Chapter Twenty-Three: The Eighth Realm of Qi and Blood!

Deep in the night, a single lamp illuminated the windowsill, casting the silhouettes of an old man and a youth.

"You actually understand the relationship between human acupuncture points and cultivation techniques!?"

"You have already opened the Huiyin point?!"

...

Old Man Jiang let out a heavy breath, his eyes filled with helplessness as he closed the manual.

"Yin'er, do you have any idea that this manual of mine is something even the royal families of the eight human nations dream of? Its complexity is such that even those royal descendants might never catch a glimpse of its true essence, yet you..."

Old Man Jiang’s emotions were complex—shock, helplessness, excitement, and confusion all at once.

This was because Lin Yin had mastered the first level of this technique in a mere hour!

The corners of Lin Yin’s mouth curled into a slight smile. "Perhaps it’s destiny?"

Hearing this, Old Man Jiang burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Yes! It is destiny that you should inherit my mantle!"

Seeing Lin Yin grasp the concepts so rapidly, Old Man Jiang chose to step back and leave the manual with him, his eyes shining with brilliance.

"They say that a good student doesn't need constant nagging from their teacher, and it seems that is truly the case!"

"Alright, I won't nag you anymore!"

"I had originally planned to give you this body-tempering manual as a reward after you mastered the first level of the 'Three Thousand Mo Blade Slash,' but it seems I'll have to find another reward now."

Old Man Jiang left while laughing.

On the sofa, Jiang Zixun leaned under the warm night light, clutching a blade technique manual and smiling as she watched the two.

"Little brother, good luck!" Jiang Zixun raised her fist in encouragement.

Lin Yin smiled. He stood up, bowed, and returned to his home next door.

In the days that followed, Lin Yin entered a state of semi-seclusion. Aside from Jiang Zixun, who stopped by every day, almost no one disturbed him. This allowed his blood-energy value and cultivation level to rise steadily.

Three days later, Lin Yin tested his blood-energy value: 725! He had already entered the seventh realm of blood-energy.

Jiang Zixun, who was standing by, couldn't help but exclaim when she saw the data: "Who said you had no talent for martial arts? I fear even the descendants of the royal courts couldn't match this speed of cultivation. One realm in three days—that's terrifying."

Lin Yin waved his hand with a smile. "It's all thanks to the techniques Old Man Jiang gave me. Without those two Heaven-grade manuals, I wouldn't be this fast."

Five days later.

Lin Yin stepped out of the training room once more and tested his blood-energy value: 881!

The eighth realm of blood-energy!

He nodded calmly. While satisfied, he was already accustomed to it. With the experience from his past life and the support of these techniques, he believed he could reach the height of his previous life—the King-Sealing Realm—in a very short time!

He glanced at the calendar on the wall; the national college entrance exam was the day after tomorrow. Jiang Zixun had already returned to Tianhe Academy yesterday to assist with the exam preparations.

Lin Yin pulled out his phone. As soon as he turned it on, a flood of notifications poured in—at least thirty-four messages, mostly from his homeroom teacher and the dean, along with two special messages.

"Jiang Zixun: It's confirmed! Tianhe Academy is pulling together all its resources, going all out to build the strongest team! You should consider it, little brother."

"Unknown Number: Student Lin Yin, I am the principal of our martial arts school. With the college entrance exam approaching, if you have time, please contact me; there is an urgent matter to discuss!"

Lin Yin’s gaze shifted, and he replied to both.

"Alright, Sister Zixun, I will consider it."

"Sure, I happen to be free right now."

*Ding-a-ling.* A reply came instantly.

"Unknown Number: Finally reached you! Haha, let's have a video call."

A second later, the video call came through. As he accepted, a slightly chubby face appeared on the screen. Inside the school office, a group of teachers surrounded the principal, looking incredibly excited.

"It connected! It finally connected!" The homeroom teacher stood with hands on his hips, looking proud—Lin Yin was his student, after all!

"It's through!"

The principal said, "Hello, Student Lin Yin. I am Wang Wandao. You can just call me Uncle Wang."

Wang Wandao was Jiang Zixun's uncle, so he had naturally heard that Old Man Jiang had taken Lin Yin as a disciple.

"Student Lin Yin, let me briefly explain the college entrance exam to you."

"Yes, please go ahead."

"The exam consists of two parts: blood-energy value and real-combat in the Blood Field."

"The blood-energy value is simple; you are scored and admitted according to a standard line."

"Our final mock exam passing line is 70, but I imagine your goals are further and higher."

"The minimum for a second-tier university is 80, for a first-tier it's 150, for a key first-tier it's 300, and for a King-level academy, it's 500. Generally, the peak for our Tianhe City is the key first-tier university. Only seven years ago, a super prodigy appeared out of nowhere and joined a King-level academy with a blood-energy value in the sixth realm."

"Your last test showed you were in the third realm, which already guaranteed a key first-tier university. So, what I want to say is, as long as your ranking in the Blood Field combat is high enough, you might even be able to charge into a King-level academy!"

Principal Wang spoke with great passion, as if he could already see the day Lin Yin entered a King-level academy.

However, Lin Yin asked calmly, "I heard there are institutions at an even higher level than King-level academies, is that true?"

Principal Wang was momentarily stunned. "There... well, there are, but that..."

Jixia was an institution of a higher order than the King-level academies. Yet, in all the world, how many people could join Jixia?

"Is it Jixia Academy?" Lin Yin asked.

"Yes," Principal Wang immediately advised. "Don't even think about it. Jixia doesn't even have a standard cutoff; it's clear they don't look down upon all the students in the world. Although Jixia is an academy, theoretically participating in the college entrance exam, I have never seen them recruit new students in any year. They only pull the strongest from the various King-level academies."

Principal Wang was speaking the reality. Rather than chasing something illusory, it was better to focus on realistically aiming for a King-level academy.

"The Blood Sea combat is a zone specifically opened by the human race for college entrance examinees, mostly located on the frontier."

"Powerful experts at the Pulse-Forging or even General-Ranking level are responsible for guarding it. The examinees only need to hunt the demon race within the area."

"The more demons you hunt, and the stronger they are, the higher your score and your ranking will be. And a higher ranking leads to higher bonus points for the entrance exam."

"So, I suggest you strive to get those bonus points in the Blood Sea combat... Oh, by the way, what is your blood-energy value now? Have you broken the 400 mark yet?"

Principal Wang stared at Lin Yin with burning eyes.

"I just tested it, it's over 800," Lin Yin thought for a moment before giving the precise figure: "881."

A brief silence fell over the office; the breathing of every teacher became heavy.

Principal Wang’s pupils trembled slightly. "881!? Are you sure!?"

Lin Yin didn't waste words and simply displayed the test data.

After checking the number on the instrument three or four times to be certain, Principal Wang finally burst into loud laughter. The cheers of the teachers also came through the connection.

"Surpassing all peers!"

"Over eight hundred, approaching nine hundred, this is!"

"With this data on the day of the exam, looking across the nation, when I do not speak first, which insect would dare to chirp!!"

For a moment, in the face of Lin Yin's 881 blood-energy value, all the teachers actually felt a sense of inferiority.