Peng Hanqing's eyes sharpened, suddenly turning his face to look at Ma Ran, only to discover that the other had already averted his gaze, staring at his nose, and his nose at his heart, as if it all had nothing to do with him.

"Was it an illusion?"

Peng Hanqing shook his head, refocusing his attention on Zhu Hanyi.

The Sword Dao that Zhu Hanyi displayed wasn't flashy, with no special routines, just two words — Fast! Fierce!

Fast, in terms of his sword speed, which makes it difficult for dynamic vision to keep up, let alone the body to react.

Fierce, derived from the terrifying sharpness of the sword itself.

No one doubts the sword's lethality.

To be fair, Peng Hanqing thought that the current Zhu Hanyi could easily kill ten of himself.

Too far apart!

Peng Hanqing glanced at the handgun hanging on his waist twenty-four seven and shook his head.

He even suspected that Zhu Hanyi could use the sword in his hand to deflect bullets.

Ma Ran, who had been watching on the side with amusement, understood Peng Hanqing's thoughts at a glance.

In theory, Zhu Hanyi could indeed slice a bullet with his sword.

But...

Theory is theory, practice is practice.

If Zhu Hanyi were to use the Rain Boiling Sword to fight desperately against someone with a gun, even a slight nervous mistake or a half-second delay could get him shot in the head.

Before his rebirth, Ma Ran had seen many people who, after obtaining the Black Rock Martial Arts heritage, secluded themselves at home, practicing madly with the intention of advancing to the Sixth, Seventh, or Eighth Rank of Inner Qi.

After finishing their seclusion, these people thought they had become somebody, and their egos inflated uncontrollably, but what was the result?

As soon as they encountered a battle, they coward in fear, compounded with their lack of experience, and ended up getting shot to death...

There are too many such examples to count.

The division of realms in Black Rock Martial Arts is clear, enhancing cultivators' skills from aspects like strength, endurance, and agility, which is excellent.

Likewise, the division of Inner Qi Ranks can also lead to some misunderstandings, with people thinking those with higher tiers are surely stronger.

Actually, that's not the case.

In actual combat, many factors need to be considered — the height, weight, combat experience, weaponry, kill intent of both parties, …

How could modern firearms be utterly useless after all these years of advancement and replacement?

Even a "Martial Arts Master" of the Ninth Rank, if shot from afar, would be at risk of instant death.

Thinking of this, Ma Ran's gaze fell onto Zhu Hanyi.

The way Zhu Hanyi looked at the Rain Boiling Sword was like a gaming otaku looks at his PC, or an anime fan looks at his prized figurines...

It was true love.

Ma Ran knew that having him cultivate Seven Vortex Swordsmanship was truly the right path.

Hobbies and interests are the best teachers.

There's one thing, which besides Ma Ran, perhaps no one would ever know — even if Zhu Hanyi touched the Victory Stone, he would only awaken an underdeveloped superpower [Thousand Cups Unintoxicated].

"Hey! Hey! It's your turn!"

Su Qiangwei gave Ma Ran an elbow strike, encouraging him sneakily, "What a great opportunity!"

While Ma Ran spaced out for a moment, she was already done testing.

Her acupoints were filled up to six, almost reaching seven, equivalent to the Second Rank of Inner Qi.

Considering her short cultivation time, this result drew praises and exclamations from many people.

Su Qiangwei is very strong, not only in [Myriad Transformations], but it seems she lacks no shortcomings, even showing good talent in cultivating Black Rock Martial Arts.

Upon hearing this, Ma Ran walked up to the Inner Qi Detector expressionlessly.

All eyes at the scene focused on him, yet it did not affect his movements.

Ma Ran lay on the Inner Qi Detector as instructed, and shortly, a line of text suddenly appeared on the dark screen.

"Grass Hut Academy member, Ma Ran, number of acupoints opened in the body is 512, current Black Rock Martial Arts level is: Ninth Rank of Inner Qi."

Suddenly, the room fell silent, a pin drop could be heard.

Silence.

The silence was deafening.

Only the rapid breathing and heartbeat of the crowd were audible.

The one breaking the silence was Song Chu, who had been arguing with a student from Baiyue Academy all this time, "I told you so!"

