A Sensation

A garden in the Inner Court of Heavy Sword Peak...

"Qingqing... Qingqing?" Zhang Rumeng walked up to Chen Jingjing and saw her sitting alone in a daze, so she called out to her twice.

"Rumeng." Chen Jingjing came back to herself and gave her a faint smile.

"Are you still mad at your brother?" Zhang Rumeng sat down beside her and asked softly.

"Rumeng, am I expecting too much of him? Maybe we shouldn't have pinned our hopes of restoring the Chen Clan on him from the start." Chen Jingjing shook her head.

"Don't think that way. Maybe he's just young and playful. One day, he might mend his ways. With his talent, he'll become a powerful figure sooner or later." Zhang Rumeng comforted her.

"Rumeng, don't defend him. Becoming a powerhouse isn't that easy. When I saw Senior Brother Wang Feng break through the First Layer of the Heavenly Court today, earn the title of One-Star Heavenly Soldier, and receive a Grade C rating, do you know how envious I was? I wish that one day, I could see Chen Fan doing the same." Chen Jingjing shook her head gently.

"But now, all my hopes have been dashed. Although Senior Sister Wang Yunlan said she didn't mind, she'll still hold it against us. If we ask her for guidance on talismans again, maybe..."

"Enough, don't dwell on it. Heavy Sword Peak has plenty of strong cultivators. If Senior Sister Wang won't teach us, we can ask Senior Brother Wang Feng instead. He's a pretty decent guy—cheerful and friendly—and there's hardly any difference between him and Senior Sister Wang when it comes to teaching us." Zhang Rumeng said.

Chen Jingjing didn't reply. She only nodded slightly.

"Give Chen Fan a little more time. Ever since he returned from Demon King Valley, I've felt he's changed quite a bit. At least he listened to what you said, even if today he was a little..." Zhang Rumeng stopped herself, realizing she shouldn't bring it up. Her eyes darted around, and she quickly changed the subject.

"Qingqing, I noticed that when Senior Brother Wang Feng used talismans today, he moved with a flowing, effortless footwork as he circled the sword cultivator and stalled for time. It reminded me a little of the Formless Step the Elder once mentioned."

"How could that be? Senior Brother Wang's footwork is just the ordinary Cloud-Walking Step. He's simply practiced it until he can use it with consummate skill. So his Grade C rating wasn't just thanks to Senior Sister Wang's experience—it was also the result of his own hard work." Chen Jingjing said.

"That's true. We should work hard too." Seeing that she'd successfully changed the subject, Zhang Rumeng stuck out her tongue and replied.

"Mm. Let's head back. Master should be back soon." Chen Jingjing stood up.

The two headed toward the buildings in the Inner Court, but Heavy Sword Peak's Inner Court was already in an uproar. Groups of disciples had gathered, excitedly discussing something.

"What happened?" Chen Jingjing asked, puzzled.

Zhang Rumeng shook her head too, looking at the crowd in confusion. Then her eyes suddenly lit up, and she walked toward a young man who was speaking animatedly.

The young man was practically spitting as he spoke, his face alight with excitement. "I'm not making it up. If you don't believe me, go into the Heavenly Court and check the Heavenly Court Hall for yourselves."

After he spoke, several listeners hurriedly took out their Heavenly Court Tokens and extended their Divine Senses into the Heavenly Court.

"Huang Cheng, what rumor are you spreading now?" Zhang Rumeng asked, folding her arms and staring at the young man who'd been talking so excitedly.

"Rumeng, Qingqing." Huang Cheng's eyes lit up when he saw them, and a delighted smile spread across his face.

"What happened? Why is everyone talking so excitedly? I think I heard something about the First Layer of the Heavenly Court." Zhang Rumeng pressed him.

"You haven't heard? Someone just cleared the First Layer of the Heavenly Court." Huang Cheng's eyes widened.

"We know. Senior Brother Wang Feng..."

Before Zhang Rumeng could finish, Huang Cheng waved his hand and cut her off.

"It wasn't Wang Feng. It was some mysterious genius. He didn't publicly announce his challenge, but you know the Heavenly Soldier Ranking in the Heavenly Court Hall automatically records the realm and score of anyone who successfully challenges it as a One-Star Heavenly Soldier. Just now, that person received a Grade A rating for the First Layer of the Heavenly Court—the first Grade A in history." Huang Cheng was practically spitting as he spoke again.

