114: Chapter 114 The Apprenticeship Examination Begins…

"Compared to those unreliable women, improving my own strength is what's truly practical."

Qin Feng took a deep breath, slowly circulating the Chaos Art, and opened the slightly worn book in his hands.

As his gaze swept over the complex, obscure, and ghost-like Formation patterns on the pages, the System in his mind did not provide a cheat-like infusion of knowledge. However, his terrifying Physical Body, tempered by the pure yang golden body pill and having undergone the Awakening of the Heavenly Tyrant Body, brought him more than just abnormal brute strength; it granted him an almost instinctive, terrifying perception of the flow of Spiritual Qi between Heaven and Earth!

"The Dao of Formation, put simply, is using Mental Energy and True Essence as a catalyst to outline the veins of Spiritual Qi in the world, thereby borrowing the power of Heaven and Earth..."

Qin Feng closed his eyes. Within his Sea of Consciousness, the originally rigid Formation patterns began to light up one by one, moving and rearranging themselves in his mind as if they were alive.

Basic Formation patterns that ordinary Outer Sect Disciples would need several months or even half a year to rote memorize were, under Qin Feng's abnormal perception, completely dismantled and understood in just one hour.

"Spirit Gathering Array, Defensive Formation, Killing Formation... So that's how it is."

The corners of Qin Feng's mouth curled into a confident arc, and a clear understanding of Formations gradually formed in his mind.

He even faintly felt that if he applied the lethality of Formations to his flying daggers, the power of Inch Radiance would definitely be elevated by several levels!

The night passed without incident; Qin Feng remained immersed in deducing the basics of Formations.

The next day, early morning. When the first ray of sunlight pierced through the lingering immortal mist of the Outer Sect and sprinkled onto the bluestone slabs, the Hehuan Sect Outer Sect suddenly became bustling.

Today was the important day for the Elder of Qingmu Peak to select a Personal Disciple. Being favored by an Elder meant having a heaven-reaching background in the Outer Sect; not only would resources double, but one could also swagger wherever they went in the future.

Qin Feng washed up, changed into a set of moon-white, cloud-patterned robes symbolizing his status as an Outer Sect Disciple, and walked out of his courtyard refreshed, heading toward the Qingmu Peak plaza.

When he arrived at the plaza, he found that dozens of Outer Sect Disciples had already gathered there.

Apart from Qin Feng, the only "newcomer" who had fought his way out of the Servant Grand Competition, the rest were all veteran Disciples who had been grinding in the Outer Sect for many years!

These veteran Disciples, without exception, had only managed to obtain the admission ticket to go to Qingmu Peak to seek a master after struggling to accumulate a massive amount of Sect contribution points.

Qin Feng had just walked to the edge of the crowd and hadn't had time to stand steady yet.

"Oh? Isn't this the first-place winner of the Grand Competition who crawled out of the mud pit in the Servant District yesterday?"

A male voice, filled with sarcasm and extremely grating, came without warning from the front side.

Qin Feng frowned slightly and looked toward the source of the sound. He saw a male Disciple with a thin, long build, a pair of inverted triangular eyes, and a mean-looking face, squinting at him with his nostrils pointed toward the sky.

This person was named Gou Changgen, a veteran Disciple who had been drifting in the Outer Sect for several years. The opponent's aura was quite thick, and the True Essence fluctuation around his body faintly revealed a sharp edge; he possessed the powerful cultivation of Qi Refining Level 7.

Beside Gou Changgen snuggled a female Disciple wearing a water-blue long dress, who was quite beautiful and had a pitiful temperament; her name was Zhou Qingzi. The two were clearly birds of a feather, both having obtained the qualification to seek a master through contribution points.

Gou Changgen's sudden attack was clearly to demonstrate his sense of superiority as a veteran Disciple in front of his beautiful companion.

"What? Is the food in the Servant District spoiled, so you came to the Outer Sect to beg?"

