The majestic, towering mountain range stretched endlessly across the land like a colossal dragon, winding and undulating into the distance. Its lofty peaks were shrouded in mist, and from afar, the entire range radiated an overwhelming sense of grandeur.
This mountain range was the venue for the Sword Dao Department’s selection competition. It was merely an offshoot of a much larger mountain range.
The mountains, normally sparsely populated, had become bustling with activity today.
Aside from the contestants taking part in the competition, there were also students who had come to watch the excitement. To ensure fairness, the Sword Dao Academy had decided to broadcast the competition live, temporarily setting up an enormous formation over the mountain range.
As the sea of clouds churned, more than a dozen figures emerged from within. They were all elders of the Sword Dao Academy, including the academy’s dean, Zhang Zhufeng.
Then, a massive cloud descended to the ground. As the mist dispersed, the contestants participating in the competition were revealed.
Of course, Chu Feng wasn’t among them. Beside him stood a graceful figure dressed in pink. It was Bai Yuyan. However, she was wearing a veil. Although they were extremely far from the Tianji Sect, it was still better to be safe than sorry. In case someone actually recognized her, she had covered her face with a veil.
Besides Bai Yuyan, Su Tiantian was also here. She had changed into a white dress, which complemented her bewitching aura exceptionally well.
The two women had naturally come to protect Chu Feng. The moment Chu Feng encountered mortal danger, Su Tiantian could use her demon core to appear beside him in an instant and ensure his safety.
However, according to the rules, neither woman was a contestant, so they were forbidden from entering the competition area.
The moment Su Tiantian heard this, she immediately refused to accept it and prepared to overturn the entire mountain range. If the rules made things difficult, then screw the rules!
After much back-and-forth, the two sides finally reached an agreement. Once the competition began, the two women would conceal themselves within the void and were not allowed to show themselves unless Chu Feng encountered a life-threatening crisis.
With two peerless beauties standing side by side, even the sight of their backs alone was enough to send imaginations running wild, let alone their stunning figures and appearances. For a time, they became the center of everyone’s attention.
“So this is where the selection is being held? An entire mountain range!?”
Chu Feng gazed into the distance in amazement. Ancient trees towered overhead with lush, flourishing foliage, while majestic mountains rose amid curling mist, lending the scenery an air of mystery.
As the saying went, I gaze upon the verdant mountains and find them charming; surely the mountains must see me the same way. With this transient body adrift in such vastness, one couldn’t help but feel insignificant.
Of course, that was the poetic version.
Chu Feng’s actual reaction upon seeing the mountains was, “Holy crap, they’re freaking huge! If I had to climb from the foot of one all the way to the summit, wouldn’t my legs be completely shot?”
And looking at the mountains before him, they resembled giant steamed buns, though the color was a little off.
“Junior Brother, is that the guy who’s been causing trouble for you?”
Bai Yuyan’s voice carried a faint, chilling edge. She had heard from Liu Xueyao that someone had come looking for trouble with her junior brother.
Su Tiantian swept her gaze across the crowd and quickly locked onto a figure. “Fourth rank. Not bad for you to use as practice, Little Rascal.”
With cultivation that weak, she wouldn’t even need to raise a hand. A single breath from her would be enough to blow him to smithereens.
Of course, if she blew on Chu Feng instead, something else would end up rock-hard.
“Senior Sister Yuyan, Sister Tiantian, don’t worry. I can handle this guy myself.”
Chu Feng glanced around. Although quite a few people were looking his way, none of them dared approach. It seemed that Wei Mingxuan was indeed quite famous. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the good kind of fame.
The rising sun crept above the horizon, and as the first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the clouds, the mist blanketing the mountains thinned slightly.
A booming voice echoed between heaven and earth.
“The time has come. Students, the third round of the competition begins now!”
As soon as the words fell, the crowd erupted into an uproar.
***
Chu Feng’s figure darted through the forest. The deeper he ventured, the denser the mist became, reducing visibility to almost nothing.
Fortunately, he could rely on his divine soul perception, so there wasn’t much to worry about.
Suddenly, Chu Feng stopped in his tracks and stared ahead.
Immediately afterward, several spirit forms emerged from the thick mist around him. Some had long tongues dangling from their mouths, others had necks stretched freakishly long, while some even had faces crawling with maggots. Seeing them writhing nearly made Chu Feng vomit up his breakfast.
