Chapter 196: Newly Promoted Sixth-Rank!

Lu Yunchen sheathed his official saber, and Yang Ling also put away his Jiaogu Saber.

But the Centenary Refined Vermilion Gold Pickaxe remained tightly clenched in his hand.

This thing gave him a 20-point boost to Strength.

He really couldn't bear to put it away.

Lu Yunchen didn't mind and launched another attack at Yang Ling.

The punches and kicks he used now had no set pattern; they relied purely on his Strength and Agility attributes to unleash tremendous power.

By no longer using the Dragon-Capturing Saber Technique, his Strength and Agility had dropped by 15 points each.

Although this decrease wasn't significant, to Yang Ling, the threat Lu Yunchen posed had plummeted straight down.

He no longer had to worry about something like having an arm chopped off by a single saber strike.

Yang Ling stopped dodging and began to clash head-on with Lu Yunchen using the Twelve Paths Vajra Legs.

With his Agility enhancement, his leg technique appeared exceptionally fierce.

At the same time, his Strength was once again boosted by 18 points.

Although he had lost the 9-point Strength boost from Tiger-Capturing Saber Technique, his Strength attribute had still gone from 166 to 175!

His surging Vital Qi flooded his entire body.

He also activated Vajra Indestructible Body on the side.

In an instant, the two exchanged over ten more moves.

Every single move was a direct collision!

Yang Ling felt pretty good about this. Although his Twelve Paths Vajra Legs still didn't seem to pose much of a threat to Lu Yunchen.

Similarly, Lu Yunchen's punches and kicks weren't much of a threat to Yang Ling in his current state either.

After over ten exchanges, his Vital Qi had only dropped by about two hundred points.

His HP hadn't decreased at all, all because Vajra Indestructible Body had held strong!

"Good thing my Vital Qi is abundant enough; otherwise, I simply couldn't sustain such intense consumption."

As Yang Ling thought this, he looked for an opportunity to land a kick on Lu Yunchen.

Unfortunately, his Strength and Agility were both inferior to the other's.

Every kick was blocked by Lu Yunchen.

Occasionally, he would take a punch from Lu Yunchen.

Whenever this happened, Yang Ling would be sent flying several zhang away, his internal organs churning violently.

But the actual damage wasn't significant.

At most, his Vital Qi would suddenly drop by a chunk.

"With my current cultivation base, Vital Qi, and Vajra Indestructible Body, it seems I don't have to be too afraid of Lower Sixth-Rank experts in terms of bare-handed combat anymore."

"Today, he wouldn't let me leave the bounds of the martial arena. But if I were facing a Lower Sixth-Rank from the Heavenly Wolf Guard, I could definitely run and buy some time."

Thinking this, Yang Ling once again took the initiative to clash head-on with Lu Yunchen.

The figures of the two men constantly shifted and moved within the martial arena.

During this time, Yang Ling was also observing Lu Yunchen's condition.

Although the other's Vital Qi was being consumed heavily, it was still far from being exhausted.

This indicated that if Lu Yunchen's Vital Qi were quantified, it was likely well over 1,500 points.

"He's a Lower Sixth-Rank expert, and he's been training for so many more years than me. During that time, he's probably consumed quite a few precious medicines that boost Vital Qi."

"Besides, the Ironclad Divine Armor Sutra should count as an external technique; it might also boost Vital Qi."

"It's only natural that he's a little stronger than me."

Unknowingly, the two had exchanged over a hundred moves.

But Lu Yunchen was getting more and more irritated as they fought, having completely forgotten his original intention. He showed no sign of stopping.

A flicker of anxiety flashed in Yun Ruo's eyes, and she nearly couldn't help but call out to remind him.

"Ahem."

The Fourth Prince gave a light cough. "Director Lu, it seems we've passed a hundred moves."

"That quickly?"

Lu Yunchen looked reluctant, but he still withdrew and said to Yang Ling:

"Still have Vital Qi left?"

"Yes."

Yang Ling raised his hand, which was still covered in a layer of Vital Qi.

A full 1,500 points of Vital Qi, after dealing with Lu Yunchen and the consumption from Vajra Indestructible Body, was now only a little over 200 points left.

"Still has Vital Qi, lasted a hundred moves in my hands without leaving the boundary of the martial arena."

Lu Yunchen gave a slight nod.

