108: Chapter 108 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (Fifty-Six)

It turned out that this time, Elder Moyuan and Peak Master Xue Qinghan had brought along a group of Inner Sect Disciples in addition to the Core Disciples before them.

There were about a dozen people on each side, and they had already been arranged by the deacons of Lieyang Peak at the guest area for Inner Sect Disciples at the foot of the mountain, with their food and lodging properly taken care of, requiring no extra concern.

As for the Core Disciples before him, they also successively reported their names and stated their identities, which Chu Shi noted down one by one.

Among the five young disciples accompanying from the Ice and Snow Holy Land, the leader was a male disciple named Bing Hao, who was a Core Disciple of the main peak of the Ice and Snow Holy Land.

His cultivation had also reached the Iron Skin Realm, but he had a rather cold and stern temperament and was not good with words.

The other two were female disciples, Lin Wan and Zhao Rou, both of whom were disciples of Xuepo Peak.

They also possessed impressive cultivation and gentle temperaments, carrying the unique cold and aloof aura of disciples from the Ice and Snow Holy Land.

Those accompanying from the Four Seasons Holy Land were four male disciples and one female disciple.

The leading male disciple was named Zhou Xuan, a Core Disciple of Chunhua Peak of the Four Seasons Holy Land; his cultivation also reached the Iron Skin Realm, and he was warm and sociable.

Another male disciple was named Li Mo, who had a silent and reticent temperament, focused solely on martial arts.

The only female disciple, dressed in a green floral dress with lively eyes and a somewhat coquettish tone, introduced herself as Chen Lingxi, a disciple of Qiushi Peak of the Four Seasons Holy Land.

Upon hearing the surname "Chen", Chu Shi's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly recalled the Huangyan Prefecture, or rather, the Chen family of Yanbei Prefecture, where he had resided during his third reincarnation.

In his third life, he was born into the Chen family of an ordinary small county; the family was originally obscure, but it produced a peerless genius, his elder brother, Chen Xuan.

Gifted with extraordinary talent and astonishing brilliance, he displayed peerless martial arts talent at a young age, leading the originally weak Chen family to rise all the way to dominate Yanbei Prefecture and become a prominent clan.

Unfortunately, success came from this, and failure also came from this.

At the critical moment when Chen Xuan was attempting to break through to the Silver Marrow Realm to become a True Disciple, his rivals and enemies emerged one after another, exterminating the Chen family.

Fortunately, at that time, he, Chen Shi, being the family head, had managed to scatter many embers, relying on his true spirit talent of crisis sensing.

This female disciple surnamed Chen before him happened to come from the region of Huangyan Prefecture, and a guess immediately arose in Chu Shi's heart.

He immediately remained calm and, taking the opportunity of casual conversation, asked indirectly:

"Fellow Daoist Chen, your surname is Chen, and your ancestral home is Huangyan Prefecture. Might the Chen family of Huangyan Prefecture be your family? And what is your relationship to that legendary genius of the Four Seasons Holy Land, Chen Xuan?"

When Chen Lingxi heard Chu Shi asking about her family and her ancestor, a look of pride and arrogance immediately appeared on her face. She lifted her chin and said with a tone full of admiration and pride:

"Fellow Daoist Chu, you are truly knowledgeable. I am indeed from the Chen family of Huangyan Prefecture, and Chen Xuan is my great-grandfather. Back then, with his supreme talent, the Ancestor led our Chen family to rise. Now, his cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds, approaching the Peak Master level, and he enjoys great renown throughout the entire Four Seasons Holy Land!"

As her words fell, a stormy sea surged in Chu Shi's heart, and his eyes were filled with shock.

Approaching the Peak Master level?

One must know that in this high-martial world, the division of cultivation realms is strict: Body Tempering Realm, Iron Skin Realm, Copper Bone Realm, Silver Marrow Realm... the improvement of each level is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

And a Peak Master level powerhouse needs to have cultivation at the late stage of the Silver Marrow Realm, which means having completed seven blood exchanges or more.

At the end of his third life, his elder brother Chen Xuan was merely a genius who had just begun to rise; he was young and still far from being a top-tier powerhouse.

