8 The Senior Brother's Level

On the red hill.

Lu Changsheng was studying his pill refining recipes attentively.

On the other side, Qingfeng took out a roll of jade and told Lu Changsheng the things he had to do for the grand meeting.

"Senior Brother, you have to take a bath and get changed at midnight.

"At one o'clock in the morning, you should burn incense to pray.

"You'll spend the following four hours waiting and meditating in the Zenith Palace.

"At seven o'clock, you'll leave the palace and head for the altar to worship Heaven and Earth.

"At nine o'clock, while in front of the entire sect, the Sect Master will officially confer you the title of Eldest Senior Brother.

"Then at eleven o'clock, you will be generously awarded. The other disciples will listen to you explain the Dao and then the grand meeting will be over."

Qingfeng recited everything carefully to Lu Changsheng.

Everything seemed fine. But the last part of the list made Lu Changsheng stop what he was doing.

"They'll listen to me explain the Dao?" Lu Changsheng turned to look at Qingfeng.

Liu Qingfeng clarified what he should be doing, "Senior Brother, you can simply share with us your understanding of the Dao and your experience in cultivating. You can also give us some encouraging words."

His experience in cultivating? His understanding of the Dao?

Unfortunately, Lu Changsheng had no idea what he was supposed to share at all.

He spent three years reaching the Qi Refining stage, this was already a heavy blow to Lu Changsheng's confidence. Sharing his understanding of the Dao in front of the entire sect would only humiliate him.

"Qingfeng, what stage have you reached?" Lu Changsheng switched the topic for fear that his Junior Brother would feel suspicious.

"Senior Brother, because I'm clumsy and slow. I just reached the Core Formation stage a few days ago," Qingfeng felt very ashamed while saying this.

However, in Lu Changsheng's eyes, this Junior Brother of his was in fact bragging without knowing.

"When did you start cultivating?" Lu Changsheng asked.

"I started when I was seven years old. Since I'm seventeen now, it should be about ten years. I'm really slow and I do feel really ashamed, Senior Brother," Qingfeng sincerely said.

Lu Changsheng felt a heavy boulder weigh on his chest.

"I should be the one who feels ashamed." Lu Changsheng sighed.

Qingfeng hurriedly shook his head. "Don't say this, Eldest Senior Brother. You've only been here in Zenith Heaven for three years. Although your level is too high for me to see, my guess is that you've reached the Gold Core stage. I'm far behind you."

Qingfeng's words made Lu Changsheng very surprised. "You can't see my level?"

In theory, a superior cultivator could easily see through the stage of an inferior cultivator with a quick glance. However, Qingfeng couldn't see Changsheng's level for some reason.

This was very important information he just learned.

"That's right, Eldest Senior Brother. Honestly speaking, when I first met you today, I secretly observed you for a while, but I couldn't identify your stage no matter what, this is despite the fact that I've learned how to observe Qi. But since I could only see the spiritual Qi and great fortune above your head, I wouldn't even be surprised if you tell me you've reached the Nascent Formation stage."

The honest look on Qingfeng's face was very easy to tell. Lu Changsheng looked straight into his eyes and made sure that the former wasn't lying.

'Is this because of the special cultivation technique that Master Perfected Qing Yun taught me? Can others not see through my cultivation at all?' As Lu Changsheng thought to himself, his heart was filled with joy.

In that case, Lu Changsheng could easily bluff his way through a lot of things.

"Senior Brother, may I ask you which stage you have reached?" Qingfeng couldn't help his curiosity and asked his Senior Brother.

Lu Changsheng said in a mysterious tone, "I wanted to keep it a secret. But since you've asked, I don't mind telling you. But this matter is only between you and me, ok?"

Qingfeng hurriedly nodded. "You can totally trust me Senior Brother. I won't tell anybody, not even my father."

"I trust you. I've already reached the Nascent Soul stage." Lu Changsheng made it up since Liu Qingfeng couldn't tell anyways.

As Lu Changsheng expected, Qingfeng was stunned.

"Nascent… Soul?" Qingfeng murmured.

As it was known to all, cultivating was even harder than flying to the sky. Liu Qingfeng started cultivating when he was seven and spent ten years just to reach the stage of Core Formation. During the process, he could proudly say the effort he gave was immense. He was often soaked in a precious herb pool and his bedroom was enchanted with all kinds of spiritual incantations. Before his cultivation even started, he already had a solid foundation to build from.

Therefore, he had such an achievement at this young age. The precious herbs he consumed were enough for ten people to reach the Gold Core stage.

However, it only cost Lu Changsheng three years to reach the stage of Nascent Soul?

That was too fast!

Lu Changsheng was in a good mood upon seeing Qingfeng's shocked face. He rubbed Qingfeng's hair and smiled. "Don't be disappointed. There are always people who are more intelligent than us. My progress might seem to be extremely fast in your eyes, but in this world, there are still plenty of people who are way more accomplished than I am. Therefore, we should always stay humble and work hard."

"Thank you for your advice, Senior Brother," Qingfeng said very seriously. He felt some strange feelings when Lu Changsheng touched his hair while smiling.

But he didn't really put any thought into it.

There was, however, still disappointment in Qingfeng's eyes. This matter was a heavy blow to his confidence.

