Chapter Fifty-Two: Gains Before the Mission

At this point, Old Yang's intentions were as clear as day—he simply wanted to use Chu Feng to show off. If the news spread that Shi Fei had awakened his spiritual body attributes, he would undoubtedly become one of the most talked-about figures in the Twentieth Battalion. But that wasn’t enough for Old Yang; he wanted Shi Fei to be the center of all attention. So he devised this little scheme: if Shi Fei could defeat the currently popular Chu Feng, and then the news of his spiritual body awakening broke out, the effect would be compounded, instantly drawing everyone’s focus. That was, without a doubt, the best way to flaunt his achievement.

"Old Yang, you really went to great lengths," Xiao Yue remarked with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Old Yang was puzzled.

Before Xiao Yue could say more or Old Yang could ask further, the duel on the other side had already begun.

In the next moment, Old Yang’s face showed utter disbelief, his eyes glued to Chu Feng as if he couldn’t look away.

"How is this possible?" Old Yang muttered in a daze. He had never expected that in just a single exchange, Chu Feng would have his sword at Shi Fei’s throat.

At that instant, Chu Feng’s speed was simply too fast—so fast that Shi Fei’s moves couldn’t even touch him, so fast that Shi Fei himself hadn’t even reacted before it was over.

Even Shi Fei stood there as if petrified, stunned that the fight had ended so quickly. It was simply because his opponent was too formidable.

"Thank you for the bout," Chu Feng withdrew his sword and saluted with clasped fists.

He had not intended to crush his opponent with overwhelming strength, but Shi Fei had been too arrogant. Though usually low-key, Chu Feng was not without his own pride.

"Hahaha! Old Yang, you’ve lost! Looks like the Violet Robe is changing hands," Xiao Yue laughed heartily, thoroughly satisfied.

Old Yang snapped out of his shock, his face burning with shame as he pointed at Xiao Yue and shouted, "You tricked me, boy!"

Xiao Yue shrugged innocently, "Old Yang, that’s not fair. Tell me, have I ever forced you? If anything, it’s you who has always been pushing me."

"You…" Old Yang gnashed his teeth, but couldn’t refute him. The facts were as Xiao Yue said—if anyone was to blame, it was himself for miscalculating.

"Fine, fine. All my life I’ve been clever, but today I was foolish. I’ve walked this world for so many years, yet I stumbled here," Old Yang sighed, glancing at Chu Feng and then at Xiao Yue. "But what I don’t understand is, this kid clearly can’t awaken his spirit, so how is he so strong? Isn’t it said that once you awaken the spiritual body, your strength leaps to a new level, a gulf that’s impossible to cross?"

"That gulf has been shattered by Chu Feng," Xiao Yue replied casually, giving Old Yang a sidelong glance. "To tell you the truth, not only those who have just awakened, but even third-rank Earth Spirit Warriors would find him a tough opponent."

Old Yang was left speechless by this, staring at Chu Feng in shock, while Shi Fei even shuddered.

For someone unable to awaken their spirit to be this powerful was simply astonishing.

"What kind of monster is this kid?" Old Yang murmured.

Xiao Yue grinned. "Honestly, I haven’t figured it out either."

Their conversation left Chu Feng inwardly sweating and more than a little exasperated.

Xiao Yue stretched out his hand. "Well, aren’t you going to hand it over?"

Old Yang took a deep breath and sighed, "With strength rivaling a third-rank Earth Spirit Warrior, not only in the Twentieth Battalion, but even among all the new recruits, few could stand against him. I have no reason to complain about losing." He then took a violet long robe from his storage pouch and handed it to Xiao Yue.

In that moment, Old Yang’s heart ached. He had treasured this robe for so many years, only to lose it today for nothing.

Xiao Yue himself hadn’t expected to win the Violet Robe.

Xiao Yue handed the Violet Robe to Chu Feng and reminded him, "Chu Feng, when you achieve great things in the future, don’t forget Instructor Yang’s gift today."

Chu Feng nodded solemnly and approached Instructor Yang, bowing respectfully. "Thank you for your generous gift, Instructor Yang. I will remember this kindness."

"No need for such formality," Old Yang waved him off, but hearing Xiao Yue and Chu Feng’s words truly made him feel better. To him, forging a good relationship with such an extraordinary young man as Chu Feng might be a blessing in disguise.

"Brother Chu Feng, I apologize for my offense," Shi Fei now stepped forward, cupping his fists with embarrassment.

"It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it," Chu Feng replied.

Old Yang patted Chu Feng’s shoulder approvingly. "I never expected our Twentieth Battalion to produce someone as formidable as you. Work hard, young man, and you will surely shine one day."

Afterward, Old Yang departed with Shi Fei.

Once the two had left, Chu Feng examined the Violet Robe in his hands. "Is this really for me?"

"Of course," Xiao Yue smiled. "I had been wanting to find you a battle robe spirit artifact, and who would have thought Old Yang would walk right into our hands? I never expected to get his most cherished Violet Robe."

Chu Feng was quietly moved. He knew that the instructor wanted a battle robe spirit artifact for him mainly to protect him against opponents who used fire or ice, so that he wouldn’t be at a disadvantage in battle.

