Chapter 1

Under the night sky, a full moon hung high, and the stars twinkled.

But amidst the starry river, nine-colored lightning swirled, shining particularly brightly.

"A celestial anomaly, a divine being must be descending."

At the peak of the imperial city in the Nine Provinces Continent, an old man in golden robes stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the night sky.

Behind him, tens of thousands of imperial city experts knelt neatly on the ground, as if waiting for some command.

"Hum"

Suddenly, the lightning condensed, forming a nine-colored divine thunderbolt that descended from the starry river above.

In an instant, the night turned to day. Even before the divine thunderbolt struck, the earth began to rumble and tremble violently.

However, the moment the nine-colored divine thunderbolt touched the continent, it did not cause any terrible destruction but vanished into thin air.

At the same time, the night sky was once again shrouded in darkness, and the once brilliant sky dimmed, as if some essence had been drained, returning to its former tranquility.

But at this moment, the old man's eyes were exceptionally bright, and his body trembled with excitement. He pointed to where the thunderbolt had fallen: "In the territory of Qingzhou, bring all the children who descended tonight to the imperial city!"

"遵命！" (Compliance!)

A thunderous response echoed through the sky, and tens of thousands of imperial city experts set off for Qingzhou, determined to find the divine being and put it to use for the imperial dynasty.

Time passed, and five years had gone by. Although people still remembered the shocking scene from that night, no one knew what the imperial dynasty had done.

In the Nine Provinces Continent, within the territory of Qingzhou, numerous sects stood, and the Green Dragon Sect was one of them.

Today was the annual day for the Green Dragon Sect to recruit disciples, and the area outside the sect was crowded with people.

However, at this time, the outer sect disciples were the busiest, as all the reception duties fell on their shoulders.

Being an outer sect disciple was a thankless job. Not only were they of low status within the sect, but even outsiders looked down on them.

The reason was simple: any outer sect disciple indicated poor talent, making it unlikely for them to achieve much in their lifetime, thus naturally leading to their being despised.

"Hey, what attitude is this? Do you know who I am?" A woman in luxurious clothing, accompanied by a boy, pointed at a young man and scolded him loudly.

"Truly sorry, it's getting late, and the sect is about to close. Please come back tomorrow." The young man had a delicate and youthful face, but his brows carried a hint of valor.

His name was Chu Feng, fifteen years old, and one of the tens of thousands of outer sect disciples in the Green Dragon Sect.

However, unlike other outer sect disciples, Chu Feng was different. He did not feel inferior or fall into despair. He treated everyone with composure and confidence.

"Come back tomorrow? Do you think I'm a fool? Where are we supposed to stay in this remote mountain?"

"You must arrange accommodation for us, or I will go to your elders to complain." The woman was relentless, grabbing Chu Feng's collar.

"Chu Feng, are you in trouble?" At this moment, a sweet voice suddenly rang out.

Looking over, a girl in purple robes was walking over. Although she had a smile on her lips, her sharp eyes were fixed on the woman.

Seeing the girl, the woman's face changed drastically, and a deep fear emerged.

Not because of anything else, but because the purple robe the girl wore was the mark of an inner sect disciple.

The woman inwardly cursed, thinking that her identity would allow her to bully the young man.

But she never expected that this seemingly unremarkable young man had an inner sect disciple as his backer, someone she could not provoke.

"It's nothing, I was just asking this young brother some questions." The woman smiled and explained.

The girl first glared at her and then said just one word: "Scram."

At that moment, the woman's body trembled, and her face turned ashen.

However, she did not hesitate, quickly pulling the boy away, stumbling and falling in her haste, looking extremely embarrassed.

Seeing this, Chu Feng shook his head helplessly and then bowed to the girl beside him: "Thank you, Senior Sister Chu Yue."

"Don't be so formal with me, we are family." Chu Yue was somewhat displeased.

She was right; Chu Feng and she were indeed family, from the same noble family, the Chu Family.

This Chu Yue was Chu Feng's second cousin, only one year older than him.

However, Chu Yue had passed the inner sect examination three years ago and was now a fourth-level Spirit Warrior.

"The rules of the sect must be followed." Chu Feng smiled brightly.

"Ah," But looking at such a Chu Feng, Chu Yue felt a pang of sadness: "Chu Feng, are you not participating in this year's inner sect examination? Haven't you reached the third level of Spirit Warrior yet?"

Chu Feng did not answer, still smiling, and no one knew what he meant.

