Chapter 120: Unrest

Before mentioning the search for the dragon bone to Long Yue, Chu Feng had already made up his mind: no matter how arduous the journey, he would find the dragon bone. If not within a year, then two—he would find it sooner or later. Yet, upon hearing Long Yue’s words, Chu Feng was momentarily stunned, as if his great resolve had been shattered by her smile.

“Xiaoyue, you wouldn’t possibly have...” Chu Feng’s eyes widened, unsure how to voice his surprise.

Long Yue smiled gracefully and said, “Brother Feng, sorry to disappoint, but I happen to have a piece of dragon bone. So, you don’t need to search any further.”

“By the heavens!” Chu Feng exclaimed, suddenly embracing Long Yue, his heart overwhelmed with complex emotions.

Still, the dominant feelings were excitement and joy—he never expected to acquire the dragon bone so easily, as if fate itself were playing a joke on him.

With the dragon bone in hand, Chu Feng immediately consulted the Golden Hall Master, exchanging more than two thousand points for the remaining medicinal ingredients, then requested the Hall Master to refine the King’s Antidote Pill.

Even the Golden Hall Master was momentarily taken aback by how swiftly Chu Feng had obtained the dragon bone. Upon hearing the story behind it, he couldn’t help but laugh heartily, finding the entire affair remarkably dramatic.

Within just three days, the Golden Hall Master finished refining the precious King’s Antidote Pill, a treasure so rare it was regarded as the crown jewel of the Spirit Medicine Hall in the Heavenly Camp.

Three pills were produced in total: Chu Feng gave one to the Golden Hall Master, kept one for Long Yue, and reserved the last to cure Xiao Yue’s poison.

Chu Feng did not keep any for himself; he believed that with continued progress on the path of body cultivation, there would come a day when no poison in the world could harm him.

When Chu Feng found Xiao Yue in the rookie camp with the antidote pill, Xiao Yue was nearly overwhelmed with emotion upon hearing it had been refined. The effect of the pill was extraordinary: in a secluded cultivation chamber, after ingesting the pill, his body seemed to break free from all shackles.

With the residual poison cleared, Xiao Yue voraciously absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy, and his cultivation soared rapidly, reaching early-stage ninth-rank Earth Spirit Warrior—the highest level he had ever attained.

“Brother, I can’t thank you enough,” Xiao Yue said, deeply moved beyond anything before.

“We’re brothers; no need for thanks. It seems that with time, you won’t need my help to resolve every problem. Xiao Fan’s good days are numbered,” Chu Feng replied.

“You’ve already done me a huge favor. From here on, I’ll handle everything myself,” Xiao Yue said, his heart burning with rage recalling all that Xiao Fan had done. Though he might never take Xiao Fan’s life, he vowed to strip him of everything and ensure he never becomes clan leader.

Chu Feng and Xiao Yue spoke for a long time, even discussing the military. Xiao Yue advised Chu Feng to cultivate diligently—the higher his cultivation, the higher his status upon entering the army. Yu Yang had entered the army already as a Saint Spirit Warrior and immediately became a general under the marshal, second only to the marshal himself.

Now, with less than two years until Long Yue’s departure from the Spirit War Pavilion, she had already accumulated enough points for the next Saint Trial. So, during these remaining two years, she resolved to stop taking missions and devote herself entirely to cultivation.

Thinking about parting with Long Yue for another four years brought a touch of sadness to Chu Feng’s heart.

Originally, Chu Feng had planned to leave the Spirit War Pavilion early and enter the army with Long Yue, but she had stopped him.

According to Long Yue, staying longer in the Spirit War Pavilion was beneficial—not just for cultivation but for accumulation. After all, there was no library or secret arts in the army, nor much cultivation experience.

In the following time, Chu Feng ceased taking missions and instead cultivated earnestly within the pavilion, allowing frequent meetings with Long Yue.

In just over half a year, Chu Feng’s human path cultivation rose from late fourth-rank Earth Spirit Warrior to mid-stage first-rank Heaven Spirit Warrior, matching his martial cultivation.

It seemed that having a foundation in martial cultivation posed no obstacle to human path cultivation. Only when both reached parity did his progress slow.

Realizing this, Chu Feng stopped dedicating time to human path cultivation, focusing instead on continuously improving martial cultivation, knowing human path cultivation would follow suit.

Later, Chu Feng acquired one of humanity’s supreme secret techniques—the Flame Heaven Art, consisting of three forms. He did not spend much time on it, choosing to concentrate mainly on martial and heavenly paths.

Though martial cultivation was arduous, Chu Feng delighted in it. By the end of two years, his martial cultivation reached late second-rank Heaven Spirit Warrior, and under heavenly path blessings, his combat power rivaled that of a mid-stage fifth-rank Heaven Spirit Warrior.

