Chapter 147: Primordial Sea Acupoints, All 108 Found

Chapter 147 -78: Primordial Sea Acupoints, All 108 Found

As the students from the three Daoist Schools gathered, the atmosphere immediately grew tense, filled with the thick, suffocating smell of gunpowder.

This was a stark contrast to the previous atmosphere within the Chen Daoist School.

Although they were also competitors, the students of the Chen Daoist School had spent a month together and had developed a sense of camaraderie.

Therefore, while Jiang Xuan and the others would compete and even resort to underhanded tactics against each other during the assessment—such things were unavoidable.

But such conflicts wouldn’t be the primary focus of their actions.

Within a single Daoist School, most people were focused on passing the assessment and accumulating enough points, not racking their brains to eliminate everyone else.

After all, among fellow disciples, it was best not to burn bridges completely; one had to leave some room for civility.

But when facing opponents from other Daoist Schools, this consideration vanished entirely.

Especially since the Daoist Schools’ lecturers were very supportive of them acting this way.

When all the students from the Yin Daoist School and the Rooster Daoist School had arrived, Lecturer Song Zhou of the Chen Daoist School immediately cast a domain-type Technique, confining his voice to the area where the Chen Daoist School students stood. He spoke in a cold, heavy tone, “Those are your opponents.”

“Earlier, when I discussed our cooperation with the lecturers from the other two Daoist Schools, I might have said, ‘Friendship first, competition second,’ and stated that this assessment was about broadening your horizons and tempering your Heart Nature.”

“But remember this: that was all just pleasantries to deceive outsiders.”

“In the Shenxiao Sect, you must fight, and you must win!”

“The more you win, the faster your Cultivation will advance, and the greater power and status you will obtain.”

“They are all your opponents.”

“I was thinking of pooling the resources of the other two Daoist Schools to make you stronger and give you a better foundation.”

As he spoke, Song Zhou’s gaze grew sharper, and his voice took on a chilling edge:

“I’m not the only one thinking this way. The lecturers from the other two Daoist Schools are surely planning to eliminate all of you and hoard the resources for themselves!”

“So, burn this into your minds: they are your opponents, opponents you must defeat with all your strength!”

“There can be no peace between you!”

WHOOSH—

With that, he dispelled the domain and turned to join the lecturers from the other two Daoist Schools.

At this moment, the coldness on his face had vanished, replaced by a beaming smile.

Moreover, his gaze toward the students of the other two Daoist Schools was filled with admiration:

“That must be the renowned Chen Qianjun, I presume? Truly an impressive young man, with an extraordinary bearing.”

“Haha, Senior Brother Song, you flatter me! It is your disciples who are high-spirited and full of vigor.”

The three of them, now gathered together, exchanged nothing but flattery and pleasantries.

Chatting and laughing, the three walked to the center of the grounds, where a focal point of the Mirage Mirror: Three Thousand Realms stood.

However, unlike the usual Mirage Mirrors in Martial Arts Arenas, this one was named the Road of Purgatory.

Upon reaching the Mirage Mirror, the hot-tempered lecturer from the Yin Daoist School, Chen Chengguang, was about to start the trial assessment immediately.

But just as he raised his hand to activate the Array, the lecturer from the Rooster Daoist School, Zhu Jin, suddenly slapped her forehead apologetically and said softly, “My apologies, everyone. Yesterday, while calibrating the Array, I accidentally set the difficulty incorrectly. It will take a little more time before the Road of Purgatory can officially begin.”

Hearing this, Song Zhou immediately chimed in, “To err is human. Junior Sister Zhu, there’s no need to rush. We can wait.”

The way these two played off each other made Chen Chengguang’s eyes narrow.

He had a strange feeling that something was amiss.

And soon, he discovered it wasn’t just his imagination.

…

Calibrating the Array required time, which gave Jiang Xuan and the others a chance to rest a bit longer.

However, among all the Cultivators present, only Jiang Xuan truly sat cross-legged to the side, eyes slightly closed, completely immersed in sorting through his own Cultivation.

The other Cultivators, even Dong Hao and Su Linyin, were constantly looking around, sizing up their opponents.

The students from the Yin and Rooster Daoist Schools, in particular, were the primary objects of their observation.

And after a thorough look around, both Dong Hao’s and Su Linyin’s hearts sank.

They sensed several opponents with powerful auras.

Of course, if that were all, their expressions wouldn’t have become so grave.

The two of them only wanted to pass; they had no intention of vying for the top ranks. A few exceptionally strong Cultivators wouldn’t affect them at all.

What truly made their spirits plummet was the atmosphere surrounding the students of the Yin Daoist School.

The situation in the Rooster Daoist School was similar to that of the Chen Daoist School; it was also led by a few geniuses, who had formed several larger teams.

And because no single person could dominate everyone, the remaining students had split into a dozen or so smaller teams.

This fragmentation suited the natural disposition of young Cultivators, none of whom would readily submit to another.

