Chapter 53: The Azura Sky Pillar

The next morning, Long Feng woke up early. After washing up, he changed into a fresh set of robes and tidied himself before leaving his room.

As he adjusted the sleeves of his robe, Cao Hua stepped forward.

"Young Master, your collar is crooked."

She carefully reached out and straightened his collar, her movements gentle and familiar. Long Feng remained silent, allowing her to adjust it.

Once she finished, he took out a small jade bottle from his storage ring and handed it to her.

"Take this."

Cao Hua stared at the bottle in confusion before accepting it.

"What is this, Young Master?"

"A Perfect Spirit Pill."

Cao Hua’s eyes widened slightly.

She had heard about this pill, which can help a cultivator at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm break through to the Spirit Condensing Realm.

With her current cultivation, it should be enough to give you a perfect chance of success.

For a moment, Cao Hua was stunned. Then happiness appeared in her eyes.

She had been stuck at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm for quite some time. The Spirit Condensing Realm was something she had dreamed of reaching.

"Thank you, Young Master!"

She tightly held the jade bottle, her voice filled with excitement.

However, Long Feng’s next words caused her smile to freeze.

"After you break through, you don’t need to come here again."

Cao Hua’s expression stiffened.

"...What?"

Long Feng didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he turned toward the mirror and adjusted his clothes one last time. Only then did Cao Hua notice the badge attached to his chest.

Her pupils suddenly contracted.

A fourth-rank alchemist badge.

She stared at it in disbelief. For several breaths, she couldn’t say a single word. Fourth-rank alchemist...

When had Young Master become a fourth-rank alchemist?

Her mind went blank. Only now did she realize how much she had missed while hiding herself away in cultivation.

She had spent so much time pursuing the Spirit Condensing Realm that she had gradually neglected the person she should have been serving.

At first, she had believed that their relationship remained the same.

Especially after what had happened last night, she had thought that the distance between them had disappeared.

But now, his cold attitude made her realize that she had been wrong.

Long Feng had already begun distancing himself from her. Cao Hua lowered her head and tightly gripped the jade bottle.

Deep inside, she had never truly wanted to remain merely a servant disciple forever. She had wanted to become stronger, become an official disciple of the Azura Heaven Sect, and change her destiny.

But she had never expected that pursuing those goals would cause her to lose the position she already had beside Long Feng.

She opened her mouth several times, but no words came out.

Long Feng glanced at her through the mirror. Her current cultivation had already reached the peak of the Qi Refining Realm.

She had indeed worked hard during these days of secluded cultivation. But cultivation wasn’t everything.

Her prolonged absence had also shown him where her priorities lay.

He had no intention of keeping someone beside him who would only remember him when she had finished pursuing her own goals.

That was why he had given her the pill.

It wasn’t merely a reward. It was also his final consideration toward her.

If she could break through, she would at least have the opportunity to become an official disciple of the sect.

Without saying anything else, Long Feng turned around and walked toward the door.

Cao Hua instinctively looked up.

"Young Master..."

Long Feng paused for a moment but didn’t turn around, then he walked out. The door slowly closed behind him.

Cao Hua stood alone in the room, staring at the jade bottle in her hand. Her gaze remained fixed on the door for a long time.

Only then did she realize that the distance between them had already become much greater than she had imagined.

The deeper region of the inner sect was already bustling with activity.

Long Feng walked through the crowded area and soon arrived at an enormous open square. Thousands of disciples had gathered there, making the scene extremely lively.

Inner disciples occupied most of the area, but many outer disciples and even several core disciples could also be seen among the crowd.

"Is that another person going to test?"

"Look at the ranking board, his name appeared!"

"He’s ranked above someone his Realm!"

The surrounding discussions continued without pause. Long Feng followed everyone’s gazes.

At the center of the square stood an enormous stone tablet. It was hundreds of feet tall and towered over the surrounding buildings like a mountain.

Thousands of names were constantly flashing across its surface.

At the top were the highest-ranked inner disciples, while the names below were arranged according to the results of the current tournament.

Long Feng narrowed his eyes.

"So that’s the ranking board."

