Chapter 48

Gu Fei raised his eyes to the yellow paper pasted on the screen wall beside the square, his gaze sweeping over it: "Hmm! In the first round of the competition, thirty-nine people were eliminated, which is equivalent to half of the participants."

In a situation where only one victory in two matches was needed to advance to the second round, the elimination of half the participants was somewhat unexpected for Gu Fei.

"The disciples of the Grand Master's lineage from Tai Xuan Peak have the most people advancing to the second round!" Zhao Zirou also scanned the list of those who successfully advanced and then said.

She did not seem particularly surprised. The disciples of the Tai Xuan lineage were under the Grand Master, and the outstanding disciples of the Grand Master's lineage naturally outnumbered those of the other eight lineages.

That eldest disciple, Li Lingfeng, was widely recognized as the top disciple among the younger generation, and his cultivation was said to be close to the bottleneck of forming a Dao Pill.

"Li Lingfeng... a worthy opponent!" Gu Fei looked at the first name on the list and said calmly.

Upon hearing this, not only Zhao Zirou but also the surrounding disciples were greatly surprised. Gu Fei actually considered Li Lingfeng as an opponent?

However, when they thought about the strength Gu Fei had displayed today, they were relieved. This disciple of the Cui Ling lineage was no longer the same as before. He was no longer the weakest disciple among the younger generation of Tai Xuan Sect.

With the strength that Gu Fei had shown in defeating Dongfang Chen, he had the qualifications to challenge Li Lingfeng, and even to vie for the title of the top disciple among the younger generation.

After looking at the list, Gu Fei and Zhao Zirou walked out of the square under the watchful eyes of the crowd. Outside the square, after parting ways with Zhao Zirou, Gu Fei directly descended Tai Xuan Peak and headed straight for Cui Ling Peak.

Tomorrow would be a tough battle. Although he had made a big splash today and felt a sense of vindication, he had also offended many people. Strength, as long as one possessed sufficient strength, there was no need to fear anyone.

Gu Fei wanted to become stronger, but cultivation was not something that could be achieved overnight. Besides diligence, one also needed the talent for cultivation.

Today's battle with Dongfang Chen had given Gu Fei some insights, so he planned to spend the night digesting what he had learned. Although the time was only one night, if he could have an epiphany, it might very well allow him to break through his current realm and take another step forward in cultivation.

Just as Gu Fei descended Tai Xuan Peak and headed for Cui Ling Peak, a person walked out of a wooden house in the plum grove on the back mountain of Tai Xuan Peak.

At this time, the sun had already set behind the mountains, and a few red clouds, as if on fire, still lingered in the western sky. The plum grove on the back mountain of Tai Xuan Peak had already been shrouded in a thin mist, making it somewhat dim.

After coming out of the wooden house, the person seemed eager to leave, and with quick steps, he walked along a small path in front of the house, heading out of the grove.

The plum grove was not large, about ten acres, and the person quickly walked out of it along the path.

"Hmph! To actually tell me not to cause trouble for that Gu Fei? How absurd!" After leaving the plum grove, the person suddenly stopped, turned to look back at the wooden house, and muttered with evident resentment.

The dim light illuminated the person's face, revealing it to be Wang Yuanzhi, who had been invited by Li Lingfeng.

At this moment, Wang Yuanzhi had a cold expression. He turned and continued walking forward. After leaving the plum grove, there was a gravel path leading straight to the front of Tai Xuan Peak.

As Wang Yuanzhi's figure disappeared down the path, the wooden door of the house in the plum grove was pushed open from the inside, and a young man in white walked out.

This was an ordinary-looking young man, with neither a handsome face, a tall stature, nor fair skin. He was so ordinary that he would not attract any attention in a crowd.

But this young man, who was neither handsome nor imposing, with skin that was even a bit dark like a farmer's, was the eldest disciple of the younger generation of Tai Xuan Sect.

Li Lingfeng, an unremarkable-looking young man, was known as a cultivation genius and was the top disciple among the younger generation of Tai Xuan Sect. Although his appearance was not outstanding, no one dared to underestimate him.

"I hope Wang Yuanzhi can come to his senses. Otherwise, if he goes to cause trouble for Gu Fei again, he might be in mortal danger!" Li Lingfeng sighed, looking in the direction Wang Yuanzhi had disappeared.

"Gu Fei is a person who is single-mindedly focused on cultivation, but his actions are bold and leave no room for maneuver. From the way he dealt with Dongfang Chen on the stage today, it's clear that he is a decisive and ruthless person. If Wang Yuanzhi really doesn't know when to stop and provokes him again, it could lead to a major disaster."

A person like Li Lingfeng, of course, would not be solely focused on cultivation in the plum grove on the back mountain. As the eldest disciple under the Grand Master and the leader of the nine lineages of Tai Xuan Sect, he knew everything he should know, and he did not bother with things he should not.