Yet, in just a short span of about a hundred years, he had actually grown into an existence approaching the Peak Master level.

Calculating by cultivation realm, he had likely already completed six blood exchanges, reaching the sixth heaven of the Blood Exchange Realm—it was simply terrifying!

But how difficult is blood exchange in the Silver Marrow Realm; each blood exchange requires not only a vast amount of accumulation but is also a life-and-death transformation.

Succeed and live, fail and die!

One must know that the mid-stage villain he encountered in his fourth life, the garrison general of Huangyan Prefecture, Lin Lantian, had not completed a single blood exchange in the full ten years since he promoted to the Silver Marrow Realm.

While this was partly due to his shallow foundation and lack of proper methods, it also fully demonstrated how difficult it is to accumulate the foundation for a single blood exchange.

Such a cultivation speed, even within the entire human race, could be called heaven-defying!

While Chu Shi was shocked, he could not help but sigh inwardly; he was indeed the peerless genius who had been able to single-handedly drive the rise of a small county family back then.

This talent and opportunity were truly rare in the world.

In a hundred years, he had reached a height that countless people could not touch in their entire lives; it was truly astonishing.

With thoughts surging in his heart, Chu Shi still maintained a calm expression on his face, only smiling faintly and saying:

"So you are a descendant of Elder Chen Xuan. Elder Chen is a heaven-gifted talent, so it is only natural that he has achieved such accomplishments today. Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Chen; I imagine it won't be long before Elder Chen becomes Peak Master Chen. When that time comes, if the Four Seasons Holy Land holds a grand ceremony, I will certainly shamelessly go to offer my congratulations."

Chen Lingxi was overjoyed by the praise and chatted with Chu Shi with great enthusiasm about the legendary deeds of her ancestor.

The group walked and talked, and soon arrived at the guest area on the mountainside of Lieyang Peak.

Located here were exquisite independent courtyards, some distance away from the Core Disciple area of this peak.

Built against the mountain, the environment was quiet and secluded, with abundant vital energy; it was a place specially used by Lieyang Peak to entertain distinguished guests.

Chu Shi arranged these people properly one by one, instructed them on various matters within the courtyards, and informed them of subsequent arrangements before preparing to take his leave.

As he was leaving, Zhou Xuan, Bing Hao, and others also spoke politely, making an appointment with Chu Shi to exchange martial arts knowledge together later.

Chu Shi agreed to each one, then turned and left, though his heart was still pondering the news about Chen Xuan.

Memories of his third life flooded his mind, and thinking of Chen Xuan's terrifying achievements now, his heart was filled with mixed emotions; at the same time, he felt a bit more certainty and fighting spirit toward this metallic martial arts.

He knew deeply that the Apprenticeship Ceremony was imminent, and this exchange competition for the younger generation was destined not to be peaceful.

And his martial arts path would also start from this ceremony, officially embarking on a brand-new journey.

On the way, Chu Shi did not follow the trend and return to his own Tingyang Courtyard, but instead walked toward the outer sect's Canglan Courtyard.

He wanted to see his uncle Deacon Chu Feng to ask about the people who came from the Chu family, as well as where his childhood friend Li Hao was currently staying.

Moving quickly, Chu Shi soon arrived outside the outer sect's Canglan Courtyard.

It was still as bustling as it had been a month ago.

Thousands of Outer Sect Disciples dressed in green robes were bustling about, coming and going in an endless stream.

But whoever saw Chu Shi wearing the purple robe of a Core Disciple was slightly taken aback, and then immediately bowed in salute.

Chu Shi nodded slightly in acknowledgement, then walked unhurriedly toward the External Affairs Hall.

Vaguely, he could still hear the whispering of these Outer Sect Disciples after he had passed.

"A purple robe! This must be a Core Disciple, right? Why did he come to the outer sect in person?"

"Sigh, I don't know if this senior brother's arrival is a blessing or a curse; I hope it doesn't implicate me."

"The symbol on this Core Disciple's chest is Lieyang, right? Is he a Core Disciple from Lieyang Peak?"

"You bunch of bumpkins! You don't even recognize him! It's Chu Shi, Senior Brother Chu! He's also from our Canglan State, from our batch..." a disciple who was from the same batch as Chu Shi said proudly.