âBig brother Chu Feng, what should I do?â Bai Yunqing asked.
âUse your own method. You donât have to support me,â Chu Feng replied.
âAll right.â Bai Yunqing listened to Chu Feng and used his own method to perfect the formation.
Ling Hang also turned his attention back to channeling the formation too. Under their combined efforts, it didnât take long for the formation to glow brightly.
âThe formation has been perfected! Young friends, I donât know how I can thank you.â Bai Yunqingâs senior uncle was over the moon.
âHmph! Itâs all thanks to young master Ling Hang,â Li Taâer said.
âBig sister Taâer, itâs obvious that big brother Chu Feng contributed the most to the formation,â Bai Yunqing said. It was his first time refuting Li Taâerâs words ever since their first meeting, but he was doing it not for his own sake but Chu Feng's.
âWhat a joke! His formation is just for show. I donât believe that a Blue Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist like him can really construct a formation comparable to a Gold Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist,â Li Taâer said.
âSenior uncle, you should be able to tell who contributed the most to the formation.â Bai Yunqing turned to his senior uncle.
âI wasnât paying attention, but the important thing is that the formation has been completed. The three of you have truly helped us greatly!â Bai Yunqingâs senior uncle said.
Chu Feng sneered in his heart. Bai Yunqingâs senior uncle had to know the truth, but he said those words to spare Ling Hangâs pride. It was out of respect for Bai Yunqing that he didnât say anything about it.
âI think that itâs only fair for us to give young master Chu Feng a chance to prove himself. He mentioned that his formations are comparable to that of a Gold Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist, so why donât we use another method to prove his talents?â Ling Hang suggested.
âDoes young master Ling wish to challenge us?â Bai Yunqing asked.
âChallenge? Itâs not as if we are enemies. I have another way to determine who of us three is the most talented one without resorting to a fight,â Ling Hang said as he took out a palm-sized copper palace.
The copper palace immediately drew everyoneâs attention. Chu Feng could tell with a single glance that it was no ordinary item.
âWhatâs that, young master Ling Hang?â Li Taâer asked.
âMiss Taâer, this is a treasure from the Ancient Era that functions as a special cultivation ground. The Seven Realms Sacred Mansion awarded it to my grandfatherâs grandfatherâs grandfather for a major contribution he has made to the clan, and itâs now passed down through my lineage as a family heirloom,â Ling Hang said.
âHow do you cultivate with that?â Li Taâerâs eyes glowed upon hearing the words âspecial cultivation groundâ.
âAll you have to do is to enter the copper palace,â Ling Hang replied.
âHow do you determine who is the most talented one then?â Li Taâer asked.
âThere are three ways. The first way is by entering the palace. A key is required to access the palace, and there are two conditions to obtaining a key: being a junior and having a high level of intelligence. Without sufficient intelligence, one wouldnât be able to enter the copper palace even with a key in possession.
âThe second way is oneâs ability to decipher formations. Those who enter the bronze palace will have to decipher its formations, or else theyâll be deemed unqualified and kicked out. The third way is to gain power. Based on the deciphered formations, the bronze palace will bestow a person power that aids in their cultivation.
âI took this bronze palace out with the intention to share it with the two brothers over here and Miss Taâer,â Ling Hang said with a smile.
âYoung master Ling Hang is too generous, unlike those two petty things,â Li Taâer remarked.
âIs that woman ill in the head? Why is she insulting you for no reason?â Eggy berated.
âPay her no heed, Eggy. I think that she really is ill,â Chu Feng said.
âShe is? What is she ill with?â Eggy asked.
âSheâs a compulsive bootlicker. Canât you see how she keeps bootlicking on that Ling Hang?â Chu Feng said.
âHah! That does seem to be the case.â Eggy burst into laughter.
Boom boom boom!
The hall began to pulsate as it formed a connection with the center formation that Chu Feng and the others had just perfected.
âThe formation has been completed. All thatâs left is the final compression. We should get out of here first,â Bai Yunqingâs senior uncle said.
Thus, he led the group toward a guest palace intended for receiving distinguished guests. Following that, he took his leave, claiming that he had affairs to attend to.
Chu Feng noticed that Bai Yunqingâs senior uncle was extremely interested in Ling Hangâs copper palace, but the latter still took his leave despite this. There was a good chance that this had something to do with the formation they had just perfected.
Someone must have been channeling the formation in the hall they were previously in for it to suddenly pulsate. The person who was channeling the formation must have been fairly powerful too, or else it wouldnât have resulted in such a powerful might.
Chu Feng figured that the person behind the formation might be none other than Bai Yunqingâs master. It was possible that Bai Yunqingâs senior uncle was heading over to lend a helping hand.
âMiss Taâer, brothers.â
Ling Hang took out three copper keys and handed the mover to Li Taâer, Chu Feng, and Bai Yunqing. These copper keys were clearly made out of the same material as the bronze palace and were extremely small, spanning the length of a fingernail.
âThe keys we have for our copper palace are finite; there arenât many of them left after so many generations. My father has refused many juniors of our Seven Realms Sacred Mansion the chance to enter the copper palace, and I have done the same too. Itâs not that Iâm heartless but Iâm obliged to pass this family heirloom down to the next generation too,â Ling Hang said.
