Chapter 3: Increase in Gold Core

Hei Na successfully found Zhang Xu Feng, who was unconscious at the bottom of the spring. Then, he rushed to bring him to the shore.

"Zhang Xu Feng? Zhang Xu Feng!"

Hei Na shook Zhang Xu Feng's body after rescuing him and bringing him back to the shore. He pressed Zhang Xu Feng's chest several times, but there was no response.

Hei Na even willingly transferred his weak spiritual energy to try to wake Zhang Xu Feng up again. Because before Sect Leader Murong entrusted Zhang Xu Feng to him, Hei Na had promised to protect Zhang Xu Feng with all his heart and soul.

Zhang Xu Feng finally slowly regained consciousness. "Where am I? What happened?" he exclaimed after waking up.

Hei Na let out a sigh of relief. "Ah... you're finally awake."

Hei Na then reflexively stopped transferring his spiritual energy. "Are you okay?" Hei Na asked about Zhang Xu Feng's condition.

Zhang Xu Feng was not too sure about his body condition, but one thing he clearly felt was a better feeling than before.

His body felt fresher. His blood flow was well-controlled. There was a cold feeling like snow flowing through his body, but it had balanced with his warm energy.

"I feel... strange. I'm fine," Zhang Xu Feng said, still confused about his condition.

Zhang Xu Feng exclaimed, "Hei Na, this is strange!" Hei Na was instantly panicked. "What's wrong? What's wrong? What's strange? Let me see."

Hei Na came to examine Zhang Xu Feng's body, but didn't feel any signs of abnormality. Hei Na furrowed his brow. "I think there's nothing strange. Your limbs and head are still intact..." He acted foolishly because he was too worried about Zhang Xu Feng's condition while examining his body.

Hei Na flipped Zhang Xu Feng's body over, lifting his hands and feet to check. He was like a panicked mother hen who had lost her chicks, making Zhang Xu Feng feel annoyed instantly.

"Ah... don't overdo it. I'm fine. I just feel... stronger and more energetic than before," he added.

Hei Na felt like something was off. "Really? Is it because of this?"

Hei Na showed Zhang Xu Feng a strange object that he had found in Zhang Xu Feng's hand after rescuing him from the spring.

Zhang Xu Feng's eyes widened as he looked at the strange object. "What is that?"

It looked like a rusty toy sword, only about 30 cm long. "Don't you remember? This strange object was emitting a red glow and making you groan in pain. But after I checked, it turned out to be just a useless scrap," Hei Na said.

"True. I wonder how they would react if they saw me with this thing. They would definitely laugh at me," Zhang Xu Feng said with a weak tone, remembering his fellow disciples who often bullied and mocked him.

Zhang Xu Feng had to think several times before deciding to pick up the toy sword.

Hei Na dropped the toy sword to the ground. "It's up to you what you want to do with this thing. Ah... I'm very tired after using up a lot of energy. I'll sleep first."

Without waiting for Zhang Xu Feng's agreement, Hei Na transformed back into his celestial form as the Hayulara spiritual beast. The Hayulara spiritual beast was an ancient spiritual beast that dwelled in water and had the form of a sea cat with dragon fins. It took him 100 years to obtain his human form.

"You only know how to sleep," Zhang Xu Feng teased. Then, Zhang Xu Feng stood up. Initially, he intended to leave the rusty sword behind. But after thinking about it, he felt sorry for it and ended up bringing it with him.

***

Taiyun Sect submitted a petition to gather representatives from each sect to discuss the serious issue of the massacre in the village at the foot of the mountain. However, after the representatives gathered in the meeting hall, they seemed to downplay the issue.

"A massacre happens everywhere. Maybe it was just the work of mountain bandits."

"Gathering all the representatives just to discuss something as trivial as this is a waste of our time!"

Their responses showed no signs of seriousness in addressing the issue. Instead, they condemned the meeting as a waste of time.

In the end, the representative from the Taiyun Sect returned to the sect without any results. They could downplay it, but the Taiyun Sect would not. That's why they decided to advance the tournament schedule.