“Hehe, not bad. Your senses are pretty sharp. Unfortunately for you, you ran into little old me.”
A voice rang out, but there was something distinctly strange about it. It sounded as though the speaker were deliberately pinching their throat, leaving the voice somewhere between male and female.
“Who’s there?”
In an instant, Chu Feng’s divine soul perception pinpointed the speaker’s location. With a flick of his wrist, an ordinary black-iron sword appeared in his hand.
However, what appeared before him next nearly made Chu Feng’s eyes pop out. The figure’s face and physique both looked distinctly feminine, but… there was actually an Adam’s apple!
Holy crap!
Chu Feng shuddered in fright and nearly dropped the sword in his hand.
“Are you… a man or a woman?”
Chu Feng swallowed hard, carefully scrutinizing the person before him in an attempt to determine their gender.
“Little brother, why don’t you come over and find out for yourself whether I’m a man or a woman?”
The figure giggled.
Instantly, goosebumps broke out all over Chu Feng’s body. Sure, he was a man who liked women.
But that didn’t mean he was so desperate that he’d eat just anything.
Yet during their brief exchange, the spirit forms had already completely surrounded Chu Feng.
Shing!
The figure drew a sword, waves of cold air radiating from its blade.
The sword intent flowed gently like water. It was the Soft Sword Intent, one of the two types of sword intent.
Sensing the figure’s sword intent, Chu Feng couldn’t help wondering if this guy had become neither man nor woman precisely because he’d cultivated it. No wonder Soft Sword Intent was recommended for women.
“From the looks of things, you intend to fight me.”
“That’s right. The spirit stones being offered to you are a fortune. All I have to do is defeat you and make sure you can’t participate in the Civil and Martial Grand Tournament.”
After hearing the figure’s words, Chu Feng fell into thought. Yet another person had suddenly appeared to cause trouble for him. It seemed his identity had probably been leaked behind the scenes, and there was a good chance it had something to do with the black-robed figure who had appeared that day.
But why was their only goal to prevent him from participating in the Civil and Martial Grand Tournament?
The figure pointed their sword at Chu Feng. Sword qi surged as they suddenly shot forward.
At the same time, the surrounding spirit forms lunged at Chu Feng together.
In an instant, Chu Feng felt a bone-chilling cold wash over him. Even the mist in the air condensed into tiny ice crystals.
Chu Feng stomped his foot down hard, and a vast torrent of sword qi swept out from his body. The surrounding trees were sliced apart, and even the dense mist was dispersed by the sword qi.
“You don’t know your own limits! You think you can defeat me with your measly third-rank cultivation?!”
Sensing Chu Feng’s sword qi, the figure’s eyes filled with astonishment.
What powerful sword intent!
But for the sake of those spirit stones, they would risk it!
Men died for wealth just as birds died for food. Besides, no matter how formidable Chu Feng was, he was still only a third-rank cultivator.
Chu Feng didn’t waste a single word. His sword intent surged violently, and the sword in his hand began trembling fiercely. A resonant sword cry rang out as countless rays of sword light erupted from the blade, its sword qi reaching an astonishing level of sharpness.
Such sword qi was far beyond what one would expect from a third-rank cultivator. Even a fourth-rank cultivator would have to avoid confronting its edge head-on.
“First Slash.”
Chu Feng’s sword streaked forth like a bolt of lightning tearing through the night sky, its dazzling sword light carrying overwhelming power.
Boom!
Sword qi churned violently, frightening the surrounding spirit forms into retreat. The figure’s sword qi was shattered by Chu Feng’s attack as well, their face instantly turning deathly pale as they collapsed to their knees.
After just a single exchange, the figure had been defeated by Chu Feng.
Chu Feng looked at the utterly disbelieving figure and said, “Your sword intent isn’t bad. Unfortunately, your sword qi isn’t sharp enough.”
The figure trembled all over, cold sweat pouring down their face.
A monster. The person before them was an absolute monster!
Not only was Chu Feng using the Soft Sword, with sword qi flowing endlessly without pause, but his sword qi lacked none of the Soft Sword’s usual weakness. Instead, it was incomparably sharp and seemingly indestructible.
In this battle, the figure at the middle stage of the fourth rank had been defeated in a single move by Chu Feng, who was only at the peak of the third rank.
Outside the competition grounds, the students watching the first battle of the third round were instantly left deeply shocked.
A third-rank cultivator defeated a fourth-rank cultivator in a single move!?
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