"... Does this count as passing?"
Faced with Chen Yu’s question, the scene fell completely silent.
The rules had been stated face-to-face before, as long as Zhu Yifan was injured within thirty moves, it counted as passing.
In reality, Zhu Yifan was injured in just one move, yet they turned a blind eye, pretending not to see it.
But after a few more moves, Zhu Yifan was utterly defeated.
No matter how much the higher-ups of the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest wanted to ignore it, they couldn’t claim that Chen Yu didn’t pass.
Moreover, it seemed that the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest had been humiliated by Chen Yu again.
The disciples watching looked at Chen Yu with extreme hostility, while many elders wore stern expressions, their hearts blazing with anger.
But they had no way to deal with Chen Yu!
The elders couldn’t take action themselves, and since Zhu Yifan had already lost, could they send someone stronger to challenge him? Even if they won, it wouldn’t mean much.After a dozen breaths of silence, an elder finally responded to Chen Yu’s words, "Indeed, you are truly a genius of the Heavenly Martial Sect. Your progress has been immense since coming to the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest."
It was true that Chen Yu had made significant progress, but this elder attributed all the credit to the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest, saving some face in the process.
"I wonder if I could now go and select a cultivation technique or combat skill?"
Chen Yu ignored what the other side said and immediately brought up the matter, lest the Vermilion Bird Sacred Clan go back on their word.
The expressions of the high-ranking members of the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest stiffened once again.
After being humiliated by Chen Yu, he was still asking to choose a cultivation technique or combat skill.
Without a doubt, Chen Yu would certainly choose a high-grade one, perhaps even the core heritage of the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest.
Finally, a steward accompanied Chen Yu to make his selection.
The crowd gradually dispersed, and as for Zhu Yifan, who had been sent flying, he had long since disappeared.
Soon, Chen Yu arrived at a heavily-guarded pavilion.
The pavilion had seven floors, and inside were various combat skills and secret techniques. Although it wasn’t all-encompassing, the variety was extensive, not inferior in number to the Heavenly Martial Sect.
Among them, the third and fourth floors housed king-level cultivation techniques and combat skills.
Without looking, Chen Yu headed towards the fifth floor.
The accompanying steward had anticipated this; given a chance to choose, Chen Yu would certainly go for the higher-level ones.
The fifth floor corresponded to lower-tier emperor-level.
Upon reaching the fifth floor, Chen Yu briefly observed before preparing to enter the sixth floor.
"Chen Yu, the sixth floor corresponds to high-tier emperor-level, you can only select from the fifth floor at most."
The steward suddenly said.
Chen Yu didn’t take it too seriously and stopped his steps.
Even though the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest had agreed to let him choose freely, it was certainly not entirely so. If Chen Yu picked a god-level technique and left, the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest would suffer a great loss.
Of course, Chen Yu wasn’t planning to select a god-level technique.
God-level techniques are meant for the Heavenly Union Divine Realm to cultivate, too far from his reach, and techniques selected here are not to be spread outside. Chen Yu would essentially be holding a treasure chest without a key, making it easier to attract enemies.
In fact, Chen Yu’s final choice might not even be on the fifth floor.
However, when Chen Yu found a type of secret technique, he paused on the sixth floor.
"Flame control type secret technique."
Secret techniques generally don’t have stringent cultivation requirements and are stored here based on their value.
Chen Yu found a flame control secret technique here that could be cultivated starting from the Sky Sea Realm.
In the Vermilion Bird Sacred Clan, almost ninety percent of the demon race cultivates the Fire Dao, and they often master one or two True Fire Spirit Flames, so flame control secret techniques come in great variety.
The signature flame control secret technique of the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest is the "Vermilion Bird Flame Control Technique," which is the choice of most of the demon race and requires few contribution points.
Besides this, there are also targeted flame control secret techniques, in a variety of forms, making it difficult for Chen Yu to decide for a time.
The "Blood Crystal Flame" and "Void Sky Holy Fire" in his hand belong to two completely different types of Innate Spiritual Flame, and Chen Yu hasn’t found a flame control secret technique particularly suitable for himself.
