Chapter 149: The Keep-With-The-Times Martial Arts Association

The massive body of the giant grey eagle, partially exposed outside, was struggling incessantly. Its wings were spread wide as it attempted to take flight once more.

Lin Yi maintained a blank expression, his fist half-clenched, and punched directly at the eagle's head buried beneath the ground.

Bang.

The entire earth trembled, and concentric rings of air pressure rapidly rippled outward in all directions with Lin Yi at the center.

The eagle's body shivered a few times before collapsing heavily onto the ground, kicking up a vast cloud of dust.

Everyone present was startled.

This peerlessly ferocious giant grey eagle had actually been killed—or rather, knocked out instantly—with a single punch?

You've got to be kidding me.

Dong Chengyi's eyelids twitched violently. Since when had such a monster emerged from the transcendent factions?

With strength like this, what need was there for any further cultivation?

Lin Yi dusted off his hands. He hadn't dealt a fatal blow; he had merely knocked the giant eagle unconscious.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Yi walked over to Die Nishang.

Wherever he passed, the crowd instinctively parted to clear a path.

Such are the benefits of absolute power.

"Are you alright?" Lin Yi asked indifferently.

Regardless of anything else, he was currently cultivating under the banner of the Butterfly Valley, so he ought to show a modicum of concern for his teammate.

"I'm fine." Die Nishang coughed, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.

Although the grey eagle had not used its full strength, the terrifying might of a spiritual beast was indisputable.

"Oh."

Lin Yi acknowledged with a single syllable. Knowing she was alright, he simply ignored her further.

This left Die Nishang feeling rather helpless. She was, after all, a great beauty; yet after she got injured, he only asked a single perfunctory question without showing any genuine concern.

Cai Jingjing's injuries were relatively minor. After swallowing a rejuvenating pill, most of her wounds were healed.

She scurried over to Die Nishang's side and asked, "Senior Sister, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Die Nishang shook her head.

"This place is simply not fit for humans, Senior Sister. Why don't we just go back?" Cai Jingjing blinked and said.

"Nonsense," Die Nishang rebuked.

Though the advanced training was grueling, the rewards gained in return were directly proportional to the hardship.

Seeing Die Nishang take that tone, Cai Jingjing stammered and did not dare to utter another word.

After everyone had rested for a moment, Dong Chengyi clapped his hands and said, "Alright, everyone. This was merely a test; the path of cultivation is never completely smooth sailing."

With that, Dong Chengyi cast a deliberate, lingering glance in Lin Yi's direction.

Lin Yi naturally sensed Dong Chengyi's gaze, but he paid it no mind.

The others looked at Lin Yi with gazes full of awe and reverence.

Yet, this was all for the better, as it saved him a great deal of unnecessary trouble.

Dong Chengyi withdrew his gaze and pulled a handful of jade tokens from his storage pouch.

"These are identity tokens. Infuse your inner qi into them to bind them as yours. They are essential keys for entering the training grounds, so make sure not to lose them. You will need to return them when you leave."

"Also, remember to use WeChat to scan the QR code on the back of your token and follow our official public account. All expenses within the training grounds must be settled using the points system on that account."

Dong Chengyi finished speaking and distributed the identity tokens.

With an identity token, one could freely enter and exit Youling Mountain; the array formations would automatically ignore anyone bearing a token.

Lin Yi picked up an identity token and inspected it. On the back was indeed a QR code.

They really kept up with the times.

He wondered if the other major factions operated the same way.

Lin Yi scanned the QR code, and the name of the official account was Martial Arts Association.

His current points balance was zero. Furthermore, within this training ground, regular currency was useless; points were everything.

Lin Yi checked the exchange rates and discovered that one point could be exchanged for ten low-grade spiritual stones.

Top-grade spiritual stones required ten thousand points per gram, and there was a quantity limit indicated below, capped at a total of five hundred grams.

"Five hundred grams, huh?" Lin Yi stroked his chin. It was a pity there were no supreme-grade spiritual stones.

He planned to exchange for all the available top-grade spiritual stones and then promptly leave the Martial Arts Association.

This place offered little help for his own advancement; the only thing that caught his eye was their stock of top-grade spiritual stones.

Following Dong Chengyi's instructions, Lin Yi channeled a sliver of true essence into his token.

Who would have thought that with a crisp crack, the token proved unable to withstand his true essence and shattered instantly.

"Is it really that fragile?"

Lin Yi was somewhat speechless.

Not only him, but Die Nishang, who stood beside him, also glanced over in surprise.

This identity token was crafted from spirit-attuned jade, which inherently possessed spiritual-absorbing properties.

