Age of Evolution#

Chapter 771: Chapter 774: Stele Comprehension

The eight people from the Earth Class arrived in front of the stone tablets.

There were plenty of stone tablets here, totaling fifty-five, but basically, someone was in front of each tablet.

Every ten years, eight Earth Class students enter the Holy Land. As Lin Zhen and his batch entered, those from a hundred years ago had left. Normally, there should be eighty people.

But in reality, there were less than seventy people in the Earth Class. A lot can happen in a hundred years, and some martial artists were no longer here due to various reasons, be it leaving or falling.

However, the number of people was still more than the number of stone tablets, so most people focused on one tablet, while others dealt with two or three.

Only the last few stone tablets had no one pondering them, but one didn’t need to ask to know that most likely, these tablets were more difficult.

The first stone tablet had the most people in front of it, with three Martial Artists.

As Lin Zhen and the others arrived, a chubby Martial Artist opened his eyes.

“The new students are finally here. Our batch isn’t the youngest anymore.”

“Is there any trick to understanding these stone tablets?” Huang Zun spoke calmly.

The chubby martial artist glanced at Huang Zun: “There isn’t much of a trick. The key is selection. No one can comprehend every single stone tablet. For example, if you’re learning sword arts and insist on comprehending spear arts, then it’s a waste of time. Choose what suits you best to learn. The purpose of pondering the stone tablets is to challenge the Thirty-Three Sky Tower, and being able to increase your strength is enough.”

“So, what are you guys comprehending?”

“This is Gale Step, which is suitable for combat footwork.”

Upon hearing the chubby Martial Artist’s words, everyone’s eyes lit up.

Footwork is crucial for a Martial Artist. For example, Lin Zhen’s Plum Blossom Piles footwork has helped him numerous times in battle.

However, the Plum Blossom Piles footwork has its limitations and cannot be considered a top-level martial technique.

Gale Step is a type of versatile footwork that any Martial Artist can learn and find useful. Several Martial Artists immediately prepared to learn it.

However, comprehension also needs to be in order, according to the Holy Land’s rules. At the moment, Lin Zhen and his group were ranked in the last eight positions, and there were still no differences among them.

This matter of ranking came in handy when it came to comprehending popular stone tablets. Those with higher rankings could get better positions.

The chubby Martial Artist said: “If you want to comprehend, you can determine the order by fighting among yourselves. Of course, you can also challenge us, but there is a prerequisite for challenging us.”

“What kind of prerequisite?”

“The standard for measuring strength in the Holy Land is the Thirty-Three Sky Tower. We have all cleared several floors, more or less. If you want to challenge us, you must be on the same level in the Thirty-Three Sky Tower. If your cleared floors are higher than ours, your ranking will automatically advance.”

A Martial Artist suddenly realized: “Oh! So, the so-called challenges can only be conducted among the same level?”

“That’s right. Only those who clear the same number of floors can challenge each other. For example, if all of you haven’t cleared a single floor, you can challenge each other. If someone has cleared the first floor, then you’d lose your qualification to challenge them.”

Several Martial Artists looked at each other, and two of them turned and left, intending to see just how difficult the Thirty-Three Sky Tower was.

However, most of them didn’t plan to go just yet. The Thirty-Three Sky Tower should be very difficult, so if they could learn the Gale Step, it might make the challenge easier.

Huang Zun glanced at the few people around him: “I want to comprehend this Gale Step stone tablet now. Let’s decide on the order. Those who also want to comprehend can challenge me.”

Among the Martial Artists from the Earth Class, two already considered Huang Zun as their leader. Perhaps they had exchanged moves with him yesterday and knew Huang Zun was strong.

However, two others challenged Huang Zun. Since everyone hadn’t cleared a single floor of the Thirty-Three Sky Tower, there was no harm in a friendly spar.

Lin Zhen didn’t participate in the challenge or try the Thirty-Three Sky Tower. He was currently in the weak period due to the Divine Power Pills and still needed two days to recover. He wouldn’t engage in battles during these two days.

After walking around, the Earth Class Martial Artists who had come with them found stone tablets and settled the order.

Huang Zun’s strength was quite formidable, as he won two consecutive matches and obtained a good comprehending position.

Even those who lost had to be ranked ahead of Lin Zhen, as he hadn’t participated in a single match, automatically placing him in the last position.

However, Lin Zhen wasn’t anxious, as there wasn’t much use for him to comprehend the regular stone tablets. Due to inheriting Heigu’s memory, he had already mastered many Holy Land martial techniques, such as the Gale Step, which he had already learned.

Previously, it wasn’t convenient to expose his skills, but now that he was in the Holy Land, Lin Zhen could slowly show what he had learned.

Seeing Lin Zhen strolling around without participating in any challenges, Huang Zun and the others looked at him with disdain.

“This pill-taker, without giving him the opportunity to transform into a Black Hole Beast, he’s just trash!” Huang Zun looked down on Lin Zhen. In his eyes, the Earth Class was full of Three-Flowers students; it was a disgrace for him, a World King, to be mixed in with them.

“There’s no other way. Who told him to be an alchemist? I heard that the elixirs he has made are even better than what Qian Tong can make. It’s really puzzling how such a young kid has managed to reach such a level in alchemy.”