"Hold on, this ’Ten Thousand Fire Spirit Technique’ may not have notable highlights, but it’s still quite suitable for me."
Chen Yu discovered a decent flame control secret technique.
"The Ten Thousand Fire Spirit Technique," not a particularly outstanding flame control secret technique, mainly helps improve the cultivator’s fine control over True Fire Spirit Flames, and also has the effect of condensing and enhancing soul power.
"This will do."
Chen Yu quickly decided, since it’s a free selection, it’s no loss if it’s not suitable.
The steward, seeing the "Ten Thousand Fire Spirit Technique," couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
At least Chen Yu didn’t choose the core heritage of the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest. Among the many flame control secret techniques, the "Ten Thousand Fire Spirit Technique" is not particularly outstanding, and it has a slightly high difficulty, which is why it’s placed on the fifth floor.
Overall, with Chen Yu selecting this flame control secret technique, the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest didn’t suffer significantly, and the steward immediately reported the matter to the elders.
Chen Yu wasn’t in a rush to leave the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest anyway, since they couldn’t forcefully keep him, staying a few more days wouldn’t hurt.
He planned to acquire some resources before leaving.
The Vermilion Bird Burning Sky Wings were not yet perfected, and the Fire Dao’s profound meaning needed continuous improvement.
But as Chen Yu had anticipated, when he came to the trading market, all the shops and stall owners here gradually received messages that all resources sold to Chen Yu would have their prices doubled.
It couldn’t be helped—considering how much Chen Yu had taken advantage of them, the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest harbored extreme animosity towards him.
Chen Yu had no options left, so he decided to rest for a day and return to the Heavenly Martial Sect the following day.
At night.
Chen Yu visited Zhu Lingyu’s residence.
"What’s the matter?"
Zhu Lingyu looked at Chen Yu with a complex expression.
She felt she had a certain level of friendship with Chen Yu, but Chen Yu’s relationship with the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest was so bad that almost everyone wanted to strike him.
"Could you help me acquire some blood from the Vermilion Bird Sacred Clan and a Vermilion Bird Colorful Feather? The price is negotiable."
These two items are the most important treasures in cultivating the Vermilion Bird Burning Sky Wings, much like how metal-based Holy Beast bloodline and Heavenly Crystal Gold are critical for cultivating the White Tiger Sacred Claw.
Originally, Chen Yu planned to purchase them here, but openly selling the bloodline or blood of the Vermilion Bird Sacred Clan is a capital crime.
As for the Vermilion Bird Colorful Feather, it’s extremely precious, and even if Chen Yu could buy it, doubling the price was unbearable.
"The price is negotiable."
Chen Yu said with a smile.
Apart from Zhu Lingyu in the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest, he couldn’t find anyone else to help.
Given Zhu Lingyu’s status, he should be able to obtain these two items.
"Wait a moment."
Zhu Lingyu closed the door.
Chen Yu was puzzled. What did it mean for the other party to leave him hanging outside without a response?
As he was pondering, the door opened.
"Here."
Zhu Lingyu took out two items.
One was a jade bottle containing a few drops of essence blood, and the other was a Vermilion Bird Colorful Feather.
The Vermilion Bird Colorful Feather had four colors and emitted a powerful Holy Beast aura.
Chen Yu immediately put away the two items and said, "Name your price." .
"No need. Consider it as repayment for saving my life."
Zhu Lingyu said rationally.
This made Chen Yu feel a bit embarrassed; his relationship with Zhu Lingyu wasn’t that close.
The essence blood of the Vermilion Bird Sacred Clan contained bloodline power. Selling such an item was a death sentence, and it couldn’t be bought under normal circumstances.
As for the Vermilion Bird Colorful Feather, only those with dense bloodline and exceptional talent from the Vermilion Bird Sacred Clan had an extremely small chance of growing such a feather, making it a very rare treasure.
"Are you sure you don’t want the Primordial Stone? I’m returning to the Heavenly Martial Sect tomorrow, and it’ll be too late for regrets then."
