave seclusion before doing anything. After this cultivation session, her teacher could probably reach the ninth-stage Skysoar Realm.
At that thought, Lin Qing grew excited as well. With her teacher as a ninth-stage Skysoar Realm, if she could quickly reach the Skysoar Realm as well, her teacher would be promoted into a full researcher. After that, she would receive even more support in her cultivation.