Lu Changsheng was in a pretty good mood.

Making a real genius feel discouraged really lifted his spirits!

"Senior Brother, please excuse me. I have to deal with something right now, I'll come back and find you later." Qingfeng looked really upset.

"No problem. Take your time." Lu Changsheng nodded, feeling extremely joyful.

Liu Qingfeng bowed to Lu Changsheng before finally leaving the red hill.

As he left the red hill alone, he looked extremely sad.

Liu Qingfeng really thought that his talent for cultivation wasn't bad.

Although he couldn't compare himself to the top geniuses in the world, he considered himself to have ranked within the top five in Zenith Heaven.

However, his Eldest Senior Brother's talent shocked him deeply.

Just three years!

He managed to reach the Nascent Soul stage!

In his third year of cultivation, Liu Qingfeng only managed to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

But Lu Changsheng reached the Nascent Soul stage!

The most miserable thing one could do in this world was to compare himself to a real genius.

Liu Qingfeng hung his head as he walked back alone to his home.

The truth was, he had nothing to do. He just needed to get some fresh air.

At this time, someone suddenly called his name, "Qingfeng!"

The voice sounded very familiar. Liu Qingfeng immediately looked around.

Once he saw the person, he immediately recognized him.

It was Li Zhang.

Liu Qingfeng slightly frowned. Li Zhang, whose father was the head of the Pill Hall, had always been his biggest enemy. The struggle between them never ended because the both of them wanted to be the top dog in the younger generation of Zenith Heaven.

"What?" Since Liu Qingfeng wasn't in a good mood, his tone was quite cold.

"Nothing really, my father told me that you're studying under Eldest Senior Brother, is it real?" Li Zhang asked.

"Of course it is!" Liu Qingfeng answered grumpily.

"Well, congratulations then! But Senior Brother joined the sect only three years ago and his cultivation still isn't that deep. I wonder if you can really learn anything from him? Although it took me six months longer than you to reach the Core Formation stage, my father found me the Three-apertures Golden Pill, this means that I will reach the Gold Core stage within ten years," said Li Zhang.

Obviously, the young man was showing off.

"Ignorant!" Liu Qingfeng sneered, his eyes were filled with contempt.

This look of his instantly pissed Li Zhang off.

"What did you say?!" Li Zhang took a step forward. His body started buzzing and his eyes were hostile.

"I said that you're ignorant!" Liu Qingfeng repeated his words. He wasn't afraid at all.

"You better explain yourself and make this clear. Otherwise, there's no chance for you to pass me safe and sound today!" Li Zhang had a quick temper.

Liu Qingfeng shook his head as he looked at Li Zhang. "You said Eldest Senior Brother's cultivation is shallow, right?"

"I did!" Li Zhang nodded.

"Then you're indeed ignorant," Liu Qingfeng didn't stop insulting him.

The look on Li Zhang's face suddenly changed. He realized what Liu Qingfeng was saying.

Although he had a quick temper, he wasn't an idiot. It would've been better if he went to hell if he still couldn't understand what Liu Qingfeng was implying.

"Just say it! What do you know?" Li Zhang hurriedly asked, his anger immediately went away.

Liu Qingfeng lowered his voice, "I can tell this to you, but this is only between you and me, or else my father will punish me severely!"

Li Zhang spirit was instantly lifted, what filled his heart now was pure sheer curiosity.

"Come closer!" Liu Qingfeng said.

Li Zhang hurriedly did so.

Liu Qingfeng put his hand on Li Zhang's head as he seriously said, "Eldest Senior Brother has already reached the Soul Formation stage despite the short time he spent in the sect. I heard from the Sect Master that Eldest Senior Brother is very likely to be able to ascend to the celestial world within a hundred years!"

"What?!" Li Zhang really couldn't believe his ears, he knew what achieving the stage of Soul Formation meant.

"That's impossible!" Li Zhang couldn't help but burst out.

Liu Qingfeng kept holding Li Zhang's head, he smiled coldly. "Impossible? Have you met the Eldest Senior Brother yourself? If you haven't, then don't draw any conclusions by yourself. Just think about it, why does Senior Sister Zi Yun have a crush on him? Is it just because of his face? In the world of cultivation, power speaks everything! Do you think that Senior Sister Zi Yun would fall in love with a random man? Remember! Don't tell this to other people, or my father will beat me up!"

Liu Qingfeng said to Li Zhang in all seriousness. His last sentence was slathered in a warning tone.

Somehow, when he looked at Liu Qingfeng's face, Li Zhang was persuaded by the former.

However, he had no idea why Liu Qingfeng kept holding his head.

Li Zhang felt it was quite strange.

Liu Qingfeng also didn't know the reason, he was just simply copying Lu Changsheng.

"I gotta run now. Keep this to yourself," Liu Qingfeng reminded him once more before leaving.

Wow.

Once Liu Qingfeng saw the look on Li Zhang's face.

It lifted his spirits high up.

Wow.

His heart never felt as light as now.

Wow.

It felt so good!

A while later.

Li Zhang showed up in Study Hall.

With a mysterious look on his face, he found his friends and said to them excitedly, "I have big news!

"Do you guys know which stage Eldest Senior Brother has reached?"