Chapter 189: True Disciple Chen Fei
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Zhongyuan Sword, opening eighty orifices, exerts pressure through power, sealing and suppressing all directions!”
Led by Zhou Cunshan, Chen Fei arrived at the final stone tablet. As Zhou Cunshan finished speaking, Chen Fei placed his hand on the stone tablet.
“Hum!”
As the scene within the stone tablet entered Chen Fei’s mind, the heavy pressure he had felt earlier rushed over him.
A figure stood on the plain, surrounded by demonic beasts. Roaring filled the air, yet not a single demonic beast dared to step forward. However, the patience of these beasts was limited, and at some unknown moment, with the attack of one demonic beast, all the surrounding beasts swarmed in an instant.
“Suppress!”
A calm voice emerged from the figure’s mouth. Ripples centered around the figure spread out in all directions, encompassing a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.
With the expansion of the ripples, the attacking demonic beasts were hit as if struck by a heavy blow. Their bodies crashed onto the ground, and some of the weaker ones were smashed into a pulp.
Dozens of demonic beasts were immobilized on the spot, unable to move, only able to whimper and plead for mercy.
Chen Fei’s mind shook, and he withdrew from the scene within the stone tablet.
Compared to the extreme killing ability of the Giant Spirit Sword, the Zhongyuan Sword leaned more towards control. It oppressed enemies with a disdainful gravity, limiting their movements. Those weaker in strength would likely die on the spot.
“With three complete sets of true transmitted techniques now seen, have you decided which one to choose?” Zhou Cunshan looked at Chen Fei and asked with a smile.
Chen Fei pondered for a moment before responding.
These three sets of techniques had survived until now, indicating their formidable power. Regardless of which one he chose, they were all powerful enough for Chen Fei to cultivate into the Aperture Tempering realm or even the Late Aperture Tempering realm.
However, precisely because they were all powerful, Chen Fei wanted to choose the one that suited him the most.
The Giant Spirit Sword excelled in offense. When encountering strong defenses, the Giant Spirit Sword would undoubtedly be more effective.
The distinct characteristic of the Soaring Heaven technique was its agility—an extremely powerful form of movement. Moreover, it could be combined with any of the other techniques. However, Chen Fei eliminated it as an option.
This was because Chen Fei had already learned the lower-level version of Soaring Heaven, called Spatial Travel Even if he chose the Soaring Heaven technique now, its effects on his cultivation in the Visceral Tempering realm would likely be only slightly stronger.
At present, Chen Fei’s main dilemma was whether to choose the offense-focused Giant Spirit Sword or the control-focused Zhongyuan Sword. These two choices dictated his future combat approach.
After contemplating for a while, Chen Fei finally made up his mind and looked up at Zhou Cunshan.
“Have you made your decision?” Zhou Cunshan was also curious about Chen Fei’s choice.
“Yes, I have. I choose the Zhongyuan Sword!”
Chen Fei nodded and revealed his choice. Reflecting on his cultivation journey,
Chen Fei realized he leaned more toward a conservative approach.
With the Zhongyuan Sword and the Giant Spirit Sword both opening the same number of apertures, the difference lay in the combat style one wanted. By cultivating the Zhongyuan Sword, Chen Fei could restrict the enemy’s speed.
In the future, whether to fight or to flee would ultimately be entirely up to Chen Fei himself, providing him with more options.
“Very well.”
Zhou Cunshan nodded without passing judgment on Chen Fei’s choice. Among the true disciples, there were selections of all three sets of techniques, but comparatively, more disciples tended to choose the Giant Spirit Sword.
The Inner Sect technique, Origin Connection Technique, and the Giant Spirit
Sword were almost considered part of the same lineage. The attributes awakened by the Origin Connection Technique, Tremendous Strength and Iron Bones, could be seen as preparation for the Giant Spirit Sword. Therefore, comprehending the Giant Spirit Sword was actually a bit easier.