Gou Changgen crossed his arms and took a step forward, his eyes full of contempt and disdain for a Disciple of such low-class origin as Qin Feng. He sneered: "Don't think that just because you took first place in that pile of trash in the Servant District, you have the qualifications to sit on equal footing with us, the true Outer Sect Disciples! Later, when we are before the Elder of Qingmu Peak, a lowly breed like you, smelling of mud, better shrink to the very back, lest you dirty the Elder's eyes!"

Once these words were spoken, the several men and women around them, also veteran Disciples, revealed expressions of mockery and anticipation of a good show.

Indeed, not all Outer Sect Disciples had risen from being Utility Disciples; on the contrary, very few Utility Disciples rose up. Most Outer Sect Disciples became Outer Sect Disciples directly when they were recruited, provided their talent passed the test.

The hierarchy in the Outer Sect was strict, and veteran Disciples suppressing new Disciples, especially those who had risen from the Servant District, had long ago become an unwritten rule.

Facing Gou Changgen's such direct and malicious provocation, Qin Feng not only did not have the slightest panic, but instead looked the other person up and down with an expression as if looking at a moron, and said: "Before you left the house, did you eat feces and fail to wipe your mouth, or did your family's ancestral grave leak wind and blow your brain to pieces?"

In specific areas of the Outer Sect, fighting was strictly prohibited, so there was nothing to be afraid of. Qin Feng stood with his hands behind his back and coldly spat out a sentence. His voice was not loud, but every word was like a knife: "A foul stench comes out the moment you open your mouth. With that sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked face of yours, the Elder would probably lose ten years of life just from looking at you. Where do you get the face to spout such nonsense here?"

Silence. The veteran Disciples watching the show were all stunned. No one expected that a newcomer from the Servant District who had just arrived and whose cultivation seemed to be only at the Second Level of Qi Refining would dare to viciously retort to a Qi Refining Level 7 veteran Disciple in public.

"You... what did you say?!" The smugness on Gou Changgen's face instantly froze, followed by a distortion of being thoroughly enraged. He was accustomed to throwing his weight around in the Outer Sect; when had he ever been berated like this, with a finger pointed at his nose, by a Menial Laborer?

"Little beast, are you looking for death?!" The veins on Gou Changgen's forehead throbbed violently, and his fists clenched, making cracking sounds.

At this moment, Zhou Qingzi, who had been snuggling beside Gou Changgen, stood out. She put on an appearance of righteousness and inviolability, and using the tone of a high-and-mighty moral high ground, accused: "This Junior Brother, how can you be so crude and unbearable? Senior Brother Gou is a Qi Refining Level 7 expert and is your Senior Brother. He is merely teaching you the rules of the Outer Sect. Not only are you ungrateful, but you even dare to verbally abuse Senior Brother Gou?"

"People who come out of the Servant District are indeed a bunch of uneducated barbarians." Zhou Qingzi covered her nose with a handkerchief, her face full of disgust, as if Qin Feng really had some infectious disease.

Watching the faces of the two singing in harmony, Qin Feng's patience was completely exhausted. A grim, cold glint flashed in his deep black eyes, and he sneered without ceremony: "Where did this wild dog come from, running out to bite people on behalf of others? Did your master not tie your dog leash properly when you went out?!"

"Boom!" Once these words were spoken, it was like a heavy bomb exploding in the crowd. He even cursed a woman so harshly?! This kid is simply a lunatic!

"You... you dare call me a dog?!" Zhou Qingzi was trembling with anger, and her eyes turned red instantly.

Just at the critical moment when the conflict was about to escalate— "Silence!!!"

A majestic, thunderous shout, like thunder from the Nine Heavens, came rolling down from above the stairs of Qingmu Peak without warning. Accompanied by it was a terrifying pressure from a powerful expert!

"Clang—clang—" Two crisp bell tolls rang out.

A Deacon Disciple responsible for receiving guests ran down from the steps, sweating profusely, and loudly announced: "Qingmu Peak, Elder Hongxia has arrived. All Disciples participating in the Master-Apprentice Ceremony, form a line immediately, no making noise!"

"Boom—" The plaza, which had been on the verge of a fight, instantly became so quiet that a pin dropping could be heard under this terrifying pressure.