Seeing this, Chu Yue took a brocade pouch from her waist and placed it in Chu Feng's hand: "Refine it, it might help you break through to the third level."

Chu Feng opened the brocade pouch, and a powerful spiritual aura immediately emanated. A finger-sized, crystal-clear immortal spirit grass lay inside.

"Senior Sister Chu Yue, this is too valuable, I can't accept it." Chu Feng quickly returned the brocade pouch to Chu Yue.

The immortal spirit grass was a holy medicine for martial cultivation, extremely precious, and had endless benefits for cultivators below the Spirit Warrior realm.

The Chu Family provided each of them with one immortal spirit grass annually to help them quickly improve their cultivation.

This one must have been the family's subsidy for Chu Yue, but she had not used it and instead gave it to him, making Chu Feng both moved and reluctant to accept it.

"I said take it, so take it. Are you not my brother anymore?" Chu Yue was somewhat displeased.

"Hey, when did Senior Sister Chu Yue become so generous, even giving away immortal spirit grass?"

"Look, I am also your brother, and I am about to break through to the fourth level of Spirit Warrior. Why don't you give me this immortal spirit grass, Senior Sister Chu Yue?"

A young man of about the same age as Chu Feng walked over, also wearing the inner sect disciple's uniform.

His name was Chu Zhen, also from the Chu Family. Five years ago, he and Chu Feng joined the Green Dragon Sect together, but he had become an inner sect disciple two years ago.

"Chu Zhen, you have already broken through to the third level of Spirit Warrior and successfully condensed spirit energy. Even without this immortal spirit grass, you can still advance rapidly."

"But Chu Feng has not yet condensed spirit energy, and this immortal spirit grass is more important to him." Chu Yue forcefully placed the immortal spirit grass in Chu Feng's hand.

"That's right, but he doesn't appreciate your kindness." Chu Zhen spread his hands and sneered.

"Who said I don't want it?" However, Chu Feng smiled and unceremoniously put the immortal spirit grass in his pocket, then said: "Senior Sister Chu Yue, I will consider this immortal spirit grass as a loan from you, and I will return it double in the future."

"Okay." Seeing Chu Feng accept it, Chu Yue was delighted and casually agreed, not really expecting Chu Feng to pay her back.

"What will you pay with? Giving you this immortal spirit grass is a waste." But Chu Zhen's face turned sour.

Chu Feng smiled and ignored him, instead saying to Chu Yue: "Senior Sister Chu Yue, I will participate in this year's inner sect examination."

"Hmph, with you? If you can pass the inner sect examination, I will give you the immortal spirit grass the family subsidizes this year." Chu Zhen looked at Chu Feng with disdain.

"Is that true?" Chu Feng did not believe it.

"Senior Sister Chu Yue can vouch for me, but what if you can't pass?"

"Then my immortal spirit grass this year will be yours." Chu Feng left this message and continued with his duties as an outer sect disciple.

"Chu Zhen, we are family, why do you always make things difficult for Chu Feng?" Chu Yue looked at Chu Zhen with displeasure.

"Family? Senior Sister Chu Yue, you should know that Chu Feng is not one of us."

"Unable to pass the inner sect examination after five years in the sect is a disgrace to our family."

"Who in the entire Chu Family likes him? Only you treat him so well, even giving him your immortal spirit grass." Chu Zhen was very puzzled.

"You are truly stubborn." Chu Yue was somewhat angry, glared at him, and walked away.

Chu Zhen stood there and laughed, very pleased. Although he did not get Chu Yue's immortal spirit grass, he knew that this year's immortal spirit grass for Chu Feng would definitely be his.

It was late at night, and the place where the outer sect disciples rested was pitch black.

After a busy day, everyone was very tired and went to sleep early. Only Chu Feng's room still had a light on.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, took out the immortal spirit grass given by Chu Yue, and said softly: "I hope this immortal spirit grass can satisfy you."

After speaking, Chu Feng closed his eyes, placed the immortal spirit grass between his palms, and formed a unique hand seal.

At this moment, the spiritual energy inside the immortal spirit grass began to flow into Chu Feng's body through his palms, eventually gathering in his dantian.

At the same time, a chewing sound came from Chu Feng's dantian, as if something was eating.

If one could see through the skin, they would find that deep within Chu Feng's dantian, a ball of lightning was coiled.

This ball of lightning was divided into nine colors, each color resembling a thunder beast, emitting a terrifying aura that did not belong to this world.