Of course, this wasn’t to say that the Zhongyuan Sword was inferior. It might be a bit more challenging to comprehend, but for disciples with strong insight, the difference wasn’t significant.
By cultivating the Origin Connection Technique to the fifth level as a Marrow Tempering realm cultivator, Chen Fei had already demonstrated his aptitude. Choosing the Zhongyuan Sword was not an issue, so Zhou Cunshan didn’t attempt to persuade him further.
“Elder, do we have a technique called Thunderous Sword Force within our sect?” Chen Fei suddenly asked. This was something that he vividly remembered from before joining the sect.
“Yes, however, the cultivation method for the initial stage of the Thunderous Sword Force is available, but the subsequent methods have been lost. Once you reach the Aperture Tempering realm, if you’re interested, you can try cultivating it,” Zhou Cunshan replied with a somewhat dim expression, looking at Chen Fei. “Now that you’ve arrived in front of the Zhongyuan Sword stone tablet, 1 will activate the sealed tablet. You will officially start receiving the inheritance.”
“Yes!”
Chen Fei nodded and positioned himself in front of the stone tablet. Zhou Cunshan’s inner energy surged, his hands formed seals, and the stone tablet trembled slightly, emitting a faint light. In the next moment, the light enveloped Chen Fei.
Under the radiance, countless profound insights of the techniques entered Chen Fei’s sea of consciousness. Not only did it contain the method to cultivate the Zhongyuan Sword, but also the insights left behind by previous masters of the Zhongyuan Sword, all of which entered Chen Fei’s sea of consciousness.
Chen Fei’s sea of consciousness expanded slightly, and the Thousand Origin Technique rapidly circulated, absorbing all the transmitted contents.
The transmission of the techniques continued for a full hour before gradually coming to a halt. Chen Fei stood in place with his eyes closed. After a moment, he exhaled slowly.
The Zhongyuan Sword included not only cultivation methods but also complementary offensive techniques.
“The inheritance only extends to the initial stage of the Aperture Tempering realm, including methods to cultivate thirty-six orifices. The subsequent ones can only be acquired when your cultivation reaches that level,” Zhou Cunshan explained, looking at Chen Fei.
The Primordial Sword Sect did this not only to avoid overburdening disciples with a massive influx of techniques into their sea of consciousness but also for another crucial reason—to observe the disciples’ performance.
Although the Refining Spirit Sphere had assessed disciples, it was, after all, just a spiritual treasure.
During the process of true disciples’ cultivation, the sect would continue to monitor their progress. Only when the disciples had truly demonstrated their capability and reached the appropriate level of cultivation would the complete techniques be bestowed upon them.
In any case, having the initial stage of the Aperture Tempering realm techniques bestowed wouldn’t delay a disciple’s cultivation. To obtain the subsequent parts of the inheritance, one only needed to reach the required cultivation level.
“Thank you, Elder, for transmitting the techniques!” Chen Fei turned and looked at Zhou Cunshan, bowing respectfully.
At this moment, Chen Fei’s sea of consciousness contained a wealth of content that he couldn’t inspect all at once. He would have to carefully review it during his quiet moments of solitude.
“Now that you’ve received the true inheritance, you can go. Some matters true disciples need to be aware of will be explained to you by the steward disciples later.”
Zhou Cunshan gazed at Chen Fei with clear eyes, his expression slightly moved. Chen Fei’s mental power indeed exceeded Zhou Cunshan’s expectations. Normally, after receiving the techniques, a true disciple’s mental power would be suppressed for a period.
Only after adapting would their mental power gradually recover. Yet, Chen Fei’s mental power appeared unaffected, indicating that its strength truly surpassed that of an ordinary true disciple.
Chen Fei accompanied Zhou Cunshan back to the Hall of True Transmission.
After a few words of encouragement from Zhou Cunshan, he disappeared from sight.
With the guidance of a steward disciple, Chen Fei began to register officially, becoming a true disciple of the Primordial Sword Sect.
