# Chapter 1: Outer Sect Disciple
Night. The full moon hung high, and the stars were scattered like dots.
Yet amidst the star river, nine-colored lightning coiled and flickered, exceptionally dazzling.
"A celestial anomaly appears—surely a divine body has descended."
Atop the imperial capital of the Nine Provinces Continent, an old man in golden robes stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the night sky.
Behind him, tens of thousands of imperial capital experts knelt in orderly formation, as if awaiting some command.
"Hum—"
Suddenly, the lightning converged, transforming into a nine-colored divine thunderbolt that streaked down from the nine heavens star river above.
In an instant, night turned to day. Before the divine thunderbolt had even landed, the earth began to rumble and tremble violently.
But the moment the nine-colored divine thunderbolt touched the continent, it did not cause terrible destruction—instead, it vanished into thin air.
At the same time, the land was once again shrouded in night. The once brilliant starry sky had dimmed considerably, as if some essence had been drawn away, returning to its usual calm.
But at this moment, the old man's eyes were exceptionally bright. His body even trembled with excitement. He pointed to where the thunderbolt had descended: "Within Qingzhou territory, all children born tonight—bring them all back to the imperial capital for me!"
"As you command!"
A thunderous reply echoed across the heavens. Tens of thousands of imperial capital experts set out for Qingzhou, vowing to find the divine body and use it for the dynasty.
Time flowed on. Five years passed in the blink of an eye. Though people still remembered that shocking scene from years ago, no one knew what the dynasty had done.
On the Nine Provinces Continent, within Qingzhou territory, sects stood in abundance. The Azure Dragon Sect was one of them.
Today marked the Azure Dragon Sect's annual recruitment day for disciples. Outside the sect, there was a sea of people.
However, at this time of year, the busiest ones were the outer sect disciples. All the sect's reception work was thrust upon their shoulders.
Being an outer sect disciple was a thankless task. Not only did they hold a low status within the sect, but even outsiders looked down on them.
The reason was simple: anyone who was an outer sect disciple was considered to have poor talent, unlikely to achieve much in their lifetime, and thus naturally despised.
"Hey, what kind of attitude is that? Do you know who I am?" A richly dressed woman, leading a boy, pointed at a young man and scolded him loudly.
"My sincere apologies. It's getting late, and the sect is about to close. Please come back tomorrow," the young man said. His delicate face still showed signs of youth, but between his brows there was a trace of heroic spirit.
His name was Chu Feng. He was fifteen years old and one of the tens of thousands of outer sect disciples of the Azure Dragon Sect.
But among the outer sect disciples, this Chu Feng was different. He had no inferiority complex from being looked down upon, no self-indulgent decline. He faced everyone without fear, calm and composed.
"Come back tomorrow? Do you take me for an idiot? Where are my son and I supposed to stay in this deep mountain wilderness?"
"You must arrange lodging for me, or I'll go find your elder to argue about this!" The woman refused to let go and even grabbed Chu Feng by the collar.
"Junior Brother Chu Feng, are you in trouble?" But just then, a sweet voice suddenly rang out.
Looking over, a girl in purple clothes was walking toward them. Though a smile hung at the corner of her mouth, her sharp eyes were fixed tightly on the woman.
Seeing the girl, the woman's face changed dramatically. A thick fear surged forth.
Not for any other reason, but because of the girl's purple robe—that was the symbol of an inner sect disciple.
The woman inwardly cried out in alarm. She had thought her status would allow her to bully the young man before her.
Who would have thought that this seemingly unremarkable young man had an inner sect disciple as his backing? That was someone she couldn't afford to provoke.
"It's nothing, nothing. I was just asking this young brother about some matters," the woman explained with a smile.
The girl first glared at her, then said only one word: "Scram."
At this, the woman's body couldn't help but tremble. Her face had turned ashen.
But she didn't hesitate for a moment. She grabbed the boy and quickly walked away. In her panic, she even tripped and fell, looking utterly pathetic.
Seeing this, Chu Feng helplessly shook his head, then bowed to the girl beside him and said, "Thank you, Senior Sister Chu Yue."
"Don't be so formal with me. We're family." Chu Yue looked a little displeased.
She was right. Chu Feng and she were indeed family. They came from the same clan, the Chu Clan.
This Chu Yue was the daughter of Chu Feng's second uncle, his cousin. She was only one year older than Chu Feng.
However, Chu Yue had passed the inner sect assessment three years ago and become an inner sect disciple. She was now a fourth-level Spiritual Martial expert.
"Sect rules must always be followed," Chu Feng said with a bright smile.
"Sigh..." But looking at Chu Feng like this, Chu Yue's heart ached. "Junior Brother Chu Feng, are you still not participating in this year's inner sect assessment? Haven't you reached the third level of Spiritual Martial yet?"