Chen Yu reiterated, considering that these two items were very hard to obtain and extremely valuable.
Zhu Lingyu shook his head.
"Thank you."
Chen Yu expressed his gratitude and left.
Zhu Lingyu watched his figure disappear into the night, feeling somewhat complicated and unable to explain why.
After returning to his residence, Chen Yu took out the essence blood and Vermilion Bird Colorful Feather to study them briefly.
He did not expect the quality of the treasures given by Zhu Lingyu to be very high. As long as they weren’t too poor or counterfeit, that was sufficient.
"This drop of essence blood is very fresh, and the aura of these two items is... very similar."
Chen Yu roughly guessed.
The essence blood was Zhu Lingyu’s, and the Vermilion Bird Colorful Feather was also his.
He sighed, thinking that even if Zhu Lingyu didn’t have them, he shouldn’t go to such lengths.
Without further thought, Chen Yu figured that with these two items, there shouldn’t be any issues cultivating the Vermilion Bird Burning Sky Wings at this level.
But he still hadn’t found the Heavenly Crystal Gold. The White Tiger Sky Splitting Claw lacked just this one precious item to be perfect.
The next day.
The Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest personally escorted Chen Yu back to the Heavenly Martial Sect, fearing any mishaps during the journey that would cause the Heavenly Martial Sect to blame them.
The other Heavenly Martial Sect disciples had returned years ago, so Chen Yu was traveling alone.
Subsequently, a flying ship departed, and a ten-person team including an elder personally escorted Chen Yu back to the Heavenly Martial Sect.
The journey was long, and Chen Yu secluded himself for cultivation in his room.
During the five-year seclusion in the small world, he made tremendous progress in all areas.
His cultivation reached the peak of the Late Stage Star Condensation, almost becoming a Four-star King.
His Spatial Profound Meaning reached four and a half levels, Gold Profound Meaning reached four levels, and Fire Profound Meaning reached three and a half levels.
Additionally, he cultivated the Vermilion Bird Burning Sky Wings to perfection, further practicing related combat techniques and the flying combat technique "Sky Fire Flash."
Along the way, Chen Yu primarily focused on cultivating the "Ten Thousand Fire Spirit Technique."
This fire control secret technique emphasized fine control, enhancing the fusion degree of the True Fire Spirit Flame with other forces for greater potency after cultivation.
Furthermore, this secret technique could also refine and enhance Soul Power.
However, for Chen Yu, this fire control secret technique presented a slight challenge.
It took him a month to achieve an entry-level understanding.
Buzz!
A silver-gray flame suddenly ignited at his fingertip, precisely the [Void Sky Holy Fire].
The flame danced incessantly, gradually elongating until it became extremely thin, like a strand of hair at Chen Yu’s fingertip.
Generally speaking, the stronger and higher-level a spiritual flame was, the harder it was to control.
So, most of the time, cultivators possessing True Fire Spirit Flames used them for aggressive attacks and massive consumption without focusing on fine control.
"If I can cultivate the ’Ten Thousand Fire Spirit Technique’ to Great Success, I should be able to make the Void Sky Holy Fire transform into strands imperceptible to the naked eye."
Chen Yu said with a smile.
The cultivation of the "Ten Thousand Fire Spirit Technique" was relatively slow.
That day, Chen Yu took out the essence blood and Vermilion Bird Colorful Feather, preparing to refine them.
Suddenly, a Token in Chen Yu’s storage space received a message.
This Token was the Heavenly Martial Sect’s disciple Identity Token, capable of communication and sending messages with fellow disciples within a certain distance.
It was a request for assistance.
Chen Yu left the room and looked around, realizing that after flying for over two months, the flying ship had reached the Human Race’s territory.
When fellow disciples request assistance, as a disciple of the Heavenly Martial Sect, it is obligatory to help, especially since Chen Yu currently had no pressing matters.
"Elder, I have something to attend to. You can drop me off here."
Chen Yu found an elder overseeing the area.
"No."
The elder immediately refused upon hearing Chen Yu’s request.