Chapter 5

After Su Rou and the others left, the grand hall fell into silence.

After a long while, hurried footsteps could be heard from outside the hall, and a disciple rushed in at breakneck speed.

This person was Duan Yuxuan, but at this moment, he seemed like a completely different person compared to when he entered the underground palace.

His hair was disheveled, his head drenched in sweat, and he was panting heavily, dashing towards the platform as if he were mad.

"Haha, first place is ultimately mine. You little brat, Yang Tianyu, you also want to compete with me?"

"Do you think I endured for six years in the outer sect for nothing? I'll tell you now, I did it all for this damn thing."

Duan Yuxuan ran and cheered, as if possessed, his eyes fixed on the platform, completely ignoring the corpses of the fierce beasts in the hall.

"Whoosh." He leaped up and landed steadily on the platform.

But when he smiled and looked down, he was struck like a bolt of lightning, his eyes widening in shock.

Because on that platform, there was nothing at all, not even a single hair.

"Damn, what's going on?"

After a long while, he finally came to his senses and noticed that the platform was covered in blood, with the corpses of forty fierce beasts scattered throughout the hall.

Each of the fierce beasts had died in a terrifying and bloody manner.

This scene frightened him so much that he plopped down on the platform, looking back and realizing that the door leading to the inner sect had not opened.

"What the hell is going on?" Duan Yuxuan was at a loss, his thoughts in chaos.

"Tap tap tap..." At this moment, Yang Tianyu also ran over, but he stopped at the entrance to the hall.

Looking at the scene inside the hall and then at Duan Yuxuan on the platform, he was dumbfounded: "Did... did you do this?"

Duan Yuxuan chuckled bitterly, "If I say no, would you believe me?"

"Of course, you couldn't possibly be that strong." Yang Tianyu glanced at him and walked into the hall to examine the corpses of the fierce beasts: "Heaven, there's even a fourth-stage fierce beast. Who could have done this?"

The two observed for a long time but could not come to a conclusion. They couldn't think of anyone in the outer sect who could have such terrifying strength.

In the end, they even suspected that it was a setup by the elders, and that the elders had taken the first-place reward.

But when the army of disciples at the third level of Lingwu arrived, a dramatic scene unfolded.

Everyone believed that Yang Tianyu and Duan Yuxuan had killed the fierce beasts, and that they had split the first-place reward.

The funniest part was that, in the face of everyone's admiring gazes, Yang Tianyu and Duan Yuxuan did not deny it, and thus they became the first-place winners by default.

The door opened, and cheers erupted. Everyone was happy because as long as they walked through that door, they would become inner sect disciples and start a new life.

But just as people were celebrating, a young man who had emerged from the underground palace caught everyone's attention.

He was naked and crying, full of grievances, cursing: "Who the hell is so despicable, not only hitting me from behind but also stripping me? What kind of pervert is that?"

People were very surprised by this scene, but only Chu Feng smiled, looked at his intact clothes, and quietly left the crowd.

The inner sect examination concluded. Out of the thousands who participated, only two thousand passed, but this was not a small number.

Entering the inner sect meant officially becoming a disciple of the Azure Dragon Sect and enjoying superior treatment.

To welcome the new disciples, the elders even arranged a grand feast.

Under the full moon, the inner sect was filled with music and dance, the joyous atmosphere reaching its peak.

However, Chu Feng did not attend the feast. Instead, he stayed in his new residence, bare-chested, examining his wounds.

The wounds were healing, and healing quickly. At this rate, they would be completely healed in a few days, thanks to the power granted by the divine thunder.

"Who are you? Why did you choose me?"

This was not the first time Chu Feng had asked this question. He had asked it countless times but never received an answer.

He still remembered the night five years ago when the sky over Qingzhou was enveloped by the nine-colored divine thunder.

The sky was as bright as daylight, the thunder like dragons dancing, the heavens roaring, and the earth trembling. People thought the end of the world had come, and chaos ensued.

But ten-year-old Chu Feng ran out of his house involuntarily, heading to an open area.

Even now, he didn't know why he did that, as if some magic was drawing him there.

Later, he was possessed by the divine thunder.

No one saw that scene, but he knew that the thing in his dantian was the nine-colored divine thunder that had caused a sensation across the continent.

The divine thunder had granted Chu Feng a powerful physique, but he still didn't understand why such a powerful thing had chosen him.

"Never mind, since you won't answer, I won't ask anymore. After all, we are one now."

Chu Feng smiled with a sense of relief. If it were a blessing, it wouldn't be a curse, and if it were a curse, he couldn't avoid it. If the divine thunder truly wanted to harm him, he had no power to resist.

Besides, so far, the divine thunder had only brought him benefits, so he decided not to think about it anymore.

Chu Feng dressed and looked at a book on his bedside table, which read "Three Thunder Techniques" in large characters.

Picking up the book, Chu Feng began to read. This was his first time encountering martial techniques, and he was quite excited.

"Four-stage martial technique, Three Thunder Techniques, created by the Azure Dragon Daoist."

"Once perfected, it is as swift as lightning and as powerful as thunder, comparable to a fifth-stage martial technique."

Reading the brief introduction, Chu Feng drew in a sharp breath and exclaimed, "This is a martial technique created by the founder of the sect!"

The Azure Dragon Daoist was the founder of the Azure Dragon Sect, an invincible master a thousand years ago, with the ability to fly, hide, move mountains, and fill seas, a true martial expert.

In that era, the Azure Dragon Sect, led by the Azure Dragon Daoist, was the top sect in the Nine Provinces.

The only one that could rival the Azure Dragon Sect was the current dominant power in the Nine Provinces, the Jiang Imperial Dynasty.

However, after the Azure Dragon Daoist's death, the Azure Dragon Sect began to decline and soon fell from the ranks of the top sects in the Nine Provinces.

Now, even within the Qingzhou region, it was only a second-tier sect, which only highlighted the personal strength of the Azure Dragon Daoist.

The martial techniques created by him were surely the best, rare and precious.

Excited, Chu Feng quickly read the cultivation methods, determined to master the Three Thunder Techniques.

After a sleepless night, Chu Feng finally understood the cultivation methods of the Three Thunder Techniques.

The first technique was form, the second was intent, and the third could manifest thunder. Overall, the Three Thunder Techniques were extremely difficult to cultivate, but Chu Feng was determined to give it a try.

After washing up, Chu Feng felt no drowsiness and headed to the martial techniques pavilion of the inner sect.

First, the martial techniques pavilion had facilities for cultivating martial techniques, and second, since the Three Thunder Techniques could not be exposed, he needed to cultivate another martial technique to keep it hidden.

"Quite lively." Entering the martial techniques pavilion, the vast hall was already crowded.

This was understandable, as over two thousand new disciples had joined the inner sect yesterday, and they were eager to cultivate martial techniques.

The martial techniques pavilion had six floors: the first floor for first-stage techniques, the second for second-stage techniques, the third for third-stage techniques, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors for cultivation areas.

Chu Feng went up, finding the first floor crowded, the second floor much better, and the third floor nearly empty.

This was expected, as the higher the stage of the martial technique, the greater the power, but also the greater the difficulty of cultivation.

So many people started with a first-stage technique, cultivated it to perfection, then chose a second-stage technique, and finally a third-stage technique.

However, Chu Feng's goal was clear. Even if it was just for self-defense, he wanted the strongest one.

"Young man, I advise you not to aim too high. The martial techniques here are not suitable for you." Just as Chu Feng stepped onto the third floor, an elderly voice reached his ears.