Chu Feng did not answer. The smile still hung on his face. No one knew what he meant.
Seeing this, Chu Yue took a small pouch from her waist and placed it in Chu Feng's hand. "Refine this. It might help you break through to the third level."
Chu Feng opened the pouch. A burst of compelling spiritual energy emanated from it. Inside lay a finger-sized, crystal-clear immortal spirit grass.
"Sister Chu Yue, this is too precious. I can't accept it." Chu Feng quickly returned it to Chu Yue.
Immortal spirit grass was a sacred medicine for martial cultivation, extremely precious. It had endless benefits for any martial cultivator within the Spiritual Martial realm.
To help them quickly improve their cultivation, the Chu Clan subsidized each of them with one immortal spirit grass every year.
This one from Chu Yue was likely her family subsidy as well. But Chu Yue hadn't used it for herself and had instead given it to him. This moved Chu Feng deeply, but he couldn't bear to accept it.
"I said I'm giving it to you, so take it. Aren't you my brother?" Chu Yue looked a little displeased.
"Oh, when did Sister Chu Yue become so generous? Giving away immortal spirit grass?"
"Look, I'm your brother too. I'm just about to break through to the fourth level of Spiritual Martial. Why not give this immortal spirit grass to me instead?"
A young man about the same age as Chu Feng walked over. He was also wearing inner sect disciple robes.
His name was Chu Zhen. He was also from the Chu Clan. Five years ago, he had joined the Azure Dragon Sect together with Chu Feng. But two years ago, he had already become an inner sect disciple.
"Chu Zhen, you've already broken through to the third level of Spiritual Martial and successfully condensed spiritual energy. Even without this immortal spirit grass, you can still soar upward."
"But Junior Brother Chu Feng hasn't condensed spiritual energy yet. This immortal spirit grass is more important to him." Chu Yue forcefully stuffed the immortal spirit grass into Chu Feng's hand.
"Yeah, you're right. Too bad he doesn't appreciate your kindness." Chu Zhen spread his hands and sneered.
"Who said I don't want it?" But Chu Feng smiled slightly and unceremoniously tucked the immortal spirit grass into his bosom. Then he said, "Sister Chu Yue, consider this immortal spirit grass as a loan from you. I will repay you double in the future."
"Mm, okay." Seeing Chu Feng accept it, Chu Yue was overjoyed. She casually agreed, not really expecting Chu Feng to repay her.
"What will you repay it with? Using this immortal spirit grass on you is just a waste." But Chu Zhen's face turned ugly.
Chu Feng smiled and ignored him. Instead, he said to Chu Yue, "Sister Chu Yue, I will participate in this year's inner sect assessment."
"Hmph, you? If you can pass the inner sect assessment, I'll give you this year's family subsidy immortal spirit grass." Chu Zhen looked at Chu Feng with disdain.
"Are you serious?" Chu Feng didn't believe him.
"Sister Chu Yue will be the witness. But what if you don't pass?" Chu Zhen said.
"Then this year's immortal spirit grass goes to you." Leaving these words, Chu Feng continued with his work as an outer sect disciple.
"Chu Zhen, we're all family. Why do you always make things difficult for Chu Feng?" Chu Yue looked displeasedly at Chu Zhen.
"Family? Sister Chu Yue, you should know that this Chu Feng isn't even from our Chu Clan."
"Five years in the sect and he still can't pass the inner sect assessment. He's a disgrace to our Chu Clan."
"Who in the entire Chu Clan likes him? Only you treat him so well, even giving him your own immortal spirit grass." Chu Zhen was very puzzled.
"You're truly stubborn." Chu Yue was a little angry. After glaring at him, she walked away.
But Chu Zhen stood there smiling. He was very pleased. Though he hadn't gotten Chu Yue's immortal spirit grass, he knew that this year, Chu Feng's immortal spirit grass would definitely be his.
Late at night, the resting place for outer sect disciples was pitch black.
After a busy day, everyone was exhausted and went to bed early. Only Chu Feng's room still had a light on.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, took out the immortal spirit grass Chu Yue had given him, and said softly, "I hope this immortal spirit grass can fill you up."
With that, Chu Feng closed his eyes, placed the immortal spirit grass between his palms, and formed a strange hand seal.
At that moment, the spiritual energy within the immortal spirit grass began to flow through Chu Feng's palms into his body, eventually gathering in his dantian.
At the same time, a chewing sound came from Chu Feng's dantian, as if something was eating.
If one could see through his skin, they would discover that deep within Chu Feng's dantian, a mass of lightning was coiled.
This mass of lightning was divided into nine colors. Each color seemed like a lightning beast, exuding a terrifying aura that did not belong to this world.