He continued to train Star Finger. The second grade was much harder than the first grade; it needed the cultivator to condense the strength into a point instead of a line, which meant it had more explosive power.
Zhao Feng used another seven days just to reach the second grade. But the effect was very obvious; the damage was on par with high level high ranked skills. This meant that Zhao Feng's offense could dominate all of the Zhao sect disciples, excluding Zhao Linlong. After reaching the second grade, Zhao Feng found that every step forward was extremely slow.
Half a month later-
Zhao Feng finally managed to reach the peak of the second grade of Star Finger. Zhao Feng did eventually hit a bottleneck when he tried to break through to the third grade. It was clear that it wouldn't be reached within a short amount of time.
"This skill is indeed hard to train. I can't wait until I reach the fourth grade." Zhao Feng's expectations grew larger and larger.
Star Finger only needed to reach the fourth grade to attack through the air, which was the advantage that Martial Masters held.
Back then, Elder Zhao had also trained this skill, and he had used over a year just to get it to the second grade.
Zhao Feng had only used twenty-something days to reach the peak of the second grade.
"This isn't the hardest skill yet. The move from the girl that day is far deeper and more complex…" Zhao Feng remembered the Mysterious Wind Palm in his left eye's dimension.
Obviously, Zhao Feng knew that he could only take one step at a time. Martial arts need to be trained steadily; one couldn't instantly reach the skies.
Soon, Zhao Feng's concentration returned to his cultivation and Inner Strength. When he was inside the cave, Zhao Feng's body had absorbed an enormous amount of medicine.
At that time, the medicine hadn't been fully absorbed; there was still a small amount left within the body. After returning, Zhao Feng started to absorb the last bits by practicing martial arts and cultivating.
In the blink of an eye, another fifteen days passed.
The remnants of the medicine had been absorbed. His cultivation had reached the peak fifth rank, only half a step away from the sixth rank. As for his Inner Strength, it was on par with the sixth rank. If Zhao Feng wanted to break through to the sixth rank, there wouldn't be any bottlenecks present; he didn't even need to use the three thousand-year-old plants.
"I'll be able to reach the sixth rank in the next few days." Zhao Feng understood the changes in his body very well.
Most cultivators would have this feeling when they were about to break through. Therefore instead of cultivating, he decided to rest his body.
Perfectly timed, Zhao Yufei, his neighbor, came to find Zhao Feng to spar with him.
One and a half months had passed by since the martial arts contest. At this moment, Zhao Yufei's cultivation had reached the peak fourth rank; she could reach the fifth at any moment.
"Brother Feng I want to see your new skills," Zhao Yufei smiled. Her cheeks were faintly red, and with her azure dress, she looked like a goddess.
"Sure!" Zhao Feng nodded his head; he also wanted to try out his skills.
Inside the garden, their two figures engaged and withdrew. First up was their movement skills.
Zhao Feng used Lightly Micro Step, and his body became mysterious and blurry. When Lightly Micro Step was pushed to the extreme, there would be multiple after images of him stacked on top of one another.
Speed was Zhao Yufei's specialty, but she was completely suppressed when facing Zhao Feng. Although both the skills were high ranked and reached the high level, the difference was very obvious.
Zhao Yufei was extremely puzzled because Zhao Feng had suppressed his cultivation to a level that was even lower than hers. And in terms of Inner Strength, both had trained Air Crossing Breathing Technique.
"Yufei, your body's attributes aren't as good as mine, and I also have Lightly Floating Ferry as foundation, so I have the upper hand in speed," Zhao Feng told her half-truthfully.
The truth was that Lightly Floating Ferry and Lightly Micro Step were very similar. When used together, he was able to raise the skills to the peak rank.
Next, they compared their offensive skills.
Zhao Feng restrained his Star Finger to the beginning of the second grade when his finger released a line of pure energy that could penetrate anything in its way. Zhao Yufei was almost injured after one move.
"Brother Feng's skill is probably a peak ranked skill," Zhao Yufei was extremely envious.
