Everlasting

 

“Congratulations to Junior Brother Chen for successfully escaping,” Sun Xuan came forward and said happily. The rest, too, stepped forward to greet him. Chen Feng smiled and chatted with them while secretly observing their reactions.

Some were pleasantly surprised; some had forced smiles and some revealed entangled expressions.

As expected, some fellows are unreliable. Chen Feng secretly lamented. He was their saviour, after all. Back then, if it were not for him, all of them would have been killed by the demonic beasts. However, seeing Chen Feng successfully escape from the training grounds, some of them were having other thoughts.

Naturally, Chen Feng understood that it was due to the rumours of him possessing a Sacred artefact. If it were not for that Sacred artefact rumour, these people would truly be pleasantly surprised to see him.

“Junior Brother Chen, please come in. We need to have a good talk. It is all thanks to Junior Brother Chen’s actions of stepping forward that all of us here can escape back then.” Sun Xuan was very enthusiastic. Both his eyes revealed sincerity and no other thoughts could be seen from him.

“Fellow senior brothers, let’s not stand on ceremony,” Chen Feng said smilingly.

There was a small pavilion inside the courtyard. After they were all seated, several inner disciples came in to bring some snacks and drinks for them. After that, they bowed courteously and left.

“He he, as expected from an elite disciple. Even the attending disciples are inner disciples,” Chen Feng said with a chuckle.

“Given Junior Brother Chen’s present level of strength, forget the rank of elite disciple, it will be no problem for you to take the assessment to become a core disciple.” Sun Xuan laughed.

“A pity, my cultivation level is still lacking.” Chen Feng smiled wryly.

“Brother Chen. You just need to hand over some of the demon cores you obtained from the Demon Trial Grounds to the sect. Given your strength, there will be no issues in getting promoted to the elite disciple rank,” Wang Meng suddenly said.

“Is that so? In that case, I will give it a shot.” Chen Feng nodded his head.

Since sitting down, everyone there had been chatting coolly. None spoke up about Chen Feng’s involvement in the Demon Trial Grounds.

Finally, Sun Xuan spoke up.

“When did Junior Brother Chen come out from the Demon Trial Grounds? Back then, the demonic beasts were causing a pandemonium and many Great Yaos emerged. All of us were feeling worried. Today, seeing you safe and sound puts us at ease,” Sun Xuan said with a smile.

“I have been out for a while now. I came out not too long after you fellows did. However, I did not use the passageway that our Extreme Celestial Sect opened. I used another teleportation passageway out. After coming out, I rushed back. I only arrived two days ago,” said Chen Feng.

“I have heard that, back then, the Great Yaos in the Demon Trial Grounds were all dispatched to capture Brother Chen. Is that true?” Wang Meng had an impetuous and straightforward character and he asked openly.

“He he! Back then, I fought the humanoid demon and was wounded. Thus, I went into hiding. As for the matter of Great Yaos getting dispatched to capture me, he he, if that were true, it would have been impossible for me to escape,” Chen Feng replied with a chuckle.

“However, there is a rumour that Brother Chen possesses a Sacred artefact,” a disciple known as Lin Qi suddenly spoke up.

Hearing those words, everyone there fell silent and they all secretly checked Chen Feng’s reaction.

“He he, I don’t have a Sacred artefact. However, I do have a high-grade Prized artefact,” Chen Feng replied with a chortle.

“High-grade Prized artefact? Can Brother Chen show us?” Lin Qi’s eyes lit up before continuing.

“Of course.” Chen Feng smiled and waved his hand. Next, a fiery-red sword appeared within his grasp. A searing, sharp and formidable aura erupted outwards, forcing Lin Qi and several other cultivators with lesser cultivation bases to take a few steps back.

“A fire sword at grade 9 of the Prized tier, forged using the fangs of a wyrm. I name it Fire Wyrm Sword.” Having said that, Chen Feng tossed it towards Sun Xuan.

“What a formidable aura! As expected of a high-grade Prized artefact. A pity, there is one step left between it and a Sacred artefact, otherwise it could reach the Heavens,” Sun Xuan said with a sigh. Finally, he handed the sword back to Chen Feng. The others had also wanted to feel it. However, seeing as Chen Feng had no intentions of letting them do so, they kept quiet.

“Yes, although there is just a one-step difference between this Prized artefact and a Sacred artefact, it is a world of difference.” Chen Feng nodded his head and kept the sword back. As Chen Feng had yet to refine the sword, he did not want to leave it outside for too long, fearing that someone might notice something.

“I didn’t think that Brother Chen could possess such a top-grade Prized artefact. How enviable!”

“Just enviable? I’m practically salivating here. I don’t even have a grade 1 Prized artefact!”

They all cast envious gazes at Chen Feng.

They then continued to chat away. Then, one by one, some began leaving. In the end, only Luo Bo, Sun Xuan and Lu Ta were left.

“Junior Brother Chen, those Great Yaos were after you, right?” Sun Xuan said with a smile as he looked right at Chen Feng.

“Yes.” Chen Feng nodded his head.

“If so, the matter about the Sacred artefact must be true as well?” Sun Xuan raised his brows.

“It is true.” Chen Feng nodded again.

“Junior Brother Chen, you actually trust me so much? To be telling me about something so important.” Sun Xuan sighed.

“Because Senior Brother Sun is worthy of my trust. However, I am uncertain about the others.” Chen Feng casually picked up a piece of snack and gave it a bite.