"Not bad. According to the standards of the Sixth-Rank assessment, you have passed perfectly. Congratulations, Chief Constable Yang. From today onward, you are a newly promoted Sixth-Rank."

The scene was silent for a moment, followed by a burst of enthusiastic applause.

Qin Mo clapped the hardest, his palms turning red.

The Fourth Prince and Zhao Xun were also clapping gently, their expressions very satisfied.

Yun Ruo breathed a sigh of relief, a rare smile appearing on her face as she clapped softly.

"Our Yunwen Provincial Capital hasn't had a newly promoted Sixth-Rank in at least three years."

A Director couldn't help but sigh emotionally.

Yang Ling's ears perked up.

Sixth-Rank is this hard to achieve?

This thought flashed by as he recalled the difficulty of the assessment he had just endured.

Yang Ling felt it was quite normal that Sixth-Rank was hard to achieve.

Unless it was someone like Dongfang Haojie, who was already cultivating a Second-Rate Internal Technique Method to begin with.

Then they would need to properly solidify their foundation and reach attributes close to Lu Yunchen's level before they would have a decent chance of passing an assessment of today's standard.

Next, Lu Yunchen immediately ordered someone to bring paper and writing materials, preparing to write out the information for Yang Ling's registration at Ranked Level.

After writing it, he handed it to Zhao Xun, who would take it back to the Capital and deliver it to the Ironclad Department in the Capital.

"Chief Constable Yang, the weight of your newly promoted Sixth-Rank is much higher than that of newly promoted Sixth-Ranks from other provincial capitals, or even from Princely Capitals."

Zhao Xun carefully put away the documents and gave Yang Ling a smile.

Everyone's expression shifted.

Zhao Xun glanced at Lu Yunchen and said with a half-smile:

"Director Lu wasn't bragging earlier either. Among the Lower Sixth-Rank in Zhao State, there are at most twenty who can defeat him."

"And those individuals basically never show up to assess newly promoted Sixth-Ranks."

Everyone understood the logic behind this and felt even more emotional inside.

Yang Ling's mind stirred as he suddenly thought of something.

Lu Yunchen had cultivated two Second-Rate Internal Techniques.

That didn't mean other Lower Sixth-Rank experts had such a foundation.

Internal Techniques were incredibly valuable, and the Major Sects wouldn't casually pass them on.

"So, some Lower Sixth-Rank experts might have one Second-Rate Internal Technique paired with one Third-Rate Internal Technique."

"Even if they can use Vital Qi to simultaneously circulate both Internal Technique Methods, their attributes would still be a notch lower than Lu Yunchen's."

Yang Ling confirmed right then that Lu Yunchen could be placed in the first tier among Lower Sixth-Rank experts.

The Internal Technique Method played a key role in that.

He felt a bit of anticipation for the Ironclad Divine Armor Sutra.

If he could also simultaneously circulate both Vajra Bright King Technique and the Ironclad Divine Armor Sutra.

Then his strength would also receive a significant boost.

When facing Lu Yunchen again in the future, he wouldn't just be a punching bag!

"But the gap between Sixth-Rank levels seems much larger than I imagined."

"It seems the deeper your martial arts cultivation, the larger the gap between ranks becomes."

"Someone like Zhao Xun and Xu Wuji, who are Fifth-Rank experts, could probably defeat Director Lu with just a flick of their finger..."

Just then, Zhao Xun took two martial arts secret manuals from his bosom.

"Chief Constable Yang, on behalf of the Ironclad Department, I bestow upon you the Second-Rate Internal Technique, the Ironclad Divine Armor Sutra, and the Second-Rate Saber Technique, the Dragon-Capturing Saber Technique."

Zhao Xun stood up, his expression more serious than ever before.

"These two supreme martial arts techniques were created by our Department Head himself! They contain the Department Head's many years of martial arts insight and essence!"

"Now that you have received them, you must lead by example and not violate the law or discipline!"

"Otherwise, our Ironclad Department will pursue you to the very end, until one of us dies!"

At these words, the Ironclad Constables present all showed serious expressions.

Created by the Department Head himself!?

What kind of strength did it take to create Second-Rate Internal Techniques and martial techniques!?

Without a second word, Yang Ling strode forward and reverently took the two supreme martial arts manuals.

"Yang Ling of the Ironclad Department, I humbly accept the Department Head's teachings!"