Peak ranked martial arts were very precious, of all the Zhao sect disciples, only Zhao Linlong, Zhao Chi and Zhao Feng had the chance to learn them.
"You're right; this is indeed a peak ranked martial art." Zhao Feng was extremely pleased with Star Finger.
Right at the moment when the two were discussing their skills, a voice broke in.
"Haha, little sister Yufei, I was going to spar with you, but you weren't home. So this is where you were?"
A young man's voice sounded, it was casual and calm. On the garden wall now stood a youth in gold robes around seventeen-some years of age, looking down at Zhao Yufei.
Zhao Linlong!
Zhao Feng's eyebrows drew together. This was his home, and Zhao Linlong came in without his permission. Furthermore, he was looking down on them, literally and metaphorically, by standing on top of the wall.
"Big brother Linlong," Zhao Yufei smiled and observed the usual etiquette. After all, he was the top inner disciple and was the head of the sect's step son. "Brother Linlong came again to spar with me?"
Zhao Yufei was expressionless. Zhao Linlong had come to visit her countless times under the name of sparring. Every time she saw him, Zhao Yufei could feel the fire inside Zhao Linlong's eyes, which made her feel uneasy.
"That's right; I hope sister Yufei won't reject me." Zhao Linlong's words contained absolute confidence.
He didn't step into the garden, only standing on the wall. From the moment he came in, he hadn't even looked at Zhao Feng once.
"Thanks for your care, but brother Feng has just sparred with me," Zhao Yufei smiled as she rejected him.
To spar with the genius of the Zhao sect was the dream of countless female disciples of the sect.
But Zhao Yufei didn't like Zhao Linlong at all. Zhao Linlong had an aura of loneliness and superiority as if it was the other person's pleasure to be allowed to love him.
This was the complete opposite of Zhao Feng, who like her came from a branch sect, and their sparring and communication came naturally. There wasn't any pressure at all.
"Him?" Zhao Linlong ‘finally' realized that Zhao Feng existed.
After glancing at Zhao Feng once, Zhao Linlong smiled, but didn't greet him. It was obvious that he was disdainful of him.
"That's fine. Today I came to find sister Yufei for one other thing." Zhao Linlong shrugged his shoulders.
"Please explain."
"This thing…I want to speak to Yufei privately." Zhao Linlong glanced casually at Zhao Feng.
"Brother Feng, I'll leave first," Zhao Yufei said apologetically.
The two walked out side by side.
"Could it be that Zhao Linlong is chasing after Yufei…?" Zhao Feng finally realized something.
On the other side of the wall...
Zhao Linlong took Zhao Yufei to a slightly remote area.
"Yufei, in half a month's time, the Sun Feather City's yearly Genius Summit will begin. The host is the most beautiful girl of Sun Feather City, Qiu Mengyu. At that time, all of the clans, sect, factions, and families' geniuses will be invited." Zhao Linlong paused.
Genius Summit! Most beautiful girl of Sun Feather City?
Zhao Yufei's eye's flashed, surprised and expectant. Zhao Yufei had heard of the Genius Summit. This was an event for all the geniuses of Sun Feather City to come and spar with one another.
The four great geniuses of Sun Feather City would
also be decided there.
"This is the most important event for the youths of Sun Feather City! Being the top Zhao disciple, I can recommend five people to join." Zhao Linlong's lips curled into a smile.
"Oh? Genius Summit? I really want to experience it." Zhao Yufei was very interested in joining. "Oh yes, who are you recommending?" Zhao Yufei asked urgently.
"There's Zhao Chi, Zhao Han, Zhao Qin, Zhao Ling…" Zhao Linlong didn't hide anything.
"Wait! Why isn't brother Zhao Feng coming? He came in third!" Zhao Yufei interjected.
"Zhao Feng?" Zhao Linlong said casually, "He's just a branch disciple, and he didn't even have the courage to challenge me. There's no point in taking someone like that to the Genius Summit."
