Chapter 28: Family Trial Quota (Part 1)

Therefore, Xiao Bei made a judgment: this cultivation technique was excellent for a short-term boost in strength during critical moments, at least far better than the "Blood Sacrifice Technique."

Furthermore, after deducing, Xiao Bei found that even Imperial Rank martial artists could benefit from this technique, enhancing their power.

However, the effect of this technique on Imperial Rank martial artists was lower than that on martial artists below the Innate Realm. Xiao Bei deduced that using this "Expansion" technique could only slightly increase the power one could exert, making the martial qi released slightly stronger than usual.

But Xiao Bei already knew that this was quite remarkable.

Was it so easy to enhance the strength of an Imperial Rank martial artist?

At its core, the fact that this "Expansion" technique could boost one's strength was truly heaven-defying.

Therefore, Xiao Bei's deduction became even more challenging. After all, Xiao Bei had not confirmed this "Expansion" technique through more interaction with Xiao Li; he only understood some of it from a brief touch. Although he was a genius from Earth, he couldn't know everything from a short encounter. He could only grasp the general idea. Moreover, Xiao Bei had to find the most friendly method to ensure that using the "Expansion" technique would not cause his body to swell or his skin to harden...

The next day, the sky was already bright.

Outside Xiao Bei's door, Jiang Yuan, Zhang Lan, and others, after a brief sleep the previous night, arrived early to wait for Xiao Bei to come out.

After all, today was a special day. The Xiao family's trial was today!

Not to mention that a family trial determined one's status within the family, but this time... Xiao Bei's performance was directly related to his marriage to Jiang Yuan!

According to the agreement Jiang Yuan heard from Xiao Bei, Xiao Bei had once made a deal with Xiao Feng: only if Xiao Bei won first place in the family trial would he have the right to marry her!

If she did not win first place in the trial, she would be forced to marry Xiao Yun by the joint efforts of the Xiao and Jiang families.

Although Jiang Yuan was determined to be with Xiao Bei, even if everyone tried to stop them, at worst, she would elope with Xiao Bei. However, Jiang Yuan knew that, given Xiao Bei's current situation, his prospects within the Xiao family were great!

In this continent, the strong were respected, but family was equally important. Without an organization, relying solely on oneself, it was not impossible to develop, but it was very difficult unless one was already a formidable powerhouse or did not value cultivation as much. Otherwise, wasting the resources of a family organization was too precious.

Especially now, Xiao Bei was the top genius in the Xiao family, and even looking at the entire Wu Kingdom or Luzhou, Xiao Bei was one of the most promising young talents... at seventeen, a Ninth Rank Posterior Heaven martial artist, and the time it took to advance from First Rank to Ninth Rank was less than a year!

This concept... So, Jiang Yuan did not want to hinder Xiao Bei because of herself!

"Brother Xiao Bei, I believe in you. You will definitely make it to the family trial. If you don't... I, Jiang Yuan, would rather die than marry Xiao Yun! Besides, I believe that with your current strength, even if you don't win the family trial, Xiao Feng won't force me to marry Xiao Yun."

After muttering these words, Jiang Yuan's expression turned serious. She glanced at Xiao Bei's door one more time and then left.

Behind her, Zhang Lan and others looked anxious and uneasy.

Even Zhang Lan, watching Jiang Yuan's retreating back, felt an impulse to burst through the door and shout, but she knew that Xiao Bei was deeply immersed in cultivation and could not be disturbed, or he might suffer a mental breakdown.

"Xiao Bei, he will definitely come."

Zhang Lan turned and shouted in the direction of Jiang Yuan.

"Um, I believe in Brother Xiao Bei. I'll wait for him there."

Jiang Yuan turned and smiled at Zhang Lan and the others, her smile as radiant as a hundred flowers blooming.

...

In essence, the family trial was an opportunity for a large family to give their disciples a bloody baptism.

Flowers in a greenhouse, no matter how beautiful, are fragile and easily broken if they have not been exposed to wind and rain. Only by enduring the storms and solitude can they have eternal fragrance.

The family trial was derived from this concept.

To let the family's disciples thoroughly undergo a bloody baptism and become true powerhouses!

Each time, the Xiao family's family trial had age restrictions. Generally, only Xiao family disciples under the age of twenty-five, who had the qualifications to enter the Martial Arts Hall and were at least Third Rank Posterior Heaven martial artists, were eligible for the trial.

However, when Jiang Yuan arrived at the Martial Arts Hall, she found that this time, several Xiao family disciples who were twenty-eight years old and somewhat famous also appeared on the trial field!

Faced with this, Jiang Yuan was somewhat puzzled and had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, when Jiang Yuan entered the Martial Arts Hall and stood with a few Jiang family women, she noticed that among the neatly lined-up Xiao family disciples, there were even several who were thirty years old, with their strength generally at the Eighth Rank Posterior Heaven martial artist level.

"Jiang Fang, why is there no age limit for this family trial? Why are these thirty-year-olds still eligible to participate? Didn't only those under twenty-five from the Martial Arts Hall have the right to participate in the family trial before?"

Jiang Fang, a Jiang family side branch member with freckles on her face, was nineteen years old. She had worked hard to improve her family's status and was now a Fifth Rank Posterior Heaven martial artist. Among the Jiang family disciples, she was the only one who could talk to Jiang Yuan, a shy and sometimes strong-willed girl.

Hearing Jiang Yuan's question, Jiang Fang looked at the commander of this Xiao family trial, Xiao Yun's father, Xiao Qi, who was standing on the highest sparring platform in the Martial Arts Hall. She whispered to Jiang Yuan, "I heard that the most famous academy in the neighboring state of Bianzhou, Hengxiang Academy, is widely recruiting disciples. Our Xiao family seems to have two quotas, and the Zhou family of the imperial dynasty also has two. As for the Jiang family..."

Jiang Fang said this without a hint of jealousy, only admiration as she looked at Jiang Yuan, "As one of the top three families in the entire Wu Kingdom, although our Jiang family has declined, we still have one recommendation quota. I heard that this quota is for you, Jiang Yuan."