But the Yin Daoist School was different. For them to dare propose a joint three-school assessment and offer a Treasure Level item as the top prize, Chen Qianjun’s strength was naturally in a league of its own within their school.

His transcendent strength had allowed him to subdue everyone, causing all the students of the Yin Daoist School to rally around him, completely united.

Between scattered fingers and a clenched fist, it was obvious which team was stronger.

Not to mention, Chen Qianjun’s individual strength might even surpass that of Qin Feng and Xie Hanyan.

With powerful individual combatants and a united team, the Yin Daoist School projected a completely different aura.

If the students of the Chen and Rooster Daoist Schools still carried a trace of the humility characteristic of Cultivators, the Yin Daoist School was blatantly radiating battle intent.

Both Su Linyin and Dong Hao could see that the Cultivators from the Yin Daoist School had truly come to this assessment with the intention of crushing all opponents and monopolizing the resources. They didn’t even try to hide their ruthless, bloodthirsty aura.

What frustrated Dong Hao even more was that, in terms of sheer presence, the other side had completely overwhelmed them.

“…”

Just as Dong Hao’s scalp was tingling with anxiety, something happened that made him sigh in relief.

Seeing the overwhelming strength of their opponents, the Cultivators from the Rooster Daoist School instinctively joined forces with the Chen Daoist School.

The prodigies from the other side, Qiao Yue and Tang Yinzheng, brought their teams over to mingle with Qin Feng, Xie Hanyan, and Fang Xiao.

Without needing many words, the prodigies of the two Daoist Schools reached a tacit understanding to cooperate.

At the same time, they gathered in a circle for an intense discussion.

And all of this was clearly within the expectations of Lecturer Song Zhou and Lecturer Zhu Jin—the so-called calibration error had been a deliberate act by the two of them, solely to give the students of their two Daoist Schools time to conspire.

However, just as the situation seemed to be improving, Dong Hao grew anxious again before long.

He knew that in a secret meeting concerning resources and survival like this, if you didn’t participate, you risked being excluded from the alliance and becoming a sacrificial pawn.

Therefore, he wanted to wake Jiang Xuan and have him lead their team to join the meeting.

However, Jiang Xuan refused.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the importance of vying for influence, but for Jiang Xuan, the acupoints inside his body were far more critical than some say in an alliance.

‘As long as I reach Primordial Sea Perfection and awaken a Divine Power Seed that can strengthen my Flesh Body, I’ll be able to unleash more of the Nether Abyss Dharma Eye’s power. So what if they team up!’

‘Before these eyes of mine, all schemes and plots are futile!’

Holding this belief, Jiang Xuan remained perfectly still, completely absorbed in his own Cultivation.

Of course, he didn’t stop Dong Hao from attending the meeting.

And so, the assessment grounds fell silent for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

During this time, the Chen Daoist School and the Rooster Daoist School finalized their agreement to advance and retreat together, vowing to jointly resist the threat of the Yin Daoist School and eliminate them first.

Naturally, every move made by the Chen and Rooster Daoist Schools was seen by the students of the Yin Daoist School.

A young woman in a yellow dress stepped forward and quietly advised Chen Qianjun, proposing they secretly sabotage the enemy’s alliance.

But Chen Qianjun rejected the proposal.

“There’s no need to do anything.” Glancing indifferently at the Cultivators from the two Daoist Schools, he scoffed, “Whatever they’re plotting, it’s all futile in the face of absolute strength.”

Hearing this, the young woman didn’t directly refute him, but she did offer her own opinion.

“Brother Qianjun, your strength is indeed formidable, but if we can win more easily, why not do so? You know, wisdom is also a crucial part of strength.”

“I suggest that when the assessment begins, we concentrate our forces and focus our attack on just one of the Daoist Schools. Although they’ve formed an alliance, they are not from the same school, and they rarely interact. Their hearts are certainly not united.”

“They might be able to offer some token assistance at a critical moment, but it’s absolutely impossible for them to go all out to support the other.”

“As long as we relentlessly attack one Daoist School, the other will most likely ‘wisely’ choose to watch the tigers fight from a safe mountain, waiting for us to cripple each other. At that point, we can seize the opportunity to defeat them one by one, and our chances of victory will increase dramatically.”

Although it was just an assessment, because it concerned the future of these Cultivators, it had become fraught with treacherous undercurrents.

Between the three Daoist Schools, there were schemes of ‘divide and conquer,’ ‘ally with the weak to resist the strong,’ and ‘forming vertical and horizontal alliances’… One could say that all the political machinations of the mortal world could be found here.

However, all these undercurrents and schemes had nothing to do with Jiang Xuan.

An incense stick’s worth of time later, Dong Hao returned from the secret meeting.

After a morning of dedicated Cultivation and the full operation of his Nether Abyss Dharma Eye, Jiang Xuan had finally managed to draw out all one hundred and eight acupoints related to his Primordial Sea from the endless mist within his body.

And this brought an unconcealable smile to Jiang Xuan’s lips.

‘I have reached Perfection!’