Eternal Heavenly Emperor-Chapter 288 - 278: Full of Oneself

Hearing Chu Hao say this, the people around continuously shook their heads.

That was a follower of Yue Feng, who could decide the fate of these mortals with just a word. If he was pleased, he could make the people here become followers of a true disciple; if not... it wasn’t about whether one could become a follower or not, perhaps even their lives would be at stake.

An Emperor Level Sect, who would dare cause trouble by killing someone?

Alas, these three young people, although each was outstanding and had entered the Martial Sect Realm early, were too ignorant of the harsh reality of the world beyond their imaginations.

It was a long time before Chu Hao and his two companions managed to squeeze their way to the front of the mountain gate, where four black-clothed disciples immediately stopped them.

All four were only of martial master cultivation, but who would dare to be negligent as gatekeepers of an Emperor Level Sect?

"Yo, you three really have some nerve!" a black-clothed disciple laughed, "You beat up Fu Yuan and didn’t run, and you even dare to approach further?"

The other three also laughed, and although they were only martial masters, they exuded an air of arrogance, showing no reverence towards the three Martial Sects before them, an arrogance naturally stemming from their identity as disciples of the Spirit Spring Sect.

Chu Hao, not wanting to waste words, took something out from the Mustard Seed Ring and handed it over.

"What, trying to bribe us?" all four black-clothed disciples laughed.

But when they saw clearly what Chu Hao was handing over, they all displayed a look of shock.

It was a blue Identity Token, with the word "Spirit Spring" inscribed on the side facing them.

They naturally recognized it—this was the Spirit Spring Sect’s Identity Token, which everyone had, and that was not strange. However, the problem was that different colors of Identity Tokens represented different statuses within the Spirit Spring Sect.

In the Spirit Spring Sect, Identity Tokens came in only three colors: black, blue, and purple.

Black represented disciples of the Martial Disciple, martial master, and Martial Sect levels; the difference being that Martial Disciples’ Tokens possessed a single stripe, martial masters’ two, and Martial Sects’ three.

Blue represented the War Warrior, War General, and War King levels of deacons, also distinguished by three stripes, with the number of stripes indicating a higher rank.

The final purple represented the War Venerate, War Emperor, and War God, who were Elders within the sect, similarly distinguished by the number of stripes denoting status.

There was actually another Identity Token color, gold, but that represented the Sect Master, and there was only one such Token in the entire Spirit Spring Sect, a special case.

The Token Chu Hao took out was blue, indicating at least a high-ranking deacon’s identity within the sect, which held significant authority. However, whether it possessed one stripe or three made a considerable difference.

Upon closer inspection, they all involuntarily gasped.

Three stripes!

"We have an appointment with Senior Deacon Shi Yuanming, which of you will lead the way?" Chu Hao said.

"Me!"

"Me, me!"

"Me, me, me, me!"

All four were vying to speak first, their eyes blazing—Shi Yuanming was a senior deacon within the sect, and establishing even a slight connection with him could potentially change their fates.

Not to mention anything else, just being eligible to enter Shi Yuanming’s courtyard once would be something to boast about later. Moreover, who would dare to obstruct them? It’s not about fearing the likely but the unlikely; what if there really was some relationship with Senior Deacon Shi Yuanming?

Such was reality.

Chu Hao reflected inwardly that whether it was Earth or this place, it was all the same. Wherever there were people, there were class distinctions, only on Earth, those who were considered superior were officials or the wealthy, while on the Sky Martial Star, it was the martial arts practitioners.

The stronger one was, the higher their status, holding great power, issuing commands like firm decrees.

"You then," Chu Hao nonchalantly picked a person.

"Thank you, senior brother," the selected black-clothed disciple was naturally overjoyed. It was clear that he was leading Chu Hao and his companions into the sect, yet he had to be grateful and respectful, while the other three black-clothed disciples showed faces full of disappointment.

They were only martial masters, and their acceptance into the Spirit Spring Sect as disciples was not due to their martial arts talent, but because their ancestors had made contributions to the sect, a practice not uncommon among the Great Sects.

It was all about winning hearts and minds.

The black-clothed disciple led the way, and Chu Hao and his companions followed behind, entering the mountain gate.

As they ventured deeper, the changes in the environment became more apparent.

"Isn’t that the Tiger Snake Fruit? So big, bigger than a fist, at least three hundred years old."

"Turtle Beard Grass, it’s grown four leaves, at least five hundred years of medicinal efficacy."

"Huh, a Three-Clawed Fire Turkey—that is a delicacy of the world. It is said that even the War God would salivate upon seeing it."

The elemental energy around them grew increasingly abundant, not only were the tall trees everywhere, but numerous Spirit Grasses were also thriving robustly. Chu Hao and his two companions were itching with desire, almost wanting to cover their faces and engage in some business without any capital.

What tempted them most was naturally the Three-Clawed Fire Turkey. Though this creature had three claws and looked strange, its meat was incredibly delicious, arguably the finest ingredient under the heavens, so much so that even the War God would be tempted.

Unfortunately, this creature fed on Spirit Grass, which ordinary forces couldn’t afford to cultivate.

