The Divine Urban Physician Chapter 3743: Making a Fool of Oneself? (First Update)
Previously on The Divine Urban Physician...
Tens of thousands of miles away from Deceit City, a colossal city, akin to a slumbering lion, is concealed within the shadows. It clearly surpasses Deceit City in grandeur.
This is Xianying City, the paramount metropolis within a thousand-mile radius! While not a top-tier city in the Dark Domain, its standing is undeniably significant!
Today, Xianying City is alive with unusual vigor, as streaks of golden lightning descend from all directions, converging upon the city!
The streets teem with an even greater multitude than usual. Vendors and shopkeepers, as if during a grand festival, are aggressively promoting their businesses and displaying their finest merchandise!
They anticipate a handsome profit from this opportune occasion!
What particular occasion could this be?
It is the ten-yearly Cloud Clearing Master Assessment within the Dark Domain!
And Xianying City, being the most prominent city within a thousand miles, has been designated as one of the assessment venues!
Warriors from across the Dark Domain, spanning a thousand miles, have converged here with the singular aim of obtaining the coveted Cloud Clearing Master license!
The Cloud Clearing Master license is structured into four distinct tiers: the Beginner Level Cloud-pushing Master, the Intermediate Cloud Piercer, the Advanced Cloud Clearing Master, and finally, the Grandmaster!
The fundamental criterion for assessment is the success rate in cloud clearing.
In simpler terms, it quantifies the probability of accurately discerning an opponent’s cultivation level through the application of the Cloud Clearing Three Techniques!
To achieve the Beginner Level Cloud-pushing Master assessment, a success rate exceeding thirty percent is mandated. Do not dismiss this benchmark lightly; though it represents the mere entry point to becoming a Cloud Clearing Master, acquiring this Beginner Level license guarantees a respectable livelihood within the Dark Domain!
Even those whose martial prowess may not be exceptional will at least avoid the fate of pig butchers, a profession Ye Chen encountered early on!
Furthermore, successfully passing the Cloud Clearing Master assessment, even at its most basic level, is far from a trivial feat!
Each year, at each assessment point across the Dark Domain, over ten million martial artists participate!
Yet, fewer than ten thousand manage to successfully pass the Cloud Clearing Master assessment!
This translates to a success rate of merely one in a thousand!
The overwhelming majority, precisely ninety-nine percent, ultimately attain the status of Beginner Level Cloud-pushing Masters!
As for the Intermediate Cloud Piercer designation, a success rate exceeding fifty percent is a prerequisite. While this appears to be only a marginal increase, these additional two levels signify a barrier that not all can surmount!
The Beginner Level Cloud-pushing Master does not demand exceptional innate talent; perhaps requirements akin to one in a thousand aptitude, coupled with a century of dedicated cultivation practice, might offer a chance at passing. Barring extreme mediocrity, one could eventually succeed through repeated attempts, even if initial efforts fall short!
However, the path to becoming an Intermediate Cloud Piercer is markedly different!
Those who achieve the Intermediate Cloud Piercer rank are individuals possessing truly exceptional gifts!
This is not a matter of a mere one-in-a-thousand chance!
The Advanced Cloud Clearing Master demands a cloud clearing success rate surpassing seventy percent, effectively representing the pinnacle of Cloud Clearing Masters within the Dark Domain!
Attaining this level necessitates extraordinary innate talent, an unwavering commitment to cultivation, and a degree of fortunate circumstance!
Finally, the Grandmaster tier represents an existence bordering on legend...
To achieve Grandmaster status requires a success rate exceeding ninety percent!
This is a feat bordering on impossibility!
Becoming a Grandmaster transcends mere proficiency in the Cloud Clearing Three Techniques; it demands an exceptionally formidable Martial Arts Talent as well!
Across the entirety of the vast Dark Domain, the number of Grandmasters does not exceed one hundred!
Do not underestimate these hundred individuals; in proportion to the total number of Dark Domain Warriors, they constitute an infinitesimally small fraction!
Though the Dark Domain exists as a lawless frontier, detached from the outside world, those who seek refuge there are typically the destitute or utterly ruthless...
