âElder Niantian.â
Shengguang Menglai bowed respectfully to Daoist Niantian even though the latter was just an honorary guest elder.
After the bow, she quickly asked, âElder Niantian, you seem to have a deep understanding of Chu Feng?â
âThereâs no need for Miss Menglai to think too deeply into it. Youâre a highly talented individual, but Chu Feng... heâs different.â
Daoist Niantian was trying to console Shengguang Menglai here, but it didnât seem like the latter was willing to accept that she was inferior to Chu Feng. Her eyes glimmered contemplatively.
âTo be honest with you, elder, Iâm already on the verge of grasping the second rank of the Holy Light Bloodline,â Shengguang Menglai revealed her greatest trump card.
âSecond rank of our bloodline?â
The crowd was astonished to hear those words. All eyes swiftly converged onto Shengguang Menglai.
âMenglai, are you certain?â
Shengguang Baimei and Shengguang Shishen asked simultaneously with expectant looks in their eyes. They could hardly suppress the smiles forming on their lips.
âBig sister Menglai, is that true?â
Even Shengguang Xintian couldnât help asking about it too. There was a radiant smile on her face that looked as if an incredibly joyous event had just occurred.
The Holy Light Bloodline was something unique to the clan members of the Holy Light Clan. Grasping the second rank of it meant that Shengguang Menglai would be able to raise her cultivation by two ranks even as a Martial Exalted level cultivator.
In other words, Shengguang Menglai would be able to raise her rank three Martial Exalted level cultivation up to rank five.
Most importantly of all, very few people in the Holy Valley had been able to grasp the first rank of the Holy Light Bloodline at Martial Exalted level, let alone the second rank. Shengguang Menglai was making history in the Holy Valley!
This was indubitably a piece of joyous news to the whole of the Holy Valley.
âItâll only take at most ten days for me to grasp the second rank,â Shengguang Menglai said.
There wasnât any hint of glee on her face as she said those words. If anything, she looked remorseful and indignant.
She thought that she would have been able to put up a fight against Chu Feng had she managed to grasp the second rank of the Holy Light Bloodline a little earlier. Even if she had lost in the end, it would have been a close fight at worst.
âMiss Menglaiâs feat is indeed something worth celebrating over. Itâs not that I want to undermine your feat, but even if you had grasped the second rank of the Holy Light Bloodline, you still wouldnât have been able to triumph over Chu Feng,â Daoist Niantian said.
Those words turned everyoneâs gazes away from Shengguang Menglai onto him. Some looked confused by his words, but most seemed to carry indignance and even aggrieve.
The juniors of the Holy Valley might have seen Chu Fengâs means, but they still thought that Shengguang Menglai had only lost in terms of cultivation. They believed that Shengguang Menglai wouldnât have lost if she had been able to raise her cultivation by two ranks.
This led them to think that Daoist Niantian was intentionally pulling down their morale here.
However, Daoist Niantian simply chuckled nonchalantly at their accusatory gazes.
âThe clan chief of the Holy Light Clan, Shengguang Xuanye, is at rank six Martial Exalted level. With his bloodline ability, heâs able to raise his cultivation up to rank seven. Chu Feng had crossed hands with Shengguang Xuanye, and if not for Lord Baimeiâs intervention, he would have already killed the latter.
âLord Baimei, am I right to say that?â
Daoist Niantian looked at Shengguang Baimei as he asked.
Shengguang Baimei let out a deep sigh before responding with a slight nod.
His action left the juniors of the Holy Valley petrified. They couldnât believe what they were hearing. Even Shengguang Menglaiâs expression stiffened up too.
If even Shengguang Xuanye wasnât a match for Chu Feng, there was no way Shengguang Menglai could have stood a chance at all.
They could have never imagined Chu Feng to be that strong.
All of this sounded so inconceivable that they couldnât help but doubt the authenticity of the news, even with Shengguang Baimei confirming the matter. It was simply implausible to them that Chu Feng could be this powerful.
