Chapter 54: He Is Chen Feng
The Sky Patrol Giant Ship cruised through the endless sea of clouds at an altitude of several thousand meters. Standing on the deck, Chen Feng gazed at the shattered clouds outside the protective barrier, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the Black Gilded Ring on his index finger. A trace of absentmindedness flickered in his eyes.
The last time he had boarded the Sky Patrol Giant Ship was when he traveled from the Huntian Dao Academy in the Great Xia Kingdom to the Huntian Sect.
This time, however, he was riding it as the Huntian Sect’s Quasi-Sect Heir, heading to the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm to compete against the prodigies and peerless geniuses of the Eastern Wasteland.
Only a year had passed.
Such a transformation truly made one sigh at the unpredictability of fate, leaving an almost surreal feeling—as if waking from a grand dream where everything had returned to its original state.
For a moment, an indescribable unease stirred within him.
"Disciple, you are lost in illusion…"
"Remember this!"
"Those who cultivate the Dao and wield the sword must possess unwavering determination, embrace a heart of relentless advancement, and grasp an unshakable strength. Do not succumb to confusion or fall into doubt…"
A voice brimming with sharpness pierced his ears.
Chen Feng’s mind jolted as if doused with enlightenment, snapping him back to clarity. The haze in his eyes vanished, replaced by a razor-sharp focus that seemed capable of piercing and severing all obstacles.
"Thank you for your guidance, Master," Chen Feng responded immediately.
His mind now brimmed with divine resonance—utterly clear and refined.
Then, he sensed a frigid gaze boring into his back as if trying to pierce through him. Turning around, he met a pair of ruthless, ice-cold eyes.
Ye Yunqi!
"A defeated swordsman."
Chen Feng smirked and uttered those four words lightly.
Ye Yunqi’s face darkened instantly, as gloomy as a brewing storm.
"Junior Brother Chen, one should not be too arrogant," a figure beside Ye Yunqi spoke coldly, his eyes fixed on Chen Feng.
"And you are?" Chen Feng retorted.
"Zhao Guangji, True Disciple of Tiancang Peak," the long-haired youth declared with an imposing demeanor, his arms crossed behind his back. His eyes shimmered with an intimidating aura.
Chen Feng remembered now.
Zhao Guangji was a True Disciple from two generations ago, possessing a King-Grade Divine Trait. His cultivation had not reached the Twelfth Transformation of the Body Forging Realm.
One might assume that reaching the Twelfth Transformation was easy, given that Yuan Hualong—a disciple from the previous generation—had achieved it.
But the opposite was true.
After the Ninth Transformation in the Body Forging Realm, each subsequent breakthrough was as difficult as ascending to the heavens. The challenge of advancing was no less than breaking through to the Aperture Opening Realm—perhaps even greater.
Those with a Spirit-Grade Divine Trait could hardly reach the Twelfth Transformation.
Those with a King-Grade Divine Trait could, but only with considerable time and resources.
Those with a Saint-Grade Divine Trait had a much higher chance.
Yuan Hualong, with his top-tier Saint-Grade Divine Trait and the full support of the Canglong True Hall, would have been utterly worthless if he hadn’t broken through to the Twelfth Transformation.
Zhao Guangji, however, only had a King-Grade Divine Trait and far fewer resources than Yuan Hualong. It was only natural that he hadn’t reached the Twelfth Transformation.
The reason he delayed breaking through to the Aperture Opening Realm was for the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm.
Opening once every hundred years, it was an extraordinary opportunity. Missing it would be a lifelong regret.
But seizing this chance would increase the likelihood of reaching the Twelfth Transformation tenfold—or even more.
Perhaps there was still a sliver of hope to reach the distant and elusive Supreme Body Forging Realm—a limit even those with Saint-Grade Divine Traits could scarcely touch.
Though Zhao Guangji had not broken through to the Twelfth Transformation of the Body Forging Realm, his strength within the Eleventh Transformation was already remarkably advanced, giving him ample reason for pride.
"Junior Brother Zhao, you've overstepped," Chen Feng thought briefly before speaking unhurriedly.
"You—" Zhao Guangji's eyes narrowed, his brows furrowing with displeasure.