"But brother Feng's strength is still there…" Zhao Yufei felt that this was unfair.
"Hehe, it's ok, Yufei. I feel that I'll be able to reach the sixth rank soon and I'll become the head of the four great geniuses. Therefore, it doesn't matter who I choose; the point is that you'll be there with me, to witness my glory…" speaking up at this point, Zhao Linlong's eyes turned hot, and his hand couldn't help but reach towards Zhao Yufei's shoulders.
"Zhao Linlong! Please behave yourself!" Zhao Yufei's face turned cold as she blocked Zhao Linlong's hand.
"I have never forced anyone into something they don't want. But Yufei, you've got to believe me that no one will stop me from doing anything to the woman I love. And unless you want to turn old by yourself…"
Chapter 45 – Invitation to the Genius Summit, Part Two
Inside the garden...
Zhao Feng soon recovered after he watched the two of them walk out. He wanted to reach the pinnacle of martial arts and explore the outside world. A small city like Sun Feather City wouldn't be able to chain him.
Zhao Feng only focused on cultivating from then on, training finger skills and movement skills, then inner strength skills and on to body strengthening techniques. He didn't know that the younger generation's geniuses had received an invitation to attend the genius summit. The invitation came from the most beautiful girl of Sun Feather City, so all the youths were ready to show off their skills.
Later that night...
Zhao Chi, Zhao Han, Zhao Qin, Zhao Ling all received their invites. Not everyone was able to receive invitations. Apparently, those that could be selected had to be at least at the fourth rank.
Zhao Feng didn't know anything about this. Zhao Yufei was pacing around in her house, wondering if she should tell him the news.
The third day after the invitations were sent out...
Zhao Feng sat cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed. His body suddenly gave off an unrestrained aura.
Hu~
The force swept past everything in view, rattling the windows and blowing the chairs away. The youth's eyes snapped open, and two arcs of lightning seemed to flash through them.
"My Inner Strength has reached the sixth rank." Excitement and happiness flashed in his eyes, but instantly he circulated Withering Wood Technique and suppressed it to the fifth rank.
The reason why his Inner Strength reached the sixth rank so quickly was because of the cave. Even Metal Wall Technique was now only half a step away from the fifth level.
Once Metal Wall Technique reached the fifth rank, the cultivator not only had a body of steel, they could also shatter weapons with just their body. It also meant that those weaker than Zhao Feng would harm themselves from the recoil. At this moment, his Metal Wall Technique was infinitely close to the fifth level, and his cultivation was almost in the sixth.
"My cultivation level and Metal Wall Technique will break through in the next two days or so." Zhao Feng was full of expectation.
The sixth rank of the Martial Path and the fifth level of Metal Wall Technique. Zhao Feng had confidence that he could beat any disciple within the Zhao sect if he fought any of them.
On the same day, inside an old but glorious garden within the Zhao sect...
"Sixth rank of the Martial Path…faster than I expected." Zhao Linlong was clothed in his usual gold robe as he stood up and a powerful aura surged around him.
Hu!
He released a dominating aura, and everything within a few meters radius was ripped into shreds.
"Not bad, you're only eighteen years old, and you've reached the sixth rank. This breaks Sun Feather's City's record!" The head of the sect, Zhao Tiancang, looked approvingly at him.
"If I didn't have a thousand year blood plant and didn't have stepfather performing the Inner Strength Vein Opener technique, I wouldn't have been able to reach the sixth rank so quickly," Zhao Linlong acknowledged humbly.
Although he had reached the sixth rank, he still was small and tiny compared to his stepfather. The difference between the sixth and seventh rank was massive, just like the third and fourth ranks. Only one in ten cultivators progressed to the fourth rank. And out of the sixth-ranked cultivators, there was only one in a hundred of them that progressed to the seventh rank.
"Next, you need to concentrate on martial arts. The Genius Summit is close, you'd better earn some face for the Zhao sect," Zhao Tiancang said, smiling.