Spirit artifacts are divided by cultivation realm into Earth, Heaven, and Saint grades, with each grade further divided into lower, middle, upper, and supreme quality.

The Violet Robe was a mid-grade Earth-level spirit artifact, while the former Domain-Suppressing Sword was a supreme Saint-level artifact.

The Violet Robe was indeed a precious item. After learning all this, Chu Feng said, "Without spiritual power, I can’t fully unleash the robe’s abilities. Isn’t it too much of a waste for me to use it? You should keep it."

Xiao Yue shook his head. "For you, the stronger the armor, the better. When you venture out, it’ll serve you well. I stay in the Spirit Battle Pavilion all day, never fighting or adventuring—what use would I have for it? This is meant for you, so don’t refuse."

With that, Xiao Yue adjusted the Violet Robe to fit Chu Feng’s build.

"In just over a month, you’ll be able to leave the Holy City for missions. Have you chosen one yet?" Xiao Yue asked.

"Not yet," Chu Feng shook his head.

"You’ll have time to choose, but be careful. I doubt the Qin family will let this opportunity slip by," Xiao Yue warned.

He was only reminding Chu Feng—not overly worried. The new recruits’ missions were mainly around the Holy City, so the Qin family wouldn’t dare act openly. Plus, true strength is forged in life and death. Xiao Yue believed Chu Feng would thrive in adversity.

"Don’t worry," Chu Feng replied.

After chatting for a while, Xiao Yue left, and Chu Feng returned to his training.

Two days later, while Chu Feng was cultivating, Xu Yan suddenly arrived. She had already been in the Mysterious Battalion for over a month. This time, she’d come specifically because of the upcoming mission—after all, it came with points as rewards. Even though she’d already joined the Mysterious Battalion, she could still return for special tasks or competitions.

This fully complied with the rules of the Spirit Battle Pavilion: within a year, even those who advanced to the four main battalions were still considered part of the new recruits. As long as they wished, they could take on missions or participate in competitions.

This was true fairness—otherwise, those who left later would earn more points, while those who left early would be at a disadvantage.

"Wildman, let’s do a mission together when the time comes," Xu Yan said.

"Of course. But we’ll also have Han Yan and the other four with us. We’ll have to look after them," Chu Feng replied.

"Naturally. The more, the merrier," Xu Yan laughed.

"The day before we leave the city, let’s all choose a mission together," Chu Feng suggested.

Five days later, Long Yue arrived at the new recruits’ camp for a farewell. She was heading far away on a mission and would likely be gone for half a year.

"Be careful in everything," Chu Feng urged.

Despite Long Yue being the top of the Heaven Battalion, Chu Feng couldn’t help but worry. He yearned to become stronger, hoping one day to protect Long Yue with his own strength.

"Brother Feng, you be careful too," Long Yue replied.

Chu Feng paused his training, and the two spent half a day together before she departed.

Time flowed on, days passing one by one as Chu Feng continued to study the Sword Dao, practice swordsmanship, and temper his body.

His swordsmanship had already reached mastery, but as he comprehended the profound meaning within the Sword Dao, his skills improved bit by bit. Every technique, high or low, seemed to merge, and though his progress slowed, his swordsmanship gradually approached perfection.

Chu Feng also noticed that his mind was changing; his perception of his surroundings was slowly expanding.

Of course, the most obvious improvement was in his physique. Perhaps because of his study of the Sword Dao, his body underwent a second great leap in strength.

However, as time went on, this rate of improvement slowed. A month later, Chu Feng found his physical progress was leveling out, nowhere near the rapid growth of before.

No matter how hard he trained, it was now difficult to make further gains—making Chu Feng suspect he was nearing some ultimate limit.

"I wonder if this is the ultimate state Senior Yu Yang spoke of?" Chu Feng mused in the training room, anticipation rising within him.

Three days later, Chu Feng, Xu Yan, Gu Xin, and three others gathered together and went to the mission hall of the Twentieth Battalion to check out the available tasks.

Among the new recruits, the battalions had no differences—anyone with enough ability could take on the hardest missions. However, these were still meant for new recruits and couldn’t compare to those of the main four battalions.

The missions for new recruits were concentrated within an eight-hundred-mile radius of the Holy City, and each person could only accept one task. There were no restrictions on which tasks could be taken; theoretically, everyone could pick the same mission if they wished.

The mission hall had twenty mission platforms, each operated by a bit of spiritual energy to browse the available tasks.

At that moment, the hall was bustling with people, many in groups, discussing their plans.

After a short wait, Chu Feng, Xu Yan, and their group found a free mission platform.

Xu Yan activated it with a wave of her hand, and a light screen appeared, listing all the available missions along with their point rewards.

Some missions offered as few as two or three points, others as many as fifty or sixty; a few even went up to a hundred points.

Clicking on a mission would display its full details.

The six of them browsed for a while and discussed their options. To keep everyone together, they chose different missions that all took place in the same location. After a brief discussion, they made their decision.

"Then let’s head to Jinyang Mountain," Chu Feng said, nodding in agreement.