"I am a Quasi-Sect Heir," Chen Feng added.
Zhao Guangji's expression darkened. He had forgotten this fact—not deliberately, but simply overlooked in the moment.
"Hmph!" With a cold snort, Zhao Guangji turned to leave.
"Junior Brother Zhao, do you truly wish for me to address you as 'senior brother' instead?" Chen Feng showed no intention of letting him off. "I dare call you that—but would you dare answer?"
"Senior Brother Chen," Zhao Guangji ground out through clenched teeth, his voice dripping with reluctance, before storming off in a fury.
Ye Yunqi also cast a cold glance at Chen Feng before departing.
"Ye Yunqi, the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm will be your burial ground," Chen Feng mused with a hint of amusement. "Zhao Guangji, I hope you're not foolish enough to test me."
---
Seven days later.
The Sky Patrol Giant Ship gradually slowed its descent from several thousand meters in the air.
Looking down, one could faintly make out a massive valley. The so-called Hidden Dragon Secret Realm was located within this valley—Hidden Dragon Valley.
"The Sky Patrol Giant Ship..."
"The Huntian Sect has arrived."
By now, a crowd had already gathered outside Hidden Dragon Valley, consisting of martial artists from various factions across the Eastern Wasteland. Some sought to enter the valley in hopes of fortune and opportunity, others were escorts, and still others were merely spectators.
Among the crowd, a group of individuals fixed their sharp gazes on the descending giant ship.
"The Huntian Sect has already declined. In just a few years, our Heavenly Arms Sect will replace them among the Eastern Wasteland's top ten," declared a young man with a scar on his forehead, gripping a long spear.
"Indeed, this Hidden Dragon Secret Realm will be our Heavenly Arms Sect's true opportunity to rise and surpass the Huntian Sect," added another youth, carrying both a sword and a blade.
"Rumor has it the Huntian Sect has produced a Mortal Body with the potential to defy the heavens this year. We shouldn't underestimate them," a red-clothed woman chimed in, a long whip coiled at her waist and a pair of short blades at her side.
"A Mortal Body defying the heavens? That's a joke," the spear-wielding youth scoffed. "If I encounter him, I'll crush him with a single strike."
"Don't be careless. That disciple defeated the Three Quasi-Saints of Tianyuan Sacred Land—his strength is no ordinary matter," the sword-and-blade youth cautioned.
Nearby, the Heavenly Arms Sect elder escorting them smiled faintly, inwardly pleased. The Heavenly Arms Sect truly had the potential to replace the Huntian Sect's standing.
The Sky Patrol Giant Ship landed.
One after another, figures leaped from the ship, landing steadily on the ground.
Excluding the escorting experts, nearly two hundred Huntian Sect disciples had come to enter Hidden Dragon Valley.
Soon after, representatives from the other top ten factions arrived as well.
"The Nangong Imperial Clan is here."
"Those three must be the Three Prides of the Nangong Clan—truly dragons among men."
"The other ten must be the Ten Elites of the Nangong Clan. Though not as renowned as the Three Prides, they still possess astonishing Saint-Grade Divine Traits."
"That’s… the Nangong Saint!"
"Surrounded by the Ten Elites and the Three Prides, it must be the Nangong Saint rumored to possess a God-Grade Divine Trait."
Gasps of astonishment rose continuously as Chen Feng’s gaze fixed on the Nangong Clan’s procession, focusing on the most outstanding dozen or so among them.
His eyes locked onto the figure at the center of the crowd—a man in a blue robe, his eyes like stars, deep and mysterious. His aura was ethereal, and a faint, enigmatic smile played on his lips, making him inscrutable and leaving others feeling inferior.
The Nangong Saint!
"He must be at the Twelfth Transformation of the Body Forging Realm," Chen Feng thought to himself, sensing it through the heightened perception granted by the Divine Talisman Of Creation’s continuous refinement.
Soon after, another wave of exclamations erupted from a different direction.
The people of the Zhenwu Sacred Land had arrived.
Their grandeur was no less impressive than that of the Nangong Imperial Clan.
