The white-headed eagle soared through the clouds, and at its speed, reaching Hundred Curves Gorge within three days would be no trouble.
Chu Feng sat atop the white-headed eagle, but he wasn't idle—he was making preparations, getting ready for his entry into Hundred Curves Gorge.
The Hero Hunt at Hundred Curves Gorge was extremely famous throughout Qingzhou. The gorge was a very special place, a holy land for herbs. It not only contained a massive amount of Spirit Herbs and Yuan Medicines, but even many Mystic Medicines as well.
However, Hundred Curves Gorge was sealed off during normal times and only opened once a year, allowing outstanding disciples from various sects across Qingzhou to enter and hunt. As for how many resources one could obtain, that all depended on one's own ability.
In short, Hundred Curves Gorge didn't belong to any single faction—it belonged to all of Qingzhou. So disciples from any sect, as long as they had the strength, could enter.
But there was one condition: to enter Hundred Curves Gorge and participate in this annual Hero Hunt, one needed sufficient strength, and one also had to register under their real name.
Chu Feng couldn't participate in this Hero Hunt using the identity of Mister Gray Robe, so he had to go as Chu Feng. With this identity having only Yuan Martial Second Level cultivation, even if he unleashed his full combat power, passing the Hero Hunt's examination would still be extremely difficult. Chu Feng needed to raise his cultivation.
Over these days, he had gathered quite a bit of wealth. For ordinary people, it might be considered a fortune, but for Chu Feng, it was nothing special. The only things that could significantly help his cultivation were the twenty high-grade Mystic Medicines that the Void Sect Master had gifted him—they were the only ones that could have a real effect.
*Gulp.*
A single high-grade Mystic Medicine went down, and its dense mystic force rapidly spread outward. But with the nature of Chu Feng's Dantian, just one swallow devoured the entire surge of mystic force.
"You guys absolutely have to be wolves at heart—Spiritual Energy, one gulp. Yuan Force, one gulp. Mystic Force, still one gulp. Damn it, what will it take to actually fill you up?"
Chu Feng was utterly helpless. The Divine Thunder within his Dantian, though now reduced to only eight strands, had an appetite that kept growing, and that only increased his pressure.
Especially after Chu Feng had swallowed the fifth high-grade Mystic Medicine before he finally felt a change in the Yuan Force within his body and his cultivation finally broke through one level—Chu Feng felt even more helpless.
Mystic Medicines were incredibly precious, beneficial even to experts in the Xuan Wu Realm, yet here he was at mere Yuan Martial Second Level, needing to refine five of these treasures just to break through to Yuan Martial Third Level. It left him completely speechless.
However, things improved afterward. After consuming the remaining fifteen Yuan Medicines, Chu Feng once again felt the sensation of a breakthrough approaching. So he took everything he had stored that could aid cultivation and swallowed it all in one go.
In the end, when he had nearly exhausted all his reserves, he successfully broke through another level, stepping into Yuan Martial Fourth Level.
"Yuan Martial Fourth Level—for that Hero Hunt, it should be enough, right?"
Chu Feng calculated. With his current cultivation and the methods at his disposal, defeating someone at Yuan Martial Eighth Level wouldn't be a problem. If he used the power of the golden thunder to boost his cultivation to Yuan Martial Fifth Level, dealing with Yuan Martial Ninth Level opponents would be within his capabilities.
If Chu Feng went all out and employed every method at his disposal, even facing a first-level Xuan Wu Realm expert wouldn't be an impossible fight.
As far as he knew, without an invitation, one had to pass a series of examinations to qualify for the Hero Hunt. But at minimum, a cultivation of Xuan Wu First Level was needed to pass. So Chu Feng felt the pressure—after all, he wasn't too keen on exposing all his trump cards this early.
After two days of travel, Chu Feng finally arrived near Hundred Curves Gorge. To avoid attracting unnecessary trouble by riding a top-grade white-headed eagle, he landed in a secluded spot and walked to the gorge on foot.
Hundred Curves Gorge was actually a vast primordial region containing valleys, mountain ranges, jungles, rivers, and swamps—tremendous in scale, yet incredibly beautiful.
However, only on these few days each year could one behold the beauty of Hundred Curves Gorge. Of course, that was a privilege reserved only for those who were allowed inside.
"Look over there—even a child has come to join in the fun."
"He really did. Hey, look closely—that outfit he's wearing doesn't look familiar. Could he be a disciple of a second-rate sect?"
"Forget it, who cares? If he's not afraid of embarrassing himself, why should we?"
Having appeared here, Chu Feng no longer needed to conceal his identity, so he wore the attire of a Core Disciple of the Azure Dragon Sect. Unfortunately, it inevitably attracted mockery from some people.
As for this kind of mockery, Chu Feng was long since accustomed to it. At every major gathering, encountering disciples from first-rate sects always brought their ridicule—let alone at this Hero Hunt, where the most outstanding disciples from all sects had gathered.
Chu Feng followed the two mocking first-rate sect disciples into the examination area. As they entered, those two kept staring at Chu Feng with contemptuous eyes.
However, when the three of them emerged from the examination area, the expressions of the two had completely changed—no longer contempt, but shock, an extremely complex, indescribable shock.
The reason for this dramatic change was that those two first-rate sect disciples at Yuan Martial Eighth Level had both failed the examination.
And Chu Feng, a second-rate sect disciple with only Yuan Martial Fourth Level cultivation, had passed—and passed easily.
After this, Chu Feng came to a conclusion: the examination wasn't as difficult as legend claimed. Of course, he overlooked the fact that he himself was an absolute monster.
After passing the examination, Chu Feng obtained the qualification to enter Hundred Curves Gorge. Upon entering, he first beheld a magnificent city.
The city was built among mountains and rivers, genuinely beautiful. Chu Feng also tried extending his Mental Power outward, and in the end, he arrived at a startling conclusion.
This city was home to a tremendous number of powerful figures—experts of the Xuan Wu Realm were beyond counting, and many were at the peak of Xuan Wu. This place truly gathered many important figures from Qingzhou, along with the top geniuses of various sects. Not a single one was a simple character, so here, he had to be cautious and prudent, not allowing even the slightest carelessness.
PS: Five chapters are done, man, I'm exhausted! If you great readers have any flowers, toss some my way. If you've got Up-Down votes, throw some in too—and remember, the Up vote is what counts, because only the Up vote is real support. If you've got no flowers and no votes, then after you finish reading, just hit the Up button—Up, Up, and you'll be healthier for it. Heh heh, today the Bee was worn out from writing, and you great readers had a hard time waiting too. Get some rest early, goodnight.