Chapter 24: A Strong Heart

This is the second sponsored chapter for today. Special thanks to likyliky for bringing this chapter to us. As a bonus it is not a cliffhanger. I am not that evil!
I hope you all enjoy the story and continue to support the work! Happy Reading, I hope I didn’t make any mistakes in my sleepy daze. I will be popping off to bed shortly, so goodnight all, sweet dreams xoxo
Mo Xie Looked down and saw the dark shadow which was moving under his skin. It gave him an ice cold sensation which ran all the way down his spine. What sort of nightmarish thing is this to be moving under the skin of its victim? He could feel that he no longer had control of his own body.
Mo Xie could barely move his body under the power of the shadow. He could feel that there was a man facing him and that that man was using his energy to paralyze him through the shadow but he couldn’t detect where he was or who he was. It was as if he didn’t exist.
“That is actually him.” Said Nan Gong Ling whose eyes were twinkling. He was stunned. He couldn’t believe that the one controlling the shadow was actually inside Mo Xie’s body. The shadow suddenly emerged from Mo Xie’s back.
“Mo Xie, come back.” shouted Mo Cang Lan. He was one of the Great Elders of the Yun Hai Sect, how could he not be scared of what he had just witnessed. He was already sixty years old and had a broad knowledge about the techniques of cultivators within the world and knew of many types of spirits. He knew about the origin of the shadow and exactly how dangerous this situation was.
“It is a shadow spirit. It’s an extremely mysterious but dangerous kind of spirit. It is said that if a Cultivator has a shadow spirit and it awakens, that Cultivator would be able to penetrate into the body of others and take complete control of the bodily functions. Some powerful spirits can even stop a person from breathing while inside them, forcing them to suffocate without being able to defend themselves. The scariest part of a shadow cultivator was the fact that once inside your body, how would you attack them without causing damage to yourself. With each attack you may cause the shadow no damage but weaken your own defenses against the shadow.
The shadow spirit could bring fear to even the most battle hardened cultivators. If the owner of a shadow spirit was evil and wanted to kill someone, it’d be very easy for them to do so. Nobody wanted to offend the owner of a shadow spirit no matter what their level of cultivation. Mo Cang Lan definitely did not want his family to offend a shadow cultivator.
Mo Xie took a few steps back while looking extremely pale. He was unable to do anything. He was so shocked by what had just happened to him, such a strong power completely consumed him.
“Greeting fellow cultivator, I don’t know who you are or how we can assist you, but we will try. What brings you to us?” Mo Cang Lan asked the shadow which was moving on the ground. He thought the person controlling the shadow was at the same place as the shadow.
“Take care of your Sect and not your own personal grudges, don’t try to see where you can take advantage of other people within the sect and the members of the Sect will be able to keep their face.” The voice echoed through the atmosphere again. With a gentle breeze, the shadow suddenly disappeared from sight completely.
“How terrifying.” Everyone in the crowd could feel their heart in their throat; at this point it was hard for anyone to take a breath. The Aura was so oppressive and the shadow spirit was terrifying.
“Who was that man? It briefly seemed like he was talking directly to the Patriarch.” Discussions could be heard all around.
“It must be someone who is guarding the Sect’s best interests in secret. This is why he got involved because we were giving a disciple to another sect. The great Elders of the Sect surprisingly didn’t know anything about this either. It seemed like a Yun Hai Sect had a hidden dragon.”
Nan Gong Ling had a wry smile on his face. There was only one person who knew to whom the shadow belonged and it was him.
When Nan Gong Ling thought of what he had done, he felt guilty. He weighed the pros and the cons of the different possibilities and took his position within the Sect very seriously. He always tried to do everything for the benefit of the Sect but had somehow forgotten the reputation of the Sect that time. He had worried about personal gains and losses too much, without considering the sect as a whole.
“Chu Zhan Peng, let’s finish for today. Please send your father my best regards.” Said Nan Gong Ling while looking at Chu Zhan Peng.
Finish for today? Lin Qian was stunned. How could she leave and let Lin Feng off?
“Senior please…” Lin Qian said in a low voice expressing anxiety. Chu Zhan Peng then smiled and said: “Patriarch Nan Gong Ling, I came to Yun Hai Sect because I think you have many geniuses and heroic Cultivators within your sect. I really looked forward to seeing them. I don’t know who, amongst all the disciples of the Sect, wants to practice with me. We could exchange pointers and it will definitely help us both gain insights.”
Even if Chu Zhan Peng’s words sounded moderate and polite, he had no other choice but to talk that way. He wanted to provoke the Sect into fighting and losing face.
Lin Feng understood everything perfectly, it all became very clear. He understood the reason why Lin Qian and the evil looking man had come to the Yun Hai Sect.