"A Grade A rating... How is that possible? As far as I know, the only publicly known young genius, Xiao Munan, received just a Grade B rating back then." Chen Jingjing was stunned.

"Of course, that alone probably wouldn't have caused such a sensation. Do you know what really drove everyone crazy?"

"Stop keeping us in suspense. Out with it." Zhang Rumeng pretended to go after Huang Cheng.

Huang Cheng quickly ducked back with a grin. "All right, all right. Hehe, the guy who got the Grade A rating is only at Qi Refining Layer 2. By tonight, the whole Heavenly Court will probably be in an uproar."

"Qi Refining... Layer 2..." Zhang Rumeng froze. How could that be possible?

"Could there have been a mistake on the Heavenly Soldier Ranking?" Chen Jingjing asked, managing to stay calm.

"That's impossible. And maybe his being at Qi Refining Layer 2 was exactly what let him get a Grade A rating." Huang Cheng shook his head sagely.

"Did they publish the Recording Stone of the One-Star Heavenly Soldier he defeated?" Chen Jingjing asked.

"Not yet. I came out to tell everyone as soon as I got the news. You should go look in the Heavenly Court yourselves, though I bet the entire Heavenly Court Hall is packed by now." Huang Cheng shrugged.

"Rumeng, let's go take a look." Chen Jingjing took out her Heavenly Court Token and turned to Zhang Rumeng.

While the Heavenly Court and the outside world were in an uproar, Chen Fan, the protagonist of the whole affair, was still sitting in the herb garden of his Immortal Cave, absorbing spiritual energy to his heart's content.

But this level of spiritual energy could already be called Pseudo Immortal Qi. Even so, the rate at which he absorbed it was limited.

Chen Fan pushed his Blazing Heaven Sword Art to the utmost, yet still felt as though something restricted his absorption of the spiritual energy.

After a while, he left his cultivation state and asked the Green-feathered Bird beside him what was troubling him.

The Green-feathered Bird replied calmly, "You're only a One-Star Heavenly Soldier right now, so naturally there's a limit to how much spiritual energy you can absorb. Once you advance to Two-Star or Three-Star, that restriction will gradually weaken. I've heard that once you reach the Heavenly General rank, the amount of spiritual energy you can absorb can double."

Double the spiritual energy!

A flash of white light passed through Chen Fan's eyes. He knew what that meant!

In this life, he had finally broken free of his shackles. This was the Cultivation World he had dreamed of.

Chen Fan closed his eyes again and swiftly circulated the Blazing Heaven Sword Art, frantically absorbing the spiritual energy around him. It coursed through countless meridians in his body, then transformed into Blazing Heaven Sword Qi and surged into the vortex in his dantian.

Qi Refining Layer 3!

Qi Refining Layer 4!

His realm rose by two levels without a single bottleneck. His Divine Soul had once existed at the Foundation Establishment Realm; below that realm, nothing could hold him back.

"Wait... this is only my avatar." Chen Fan suddenly opened his eyes, realizing the truth.

His physical body was still at Qi Refining Layer 2!

With that thought, Chen Fan left the Heavenly Court and returned to his physical body. He opened his eyes again, and the old-fashioned building came into view.

He was still in the Outer Court of Heavy Sword Peak!

He carefully recalled that wondrous feeling from before. Without realizing it, he began circulating the Blazing Heaven Sword Art inside his body as well.

But just then, a vast stream of spiritual energy from another world suddenly flooded into him.

"Pseudo Immortal Qi!" Chen Fan was stunned.

He could actually sense the Pseudo Immortal Qi in the Heavenly Court and draw it across worlds into this physical body.

"Chen Jingjing never mentioned anything like this. Can everyone do it, or am I the only one?" Chen Fan muttered, frowning.

After a moment, he came to no conclusion and shook his head slightly, deciding to ask about it later. For now, he wanted to take advantage of that familiar sensation while it lasted and resume cultivating.

This time, he cultivated his physical body, using the spiritual energy from the Heavenly Court to temper and nourish his meridians. It then transformed into Blazing Heaven Sword Qi, and the vortex of True Qi formed once more in his dantian...

As the sky gradually darkened, the disciples of Heavy Sword Peak began making their way down the mountain. Only Chen Fan remained, seated in a secluded corner, quietly cultivating.

A moment later, he suddenly opened his eyes.

"Qi Refining Layer 4. Achieved."