“What was that?” Before Chen Feng could reply, the other mid-level Human Immortal grew enraged. Flames surged out from his whole body. It was as though the God of Fire had descended.

Oh, he is born with a fire-type constitution. This constitution is one notch better compared to Jian Xiaotian’s Absolute Combat Constitution. It is comparable to Bi Shuidie’s Cool Jade Constitution. However, this fellow clearly possesses a short temper. He is so quick to jump up after hearing that fellow’s words.

“Immortal Golden Soul, you are a high-level Human Immortal while I am a mid-level Human Immortal. Come! Let’s exchange a few moves. The loser must kowtow to the winner. What do you think? Do you have the balls to do it? If you don’t dare, then you’re a worthless ass!” The cultivator with the fire-type constitution was known as Marquis Scarletfire. He had the appearance of a young man, with a somewhat reddish hair. However, his words were very imperious and most unpleasant to the ears.

“Then, I will be beating you until you are on your knees, begging for mercy.” Even those with a good temper would find it hard to endure those words. Thus, Immortal Golden Soul stood up as well and golden light shone from his body. It would appear that the two of them were already on the verge of fighting one another.

“Insolence! Sit down! Where do you two think you are?” Elder Shi shouted, his face turning grim.

“Humph!”

Seeing Elder Shi’s display of fury, the two of them instantly quieted down. Marquis Scarletfire retracted the flames on his body and turned to Chen Feng before saying in a dissatisfied tone, “I say, brother. If you do not want to participate in this task, then just hurry up and quit. Otherwise, some people would continue talking cock.”

Marquis Scarletfire’s words were very brusque and Chen Feng nearly laughed out loud upon hearing it.

“Yes, everyone here is an expert. On the contrary, my cultivation base is too low. I’d be best for me to not participate.”

“Fellow elders, if that’s all, I will take my leave first.” After saying that, Chen Feng stood up and made to leave the Task Hall.

“Wait!” Suddenly, another elder, also a peak-level Human Immortal, spoke up. He cast a dark look at Chen Feng.

“This task is very important. When we gathered all of you here, we had hoped that you all would participate. If you refuse to participate, we will indeed not force the issue. However, in order to avoid leaking this matter out, you must stay at a place that we have arranged for a while. After the cultivators headed to the Lightning Pond return, we will let you out. Chen Feng, what do you think?”

“Ha ha ha! In other words, you just want to imprison me! I wonder, what mistake did I commit? Or, are you elders scheming something here? Do you want to imprison me because there some secrets that you fellows cannot reveal?

“At the very least, that is how this whole thing appears to me,” Chen Feng said, a derisive smile on his face.

“Immortal Sunfall, what are you up to?” Elder Shi’s face sank and he sent a secret vocal transmission to Immortal Sunfall. He did not understand why Immortal Sunfall was displaying such hostility towards Chen Feng.

“Elder Shi, do not question me about this. I know what I am doing.”

“How about it, Chen Feng? Will you participate in this task or not?” Immortal Sunfall asked again.

“I’ll participate.” Chen Feng revealed a faint smile.

“Well then. Since everyone agrees to participate, I will talk more about the details of this task,” Elder Shi said, giving Chen Feng a deep stare.

“Truth be told, this task is very simple. All you need to do is to enter the Lightning Pond and obtain Glassy Lightning Flowers and Lightning Beads. After obtaining those two items, you may choose to use them yourselves or sell them to the academy. Naturally, regardless of what you do with them, you will be greatly rewarded for successfully obtaining them,” Elder Shi said with a serious tone.

“Glassy Lightning Flower! To think that it would be that item!” Everyone there grew shocked. Clearly, they did not think that this item would appear in the Lightning Pond.

“What do we do if we encounter the cultivators from the other academies?” someone asked.

“That’s simpler. Just do what you normally do.”

“When do we head out?”

“In one month.”

“We have some time to prepare.”

Before everyone left, however, Immortal Sunfall spoke up again.

“One last thing. Since everyone has agreed to it, do not go back on your words. Also, you must do well to prepare yourself during this coming month. This task is very dangerous. In the past, even Earthen Immortals had fallen inside the Lightning Pond.”

“Brother Chen, please wait.” Just as Chen Feng was about to leave for his grotto-mansion, he received a secret vocal transmission from Marquis Scarletfire.

“Brother Scarletfire, what is it?” Chen Feng secretly replied.

“Nothing in particular. However, I have long since heard of Brother Chen’s name. I want to invite Brother Chen to my grotto-mansion and have a chat with you,” Marquis Scarletfire replied smilingly.

“In that case, I will not say no,” Chen Feng agreed to it with a smile on his face.

Next up, Chen Feng headed to Marquis Scarletfire’s grotto-mansion.

Marquis Scarletfire’s grotto-mansion was at a better location compared to Chen Feng’s grotto-mansion. As Chen Feng was only a new student, the surrounding terrain and concentration of spiritual energy of his grotto-mansion were simply incomparable to that of Marquis Scarletfire’s grotto-mansion.

“This place is not bad.” Chen Feng casually regarded the place.

“Given your level of strength, your place is probably even better than mine,” Marquis Scarletfire said with a meaningful look on his face.

“Brother Scarletfire, you overpraise me.” Chen Feng shook his head.

Marquis Scarletfire treated Chen Feng enthusiastically, bringing out some fine wine and rare spiritual fruits for him. In fact, Chen Feng had never even seen or heard of some of the spiritual fruits before. Chen Feng could feel the generosity displayed by Marquis Scarletfire.

“Brother Scarletfire, you must surely have a reason for inviting me here, right?” After making some small talk, Chen Feng asked in a straightforward manner.

