Chapter 465: Laying the Cards on the Table

At that moment, Chu Feng walked over to Su Miaoke and said with a smile, “You’ve been worried for a while, haven’t you?”

“You think? Why were you gone so long without sending any word?” Su Miaoke said, looking displeased. Pouting, she lightly punched Chu Feng’s chest.

“Hey, honey, I was busy,” Chu Feng said. “We’ll head back later. We’ll go via the Snow Sword Sect; the Chu Family Ancestor is waiting for us there.”

“Alright. Are we leaving now?” Su Miaoke asked.

“A little later,” Chu Feng said. “I need to go speak with my master for a bit. We’ll leave as soon as I’m done.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you here, and we’ll go back together,” Su Miaoke said. “I’ve been wanting to go home this whole time, but now that we’re actually leaving, I feel a little reluctant. The scenery here is so beautiful, after all. A crisp, cold sort of beauty.”

Overall, however, she was still desperate to go back. She was a southerner, born and raised, after all.

After staying in the northern Great Snow Mountain for so long, even the most beautiful scenery wasn’t enough to make up for the discomfort. It was taking a physical toll on her.

“Alright. You rest here for a bit. I’m going to go speak with my master,” Chu Feng said.

He then made his way to the Celestial Sword Hall and began to speak with the Celestial Sword Sect Leader.

At that moment, the Celestial Sword Sect Leader’s eyes were fixed on Chu Feng, her gaze so intense it seemed to pierce right through him.

The stare made Chu Feng so uneasy that goosebumps broke out all over his skin.

‘What’s going on?’

“Master, why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?” Chu Feng asked, touching his cheek a little nervously.

‘Being stared at like this is honestly a little creepy.’

“Have you already broken through, you brat?” the Celestial Sword Sect Leader asked. “Did you reach the Nascent Soul Realm? Have you gone through your Crossing the Tribulation?”

Initially, it hadn’t even crossed her mind. But the combat prowess Chu Feng had displayed tonight was simply too stunning. It was chilling.

He had single-handedly swept through dozens of cultivators at the Martial Arts Peak Realm, and—most importantly—he had won!

Such a feat was too absurd. It was completely unprecedented, and likely would never be matched.

Therefore, she strongly suspected that Chu Feng had broken through to a new realm. Otherwise, how could he be so absurdly powerful?

Even someone at the Martial Arts Limit couldn’t accomplish such a feat. At most, they could defeat three to five cultivators of the Martial Arts Peak Realm.

“No, Master. I told you before, if I were to break through, I’d have to undergo Crossing the Tribulation. And look at me—do you think I’ve had any time for that? I’ve been on the Great Snow Mountain this whole time,” Chu Feng explained, afraid his master had the wrong idea.

“But didn’t you leave for a while? You said you went to watch someone from the Cloud Mist Sect undergoing their trial, right? Could you have undergone your own Crossing the Tribulation back then?” The Celestial Sword Sect Leader stared at Chu Feng, a glint flashing in her eyes.

She still couldn’t quite believe that Chu Feng hadn’t completed the Crossing the Tribulation.

“Master, everything I’m telling you is the truth. I haven’t undergone Crossing the Tribulation, and I haven’t broken through,” Chu Feng said.

“Truly?” the Celestial Sword Sect Leader pressed.

“Yes, absolutely,” Chu Feng explained. “You must think I broke through because of that battle. The truth is, I just used the Celestial Sword Technique and unleashed its full power.”

“What? The Celestial Sword Technique? How is that possible!” The Celestial Sword Sect Leader refused to believe it. “The Celestial Sword Technique is powerful, but it can’t make you *this* powerful. You were practically invincible!”

After all, she had practiced the Celestial Sword Technique for many years. She knew its limits perfectly well.

Moreover, using the Celestial Sword Technique consumes a vast amount of energy.

When besieged by so many cultivators at the Martial Arts Peak Realm, one’s energy reserves would be depleted in no time.

This was also why the Celestial Sword Technique was generally not taught to outsiders.

If a cultivator hadn’t reached a certain level, they would find it difficult to sustain the technique for long, even if they managed to learn it.

“Master, all these years, you never discovered the true way to use the Celestial Sword Technique,” Chu Feng said. “It’s not powered by Spiritual Qi. It’s controlled by Divine Soul Power. Only then can its greatest potential be unleashed.”

“What? You control and power it with the strength of your Divine Soul?” The Celestial Sword Sect Leader was stunned. She had never imagined that the Celestial Sword Technique was meant to be powered by Divine Soul Power.

“That’s right, Divine Soul Power,” Chu Feng said. “For anyone with strong Divine Soul Power, cultivating this Sword Technique grants immense might. You can control a sword from afar, attacking with it from a range of at least a dozen meters.”

“So, that’s why you wanted to learn the Celestial Sword Technique back then?” the Celestial Sword Sect Leader asked. “You went so far as to take me as your master and even trade the Heaven-Slaying Sword Technique for it… all for this reason?”

She instantly recalled their first meeting, when Chu Feng had expressed his desire to learn the Celestial Sword Technique.

She had been suspicious at the time, but she never imagined this was what Chu Feng had been planning.

“Yes. Because on that day, I discovered the power of the Celestial Sword Technique. It offered a greater advantage than the Heaven-Slaying Sword Technique. Although the Heaven-Slaying Sword Technique is powerful, the Celestial Sword Technique would be more beneficial for me.”

“That’s why I sought you out as my master to learn the Celestial Sword Technique,” Chu Feng explained. “Because only I could unleash its true power. Your Divine Souls aren’t strong enough, so you never even realized how powerful the Celestial Sword Technique could truly be.”