Additionally, he made significant progress in the “Sword Dao,” feeling close to the threshold of human-sword unity.

The heavenly path was elusive and mysterious; such progress was remarkable, though it did not yet significantly boost his combat power. Chu Feng was confident that, given time, upon truly entering the realm of human-sword unity, his power would rise again.

During these two years, Long Yue’s cultivation also advanced impressively, breaking through to mid-stage fourth-rank Heaven Spirit Warrior. She had already mastered the fourth transformation of the Golden Spirit Six Changes, one of humanity’s supreme secret techniques.

Even among the Heavenly Camp trainees, both Chu Feng and Long Yue’s cultivation could only be described as profound, and their combat power as terrifying.

By now, the Saint Trial no longer had much effect on Chu Feng, but he still participated—after all, it was difficult to find such perfect opponents otherwise.

Chu Feng and Long Yue’s Saint Trial left everyone in awe.

During these two years, the human frontier was no longer peaceful. The demon race stirred restlessly, with constant minor skirmishes between the two races. Several large-scale battles even erupted on various fronts.

This was unusual. Since Yu Yang had slain many demon Saint Spirit Warriors, large-scale battles at the frontier were rare in the past decade. Yet, in these two years, they had become more frequent.

Chu Feng had heard rumors, sensing an ominous storm brewing. The demon race grew restless, as if preparing for a major move.

Such unrest deeply unsettled human leaders. Despite similar strengths, humanity was still somewhat weaker than the demon race.

During this Saint Trial, the Grand Elder sighed, “The days of peace seem to be ending.”

His words unsettled all, as if forewarning something ominous.

After a final night together, Chu Feng bid farewell to Long Yue.

Before parting, crystal tears traced down Long Yue’s cheeks, her expression complex and filled with sorrow.

“Brother Feng, farewell!” Outside the Spirit War Pavilion, Long Yue cast one last glance at Chu Feng before boarding the Eagle Warship with a group of trainees whose terms had expired.

After Long Yue’s departure, Chu Feng’s life became simpler. He cultivated quietly, occasionally visiting the Sword Dao Hall to instruct on swordsmanship or gathering with Xu Yan, Han Yan, Yu Feng, and others.

Notably, the Sword Dao Hall, established nearly four years ago, had achieved remarkable results: among ninety trainees, several had reached swordsmanship levels approaching that of certain masters.

Of the nine Sword Masters, three had further transcended to the realm of Sword Gods.

With these three Sword Gods, the Sword Dao Hall’s development no longer required much effort from Chu Feng.

Sometimes, Chu Feng reflected on how six years had passed since he entered the Spirit War Pavilion.

To grow stronger before entering the army, he cultivated incessantly, often sealing himself away for months.

As time passed, troubling news from the frontier continued to stir discussions within the pavilion.

Another year went by, and when Chu Feng emerged from seclusion again, his strength had taken another leap.

That year, fueled by the conviction to protect Long Yue, his achievements surpassed those of the previous two years.

He focused mainly on martial and heavenly paths. In one year, his martial cultivation advanced from late second-rank Heaven Spirit Warrior to early fourth-rank Heaven Spirit Warrior, reaching the third extreme.

His heavenly path also progressed significantly; he truly stepped onto the threshold of human-sword unity. He developed a mysterious resonance with the Domain Sword, a subtle connection that allowed him to glimpse deeper, profound realms.

Using the sword as a medium, Chu Feng’s control over the power of heaven and earth strengthened, greatly enhancing his combat ability.

With heavenly blessings upon his martial path, a single sword strike unleashed a massive sword aura ten zhang long. His power surged two ranks beyond, rivaling a late-stage seventh-rank Heaven Spirit Warrior—making him a formidable figure even among humanity’s elite, as Saint Spirit Warriors were rare.

Moreover, breaking into the third extreme would bring yet another increase in strength.

The five elders believed that anyone who could catch up to Yu Yang was extraordinary. Having come this far, Chu Feng was confident that in the three remaining years before leaving the pavilion, he would elevate himself to the level of a Saint Spirit Warrior.

However, the pace of gathering medicinal herbs lagged behind his cultivation speed. Though he had reached the third extreme, he had barely collected the necessary herbs.

Chu Feng exchanged for some herbs at the Spirit Medicine Hall and purchased others with spirit stones in the holy city, but gathering all within a short time was impossible.

Just as Chu Feng planned to visit nearby cities, shocking news erupted from the frontier, causing a stir in the holy city.

The Demon Emperor Long Zhan had returned to the demon race, vowing to annihilate humanity within a century.

At the same time, Chu Feng received an urgent summons from the Grand Elder.