Chapter 134: Chapter 134: The 3rd Channel

"A third channel?"

"Since when was this a thing? How come I’ve never heard of it?"

The Speaker of the Jinge Society standing nearby—a man with an aura as sharp as a blade—also looked at Li Su with a hint of doubt. "Li Su, are you referring to...?"

Li Su nodded. His gaze swept over the numerous faces in the crowd as he slowly explained, "In truth, the method of participating in this ranking tournament wasn’t originally like it is today, decided entirely by our internal Society points auction."

He paused slightly, as if organizing his thoughts and recalling the past. "In the very beginning, the academy did indeed host an academy-wide grand competition. All High Martial Realm students—nearly three hundred of them—would undergo a month-long series of elimination matches. Ultimately, the top ten would be selected to represent the academy."

"Then why did it change to how it is now, where our Societies directly distribute the quotas?" someone in the crowd couldn’t help but ask.

This time, it was the Speaker of the Jinge Society who answered. He scoffed, "Because of the results, and also because... it was a pointless hassle."

"Every time, we’d spend so much time and effort picking people out, only to drag them to Jing’an City for the Ten Academies Grand Competition where they’d perform mediocrely at best," he continued. "They weren’t particularly strong, though not exactly at the bottom either. Everyone basically just scraped by with the bare minimum and came back. The academy felt it was a waste of energy too."

Li Su took over, adding the key reason. "Furthermore, a month of high-intensity matches doesn’t necessarily filter out the strongest in actual combat. It might just select those whose Cultivation Techniques grant exceptional recovery, or those lucky enough to never encounter a bad matchup.

"Someone might suffer a serious injury and, even with the help of an Elixir, need two or three days to recover. Meanwhile, another person might be fresh and ready to fight by the next day.

"With that kind of tournament format, the ones chosen aren’t always the top elites best suited for fighting in the outside world and fighting for the academy’s honor."

"Therefore," Li Su concluded, "the academy later changed the rules. First, they let our major Societies make internal recommendations, and then they would hold a second selection.

"Later on, they even skipped the second selection and simply let us negotiate and decide who gets the quotas.

"For one, it saves trouble. For another, it implicitly acknowledges that our Societies have a better understanding of our members’ strengths.

"Anyway, the people we send out are mostly Yellow Rank One Qi Martial Artists, so their Cultivation Realms are practically the same.

"Moreover, using a points auction system can also motivate everyone to work hard for their Societies. It’s basically a system that kills several birds with one stone."

This explanation brought a look of sudden realization to many students in the crowd, especially the freshmen and lower-year students.

This was their first time hearing about this history.

"Oh... so that’s how it is."

"I didn’t expect our academy’s performance in the Ten Academies Grand Competition to be so... average. I always thought our academy would at least have one or two top students who could break into the top ten," someone muttered softly, their tone tinged with disappointment.

Hearing these murmurs, Li Su’s expression turned stern, and he raised his voice. "Don’t sell yourselves short! The academy’s resources and teaching staff are absolutely top-tier within the province!

"There are many reasons why a gap exists between us and the top students in Jing’an City.

"A very important point is that Jing’an City is the provincial capital, where powerful and wealthy clans congregate.

"When their scions receive Cultivation Technique inheritances at their academies, they get to enjoy the full, devoted cultivation of dual resources from both their clan and their academy!

"Even if they are also at the Yellow Rank One Qi level, the sparring partners they use to temper their Martial Skills, the medicine they use to aid their cultivation, and even their combat experience can be vastly different from ours.

"This isn’t the academy’s problem, but a disparity in objective conditions."

He stopped the topic there and shifted his gaze back to Fang Chen.

"Alright, enough getting off-track," Li Su said. "Junior Brother Fang, what you brought up is indeed the third channel that exists within the rules. However, its threshold is extremely high."

His eyes turned sharp as he scrutinized Fang Chen. "You say you want to fight your way into the top ten, and that your goal is the Spiritual Qi reward. That’s fine; ambition is the driving force of a Martial Artist.

"But the prerequisite is that you must demonstrate exceptional strength—at the very least, strength that clearly surpasses your peers at the Yellow Rank One Qi level. You must prove that you are worth the Societies breaking precedent for you and taking the risk of returning empty-handed."

At this point, Li Su shook his head, his tone carrying a pragmatic solemnity. "But Junior Brother Fang, you... have only just stepped into the High Martial Realm, and are even at the Unharvested Qi stage. I admit your talent in the Sword Dao is astonishing, and Teacher Liu thinks highly of you.

"But the gap in Cultivation Realms is very real. The ’quantity’ and ’quality’ of True Essence are significantly different before and after Qi Collection.

"Let alone surpassing those of the same rank, in the eyes of many, you probably... wouldn’t even be a match for these seniors who stepped into the Yellow Rank long ago and have experienced countless battles."

He delivered his conclusion, "Under these circumstances, applying for this third channel and promising to break into the top ten... is simply far from persuasive enough."

Fang Chen’s expression remained calm, showing no intention of backing down. "Thank you for the details, Senior Li. Even so, I still want to give it a try. I wonder, if I want to take this third channel, what specific procedures do I need to go through?"

At this moment, the female Speaker of the Cyan Simurgh Society, who hadn’t spoken much until now, suddenly let out a cold scoff.

She looked at Fang Chen with a penetrating gaze.

After all, the next quota was very likely to fall to a member of the Cyan Simurgh Society who had bid 1850 points. Fang Chen’s sudden intrusion directly threatened the interests of her Society.

"Since you keep claiming you’re confident in breaking into the top ten and winning glory for the Societies and the academy, that is naturally a good thing. And it would indeed make you worthy of an exceptional quota," she said, her voice not loud but every word clear. "But just as Li Su said, the prerequisite is proving you possess strength far exceeding those of the same rank. Let me put it this way—"

She glanced around at everyone present before her gaze fell back on Fang Chen, her tone growing heavier. "Those Martial Artists who can rank in the top ten of the Ten Academies Grand Competition might seemingly be at the Yellow Rank One Qi level as well, but their true combat prowess is usually enough to easily take on two ordinary Yellow Rank One Qi Martial Artists and emerge victorious!

"Therefore, the requirement for verifying your strength should also use this as the standard," she stated, pausing after every word for emphasis. "You need to prove that you have the strength to fight one against two, and simultaneously defeat two Yellow Rank One Qi Martial Artists from within our Societies!

"Only if you can accomplish this can you be considered to far exceed those of the same rank, and only then will you have the qualifications to talk about going to Jing’an City to compete with true geniuses.

"Otherwise, you’ll just become a laughingstock if you go. You would be wasting a precious quota for nothing, and there would be absolutely no need to invoke this special rule."

She paused for a moment before adding, "Additionally, I need to remind you. This is not some friendly daily spar; it concerns whether one can seize opportunities and influence their future path on the Dao. In order to prove themselves and defend their positions, neither side will pull their punches. Injuries will be inevitable, and even... life and death will be unpredictable.

"Do you have the mental preparation for this?"

As soon as the words "life and death will be unpredictable" were spoken, the air in the training room seemed to freeze.

Everyone understood what this meant—this wouldn’t be a martial arts match where they stopped before going too far. This was a cruel test that allowed, and perhaps even tacitly approved of, a life-and-death struggle!

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