Chapter Sixteen: Retribution

Xiao Yue cast his gaze over the crowd, nodded slightly, and the displeasure in his heart seemed to dissipate considerably. He spoke, “That’s enough for now. I’ll leave the remaining time to you all. The main purpose is for you to get thoroughly acquainted with the environment of the Twentieth Camp. This afternoon, I’ll officially start teaching you how to cultivate.”

With that, Xiao Yue departed, and the other squads soon dispersed as well.

“Hey, Xiao Yue! So, how is it? This batch of students must be pretty good, right?” Old Yang greeted Xiao Yue from afar, accompanied by the elegant middle-aged woman.

This was a sore subject for Xiao Yue. The moment it was mentioned, his face darkened. With such an unpromising case among his recruits, how could he possibly say things were going well?

Before Xiao Yue could reply, Old Yang pointed to the woman and said with envy, “Jiang Hui sure has luck on her side! There’s a girl named Xu Yan—no idea who was blind enough to assign her to the Twentieth Camp. She’s already awakened her spiritual attribute. That girl could easily qualify for the Xuan Camp. What luck! She’s picked up a true genius for nothing.”

“That’s certainly impressive,” Xiao Yue replied with a strained smile, his face twisted in a grimace. To be honest, he felt utterly miserable.

Old Yang patted Xiao Yue on the shoulder, curiosity in his eyes. “What’s got into you, boy? Even when you created a ‘miracle’ back in the day, I never saw you look like this. What’s the matter?”

With a helpless sigh, Xiao Yue forced a bitter smile. “Fate’s cruel. Looks like I’m destined to spend my life in the Twentieth Camp.”

Jiang Hui teased, “Even if you didn’t get a prodigy, you don’t have to be this down! Old Wang had a seventeen-year-old student and he’s not hanging his head in despair.”

The person Jiang Hui referred to could only be Qin Hao. At the mention of seventeen, Xiao Yue’s expression grew even more complex. He said, face darkening, “Seventeen would be one thing, but my student is seventeen and still can’t undergo spiritual transformation. What kind of mess is this?”

“What? Is that even possible?” Old Yang and Jiang Hui both showed surprise, and several nearby instructors hurried over as if they’d discovered an extraordinary novelty.

After Xiao Yue explained, everyone saw him as the very embodiment of misfortune.

Old Yang laughed without restraint, nearly in tears, and finally patted Xiao Yue’s shoulder. “Brother, you’ve created another ‘miracle’!”

Meanwhile, as Xiao Yue and the others talked, two names spread quickly among the Twentieth Camp’s recruits.

One was Xu Yan, the only one in the Twentieth Camp to have awakened a spiritual attribute—a true genius, drawing even more attention because of her otherworldly beauty.

The other was Chu Feng—a seventeen-year-old who still couldn’t undergo spiritual transformation. Such “talent” was truly unheard of in the Spiritual Battle Pavilion. With such a hopeless case around, everyone else seemed less inadequate by comparison.

The rumors spread like wildfire. Chu Feng had barely left the training grounds when he heard people ahead talking.

Many were surprised, eager to catch a glimpse of the camp’s remarkable talent.

“Hey, look, is that the useless Chu Feng?” someone whispered.

“Where? Let me see—yeah, that’s him. There are two seventeen-year-olds in our camp; the one with the sharp gaze is Chu Feng.”

The discussions grew more animated. Though Chu Feng didn’t care, constant whispers were always annoying. He swept a cold gaze around, immediately silencing the crowd.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted ahead. Chu Feng looked up to see Xu Yan surrounded by a throng, especially excited were the young men.

No wonder—such a rare talent had appeared in the Twentieth Camp, and everyone wanted to befriend her.

Quickly, people noticed something else: the camp’s top genius and its bottom-ranked “wastrel” seemed destined for a miraculous encounter.

The excitement swelled; the contrast was too stark. Such a meeting promised entertainment, and many even felt pity for Chu Feng—this was too great a blow to bear.

Amid the crowd, Xu Yan was growing weary of the attention.

She was heading toward the Ninth Squad, looking for Chu Feng, never expecting that awakening her spiritual attribute would cause so much trouble.

“Hey, wild man!” she suddenly cried out, spotting Chu Feng.

Xu Yan broke free of the crowd and ran up to him, delighted, though she herself didn’t understand why she felt so happy in his presence.

Chu Feng smiled faintly. “Seems we’re both famous now.”

“Haha, of course!” Xu Yan laughed, then added, “I have to see the instructors about mission points. You go explore on your own. Meet me in the cafeteria at noon.”

Both Chu Feng and Xu Yan went their separate ways, leaving the crowd stunned into silence, staring as if petrified.

