Xiong Kun could no longer hold back. "Young Master Marquis, you think far too highly of Xu Yang. Him? Achieve a Secondary Dragon Ascension?"
His own ranking on the Ten Heroes List was higher than Xu Yang’s. Even he, not to mention the higher-ranked Han Feng, had no confidence in achieving a Secondary Dragon Ascension. What made Xu Yang think he could?
Even a place like the Purple Sun Sect might not produce a single genius capable of a Secondary Dragon Ascension for years on end.
"Whether I’m overestimating him is something time will tell," Jiang Fan said with a smile.
Xiong Kun was a little surprised. Why would Jiang Fan rate Xu Yang so highly? Or was it that they had a good relationship, and he was just trying to build up Xu Yang’s reputation?
’Has Jiang Fan already seen my true talent?’
Xu Yang was secretly shocked, but he kept his expression neutral. "Brother Jiang," he said, "I’ve heard people mention Secondary Dragon Ascension many times, but I don’t actually know what it is. Would you please enlighten me?"
He had always known that the so-called Dragon Ascension wasn’t just about entering the Purple Sun Sect. The Sect was merely the first stop.
But he had no idea what came after that.
He had no backing or influential background. And although he had become Elder Huoyun’s disciple, the Elder didn’t even offer guidance on his cultivation, let alone chat about things unrelated to Martial Arts.
"You don’t even know what Secondary Dragon Ascension is?" Xiong Kun’s eyes widened.
The man was an Inner Sect Disciple of the Purple Sun Sect, after all. How could he not know about this?
Jiang Fan also showed a hint of surprise. "Dragon Ascension, naturally, refers to ascending the path of transformation into a dragon. Although the Purple Sun Sect is the only Sect in the surrounding Six Counties, in the context of the entire Great Xia, this is just a rural backwater. It hardly has what it takes to allow someone to truly transform into a dragon.
"Only by leaving the Purple Sun Sect and stepping onto a much larger stage can we continue on our path to becoming dragons."
"A rural backwater?" Xu Yang muttered to himself.
In the surrounding region, the Purple Sun Sect was like a local emperor, with free rein over the resources and talent of the Six Counties. Yet, to hear Jiang Fan tell it, this place was just a rural backwater.
’How magnificent must the outside world be? How many geniuses are out there?’
Although he had always preferred to lay low, it didn’t mean he didn’t want to see a grander stage. He might be immortal, but he knew that if he didn’t go to a place where the Martial Dao flourished, he would ultimately just be wasting time.
"I hate to admit it, but forget the rest of Great Xia—even compared to the whole of Yun Province, this place can be considered the countryside."
Xiong Kun sighed. "Yun Province has thirty-six commanderies. Our Fufeng Commandery is one of the most backward. The entire commandery has thirteen counties and a total population of only about three million.
"The major commanderies have populations over five million, and the most powerful ones are closer to ten million."
Xu Yang couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath.
By Xiong Kun’s reckoning, the population of Yun Province alone was a staggering several hundred million. He could only imagine how many geniuses and prodigies were born from such a population, and just how powerful the dynasty that governed such a vast territory must be.
"How many provinces does Great Xia have?" he couldn’t help but ask.
"Nineteen," Jiang Fan said. "And among them, Yun Province is considered lower-middle tier."
’Hundreds of millions in one province... across nineteen provinces, the population must be well over ten billion!’
Xu Yang was secretly stunned. He was finally beginning to get a preliminary sense of the entire world.
To the great powers of Great Xia, there was no difference between the Purple Sun Sect and the Bai Shi Workshop where he used to stay. For the true elites, both were just gutters in the countryside.
"The Secondary Dragon Ascension is held once every five years," said Jiang Fan. "The last one was two years ago."
The unspoken implication was clear: if Xu Yang wanted to participate, he only had three years.
"What are the requirements to participate in the Secondary Dragon Ascension?" Xu Yang asked, his brow furrowed.
"Under twenty-eight years of age, and a Celestial Essence Cultivation."
Xiong Kun added in a heavy tone, "The Celestial Essence Realm is just the minimum requirement. It doesn’t guarantee success in the Dragon Ascension."
Breaking through to the Celestial Essence Realm in three years required both talent and resources; neither could be lacking.
In his view, among their generation of disciples, only the top three of the Ten Heroes—like Jiang Fan—had any real hope. They had both the talent and the resources.
As for Xu Yang... it wasn’t that Xiong Kun looked down on him, but the chances were simply infinitesimal.
"Three years... the Celestial Essence Realm..."
[Fuyue Bear Scripture Marrow Cleansing Chapter·Minor Achievement (1372/6000)]
Xu Yang glanced at his panel. He was quite confident he could break through to the Celestial Essence Realm within three years.
...
After dinner, Xu Yang descended from Li Fire Peak.