The tournament, which was supposed to take place later, was now being held today. The disciples of the Taiyun Sect welcomed the event with excitement, as this was the opportunity they had been waiting for.

Several disciples had already participated in the competition. Of course, there were winners and losers. Now, it was Zhang Xu Feng's turn to enter the arena.

"Hey, look at him!"

"Isn't that the loser Zhang Xu Feng? What's the point of paying attention to trash like him?"

"Look at what he's carrying! What's that disgusting thing in his hand?"

"What is that? Hahaha. He's actually carrying that piece of junk."

"Hahaha. Maybe that's his magic tool. Oh, yeah. He can't even cultivate properly, and now he's making a fool of himself even more. The magic tool and its owner are a perfect match - both are useless trash."

Zhang Xu Feng bit his lip. Standing in the middle of a group of disciples who were mocking him, with his face burning red. He couldn't look at the faces of his fellow disciples who were ridiculing him, because he felt deeply humiliated.

His fellow disciples continued to mock him, with words that were increasingly harsh and painful.

"Zhang Xu Feng, you're really useless! You can't do anything!"

Zhang Xu Feng felt like he had been stabbed in the back. He couldn't respond to his fellow disciples' words, because he felt deeply ashamed and lacked confidence.

He could only stand there, with his face burning red and his eyes cast downward. He felt like he had lost all his dignity, and just wanted to hide from everyone.

They didn't care. They continued to mock him, with words that were increasingly harsh and painful.

Zhang Xu Feng felt like he had reached the lowest point in his life, and didn't know what to do to overcome this situation.

However, he didn't want to leave without making himself look even more like a loser. From now on, Zhang Xu Feng would face all their ridicule with success.

With a loud crash, Zhang Xu Feng's body flew backward.

"Ouch," Zhang Xu Feng groaned.

The pain from his opponent's sudden attack without waiting for the signal was unbearable.

Unfairly, although he had broken the rules, the referee didn't disqualify him. Instead, he allowed the match to continue.

"You're just a lowly loser. You dare to be my opponent? Take this!!!"

Zhang Xu Feng groaned in pain. "Aaaarrrgghh!"

Before Zhang Xu Feng could get back up, his opponent, Zhu Hao, deliberately stepped on Zhang Xu Feng's back using the Dianxue technique, also known as the Death Point or Acupressure Point, rendering Zhang Xu Feng unable to move as he pleased.

After successfully controlling Zhang Xu Feng, Zhu Hao lifted Zhang Xu Feng's body with force and threw him again, causing Zhang Xu Feng's body to crash to the ground once more, spitting out even more blood.

"Zhu Hao!" "Zhu Hao!" "Zhu Hao!"

The disciples of the Taiyun Sect cheered in unison, praising Zhu Hao's name.

Zhu Hao felt even more arrogant as his name was being chanted. He waved his hand, confident that he would easily win this match against Zhang Xu Feng.

Zhu Hao felt like a hero admired by everyone. His sense of pride and confidence soared to new heights.

"The winner of the match is..." "Wait!"

Just as the referee was about to announce the winner, his authority was interrupted by a judge who saw that Zhang Xu Feng had not yet given up. Despite being beaten and bruised, Zhang Xu Feng still refused to back down.

With all his might, he tried to get back up, holding onto the rusty sword in his hand. When Zhang Xu Feng spat out blood, it accidentally splattered onto the sword in his hand.

A few seconds later, the sword in Zhang Xu Feng's hand suddenly reacted unexpectedly.

The rusty sword emitted a deep red glow, like blood. The sky turned dark and gloomy, causing all the disciples watching the tournament to feel panicked.

In an instant, Zhang Xu Feng's body floated high into the air, witnessed by everyone, including the judges.

"Golden Core ascension?"

"What? Didn't he say he couldn't cultivate? Why is he suddenly able to ascend to the Golden Core? This is impossible!"

They speculated that Zhang Xu Feng was currently ascending to the 4th level of cultivation, the Golden Core (Jindan).

Several judges reflexively stood up from their positions as they witnessed Zhang Xu Feng's cultivation realm ascension during the tournament.

"Hiaat!" sword emitted a deep red glow, like blood.