Chu Feng opened his eyes and found a woman with a graceful figure standing beside him.
She truly had a stunning figure — long, slender legs, perky breasts that could quicken any man's heartbeat through her dress, even work them into a state of excitement.
While her face couldn't be called exquisitely delicate, her features were perfectly proportioned and pleasant to look at. That soft, pink little mouth was especially captivating, the curve of her smile utterly enchanting.
This woman was none other than the one who had spoken up for Li Lei and the others when they were humiliated that day, and who had later come to Chu Feng for help when the Cloud Thunder Pavilion disgraced the Southern Azure Forest disciples.
After several days of interaction, Chu Feng had learned that this woman's name was Wang Wei, and she was arguably the closest to Chu Feng among the twenty-one outstanding disciples of the Southern Azure Forest.
"Sister Wang Wei, from the way you put it, the Ancient Sacred Pond must have quite the history. Why don't you tell me about it?" Chu Feng said with a smile.
"Of course." Wang Wei flashed a sweet smile, displaying all her charm. She sat down gracefully beside Chu Feng, then began speaking in that pleasant voice of hers.
"The Ancient Sacred Pond, as the name suggests, has existed since ancient times. It is a product of nature and a blessing from the heavens — it is a true sacred ground for cultivation."
"And there isn't just one — Ancient Sacred Ponds exist in many places across the Sacred Land of Martial. Take this 'Green Wood Domain,' ruled by the Green Wood Mountain, for example. It has three Ancient Sacred Ponds," Wang Wei said.
"No wonder it's said that the Sacred Land of Martial produces one powerful cultivator after another. It turns out the spiritual energy here is incredibly dense to begin with, and on top of that the heavens have bestowed upon them the Ancient Sacred Pond. With treasures like that, it would be hard not to grow stronger in this kind of environment."
Thinking of the Eastern Ocean and the Nine Provinces Continent, Chu Feng couldn't help but lament the heavens' unfairness, for the Sacred Land of Martial was indeed far more suited for cultivators.
"Junior Brother Chu Feng, you shouldn't say that. The Ancient Sacred Pond isn't something you can just walk into whenever you please. Although it opens every year, this is actually my first time going there to cultivate. Do you know why?" Wang Wei asked.
"Could it be that the Ancient Sacred Pond isn't freely accessible — that someone controls it?" Chu Feng asked.
"Smart. The Ancient Sacred Pond is indeed controlled by others. Of the three in the Green Wood Domain, one is controlled by the Green Wood Mountain, while the other two have been occupied by the Ancient Elves."
"The pond controlled by the Green Wood Mountain is only open to Core Disciples — outsiders can forget about it. As for those occupied by the Ancient Elves, although they do open once a year, the fees they charge are far from cheap."
"For those at the Martial Lord Realm, each person must surrender one Royal Weapon — and it has to be a superior one. Ordinary or mid-grade quality won't cut it."
"For the Martial King Realm, each person must pay at least ten superior Royal Weapons. And for the Half-Emperor Realm, even if you have Royal Weapons, entry is still not permitted," Wang Wei said.
"That expensive?" After hearing Wang Wei's explanation, Chu Feng finally understood why even a force like the Southern Azure Forest only brought their prospective disciples to the Ancient Sacred Pond once a year — the entry fee was anything but cheap.
Royal Weapons could only be forged by Royal Robe Spirit World Masters. While for a long-established force like the Southern Azure Forest, Royal Weapons might not be much to speak of, the controllers of the Ancient Sacred Pond didn't want just any Royal Weapon — they demanded superior ones.
Although they were all Royal Weapons, even a slight difference in quality made them incomparable — the gap could be as wide as heaven and earth. So relatively speaking, the fees charged by the Ancient Elves were truly steep.
Handing over dozens of superior Royal Weapons every year would be a tremendous burden even for the Southern Azure Forest — after all, in the Eastern Ocean, there were only a handful of Royal Weapons in existence.