Chapter 6 – The Competition Among Servant Disciples 杂役弟子大比

A few months passed in the blink of an eye, and Lin Yuan's cultivation level improved even faster than he had expected. Every day, he used the "Spiritual Sense Perception" of the Golden Eyes to search for cultivation resources. From time to time, he could find things containing spiritual energy such as spiritual herbs in the spiritual fields and spirit stones in abandoned corners. Relying on these accumulations, he successfully broke through to the high - level Qi Refining stage, reaching the seventh level of Qi Refining.

However, what truly brought about a qualitative leap for him was an accidental task in the outer mountain.

That day, Lin Yuan and other servant disciples were dispatched to clean an abandoned cave dwelling of an outer - sect disciple. It was said that this place had once been the residence of an elder, but that person had disappeared many years ago and no one knew where he was.

While cleaning, Lin Yuan's Golden Eyes suddenly detected a strange spiritual energy fluctuation within the earthen wall in a corner of the cave. When no one was paying attention, he used tools to dig open the wall and actually discovered a dilapidated secret manual that had been eroded by time.

The cover of the secret manual was already blurred, but as soon as he opened the first page, Lin Yuan's gaze was firmly attracted. Although the handwriting was a bit blurry, he could still make out a few key words: "Wind Shadow Body Technique, extreme speed, transform into a shadow."

"A body technique secret manual?!" Lin Yuan was overjoyed. He knew that in the world of cultivating immortals, body combat techniques were extremely important skills, especially in battles. Speed often determined life and death. If you couldn't win, at least you could run.

He flipped through a few pages and found that this secret manual was extraordinary. The content was concise yet profound, and when practicing, one needed to use spiritual energy to stimulate specific acupoints to activate the body technique.

"Jackpot!" Lin Yuan was elated in his heart, but remained calm on the surface. He carefully put away the secret manual.

After returning to the dormitory, Lin Yuan spent several days studying this secret manual and then began to try to practice the "Wind Shadow Body Technique". He discovered that this body technique required extremely precise control of spiritual energy. For a Qi Refining stage cultivator, it was very difficult to fully master.

At first, Lin Yuan could only barely speed up a few steps. Several times, he even fell flat on his face due to the disorder of spiritual energy. Meng Xinghe saw this and laughed at him: "Lin Yuan, are you doing a funny dance?"

Lin Yuan ignored him and gritted his teeth to keep practicing. After a month of repeated refinement, he finally mastered the knack of the "Wind Shadow Body Technique". He could significantly increase his speed within a short time and even use spiritual energy afterimages to confuse the enemy.

"Although I'm not completely proficient yet, it should be enough to deal with the competition among servant disciples." Lin Yuan comforted himself.

The biennial competition among servant disciples finally kicked off. The participants were all the elites among the servant disciples whose cultivation levels had reached the fourth level of Qi Refining or above, a total of 104 people. After two rounds of intense competitions, the top 20 would be selected to become outer - sect disciples. The winners would also receive a precious Foundation Establishment Pill to help break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Before the competition, Lin Yuan stood at the edge of the square, looking at the contestants around him who were eager to have a go and rubbing their hands. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He tightened his grip on the standard long knife in his hand. This was the standard weapon for servant disciples. Although it was nothing special, it was sturdy and durable.

In the first match, his opponent was a young man in a cyan dress holding a long sword. The opponent was good at illusory swordsmanship. As the spiritual energy circulated, the sword instantly turned into several phantoms and rushed towards Lin Yuan.

At first, Lin Yuan was a bit overwhelmed, but soon, his Golden Eyes ability was triggered passively, and he instantly saw through the illusions.

"Hey, watch me break this!" Lin Yuan let out a strange cry, his steps suddenly accelerated. Using the Wind Shadow Body Technique, he circled behind the opponent and swung his long knife, directly shattering the opponent's illusory sword formation.

The young man in the cyan dress was dumbfounded. Before he could react, he was kicked off the arena by Lin Yuan.

