Martial God Book 1 - What Is A Genius - Chapter 24 - The Skill Competition At The Beginning Of The Year

Note:
Sorry for no releases last week. Had to make a trip back home. Anyways, releases will resume.
Translated by: toomuchnoob
He Yiming eventually let out a long sigh after cultivating all these techniques. The huge rock, which had been weighing down on his heart, for the past several months was also finally lifted.
Five months ago, he felt a dense killing intent coming from Xu Xiangci, Senior Xu-second.
Against an eighth layer cultivator, He Yiming wasn’t the least bit sure of his chances. Whenever he thought about how such a high-level expert was actually watching him like a predator, he felt his blood go cold.
However, at this moment, he was not afraid anymore. Instead, he was excited; he didn’t mind running into the former and exchange some blows in secret. Of course, if he could win and teach him a lesson, that would be the best.
He Yiming slowly calmed himself as he silently thought about the enormous transformation that had occurred during this time period of about a year.
He knew that the source of all of these things was that day’s strange encounter in the lake. If he’d not obtained that strange and mysterious opportunity, perhaps he would still be that small youngster who endlessly worried over his breakthrough to the sixth layer, instead of being a high-level cultivator of the eighth layer.
While cultivating for about a year, He Yiming had gradually adapted to his body’s transformation.
Furthermore, he’d also summed up the qualities that made him stand out from the masses.
First of all, as long as he cultivated with a calm heart, be it the primary cultivation techniques, battle skills, or even supplementary skills, his Internal Energy always increased by some amount. Although the extent of the increase differed, the point still held true.
And perhaps this was the cause of He Yiming’s cultivation speed being so fast.
Apart from this extraordinary feature, when his Internal Energy attained the peak of a level and touched the corresponding bottleneck, as long as he cultivated a new technique, even including supplementary type techniques, he could easily break through the bottleneck and attain the next level.
This matter defined the heavens to the extreme. He Yiming’s age was not much and he was not a sharp and illustrious child prodigy either, but he at least knew that he couldn’t tell this matter to anyone; not even to the people closest to him.
Furthermore, ever since his encounter in the lake, he could master any technique in a very short amount of time. Especially, the battle skills; he could attain their peaks without any difficulty whatsoever.
What he found inconceivable was that his physique also seemed to have gone through an indescribable transformation. Regardless of the attribute of the techniques, he could apparently cultivate them all, and furthermore, the speed and the results of cultivation could cause anyone to be tongue-tied as well.
In addition, He Yiming’s true strength lied in the fact that he didn’t draw people’s attention. The amount of strength he chose to display became his true strength in the eyes of other people. This point could be affirmed by the fact that, previously, He Wude couldn’t discern that he’d attained the sixth layer.
These were the various strange transformations that allowed him to attain the realm of the eighth-level Internal Energy within a brief time period of less than a year. Even when taking the whole Tai Cang county into consideration, his true strength could definitely enter the top five rankings.
Of course, this was nothing more than his speculation. Thus, he couldn’t be completely certain without actual combat.
Sorting out all the stuff properly, He Yiming returned to his room, when he suddenly heard a soft bell- sound at his door. Faintly started, he opened the room’s door and saw his third uncle, He Quanyi, standing on the courtyard’s doorway.
He Quanyi stepped forward at once and entered the room. He Yiming respectfully said:
“Third uncle, why have you come personally? If there is something, you could have just asked some servants to inform me.”
He Quanyi heartily laughed and said:
“You have been bitterly cultivated for these past few months and haven’t stepped outside your room. You didn’t even attend a single banquet at the beginning or the middle of the month.”
He Yiming’s face was slightly red as he said:
“Third uncle, your small nephew has been somewhat neglectful due to being excessively focussed on cultivation and ask for forgiveness.”
He Quanyi waved his big hand and said:
“You are so engrossed in cultivation, your third uncle couldn’t ask for more.” He continued after a pause: “But with your small age, you cannot continue cultivating like this. Interacting with your siblings and others in the family is also very essential. This time, if not for your eldest uncle asking to bring you out, I wouldn’t even have known.”
Now He Yiming knew why his third uncle would come to his place. He nodded as he listened while maintaining a respectful appearance.
He Quanyi, however, felt that he couldn’t see through this small nephew of his. This kind of feeling caused astonished him incessantly. With his experience, even when facing the number one figure among the third generation, He Yitian, he was certain that he could see through the latter. However, why would this small nephew had such a huge transformation in merely a single year?
Faintly shaking his head, He Quanyi pushed this strange feeling down and said:
“Yiming, today is the middle of the month. Have dinner in the main hall with everybody. Your grandfather has already nagged about it many times. If you don’t appear any longer, I’m afraid he would rush over here and drag you out himself.”