Li Lingfeng shook his head and sighed, then turned and walked back into the wooden house, closing the door. Inside, there was no light, and the plum grove fell silent, with no sound heard again.

...

After descending Tai Xuan Peak, Gu Fei, bare-chested, ran for over a hundred miles on the rugged mountain path and returned to the bamboo grove at the foot of Cui Ling Peak.

"It's still better to be in my own place!" Gu Fei took a deep breath, and the faint fragrance of bamboo leaves refreshed his spirit.

Just as Gu Fei was about to enter the bamboo grove, his right foot, which he had just lifted, suddenly felt a chill, and all the hairs on his body stood on end. He immediately became alert, as if being watched by a terrifying beast lurking in the shadows.

"Trouble!" Gu Fei was greatly alarmed. His muscles and bones instantly tensed, and his joints and bones burst with a dense thundering sound. The vibration of his flesh and bones immediately released a massive wave of primordial energy, which shook the air violently, and a gust of wind swept in all directions. The bamboo leaves on the ground "whooshed" into the air, flying everywhere.

All of this happened in an instant, and at this moment, countless green bamboo poles were reflected in Gu Fei's pupils.

Silently, the bamboo poles, with their tips sharpened, shot out of the bamboo grove, moving through the air without a sound, which was extremely eerie.

"Hey!" Gu Fei's right foot, which had not yet touched the ground, suddenly stomped down, and with a "thud," he left a shadow in place and rapidly retreated.

However, Gu Fei had underestimated the speed of the countless sharp bamboo poles that shot out of the bamboo grove. They seemed to move slowly, but in reality, they were incredibly fast, far exceeding Gu Fei's expectations.

Just as he was about to take off, the dense bamboo poles seemed to teleport in front of him.

"Damn!" Gu Fei was greatly alarmed. He only had time to protect his eyes with his hands before he felt a series of sharp pains all over his body, as if being hit by countless sharp steel pillars. Each bamboo pole contained a powerful impact force, directly sending Gu Fei flying dozens of yards away.

Gu Fei felt as if he had been hit by countless heavy hammers, and his entire body was shaken to the point of almost falling apart, with his muscles and bones feeling sore and weak.

"Boom!" Gu Fei crashed into a small forest behind him, creating a large pit, with broken branches and leaves flying everywhere, and dust rising.

At this moment, a black figure slowly emerged from the bamboo grove.

This was a person in black, completely covered in a tight black outfit, making it impossible to determine whether the person was male or female, old or young.

The eyes of this mysterious person exuded an unmasked killing intent, clearly indicating that he was not only targeting Gu Fei but also intended to kill him.

"Thud!" Gu Fei shook off the dirt on his body and burst out of the pit, his entire body enveloped in a faint, colorful aura, exuding a powerful and intimidating presence.

"Hmm?" The person was clearly surprised, seemingly taken aback that Gu Fei seemed to have suffered no significant injuries from his attack.

Gu Fei was shocked, his eyes sharp as he scanned the person in front of him. Someone was actually ambushing him here. Was this person overconfident, or had he lost his mind? This was the territory of Tai Xuan Sect, and wouldn't he be afraid of alarming the experts within?

The black-clad person said nothing, coldly snorted, and then formed a mysterious seal with his hands in front of his chest. A vast wave of magical power immediately spread from his body, and the rocks around him immediately flew up, enveloped in raging flames, and shot towards Gu Fei like meteors from all directions.

Seeing this, Gu Fei's pupils contracted. The person's cultivation was truly astonishing, far beyond that of an ordinary expert. The heat from the flaming rocks had not even reached him, but a terrifying wave of heat already enveloped Gu Fei.

This heat was not simple; it made him feel as if he had fallen into a fiery pit, penetrating his 84,000 pores, trying to ignite his body from the inside out.

Gu Fei sensed an immense danger from the black-clad person and did not dare to hesitate. His body instantly shrank, becoming about three feet tall, as if he had suddenly turned into a child.

The black-clad person was clearly shocked by this scene, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Whoosh!" At the same moment, Gu Fei, whose body had shrunk, crouched to the ground, and with a powerful push from his feet, he shot forward like a snake slithering along the ground, rushing towards the black-clad person.

"Boom, boom..." A series of explosions followed as the flaming rocks that had been rushing towards Gu Fei exploded at the spot where he had been standing, the intense heat burning the ground within ten yards into scorched earth.

By this time, Gu Fei had already rushed to the black-clad person with the speed of a snake, and like a venomous snake, he leaped up and wrapped himself around the black-clad person, trying to crush him to death with a powerful bear hug.

Gu Fei's attack was extremely fierce, and this bear hug was even more brutal than that of a giant bear in the mountains.

However, Gu Fei's hug seemed to be grabbing at air, with no point of resistance, and then the black-clad person vanished into thin air, revealing that it was just an illusion.