"Eliminated." The referee announced expressionlessly.

Lin Yuan won the first victory! He excitedly jumped up and down on the arena twice and made a victory gesture towards the audience. The audience immediately burst into laughter and applause.

In the second - round competition, his opponent was a servant disciple quite famous among the outer - sect disciples - Li Mufeng. This person was known for his body technique. His "Shadow Thunder Step" was extremely fast and was considered the top - notch body technique in the Qi Refining stage.

As soon as the competition started, Li Mufeng galloped like lightning, and his speed was so fast that it was almost impossible to catch his figure. The audience exclaimed one after another: "Lin Yuan is probably going to lose miserably this time. Li Mufeng's Shadow Thunder Step is unrivaled among the servant disciples!"

However, Lin Yuan was not flustered at all. He took a deep breath, activated the Wind Shadow Body Technique, and his body instantly turned into a shadow, shuttling at high speed on the arena with Li Mufeng. Every time the two collided, a strong spiritual energy fluctuation was triggered, shaking the stone slabs at the edge of the arena and cracking several gaps.

"Lin Yuan can actually compete with Li Mufeng's body technique?" Someone shouted in surprise.

During the battle, Lin Yuan's Golden Eyes played a role again, and he saw through the flaw in Li Mufeng's Shadow Thunder Step. Taking advantage of the moment when the opponent's figure slightly stagnated, he suddenly accelerated, closed the distance, and with a sweeping slash, forced Li Mufeng to the edge of the arena.

"Ha ha, see where you can run!" Lin Yuan shouted loudly, waving his long knife vigorously. Each slash carried a fierce momentum. Li Mufeng dodged left and right and gradually showed signs of fatigue.

Finally, before his physical strength and spiritual energy were about to be exhausted, Lin Yuan successfully defeated Li Mufeng and won the second victory. He collapsed on the arena, panting heavily, but his face was filled with the joy of victory.

After the competition, Lin Yuan dragged his exhausted body back to the dormitory. He sat on the edge of the bed, looking up at the ceiling, with a thousand thoughts in his mind.

"This is only the first two matches of the competition. The opponents in the future will definitely be stronger and stronger... But for the sake of the Foundation Establishment Pill and the chance to get close to that treasured artifact of the sect, I must persevere."

Three days later, the competition will continue. The remaining 26 people will compete for the final qualifications to become outer - sect disciples.

====================

几个月的时间转瞬即逝,林远的修为提升得比他预想的还要快.他每天利用金瞳的 "灵识感知" 寻找修炼资源,时不时就能发现灵田里的灵草,废弃角落的灵石这类蕴含灵气的东西,靠着这些积累,他成功突破到了练气高段,达到了练气七层.

然而,真正让他实现质的飞跃的,是一次偶然的外山任务.

那天,林远和其他杂役弟子被派去清理一处废弃的外门弟子洞府.听说,这里曾经是一位长老的住所,可那人早已消失多年,不知所踪.

清理的时候,林远的金瞳突然察觉到洞府一角的土墙内有一股古怪的灵气波动.他趁没人注意,用工具挖开墙面,竟然发现了一本被岁月侵蚀得破破烂烂的秘籍.

秘籍的封皮已经模糊不清,可翻开第一页,林远的目光就被牢牢吸引住了.尽管字迹有些模糊,但他还是辨认出了几个关键字:"风影身法,极速,化影".

"身法秘籍?!" 林远心中狂喜.他知道,在修仙界,身法可是一项极为重要的技能,尤其是在战斗中,速度往往能决定生死.打不过,跑总行了吧.

他翻了几页,发现这本秘籍很不一般,内容简洁却精深,修炼时还需要用灵力催动特定穴位来激活身法.

"真是捡到宝了!" 林远心里乐开了花,脸上却不动声色,小心翼翼地把秘籍收了起来.

