Chapter 271: Massive Merit Points
Qiu Lin was extremely unwilling to accept his defeat. Having trained in the Inner Palace Academy for nearly ten years, he was defeated by a newcomer who had just become an Inner Palace student. One could imagine the feelings of humiliation, resentment, and shame he experienced.
Moreover, he had previously declared that Zhang Ruochen should give him some pointers, never expecting that Zhang Ruochen would actually do so now.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Nine Spirit Beast King Form is actually called the 'Ten Spirit Beast King Form,' and the tenth stance is called 'Human King Invincible.' Humans, after all, are also one of the hundred beasts. Therefore, you have never truly mastered this martial technique to its peak. If you could successfully cultivate the tenth stance, this spirit-level mid-grade martial technique would be enough to unleash the power of a spirit-level high-grade martial technique."
"You're lying to me, you're lying to me! The Nine Spirit Beast King Form only has nine stances; where is there a tenth?" Qiu Lin roared.
"There's no need to lie to you. The Ten Spirit Beast King Form in the Martial Market Academy is merely an incomplete remnant, not whole. Of course, even with just the first nine stances, this martial technique is already more powerful than ordinary spirit-level mid-grade techniques."
Seeing that Qiu Lin still didn't believe him, Zhang Ruochen shook his head and stopped paying him any attention.
Afterward, Zhang Ruochen's gaze turned toward Xun Guihai and the others. A faint smile appeared on his face, but he said nothing and walked straight toward the Merit Tower.
Xun Guihai and the Inner Palace students who had been following behind Qiu Lin all changed expression drastically, filled with terror, afraid that Zhang Ruochen would come to settle accounts with them.
Only when they saw Zhang Ruochen enter the Merit Tower did they breathe a sigh of relief. They quickly fled, not daring to stay outside the Merit Tower any longer.
Even a master ranked on the Earth List, Qiu Lin, had been defeated by Zhang Ruochen. They were naturally even less of a match. How could they dare to oppose Zhang Ruochen in the future?
"Boom!"
The entire Inner Palace Academy erupted into uproar.
"Did you hear? Zhang Ruochen, who just entered the Inner Palace Academy, defeated Qiu Lin, one of the Ten Demonic Talents of Heavenly Demon Ridge."
"What? Senior Brother Qiu is so powerful; how could he possibly lose to a teenager of just over ten years old?"
"I saw it with my own eyes; how could it be false?"
"With Zhang Ruochen's strength, even the Senior Brother might not be his match."
……
…………
Zhang Ruochen walked up to a counter inside the Merit Tower and said, "Elder, I need to replace my academy token and also exchange some merit points."
The elder in the Merit Tower had personally witnessed Zhang Ruochen defeat Qiu Lin and knew the extent of Zhang Ruochen's formidable strength. Even he himself might not be a match for Zhang Ruochen.
Therefore, he was very courteous to Zhang Ruochen. "Your merit points have already been calculated by the academy. They total eighty-two thousand points. Since you lost your academy token, ten points will be deducted, leaving you with eighty-one thousand nine hundred and ninety merit points."
"So many?" Zhang Ruochen was somewhat surprised.
The silver-robed elder smiled. "Killing a Black Market Heaven Extreme Realm martial artist earns at least ten thousand merit points. Mu Qing, Hua Minggong, and Hua Qingshan of the Poison Spider Merchant Guild all died by your hand. Just from them alone, you can exchange for over forty thousand merit points."
"Furthermore, you found evidence of the collaboration between the Four Directions Commandery and the Poison Spider Merchant Guild. Hall Master Lei has already instructed in advance, awarding you thirty thousand merit points. Adding in the other Black Market experts you killed, the total of eighty-two thousand merit points is actually an underestimate."
"I see." Zhang Ruochen said.
The silver-robed elder flattered him, "You are Hall Master Lei's secret disciple. How would we dare to tamper with your merit points? In the future, this old man may need to rely on your help in many matters."
"Certainly."
Zhang Ruochen smiled, put away the newly forged token, and left the Merit Tower.
"With Hall Master Lei as my backing, I suppose I'll avoid many unnecessary troubles in the future."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the token in his hand, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his mouth. He planned to head to the Saint Ascension Mountain now.
"Zhang Ruochen."
Chen Xier approached him from the opposite direction, like a white orchid swaying in the wind—fresh and refined, with a sweet smile on her face. "I never expected that in just a few short months, your cultivation would have reached such a powerful level. Should I say 'congratulations'?"
Earlier, the battle between Zhang Ruochen and Qiu Lin had indeed shocked Chen Xier.
She knew better than anyone that just a few months ago, Zhang Ruochen's cultivation hadn't even broken through the Earth Extreme Realm. In only a few months, Zhang Ruochen had already gained the strength to enter the Earth List.
Previously, Zhang Ruochen had held a favorable impression of Chen Xier. She was noble in status yet approachable. However, after seeing how she treated Zi Qian in the dungeon last time, he realized she was a woman with a beautiful exterior but ruthless inner methods.
Although there was nothing wrong with what she did, Zhang Ruochen didn't like her scheming personality.
For some reason, seeing Chen Xier's smile now, Zhang Ruochen found it somewhat insincere.
"Senior Sister Chen, I still need to go train. I'll take my leave now. Sorry."
Zhang Ruochen cupped his hands politely toward Chen Xier, then walked away without even looking at her surprised expression.
