After Chu Feng accepted, Chu Xuan Zhengfa waved his hand, and several members of the Punishment Hall understood his intent and hurried away.
Soon, those individuals returned—only this time, they carried an object suspended in mid-air.
The object was a nine-tiered staircase crafted from glass.
Chu Feng had seen this staircase before. Back in the Heavenly Path of the Ancestral Martial Lower Realm, his father had once used this nine-tiered staircase to test Chu Feng's martial cultivation potential.
And this nine-tiered staircase was none other than the Nine Heavens Thunder Platform.
"Chu Feng, this ladder is called the Nine Heavens Thunder Platform. It is a trial that every junior of the Chu Heavenly Clan must ascend upon reaching the age of twenty."
"The Nine Heavens Thunder Platform primarily tests the willpower of those who possess the Heavenly Thunder Bloodline, because for bearers of the Heavenly Thunder Bloodline, willpower is the key to cultivation."
"After all, the path of martial cultivation depends on perseverance—especially for those of us who carry the Heavenly Thunder Bloodline. Once we cultivate the Self-Punishment Mystic Art, every breakthrough to a higher level of cultivation brings upon us Thunder Punishment. Whether one can endure that punishment depends in part on one's constitution, but willpower is the most critical factor."
"With each tier you ascend on this Nine Heavens Thunder Platform, it will resonate with your Heavenly Thunder Bloodline—and bring you pain."
"That pain will affect your movements. Stepping back down is easy, but climbing higher is exceedingly difficult."
"The higher the tier you can reach, the greater your willpower—and the greater the achievements you may attain in the future."
"In short, the higher the tier you ascend, the stronger your talent."
"However, today you must reach the eighth tier to pass the trial."
Chu Xuan Zhengfa explained the details of the Nine Heavens Thunder Platform to Chu Feng at length.
But when he spoke those final words, a flicker of shame crossed his face.
He knew full well that the requirement of reaching the eighth tier was excessive.
Yet who could have expected that, upon hearing this requirement, Chu Feng would utter only a single word: "Agreed."
With that, Chu Feng began walking toward the Nine Heavens Thunder Platform.
The scene left everyone present stunned. Had Chu Feng simply failed to understand what Chu Xuan Zhengfa had said, or was he truly fearless?
"Chu Feng, do you really think you can reach the eighth tier?" At that moment, a mocking rhetorical question suddenly rang out from the crowd.
Chu Xuan Zhengfa had explicitly forbidden anyone else from speaking or interjecting.
Yet this person still dared to speak—and to ridicule Chu Feng, no less. The reason was simple: his name was Chu Huanyu.
Chu Huanyu, as one of the most talented geniuses of the current generation of the Chu Heavenly Clan, feared no trouble.
He knew that he was the future of the Chu Heavenly Clan. Even if he stirred up enormous trouble, the clan would never truly punish him—on the contrary, they would only protect him.
That was why he was so brazen.
And with Chu Huanyu's words, many of the Chu Heavenly Clan's juniors felt a surge of satisfaction. In truth, what he had said was exactly what they had been thinking too.
Faced with the crowd's eager gaze, Chu Feng's expression did not change in the slightest. He looked at Chu Huanyu and asked, "You've never reached the eighth tier of this Thunder Platform yourself, have you?"
Hearing this, Chu Huanyu's face immediately turned ugly. He indeed had never reached the eighth tier—let alone the eighth, he had not even managed to reach the seventh. Chu Feng's words had struck a sore spot.
"Your inability to reach the eighth tier doesn't mean I, Chu Feng, can't," Chu Feng said.
"Chu Feng, you truly are ignorant. In the entire history of our Chu Heavenly Clan, only one person has ever reached the eighth tier of the Nine Heavens Thunder Platform—and that was our clan's Ancestor."
"You think you can reach the eighth tier? Do you truly believe you can stand on equal footing with our Chu Heavenly Clan's Ancestor?"
Chu Huanyu's fury erupted as he pointed at Chu Feng and shouted his rebuke.
And with his words, many of the Chu Heavenly Clan's juniors nodded in agreement, expressing their support for Chu Huanyu. At the same time, they cast looks of contempt toward Chu Feng.
Standing on equal footing with the Chu Heavenly Clan's Ancestor—that was absolutely overestimating oneself, nothing but wild fantasy.
As for these words, Chu Feng simply smiled faintly and said, "If you ask me, the ignorant one here is you."