Chapter 72

Before Zhou Jun had opened his Spirit Sea, he could not force Chen Hai to use his full strength during their sparring. However, after the battle against the demonic python and the incident where Chen Hai dealt with the arrogant Jie Wenchán, Zhou Jun realized that Chen Hai's understanding of martial arts far surpassed that of others.

Zhou Jun knew that before Chen Hai's cultivation was nullified, he was a prodigy of the Yao family who had opened his Spirit Sea at the age of fourteen. Therefore, when Chen Hai exhibited some unusual traits, Zhou Jun and others found it reasonable and did not delve into it further.

However, Chen Hai and Wu Meng had never formally sparred. Zhou Jun was very curious to see if Chen Hai's current martial arts cultivation could surpass Wu Meng, who was at the mid-stage of the Spirit Sea realm, by two minor realms.

Upon Chen Hai's invitation, Wu Meng did not refuse.

After witnessing Chen Hai's battle against the demonic python, Wu Meng gained new insights into martial arts and sword cultivation. He knew that before the python battle, he would not have been a match for Chen Hai. However, he also wanted to know how much his strength had improved after these new insights and understandings.

To prevent disciples from damaging the buildings during sparring, Qiyun Ridge had a dedicated arena.

The arena was mostly open-air, but most disciples preferred to spar with close friends in private, not wanting to be watched by irrelevant people. Therefore, Qiyun Ridge also had a dedicated indoor sparring area, which was much more advanced than the Dao Academy.

When Chen Hai and his group left the Ancestor Hall, they were introduced by the head of the hall, Sun Buhui, to the arena called the Trial Tower, located in the valley east of the disciples' quarters.

Chen Hai, Zhou Jun, and Wu Meng walked out of the disciples' quarters, crossed a ridge, and saw a copper tower standing in the deep valley below.

The tower was infused with powerful formations, emitting a faint spiritual glow that drew the elemental forces of heaven and earth. The mist in the valley formed a vortex due to this pull, almost completely enveloping the valley.

Chen Hai and his group quickly descended to the bottom of the valley, standing at the base of the copper tower, which had nine levels and was nearly sixty meters tall.

Chen Hai thought that the Taiwei Sect was truly generous. He realized that not only the internal formations, but the construction of this copper tower alone required three to five million pounds of refined copper. Moreover, the large halls on Qiyun Ridge were also made of refined copper.

The Trial Tower had nine levels, each with different functions. The eight ordinary sparring areas were on the ground floor.

Even the simplest sparring areas had intricate formations that recorded the sparring process, ensuring that the disciples followed the rules and avoided unnecessary accidents.

Unfortunately, all eight sparring areas were in use today.

Currently, about a hundred inner disciples were concentrated on Qiyun Ridge for cultivation. They either read scriptures in the library or sparred in the Trial Tower, along with their attendants, making the eight sparring areas insufficient.

Chen Hai presented his disciple fish seal to the head of the tower for verification and had to wait in the hall.

Being new to Qiyun Ridge, Chen Hai and his group were curious. Seeing that the head of the tower was quite talkative, they asked many questions and learned that each level of the Trial Tower had different formations to assist in cultivation.

Some formations applied pressure ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of pounds to the disciples' physical bodies, helping to temper their muscles, bones, and flesh. Some formations assisted in cultivating the spirit, enhancing mental and spiritual power. There was also a Copper Man Hall with powerful puppets created by the sect, allowing disciples to spar and improve their combat skills.

This was one of the main reasons why many inner and true disciples often stayed at Qiyun Ridge, even without new mystical techniques to learn.

Especially the Copper Man Hall, which had over a hundred copper puppets that could be set to different strengths to form military formations, providing invaluable combat experience for military commanders.

However, using these training rooms came at a cost.

The simplest sparring room on the ground floor required only a few dozen points of sect merit, while an hour of intense training in the Copper Man Hall required five hundred points of sect merit for true disciples, and even more for inner disciples.

Chen Hai and his group, being new to Qiyun Ridge, were not yet familiar with the situation and did not want to spend too much to try other training rooms besides the sparring rooms on the ground floor.

After about half an incense stick's time, the door of the C-number sparring room was opened from the inside, and a group of people walked out. Among them was Chai Rong, who had entered the upper seven peaks for cultivation over a year ago. Chen Hai thought, "What a small world!"

Chai Rong was accompanied by an exceptionally strong demon barbarian iron slave, who looked like a moving half-tower, and Kong Tong, who had been defeated by Chen Hai in the Dao Academy's sparring.

Kong Tong was at the late-stage of the Mystic Profound realm. Since he could enter Qiyun Ridge, he must have formally joined the Chai family and was now serving Chai Rong. Kong Tong, from a humble background, had entered the Dao Academy and reached the late-stage of the Mystic Profound realm in just two to three years, showing remarkable talent. Chen Hai found it regrettable that such a talented youth would choose to serve a noble like Chai Rong.

