Chapter 055: The Nine Academies Tournament

Before descending the mountain, Xin Lang had a total of 792 experience points. He spent 60 forging the Golden Silkworm Armor, and now, after purchasing the "Sky Halberd" gauntlet for another 100 points, he was left with 632 experience points in the Upgrader.

The next day, Xin Lang rose early for his morning training. Following the power techniques provided by the Upgrader, he had already cultivated hidden force in both his chest and back.

He first performed the Upgrader's daily training tasks. Now a Level Two Warrior, Xin Lang found the routine quite manageable. In addition to the daily task, he completed several hidden missions such as "Stone Shatter" and "Tree Break," earning a total of 14 experience points, bringing his sum to 646.

Having finished his daily training, Xin Lang equipped the newly acquired weapon, the "Sky Halberd" gauntlet, eager to test its abilities. Slipping the gauntlet onto his hand, he felt nothing unusual at first.

He sought out a large stone and delivered a punch! Pouring all his hidden force into the blow, he sensed his strength amplified as it passed through the Sky Halberd gauntlet—his force doubled instantly, and with a thunderous crack, the rock shattered.

Xin Lang had only cultivated to the second stage of hidden force—third stage was the Penetrating Force, fourth was Water Severing Force, and fifth was Stone Splitting Force. Only at the fifth stage could one completely pulverize stone. Xin Lang had reached the peak of the second stage, but doubled by the gauntlet, his force almost touched the fifth stage.

"Excellent! Truly a super weapon, its abilities are extraordinary!" Xin Lang exclaimed joyfully.

But when he threw a second punch, he found he couldn't unleash the same nearly fifth-stage power again.

"What’s going on?" Xin Lang wondered.

At that moment, the Upgrader prompted a message: "Each use of the Sky Halberd requires a ten-minute cooldown before it can be used again!"

He also noticed in the weapon section, below the Sky Halberd icon, there was a green upgrade progress bar. After his punch, the bar had advanced slightly—one percent complete.

With previous upgrade experience, Xin Lang understood, "Looks like I need to use the Sky Halberd more often to level it up quickly!"

To further test the gauntlet, Xin Lang waited the lengthy ten minutes. When the time had passed, he threw another punch.

His hidden force, amplified by the Sky Halberd, struck a massive stone nearby, taller than a man. With a loud bang, the force exploded within the stone, leaving a deep crack.

Though he hadn't shattered the boulder completely, the level of force, paired with the high-grade martial art "Explosive Inch Punch," gave Xin Lang confidence to challenge even a Level Five Warrior.

"Internal force! Xin Lang, have you become a true warrior?" came a celestial voice behind him.

Xin Lang turned and saw Meng Linglong approaching swiftly. "Principal Meng..."

Meng Linglong stepped past Xin Lang to inspect the boulder. She traced the crack with her jade hand several times, then exclaimed, "Stone Splitting Force? How can this be? Xin Lang... have you advanced to Level Five Warrior?"

"Uh..." Xin Lang hadn't expected Meng Linglong to appear at his training spot so suddenly and catch him in the act. He wasn't sure how to explain.

He said, "Principal Meng, please don’t misunderstand. I’ve cultivated hidden force, yes, but I haven’t reached Level Five Warrior!"

"But this boulder—it's clearly damaged by internal force from within!" Meng Linglong pressed.

"Heh..." Xin Lang chuckled awkwardly. "You see, before you arrived, I’d been hitting it for half an hour—over a hundred punches with hidden force. You just happened to witness the last one!"

He quietly wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

"Are you telling the truth?" Meng Linglong scrutinized him with her star-like black eyes.

"Absolutely!" Xin Lang assured.

"What level warrior are you now?" Meng Linglong asked.

"Level Two," Xin Lang replied, immediately regretting it. Advancing from Level Ten Martial Trainee to Level Two Warrior in less than a month was remarkable enough.

"Level Two?" Meng Linglong was stunned into silence.

Seeing her stand dumbfounded, Xin Lang said, "Principal, are you alright?"

"Ah..." Meng Linglong recovered and smiled brightly. "Wonderful! Now our Xuyang Academy can make a comeback!"

In her excitement, Meng Linglong forgot herself and patted Xin Lang's shoulder. "Xin Lang, the school leadership has decided that you’ll represent us in this year’s Nine Academy Tournament in Jiuyang City! Don’t let me down!"

Xin Lang sidestepped, discreetly avoiding her hand. "Um... about this Nine Academy Tournament, I..."

Before he could finish, the Upgrader suddenly issued a task prompt.

Xin Lang glanced at it and was shocked. "Why have the stars turned to diamonds—and five of them! What level of difficulty is this?"

His heart leapt. He quickly checked the task information: "Five-diamond main quest: Represent Xuyang Academy in Jiuyang City’s Nine Academy Tournament and win the championship! Completion reward: 500 experience points. Failure: demotion to Martial Trainee!"

"Damn it, can’t I have a few peaceful days?" Xin Lang cursed inwardly.

He knew the rules of the Nine Academy Tournament well. It was a best-of-five match—three wins required. No matter how strong he was alone, he couldn’t guarantee Xuyang Academy the championship.

Meng Linglong saw his expression change and hurriedly said, "Xin Lang, this is a great chance to hone yourself, plus the tournament rewards are generous! If you have any difficulties, let me know. The school leadership will do everything possible to help!"

Exiting the Upgrader’s task section, Xin Lang composed himself and said, "I’ll participate in the tournament, but I have two conditions."

"Alright, as long as they’re within my abilities, no problem!" Meng Linglong promised eagerly.

Xin Lang said, "Winning the tournament isn’t something I can accomplish alone. There are five spots on the team—I want three, and I’ll choose the members. The other two are up to you."

"Agreed, no problem!" Meng Linglong didn’t expect Xuyang Academy to take first place; her aim was simply for Xin Lang to shine and let Jiuyang City know that Xuyang Academy had produced a true warrior.

"And the other condition?" Meng Linglong asked.