“This can’t be real!” someone exclaimed.

“Utter nonsense!” another chimed in.

No one had expected that the so-called genius and the so-called failure would turn out to be close, even appearing rather familiar with each other.

Watching Chu Feng’s receding figure, the crowd was filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment.

The training grounds were surrounded by various buildings—some were training rooms, others were cultivation chambers or equipment halls.

After exploring, Chu Feng was pleased. These facilities would be crucial for his journey, and he already had some plans. The only place he couldn’t use was the cultivation chamber, since he still couldn’t undergo spiritual transformation.

To the northwest outside the training ground stood the Twentieth Camp’s Scripture Pavilion. New recruits were allowed three visits per month, though more could be earned by excelling in assessments.

Chu Feng circled the pavilion but didn’t enter—opportunities were limited, and he didn’t want to waste them unprepared.

As noon approached, Chu Feng strolled along a secluded forest path, pondering how to further push his physical limits as he made his way toward the cafeteria.

Suddenly, a cold laugh echoed out.

Chu Feng snapped out of his thoughts and glanced to the side, sneering. “Persistent as a ghost, aren’t you?”

It was none other than Qin Hao and his five companions. Without a word, they surrounded Chu Feng.

Qin Hao finally spoke. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Chu Feng replied calmly.

Qin Hao looked him up and down with scorn. “Hmph. I thought you had some skill, but you’re just a good-for-nothing who can’t even undergo spiritual transformation. Today, your luck’s run out!”

Chu Feng’s eyes flashed coldly. Qin Hao was clearly asking for trouble. He said to all six, “If you don’t trouble me, I won’t trouble you. But if you’re seeking death, don’t blame me for what happens.”

The six burst into laughter. In their eyes, it was ridiculous for someone unable to undergo spiritual transformation to speak so boldly.

Suddenly, Qin Hao’s expression turned fierce. “You think you can talk back to me? I alone am enough to deal with you—let’s see what it’s like to wish you were dead!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Qin Hao transformed and lunged at Chu Feng with a punch.

Chu Feng’s gaze was razor-sharp, standing unmoved as a mountain. When Qin Hao’s fist was less than a foot away, Chu Feng struck, meeting fist with fist.

A shriek rang out, followed by a distinct crack—Qin Hao’s right forearm snapped in two.

Without pausing, Chu Feng swept his right leg in a powerful arc, striking Qin Hao’s lower back and sending him flying over ten yards with another scream.

In just two moves, Qin Hao was utterly defeated, unable even to get up. It all happened in a flash, leaving the other five momentarily stunned.

As Qin Hao groaned in pain, the others were struck with terror. Was this really someone unable to undergo spiritual transformation? How could a transformed opponent be so utterly overpowered?

Though they were frightened, the five couldn’t back down. After all, there were five of them; to retreat now would be humiliating.

They convinced themselves Qin Hao had only lost due to carelessness. In their minds, no matter how hard someone without spiritual transformation fought, he couldn’t possibly prevail.

“Don’t get careless! All together!” one shouted.

The five attacked at once—punches, kicks, all in their transformed states, their strength beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Wang Ze, who had taught Chu Feng combat, had spent three years cultivating in the Spiritual Battle Pavilion and three more in the military. Even without a spiritual attribute, he was far stronger than these newly transformed youths.

Yet even Wang Ze had only been able to fight Chu Feng to a draw. What could five barely transformed novices hope to achieve, even together?

Chu Feng moved with agile footwork, dodging and countering. With each move, one of his opponents was thrown from the fight.

None could withstand the force of Chu Feng’s blows. In five moves, all five were down, unable to rise.

Chu Feng had held back, not bearing any deep grudge against them. Had he struck with full force, bones and tendons would surely have snapped.

This secluded spot saw little traffic. Had anyone witnessed the scene, they would have been dumbfounded—this so-called “wastrel” was ferocious beyond belief, dispatching six transformed foes with ease.

Chu Feng ignored the fallen five and strode up to Qin Hao.

Qin Hao’s face was twisted in pain. Seeing Chu Feng approach, his face paled with terror. Gritting his teeth against the agony, he stammered, “Chu Feng, what do you want? Fighting is forbidden in the Spiritual Battle Pavilion—you want to break the rules? Violators are punished.”

After this defeat, Qin Hao’s spirit was shattered, his courage gone. He had never imagined Chu Feng could be so formidable.

Though Chu Feng despised Qin Hao, he wasn’t the type to bear grudges over every slight and had intended to let things go. But Qin Hao couldn’t resist making a despicable threat.

At those words, Chu Feng’s expression turned icy, anger surging within him. He was not one to be cowed by threats.