Chapter 5373: Revealing One’s Edge
“What happened?”
“Was there an error?”
“How could an outsider receive such a container?”
A commotion broke out amongst the members of the Seven Realms Sacred Mansion, especially those from the Jie Clan. They couldn’t accept that Chu Feng had achieved such an outstanding result. Their first thought was that something had gone wrong.
“Shut your mouths. When have you seen this place making an error before? Is it that difficult for you to admit that someone has done better than you?” Ling Sheng’er roared.
The others immediately zipped their mouths.
Ling Sheng’er’s reputation was one thing, but they had to admit that her words made sense too. The sculpture had never made a mistake before. However, this would also mean that Chu Feng was a top-notch prodigy surpassing the rest of them.
That realization changed some of their impressions toward Chu Feng, but the others continued to direct animosity toward him.
The Seven Realms Sacred Mansion had always prided itself on having the strongest world spiritists in the world. They believed that the blood of the strongest world spiritists was flowing through their veins, making them nobler than others.
Yet, the sculpture actually deemed an outsider superior to them. It made them displeased, thus compelling them to find excuses for their shortcomings. It was not just arrogance at play here; it was a natural reaction stemming from the upbringing that had ingrained in them the notion that they were superior to outsiders.
“Brother Chu Feng sure is extraordinary. It’s no wonder little sister Sheng’er would invite him here,” Jie Zhou finally spoke up with a smile. Despite his friendly attitude, his expression looked a little stiff.
“That fellow’s face has turned livid, but he’s still trying to force a smile. It’s obvious that he’s a hypocrite, albeit a lousy one,” Eggy said.
Chu Feng could also tell that Jie Zhou was acting weird.
“Exactly, Jie Zhou! With Chu Feng around, we might just be able to acquire more cultivation resources than you this time around,” Ling Sheng’er said confidently, not showing any humility at all.
“That’d be a blessing to our Seven Realms Sacred Mansion. I’d be happy for you,” Jie Zhou said with a smile.
“Pui. How fake!” Eggy berated.
Ling Sheng’er didn’t respond to those words. She didn’t seem to be fond of Jie Zhou either.
“Let’s enter the Ancient Palace,” Ling Mo’er said before turning to Chu Feng. “Young master Chu Feng, follow me.”
There were twelve entrances to the Ancient Palace in total.
Ling Mo’er made her way toward the leftmost entrance, whereas Jie Zhou made his way toward the rightmost entrance. The others entered via the other entrances. It looked like they had already agreed on which entrances they would be entering the Ancient Palace by.
“Why are you following us? Take the fifth entrance!” Yao Luo said.
“Young miss, I want to go with big brother Chu Feng,” Bai Yunqing said.
“That won’t do. That entrance usually only accommodates three people. Four is already a crowd. If you join us too, it’ll greatly increase the difficulty of clearing the stages!” Yao Luo said.
“Young miss, I am a Blue Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist. I’m confident that I can contribute to you!” To prove himself, Bai Yunqing released a whiff of his spirit power.
However, Yao Luo ignored him and said, “Just head to the fifth entrance.”
“Let him come with us. I promise you that he won’t be a burden,” Chu Feng said.
Yao Luo turned to Chu Feng and spoke in a gentler but aggrieved tone, “Chu Feng, it’s not that I don’t want him to come with us, but it really won’t work!”
Just then, Ling Mo’er spoke up, “No worries. Young master Bai can join us too.”
“Young miss!” Yao Luo exclaimed.
“Luo’er,” Ling Sheng’er interjected.
Yao Luo finally zipped her mouth.
It was worth noting that there were only three people entering Jie Zhou’s rightmost entrance too, while there were more people entering the other entrances.
“Jie Yu, you should come with us,” Jie Zhou suddenly said.
“Young master Jie Zhou, I appreciate your goodwill, but I don’t want to be a burden to you,” Jie Yu replied.
“I insist. You should join us,” Jie Zhou said. He turned to one of his aides and said, “You’ll swap places with Jie Yu.”
His aide was reluctant to head to the other entrances, but he had no choice but to do as he was told. Seeing that, Jie Yu could only head to Jie Zhou’s side.
“What is that fellow up to? Is he hoping to get information on you through Jie Yu so that he can deal with you?” Eggy asked.
“That’s probably the case.” Chu Feng also thought that Jie Zhou wanted to deal with him.
After all, Jie Zhou was the one prophesied to decipher the secret here, only to be outdone by Chu Feng earlier on. Despite his friendly exterior, there was a high chance that he might have already classified Chu Feng as his enemy.