“Junior Brother Chen, do not worry. I, Sun Xuan, will never speak of this to others,” Sun Xuan said seriously.

“Senior Brother Chen, your act of bringing out a top-grade Prized artefact alone could attract the investigative eyes of those who feel tempted,” said a somewhat concerned Luo Bo.

“I am going to get promoted to elite disciple now. Elite disciples have more of a status compared to heir disciples. That way, the amount of troubles can be reduced,” Chen Feng said.

“Very well. We’ll accompany you.” Sun Xuan nodded.

“Brother Lu, you should stay here first. Or you can go back and pack up. I believe we’ll be moving again.” Chen Feng turned and spoke to Lu Ta with a grin.

“In that case, I will head back first.” Lu Ta nodded.

The Elite Hall was where heir disciples go to in order to be promoted. When Chen Feng’s group of three arrived, they immediately went to the second floor of the Elite Hall. There were some personnel designated specifically for assessing heir disciples who wanted to be promoted.

“Sun Xuan, Luo Bo, what are you two doing here?” a ruddy-faced old man, with silvery-white hair, asked them with a smile.

“Greetings, elder. We are accompanying a friend for his promotion,” Sun Xuan said respectfully.

One glance was all it took for Chen Feng to see that the old man was a Sky Human stage expert. Moreover, he had overcome between 2 to 3 Lightning Tribulations before.

“Oh? Is it this little fellow? He hasn’t even formed his domain power. He cannot be promoted,” the old man said frankly after looking at Chen Feng.

“Naturally, disciple understands. I am here to take a different route,” Chen Feng said with a smile.

An heir disciple’s promotion to elite disciple was usually done through the assessment of his or her strength. As long as the disciple was strong enough, he or she would be able to rise up to the rank of elite disciple. Of course, there was a different route; making contributions to the sect. Doing so would allow for an exception, allowing the disciple to rise to the rank of elite disciple, thereby acquiring better attention and treatment.

Chen Feng planned to use the latter to get promoted. It was not because his strength was insufficient. Rather, this was the more expedient and convenient method. 

“Oh, what contributions do you have to hand over to the sect?” The old man looked curiously at Chen Feng.

“I have some demon cores, demonic spirit stones and some rare spiritual herbs,” said Chen Feng. He had acquired all those from the Demon Trial Grounds.

“Oh, is that so? Bring it out and let me have a look.” The old man’s interest was piqued.

Chen Feng waved his hand and 100 demon cores, 10,000 demonic spirit stones and 10 spiritual herbs appeared on the table before him.

“Mm, there are quite a few demon cores. However, their grade is too low. These demonic spirit stones, on the other hand, are not bad. Eh? These 10 spiritual herbs are good! Every one of them is over 3,000 years old!” The old man examined the items. When he saw the 10 spiritual herbs, his eyes lit up.

“These must be from the Demon Trial Grounds, right? Young man, to think that you would be willing to bring them out,” the old man said with a chuckle as he looked at Chen Feng.

“I need to be promoted to the rank of elite disciple. That way, I can practice better cultivation techniques,” Chen Feng replied with a smile.

“Fine! Disregarding all else, these 10 spiritual herbs are enough for your promotion. I will now go through the formalities for you,” the old man quickly said.

It did not take long before a token, symbolizing the identity of an elite disciple, landed on Chen Feng’s palm. It was a very simplistic-looking token. The word ‘elite’ was engraved on the surface of the token.

“There are still 10,000 contribution points. You can use them to redeem some other items later on, or go to the library to pick out some secret cultivation techniques and others like it,” the old man said.

Unexpectedly, the process was done quickly. He did not need to perform any task at all. He simply had to bring out a few items from the Longevity Tower to easily get promoted to elite disciple.

The inner disciple rank meant taking a step through the door while the heir disciple rank meant going to a higher level. As for the elite disciples, they were the seeds that the sect wanted to carefully develop. Chen Feng had shaken off his old status to rise one step higher. Going about his affairs would become more convenient for Chen Feng after this.

Naturally, Chen Feng understood that the identity of an elite disciple could not actually serve as a protective amulet. Everything would still depend on strength. At any rate, there was still a high number of elite disciples within Extreme Celestial Sect. The number of experts amongst them was countless. Even Sun Xuan and the others could not stand out amongst them.

After becoming an elite disciple, Chen Feng swiftly returned to his mountain residence and began moving. Truth be told, it was a simple process. As a cultivator with the ability to soar into the sky and slip into the earth, one spatial pouch was enough to deal with the issue. Not to mention, Chen Feng also possessed the Longevity Tower, which had an immeasurable amount of space within it.

Chen Feng, however, was somewhat surprised to find out that the outer disciples serving him – Zhang Yan and the others – wanted to follow him. Watching them plead with tearful eyes, Chen Feng turned soft-hearted and agreed to their request.

Sigh! These outer disciples have it tough. Without resources, it will not be easy to level up. Fine! Since they are willing to follow me, I will find some time to develop them and increase their strength. My housekeepers shouldn’t look too disgraceful in the future. Chen Feng considered.

This time, Chen Feng’s mountain residence was taller and mightier. It had cliffs with odd-looking rocks, layer after layer of them. A precipitous cliff overlooked a rippling lake and spiritual energy swirled about as flocks of birds flew above ancient trees. It had a thicker spiritual energy compared to the mountain residences of heir disciples, with a higher degree of spirituality.