Although I did not expose all my strength this time, I did end up exposing the fact that my cultivation base has increased by leaps and bounds. Additionally, I killed Tiger Form Sect’s disciples in the street. It seems something else will be happening.

Even if I ignore that, Tie Yun is probably suspecting that I have obtained some Heavenly treasure or some secret technique. Just because he is not giving me any problems today does not mean he will not do so in the future. I am not afraid of the disciples here. Anyone comes at me and I will just kill them. However, I fear that the old guys will make a move on me.

Most of the old guys are in the seventh layer. Some of them have already reached the ninth layer. They are not figures that I can deal with right now. If they decide to take action, I will certainly be no match for them. And then there are Elder Wang and Elder Liang. Won’t they want to get rid of the weed by pulling out the roots and kill me? ^[1]

Moreover, there is also Tiger Form Sect. They will never let this slide. It seems I can no longer go out as I please. Otherwise, they will certainly be sending out powerful figures against me.

As it stands, there seems to be no other way. I can only practice cultivation quietly, sticking to the basics when facing the everchanging. Thankfully, my cultivation base has improved greatly and I am no longer the minor character that everyone can bully. Once the tree spirit’s essence within my body is completely refined and absorbed, my cultivation base of primary energy takes form (7^th) layer will reach major success. Then, I will be able to form wings to soar and fly. I will finally have a true trump card and be able to protect myself when facing powerful opponents.

Chen Feng sat in his courtyard and analysed his situation in detail, the matters that he will be facing and how to face them. In the past, when he was powerless, he could do nothing. Yet, he could leave the sect any time he wanted to. Now that his cultivation base had greatly improved, however, he was incapable of leaving.

In the end, it is all about power. If I had reached the Concealed stage, forget killing six little cultivators, even if I destroy the City Lord Residence, I could leave immediately. Chen Feng thought.

For the next three days, Chen Feng calmly remained within his own courtyard. No one came to disturb him as well. This was somewhat unexpected. Chen Feng had originally thought that the Sect Master would immediately ask for him to interrogate him.

Finally, on the tenth day, a cultivator who was at the hundred opened meridians (5^th) layer came knocking on his door.

“The Great Elder wants to meet you.”

“The Great Elder? Not the Sect Master?” Chen Feng grew somewhat curious.

“The Sect Master is in the midst of cultivation retreat,” the person replied.

“To think that it would be the Great Elder who wants to meet me. I wonder what for?” Chen Feng pondered.

Although Iron Sword Sect was actually just a small sect, it also had six elders. They were all at least at the primary energy takes form (7^th) layer. The strongest amongst them was naturally the Great Elder. However, Chen Feng had no way of knowing what level he was at.

From what Chen Feng knew, the Great Elder was a very amiable person, far different from the other strict elders.

The cultivator led Chen Feng deep into a little courtyard. Chen Feng knew that this was where the Great Elder usually lived and practiced cultivation. Although the courtyard was not big, it had beautiful surroundings. Various types of old trees stood tall, wrapped by thick vines. The grasses gave off a fresh air, giving him a serene and tranquil feeling. Even before entering the courtyard, Chen Feng could feel himself growing calm.

The environment here is quite good, a good place to practice cultivation. Chen Feng nodded his head secretly.

Not long after entering the little courtyard, he saw two older men and one middle-aged man seated before a stone table, drinking tea and conversing with smiles on their faces. Chen Feng could recognize one of them as the Great Elder. The other two were the Second Elder and Third Elder.

The three strongest elders are all here. This could be bad. Chen Feng thought to himself. At the same time, he controlled the flow of his primary energy in an attempt to suppress his power.

“Greetings to all three elders.”

Chen Feng stepped forward and bowed courteously, putting on a façade of being excited.

“Mm.”

The Great Elder nodded his head but said nothing. Instead, he stared intently at Chen Feng, his eyes shining brightly, seemingly wanting to look right through Chen Feng. As for the Second and Third Elder, they had trained their eyes on Chen Feng the moment he entered.

Chen Feng immediately felt three gazes constantly sweeping over his body, giving him a certain feeling of unease.

“Could they see my actual level of cultivation?” Chen Feng wondered to himself. However, there was nothing he could do. All he could do was to calm himself down and stand still.

“Hmm, not bad.” The Great Elder nodded his head. There was a calm expression on his face. Who knows what was on his mind? 

“Release some of your primary energy,” the Second Elder suddenly spoke up.

Chen Feng’s heart thumped. He stretched out his palm and green-coloured primary energy seeped out in abundance to coat his hand.

“Green-coloured primary energy!”

Looks of shock flashed across the faces of all three elders. They exchanged glances.

“Tell us, how did your cultivation base improve so fast recently,” the Great Elder asked.

“Elders, I have a tendency of going into the Black Origin Mountain range. One day, I accidentally ate a wild fruit. Since then, my cultivation base has continuously grown strong.” Chen Feng replied with a stereotypical story. Well, there was no other way about it.

“How does the fruit look like?” The Second Elder kept at it.

“Fist-sized, green in colour and exudes a powerful life force.” Chen Feng made it all up.

“Where did you find it?” The Third Elder was the one to ask this time.

“Twenty li after entering the valley. The grasses there are very lush. Right, many of the great trees there have been struck by lightning,” Chen Feng replied (1 li = 0.5 km).