A Martial Artist sighed with envy for Lin Zhen being a Seventh-grade Alchemist.

“Hmph! What’s the point of being good at alchemy? The foundation of a Martial Artist is still martial arts training. Focusing on alchemy without achieving longevity is neglecting one’s proper duties. Regardless of lifespan, if it comes to an end, everything becomes empty. A World King who is over a thousand years old is not a peerless genius. It’s just the talent of the Black Hole Beast that allows him shortcuts.”

Huang Zun once dedicated himself to studying alchemy, but indeed, alchemy is an arduous process that requires the accumulation of extensive time. His intermittent cultivation had only made him a Third Grade Alchemist till now.

He was already over five hundred thousand years old, but Lin Zhen’s achievements at just over a thousand years were better, which naturally caused some imbalance in his mind. This was one of the reasons he disliked Lin Zhen.

“Focus on cultivation and try to squeeze this kid out of the Earth Class!”

Huang Zun started cultivating in front of the Gale Step stone tablet.

After a while, the two people who went to challenge the Thirty-Three Sky Tower returned.

“What’s the result? Did you pass the first floor?”

One of them shook his head slightly: “No, the guardian on the first floor is too difficult to beat. In the Early Stage of the Three-Flowers, a Spiritual Mind Master at the Peak of Dark Gold, his Mental Shock is faster than a gun, and we just can’t withstand it!”

Another one, who was clearly hit in his self-confidence, said: “This Thirty-Three Sky Tower is too perverse. If the first floor is so difficult, there are still thirty-two floors later. When can we finish them all? I think no one, even the Gods, can pass all the floors.”

“Just focus on cultivating, don’t be overambitious.”

While they were talking, Lin Zhen had already reached the depths of the stone tablets.

He had looked at all the stone tablets and had chosen one to comprehend.

This stone tablet was called the Shadowless Step, an upgraded version of Gale Step.

The creator of the Gale Step had left two stone tablets. The Shadowless Step contained the essence of his learning, which made it extremely difficult to master.

The Gale Step was achieved by using the power of Wind Element combined with one’s own comprehension, while the Shadowless Step was much more complicated, employing the Wind Element along with Spatial Power and the Power of Time.

After creating Gale Step, some other Martial Artists also learned the skill, so it was also available in the Sacred Place of the God-locking Platform. However, the Shadowless Step was unique to Falling Star Lake.

Some martial arts skills have a lot in common. Heigu’s previous learning was extensive, which could help Lin Zhen save many steps when learning.

“I’ll choose this Shadowless Step. Once it’s mastered, it’ll be far more useful in combat than teleportation. Teleportation requires a launch time and a reaction time, and there’s a possibility of being interrupted. The Shadowless Step doesn’t have this problem. I’m already proficient in Spatial and Time powers, and I have the foundation of Gale Step, so learning this won’t be an issue.”

“However, learning this directly may arouse suspicion. I’ll go to Gale Step and pretend to study for a few days.”

Seeing Lin Zhen come to the Gale Step stone tablet, Huang Zun and his group puffed up their chests, even looking at Lin Zhen with provocative eyes.

Lin Zhen ignored them and sat in the back to comprehend.

“Tsk! What a wimp!”

Huang Zun spoke with disdain, but when he saw that Lin Zhen had no reaction, he lost interest.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Thus, their days of cultivation in the Holy Land began.

The novelty of being in the Holy Land soon wore off for the Martial Artists, and they became immersed in their intense cultivation.

There were rules in the Holy Land. A person could stay here for at most a hundred years. After a hundred years, if one was not chosen as a personal disciple by the Holy Land Master, they would have to leave.

A hundred years may sound long, but for Martial Artists, it was too short. Everyone was eager to learn and comprehend.

During this process, Lin Zhen’s performance was somewhat unusual.

After comprehending the Gale Step for two days, Lin Zhen left the stone tablet and went to comprehend a stone tablet called Water Dripping Sword Skill.

People thought he had given up on comprehending the Gale Step, but to their surprise, he went to a stone tablet about Mental Power Control after studying the sword skill for three days.

Those who initially paid attention to Lin Zhen now started to look down on him.

Focus is important in martial arts training. What’s the use of learning a little of everything but not mastering any? Lin Zhen was clearly biting off more than he could chew. Soon, they believed, he would regret it.

For an entire month, Lin Zhen wandered around. In the end, he would even go to Xuan, Yellow, and Huang classes to comprehend for a while, attracting people’s attention.

After a month, Lin Zhen returned to the Earth Class and stood in front of the Shadowless Step stone tablet.

For that month, he hadn’t wasted his time. At least, people thought his learning was mixed, so when he demonstrated Holy Land Martial Arts in the future, no one would say anything beyond admiring how he learned so well in such a short time.

When he returned to the Shadowless Step stone tablet, Huang Zun and others completely ignored him.

By now, in their eyes, Lin Zhen was no longer in the same league as them. After a year, Lin Zhen would surely drop to the Xuan class, and they wouldn’t need to waste their energy on him any longer.

And finally, Lin Zhen began his first official cultivation session in the Holy Land.