Shen Han traded most of his spoils from this harvest to several trading halls in Yang City in a piecemeal fashion, keeping only Lightning Element and Ice Element Yao Beast Cores for himself.
"Not bad, I earned over 5 million this time, enough to buy a lot of Quenching Spirit Liquid," Shen Han thought to himself, pleased.
Returning home and shedding his disguise, he finally reverted to his true appearance.
This time, it was truly a thrilling but safe experience. His Lightning Element Special Ability's Rank had also increased, and he had also mastered an additional Lightning Element speed skill. Currently, Mental Energy was no longer the primary direction for improvement. At his current Cultivate speed, he would be able to advance to the first Realm of Martial Master by the end of his second year of high school. At that time, his classmates would still be lingering in the Early Stage of Martial Artist.
The next focus would be on improving his Lightning Element and Ice Element skills. Almost all his current skills were Entry-Level, which was truly not enough.
At this moment, in the Tang Family of Yang City...
"Yunxiang has been training in the Shadowed Forest for almost half a month now, and there's still no news. Could something have happened?" Tang Haoran, the Tang Family Patriarch, felt an unsettling premonition lately, always sensing that something bad was about to occur.
"Second Brother went out with Uncle Qiao's team. In Yang City, what power would dare to cross our Tang Family?" Tang Yunfei consoled him.
"Although that's true, it's really worrying to have no news for so long. How about this, you take a team into the Shadowed Forest to see what's going on."
"Alright, don't worry, I'll definitely bring Second Brother back."
Yang City No. 5 High School...
"My goodness, Han-ge, where have you been these past few days? I haven't seen you come to class!" As soon as Shen Han appeared, Li Muhua put his arm around his shoulder. "Be careful, Teacher Guan called your name several times a few days ago, and you weren't here. Be careful she doesn't give you a hard time."
"I went to a quiet place to Cultivate. It's fine, don't worry," Shen Han replied with an OK gesture.
"Han-ge, my Mental Energy has increased a lot again. I've already entered the third Realm of Martial Artist. The fastest ones in our class have already reached the fifth Realm. What's your cultivation now?"
"Guess."
"You're still being mysterious with me? Based on your Mental Energy being twenty points higher than mine during your Awakening, even if you practiced diligently and your Mental Energy grew faster than mine, you'd probably be around Martial Artist fifth Realm, right?"
"Go ahead and guess big."
"My goodness, no way, you've reached the sixth Realm?"
"You don't believe your brother? Tenth Realm."
"Han-ge, you're just bragging."
"Sigh, why is it that when I tell the truth, no one ever believes me?"
"Alright, alright. Speaking of which, I heard through the grapevine that Yang City's current batch of students will have a city-wide competition before the third year of high school, to evaluate the Geniuses from all five high schools in the city."
"Oh, when is that happening?"
"Soon, I estimate the school will announce it shortly. Han-ge, work hard! I heard that if you can get a good ranking, there will be many rewards!"
Teacher Guan, as always, was stern. She walked to the podium and seemed slightly surprised to find everyone present.
"Students, you should all have heard about the joint competition that our five high schools in the city will hold before the third year of high school. The main purpose of this joint competition is to gauge the Geniuses of this batch in Yang City, so that everyone will have a better idea of where they stand for next year's National Higher Education Entrance Examination. In addition, this competition is related to a Secret Realm quota. If you can achieve a top ten ranking in the upcoming five-school joint competition, in addition to the regular prizes, you will all receive a quota to enter a Secret Realm."
"I don't need to elaborate on the benefits of the Secret Realm. Let's just say, there are many Heaven And Earth Treasures in the Secret Realm, the most famous of which are the Spirit Stones corresponding to each element of Special Ability. If you can refine the corresponding Spirit Stone, your speed when Cultivating Martial Skills can double. And every year's National Higher Education Entrance Examination, in addition to testing each student's Mental Energy, also has a relatively important martial combat segment. How to achieve victory in martial combat makes the role of Martial Skills crucial."
Upon hearing this, Shen Han immediately perked up. He had been troubled recently by having too many skills but slow Cultivate speed. Now there was an opportunity for a Secret Realm, and he absolutely couldn't miss it.