Chu Hao and Fu Xue were okay, but the Barbaric Girl was dribbling with drool, her eyes gleaming red—making Chu Hao secretly worry for the turkey. The Barbaric Girl would be staying at the Spirit Spring Sect in the future. It wasn’t a fear of theft that troubled him, but the constant temptation. It was only a matter of time before disaster would strike.

Well, if that day indeed came, he would surely have to share a chicken leg.

At this moment, two people approached them along the mountain path from afar, one of them was Feng Yuan who had just been punched away by the Barbaric Girl.

Had he called for reinforcements so quickly?

They had seen Feng Yuan, and naturally, Feng Yuan had also seen them. His eyes immediately conveyed a mix of shame and rage.

Since his cousin had become a follower of Yue Feng, he had practically ruled supreme at this gateway—many conducted ’business’ there, but none had a backer stronger than his.

He had not expected to fail in his ambitions today, only to have it end with an embarrassing blow to his face. How could he be content with this?

Now, he quickly brought his cousin, Feng Haizhong, into the fray.

"Cousin, it was them!" Feng Yuan pointed at Chu Hao and his companions from a distance.

"Hmm?" Beside Feng Yuan stood a young man around 27 or 28 years old, bearing a slight resemblance to Feng Yuan but with a much prouder demeanor. No choice really, although he was Yue Feng’s follower, which sounded like a servant’s job, he was actually an Eight Meridians Martial Sect on his own merit.

A breakthrough from a Nine Meridians martial master was very likely for him to achieve Martial Sect status next. He naturally had the capital to be proud. Otherwise, how could he qualify as a follower of Yue Feng?

In fact, with his talent, even if he couldn’t become a True Disciple of Spirit Spring Sect, becoming an official Disciple would pose no problem at all. So why did he choose to be a follower of Yue Feng?

This was because he believed in the limitless prospects of Yue Feng’s future.

At the very least, he could become a War Emperor, and perhaps even advance further to become the first War God of Cang State in nearly ten thousand years.

Historically, every War God’s rise was aided by many supporters and followers, and these individuals would at least become War Emperors, or even War Venerates. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Given Feng Haizhong’s talent, becoming a War King might be possible, but challenging the status of War Venerate was virtually out of his reach. However, he was highly ambitious; hence, he placed his bets on Yue Feng, even willing to serve him.

He was well aware of Feng Yuan’s activities over the years, which he had tacitly approved, benefiting significantly from them himself.

Thus, when he heard from his cousin just now that someone dared to disrespect him, knowing who he was, yet still sent Feng Yuan flying, he was enraged and immediately rushed over.

Despite the distance, he couldn’t sense the cultivation levels of Chu Hao and his party, but he could clearly see their young faces, all around 20 years old—how could they be experts?

He snorted in his heart, quickened his pace, and Feng Yuan, chuckling coldly, also hastened his steps, following closely behind his cousin.

"Stop right there!" The two groups collided abruptly, and Feng Haizhong spoke immediately, sizing up the cultivation of the trio in his first glance.

The male was just a Single-Meridian Martial Sect, which was already quite commendable given his age and could rank him high among ordinary disciples in the Spirit Spring Sect.

As for the two females, one was very strong, actually an impressive Four Meridians Martial Sect, which was even stronger than his early years. The other... very strange, she didn’t emit any clear aura, almost as if she wasn’t a martial artist, yet her vitality was extremely robust, like a human-shaped ferocious beast that could scare people to death with just a glare.

But might alone is useless; martial artists rely on strength.

Feng Haizhong had a clear assessment—the strongest among the trio was the Four Meridians Martial Sect. However, a Four Meridians Martial Sect was nothing but a caterpillar in his eyes, easily crushed underfoot.

Little did he know, Chu Hao only appeared to be a Single-Meridian Martial Sect because he was wearing the Concealment Jade again, and the Barbaric Girl didn’t cultivate Star Force at all. How could one gauge her realm just by sensing her aura?

Alas, he was destined for a bruising encounter.

"We meet Senior Brother Feng!" The black-robed disciple leading Chu Hao’s trio hurriedly greeted him. Although Feng Haizhong wasn’t officially a disciple of the Spirit Spring Sect, thanks to Yue Feng’s connections, who dared to disrespect him?

Feng Haizhong merely nodded reservedly. Considering his strength and status, there was no need for him to be polite with a mere Martial Disciple. He looked at Chu Hao and his companions and said indifferently, "You have quite the gall to strike my man!"

"Senior Brother Feng, they have the Identity Token of Deacon Shi Yuanming," the black-robed disciple hurriedly said, fearing that if Feng Haizhong attacked Chu Hao and others, causing severe injury, and if Shi Haizhong held him accountable, he would also suffer.

"Hmm?" Feng Haizhong was slightly surprised; it was indeed Shi Haizhong, the War King of the Spirit Spring Sect.

But, did these three really have a deep connection with Shi Haizhong?

Snort, even if they truly had a connection, Shi Haizhong was only a rather ordinary War King within the sect, having been at that level for over a hundred years without breaking through to War Venerate, likely with no hope in this lifetime.

Whereas Yue Feng’s master, Tu Honglie, was one of the strongest War Kings in the sect, highly favored to break through to War Venerate within decades. The disparity in their influence within the sect was too great. (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation and monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)