Chapter 14

Chu Feng smiled, a wicked smile. He raised the dagger high and softly uttered a single word:

"One"

"Swish"

As soon as he spoke, the dagger in Chu Feng's hand fell abruptly.

"I was wrong!!!"

"I was wrong, Brother Chu Feng, I was wrong. Spare me, please... don't take away my cultivation, don't..." Chu Cheng roared wildly, his voice tinged with sobs.

Upon hearing these words, Chu Feng's movements suddenly halted. He smiled and sized up Chu Cheng.

Only then did he notice that Chu Cheng had his eyes closed, tears streaming down his face, and his mouth still pleading for mercy.

Not only was his expression pitiful, but his body was trembling, and his crotch was wet with a foul odor.

Chu Feng threw the dagger to the ground and searched Chu Cheng and Chu Zhen, eventually finding five low-grade spirit herbs, "Earth Spirit Grass."

After doing this, Chu Feng approached Chu Cheng again. He gently patted Chu Cheng's face and said:

"Look at yourself. Who is the real waste, don't you know in your heart?"

"Ha ha..." After saying this, Chu Feng laughed and left with a graceful stride.

After Chu Feng left, Chu Cheng and Chu Zhen supported each other and stumbled away into the night.

But not long after they left, a graceful figure emerged from the darkness. It was Chu Yue.

However, Chu Yue's sweet face was filled with shock.

After a long while, she murmured to herself: "Brother Chu Feng, what kind of person are you? What kind of strength do you possess?"

Suddenly, she closed her eyes and recalled Chu Feng from childhood.

No matter how people mocked him, he never retaliated.

No matter how others bullied him, he never fought back.

He always wore a smile, making people feel sorry for him, making people feel the need to protect him.

Finally, Chu Yue opened her eyes and smiled with a sense of relief:

"Perhaps, we were all wrong, mistaking you for a weak person."

"Perhaps, this is the real you. You don't need others to protect you because you are strong enough to protect others."

At this moment, Chu Feng had already returned to his residence. He took out three spirit herbs and five Earth Spirit Grasses.

Although Earth Spirit Grass is a low-grade spirit herb, it is still a precious item for martial cultivation. Chu Feng felt that taking them was enough to make Chu Cheng and Chu Zhen extremely distressed.

Just thinking about how these two brothers, who usually insulted him, were just taught a lesson, Chu Feng still felt extremely satisfied.

"It seems a saying is very true: it takes a villain to deal with a villain. If you want to reason with a villain, you must use your fists."

Chu Feng smiled and did not rush to start his cultivation. Instead, he took out a letter from his elder brother.

Opening the letter, familiar handwriting appeared before his eyes, written by Chu Guyu himself.

"Brother, it has been five years since you joined the Azure Dragon Sect, and we have not seen each other for five years."

"In a few days, it will be the annual clan meeting. This year, Grandfather will step down as the head of the family."

"Grandfather's retirement also means the election of a new head of the family, and Father will be one of the candidates."

"This is a very important day for Father, so I hope you can return for this year's clan meeting to cheer for Father."

A few lines of text clearly conveyed the message. Chu Feng folded the letter and fell into deep thought.

At the annual clan meeting, the younger generation of the Chu family would engage in sparring to test their cultivation progress.

Although it was ostensibly a test, the potential of the younger generation indirectly determined the status of the elders within the clan.

This time, Chu Yuan's eligibility to run for the head of the family was not only due to his personal strength but also closely related to Chu Guyu.

Chu Guyu, the only member of the younger generation of the Chu family to join the Lingyun Sect, almost always won first place in the annual clan competition. His great potential naturally influenced Chu Yuan's status.

After deep thought, Chu Feng found paper and pen and began writing a reply to Chu Guyu.

The content was simple: he would return for this year's clan meeting because Chu Feng also wanted to contribute to his father's campaign for the head of the family.

He wanted to shine in this year's clan competition, at least achieving a good ranking, so everyone would know that neither of Chu Yuan's sons was a mediocrity.

In other words, Chu Feng felt it was time to prove himself.

After writing the letter, Chu Feng refined the three spirit herbs and five Earth Spirit Grasses.

This time, Chu Feng finally felt his dantian being filled. He estimated that refining twenty spirit herbs might allow him to break through.

However, twenty spirit herbs were extremely expensive, so his only hope was placed on the spirit herb hunt the next day.

The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, a vast square in the northern part of the Azure Dragon Sect was already crowded with over ten thousand people. This was one of the entrances to the spirit herb mountain.

Chu Feng carried two bags, one full of food and the other empty. He was looking around the crowd, searching for Chu Yue.

"Brother Chu Feng, over here."

A familiar voice rang out, and indeed, Chu Yue was nearby, waving happily at Chu Feng.

Compared to Chu Feng's heavy load, Chu Yue was much simpler, carrying only a waist bag, dressed as usual.

"Chu Yue, aren't you bringing food? The spirit herb hunt lasts ten days. What will you eat?" Chu Feng asked, puzzled.

"Idiot, don't forget we are organized. I am only responsible for capturing spirit herbs. Carrying food, that kind of physical labor, is naturally left to others," Chu Yue explained, pointing to a group of Chu Alliance members nearby, whom Chu Feng had met the previous night.

Three of them were indeed carrying oversized bags, which must contain food.

"Brother Chu Feng, our spirit herb hunt is divided into clear roles. After entering the mountains, we will split into three groups."

"Each group has members responsible for carrying food, members responsible for surrounding the spirit herbs, and I am responsible for capturing the spirit herbs."

"The roles are assigned based on strength, and the distribution of spirit herbs is also based on strength," Chu Yue explained in detail.

Chu Feng finally had a deep understanding of the spirit herb hunt and the benefits of group hunting.

Before being picked, spirit herbs have a spirit nature and can burrow underground. Without absolute strength, it is very difficult to hunt them alone.

This is why most disciples choose to join alliances, as in their current strength, the power of a team is indeed greater than that of an individual.

After explaining the method of hunting spirit herbs, Chu Yue led Chu Feng to the Chu Alliance group.

Upon approaching, Chu Feng noticed that the Chu Alliance was one person short today. The absent one was Chu Cheng.

Chu Cheng had been beaten badly by Chu Feng the previous day, his face swollen like a pig's head. He was probably too ashamed to show his face and thus gave up on this rare spirit herb hunt.

Besides Chu Cheng, Chu Feng also saw a familiar person, Chu Zhen.

However, Chu Zhen no longer had his usual arrogance. He kept his head down, silent and dejected, as if he had received a heavy blow and was very low.