“Many great trees struck by lightning.” The three elders exchanged glances once more. Chen Feng knew not what they were thinking.

“All right, then. You can go back. As for the matter of you killing the Tiger Form Sect disciples, we have nothing to say about that for now. Wait for the Sect Master to end his cultivation retreat before we continue,” said the Great Elder after some consideration. 

Just like that? It is over? Chen Feng thought to himself in disbelief.

“Yes, disciple will take my leave.”

Only after stepping out from the courtyard could Chen Feng breathe a sigh of relief.

Truly unbelievable. They only asked some casual questions. I wonder if they realized anything. Did they believe the story I made up? However, those old guys are all very experienced. They probably do not believe me. Even so, they did not question me further. Truly, how incredibly peculiar. What are they thinking?

Also, they are not pursuing the matter of me killing Tiger Form Sect’s disciples. It seems the higher ups of the sect still supports their own disciples fighting disciples from other sects. After all, this is a way of gaining reputation for the sect. Not to mention, that is Tiger Form Sect, a sect that we are hostile towards.

No matter what, I have passed this stage. I should just go back and continue my cultivation. It is pointless to think that much. In the end, power is the most important thing. Chen Feng straightened his body and strode forward.

Inside the courtyard, the three elders were discussing amongst themselves.

“What do you two think?” asked the Great Elder.

“He he, that kid is simply bullshitting.” The Second Elder laughed out.

“Indeed, I don’t buy it as well. What green-coloured fruit, utter bull! However, this kid is not to be underestimated. He could remain so calm even when facing us. There are few disciples within our sect who could remain so calm when facing us,” said the Third Elder.

“The kid should have cultivated up to the astral energy (6^th) layer.” As the Great Elder spoke, his eyes glinted slightly.

“More or less. I saw it as well. Although he had suppressed his primary energy, how could he hide that degree of power from us? Still, it is quite weird. How did a waste in the development of primary energy (2^nd) layer reach the astral energy (6^th) layer so quickly? Not to mention, his primary energy contains an abundant amount of life force. They clearly contain a power of the wood-type,” said the Second Elder. 

“There are many ways to increase one’s cultivation base quickly. Practice a Heaven-defying cultivation technique, take high-grade pills, gain the teachings of a high-ranking elder, getting a Heavenly treasure or the legacy left by a powerful character. There are many other ways for an ordinary person to become a master. He he! Did you fellows forget? In the past, a minor cultivator from our Black Origin City found something of an immortal serendipity and his power rose by leaps and bounds. He was able to instantly cultivate up to the Concealed stage and join an immortal dao sect,” the Great Elder said slowly.

“Of course. We remember that incident. However, could this Chen Feng have also obtained some legacies? Could there be such a coincidence? In this great world, our Black Origin City is comparable to a negligible ant hole. What immortal serendipity could be here? What legacies?” the Third Elder could not stop himself from blurting out.

“Not necessarily. Ignoring all else, our Black Origin Mountain Range plays host to many powerful wild beasts. Don’t the great sects often send their men into the mountain range?”

“I hear that Chen Feng do frequently go to the Black Origin Mountain Range. Could he really have gotten to know some powerful figure? Or perhaps have a chance encounter with some Heavenly opportunity? Or could his words be true? Is there really a miraculous Heavenly fruit there?”

“Of course, such miraculous fruits do exist. However, I for one do not believe that a minor cultivator like him could get his hands on one.”

“All right. Stop with the wild speculations. No matter what, he is a disciple of our Iron Sword Sect. For him to become strong means our sect is growing stronger. Remember that he has killed six Tiger Form Sect disciples a few days back. Six disciples in the reinforcement of internal organs (4^th) layer. He he! Tiger Form Sect is probably absolutely infuriated right now.”

“That is right! That is right! The stronger this kid gets, the better! He will be able to earn us some glory in the Autumn Hunt.”

“If so, relay my command. His monthly benefits will be restored to normal. Mm, set it to the astral energy layer.” The Great Elder made the final decision.

After returning to his courtyard, Chen Feng continued with his cultivation efforts. The majority of his days would be spent refining and absorbing the tree spirit’s remnant essence within his body to strengthen himself. The rest of his time was spent on polishing his skills in the primary energy takes form (7^th) layer. In one month’s time, the short sword that Chen Feng condensed out had grown by another two inches. At the same time, it had also grown even more solid. Chen Feng had even thought of having a fight with his sect’s Eldest Brother, Tie Yun. A cultivation retreat was the act of shutting out the rest of the world, after all. Without facing off against an expert, he would certainly grow flustered when facing his enemies in the future. In a fight between two cultivators at the same level of strength, the cultivator with more combat experience would be able to easily finish off the inexperienced cultivator.

Since experiencing a great increase in his cultivation base, Chen Feng had not fought against cultivators at the same layer as him. This was a disadvantage. Against cultivators with lower cultivation bases, defeating them would naturally be easy. However, against those with the same cultivation base and experience of a hundred battles, Chen Feng would be in trouble. If such a battle were to take place, there was a possibility of him losing.

Unfortunately, Chen Feng was presently incapable of exposing his full strength. Secondly, he was also incapable of freely going out from the sect and could only train by himself. In the beginning, he could endure it. However, after a lengthy period, Chen Feng began feeling nettled.

 1 Get rid of weeds by pulling out its roots. An idiom, meaning: To completely get rid of a problem by making sure there are no more problematic variables left.↩