“Ha ha ha! What is this? Is it not possible that I just want to befriend you?” Marquis Scarletfire said, laughing. At that very moment, Marquis Scarletfire’s aura was restrained. Compared to the ill-tempered disposition he showed back in the Task Hall, this Marquis Scarletfire appeared different.

“Naturally. I have long since heard that Brother Scarletfire is born with a fire-type constitution. You possess an extraordinary cultivation base. Even though you are only at the mid-level Human Immortal stage, you had killed off a high-level Human Immortal before. However, I have not had the chance to meet you in the past. Looks like luck has finally allowed me to meet you.” Chen Feng also possessed quite the glib tongue.

“Ha ha ha ha! Brother Chen, you are really overpraising me. There is no way I can compare with Brother Chen’s accomplishments. East Dragon Island boasts a territory spanning a radius of half a million kilometres in the ocean region. Additionally, it also has several Yao Immortals defending it. This power is already beyond that of some first-rate sects. Although Absolute Academy is a Holyland, there are countless people here who wants to ingratiate themselves to Brother Chen.” Marquis Scarletfire laughed again.

“There are also many who are envious,” Chen Feng said.

“Only the mediocre can remain free from envy. Brother Chen, there is no need to be modest about it.” Marquis Scarletfire waved his hand and continued. “The Lightning Pond is a highly dangerous place. Amongst all the cultivators chosen, the two of us have the lowest cultivation levels. I hope that we can work together against some of the troubles we might face there.”

“That’s only natural. However, the troubles coming for me will surely be considerable. I fear that it will end up causing problems for Brother Scarletfire,” Chen Feng said with a faint smile.

“If I am afraid of troubles, I will not have invited Brother Chen over. We both understand that some people will be trying to harm you during this trip. However, I believe that those people will never be able to achieve anything great. On the contrary, I am more convinced that Brother Chen will become a world-shaking figure in the future.” Marquis Scarletfire stared intently at Chen Feng.

“Brother Scarletfire truly looks highly upon me. I am just an ordinary cultivator.” Chen Feng laughed.

Marquis Scarletfire laughed as well and the two of them stopped talking about that. They were both smart people. Thus, that much was enough.

Marquis Scarletfire displayed frankness and a sincere attempt to befriend Chen Feng. Due to that, there was a highly warm atmosphere between them and Chen Feng had a fairly good impression of Marquis Scarletfire. Chen Feng felt that his person was worth befriending. As for whether or not he could become his partner, that would depend on how things develop in the future.

After that, Chen Feng returned to his own grotto-mansion and continued to cultivate himself. During that time, he did return to East Dragon Island and the Starry Islands once. With the Yao Immortals and Demon Kings defending the place, his territory in the ocean region had stabilized. During this time, the water yaos from the distant ocean region had attacked a few times before only to be beaten back by the Hell Dog and the others. They killed off so many water yaos that the surrounding ocean region turned red.

East Dragon Island grew increasingly famous and its name shocked the ocean region, causing the forces from the distant ocean region to halt their actions, for now.

On Chen Feng’s side, he was very generous. In order to develop his own forces, he brought out a large quantity of cultivation materials, even Immortal crystals and Dawnsource Crystal Water.

It wasn’t just the ordinary ocean yao guards. With the resources he provided, even the Netherpython of the Nine Abyss and the others would be able to increase their cultivation base by leaps and bounds. However, whether or not they would be able to break through to the Demon Deity (Earthen) stage would depend on their own luck.

Chen Feng hoped that they would be able to improve greatly upon his return. Sometimes, individual strength was important. However, there were also times when the collective strength was more important.

Not to mention, Chen Feng also had other plans for them. One day, he will return to the Northern Plains, leading a high number of cultivators with him. Then, he will be sure to settle the account with Nine Firmaments Palace and the others.

After making all the necessary arrangements, the time finally came. Chen Feng and the other students gathered up and waited. After receiving the instructions from the elders, they then headed out.

There was a distance of 15 million kilometres between Absolute Academy and the Lightning Pond. However, by utilizing teleportation arrays, they were able to arrive after just one joss stick’s worth of time.

The Lightning Pond was a very famous place in the world of cultivation. There were strong lightning powers gathered there. The lightning powers were so strong, they were practically a unique existence in all of Eternal World.

However, before finding the Lightning Pond, they would first need to enter the Lightning Region.

The Lightning Region was very big, spanning a radius of over half a million kilometres. There wasn’t a single spot within the region that was normal. Rather, there were lightning powers everywhere. The only difference was in the level of strength of the lightning powers. The Lightning Pond was located at the spot where the lightning powers were most powerful and most concentrated.

When compared to the entire Lightning Region, the Lightning Pond was actually not that big.

Before entering the Lightning Region, however, Chen Feng and the others ended up encountering the students from the other three academies.

The quantity and quality of the students that all four academies sent out were almost the same. It was clear that every party viewed this task to be of great importance.

“Ha ha ha ha ha! What a coincidence! This time, our Heavensight Academy will definitely be getting our hands on the Glassy Lightning Flowers!”

“Heh! With us from Four Cardinals Academy here, you fellows should just head back.”

“Braggart! When the time comes, we will have you all return empty-handed.”

“Returning empty-handed is not so bad. I fear that some people would end up losing their lives in the Lightning Pond.”

Before entering the Lightning Region, the students from the Four Great Academies began fighting a verbal war, a ridiculing look on their faces.

Seeing that, Chen Feng felt secretly amused. He had met the founders of the Four Great Academies before. Heavenly Premier Absolute and the other three, as Ascendant Immortals, had fought side by side, entrusting their backs to each other as they explored space together. They had a very close relationship. And yet, the students from the academies they founded were fighting one another with such ferocity.

If these students were to find out just what kind of relationship their founders had, what kind of faces would they end up making?

1 li = 0.5 km