“Can I set up the formation in advance?” Bai Feng looked at the extra meat in his bowl and flicked Bai Yu Mo’s forehead. “Eat properly, don’t put food in my bowl.”

“Probably not,” Bai Yu Mo said, covering her forehead, but her next words seemed to go unheard as she continued to sneak food into his bowl when he wasn’t paying attention.

“Then I won’t participate,” Bai Feng shook his head. “I’m someone who studies formations; all my skills are in formations. Competing with those disciples who excel in combat? That’s just asking for trouble.”

“But, brother, I saw you practicing your swordplay this morning. You seemed pretty skilled—almost catching up to me!”

Earlier, she had happened upon Bai Feng practicing in the courtyard. Although he only used the Bamboo Thorn technique, he executed it with such proficiency that its power was nearly on par with her casual strikes. Clearly, this wasn’t something he could achieve in just a day or two.

Bai Feng’s gaze shifted awkwardly away—of course, I’m almost catching up to you; I’ve been using the Yin-Yang Pattern to sneak a peek at your sword practice.

It was just that the energy consumption was a bit high; learning that one technique had nearly drained his reserves.

He guessed it was because Bai Yu Mo was a Golden Core cultivator and a swordsmanship genius, which meant her understanding of swordplay far exceeded that of an ordinary Golden Core disciple. Thus, the learning curve was much steeper. If he were at the Foundation Establishment stage, the energy consumption wouldn’t be so significant.

“I only know that one technique,” Bai Feng waved his hand dismissively. “And besides, why would I compare my weaknesses to someone else’s strengths?”

“Hmm, that’s true,” Bai Yu Mo nodded, realizing the logic in his words.

At the same time, she sighed inwardly. Recently, rumors about Bai Feng in the sect had been growing. Some said he had cheated to pass the formation tests; others claimed his talent for formations was a sham, alleging that the Bai family had made some dirty deals with the elders of the Tianjian Sect…

In short, they were saying Bai Feng was a fraud, that he had no talent for formations at all.

She even approached her master, Chu Ningyan, but her master merely smiled and told her not to worry.

But how could she not worry? If it weren’t for the concern that it might affect Bai Feng, she would have sent all those slanderers to the Pill Peak by now.

So infuriating!

“Eh?”

Bai Feng picked up the sect disciple’s token, and a message echoed from it:

【Come to my cave dwelling.】

“Is Master looking for you?” Bai Yu Mo leaned in curiously.

“Yeah, I wonder what she wants,” Bai Feng nodded. He finished the last bite of rice and prepared to meet his master, Chu Ningyan.

Since arriving at Qingzhu Peak, Master Chu had rarely summoned him. He heard she had been away for some time and had only recently returned to the sect.

He was almost starting to think he had been forgotten by her.

Bai Yu Mo recalled what her master had told her about not worrying, and her curiosity piqued. She suggested, “You’ve never been to Master’s cave dwelling, right? Let me go with you!”

“Sure, let’s go.”

Bai Feng didn’t refuse, and soon the two of them headed toward the cave dwelling on Qingzhu Peak.

Upon entering the cave, it was clean and sparsely furnished with only the simplest tables and chairs.

Chu Ningyan was waiting for them at the front.

When she looked at Bai Feng, she was surprised to find he had already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment. A glimmer of astonishment flashed in her eyes.

During this time, she had been trying to bring her friend back to teach her disciple Bai Feng, so she hadn’t been aware of his progress.

But seeing his solid foundation, it was clear he hadn’t been affected by the rumors and forced his cultivation.

“Master, did you need something?” Bai Feng asked, feeling a bit uneasy under her gaze.

Chu Ningyan withdrew her gaze and smiled. “I want you to participate in the sect’s grand competition.”

Chapter 37: Because I’m an Adult

Before Bai Feng could refuse, Chu Ningyan interrupted him with a raised hand.

“Hold on, don’t be so quick to refuse. It’s not about fighting other disciples.”

“Then who am I supposed to fight?” Bai Feng was momentarily confused. If he wasn’t fighting other disciples in the grand competition, then who was he supposed to fight?

Could it be against formations?

“Don’t worry; if you want to fight, I wouldn’t agree to that!” Chu Ningyan smiled, teasing him a little. “How’s your formation study going lately?”

