Feng Dingshi's hand gesture, poised to cast a spell, froze mid-air, and he laughed in extreme anger.
This brat actually used the Tribulation Transcending cultivation method as a double-edged bargaining chip, both repaying his Shibo's favor of protection and allowing Zisu to gain ample face within the Sect.
The oppressive sword qi quietly dissipated, and he wanted to see how this play would conclude.
"Your ability to comprehend the Dao in dreams has become increasingly refined," Zisu said, flicking her sleeve and tossing out three jade meditation cushions. Qin Yue and Yan Yi immediately sat up straight. "Today, I shall speak on the cultivation essentials of the 'Peach Blossom Grotto-Heaven Chapter'."
He pointed his fingers across the void, and peach blossoms formed from spiritual energy bloomed above everyone's heads.
Feng Dingshi had originally intended to reveal himself and demand an explanation, but from his hidden vantage point, he became increasingly engrossed in listening.
Each time Zisu recited a passage of scripture, the thunder in the sky weakened slightly.
By the time she spoke of the "Sword Qi Tempering Bones" chapter, this Tribulation Transcending mighty figure unconsciously began to circulate his cultivation method, and the sword qi around him became as docile as dragons returning to their nests.
When the last peach blossom vanished into Qing Feng's glabella, Feng Dingshi finally revealed himself.
Amidst everyone's astonished gazes, he solemnly bowed to the young Disciple: "Deputy Head has been trapped by the thunder tribulation for three hundred years; only today do I realize sword bones can be tempered in such a way!"
Qing Feng hastily turned aside to avoid it, but was fixed in place by the vast aura. Seeing that the sword qi, powerful enough to cleave mountains and split seas, had transformed into a spring breeze, she offered a wry smile and cupped her hands: "Shibo's great courtesy is such that this Disciple fears he won't sleep soundly for ten years."
The survival rate of the heavenly tribulation actually soared by ten percent!
In the world-destroying thunder tribulation, every extra bit of vitality meant a possibility of survival. Now, this full ten percent increase was equivalent to having an extra escape door in front of the King of Hell's palace.
The white-haired elder's fingers, clutching the jade slip for calculation, trembled slightly as he bowed deeply to Qing Feng.
"You mustn't!" Qing Feng hastily supported Feng Dingshi's arm.
At this moment, he clearly saw a suspicious blush appear on the ear tips of the Sect's Ancestor, who was usually so dignified.
Just three hours ago, this Tribulation Transcending mighty figure had been putting on airs as an elder, saying he would come to "offer guidance."
Purple sandalwood incense smoke curled up, shrouding Feng Dingshi's abashed expression in mist.
He remembered that three days ago, when he received a message from Dao Lord Zisu, he had still been putting on airs, saying, "I'll discipline that lazy brat for you." Now, however, he wished he could escape into the void.
Especially when he thought of the comments from his Disciple, True Lord Wu Ji, who often praised, "Master Ancestor Feng is the backbone of the Sect," he felt even more mortified.
"Shibo, you came through the rain; are you here to check Qing Feng's studies?" Dao Lord Zisu broke the silence at the appropriate moment, gently waving her slender hand to send spiritual tea to Feng Dingshi.
"Cough, I heard some Disciples are still lazing in bed until late morning."
Feng Dingshi took the teacup to hide his embarrassment. Catching a glimpse of Immortal Maiden Qin Yue trying to suppress a smile, he could only sternly scold: "How can a cultivator be so undisciplined?"
"Qing Feng has his own Dao," Dao Lord Zisu chuckled, her gaze sweeping over the faintly glowing Natal Sword at Qing Feng's waist. "However, Shibo, why don't you guess what realm this child is currently in?"
The Tribulation Transcending mighty figure extended his divine sense upon hearing this, but his pupils suddenly contracted upon touching Qing Feng's meridians.
Within this seemingly ordinary body, vital energy surged like an ancient fierce beast, and spiritual power was even purer than that of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Feng Dingshi suppressed his shock, allowing his spiritual energy to trace the Ren meridian directly to the Dantian, where he saw a crystalline Nascent Soul sitting cross-legged with closed eyes.
"A Nascent Soul at the age of twenty?" The teacup made a crisp clinking sound on the table.
Feng Dingshi didn't notice that within Qing Feng's drooping wide sleeves, several sealing runes were quietly disappearing beneath his skin.
Feng Dingshi's pupils trembled uncontrollably, and the flow of true qi at his fingertips halted mid-air. To cultivate a Nascent Soul at the age of twenty?
This cultivation level was unmatched in the entire history of the Beast Taming Sect; even those prodigiously talented predecessors could hardly reach this realm.