回到宿舍后,林远花了好几天研究这本秘籍,然后开始尝试修炼 "风影身法".他发现,这套身法对灵力的精细操控要求极高,对于练气期的修士来说,想要完全掌握,难度非常大.

刚开始,林远只能勉强加快几步速度,有好几次还因为灵力紊乱,摔了个狗啃泥.孟星河看到了,毫不留情地嘲笑他:"林远,你这是在跳滑稽舞吗?"

林远懒得搭理他,咬着牙坚持练习.经过一个月的反复打磨,他终于掌握了 "风影身法" 的窍门,能够在短时间内大幅提升速度,甚至还能利用灵力残影迷惑敌人.

"虽然还不算完全精通,但用来应付杂役弟子大比,应该是够了." 林远自我安慰道.

两年一度的杂役弟子大比终于拉开了帷幕,参赛的都是杂役弟子中修为达到练气四层以上的精英,一共有 104 人.经过两轮激烈的比试后,将筛选出前 20 名,成为外门弟子.获胜者还能得到一颗珍贵的筑基丹,助力突破筑基期.

比赛前,林远站在广场边缘,看着周围摩拳擦掌,跃跃欲试的参赛者,心里难免有些紧张.他握紧了手中的制式长刀,这是杂役弟子的标配武器,虽然没什么特别之处,但胜在结实耐用.

第一场,他的对手是一个身穿青衣,手持长剑的青年,对方擅长幻术剑法,灵力运转间,剑光瞬间化作数道虚影,朝着林远扑面而来.

林远一开始还有些招架不住,但很快,他的金瞳能力被动触发,瞬间看穿了幻术的虚实.

"嘿,看我给你破了!" 林远怪叫一声,脚步猛地加快,利用风影身法绕到对方身后,手中长刀一挥,直接斩碎了对方的幻术剑阵.

青衣青年目瞪口呆,还没反应过来,就被林远一脚踹下了擂台.

"淘汰." 裁判面无表情地宣布.

林远赢得了第一场胜利!他兴奋地在擂台上蹦跶了两下,朝着台下比了个胜利的手势,台下顿时响起一阵哄笑和掌声.

第二轮比试,他的对手是一位在外门弟子圈中颇有名气的杂役弟子 —— 李慕风.此人以身法见长,他的 "影雷步" 速度极快,堪称练气期中的顶尖身法.

比赛一开始,李慕风如闪电般疾驰,速度快得几乎让人捕捉不到他的身影.台下的观众纷纷惊叹:"林远这次怕是要输得很惨吧,这李慕风的影雷步可是杂役弟子中的一绝啊!"

然而,林远却丝毫没有慌乱.他深吸一口气,催动风影身法,身体瞬间化作一道残影,与李慕风在擂台上高速交错.两人每次碰撞,都引发一阵强烈的灵力波动,震得擂台边缘的石板都裂开了几道缝隙.

"林远居然能和李慕风的身法抗衡?" 有人惊讶地喊道.

战斗中,林远的金瞳再次发挥作用,洞察到了李慕风影雷步的破绽.趁着对方身形稍有停滞,他突然加速,拉近了距离,一记横扫斩将李慕风逼到了擂台边缘.

"哈哈,看你往哪儿跑!" 林远大喝一声,手中长刀舞得虎虎生风,每一刀都带着凌厉的气势.李慕风左躲右闪,渐渐露出疲态.

最终,林远在体力和灵力即将耗尽之前,成功击败了李慕风,赢得了第二场胜利.他瘫倒在擂台上,大口喘着粗气,脸上却洋溢着胜利的喜悦.

比赛结束后,林远拖着疲惫不堪的身体回到宿舍.他坐在床边,抬头望着天花板,思绪万千.

"这才只是大比的前两场,接下来的对手肯定会越来越强... 但为了筑基丹,为了有机会接触那个镇派之宝,我必须坚持下去."

三天后,大比将继续进行,剩下的 26 人将争夺外门弟子的最终资格.