Chapter 274 - 138: Luo Feng’s Shock, Zhang Su Actually Has Upper Third-Grade Gang Power?

But the people of the Guiyuan Sect didn’t know exactly what made it so strong.

Now, he knew.

Pure Yang Gang Power was a Third-Grade Gang Force, placing it in the Upper Third-Grade category.

This meant he was guaranteed to cultivate Inner Strength, and a powerful one at that.

He kept reading and came across the Five Elements Gang Force.

For example, the Five Elements Gang Force cultivated through Five Elements Unite was a Second-Grade Gang Force, also considered an Upper Third-Grade Gang Power.

’The Five Elements Gang Force is actually a Second-Grade Gang Force? It’s even stronger than Pure Yang Gang Power... No wonder Shi Buyi is the number one Celestial Pride of the Three Sects! He could even become an Official Disciple of the Upper Sect.’

Zhang Su understood.

With the Five Elements Inner Power he cultivated from a Second-Grade Gang Force, it was more than enough for Shi Buyi to become an Official Disciple of the Upper Sect.

A Second-Grade Gang Force was considered mid-to-high tier even within the Upper Third-Grade category.

Even among the Official Disciples of the Upper Sect, that was quite respectable.

Yu Hualong must have cultivated a Gang Force that wasn’t in the Upper Third-Grade—perhaps it was fourth or fifth-grade.

The Upper Sect naturally looked down upon Inner Strength cultivated from a Middle Third-Grade Gangjin, which was why they hadn’t accepted him as an Official Disciple.

It wasn’t that Yu Hualong wasn’t strong enough, but that the Upper Sect’s standards were simply too high.

In the eyes of the Upper Sect, Inner Strength cultivated from a Middle Third-Grade Gangjin wasn’t worth nurturing.

"Hm?"

’Above First-Grade Gang Force, there’s a legendary Perfect Gang Force?’

Zhang Su kept flipping through the book.

He saw the contents of the detailed explanation on Gang Force.

The description of Perfect Gang Force was brief, just a few lines.

"Perfect Gang Force: one in ten thousand, a rarity seen once a century. The Gang Force achieves Perfection, a Unity of Inner and Outer, flawlessly formed and unassailable. The Inner Strength born from this Gang Force is of the highest quality, its potential infinite..."

Just a few sentences, and that was it.

Zhang Su flipped through the book several times but couldn’t find any more information.

’I’ll set aside Perfect Gang Force for now. My current Pure Yang Gang Power is a Third-Grade Gang Force, which obviously isn’t good enough. So, how can I improve its quality and turn my Pure Yang Gang Power into a Second-Grade or even a First-Grade Gang Force?’

Zhang Su carefully searched the detailed explanation on Gang Force.

He flipped toward the back and finally found a small, relevant section.

It mentioned something called the "Melt Gang Technique."

It wasn’t a matter of the more Gang Forces you cultivated, the better.

That wasn’t the case at all.

More Gang Forces only made things more complex, and they could even conflict with one another.

One had to cultivate complementary Gang Forces that could be fused together.

Only then could the quality of the Gang Force be improved.

Using the Melt Gang Technique to improve the quality of one’s Gang Force was very difficult.

It required the cultivation of multiple Gang Force-type Martial Arts, and these techniques had to be complementary, not conflicting.

The more techniques one cultivated, the greater the difficulty of fusion.

A single misstep could cause the Gang Force to spiral out of control. Minor cases resulted in one’s Martial Arts being crippled; severe cases led to cultivation deviation.

Normally, the Martial Art one cultivated determined the quality of the Gang Force they condensed, and that became the foundation for their Inner Strength.

Very few people were able to improve their Gang Force’s quality through the Melt Gang Technique.

For one, it was too difficult; for another, it was too dangerous.

Thus, most Martial Artists simply accepted whatever Gang Force they had and resigned themselves to their fate.

Zhang Su’s Pure Yang Gang Power was, in fact, already in the Upper Third-Grade.

In the eyes of others, it was probably already outstanding enough.

But Zhang Su was someone aiming to become a Direct Disciple.

A Third-Grade Gang Force was only barely enough to become an Official Disciple.

Shi Buyi, with his Second-Grade Gang Force, was also an Official Disciple.

Therefore, if Zhang Su wanted to become a Direct Disciple, he would need a First-Grade Gang Force at the very least.

’Or even... Perfect Gang Force?’

Zhang Su shook his head.

Perfect Gang Force was too illusory and out of reach; even the detailed explanation on Gang Force only had a few scant lines about it.

Even the description was vague, which just showed how rare this kind of Gang Force was.

Rather than thinking about such unrealistic goals, it was better to be down-to-earth and find a way to raise his Third-Grade Gang Force to Second-Grade, or even First-Grade.

Zhang Su searched the Martial Arts Hall again, mainly looking for the "Melt Gang Technique."

He went through all the bookshelves in the Martial Arts Hall, looking through them one by one.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t find it.