"Don't worry, stepfather, no one can stop me apart from Xin Wuheng. And according to the rumors, Xin Wuheng is only at the peak fifth rank. I have at least sixty percent a chance of beating him," Zhao Linlong said confidently.
Time passed quickly.
The days until the Genius Summit crept closer and closer. Sun Feather City became busier and busier as the summit approached.
Some came just to see the most beautiful girl's figure.
At this time, the information that Zhao Linlong had reached the sixth rank spread like wildfire throughout Sun Feather City. This obviously shocked countless youngsters and caused waves in the three major powers.
Sixth rank of the Martial Path!
For those youngsters, this was an incredible feat. There was no one comparable with Zhao Linlong in Sun Feather City. However, no one knew that Zhao Linlong was not the only one who had reached the sixth rank.
In a garden of the Zhao sect...
A youth started to walk on air, his after-images blurred throughout the area.
Teng!
Zhao Feng's body landed on the ground as lightly as a leaf. If one looked closely, they would realize that Zhao Feng's figure was even straighter now. His body was much bigger than that of an average adult, even though he was only fourteen years old.
His cultivation and Metal Wall Technique had both broken through seven days ago. At that time, he was completely confident that no one would be his opponent in Sun Feather City.
He had been trying to gain insights from Star Finger and Lightly Micro Step the past few days. Lightly Micro Step had reached the peak level.
Now, Zhao Feng concentrated on Star Finger. His Star Finger had finally been trained to the third grade.
Hu Qi—–
Zhao Feng's second finger left an after-image in the air.
"He!"
Zhao Feng condensed his chi into one point, and the air around it seemed to tremble.
Shua~
In the dark night, the star formed from his Inner Strength didn't dissipate immediately. Instead, it left a mark in the sky, leaving a beautiful arc behind.
This move was the killing move of Star Finger, One Point Star Finger.
The power of One Point Star Finger had reached an extreme level. Once it was used perfectly, he could defeat anyone of the same rank, and this skill also suppressed body strengthening techniques. Zhao Feng believed that not many people under the seventh rank were able to block this move.
But One Point Star Finger also had disadvantages.
The first was the completion rate. There was only a twenty to thirty percent chance of being able to use One Point Star Finger successfully since he had only reached the third grade.
The second was the danger involved. If he failed, his capillaries coul
d rupture. Back then, Elder Zhao's Star Finger had only reached the third grade because of this danger.
"If I'm to use my left eye, I'll have a forty to fifty percent chance of being able to successfully use it and the chance of failing and injuring my finger is only ten percent," Zhao Feng analyzed.
Obviously, as his grade increased, the success rate would also increase.
Most people would have a forty to fifty percent chance when they reached the peak of the third grade. There was a seventy to eighty percent chance at the fourth grade. And at the fifth grade, there was a one hundred percent success rate. As for the sixth grade or higher, the damage was not limited to One Point Star Finger. If one didn't have a Holy martial art, they were done for…
But it was still too far away for Zhao Feng. He was really anticipating the fourth grade.
"Young master Zhao Feng, you've received an invite," a servant came from outside and said respectfully.
Zhao Feng felt weird and saw the words on the azure paper: Genius Summit.
Genius Summit? Zhao Feng didn't know anything about this Summit.
The bottom of the letter had a few small words.
Organizer: Qiu Mengyu.
Zhao Feng felt that this name was familiar.
"Who's this Qiu Mengyu?" Zhao Feng asked on impulse.
"Young master Zhao Feng, Qiu Mengyu is the most beautiful girl of Sun Feather City, and she is also one of the four great geniuses." The servant tried to remain expressionless.
Qiu Mengyu, the most beautiful girl of Sun Feather City. Someone didn't even know her?
Sou!
As soon as the servant left, a faint purple figure floated into the garden.
"Brother Feng, did you just get the invite from the summit?" The dimples on Zhao Yufei cheeks were alluring.
King of Gods - (A Chinese Novel Translation): Book 1 Page 25