âHow could a rank two Martial Exalted level cultivator like him possibly defeat Shengguang Xuanye? Does he have some powerful treasure on him that allows him to fight against enemies that are several cultivation ranks stronger than him?â Shengguang Menglai asked.
Shengguang Menglai was usually a reticent person, but she was actually an extremely competitive individual. She was determined to get to the bottom of this matter, or else the matter would continue gnawing at her mind!
âHe didnât rely on any treasure. He was able to comprehend a powerful skill,â Daoist Niantian replied.
âA martial skill? Thatâs impossible. How could a cultivator overcome a gap of several cultivation ranks with just a martial skill?â Shengguang Menglai shook her head in disbelief.
âItâs not a martial skill. It isnât a secret art either. Itâs some kind of powerful skill that grants a cultivator the power to threaten even cultivators two ranks stronger than him,â Daoist Niantian replied.
âA skill that allows him to threaten cultivators two ranks stronger than him? And itâs not a martial skill or a secret art? Daoist Niantian, are you serious about this? Is there really such a skill in the world?â
Shengguang Menglai was astonished.
She knew that Daoist Niantian wouldnât blatantly lie to her in front of everyone else, so her mind was already starting to gradually accept all of this. It was just that what she was hearing was beyond the realms of her common sense, so it was a struggle for her to accept it.
âLord Baimei was also present when young friend Chu Feng executed that skill, so thereâs no mistake about it. Iâm afraid I donât know much about it myself. Lord Baimei could have killed Chu Feng back then, but my guess is that he has chosen to spare Chu Feng so that he could learn more about the skill,â Daoist Niantian said.
âDaoist Niantian, did you know right from the start that thereâs someone backing Chu Feng?â Shengguang Baimei asked.
âIâm not qualified to know who that person is, but thereâs no way a prodigy of this caliber could have been able to grow to this extent without anyone backing him. This is a simple question that doesnât take much guesswork.
âItâs just that Lord Baimei was too blinded by the strength of the Holy Valley that lulled you into a false sense of security, thinking that thereâs nothing in the Holy Light Galaxy that can threaten the Holy Valley. So, even when I warned you back then, you chose not to listen to me and instead assumed that I was in cahoots with young friend Chu Feng,â Daoist Niantian replied.
âHmph!â
Shengguang Baimei harrumphed coldly. While he did acknowledge that Chu Feng was not someone he should have offended, he still didnât like Daoist Niantian a lot.
âLord Buyu, is Chu Feng really about to make a breakthrough?â
Some of the elders suddenly turned their gazes northward and asked.
It turned out that Shengguang Buyu had returned.
âIâm not too sure either. Letâs take a look. If he really makes a breakthrough, our Holy Valleyâs Holy Light Ancient Formation should be able to sense something.â
As he spoke, Shengguang Buyu shot a glance at the northern mountainous area of the Holy Valley. Amidst the mountain range, there was a towering mountain that shot right up into the sky. It carried a conspicuous air of solemnity and inviolability.
âDid you really bring him into the Holy Light Ancient Formation?â Shengguang Baimei asked.
âWhatâs wrong? Do you have a problem with that?â
Before Shengguang Buyu could answer the question, Shengguang Shishen had already snapped out of annoyance.
He was already feeling extremely irritated by the reckless order made by Shengguang Baimei that nearly forced the Holy Valley to a corner. While it was fortunate that nothing bad happened in the end, there was no denying that Shengguang Baimei had made a huge judgmental error here.
Shengguang Shishen was still extremely displeased about it.
âI donât have a problem with that. Itâs just that... Forget it, letâs just think of it as compensation to Chu Feng,â Shengguang Baimei said.
Shengguang Baimei didnât complete his sentence, but the crowd knew what he was talking about.
The Holy Light Ancient Formation was the most potent cultivation land in the Holy Valley. Only selected members of the Holy Valley were allowed to access it.
In the older generation, only the stronger elders taking on vital roles in the Holy Valley were granted access.
In the younger generation, only the prodigies who had just cleared the cultivation realm in the Holy Lotus Tree were allowed to enter its premises.
An outsider should have never been granted access to such a precious place.