Chapter 8

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"Junior Brother Chu, you actually came to the market, did you hit your head and get it damaged after falling? Is this a place for someone like you?"

A plump, short, and fat youth with a proud and arrogant expression stepped into the dome barrier with a haughty gait. His green-black outer robe of the outer sect was particularly tight on his short and fat body. The most eye-catching thing was the green-gray storage ring on his finger, which emitted a faint gem-like light, drawing envious glances from the surrounding disciples.

Unlike other cultivation items, a storage ring was a treasure that every cultivator wanted to possess, but it required a powerful alchemist to refine a space into a small ring. Therefore, it was extremely valuable. In terms of price, it was something that many outer sect disciples could only dream of.

It was said that among the inner sect disciples of the Biquan Immortal Sect, very few truly possessed storage rings. The reason why Yao Long, this arrogant and plump youth, could have such a treasure was because he had an elder brother in the outer sect who was extremely powerful and had a high status—Yao Jinghai, the eldest outer sect disciple!

Yao Jinghai was the most talented and outstanding genius among the current outer sect disciples of the Biquan Immortal Sect. In less than a year after joining, he had cultivated from an ordinary person to the fifth level of the Spirit Water Realm and, with his solid foundation, crossed realms to defeat the then-oldest outer sect disciple, becoming the new eldest disciple.

Two years had passed, and his strength had become unfathomable. Surprisingly, he had never chosen to enter the inner sect, where outer sect disciples who reached the sixth level of the Spirit Water Realm could enjoy various benefits.

Yao Jinghai claimed he wanted to stay in the outer sect to gain more experience and accumulation, preparing for the future when he would surpass the Spirit Water Realm.

There was also a rumor that he stayed in the outer sect for Tong Meng, vowing not to give up until he got her.

However, what was most surprising was that the elders and higher-ups of the sect, after discussion, actually agreed to his request.

According to rumors from the inner sect, the sect's higher-ups were grooming Yao Jinghai as a "true disciple," so they never interfered with his cultivation plans, leaving everything to his own discretion.

Yao Long even claimed that his talented elder brother chose to stay in the outer sect to take care of him. With such a powerful elder brother backing him, Yao Long could act arrogantly in the outer sect, even daring to openly snatch the herbs and pills of some outer sect disciples whose cultivation was higher than his, causing many outer sect disciples to dare to be angry but not to speak out.

Yao Long could be considered the most loyal dog of Yao Jinghai, so he often made things difficult for Chu Chen, hoping to force him out of the sect.

In the past, Chu Chen would avoid Yao Long, but now, after this encounter, he was no longer afraid of him.

"Is Junior Brother Chu here to buy medicine? Are you preparing to break through to the third level of the Spirit Qi Realm? Three years of hard cultivation should indeed show some progress," Yao Long said with a mocking expression. "But what kind of inferior pills do you have in your hands? Even my dog wouldn't eat them."

As he spoke, Yao Long swept his right hand, intending to knock the pills out of Chu Chen's arms. However, Chu Chen casually turned his body, narrowly avoiding it.

Yao Long was initially stunned but then thought it was just the boy's good luck, accidentally dodging his sweep. He didn't feel it was appropriate to attack a low-level Spirit Qi Realm disciple again.

"Actually, you must understand that a waste like you, no matter how much medicine you take, is useless. You can only grovel around Junior Sister Tong like a dog. Why drag her down? You might as well go down the mountain and do some small business. Also, I advise Junior Sister Tong to form a Dao couple with my elder brother, a high-ranking strong man, rather than follow you, who has no future."

Chu Chen's face darkened. He usually endured being called a waste, but mentioning Tong Meng would ignite his anger.

"I heard Junior Sister Tong even went to the garbage dump at the back mountain to find the sect's sword for you. Sigh, how can I say this? Without the sword, you have no right to live. If I were you, I would have crashed my head and died," Yao Long said, becoming more and more pleased with himself.

"Are you at the first level of the Spirit Water Realm?" Chu Chen suddenly walked up to Yao Long and asked coldly.

"Yes, but what do you mean by asking that?" Yao Long looked at the waste youth who was always stuck at the second level of the Spirit Qi Realm, somewhat puzzled.

Chu Chen walked up to Yao Long and suddenly lowered his voice, "At midnight tonight, we will meet at the乱石涧 (Rocks Gorge) at the back mountain to decide the winner. Only we will know the result, and I won't tell anyone."

The Biquan Immortal Sect prohibited private duels, and the punishment for such actions was extremely severe.

This was one of the reasons why Yao Jinghai and others, despite constantly making things difficult for Chu Chen, had not forced him to leave.

Yao Long did not expect that Chu Chen, the waste who was always stuck at the second level of the Spirit Qi Realm, would suddenly go crazy and dare to challenge him, and even say he wouldn't tell anyone.

He must be angry about his things being thrown away and wants to fight, but he's afraid of losing and being embarrassed.

Thinking about this, Yao Long couldn't help but smile cruelly as he watched Chu Chen leave, "Chu Chen, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I won't tell anyone. You're seeking your own death, and no one can blame you. After tonight, you will mysteriously disappear, and my elder brother will surely reward me."

After leaving the market, Chu Chen did not return to his small courtyard but went straight to the training ground.

The training ground was where disciples practiced, and many often sparred here to improve their martial and sword skills.

When Chu Chen arrived at the edge of the training ground, no one paid attention to him. People were moving back and forth, and figures were flying and dancing everywhere.

Chu Chen sat down under a rock at the edge of the training ground and slowly closed his eyes.

No one knew that the moment Chu Chen closed his eyes, he suddenly opened his spiritual senses, and the entire training ground appeared clearly in his mind.

Each disciple flying high and low, each young man pushing palms and sweeping legs, the arcs of their flowing robes, and the various colors of light emitted by the disciples in the Spirit Water Realm, were all vivid and clear.

All of this was captured by Chu Chen's "abnormal spiritual senses," but Chu Chen wanted more than just this effect.

He suddenly opened his eyes, and two sharp beams of light shot out.

At that moment, the world around him changed, and the flow of all things became slow, whether it was the clouds in the sky, the leaves swirling in the wind, or even the radiation of light.

The movements of the sparring disciples also became incredibly slow, as if they were moving in slow motion, with the light flames shooting from their sword palms slowly expanding or contracting.

Chu Chen was not satisfied with this level. He frowned, and the sharpness in his eyes intensified!

After amplifying his spiritual senses to the limit, the flow of the world slowed down several times. This time, Chu Chen could finally clearly capture every movement, every technique, and every trace of spirit energy of the young disciples as they wielded their swords and palms.

Chu Chen's mind was clear and empty!

Under the powerful spiritual senses, the seemingly powerful palm and sword techniques actually contained countless large and small flaws, as if they could be easily dodged!

Chu Chen even had a feeling that if he leaped into the training ground, he could kill nearly a hundred disciples with his own strength.

Of course, Chu Chen knew this was just a feeling. With his current strength, it was impossible.

These seemingly slow movements were actually as fast as lightning to his body. To dodge an attack, he needed to anticipate the enemy's moves, calculate their speed, strength, angle, and even the range of spirit energy emission.

Chu Chen was very clear that when he opened his spiritual senses, he should have the awareness and judgment of a grandmaster, but his body and mind were still far apart.

So, he came to the training ground to get used to using his spiritual senses to capture and familiarize himself with the movements of his opponents, precisely calculate, and then deduce his own maximum action mode.

Chu Chen watched as the figures on the training ground increased or decreased, the clouds in the sky came and went, and the light gradually dimmed.