Chapter 48

Hu Gao was surprised that the usually radical Yang Le would choose to stand by and watch instead of leading the law enforcement team over. He frowned, wondering if the Guo family had exerted some pressure on her. However, it didn't matter much; all the so-called plots and schemes were nothing in the face of absolute power.

What Hu Gao appreciated most was the straightforwardness and sincerity of the fat man in front of him. The fat man's understanding of martial arts also made Hu Gao look at him with new eyes. Such a person shouldn't be destroyed by sinister schemes, and if he could lend a hand, he would certainly help.

Hu Gao had already figured out that in this Combat Academy, there were no elites, only a bunch of rats. No wonder Bai Xiao had killed all the elite hall warriors back then. It was rare to meet such an interesting martial artist like the fat man today.

"Brother Hu Gao, you win. I won't ask you about the Shadowless Sword anymore. I'll leave first."

The fat man's thinking was indeed a bit slow. After loudly cursing Guo Deyun, he only then realized the serious consequences. It wasn't a problem for him, but it would be troublesome for his sister.

He didn't blame Hu Gao because the latter hadn't caused him any real harm. If he had to blame anyone, it would be Guo Deyun, who was ruthless and often used his sister to threaten him.

Thinking about these things now was useless. The fat man didn't waste any more time and jumped off the martial arts platform, running straight home.

A smile curved on Hu Gao's lips. He liked the fat man's behavior. He valued loyalty and righteousness, and even if his thinking was a bit slow, it didn't matter. Hu Gao decided to help him solve this problem because he had already thought of someone who could definitely help the fat man. He had planned to find that person anyway, so he could take care of both matters at once.

Jumping off the martial arts platform, Hu Gao walked straight to Guo Desheng. "I was going to give you three days, but now you're really getting on my nerves. I'll give you one day. If I don't get 200,000 gold coins by this time tomorrow, I'll treat the Shadowless Sword as scrap metal."

"Hu Gao, don't be too arrogant. Just because no one in the ordinary hall can match you doesn't mean you're invincible. Not to mention the entire Ning City, even in the Combat Academy, the disciples of the Inner Hall and Elite Hall are not someone you can fight against," Guo Desheng said coldly, full of threats.

Hu Gao sneered. "I admit the disciples of the Inner Hall and Elite Hall are very strong, and I can't fight them now. But is the Combat Academy your family's? Alright, I won't waste my breath on you. 200,000 gold coins, take it or leave it, no waiting."

With a wave of his hand, Hu Gao left, not wanting to waste any more time.

"Haha, Brother Hu Gao, you're really talented. You actually made Wang Hu, that big fat man, curse Guo Deyun as a turtle's son in public. If Guo Deyun finds out, he'll be so angry he'll spit blood," Ji Le said, following Hu Gao, clearly very pleased, and laughed loudly.

The two walked together to the library. After Hu Gao's gold card was upgraded, he discovered he could have a private room for martial artists to comprehend their techniques, so he brought Ji Le along.

When he took out the demon cores, Ji Le didn't recognize them. He looked at the black objects, thinking Hu Gao was trying to trick him, and refused to eat them.

Hu Gao was speechless. He picked up a demon core and brought it close to Ji Le, letting him feel the elemental energy inside. Only then did Ji Le believe that these black balls were rare and excellent for breaking through.

"Absorb them one by one. I'll guard you!"

"Alright!" Ji Le's eyes sparkled. He had been stuck at the peak of the Shadow Formation Realm for a long time, and this opportunity to break through was too good to pass up.

"Don't rush. Slowly convert the elemental energy inside to your own. After you finish converting one, absorb the next. Don't worry about wasting them; I have plenty."

"Alright, I'll talk to you after I break through!" Ji Le couldn't wait to sit down and start absorbing the elemental energy from the demon cores.

Ji Le's situation was very different from Hu Gao's. His foundation in the early and middle stages of the Shadow Formation Realm was solid, and his totem was almost fully formed. The reason he couldn't break through was due to the bottleneck in elemental energy. With the abundant elemental energy from the demon cores, his qi sea immediately became active, like a withered tree coming back to life.

With the external energy nourishment, his internal meridians became smoother. After absorbing just a few demon cores, Ji Le let out a loud roar, finally breaking through the middle stage of the Shadow Formation Realm, which had held him back for months.

"I never thought there could be such a wonderful thing in the world. If I had met Brother Hu Gao earlier, I might not even want to practice anymore, just to study this all day," Ji Le said, in a great mood, joking around.

Hu Gao didn't expect Ji Le to break through so quickly, but since he had already given the demon cores to him, he couldn't take them back. "The higher the realm for practicing elemental techniques, the better. Keep absorbing."

Ji Le didn't pretend. Most of the secret techniques of their Northern Branch were attack-oriented, and the consumption of elemental energy was enormous. The higher the realm, the better. He didn't hesitate and continued to absorb.