“Junior Brother Chen, there are currently ninety-eight true disciples within the sect, including you. Initially, you will be ranked according to your cultivation level, and you are now the ninety-eighth.”
The steward disciple handed Chen Fei a new waist badge. Upon examining it, Chen Fei noticed that it was markedly different from the inner sect disciples’ badges.
“I will take you to the lodgings for true disciples.” The steward disciple said, walking toward the hall’s exit. Chen Fei neatly stored the waist badge and followed behind.
ii
Is there anything special about the lodgings for true disciples?” Chen Fei whispered to the steward disciple.
“Indeed, there is something different. The spiritual energy there is denser, which greatly benefits your cultivation.”
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the two arrived at the True Transmission Peak. The steward disciple led Chen Fei to a courtyard. Looking around, Chen Fei noticed that it was located halfway up the True Transmission Peak, surrounded by lush trees.
“This is where you will be residing from now on. You can arrange for a servant to attend to your daily needs.”
The steward disciple looked at Chen Fei and said in a hushed voice, “Going further up leads to the residences of other true disciples. If you wish to live higher up, you’ll need to improve your ranking among the true disciples.”
“The higher up you go, the denser the spiritual energy?” Chen Fei curiously asked.
“Yes, the higher up you go, the more abundant the spiritual energy becomes.”
The steward disciple nodded and continued, “True disciples are assessed every six months. If Junior Brother feels confident then, you can challenge higher-ranked disciples. If successful, your ranking will change. At that time, not only your residence but also the monthly supply of pills and contribution points will be adjusted accordingly.”
Chen Fei nodded. True disciples received monthly pills provided by the sect and direct allocation of contribution points. The higher the ranking, the more they would receive.
With Chen Fei currently ranked at the bottom, he naturally received the least.
“Is it necessary to wait for half a year before challenging higher ranks?” Chen Fei suddenly asked.
“Not exactly. In the semi-annual assessment, if you challenge a higher-ranked true disciple, they cannot refuse. If you wish to challenge before the half-year mark, you need their agreement. If successful, your ranking will change, and the resources for the next month will also be adjusted.”
The steward disciple looked at Chen Fei, chuckling softly. The disciple with the lowest cultivation, Chen Fei, was he planning to climb the ranks within half a year?
This half-year was mainly given to these newly promoted true disciples for cultivation. It was essential to use this time wisely to refine the true transmitted techniques. This would prevent falling to the bottom of the ranks after half a year.
By that time, there might be other inner sect disciples keeping a close eye on that bottom position.
Chen Fei noticed the steward disciple’s gaze, smiled faintly, and didn’t explain anything. Challenging within half a year required both parties’ agreement. If an inner sect disciple wanted to challenge the bottom-ranked true disciple, they would probably need the agreement of the bottom-ranked true disciple as well.
It was not like the challenges after half a year, where the challenger must be chosen, and no evasion was possible.
“Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother,” Chen Fei said, clasping his hands.
“Don’t mention it. If you have any questions, you can find me at the Hall of True Transmission.” The steward disciple bowed and, after gesturing, turned and left.
Chen Fei stood in place, stroking his chin, and thought of Qian Guangji. Those people were plotting to obtain the Aperture Breaking Pill from Chen Fei. They were likely waiting for the challenge after this half-year.
Or even before half a year, they might provoke Chen Fei directly to make him accept the challenge.
But now, Chen Fei was already at the Marrow Tempering realm. For them to find someone with a similarly strong power at this level would be somewhat challenging. After all, Chen Fei’s Origin Connection Technique was cultivated to the fifth level, which few at this level had achieved.
“Let’s first feel the spiritual energy here and see how dense it really is.” Chen Fei looked up at his courtyard, lifted his foot, and walked inside.
Becoming a true disciple wasn’t a significant event, as there had been several inner sect disciples promoted to true disciples recently. However, news of this had spread among certain individuals..