He hadn’t seen Xu Qing for a long time, so he had to go check on her. He soon found her in her courtyard, and the two siblings found a quiet spot to sit down.
"Brother, how are things on Li Fire Peak?" Xu Qing asked with concern.
Xu Yang smiled. "They’re alright."
Xu Qing nodded. "Did you start practicing the Weapon Forging Dao? How’s your talent for it? I heard from one of the senior sisters on Medicine King Peak that weapon forging is even more dependent on talent than alchemy."
"Master said my talent for weapon forging is average and that it’ll be hard for me to accomplish much," Xu Yang said, repeating Elder Huoyun’s words.
Xu Qing’s expression immediately fell. "It’s okay, Brother. You have great Martial Arts Talent, so it doesn’t matter if your weapon forging talent isn’t good. Once I become a Pill Master, I’ll earn money to fund your cultivation."
Xu Yang was speechless. "By the time you become a Pill Master, it’ll be too late. Don’t worry, your big brother won’t be lacking for resources."
He asked about Xu Qing’s cultivation and her life in general. After confirming everything was fine, he parted ways with her to look for Sun Tao.
Unfortunately, Sun Tao had gone to help Zhang Yong capture a Phantom Leopard cub. He had been gone for nearly a month and still hadn’t returned.
Xu Yang could only return to Li Fire Peak.
The next day, he went to the Forging Pavilion as usual to keep up appearances.
"Xu Yang is back at the Forging Pavilion? Didn’t Elder Huoyun already say he has no talent for it?"
"He just can’t accept it. Placing third in the Outer Sect Grand Competition has made him a bit arrogant. He probably refuses to accept his fate."
"What’s so great about third place in the Outer Sect competition? More than half the disciples here on Li Fire Peak have placed in the top three before. He should just accept his fate."
...
Seeing Xu Yang at the Forging Pavilion again, many people began to gossip.
In the Inner Sect, placing third in the Outer Sect grand competition was hardly a dazzling achievement. The majority of Inner Sect Disciples got in through the competition, with only about half entering by completing assessment tasks.
Xu Yang turned a deaf ear to them. He was only here to keep up appearances and lay the groundwork for his eventual Minor Achievement, and even Great Success, in the Thousand Forging Technique.
Time passed. Lu Ren, who had also joined Li Fire Peak, began appearing at the Forging Pavilion to practice the Thousand Forging Technique as well.
Unlike Xu Yang, however, his reputation was in tatters, so even though he had joined Li Fire Peak, he hadn’t been taken on as anyone’s disciple.
In reality, it made little difference. Xu Yang might have a master, but said master taught him nothing and offered no special allocation of resources.
"Three-hundred-forged! That’s Minor Achievement in the Thousand Forging Technique!"
"What incredible talent for weapon forging!"
"And it’s been less than twenty days!"
"He’s achieved this with no guidance. If he had a master teaching him, it’s hard to imagine how fast he’d be."
...
One day, while Xu Yang was engrossed in his hammering, he suddenly heard a commotion.
He looked up to see that everyone in the Forging Pavilion had put down their hammers and was crowded around Lu Ren. A piece of forged Profound Iron was being passed from disciple to disciple.
After listening for a moment, he realized that in less than twenty days, Lu Ren had cultivated the Thousand Forging Technique to the Minor Achievement Realm and had successfully produced a piece of three-hundred-forged Profound Iron.
’This guy’s talent for weapon forging is actually this good?’
Xu Yang was slightly taken aback.
Having practiced the Thousand Forging Technique for so long himself, he knew just how difficult it was to reach Minor Achievement.
The technique had little to do with comprehension; the most crucial factor was one’s Gang Qi. If a person’s Gang Qi was suitable for forging, their progress would be twice as fast with half the effort.
But if their Gang Qi was unsuitable, every step forward would be fraught with difficulty, as the Gang Qi would simply destroy the materials.
Lu Ren was beaming, basking in the compliments from the surrounding disciples, his gaze sweeping over toward Xu Yang from time to time.
Minor Achievement in the Thousand Forging Technique in less than twenty days—such talent was, frankly, terrifying.
Under normal circumstances, even reaching Minor Achievement within two months was considered a sign of good talent for weapon forging.
Given he’d done it in less than twenty days, many of the fawning disciples began proclaiming that Lu Ren was destined to become a Master of Weapon Forging. As for his character flaws, no one seemed to care at that moment.
"Lu Ren, quickly! My master, Elder Tie Fu, wants to see you!"
A moment later, a figure strode in from outside the Forging Pavilion, joyfully grabbing Lu Ren’s hand as he spoke.
"Okay!" A look of delight crossed Lu Ren’s face. He hastily straightened his clothes, picked up the three-hundred-forged piece of Profound Iron, and quickly left with Elder Tie Fu’s disciple.
As he passed Xu Yang, he made sure to shoot a glance in his direction.