âYoung master Ling Hang, why are you giving them such a precious opportunity? They arenât worth it!â Li Taâer said.
âItâs fine. I have a high opinion of young master Chu Feng and Brother Bai,â Ling Hang replied with a smile.
âYoung master Ling Hang is truly a generous man. Iâm just worried that your good intentions will go to waste,â Li Taâer said.
âA bootlicker indeed,â Eggy scoffed.
âI, Ling Hang, believe in my eye for people. Iâll willingly accept it if my judgment was wrong,â Ling Hang said with great magnanimity.
He grasped the key in his hand tightly, and the copper palace quietly floated into the air. Many tiny runes surfaced around the copper palace and swiftly rotated around it.
Chu Feng curiously assessed the copper palace. He had to admit that while Ling Hang wasnât anything good, his treasure was indeed formidable.
âWhat are those two fellows doing?â Eggy asked.
While Chu Fengâs attention was fixated on the swiftly rotating runes around the copper palace, he was still able to see Ling Hang and Li Taâer in his peripheral vision.
âLing Hang must be secretly offering guidance to Li Taâer,â Chu Feng replied.
âLetâs meet inside,â Ling Hang said before proceeding to form a series of hand seals.
The copper key in his hand morphed into a bundle of spirit power that enveloped him. The next moment, he was transported into the copper palace with a flash of light.
Right after Ling Hang entered the copper palace, Li Taâer looked at Chu Feng and Bai Yunqing and said, âWith your skills, thereâs no way the two of you can enter the copper palace even with those keys. Itâs laughable how the two of you thought that you could steal young master Ling Hangâs merit. Youâre just going to be humiliated!â
Li Taâer formed a series of hand seals too, and she was transported into the palace just like Ling Hang.
âBig sister Taâer was able to enter too?â Bai Yunqing was baffled.
âYour big sister Taâer received Ling Hangâs guidance,â Chu Feng replied.
âI see. That explains it.â Bai Yunqing nodded in realization.
âWhy are you so afraid of your big sister Taâer?â Chu Feng asked.
âItâs not that Iâm afraid of her, but Iâm indebted to my senior uncle. It wouldnât be nice for me to get into a conflict with his daughter. After all, I would have already starved to death if not for my master and my senior uncle taking care of me,â Bai Yunqing said.
âRespect ought to go both ways.â
âI know that, big brother Chu Feng, but⦠Haaa. Iâll just treat it as returning my senior uncleâs favor.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chu Feng didnât agree with Bai Yunqingâs decision, but it was not his place to interfere.
Bai Yunqing had already thought things through and came to a decision. Taking a step back, it was clear that Bai Yunqingâs senior uncle was clearly biased toward his daughter. If a conflict broke out between Bai Yunqing and Li Taâer, the one to suffer was most likely Bai Yunqing.
âBig brother Chu Feng, I have figured out the method to use the copper key. I reckon that Ling Hang said those earlier words because he thought that we wouldnât be able to see through the copper keys and enter the copper palace,â Bai Yunqing said gleefully.
âWhatâs the method you have figured out?â Chu Feng asked.
âThe same one as Ling Hang.â
âThat method isnât right.â
âIt isnât right? But the two of them managed to enter the copper palace!â Bai Yunqing exclaimed.
âThe copper key isnât the crux to entering the copper palace,â Chu Feng explained.
âIs there another method to enter the copper palace?â
âIndeed. Let me teach you.â
Chu Feng proceeded to impart the method he had grasped to Bai Yunqing, but a frown quickly formed on the latterâs forehead.
âBig brother Chu Feng, your method is too complicated. Iâm unable to carry it out,â Bai Yunqing said.
âWhy donât I teach you a special way to control your spirit power? You should be able to use my method if you are able to grasp it.â
Chu Feng proceeded to impart the world spiritist technique he had learned from Lord Qin Jiu. He knew that the full world spiritist technique was too complicated for Bai Yunqing to grasp on the spot, so he only taught the latter the relevant portions.
However, Bai Yunqingâs frown only deepened.
âBig brother Chu Feng, I donât think I can learn your world spiritist technique. Just listening to it gives me goosebumps. I canât even understand it, let alone putting it into practice,â Bai Yunqing said.
âAhâ¦â Chu Feng was rendered speechless. He didnât think the part he had imparted to Bai Yunqing was that difficult, but it didnât seem like Bai Yunqing was just procrastinating either.
âBig brother Chu Feng, is that the world spiritist technique you use to construct your formations?â Bai Yunqing asked.
âIndeed,â Chu Feng replied with a nod.
âBig brother Chu Feng, I donât think I can even feel envy for you anymore. Youâre too incredible. Itâs no wonder youâre so powerful.â Bai Yunqing shot Chu Feng a thumbs up. âAre you really not intending to use the copper key to enter the copper palace?â
âLet me demonstrate it for you.â
Chu Feng formed a series of hand seals that caused the copper key in his hand to tremble instead of shatter. Moments later, a ray of light shot out from the copper palace and enveloped him, dragging him in.
âHoly! Is this the gap between us?â
Bai Yunqing was stunned. He couldnât believe that Chu Feng had entered the copper palace so easily. That was a method he couldnât even think of executing, but Chu Feng was able to do it so easily!