After Elder Fang Yuan finished his speech, he motioned for the tutors to attend to their duties. The Inner Hall Descendants each began their own cultivation, and the atmosphere of the entire training ground instantly became solemn and focused.
Fang Lin's smug expression had faded somewhat during the speech, but once it ended, his gaze swept over Fang Han, and the disdain and sense of superiority in his heart surged once more.
He turned and walked toward the courtyard where the Martial Arts Stele was located.
He was going to test himself at the Martial Arts Stele to show everyone he had reached the Late Stage of Flesh Refining, and to let the elders and tutors see that he hadn't slacked off during the break.
Before long, news from the Martial Arts Stele made its way back to the training ground.
"Fang Lin went to test himself at the Martial Arts Stele! His rank rose by five places—he's forty-eighth now!"
"To improve that much, he must have broken through to the Late Stage of Flesh Refining!"
"As expected of the undisputed number one in our batch. He's incredible!"
The new batch of descendants glanced over, their gazes toward where Fang Lin had been standing now filled with even greater awe.
Even some descendants from previous years began to whisper among themselves, their attention drawn to Fang Lin.
'Fang Lin... reached the Late Stage of Flesh Refining?'
Fang Han had naturally heard the chatter as well.
His expression was calm as he practiced the Crane Form Pile Skill, tempering his physique and feeling it grow tangibly stronger.
During the break, not only had his Martial Arts Realm advanced to the Late Stage of Flesh Refining, but his Swordsmanship Realm, boosted by his Level 2 Swordsmanship Talent, had also made immense progress, though it had yet to reach the Mastery Level.
With his current strength, if he were to test himself, his rank would increase by no less than Fang Lin's, and possibly even more.
But to him, this simple show of ranking was nothing more than showing off, with no real benefits.
As a Transmigrator, he was far more mature than his peers and had little interest in merely showing off.
"Hmph—"
Fang Lin swaggered back into the training ground, basking in the crowd's attention. He shot a deliberate glance in Fang Han's direction.
He expected to see shock, disappointment, or resentment on Fang Han's face.
However, all he saw was calmness—or was it... indifference?
It was as if his great feat of climbing five places in the rankings was completely beneath notice in the other's eyes!
This reaction was like a bucket of cold water dumped on his head, instantly cooling most of his pride. A nameless rage flared to life within him.
He felt as if he had punched a ball of cotton—frustrated and stifled.
"Fang Han!"
He was, after all, just a sixteen-year-old boy, so he naturally didn't have much self-control or cunning.
As nameless anger rose in his heart, Fang Lin strode up to Fang Han, his voice laced with deliberate provocation.
"Fang Han, aren't you going to give it a try? See if you've made any progress recently?"
"Not interested."
Slightly annoyed by Fang Lin's interruption, Fang Han stopped his Pile Skill cultivation, looked up at him, and spoke in a cold tone.
But these two simple words were like pouring oil on a fire!
"Not interested? I think you're just scared, aren't you? Scared you'll test and your rank won't have changed, making a fool of yourself?"
Fang Lin's cheek twitched slightly. He suppressed his anger and sneered.
He deliberately raised his voice so everyone around could hear.
"What, you don't even have the courage to test yourself anymore?"
Fang Han's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
He really had no interest in such childish goading tactics.
"How about this? If you dare to go test yourself at the Martial Arts Stele right now, I'll give you ten taels of silver for every rank you advance!"
Seeing Fang Han still unmoved, Fang Lin's eyes darted about as he thought of a more direct stimulus. He spoke in a mocking tone.
"Advance a few ranks, and I'll give you several dozen taels! How about it??"
Fang Han, who had been about to resume his Pile Skill cultivation, froze the moment he heard the phrase "advance a few ranks, and I'll give you several dozen taels of silver."
Silver!
Activating the Level 2 Amplification for his Swordsmanship Talent required a hundred taels of silver, and activating the Level 3 Amplification for his Root Bone Talent needed a thousand. He was just worrying about where to get the money!
His gaze instantly sharpened. The way he looked at Fang Lin was as if he were staring at a glittering silver ingot.
"For real? You'll give me several dozen taels of silver for advancing a few ranks?"
He suddenly realized this kid was actually quite endearing—a regular Wealth-Bringing Boy.
Fang Lin was taken aback by Fang Han's sudden change in attitude, but he quickly realized what was happening. Fang Han was trying to make him back down by making him worry about losing his silver.
He couldn't possibly let Fang Han get his way, so he said arrogantly,
"I, Fang Lin, am a man of my word. Everyone here can be a witness! As long as you can advance, you won't be short a single coin!"
"Good!" Fang Han turned and walked straight toward the courtyard with the Martial Arts Stele, his actions crisp and decisive.
"Hmph, what an act! Let's see how you'll get yourself out of this one!"
Thinking Fang Han was just posturing, Fang Lin snorted and followed him.
The training ground instantly erupted.
No one had expected things to develop this way. They all stopped their cultivation and, with a great RUSH, followed the two, flooding toward the courtyard of the Martial Arts Stele.
This was a bet involving dozens of taels of silver. It was too good to miss!
A crowd gathered before the Martial Arts Stele.
Fang Han looked perfectly composed. Under everyone's gaze, he extended his index finger and pressed it firmly against the cold surface of the Jade Stele. Two words clearly appeared: "Fang Han."
Next, he took a Fine Iron Longsword, sank into his stance, and his aura instantly became incomparably sharp.
He fully channeled his Qingfeng Swordsmanship, which was at the Late Stage of Minor Achievement, and poured the full, unreserved power of his Late Stage of Flesh Refining into the blade!
"Gentle Breeze Piercing the Sun!"
With a clear shout, the longsword transformed into a bolt of cold light, letting out a piercing shriek as it tore through the air and struck the center of the Martial Arts Stele with absolute precision!
"CLANG—!"
The sound of metal on stone echoed through the courtyard as the Jade Stele suddenly lit up, flashing violently!
All eyes were glued to the face of the stele.
The number after the two words "Fang Han" began to jump rapidly.
Fifty-five... fifty-two... fifty... forty-nine...
Finally, it settled steadily on a number that made everyone hold their breath.
Forty-eighth place!
"ROAR—!"
After a moment of dead silence, a heaven-shaking uproar erupted!
"Forty-eighth place?! He... he jumped from fifty-fourth to forty-eighth?! He climbed six whole ranks?!"
"Late Stage of Flesh Refining! He must be in the Late Stage of Flesh Refining too, and his Swordsmanship seems even stronger!"
"My god, how long has it been since he broke through to the Middle Stage of Flesh Refining?"
"Hiss... That rate of improvement..."
"Wait! Forty-eighth place... Fang Lin just got forty-eighth... Doesn't that mean he just knocked Fang Lin down to forty-ninth?!"
That last sentence struck Fang Lin's heart like a heavy hammer.
The smug pride on Fang Lin's face instantly froze, then shattered inch by inch like fine porcelain.
He stared intently at the glaring "forty-eight" on the stele's surface, then looked in disbelief at his own rank, which had been pushed down to "forty-nine."
His face turned from red to white, then from white to ashen, finally swelling into an ugly, purplish-red color!
An unprecedented sense of humiliation rushed through his mind!
He had broken through to the Late Stage of Flesh Refining and thought he had left Fang Han far behind.
But who would have thought that not only had Fang Han also broken through to the Late Stage, but he had also climbed one rank higher, placing him just a single spot above!