Chapter 74

"Even if you have mental energy, you can't cultivate like this. Don't you know that the path of martial arts requires gradual progression? If you break through so quickly, it will be very difficult for you to achieve great success in the future."

"If I wanted to, with my family's wealth, I could have broken through to the Ninth Level of Spirit Martial before the age of twelve. But do you know why I am only at the Eighth Level of Spirit Martial at the age of fourteen?"

"That's because continuous breakthroughs using cultivation resources are equivalent to breaking the rules of martial cultivation. While they bring power, they also burden the body and reduce future enlightenment."

"Even if you can become a Ninth Level Spirit Martial expert in the short term, you will face the dilemma of being unable to break through to the Essence Martial realm for the rest of your life. Do you understand what I mean?" Su Mei's emotions were somewhat agitated, but it was clear that she was genuinely worried about Chu Feng.

Looking at such a Su Mei, Chu Feng felt both secretly pleased and a bit heartbroken. He naturally knew that the path of martial cultivation required gradual progression and not hasty success, but this only applied to ordinary people, and Chu Feng was clearly not an ordinary person.

So, Chu Feng understood his body better than anyone. His body had not suffered any burden from rapid breakthroughs; instead, it had become increasingly powerful.

However, he could not tell Su Mei the truth because he did not know how to explain his body. He couldn't say, "I not only have mental energy, but my constitution is also special, and I have a divine thunder hidden in my dantian, right?"

Such a secret, Chu Feng would not easily tell anyone. If possible, he would keep it hidden for a lifetime.

"Got it, girl, I'll be careful." Not knowing how to explain, Chu Feng could only laugh and敷衍 (fuyan) (note: this word is often used to mean "to应付" (payu), which can be translated as "to cope" or "to deal with" in a perfunctory manner, but in this context, it means "to placate" or "to mollify").

"You better take care of yourself. I don't want you to ruin your promising future because of hasty success." Looking at the grinning Chu Feng, Su Mei was a bit angry and turned to walk into her residence.

But watching Su Mei's departing back, Chu Feng felt a warmth in his heart. Having a girl who cared for him so much was undoubtedly a happy thing.

The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Chu Feng got up because today was the day of the core disciple assessment.

Core disciples were the key cultivation targets of the Azure Dragon Sect and the main fighting force. Their status was vastly different from that of inner disciples.

Firstly, core disciples would enjoy the best cultivation resources of the Azure Dragon Sect. Secondly, their families would also be protected by the Azure Dragon Sect. If anyone dared to harm the family of a core disciple, it would be equivalent to declaring war on the Azure Dragon Sect.

Moreover, core disciples were not all like Zhou Zhiyuan. In fact, many core disciples were very strong, with most having entered the Essence Martial realm. They were all highly talented in martial cultivation, and some core disciples' strength could even match that of core elders.

Take Su Rou, for example. If she hadn't chosen to become an inner elder, she would also be a core disciple now. This means that among the core disciples, there might be other strong figures like Su Rou.

Therefore, compared to the inner sect, the core area was where Chu Feng most wanted to go. It was more challenging, and he enjoyed such a life, a life that forced him to become stronger.

The location of the core disciple assessment was also a massive underground palace, but this palace was much larger than the one for the inner disciple assessment, and the mechanisms inside were much more dangerous.

Most importantly, the mechanisms for the inner disciple assessment were unchanged, while the mechanisms for the core disciple assessment changed almost every year, with various tricks that no one knew about in advance.

Of course, if you had absolute strength, you could pass even the most difficult mechanisms.

At this moment, the twelve members of the Wing Alliance finally entered this massive underground palace.

"Wow, the Wing Alliance is really making a big move this time, with so many people participating."

"Only twelve people, and you call that a big move?"

"The Wing Alliance has only thirty-three members in total. This time, they've mobilized nearly half of their members. Isn't that a big move?"

"You have a point, hahaha..."

Just as the Wing Alliance members, including Chu Feng, entered the grand hall of the underground palace, they heard a sarcastic voice.

Looking over, they saw two groups of people not far away. One was the Sword Path Alliance, and the other was the World Alliance.

Chu Feng had seen the members of the Sword Path Alliance before. They had thirty people, with Jian Fengyi at the Ninth Level of Spirit Martial, three at the Eighth Level, and the rest at the Seventh Level.

The World Alliance also had thirty people, with one at the Ninth Level of Spirit Martial, two at the Eighth Level, and the rest at the Seventh Level.

As for the robust young man with Ninth Level Spirit Martial strength who had just mocked the Wing Alliance along with Jian Fengyi, he was naturally the leader of the World Alliance.

"How did the World Alliance end up with the Sword Path Alliance?" Some members of the Wing Alliance felt something was off when they saw the harmonious appearance of the World Alliance and the Sword Path Alliance.

"Pay no attention to them. The core disciple assessment is different from the inner disciple assessment. It relies entirely on individual ability."

"Look at that entrance; it's not unified. Each person can only enter one, which means the challenges inside must be completed individually."

"However, I want to remind you that leaving the underground palace does not mean passing the assessment. After leaving the underground palace, we will enter a garden."

"That garden has many spirit medicines, which serve as a reward for passing the underground palace. However, how much reward you get depends on your own ability."

"The most important thing is that the assessment time limit is two hours. That means, from the moment we enter the underground palace, we must leave the garden within two hours, or the assessment will fail."

Situ Yu did not pay attention to the World Alliance and the Sword Path Alliance but instead explained to Chu Feng and the others the things they should pay attention to during the core assessment.

Although the Wing Alliance had fewer people than the World Alliance and the Sword Path Alliance, in terms of overall strength, the Wing Alliance had an absolute advantage, especially with a prodigy like Chu Feng. They were not worried at all.

So they were not afraid of the World Alliance and the Sword Path Alliance doing anything to them; they only cared about whether they could become core disciples.

Because if they failed the assessment, they would have to return to the inner sect for further cultivation, which would be a disgrace to the members of the Wing Alliance, and it must not happen.

"Chu Feng, my sister told me that the garden is built by the founder of the sect, the Azure Dragon Daoist, so it's called the Azure Dragon Garden."

"Inside the Azure Dragon Garden, there is a flower called the Seven-Colored Flower. It has seven colors and is very beautiful. However, the Seven-Colored Flower is extremely rare, rarer than spirit medicines, and not everyone has the chance to see it, but I really want to see it." Su Mei said to Chu Feng, her eyes filled with longing.

"Don't worry, I will definitely let you see it." Chu Feng said with a smile.

"Don't talk nonsense. The Azure Dragon Garden is very large, and the Seven-Colored Flower is really very rare. It's not easy to find, and it all depends on fate." Su Mei did not believe Chu Feng's words.

Chu Feng smiled slightly and did not explain further. However, when he passed by Jian Fengyi, he suddenly stopped and said to Jian Fengyi, "Don't let me see you in the Azure Dragon Garden, or I will beat you so badly that your mother won't recognize you."

After saying this, Chu Feng did not give Jian Fengyi a chance to respond and quickly left with Su Mei, which infuriated Jian Fengyi.