Chapter 384: There's More to It

"This..."

Chu Feng looked at the martial art in his hand, hesitation flickering across his face. They had agreed beforehand that the martial art would go to Zi Ling while the Mystic Medicine would be his. No matter how you sliced it, this technique should belong to her.

But this was a Ninth-rank Martial Art — one that no one on the Nine Provinces Continent had ever cultivated. Parting with such a technique genuinely pained him to the core.

"Chu Feng, give this Ninth-rank Martial Art to her."

"If you hand it over, you might just win her heart right here and now. That girl could fall for you because of it."

"A mere Ninth-rank Martial Art — how could it possibly compare to the benefits that a Heavenly Bestowed Divine Body will bring you? Do you really need to hesitate over this?" Just as Chu Feng wavered, Dandan's voice suddenly rang in his ear.

Bolstered by Dandan's words, Chu Feng gritted his teeth and, catching Zi Ling off guard, struck like lightning — pressing the Ninth-rank Martial Art straight against her forehead.

*Buzz—*

The instant the technique touched Zi Ling's forehead, it dissolved into a wisp of light and burrowed into her brain, vanishing without a trace.

"Chu Feng, you—"

Zi Ling stared at him, shock written all over her face. Her beautiful eyes went wide as saucers, and her lips parted slightly.

She simply hadn't imagined that Chu Feng would voluntarily infuse the Ninth-rank Martial Art into her. This was no ordinary technique — it was Ninth-rank.

"A deal's a deal. I said the martial art was yours, and it's yours." Chu Feng flashed a carefree grin, looking every bit as though it didn't matter one whit.

Watching how composed he seemed, something shifted inside Zi Ling — a feeling she couldn't quite put into words. She murmured, "Chu Feng, thank you."

"Don't mention it. Oh, is this really a Ninth-rank Martial Art?" Chu Feng waved it off, though curiosity still got the better of him.

"Mm, it's Ninth-rank. Incredibly powerful, too. It seems the owner of this place was a supreme expert," Zi Ling nodded.

"Right. Even the strand of consciousness he left behind is this formidable — imagine how incredible he must have been in person."

"But this ruins must be quite old. If that golden-robed Spirit World Master truly was the owner, he must have lived for a very long time. What realm would he be at now?" Chu Feng mused.

"This place may not be a full thousand years old, but several centuries have certainly passed. If a Martial Lord reached the peak, living for several hundred years isn't out of the question. At the Martial King realm, it's a whole different story — and given that he was a Spirit World Master, his lifespan would have been longer than an ordinary person's anyway," Zi Ling explained.

"Mm." Chu Feng nodded in agreement, though he also noticed that Zi Ling seemed to know at least as much as he did — perhaps even more. When it came to martial cultivation realms, her understanding was more detailed than his.

*Rumble, rumble, rumble—*

Just then, the stone platform at the center of the hall began to roar and shake. The seven-colored radiance projected onto the upper level flickered and rapidly faded. Before long, the chamber that had held the Ninth-rank Martial Art vanished entirely, replaced once more by the stone ceiling overhead.

Yet the rumbling from the platform did not die down — it grew louder and louder. And with each passing moment, the platform began to sink slowly into the ground.