The astonishment in the eyes of the crowd when they looked at Mo Qingkuang was no less than when they looked at Chen Kong. Three years ago, when Chen Kong first entered the Inner Court, he hadn't made such a significant impact!
Even though the competition was only about speed, his opponent was Li Sheng, who was known as the 'fastest in the Inner Court.'
Thus, it could be said that under the Grandmaster realm, Mo Qingkuang was now the fastest. In other words, in specific situations, Mo Qingkuang was almost invincible under the Grandmaster realm!
This was because warriors typically lacked long-range attack methods until they reached the Grandmaster level, where they could project their true qi, which could potentially threaten Mo Qingkuang.
And he was only a third-rank Martial Master!
Indeed, with his continuous training on his way back from Zhennan Pass, combined with Mo Fan's guidance, Mo Qingkuang had smoothly broken through one rank, becoming a third-rank Martial Master.
Compared to Chen Kong, who had entered the Inner Court three years ago, Mo Qingkuang's cultivation level was even a rank higher.
It seemed that, like Chen Kong, Mo Qingkuang would inevitably break through to the Grandmaster realm within three years. With his talent, it was likely that the Inner Court would witness another super-genius listed on both the Young Qilin and Hidden Dragon rankings.
"Mo Qingkuang, I knew you would win!" Han Yan, with her beautiful eyes curved into crescents, excitedly approached Mo Qingkuang. The usual coldness she showed to others vanished entirely in front of him, making everyone envious.
Mo Qingkuang, however, did not immerse himself in the joy of defeating Li Sheng. His mind was filled with thoughts about the Earth Spirit Body, Fire Spirit Body, and Wind Spirit Body. Externally, he did not appear overly happy, merely nodding calmly. "Let's go, we need to register."
To the onlookers, this calmness only elevated their opinion of him. He remained humble in victory, displaying a maturity far beyond his years.
Accompanied by Han Yan, Mo Qingkuang went to the office to complete the registration procedures. He just needed to verify his identity and receive a badge of unknown material, similar to Han Yan's, to complete the process.
The instructor handling the registration seemed to be in his forties, with an aura that was hard to discern. He looked at Mo Qingkuang with some surprise. The competition between Mo Qingkuang and Li Sheng had caused quite a stir, and the finish line was just outside his office. How could he not be aware of it?
He was quite surprised by Mo Qingkuang's victory, though he did not show it. He retrieved a badge from a box behind him and waved his hand over it, infusing it with true qi. This seemed to activate some sort of formation within the badge, causing it to emit a white glow. Without waiting for the glow to fade, he tossed the badge to Mo Qingkuang.
Once the glow subsided, Mo Qingkuang examined the badge representing his status as an Inner Court disciple. The badge was neither gold nor jade, with numbers on both sides. One side read '117,' while the other read "1000."
Seeing this, Han Yan explained, "The number 117 is your ranking on the Qingyun Stele. Previously, that was my rank. Now, I should be 118." She took out her own jade badge, which indeed now read '118.'
Han Yan had been ranked 117, but as the runner-up in this year's examination, her initial ranking naturally moved back one place after the top scorer, Mo Qingkuang, registered, making her 118. Consequently, Gu Hongyi moved to 119.
The formation on the badge seemed to be mysteriously linked to the Qingyun Stele. At this moment, unnoticed by anyone, the Qingyun Stele displayed a new name: Mo Qingkuang, appearing at the 117th position.
Han Yan continued to explain that the number 1000 was Mo Qingkuang's initial points, a reward for entering the Inner Court as the top scorer. Han Yan, as the runner-up, received 500 points, Gu Hongyi received 300, while those promoted from the Outer Court only received 100 initial points.
However, Han Yan had already spent her five hundred points. Being a girl, it was impossible to restrain herself from buying things.
"There are many residences in the Inner Court. You can find any unoccupied place to live. Additionally, the dean wants to see you after you finish registering. He is in the Star Pavilion," said the registration instructor, glancing at Han Yan and casually addressing Mo Qingkuang. Han Yan's proactive explanations saved him some trouble.
"Thank you, instructor," Mo Qingkuang nodded and respectfully cupped his hands.
The Star Pavilion, located deep within the Inner Court, was the residence of the dean, Zheng Tao. Mo Qingkuang had seen it on the map earlier.
The Inner Court of the Martial Arts Academy differed from the Outer Court. The Outer Court had a large number of students, each assigned to various instructors for guidance. However, after entering the Inner Court, unless favoured by a specific instructor, students were left without a mentor and had to rely on themselves for cultivation.
This granted them significant freedom of movement, with each disciple having their own residence. They would only challenge others to improve their ranking, typically through duels agreed upon at the Qingyun Arena. Usually, they stayed in their rooms to cultivate or went out on missions.
Mo Qingkuang, accompanied by Han Yan, left the registration office. A disciple who had been Li Sheng's follower approached, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Senior Brother Mo, Senior Brother Li asked me to deliver these two thousand points to you."
It seemed Li Sheng was too embarrassed to personally deliver the bet in front of everyone, so he had sent his followers instead.
Mo Qingkuang nodded and took out his jade badge. The disciple held his own jade badge, infused it with true qi, and lightly swiped it over Mo Qingkuang's badge. The number on the back of Mo Qingkuang's badge instantly increased from one thousand to three thousand.
Han Yan looked at the numbers on Mo Qingkuang's badge with a fiery gaze and softly explained, "The jade badges contain special formations inscribed by high-level formation masters. By infusing true qi into them, it's easy to learn how to use them."
"Wow, that's quite amazing," Mo Qingkuang marvelled, slowly infusing his true qi into the jade badge. In no time, he mastered the usage of the badge.
"Give me your badge," Mo Qingkuang extended his hand to Han Yan.
"Why?" Han Yan asked, puzzled.
"Just give it to me, I want to try something."
"Oh..." Han Yan handed her jade badge to Mo Qingkuang. He glanced at it and saw the number thirteen remaining.
Mo Qingkuang couldn't help but chuckle. The prettier the girl, the better she was at spending money.
Han Yan blushed and said, "Don't laugh at me. I bought many things as backups! Five hundred points are simply not enough!"
Without explaining, Mo Qingkuang infused his true qi into the jade badge and swiped it over Han Yan's badge. The number on the back of her badge instantly changed from 13 to 513.
He then tossed it back to Han Yan, saying, "Take it and buy what you need. I'm going to find the dean."
***
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