"Of course, don't get too excited too soon. Every year, the top ten in the entire city are monopolized by the Geniuses from Third High School and Er Zhong (Second High School), occasionally Third High School also gets a chance, but the chances for Si Zhong (Fourth High School) and our No. 5 High School are not great. So, the main significance of this league for everyone is to understand your own positioning, clarify your direction for effort in the third year of high school, and the Rank of university you will apply to," Teacher Guan continued.
"I heard that there are many Family disciples in Yi Zhong (First High School) and Er Zhong (Second High School). They already have good Aptitude, and with the support of Family resources, many have already entered the Ranks of high-level Martial Artists. This year, Yi Zhong (First High School) even produced an S-Rank Special Ability Genius, who is said to already be a Martial Artist of the ninth Realm."
"Oh my god, are they even letting people live? What's the difference between mentioning and not mentioning this Secret Realm quota? For us at No. 5 High School, it's just about participating."
"I heard that our No. 5 High School also has an A-Rank Genius this year. Maybe we can even make it into the top ten this year."
"Let's hope so."
Ignoring the discussions of the surrounding classmates, for Shen Han, this league itself was an excellent opportunity to discover high-Rank Special Abilities. Even if he didn't win any rewards, Copying one home would still be very good.
Shen Han now also had A-Rank Lightning Element Aptitude, and he had mastered three major skills: offense, defense, and escape. If he could improve them all before the league, he might be able to achieve a good ranking.
"S-Rank Special Ability Aptitude, huh? A-Rank would indeed be a bit strenuous to deal with, but my advantage lies in having high Mental Energy, and prolonged combat is also an advantage."
Yang City Tang Family...
The bodies of Tang Yunxiang and the shifty middle-aged Uncle Qiao lay in the main hall, surrounded by solemn silence, as if even the air was congealed by the cold. "Father, after careful inspection, both of them were killed by Ice Blade-like skills of the Ice Element that pierced through them," Tang Yunfei said dejectedly.
"Investigate! Get me the records of everyone who entered and exited the Shadowed Forest recently. I don't care who it is, whoever harmed my son, I will have their entire Family buried with Yunxiang!" Tang Haoran's eyes were bloodshot, his heart boiling with murderous intent. The Tang Family had painstakingly produced such an A-Rank Special Ability Qilin child, only for him to be lost in the Shadowed Forest. He would never let this matter rest.
"Also, find out all the information on Ice Element Martial Artists in Yang City and surrounding cities. If they are Loose Cultivators, I'd rather kill the wrong person than let a single one go," Tang Haoran's inner killing intent could no longer be suppressed. "Don't forget to check the trading halls in Yang City and surrounding cities to see if anyone was foolish enough to buy our Tang Family's items, or if anyone recently sold a large number of Yao Beast Cores."
After class, Shen Han found Teacher Guan. "Teacher Guan, I was wondering if there's any way to accelerate the Cultivate of Martial Skills, besides improving Special Ability Rank. I've been stuck at the Entry-Level stage for a long time now."
"Accelerate the Cultivate of Martial Skills?" Teacher Guan looked puzzled and said earnestly, "Shen Han, I know you want to improve your strength as quickly as possible, but for an F-Rank Special Ability to reach Entry-Level in Martial Skills now is a very normal speed. Don't think about taking shortcuts, you might go astray."
"Thank you for the reminder, Teacher Guan. I wonder if you know of any normal accelerated methods?"
"The Cultivate of Martial Skills relies on practical combat, honed step by step. External aids usually involve the various elemental Spirit Stones I just mentioned. Refining the Spiritual Qi within the Spirit Stones can increase your speed by one to two times."
"Then, how can one acquire such Spirit Stones?"
"Yang City is a small city, so it's generally difficult to get such resources. Lingzhou City should have them. I can help you inquire. Are you in a hurry?"
"Yes, then I'll trouble you, Teacher Guan. Price is not an issue."
"I didn't expect you to be a little rich man!"
"I just want to Cultivate my Martial Skills to at least Minor Achievement before the league starts. I can't let you down, can I?"
"Stop being cheeky. Give me your contact information, and I'll notify you when I have news."
"Thank you, Teacher Guan."