"I implore Ancestor to keep this Disciple's secret," Qing Feng's divine sense transmission carried a metallic resonance.
"With such heaven-reaching cultivation, why bother to hide your brilliance?" Feng Dingshi's transmission contained a faint hum of sword qi.
"There are three thousand Great Daos, and this Disciple chooses the path of deep, still waters," Qing Feng's sea of qi was introverted, like an ancient, waveless pool.
"Since that is the case, Chief Zisu's promise of full responsibility still stands. I originally thought the status of a direct Disciple was inappropriate, but it seems I was short-sighted."
Feng Dingshi's gaze swept over the jade pendant at Qing Feng's waist. "In the future, if you encounter difficulties, the Sword Mound behind the mountain is always open to you."
Qing Feng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If this Sword Dao Master had truly investigated the chaotic true essence sealed within him, it would likely have caused a huge commotion.
Fortunately, the pretense of the Nascent Soul Realm was enough to deter, for who had ever heard of a Nascent Soul cultivator at the age of twenty?
"A foundation like bedrock, true qi like a lurking dragon; the younger generation is truly formidable," Feng Dingshi retracted his probing sword qi, his white beard moving without wind.
"It's all thanks to the Sect's nurturing," Qing Feng performed the Disciple's Thank you, the star map in his palm secretly rotating within his sleeve.
"The Seven Meridian Sword Dao Assembly is about to restart. You and Qin Yue need to prepare early," the Ancestor tapped the bronze sword token on the table with a bent finger. "This competition concerns the Immortal Dao Alliance's Dao Inquiry Assembly seats, and the rewards are the greatest in history."
"This Disciple will certainly give his all in the Foundation Establishment group!" Qing Feng's voice was clear and sharp like a sword's cry.
Dao Lord Zisu's book trembled slightly, and she suppressed her laughter, turning it into a light cough.
Her Disciple's act of feigning weakness was truly masterful. A Golden Core Realm cultivator mingling in the Foundation Establishment group was already absurd; now, a Nascent Soul True Lord was going to toy with the younger generation.
Feng Dingshi's facial muscles twitched slightly; even a thousand years of cultivation couldn't suppress the twitching at the corner of his eye. Looking at the righteous Qing Feng before him, he finally understood what it meant to be "greatly hidden in the city."
It's just that this method of concealment is perhaps too unique?
Atop Tai'a Peak, when Feng Dingshi landed with a flick of his sleeve, his robes were still stained with a few bamboo leaves from Chen Ming Peak.
He saw the black-robed youth meditating in the Immortal Trapping Array, and he suddenly paused. Had he just promised something?
Then, he relaxed and chuckled softly, the bamboo leaves at his fingertips drifting away with the wind. How could a person of exceptional talent be constrained by common sense?
Hadn't he himself, when he first entered the Dao, taken down the plaque from the Ancestral Hall? Thinking back now, it had become an opportunity for enlightenment.
"Shibo!" Xia Yu arrived on a cloud, his jade crown askew in his hair, but he didn't bother to adjust it. "Wu Ji knows his mistake, why not..." His words were cut off before he could finish.
Feng Dingshi's wide sleeves swirled, bringing forth starlight, and the Immortal Trapping Array dissipated in response.
Xia Yu's throat bobbed, and he stared at the three thousand runes that suddenly rolled back into the array's core, momentarily wondering if he was sleepwalking.
"You should learn from Wu Ji," Feng Dingshi lightly tapped the dazed grand-Disciple's glabella. "A keen mind should be nurtured in the mundane world; always locking it away in the Sword Pavilion to comprehend rigid rules will eventually grind away its spirituality into stubborn stone."
Xia Yu took half a step back, almost casting a spell to verify if the person before him had been possessed. Who was it yesterday who angrily rebuked Wu Ji for being "incorrigibly mischievous"? And who was it who issued the house arrest order?
Feng Dingshi seemed to see through his thoughts, stroking his beard and smiling: "That brat from Chen Ming Peak is quite interesting. I heard he wrote a new storybook? Next time, have Wu Ji bring a few volumes back."
With that, he transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the sea of clouds, his lingering voice echoing: "Remember to remind him not to write his father as so reckless next time..."
Xia Yu stared blankly at the cloud trails, then felt the jade slip in his sleeve tremble slightly.
Opening it, it was a preview of Qing Feng's new work, "Sword Venerable's Parenting Record," with the title page boldly inscribed: "A loving father's thread in hand, a wanderer's clothes on land."
At the peak of the sea of clouds, Xia Yu stared blankly in the direction where the black Daoist robe had disappeared, still clutching the array formation essentials he had just copied.