Chen Xier stared at Zhang Ruochen's retreating figure, puzzled. What had she done to offend Zhang Ruochen, causing him to suddenly become so cold toward her?
"It must be that cousin of mine, speaking ill of me in front of Zhang Ruochen again."
Chen Xier shook her head lightly, looking unconcerned, and muttered to herself, "Although Zhang Ruochen's talent is quite good, it's only considered top-tier within the Heavenly Demon Ridge. Across the entire Eastern Domain, he's merely above average."
Chen Xier's status was noble, and her sights were set high. Naturally, her vision wasn't limited to just a mere Heavenly Demon Ridge.
The reason she took the initiative to show goodwill to Zhang Ruochen was simply to oppose Huang Yanchen and deliberately provoke her.
As for truly taking a liking to Zhang Ruochen, that was impossible. Only a genius ranked in the top one hundred of the Earth List could catch her eye. Zhang Ruochen was likely still far from that level.
Zhang Ruochen's attitude only stirred a small ripple in Chen Xier's heart, which quickly subsided.
She was secretly plotting whether to invite one or two of her suitors—young prodigies ranked in the top one hundred of the Earth List—to the Heavenly Demon Ridge, to defeat Zhang Ruochen in front of Huang Yanchen.
That would be quite an interesting thing to do.
Arriving at the Saint Ascension Mountain, Zhang Ruochen paid one hundred merit points and directly entered an Earth-level gravity cultivation chamber.
This Earth-level gravity cultivation chamber was a cubic gravity space, thirty meters on each side.
The moment Zhang Ruochen took his first step, he already felt the increased gravity, reaching a level of one times gravity.
When he reached the five-meter mark, the gravity on his body increased to five times.
At the ten-meter mark, the gravity reached ten times. He could faintly feel the pressure, and his steps grew heavier, as if his entire body were weighed down by lead blocks.
When he reached the twenty-meter mark, the gravity reached twenty times. The pressure on Zhang Ruochen was already considerable, and his breathing became somewhat difficult.
He slowly raised his arms. They felt as if they were hanging with ten-thousand-pound boulders. He tried to strike out a palm, but found it extremely strenuous. The bones in his arms made cracking sounds, as if they might snap at any moment.
"Twenty times gravity should be enough for now."
Zhang Ruochen slightly bent his legs, assuming the Dragon Form Shadow Step, and circulated his true qi throughout his body.
"Boom!"
He struck out a palm, hitting the stone wall.
On the stone wall, a palm-shaped imprint about one millimeter deep appeared.
Under the influence of ten times gravity, his palm strike was very weak, and his movements were extremely slow, unable to match the speed he could achieve outside.
Continue…
"Boom! Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen trained frantically, continuously swinging his arms, striking the stone wall with his palms, honing his palm technique.
After just five hundred palm strikes, Zhang Ruochen's arms were numb with pain. Blood-red lines appeared on his arms, as if his skin were about to split.
He took a third-grade healing pill and sat cross-legged in the twenty-times gravity space. In just half an hour, his injuries healed completely, and his arms were once again full of strength.
Inside the gravity cultivation chamber, Zhang Ruochen continued training, sweating profusely, tempering his body, refining his palm technique. He struck out palm after palm, gradually adapting to the twenty-times gravity environment.
Under normal gravity, Zhang Ruochen could deliver six consecutive palm strikes, overlapping them to unleash six times the power.
Under twenty times gravity, Zhang Ruochen could also deliver six palm strikes, but they couldn't overlap, failing to unleash the true power of "Elephant Force Ninefold Stack."
After ten days of continuous training, Zhang Ruochen finally managed to deliver a two-fold palm strike.
"Elephant Force Ninefold Stack!"
Zhang Ruochen struck out two consecutive palms. The palm imprints overlapped, unleashing double the power, leaving a one-inch-deep palm-shaped pit on the wall.
"Finally, some progress!"
Zhang Ruochen showed a delighted expression, looking at his bloody hands. The high-intensity palm training had severely damaged his arms.
However, compared to the first few days, it was much better. He could now deliver a thousand palm strikes before his arms were injured to this extent.
Over the next five days, Zhang Ruochen continued training but was unable to make further breakthroughs.
Of course, his resistance to the gravity cultivation chamber grew stronger. At best, he could deliver nearly two thousand palm strikes before stopping to heal.
This was also a form of progress.
After half a month of training, Zhang Ruochen left the gravity cultivation chamber.
Returning to his own cultivation mansion, Zhang Ruochen immediately began testing the results of his half-month of training.
"Elephant Force Ninefold Stack!"
Zhang Ruochen's true qi erupted completely, and he delivered seven consecutive palm strikes.
The seven palm imprints connected in a straight line in the void, condensing into a massive palm print seven meters in diameter.
"Boom!"
From a distance of twenty zhang, the massive palm print shattered a rockery, sending pieces of stone flying in all directions.
"Seven times the power—that's a decent improvement."
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his true qi, and the martial aura around him gradually dissipated.
After enduring the arduous training in the gravity chamber for half a month, the sacrificial power within Zhang Ruochen's body had been completely refined and transformed into his own strength. His martial cultivation seemed to have improved somewhat.
Kong Xuan approached from a distance. Seeing Zhang Ruochen standing by the pond, she immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Master."
Zhang Ruochen turned to look at Kong Xuan, a glint of surprise in his eyes. "Your cultivation has reached the Mysterious Extreme Realm late stage?"