Such individuals are not precisely abundant, but one must not forget that the Dark Domain has endured for countless ages!
Those who establish themselves within the Dark Domain generally forgo returning to the Bright Territory, content to thrive and flourish within their chosen domain. Over the epochs, the Dark Domain has evolved into a self-contained realm, boasting a substantial populace!
And among this vast congregation of warriors, only a select few...
The sheer difficulty in reaching the Grandmaster rank is thus readily imaginable!
At this very moment, two brilliant streaks of golden lightning descend from the distant horizon, meeting at the gates of Xianying City, materializing into the forms of two men.
One stands tall and imposing, clad in resplendent golden robes, while the other wears a dark, flowing black robe, his expression one of profound indifference.
These two are none other than Xu Shenglong and Ye Chen!
Upon their arrival in Xianying City, the pair immediately journeyed towards its bustling center, where a colossal palace, known as Xianying City’s Cloud Clearing Hall, dominated the skyline. This grand structure served as the designated venue for the ongoing assessment.
Xu Shenglong’s countenance was alight with palpable excitement. He had scarcely believed that Brother Ye would actually achieve mastery over the notoriously arduous Cloud Clearing Three Techniques!
“Brother Ye,” Xu Shenglong inquired of Ye Chen, his voice brimming with anticipation, “You should be able to directly pass the Intermediate Cloud Piercer assessment this time, right? Haha, I wager the record for the swiftest attainment of an Intermediate Cloud Piercer in Dark Domain history will be shattered today!”
He was well aware that Brother Ye had already grasped everything that Elder Hong’s contingent had learned during their time in Deceit City. Even when Elder Hong’s group harbored doubts, they had engaged Brother Ye in a skill competition on the seventh day!
Regardless of the specific skill tested, Brother Ye had proven to be the equal of all Three Elders. These esteemed elders were themselves Intermediate Cloud Piercers, standing merely on the precipice of becoming Advanced Cloud Clearing Masters!
Given that Brother Ye could match the three in skill, his success in the Intermediate Cloud Piercer assessment was virtually a foregone conclusion!
A faint smile played on Ye Chen’s lips as he replied, “I have no intention of securing the Intermediate Cloud Piercer license; that level is still far too commonplace. My aim is to directly pursue the Advanced Cloud Clearing Master license to ensure the smooth progression of our subsequent endeavors.”
Xu Shenglong’s reaction upon hearing this was one of sheer astonishment!
An Advanced Cloud Clearing Master – this designation placed one near the zenith of Cloud Clearing Masters throughout the entire Dark Domain!
How long had Brother Ye even been diligently practicing the Cloud Clearing Three Techniques? And now, he intended to attain the Advanced Cloud Clearing Master license in one fell swoop?
The notion itself seemed almost preposterous, yet, having been uttered by Ye Chen, Xu Shenglong found himself instinctively inclined to believe in its possibility!
His gaze immediately fixed upon Ye Chen, alight with profound excitement!
He felt more strongly than ever that the wisest decision he had ever made was to pledge his allegiance to Brother Ye!
However, a sliver of doubt began to creep into Xu Shenglong’s mind. He questioned how Brother Ye could possibly conquer this advanced assessment. After all, even with the Cloud Clearing Hall’s Three Elders having dedicated their lifetimes to studying the Cloud Clearing Three Techniques, their mastery bestowed only a six-tenths success rate, a rate Brother Ye had supposedly matched!
It was at this precise moment that a cold, derisive laugh echoed from behind them, accompanied by a voice that spoke, “Quite the bold pronouncements, wouldn’t you say? You deem the Intermediate Cloud Piercer license ordinary? Do you possess any inkling of the sheer number of Intermediate Cloud Piercers across the entirety of the Dark Domain?
Do you comprehend how many individuals dedicate their entire lives, only to fail in obtaining this very license? And yet, you casually dismiss it as ordinary? Aspiring directly for the Advanced Cloud Clearing Master license? Ha! Do you mistake the advanced license for some common trinket found scattered about? Is it something any individual can simply seize at their whim? Young man, I strongly advise you to relinquish such fanciful notions to spare yourself the ignominy of public embarrassment within the assessment hall!”