Chapter 14: Advancement

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chen Fei dodged as fast as he could, but he was still a fraction too slow. The razor-sharp throwing dart grazed his arm as it flew past.

Bang!

The black-clad assassin crashed into the wall behind him, shattering it upon impact.

Chen Fei had no time to check who had attacked him. He sealed the wound on his left arm with spiritual energy and immediately activated Phantom Steps, disappearing into the darkness at the end of the alley.

“He actually dodged it?”

A man and a woman appeared soon after. The woman stared at the small traces of blood on the ground, her face filled with surprise.

“His reaction speed is extraordinary, as if he has a third eye. At the very least, he must be at the ninth rank of the Grand Spirit Master realm,” the man replied.

“That makes sense. Only a ninth-rank Grand Spirit Master could possibly avoid your hidden weapons, Senior.” The woman nodded in agreement.

“But it doesn’t matter. Even if he is a ninth-rank Grand Spirit Master, he won’t last long. My ‘Spirit-Eroding Gu Poison’ has already entered his system. Even if his dantian isn’t completely destroyed, his cultivation will be crippled. Not even Silvermoon Academy can help him recover quickly.” The man smirked.

The dart was coated with an extremely rare and potent poison, specifically designed to disable cultivators below the True Spirit Master realm. It had never failed before.

“The so-called Tianjiao Academy of Lu Kingdom is truly pathetic. Sending a mere seventh-rank Spirit Master to assassinate a ninth-rank one?”

The woman sneered as she kicked the corpse of the black-clad assassin.

“This man probably wasn’t from Tianjiao Academy. More likely, he was a disposable pawn sent to test Chen Yang’s strength.” The man explained.

Suddenly, his expression changed. He flicked his wrist, launching a throwing dart toward the alleyway entrance.

But before the dart could strike, a shadow moved at an incredible speed, vanishing from sight in an instant.

“Senior, it seems many people want Chen Yang dead.” The woman watched the fleeing figure and immediately understood—this person was also a ninth-rank Grand Spirit Master.

“The secret realm is about to open. For Grand Spirit Masters, it presents an opportunity to break through. For True Spirit Masters, it’s an unparalleled fortune. A man with no known background suddenly stepping into this event? Of course, people won’t be happy about it.”

The man spoke indifferently as he retrieved his darts before leaving with the woman.

Chen Fei hadn’t actually run too far. Instead, he had hidden around a corner.

The poison from the dart had already spread through his bloodstream, racing toward his dantian, attempting to erode it.

Unfortunately for his attackers, his dantian had long been destroyed and replaced by the Void Heaven Cauldron. Instead of harming him, the poison was absorbed and refined by the cauldron.

“This poison was made from the blood of a Silver Jiao Beast?”

Chen Fei was astonished. The Silver Jiao was a fearsome demon beast that even True Spirit Masters feared. Years ago, a single Silver Jiao had massacred three small cities in the Great Qing Kingdom and still managed to escape, despite being surrounded by numerous True Spirit Masters.

As he activated his Myriad Dao Breathing Technique, he unexpectedly awakened a portion of the Silver Jiao’s abilities—Spirit Erosion!

“A blessing in disguise!”

Chen Fei couldn’t help but grin.

Once he activated this ability, his spiritual energy would gain a highly corrosive quality, similar to the Spirit-Eroding Gu Poison. While not as lethal, it was still extremely dangerous.

“Unfortunately, my range of spiritual energy projection is limited, so I can’t fully utilize the potential of this ability yet.”

Spirit Erosion needed direct contact with flesh to take effect. It had to enter an opponent’s body to unleash its full destructive power.

Still hidden, Chen Fei observed three figures leaving the alley where he had been ambushed.

“Lu Yijun?”

He immediately recognized his senior, whom he had recently dined with.

“Could he have sent that assassin to test my strength?” Chen Fei frowned.

If he couldn’t even handle a mere seventh-rank Grand Spirit Master, Silvermoon Academy probably wouldn’t waste further resources on him. They would simply take back everything they had given him.

Then, he turned his attention to the young man and woman following behind Lu Yijun. The man had an air of nobility, and the woman exuded grace. Their backgrounds were clearly extraordinary.

“They must be the true culprits. Even the dart was coated with poison.”

Chen Fei committed their faces to memory.

Once he was certain that no one else was lurking nearby, he left his hiding place.

He made a stop at Ling Zhong’s residence, leaving behind the treasured sword and academy robes given to him by Silvermoon Academy.

After tending to his wound and changing his clothes, he returned to the Su residence before nightfall.

That night, Su Ran returned. They barely spoke before she retreated into her secret chamber, not emerging again.

Just as she had said before—Chen Fei was nothing more than a shield, a blind and powerless man who wouldn’t affect her plans in any way.

Chen Fei didn’t mind. Instead, he took out the pills and spirit-grade martial arts manual that Sun Qianyi had given him.

At this moment, he was caught in a vortex of power struggles. Countless strong cultivators were watching him, eager to prevent him from entering the secret realm.

He had to grow stronger, fast.

Taking a deep breath, he retrieved the Spirit Transformation Pill.

For a Grand Spirit Master, this was an invaluable treasure.

A third-grade pill like this would make any Grand Spirit Master fight tooth and nail to obtain it. Silvermoon Academy had truly been generous in trying to recruit him.

More importantly, the Spirit Transformation Pill was perfectly suited for the advancement of Grand Spirit Masters.

Two hours later, with the help of the pill, Chen Fei’s cultivation advanced rapidly, reaching the fifth stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Thanks to the Void Heaven Cauldron, he could absorb the pill’s effects completely. For him, breakthroughs were as easy as eating and drinking. All he needed was a steady supply of cultivation resources.

Next, he turned his attention to the spirit-grade martial arts manual.

“Silvermoon Sword Art.”

“Silver light like waves, radiance like the moon…”

“This is a close-combat martial art that combines swordsmanship with movement techniques.”

“If I master it, it will be a huge boost to my strength!”

Chen Fei was highly satisfied with Sun Qianyi’s gift. With this technique, combined with Phantom Steps, Qi Manipulation, and Thousand Phantom Slash, he could achieve a synergy far greater than the sum of its parts.

Time passed as he immersed himself in training.

Suddenly, a pained cry echoed through the air, sharp and agonized, like the screech of a wounded bird.

Chen Fei’s eyes snapped open. He stopped training and turned toward the secret chamber.

The sound was coming from Su Ran’s room.

Chen Fei hesitated. Should he check on her?

The sound was undoubtedly one of distress. But… it also resembled something else—like a woman reaching the heights of pleasure.

If she was merely… taking care of herself, barging in would be beyond awkward.

He hesitated for three seconds before making his decision.

Putting on the appearance of a blind man, he pushed open the door and stepped inside.