“Junior Patriarch Chu Zhan Peng, you are famous throughout the country, everyone knows your name. Our disciples in the Yun Hai Sect would have to practice very hard to engage in a balanced battle with you. If there is an opportunity at some point for a fight, I would be pleased to inform you and you could return at that time”
“Patriarch Nan Gong Ling…”
“Do all of the Hao Yue Sect’s disciples hold their life in no regard? It seems you would like me to repeat myself?” said Nan Gong Ling in an extremely cold tone. Chu Zhan Peng still wanted to talk this matter over. Nan Gong Ling had already given him two hints that he wanted the two of them to leave. He had done his best not to make him lose face.
Maybe Chu Zhan Peng had inherent skills and abilities but he was very proud and was making the patriarch of the Yun Hai Sect lose face. The Hao Yue Sect was stronger than the Yun Hai Sect but Nan Gong Ling was older and stronger than Chu Zhan Peng. Would he really dare make the patriarch lose face within their own territory?
Chu Zhan Peng seemed extremely tense as he forced the words from his mouth and said, while smiling: “Alright, I will take my leave.”
His roc spirit flew away creating a hurricane-like wind behind. Chu Zhan Peng was holding Lin Qian as they were both riding the flying roc spirit. The hurricane-like wind created by the roc spirit was so strong that many people fell down. Everyone was confused at what had just happened.
“I, Chu Zhan Peng, will remember this.” The legendary bird flew away high in the sky. Those who had fallen down got back on their feet. Everyone in the crowd was feeling depressed. Chu Zhan Peng had belittled them and their sect.
“Lin Feng, during the annual meeting, I will kill you! Unless you plan to hide behind the Yun Hai Sect forever.” Lin Qian said.
Lin Feng looked at the flying roc. He had a cold smile deep within his heart. Did he need to hide in the Yun Hai Sect?
Nan Gong Ling looked at the crowd on the ground. He had lost face but Chu Zhan Peng was too arrogant and nobody in the Sect could confront him openly.
“In five years, I hope there will be someone in the Yun Hai Sect who has reached the same level on the path of Cultivation as Chu Zhan Peng.” Said Nan Gong Ling. Even if Chu Zhan Peng was one of the officials within the Xue Yue Country, that didn’t justify his arrogance. The Yun Hai Sect didn’t know how powerful the other high officials of the country were, but they knew the incredibly strong cultivation of Chu Zhan Peng.
“Let’s finish for today. Everybody, go back now.” Nan Gong Ling waved and told the crowd to disperse and resume training.
Mo Xie wasn’t moving. He was looking at Lin Feng with pure hatred filling his eyes. Of course, Lin Feng would remember Elder Mo and would take his revenge.
“I said we’re done for today.” Shouted Nan Gong Ling loudly to Mo Xie who was still staring at Lin Feng. His voice made Mo Xie shiver. He then left and followed Nan Gong Ling.
“I must be careful and pay close attention to that guy from now on.” Said Lin Feng to himself. He was so weak at this moment. He had a long way to go until he’d reach Mo Xie’s level on the path of Cultivation.
Lin Feng was about to leave but then heard a voice.
“If you want people to respect you, you have no choice but to become strong and powerful. Otherwise, you will be humiliated and even if you die, nobody will care.”
Lin Feng stopped. These were Nan Gong Ling’s words. Lin Feng had heard them and taken them to heart.
“Of course, I know.” Lin Feng said and felt a certain warmth in his heart which made him smile in his thoughts. Lin Feng was on his way to become stronger.
Lin Feng was sitting crossed-legged in the mountains, in a cave, meditating. The Qi of the heaven and earth turned into a white light which drowned into Lin Feng’s body and was strengthening his bones while making his flesh more resilient.
Cultivating and practicing. Lin Feng had been training so hard that you could clearly see his strength increasing by leaps and bounds. The Qi of heaven and earth had purified his blood and made his entire body stronger. That Qi had drowned into his body and been completely absorbed without wasting even the slightest amount. He was getting stronger with each passing moment.
Qi layer, this was the first level of cultivation. A cultivator had only the basics at that level. It only made your basic Qi a bit stronger. Becoming stronger was only possible by cultivating more than anyone else and training harder than everyone else.
Lin Feng was eager to improve his strength. He needed to become stronger than anyone. He was eager to break through to the Ling Qi layer. Only then would he be able to become an Elite disciple. Everybody would be forced to respect his power then.
If he managed to break through to the Ling Qi layer, his spirit would awaken. With his spirits and his mastery, he would become a fearsome opponent.
Exactly like Chu Zhan Peng and Lin Qian whose spirits had awakened. Chu Zhan Peng could fly high in the sky and carry people on the back of his spirit. Lin Qian could control ice and fire by using her universal spirit.
Lin Feng trusted that if his strength and power increased, his spirit would awaken and with his spirit he could increase his strength many times.
Therefore, once Han Man recovered from his injuries completely, Lin Feng would go into closed door training within one of the eight mountains and cultivate hoping to break through to the Ling Qi layer as quickly as possible. He has understood that he would need to increase his strength or he would not be respected in this world.