As the saying goes, a long accumulation leads to a sudden burst. Ji Le's long-suppressed potential was fully unleashed under the stimulation of the demon cores. The elemental technique he practiced was the Northern Branch's [Great Universe Technique], which converted elemental energy from the world much faster than Hu Gao's [Returning to the Origin Stream]. Of course, this didn't mean it was better; the [Returning to the Origin Stream] focused more on the circulation speed of elemental energy, and both had their strengths.

With a continuous supply of elemental energy, the advantage of the [Great Universe Technique] became apparent. Ji Le's realm improved uncontrollably, and after absorbing all the demon cores, he directly reached the middle stage of the eighth level of the Shadow Formation Realm.

Because Ji Le's foundation was more solid than Hu Gao's, he didn't need to compress his elemental energy to lower his realm like Hu Gao had to.

"Damn, I have to call you big brother now." Hu Gao was speechless, not expecting Ji Le to jump two levels and surpass him. Of course, he wasn't really jealous of Ji Le's realm; for him, breaking through to the later stage of the Shadow Formation Realm was just a matter of time.

"This is all thanks to the black stuff you gave me. Do you have more? Don't hide it; good things should be used to their fullest..." Ji Le laughed.

"Do you think this is the meat of a golden-haired beast, available in abundance?" Hu Gao rolled his eyes. "Alright, go find a suitable technique to practice. I'll stay here a bit longer."

"Alright, I'll leave first. I don't have the qualifications to participate in the preliminary round of the martial arts competition anyway. You can explain to Instructor Yang for me." Ji Le didn't fuss; he had been waiting for the day to practice elemental techniques, so he left decisively.

Since he didn't have enough gold coins to learn more elemental techniques, Hu Gao could only continue to practice his Nine Swords of Dugu in the VIP room. He didn't return to the tenth hall until it was time for the afternoon class.

"Why are you always late? Is it hard for you not to be late?"

As soon as he walked into the tenth hall, he saw that all the martial artists, except Ji Le, were already there. As the instructor, Yang Le naturally wouldn't miss the chance to scold him.

Hu Gao was a bit helpless. Why did Yang Le always pick on him? The Combat Academy didn't have strict management, so why did he have to keep an eye on him? Being handsome was a mistake too.

"Where's Ji Le? Wasn't he with you just now?" Yang Le scanned the room and suddenly noticed Ji Le was missing, so he asked.

"Report to Instructor Yang, we were practicing in the library just now. Ji Le had a sudden burst of good luck and broke through to the later stage of the Shadow Formation Realm. He's so excited that he went home."

"What? He broke through to the later stage? Well, according to the rules of the Combat Academy, if he reaches the later stage before the martial arts competition registration, he can't participate in the competition. He'll have to wait until after the Inner Hall exam to participate in the next competition. It seems Ji Le won't be able to participate this time, and I was hoping he could represent our tenth hall," Yang Le said, clearly happy for Ji Le but also a bit disappointed that he couldn't participate in the competition at the last moment.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, follow me to the examination site. We don't want to be the only ones from the tenth hall who are absent," Yang Le said calmly and walked out of the classroom first.

The group followed Yang Le out of the classroom and headed to the examination site.

The martial arts competition is a traditional sparring competition in the Combat Academy. The rules are somewhat complex but can be divided into three stages. The first stage is the preliminary round, where each sub-hall of the ordinary hall, Inner Hall, and Elite Hall selects three martial artists to participate in the second stage. For example, in the ordinary hall, the examination mainly focuses on the martial artist's strength, speed, and totem abilities.

The second stage is a team battle within each sub-hall, ranking the sub-halls. For example, the tenth hall of the ordinary hall was the last place in the previous martial arts competition, hence the name "tenth hall."

The third stage is the most intense, called the bubble match. The first-place team from the ordinary hall challenges the first-place team from the Inner Hall, and the winner gets the chance to challenge the first-place team from the Elite Hall.

The martial arts competition is the best stage for martial artists to showcase their achievements over the year. Those who rise from the lowest level in the bubble match are often remarkable, with boundless potential. The former Grand Elder of the Judgment Hall did just that.

When he registered for the preliminary round, he was only a middle-stage Shadow Formation Realm martial artist. By the time he participated in the third stage, he had already broken through to the Body Passage Realm, leading his team to ultimate victory. After the competition, he even broke through to the Explosive Essence Realm, with incredible strength.

The preliminary examination site for the ordinary hall was very large, about the size of a football field, capable of accommodating ten ordinary hall martial artists for simultaneous examinations.

Yang Le led the group from the tenth hall straight to the tenth examination site, their exclusive examination area. Today, they would select the three martial artists to represent the tenth hall in the second stage of the competition!