The demon barbarian iron slave still looked like a human tank, towering over ordinary people by two heads, with arms covered in dense scales and exuding terrifying strength.

In terms of physical cultivation, the demon barbarian iron slave was no less powerful than the demonic python on Yulong Mountain. The demon blood in their bodies made them far stronger than other races, making the demon barbarians naturally suited for physical combat.

However, what truly caught Chen Hai's attention was the faint but persistent battle intent emanating from the iron slave, which he could not completely conceal. Chen Hai thought that the iron slave must have been a famous warrior among the demon barbarians before being captured by the Chai family.

To be honest, compared to Kong Tong and the demon barbarian iron slave, Chai Rong himself was not worth Chen Hai's attention.

When Chai Rong walked out of the sparring area and saw Chen Hai and Zhou Jun in the Trial Tower, he was initially stunned. Seeing the fish-shaped seals hanging from their waists, which represented their status as inner disciples, his surprise grew.

He never thought that a waste, whose cultivation had been nullified and expelled by the Yao family, could enter the upper seven peaks for cultivation.

Chai Rong quickly deduced that Chen Hai had not yet opened his Spirit Sea, which only added to his confusion.

Over the past year, Chai Rong had been diligently cultivating on the upper seven peaks, oblivious to external affairs. He only knew about the expansion of the Wuwei and Hexiang armies along Yulong Mountain, and the important events such as Chen Lie and Chai Teng being appointed as deputy commanders of the Yulong camp and subsequently ennobled as marquises. He did not care about the whereabouts of minor figures like Chen Hai and Zhou Jun.

Although Chai Rong was arrogant, he was not stupid. He quickly guessed that Chen Hai must have entered the upper seven peaks through the identity of Chen Lie's "legitimate son."

Chai Rong glanced at Wu Meng, who was at the mid-stage of the Spirit Sea realm, a fairly strong sword cultivator. He speculated that Wu Meng was either a subordinate of Chen Lie or a member of the Chen family, but not worth his attention.

"Hmph!" Chai Rong coldly snorted, deciding to ignore Chen Hai's existence.

Chai Rong wanted to ignore Chen Hai, but Chen Hai would not forget the bullying he endured at the Dao Academy. He would not act as if nothing had happened.

Chen Hai stood in the corridor with his hands in his sleeves, calmly watching Chai Rong.

Seeing Chen Hai standing in the middle of the corridor, almost daring him to make a move, Chai Rong's face darkened. To leave the Trial Tower, they would have to go around Chen Hai.

Seeing Chen Hai's brazen attitude, Chai Rong sneered, "What, do you want to challenge me, Junior Brother Yao?"

Chen Hai coldly laughed, digging his finger in his nose, and said disdainfully, "You should think about your status. What qualifications do you have to challenge me? Move aside, don't block my path!"

Chai Rong was not a patient person, and he despised Chen Hai. Hearing Chen Hai's words, the veins on his forehead almost burst.

However, he had to admit that as a marquis's legitimate son, Chen Hai's status was slightly higher than his, a collateral descendant of the Chai family. According to the rules, he should yield the path.

But his pride could not bear such public humiliation. His veins bulged, his face turned red, and his eyes glared with hatred, wishing to tear Chen Hai apart.

Chen Hai leisurely tapped his thigh, waiting for Chai Rong to move. He did not believe Chai Rong would dare to attack in the Trial Tower.

"..." Chai Rong gritted his teeth. Although his iron slave could tear Chen Hai and his companions to pieces, he knew that if he attacked in the Trial Tower, he might escape severe punishment, but the iron slave would face the harshest penalties from the sect.

Chai Rong's face turned ashen, his fists clenched, and his veins bulged. He could only swallow his anger and step aside, clearing the path.

Chen Hai could not help but laugh. The feeling of overpowering Chai Rong was even more satisfying than physically beating him. He smirked at Zhou Jun and Wu Meng, then walked towards the C-number sparring area.

Chen Hai did not notice that the door of the A-number sparring area, which was closest to them, had slightly opened, and several pairs of eyes were watching the scene.

Inside the A-number sparring area, a girl in emerald attire, with perfect features exuding a strong aura of heroism, saw Chen Hai's behavior and was displeased. She asked her attendant, "Who is that person?"

"That is the rogue who was expelled from the Yao family. I don't know what the marquis was thinking, wanting to marry you, Lady Ning, to such a person. Sister Zileng said that after being nullified, this rogue sought refuge with the Chen family's Marquis of Zhaoyang, Chen Lie, and still did not repent. He only knows how to flatter Marquis Chen Lie and bully others. From his behavior just now, Sister Zileng was right not to have wronged him!" The attendant sharply criticized Chen Hai's misdeeds.