However, Chu Feng wasn’t bothered by it. It was not once or twice that he had become a thorn in other people’s flesh because of how outstanding he was.
As soon as Chu Feng entered the leftmost entrance, he felt the power of a formation sweeping across the five of them. It didn’t seem like much had happened at first glance, but it was likely that the difficulty of the stages ahead had been recalibrated according to their group.
“Is there anything special about the entrances?” Chu Feng asked.
“Yes, each of the entrances has different stages, which results in different levels of difficulties and rewards. On top of that, each entrance has a different limit on the number of people that can enter. Luo’er was reluctant to allow young master Bai to come with us because the leftmost entrance has a limit of three people. Beyond that, the level of difficulty greatly increases,” Ling Mo’er said.
Yao Luo couldn’t resist the urge to add on, “Jie Zhou gets the rightmost entrance just because he’s the prophesied child. While it’s not the easiest entrance, it promises the greatest benefits since it’s the one that the Seven Realms Sacred Mansion is the most familiar with. He’s always able to get the best rewards not because he’s better than our young misses but simply because of the entrance he gets!”
Chu Feng wanted to ask which entrance his mother took, but on second thought, asking such a question would be telling others that Jie Yu had divulged confidential information to them. Thus, he held himself back.
“Don’t worry. With Chu Feng helping us this time around, we’ll definitely be able to go further than we previously did,” Ling Sheng’er said confidently. She turned to Chu Feng and said, “Chu Feng, we’re familiar with the first few trials, so you need not exert yourself. However, there’s a stage later on that we have been stuck on for a long time now. We’ll need your aid for that one.”
“What kind of stage is it?” Bai Yunqing asked out of curiosity.
However, Ling Sheng’er completely ignored Bai Yunqing and instead continued addressing Chu Feng, “Aren’t you curious why I invited you here?”
“I am,” Chu Feng replied.
“That stage requires one to have a high mastery of martial power and spirit power,” Ling Sheng’er said.
“Is that why you have been cultivating your martial skill?” Chu Feng asked.
“That’s right,” Ling Sheng’er replied. With a wave of her hand, she drew out a stage with her spirit power. “This is the stage I am referring to. Only one person can challenge it, and that person only gets one shot. It’ll be the end of the challenge once that person fails. I have always been the one to challenge that stage, but I have never succeeded. While I have mastered that martial skill, honestly speaking, I still don’t bear too much hope for it. That’s why I want you to do it in my place.”
“Sure. I’ll give it a try,” Chu Feng said.
“Aren’t you going to take a closer look?” Yao Luo asked. She noticed that Chu Feng had only taken a glance at the map before turning away.
“I have already remembered it,” Chu Feng replied.
“Be a little more serious. Our young misses have high expectations of you!” Yao Luo said.
“Luo’er.” Ling Mo’er gestured for Yao Luo to speak no more. She then turned to Chu Feng and said, “Young master Chu Feng, that trial is also beyond our means. That’s why we sought your help. You need not feel too pressured to succeed; it’s not a big deal even if you fail.”
“I don’t feel pressured, but I don’t intend to let down your trust. I’ll do my best,” Chu Feng said.
Soon, the group arrived at the first stage. Ling Mo’er and Ling Sheng’er took the lead for the stage, whereas Yao Luo played a supportive role to them. Their teamwork was impeccable, and it looked like they were quite experienced with this.
Yet, Chu Feng soon noticed that the three of them had started to struggle. Bai Yunqing quickly released his spirit power to help them, but even so, they were unable to breach the formation. Seeing that, he stepped in too.
“Chu Feng, you’re too weak. Don’t come in,” Ling Sheng’er said.
However, Chu Feng paid them no heed. He released his spirit power and began constructing a formation. His movements left Ling Mo’er and the others dumbfounded.
Chu Feng was clearly a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist, but the prowess of his formation was comparable to a Blue Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist. His intervention immediately revealed an opening in the formation blocking their path, and through their tight coordination, they were able to quickly breach the formation.
The formation shattered into countless light fragments that flowed into their respective containers. These were the cultivation resources they could use once they completed the trial.
“Young master Chu Feng, how did you… Were you hiding your true strength?” Ling Mo’er asked.
While all of them had exerted their full prowess earlier, they could still tell that Chu Feng had played the key role in breaching the formation. They probably could have still breached the formation without his help too, but it wouldn’t have been that easy.
It was hard to believe that a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist like him could construct such a powerful formation unless he was hiding his true strength.