This was the first time she had ever seen someone crack an identity token simply by using inner qi.

"Mr. Lin, you..." Die Nishang looked slightly worried.

After all, Dong Chengyi had previously stated that these tokens had to be returned later.

"It's fine," Lin Yi said indifferently.

Though called an identity token, it was essentially just a miniature array disk.

Lin Yi retrieved a spiritual stone and rapidly refined it. In less than a minute, he had repaired the fractured identity token good as new.

Cai Jingjing's large eyes sparkled brightly as she watched this display.

This time, Lin Yi simulated his true essence to mimic inner qi, cautiously injecting just a tiny thread of it.

Immediately afterwards, a faint flash of light swept across his token, signifying successful authentication.

"What a hassle," Lin Yi muttered, shaking his head.

Once everyone had successfully activated their tokens, Dong Chengyi led the group into the training grounds.

The training grounds of Youling Mountain were not located on the mountainside, but rather deep within the interior of the giant mountain.

The entire mountain had been hollowed out, demonstrating just how wealthy and powerful the Martial Arts Association truly was.

Moreover, because the mountain's interior was adjacent to a spiritual stone vein, the spiritual energy here was exceptionally dense, thickening to the point of mist.

Although it did not match the efficacy of the spirit-gathering array Lin Yi had personally set up, compared to anywhere else, this was undoubtedly a blessed sanctuary.

"Oh my god, the spiritual energy here is so dense! Cultivating here for a day must be worth at least a month outside," Cai Jingjing said with a skip in her step.

It was no wonder countless geniuses broke their heads trying to get in here; just this mist-like spiritual energy alone was enough to drive people mad.

Lin Yi glanced around. This was a vast plaza, and not far away stood a cluster of independent wooden cabins.

The cabins were small, designed to accommodate at most a single person each.

Furthermore, there were only one hundred such wooden cabins.

Yet there were currently over one hundred and eighty people remaining, meaning nearly half the people would have no place to live.

How would this be resolved? Naturally, through competition and seizure.

"To stimulate the potential of these geniuses, the Martial Arts Association really stops at nothing."

Lin Yi smiled faintly. While he didn't have any strict demands regarding his living quarters, having one was better than not having one.

Dong Chengyi swept his gaze over the crowd, pressed his hands down to signal for quiet, and said, "As long as you have enough points, you can enjoy all the cultivation resources here."

"The duration of this advanced training is half a year, and you may withdraw at any time during this period. Additionally, every half a month, we will eliminate the three individuals with the lowest point rankings."

"If anyone still has questions, you can check our official public account. Alright, the remaining time is yours to arrange."

Having said that, Dong Chengyi turned and strode away.

Die Nishang hurriedly said, "Mr. Lin, let's hurry and rush to claim a wooden cabin."

"Why?" Cai Jingjing still hadn't figured out what was going on.

"For the first half-month, the cabins are the only places to live. If we don't grab one early, when all the spots are taken, we'll have no choice but to sleep outside," Die Nishang reminded her.

"Oh, I see! Then let's hurry!" Cai Jingjing nodded.

In truth, Die Nishang wasn't the only one who understood this; several others were also rushing toward the wooden cabins.

Lin Yi was unhurried, strolling leisurely at the very back.

By the time he reached the cabins, well over half of them had already been claimed by others.

Lin Yi simply headed for the very last one. He had just stepped inside the cabin and barely had time to inspect the interior when a voice echoed from outside.

"Um... our boss wants to see you."

The speaker was an eighteen or nineteen-year-old chubby youth at the seventh layer of the Xiantian realm, dressed in designer clothes and wearing a thick gold chain around his neck.

"Your boss wants to see me?" Lin Yi turned around, instantly startling the chubby youth into taking two steps back.

"Y-yes," the chubby youth nodded repeatedly.

Lin Yi said with some annoyance, "Don't come and bother me, or else you'll end up just like that grey eagle outside."

The chubby youth's legs trembled, and he nearly tumbled onto his bottom.

In his eyes, Lin Yi was nothing short of a living demon king.

That terrifying grey eagle had been flattened with a single punch; if a blow like that landed on him, even if he had an extra three hundred pounds of fat, it probably wouldn't be enough to withstand a single hit.

"I—I understand!" The chubby youth fled without even looking back.

Only after the chubby youth left did Lin Yi finally take stock of the wooden cabin.

It was roughly twenty square meters in size, and the interior decoration was simple, consisting solely of a bed, a table, and a stool.

Though crude, for Lin Yi, as long as it was habitable, it would suffice.