He Yiming’s face was slightly red as he said with an awkward laugh:
“Third uncle, you can be at ease. I will certainly be there tonight.”
He Quanyi smiled and asked a few questions about He Yiming’s cultivation speed. The latter, of course, spouted some nonsense and dodged the bullet. Fortunately, the current He Yiming’s cultivation had already reached a very high level. Therefore, he did not make any error in describing the sixth layer. Otherwise, he would not have been able to hide from He Quanyi.
Of course, it was also because He Quanyi was certain that He Yiming couldn’t break through the sixth layer within a year. Otherwise, he might have doubted the latter to some extent.
After sending off He Quanyi, He Yiming contemplated for some time before he properly cleaned himself and changed into a new pair of clothes. Upon checking the remaining time, which was not much, he left for the main hall.
Since today was the middle of the month, all of the directly related children must join the banquet in the main hall. Of course, those who were behind closed doors in order to concentrate on increasing their strength were an exception. Though, rarely would someone seclude himself for more than three months. Thus, when He Yiming, who’d secluded himself for five months, appeared in the main hall, it caused a small uproar.
He Yitao had already hopped onto his feets before he pulled He Yiming into the seats of the younger generation. His eyes were wide opened and glistening as he said:
“Sixth brother, you are really ferocious. Secluding yourself for five months, you wouldn’t have attained the seventh layer, right?”
He Yiming said with a smile that didn’t seem like a smile:
“You tell me.”
Waving his small hands, He Yitao said what he’d prepared in advance:
“Sixth brother, don’t scare me. As if I don’t know. Even if you can attain the seventh layer in three years, that would already be extremely amazing. In this almost half a year, you must have been cultivating some battle skill, so as to show your moves in the Skill Competition, right?”
His words instantly gained the approval of many of his brothers and sisters. Except He Yizhang, whose face was slightly ugly, all the rest of He Yiming’s siblings were asking him one after other. But they were all identically confident that these five months, He Yiming must have been cultivating some battle skill and couldn’t have been focussing on Internal Energy.
He Yiming bitterly laughed all the time. In regards to the Skill Competition at the beginning of the year, he was actually looking forward to it somewhat.
In the He family estate, every year’s beginning, the third generation of the family would publically showcase their skills. Of course, He Yizhang and others who’d not attained the sixth layer would only display horse stance and other basic sequential movements on the stage, but those who’d attained the sixth layer must fight on the stage.
Though, until now, the winner had always been He Yiming’s eldest brother He Yitian. In front of latter’s seventh-layer Internal Energy, be it his second brother He Yihai or his third brother He Yixuan, both of them had to obediently step aside.
In truth, this was nothing more than an activity to examine the younger generation’s cultivation speed and to motivate them. Sometimes, even He Quanxin and the rest also put on a show. Furthermore, this kind of activity carried out with the air of new year was even more delightful.
Under the constant nagging of He Yitao and the rest of his siblings, He Yiming, without any better options, acknowledged their words that he’d been cultivating a battle skill hiding in his room. As for which battle skill, He Yiming only smiled in response. From the beginning, he never spoke on his own accord.
After a short time, the main hall suddenly quietened down. This was because the Lord Father and the rest had entered the hall.
He Wude swept his gaze through the several grandsons and granddaughters, and nodded with satisfaction. He sat on the host seat, while He Quanxin, He Quanyi, and He Yitian sat opposite to the younger generation.
Except for He Yitian, the rest of the third generation had always feared the Lord Father in their hearts. A pin-drop silence suddenly covered the main hall which was bustling with noise a moment ago.
After the dinner, He Wude lightly coughed and said:
“Quanyi, it’s new year next month. Have all the goods been arranged?”
He Quanyi said in a respectful voice:
“Father, you can be at ease. Everything has been arranged properly.”
“Good. Let, Quanming and his wife, the couple to return a bit early. Suffering a year outside is not easy.”
He Yixuan, Yiming, and Yilong, the three siblings, immediately beamed with joy. They were but the biological children of the couple. Thus, upon hearing an early return of their parents, their mood was vastly distinct from their other siblings.
He Wude’s gaze swept through the numerous small bodies as he said:
“The skill competition will also be a bit early. He Yiming has attained the sixth layer this year as well; our He family’s young generation is gradually growing up.”
His voice was full of emotions and joy. For him, nothing could be more joyous than watching his grandchildren gradually grow up.
He Quanyi made the corresponding arrangements.
Though He Yiming was rather anxious. He wished to make his grandfather happy, but didn’t wish to reveal his full strength on the other hand. As such, what should be his performance after one month?