Settlement at Thirteen

As soon as the words were spoken, the entire grotto of the World Tree fell into utter silence.

Neither humble nor arrogant, but with resounding conviction!

The nine Chief Instructor envisioned countless possibilities.

Chen Fan might hesitate, or he might arrogantly propose even more demanding conditions, or he might even back out on the spot and choose the easy path they see.

But what they never expected was that this boy, only twelve or thirteen years old, would so decisively refuse the conditions they had jointly offered—conditions that would drive any Immortal Realm expert mad.

The reason was so simple that they couldn't refute it.

A teacher for a day is a father for life.

The imposing figure of Old Freak Wang, the Chief Instructor of the Ancient Martial Arts School, trembled slightly.

Looking into Chen Fan's clear and determined eyes, the fervent determination on his face slowly faded, transforming into an extremely complex emotion.

There was surprise, there was regret, but more than anything, there was a kind of appreciation that even he himself hadn't realized...

"That's enough, that's enough!"

After a long while, Old Freak Wang let out a long sigh, his Divine Thought filled with undisguised regret.

"Everyone has their own ambitions, and you can't force them. Lin Xuanqing, you old madman... you've really gotten a huge bargain!"

His complex gaze fell on Chen Fan again, and this time, his tone was more solemn than ever before.

"Young man, I respect your choice."

"I only hope to see a truly earth-shattering performance from you in the upcoming Academy Grand Competition. Don't let your rare and exceptional talent and Dao Heart go to waste!"

"Indeed." The Chief Instructor of the New Martial Arts School also shook his head and sighed, "We have ultimately fallen short. Without a firm Dao Heart, how can one reach the summit? Chen Fan, your Dao is more steadfast than we imagined."

The other Chief Instructors also toned down their aggressive demeanor.

While his words still carried a hint of envy for Lin Xuanqing's incredible luck, they also revealed a deep and genuine expectation for Chen Fan.

They value talent, but they respect even more an unbreakable Martial Dao spirit.

"Take care of yourself."

"Lin Xuanqing, keep a close eye on your precious disciple!"

After exchanging a few words of Divine Thought, the nine majestic phantoms, carrying endless regret and a hint of new expectation, slowly faded away and finally completely dissipated into the Star Domain.

The moment the suppression vanished, the extreme anger suppressed within Lin Xuanqing dissipated, replaced by a surge of wild joy and unparalleled pride that soared to the top of his head!

"Ha ha ha ha!"

He grabbed Chen Fan's shoulder, no longer caring about the dignity of the Chief Instructor, and let out a hearty, unrestrained laugh.

Laughter echoed throughout the entire cave, so loud that tears almost streamed down their faces.

You won the bet!

He not only won the gamble of talent, but also the gamble of winning people's hearts!

With the departure of the nine Chief Instructor, this thrilling battle for talent has finally come to an end.

The competition has officially ended.

Chen Fan received his reward for ranking ninety-seventh.

Then, under the complex gazes of hundreds of Senior Fellow Apprentice from the Life School, he remained calm, hands in his pockets, and returned to his private courtyard.

"Bang."

The door closed, shutting out all the noise from the outside world.

Chen Fan sat down cross-legged, but involuntarily, the words Old Freak Wang had said before leaving echoed in his mind.

He slowly opened his eyes.

The grand competition among the Life School is ultimately just a small-scale affair in their own backyard.

The real stage seems to have only just begun.

"The Academy Grand Competition, huh...?"

Chen Fan's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.

"Hopefully, it'll be a little bit more interesting."

Chen Fan sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.

He focused his mind on his Dantian, quietly untangling the unique Great Dao of Life and Death.

A drop of crimson-gold Dao Blood, like Star, floated in the heart, each beat radiating the perfect Daoist Dao Rhythm of Life-and-Death Cycle.

He's waiting.

With great patience, we await the arrival of a special day.

Several days later, in the dead of night, with the moon hidden and the stars sparse.

In Chen Fan's mind, that cold, familiar Light Screen appeared silently and perfectly.

[Bite!]

[Annual talent tally complete!]

The cold, mechanical voice rang out precisely on time.

[Martial Dao Talent +40960]

Boom!

A surge of Origin Source energy, purer than ever before, was born from nothingness, flowing like the Milky Way pouring down from the heavens, instantly flooding into Chen Fan's limbs and bones!

He could even clearly feel that the essence of his life was being optimized and elevated at an incredible speed!

On the Light Screen, the number representing his total bone value jumped wildly before finally freezing.

[Martial Dao Talent: 81910]

Chen Fan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze completely calm.

Without the slightest hesitation, with a thought, all the rewards he had received during the competition, as well as all the wealth he had accumulated from the previous Devouring Locusts mission, flew out of his storage space and piled up in front of him into small, shimmering mountains.

The next second, he closed his eyes again.

With the extraordinary comprehension and immense energy brought by his innate talent, he began a new round of seclusion.

Time, in absolute focus, loses its meaning.

A month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside the courtyard, the small hills built from rare and precious spiritual objects have turned to ashes and vanished without a trace.

Meanwhile, within Chen Fan's Dantian, the illusory Life-and-Death Furnace was operating at an unprecedentedly terrifying efficiency, emitting a deafening roar!

Within the Furnace, the single drop of crimson-gold Life-and-Death Dao Blood, catalyzed by a vast amount of resources and nourished by a boundless Origin Source, began to replicate wildly!

Its growth rate is like that of cancer cells multiplying, extremely rapid.

One hundred drops!

Two hundred drops!

Three hundred drops!

Finally, when the last bit of resources was completely devoured by the Furnace, the amount of Dao Blood steadily stopped at three hundred and sixty drops!

Three hundred and sixty drops of flawless Life-and-Death Dao Blood, like a condensed Star Sea, quietly floated around Chen Fan's heart. The Dao Rhythm and power it emitted were more than a hundred times stronger than a month ago!

With the surge of his Dao Blood, Chen Fan's cultivation level also broke through the bottleneck silently, as if water had naturally flowed into a channel.

Sixth Grade Undying Realm, mid-stage!

His aura was several times stronger than before.

However, the joy of the breakthrough did not linger in Chen Fan's heart for even a second.

An unprecedented hunger surged from the depths of every cell in my body.

For him, relying solely on the meager Origin Source energy of heaven and earth for cultivation was as slow as a tortoise's pace, an unbearable torment.

"We must find new ways to acquire resources."

Chen Fan opened his eyes, and the first thing he thought of was his learned senior Senior Fellow Apprentice.

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Fan got up, pushed open the door, and walked straight towards Wen Yuan's residence.