I Can Upgrade My Talent Infinitely

Chapter 125: Qinghong’s Evaluation

The Magical Combat was over.

The two combatants had exchanged their post-match pleasantries.

Only then did Fang Yun step down from the Dueling Platform.

He had more or less figured out the matter of sect influence.

In any case, an increase in his sect influence was a good thing for him, no matter what.

"Junior Brother Fang, you really hide your strength well." Wu Junxin was the first to speak after Fang Yun came down.

"It’s not that I wanted to hide it. The senior brothers and sisters just never gave me a chance during our Magical Combat spars."

"Hahaha, you’re right. They still want to use you as a whetstone to sharpen their skills. If you just beat them outright, the spars would be meaningless for them."

Wu Junxin felt that Fang Yun’s personality was just too nice.

If he were Fang Yun, over the course of three spars, he would have at least given one senior brother or sister a taste of swift defeat.

"Junior Brother, I’m now very much looking forward to our match in the sixth round."

After expressing her anticipation, Bai Qinying also gave Fang Yun a reminder.

"Right now, for you to have a chance to face me, the most difficult part will be the fifth round. Your opponent will be Dong Hongwen, and that junior brother is ranked eighteenth on the Inner Sect Ranking."

"The more of your offensive techniques you reveal before the fifth round, the lower your chances of winning will be. So before then, you should hide as much as you can."

Bai Qinying didn’t want to see Fang Yun fall in the fifth round.

Right now, Fang Yun’s greatest advantage was that he had shown very few of his offensive techniques.

Fang Yun had been able to secure a quick victory just now because his opponent knew too little about his offensive abilities, which gave him the opportunity to knock him off the Dueling Platform.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Bai. I understand," Fang Yun said with a nod.

She was reminding him out of goodwill, so of course he had to express his gratitude.

"Congratulations on winning your Magical Combat match, Junior Brother!" Song Qiaoqiao didn’t have much else to say and simply congratulated Fang Yun.

Yao Shuixiao followed right after with her congratulations.

Atop the stone platform.

From the moment the battle on Dueling Platform Three began, Feng Tianrui’s attention had been focused solely on it.

He was quite surprised by Fang Yun’s performance in the first round of Magical Combat spars.

According to the information he’d received, Fang Yun’s defensive capabilities were very strong. During a battle, he should have mostly relied on defensive measures while looking for an opportunity to attack.

That was the kind of Magical Combat he had envisioned.

But the reality...

Feng Tianrui turned his head to look at Miao Qinghong, who was seated in the middle.

"Elder Miao, did you happen to notice the Magical Combat on Dueling Platform Three just now?"

"I saw it."

"Do you think that child, Fang Yun, has the potential to become a Sword Cultivator?"

The offensive technique Fang Yun had just displayed had stunned him, and he had even used a Long Sword Magical Artifact.

"Elder Feng, one doesn’t become a Sword Cultivator just by being skilled with a sword," Miao Qinghong said, shaking her head. "A Sword Cultivator’s own cultivation is what’s most important. Even without a sword in hand, they must be able to swing the sword in their heart."

"That move of Fang Yun’s relies too heavily on the sword in his hand."

Feng Tianrui nodded and said no more.

His question to Miao Qinghong had an underlying meaning: could she help guide Fang Yun toward Sword Dao Foundation Establishment? The answer he received was no.

Not only that, but Miao Qinghong didn’t even approve of the way Fang Yun used his sword.

"Elder Feng, this disciple Fang Yun’s performance is very different from what you said at the beginning," Long Xiangwen, who was sitting to Miao Qinghong’s right, suddenly said.

Hearing this, Feng Tianrui couldn’t help but shake his head inwardly.

He had originally thought it was right to be conservative in his assessment, but the result of this Magical Combat told him he had been far too conservative.

"That’s all the information I have on Fang Yun. Elder Long, just tell me, did Fang Yun defeat a Qi Refining Ninth Layer opponent or not?"

"Of course he won." Long Xiangwen smiled, though the smile on his face seemed somewhat fake.

"Then that’s all that matters. If Elder Long wants to know more about this disciple, he can look up more information on him himself."

Having said that, Feng Tianrui couldn’t help but add another sentence.

"I just wonder if this little guy, Fang Yun, has the strength to enter the Inner Sect Ranking."

"Entering the Inner Sect Ranking at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer... In the last hundred years of our Celestial Cloud Sect, the only one to do so was Elder Miao."

As Long Xiangwen spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Miao Qinghong.

Upon hearing this, Miao Qinghong said nothing, merely watching the situation with the disciples on the other Dueling Platforms.

After Fang Yun’s Magical Combat ended,

Not long after, the Elder on Dueling Platform Three announced the next two contestants.

Because the Magical Combat between Fang Yun and Hong Lingfeng had ended so quickly, Group Twenty-Two followed immediately after their Group Twenty-One was finished.

When Deng Qian heard his name, he started walking toward Dueling Platform Three.

He was in a pretty good mood right now, because not only had Fang Yun won, he had won quickly.

Losing to Fang Yun in their Magical Combat tomorrow wouldn’t be embarrassing, and even a quick loss would be fine.

This situation was exactly the outcome he had hoped for.

"Senior Brother Deng, I told you to come over with me just now. See? You had to come over anyway."

On his way to Dueling Platform Three, the Qi Refining Ninth Layer Inner Sect Disciple walked up to Deng Qian.

"Who knew the battle would end so fast?"

"Ahem, uh, Senior Brother Deng, I take back what I said before. Running into Fang Yun isn’t your lucky break. Maybe you’ll be stopped in the second round tomorrow... No, you will definitely be stopped in the second round."

"Sigh!" Deng Qian couldn’t help but let out a sigh upon hearing this.

"That’s strange, Senior Brother Deng."

"What is it?"

"Why is it that when you sigh, I get the feeling you’re actually very happy?"

"Th-that’s just your imagination. Who would want to be stopped in the second round? Do you?"

Being stopped in the second round didn’t matter to Deng Qian, as long as he wasn’t tortured by Fang Yun during their Magical Combat.

Before the Magical Combat for Group Twenty-Two began,

Fang Yun was already on his way down Battle Peak.

The sooner his Magical Combat ended, the more things he could get done.

Song Qiaoqiao had been assigned to Group Fifty-Eight, so he would have to wait a long time for her Magical Combat to start. After a moment of thought, Fang Yun decided not to wait.

If Song Qiaoqiao had been assigned to one of the next four or five groups, he would have probably stayed to watch her Magical Combat before leaving.

If they had really been assigned that way, Song Qiaoqiao would have ended up facing him in the third or fourth round.

Sect Influence +1%↑

By the time another notification message arrived, it was already night, and Fang Yun was refining and absorbing an Upper Grade Qi Enhancement Pill.

Including this latest increase in sect influence,

his sect influence had increased by three percentage points in a single day, going directly from 21% to 24%.

’It’s confirmed. It must be the effect of my standing in their hearts.’

The repeated rise in his sect influence allowed Fang Yun to confirm his theory about its mechanics.

The Inner and Outer Sect Disciples had personally witnessed his performance in today’s Magical Combat.

After leaving Battle Peak, they would definitely tell the disciples who hadn’t gone about the events of the first round.

Of that, there was no doubt.