Which Martial Arts could improve the quality of one’s Gang Force?

Or which methods could be used to do so? Such information would hardly be left out on a bookshelf for anyone to find.

In any Sect, such information was a closely guarded secret.

Zhang Su stayed in the Martial Arts Hall for a long time before finally leaving, resigned.

He walked back to Courtyard Number Eight along the bluestone path, his mind preoccupied with the Melt Gang Technique.

By the time he returned to the courtyard, the sky had already darkened.

Zhang Su thought for a moment, then headed straight for Luo Feng’s room.

Luo Feng’s door was closed, a dim yellow light seeping from the crack beneath it.

Zhang Su knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Luo Feng’s voice came from inside.

Zhang Su pushed the door open and went inside.

Luo Feng’s room was a little larger than Zhang Su’s, but not by much.

"Senior Brother Luo, I wanted to ask about how to improve the quality of my Gang Force. I couldn’t find any information about it in the Martial Arts Hall..."

Zhang Su asked bluntly.

"Improve the quality of your Gang Force?"

Luo Feng was a little surprised.

His gaze lingered on Zhang Su’s face for a moment.

He hadn’t expected Zhang Su to be thinking about improving his Gang Force’s quality so soon.

Then again, on second thought, it was perfectly normal.

What ambitious disciple didn’t want to elevate their Gang Force to an Upper Third-Grade Gang Power?

In his years at Mixed Element Peak, he had seen too many newcomers just like this.

Every single one of them wanted to improve the quality of their Gang Force.

After all, cultivating Inner Strength with an Upper Third-Grade Gang Power gave one a great chance of becoming an Official Disciple.

The temptation was immense.

So great that no Named Disciple could resist it.

Unfortunately, in the end, almost all of those Named Disciples failed.

"Junior Brother Zhang, for people like us with Middle Third-Grade Gangjin, it’s incredibly difficult to improve our Gang Force’s quality. Many people have tried for years with no success. By the way, what Gang Force did you cultivate?"

Luo Feng asked casually.

After all, most of the Named Disciples who came to Mixed Element Peak possessed Middle Third-Grade Gangjin.

Those with a Lower Three-Grade of Gangjin didn’t even qualify to become Named Disciples.

And those with an Upper Third-Grade Gang Power usually wouldn’t come to be Named Disciples either.

So, Luo Feng assumed Zhang Su was just like him, possessing a Middle Third-Grade Gangjin.

"Pure Yang Gang Power, the Gang Force cultivated from the Pure Yang Nine Combinations Divine Skill,"

Zhang Su replied.

"..."

Luo Feng’s expression froze.

His eyes went wide and he froze, staring blankly at Zhang Su.

"What did you say? Pure Yang Gang Power... that’s an Upper Third-Grade Gang Power..."

Luo Feng seemed unable to believe it.

"Yes, a Third-Grade Gang Force. That’s why I came to ask for your guidance on how to raise it to a Second-Grade or even a First-Grade Gang Force."

Zhang Su asked calmly.

Luo Feng stared at Zhang Su.

He could tell that Zhang Su wasn’t joking.

In other words, Zhang Su had actually managed to cultivate Pure Yang Gang Power.

But shouldn’t a genius who had cultivated Pure Yang Gang Power just wait until he reached the Postnatal Realm and then join the Upper Sect’s selection to become an Official Disciple directly?

Why would he come to Mixed Element Peak to become a Named Disciple?

After all, everyone knew how difficult the situation was for the Upper Sect’s Named Disciples.

Zhang Su was choosing to suffer needlessly...

However, Zhang Su didn’t explain his reasons.

By now, he was also starting to realize that his Upper Third-Grade Gang Force was actually quite extraordinary among the Named Disciples.

Most Named Disciples possessed Middle Third-Grade Gangjin.

It was just that he didn’t have another three years to wait.

Or rather, the Guiyuan Sect didn’t have another three years to wait.

The sooner he became a Direct Disciple, the more hope the Guiyuan Sect would have.

"Junior Brother Zhang, if you want to improve your Gang Force’s quality, you can go ask an Instructor at the Martial Arts Hall. Matters of cultivation should be handled with caution. As long as you’re willing to part with some silver, the Instructors are almost always willing to answer."

Luo Feng said.

"Thank you for the information, Senior Brother Luo."

It dawned on Zhang Su.

He immediately turned to leave, needing to make another trip to the Martial Arts Hall.

Watching Zhang Su’s retreating figure, Luo Feng still found the whole situation somewhat incredible.

’An Upper Third-Grade Gang Power, yet he came to Mixed Element Peak to be a Named Disciple. It seems there’s more to this Zhang Su than meets the eye...’

Luo Feng murmured to himself.

He had helped Zhang Su a few times, and they were on good terms.

If Zhang Su really turned out to be some exceptionally talented genius, it would be a great thing for him.

What if Zhang Su really did soar to great heights in the future?

Then he would have really hit the jackpot...