“It’s going well. I’ve read almost a tenth of the formation books in the library. At my current level, I should be able to set up a fifth-grade formation, but I’d need to take some pills midway.”

Bai Feng slightly concealed his true abilities.

If he had assistance or a continuous source of spiritual energy, he could even set up a seventh-grade formation.

Do you understand the value of mastering formations?

After hearing Bai Feng’s response, Chu Ningyan fell silent. A Foundation Establishment disciple setting up a fifth-grade formation? That would be quite shocking if it got out.

While the grade of a formation isn’t strictly determined by a cultivator’s level, it generally correlates with their power.

For instance, the Hundred Sword Formation was a third-grade formation capable of trapping a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator and even stalling a Golden Core cultivator for a time.

A fifth-grade formation could deal with Nascent Soul cultivators, and even the simplest trapping or killing formations would be more than enough to handle Golden Core cultivators.

It was evident that her disciple’s talent for formations was indeed terrifying, especially since he worked so hard.

She remembered that the library had many formation books, and they were quite difficult to understand. For an ordinary disciple, reading two or three books a month would be considered diligent, yet Bai Feng had read a tenth in just one month?

Even if that tenth included many lower-grade formations, the speed of his learning was still astonishing.

“You… make sure to rest more and don’t overexert yourself,” Chu Ningyan found herself advising her disciple to take a break for the first time, genuinely a bit shocked. “By the way, can you understand all those books?”

She knew Bai Feng wasn’t one to boast, but the claim was so outrageous that she couldn’t help but ask again.

Bai Feng nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got a pretty good grasp of it. If you don’t believe me, I can set up a formation for you right here.”

“No need, I believe you.”

Chu Ningyan waved her hand, now feeling confident about the agreement she had made a few days ago.

It was time to give her friend a little shock with her genius.

Then she explained her plan: “I want you to participate in the sect’s grand competition against another formation genius. She’s the disciple of a friend of mine. If you can win, my friend will teach you formations for a while.”

Bai Feng pondered for a moment, realizing that this was what his master had been busy with lately!

Although he had already mastered formations, he wasn’t arrogant enough to think that no one could teach him anything.

Moreover, he indeed needed a reason to gradually showcase his formation skills.

So he nodded in agreement. “Yes, I’m looking forward to competing with another formation genius.”

“Great.” Chu Ningyan nodded in satisfaction. “In the coming days, make sure to rest well and conserve your energy for the competition. Don’t neglect your health by reading too much.”

Bai Feng thought about how he had been spending his time recently drawing lewd pictures and felt a bit guilty. “I’m not that neglectful…”

But Chu Ningyan didn’t seem to believe him. She looked at Bai Yu Mo, who appeared thoughtful, and instructed her, “Yu Mo, make sure to keep an eye on him and let him rest properly.”

“Understood, Master.”

Bai Yu Mo nodded eagerly.

At the same time, she understood why she had approached Chu Ningyan earlier, only for her master to tell her not to worry.

If Bai Feng could defeat another formation genius, then the rumors circulating outside would naturally fall apart.

…

“Master, are we there yet?”

A young girl sat on a flying boat, looking bored as she gazed at the rapidly passing scenery outside.

“Almost there. If you’re bored, why not read some more?” A tall woman replied with a hint of exasperation. If a demonic cultivator were present, they would recognize her as the Ghost Prince, who had stirred up a bloody storm in the demonic realm decades ago.

Born of the demonic path, she had single-handedly destroyed her own sect and severely injured several demonic sects, with countless demonic geniuses falling at her hands.

But now, she was just a rogue cultivator named Liu Meng, and she had a good relationship with Chu Ningyan, the peak master of Tianjian Sect, behind the scenes.

“I’ve read it several times already; it’s boring.” The girl suddenly seemed to have an idea. She leaped onto Liu Meng’s lap, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Master, I want to see the book you bought before!”

Liu Meng looked puzzled. “Did I buy a book before?”

“Yeah! I saw you reading it at night. I think it was called something like ‘Spring and Autumn.’”

Upon hearing this, Liu Meng’s expression darkened. When I read formation books, why didn’t you show this much enthusiasm?

She reached out and lightly tapped the girl on the head. “Little kids shouldn’t be looking at that kind of stuff.”

“But why can Master read it?”

Though the girl had been tapped, her face still bore a defiant expression.

“Because I’m an adult.”