Although he had been in the sect for last six years and seen two competitions before, none of this was new to him. Still, he was shocked to see such a grand scene. Maintaining such a huge ranking board must require countless formations and an enormous amount of energy.

No wonder the sect holds this event only once every three years.

Beside the enormous tablet stood another gigantic object. It was almost the same height as the ranking board.

A huge stone pillar!

The moment Long Feng’s gaze landed on the two enormous objects, his expression became slightly serious.

These weren’t ordinary spirit artifacts. Even from a distance, he could feel an ancient and profound aura radiating from them.

The enormous stone pillar stood like a mountain, its surface covered with countless mysterious runes. Some of the runes were so ancient that even Long Feng couldn’t recognize them.

Every now and then, a faint blue-gold light would flow through the patterns, causing the entire pillar to tremble slightly.

The Azura Sky Pillar.

No one knew exactly who had refined it. Some even believed that it wasn’t refined by a cultivator at all, but was naturally formed from a fragment of an ancient divine treasure.

Regardless of whether the attack came from spiritual energy, physical strength, a martial technique, or a special physique, the pillar could distinguish the true power behind it.

And because of that, cheating was almost impossible.

Long Feng’s gaze then shifted toward the enormous ranking board.

Compared with the pillar, it looked even more mysterious. The surface of the gigantic tablet was completely smooth, yet thousands of names constantly appeared and disappeared across it.

Every time someone’s name changed position, the entire board would briefly flash with spiritual light.

"Another ancient treasure..."

Long Feng had been in the Azura Heaven Sect for several years, but this was his first time taking a close look at these two treasures.

Even with his current cultivation, he couldn’t completely see through them.

A disciple stood before it. He took a deep breath before gathering all his spiritual energy into his fist.

"Ha!"

Boom!

His fist slammed into the pillar, and a powerful wave of energy spread through the surroundings.

The pillar trembled slightly before several characters appeared above its surface.

However, the Azura Sky Pillar had already returned to its original state. Not even the slightest mark remained on its surface.

At almost the same moment, the ranking board flashed.

The disciple’s name appeared on it.

"His name is there!"

"He’s ranked 1,027th!"

"Not bad. His name was above someone one level higher than him."

Unlike ordinary tournaments where disciples fought one another one by one, the Azura Heaven Sect used a much simpler method.

The disciples only needed to strike the Azura Sky Pillar with their own strength.

The pillar would accurately measure the power of their attack and determine their position among the other participants.

Their names would then appear on the ranking board according to the strength they demonstrated.

Of course, external weapons and treasures were forbidden. They could only rely on their own cultivation and techniques.

Some disciples used their fists, others used palms. Some unleashed powerful body techniques, while others used their strongest offensive martial arts.

As long as it was their own strength, they could use it.

Long Feng looked at the ranking board. More than a thousand names had already appeared. And the tournament had only officially begun a few hours ago.

There were nearly three thousand inner disciples in the Azura Heaven Sect.

At this rate, almost every inner disciple would have their turn before long.

"Wait!"

An uproar erupted from the crowd.

"That’s impossible!"

"How can he be ranked above Senior Brother Liu?"

"He’s only at the early stage of the True Spirit Realm!"

"Senior Brother Liu is already at the middle stage!"

Long Feng looked toward the ranking board.

The disciple’s name had just appeared above the name of another disciple who possessed a higher cultivation realm.

The surrounding disciples immediately began arguing. Some believed that the ranking was unfair. Others argued that cultivation realm alone couldn’t determine actual combat power.

After all, a disciple with a lower cultivation realm could possess a stronger physique, more powerful technique, or greater mastery of their martial arts.

Naturally, not everyone was willing to accept such a result.

"Come down and fight me!"

A furious voice suddenly rang out.

The disciple who had been pushed down the ranking stepped onto one of the nearby battle platforms.

"Since you think you’re stronger than me, prove it!"

The other disciple didn’t back down.

"Fine!"

The atmosphere instantly became heated.

The battle platforms surrounding the square had been prepared precisely for situations like this. If a disciple was dissatisfied with someone else’s ranking, they could challenge them.

If the challenger won, their ranking would rise above their opponent.

If they lost, their position would remain unchanged.