Among them stood the Zhenwu Saint, clad in dark golden armor, his hands clasped behind his back. His broad, sturdy shoulders seemed capable of bearing mountains and propping up the heavens. His aura was overwhelming, domineering to the extreme. With every blink of his eyes, his gaze carried an oppressive force that made others unwilling to meet it.
Roughly another few dozen breaths later, the Tianyuan Sacred Land’s contingent arrived.
Chen Feng spotted the three Quasi-Saints who had once challenged the Huntian Sect but were ultimately defeated by his sword.
Additionally, he noticed numerous young talents among them, each exuding extraordinary divine traits, their auras all reaching the Eleventh Transformation of the Body Forging Realm.
All of them surrounded one figure like stars encircling the moon.
This person wore a white robe adorned with golden patterns. Though his physique wasn’t as imposing as the Zhenwu Saint’s, his aura was no less formidable—vast and mighty, as if capable of suppressing all beneath him.
The moment his eyes opened and closed, they seemed to contain boundless authority, equally deterring others from meeting his gaze.
The Tianyuan Saint!
The prodigies and supreme talents of the Tianyuan Sacred Land cast cold glances toward the disciples of the Huntian Sect, some even making throat-slitting gestures.
Li Wuji, Zhao Kuang, and the Blue-Clothed Maiden’s gazes pierced through the crowd, locking onto Chen Feng as if trying to impale him with their stares.
But Chen Feng remained indifferent.
Months ago, he had defeated them. Now, with his strength having grown significantly, he could defeat them again—even if their own power had also improved considerably.
The Nangong Saint, the Zhenwu Saint, and the Tianyuan Saint exchanged glances. Invisible currents of energy seemed to clash in the void, stirring the air and creating an inexplicable sense of oppression.
It was a form of suppression—a suppression born from innate superiority in life essence.
Those with divine traits possessed a higher life essence than ordinary people, let alone those suspected of having God-Grade Divine Traits.
For a moment, these three monstrous geniuses, each suspected of possessing innate God-Grade Divine Traits, became the focal point of everyone’s attention.
As a result, the arrival of other top-tier factions barely caused a ripple.
After all, none of the other top-tier or even first-rate factions had produced prodigies like Sect Heirs, Saints, or Imperial Scions.
However, this standoff was only temporary. The three prodigies withdrew their gazes without a word, though a single thought arose in each of their hearts.
That is to dominate and suppress all others within the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm, claiming the top spot and overshadowing one's generation.
"Chen Feng, this time, you will fall beneath my spear," Li Wuji said as he approached Chen Feng, his arrogant and cold expression brimming with incomparable confidence.
"I hope you get your wish," Chen Feng replied calmly, unhurried.
His demeanor showed no excessive regard for the other, an attitude that made Li Wuji frown deeply.
"Chen Feng, a hundred years ago when the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm opened, your Huntian Sect sent in two hundred people, yet fewer than twenty returned. This time, perhaps none will make it out—including you," Li Wuji added with a chilling tone.
Chen Feng's eyes sharpened, a trace of killing intent flashing within them.
The enmity between the Tianyuan Sacred Land and the Huntian Sect ran deep, seemingly tracing back to the era of their founding ancestors.
Thus, the Tianyuan Sacred Land had always targeted the Huntian Sect. The sect's rapid decline was not only due to its own circumstances but also the repeated suppression by the Tianyuan Sacred Land.
Li Wuji's words drew the attention of many around them, their gazes locking onto Chen Feng.
"Is that Chen Feng?"
"His aura is ordinary—truly lacking an Innate Divine Trait."
"Could he really just have a Mortal Body?"
"Even if it were some heaven-defying Mortal Body, so what? Only one such case has appeared in thousands of years. In the end, this world belongs to those with divine traits."
"Exactly."
"This time, the Huntian Sect has over a hundred people entering. Who knows how many will leave the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm alive?"
"The Tianyuan Sacred Land will likely cut off the Huntian Sect's retreat again, just like last time."
Countless murmurs arose, drawing even more attention. Yet, the three prodigies merely glanced over indifferently, not sparing a second look.
Chen Feng paid it no mind.
All the disdain and doubts would shatter—after the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm.
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