"Brother Ran's strength can withstand any test!"

The few boys who had doubted Ma Ran lowered their heads further, their faces flushed red.

"Sigh... I admit my mistake!"

"I overestimated myself, thinking that what I couldn't achieve, others couldn't either... So..."

A boy scratched his head, walked up to Ma Ran, and sincerely said, "I'm really sorry."

Ma Ran leaned back in the Inner Qi Detector, speaking calmly, "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

Admitting one's mistake requires courage.

Those few boys who were earlier scolded by Su Qiangwei now all pretended to be dead with bowed heads, but only this boy admitted his mistake publicly.

Did he lose face?

No!

Ma Ran only felt this boy was a talent worth nurturing.

It's not about "knowing one's mistake and correcting it."

Do those other guys burying their heads in the sand think they can save face by not confronting it?

Obviously not!

Everyone present knew this, including those pretending to be dead, but...

Humans are not rational beings; most of the time, they are driven by emotions.

The more nervous they are, the easier it becomes.

"512 acupoints, impressive..."

He Nanguang, also a member of Fulan Academy, said with emotion, giving Ma Ran a thumbs up.

The [Unity] ability user Liu Huadie just smiled, as if the result was already known to her.

After Ma Ran finished the test, he did not get up.

Su Qiangwei frowned, realizing things were not simple.

Ma Ran raised his hand, "I roughly understood how this machine works."

"I'm recently researching the path above Black Rock Martial Arts Ninth Rank."

"So..."

While speaking, Ma Ran clenched his fist, Inner Qi surging, enveloping him in a colorless aura.

The extremely realistic Youwen Text Illusion let everyone "see" — the text on the screen changed!

"Grass Hut Academy member, Ma Ran, number of acupoints opened in the body is 520, current Black Rock Martial Arts level is: ???"

"Data disorder, this test will not be recorded, rebooting..."

"Reboot failed!"

Bleep!

The screen went black.

This is the [Lin Qiubai's Sword Spirit] medal, with one of its functions "paralyzing electronic devices" taking full effect.

Facts prove that this ability's scope of application is very wide, not at all inferior to the similar ability of Nightmare Mother 98725, in terms of stealth and efficiency, it's even somewhat better.

"520!"

Everyone present almost stopped breathing.

What kind of ridiculous number is this?

With 512 filled acupoints, it means reaching the level of Ninth Rank of Inner Qi.

This also indicates that Ma Ran has cultivated Black Rock Martial Arts to its pinnacle, reaching utmost perfection!

The problem is…

What's the meaning of those additional eight acupoints?

After eliminating all impossible factors, the remaining answer, however absurd, must point to the truth!

The answer is…

Ma Ran wasn't kidding!

He is truly continuing to innovate beyond the Ninth Rank of Black Rock Martial Arts and has already achieved some results!

The geniuses present now had blank minds, wanting to say something, yet were tongue-tied, finding it difficult to articulate fitting words to express their current feelings.

Ninth Rank of Inner Qi?

Fine!

You are strong!

But someday, I can catch up!

Huh?

You've already shattered the shackles of the Ninth Rank, researching the Tenth Rank of Inner Qi, and even starting to explore higher levels of Black Rock Martial Arts?

Oh well...

Then never mind, you carry on.

The geniuses appeared dispirited, dejected, their eyes dimmed, questioning life's meaning.

The feeling of pride being shattered and thrown into the mud...

Is hard to share with others.

"Hehehe..."

The gleefully gloating Su Qiangwei tossed snacks into her mouth more frequently than before.

These people are truly pitiful, sigh~ these chips are delicious!

Meanwhile, the [Play] ability started feeding back.

In an instant, the number of acupoints inside Ma Ran's body increased by another eight!

Among this total of 512 acupoints, Inner Qi overflowed, and Essence, Qi, Spirit were fully replenished!

Getting stronger was achieved, but there was still a gap from reaching the Tenth Rank of Inner Qi.

This little gain was merely an insignificant appetizer.

Ma Ran took off his helmet, slowly stood up, and came to Wan Haihao's side.

He raised his hand, pointing to the air above Peng Hanqing's head, and said solemnly, "Sword Master..."

"Does this monster have the right to make you draw your sword?"

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