Beyond the Sixth Challenge

"Qi Gathering Third Level!?"

Suddenly, an extremely shocked voice erupted from the crowd.

Everyone felt as if the world had gone mad - since when did someone at Qi Gathering Third Level dare to compete against someone at Qi Gathering Ninth Level?

Usually, when people challenged above their level, they would go one level higher, or at most two levels.

Good heavens, this person was trying to skip six levels!

It was unprecedented to see someone challenging six levels above - there should be limits to such recklessness!

The crowd immediately burst into an uproar, with thunderous discussions breaking out.

"Good Lord! Did... did... did I hear that right? Someone at Qi Gathering Third Level dares to register?"

"Has this person lost their mind? Challenging six levels above?"

"This isn't even like eggs hitting rocks anymore - it's like deliberately smashing your own eggs against rocks. Talk about self-destruction!"

Ye Xuan's lips twitched involuntarily: "Brother, you're not joking, are you?"

"No, I really am at Qi Gathering Third Level. Don't believe me? Look."

As Gu Qingfeng spoke, he unreservedly revealed his full aura. Sure enough, a weak aura characteristic of Qi Gathering Third Level emanated from him.

The crowd was once again shocked into an uproar.

At this point, Ye Xuan could no longer maintain his cool, young master demeanor, and appeared utterly astonished: "Brother, honestly, I suggest you go back and train more."

"Go back?!" Gu Qingfeng's voice rose by several octaves: "That's not what you said earlier! You just said, what does it matter if someone's cultivation level is low? If victory was determined solely by cultivation level, why even have martial arts competitions? We might as well just compare cultivation levels and be done with it!"

"Brother, Brother!" Ye Xuan hurriedly interrupted: "The key issue is that your cultivation level is... just too low."

Gu Qingfeng became indignant: "What's wrong with having a low cultivation level? Can you guarantee that every enemy you meet in life will have a lower cultivation than you? When you encounter stronger enemies, will you just surrender without a fight? If you don't dare to draw your sword today, you won't dare tomorrow either, and then you'll never dare to draw it your whole life!

Besides, an Apprentice Demon Eliminator who doesn't aspire to become a Yellow-rank Demon Eliminator isn't a good Apprentice Demon Eliminator. It's all about participation!"

Ye Xuan and the surrounding crowd were rendered speechless by these familiar-sounding words.

And in the midst of everyone's speechlessness, Gu Qingfeng casually walked up to the official and reported his information.

"My name is Gu Qingfeng, cultivation level is Qi Gathering Third Level, and I work as a jailer at the Demon Suppression Prison."

After speaking, he waved goodbye and left under the dumbfounded and shocked gazes of both the crowd and the official.

Long after Gu Qingfeng had left, the crowd completely exploded with discussion.

He really registered! A Qi Gathering Third Level cultivator actually dared to register? Insane! Absolutely insane!

This shocking sensation was like an elementary school student signing up for college entrance exams while brazenly claiming they would achieve the highest score in the country.

It was truly too shocking.

Gu Qingfeng became instantly famous.

As the saying goes, bad news travels fast - it wouldn't take half a day before Gu Qingfeng's name would spread throughout the entire Demon Suppression Bureau.

However, Gu Qingfeng didn't care about this anymore, because becoming famous was inevitable. He was destined to become the champion of the martial arts competition and advance to Yellow-rank Demon Eliminator. He would become famous either way.

Since he had decided to make a splash, he might as well go all out.

Better to become famous sooner rather than later!

After registering, Gu Qingfeng headed straight to the Demon Suppression Prison. This time, however, he didn't go to the prison cells but instead went to find the warden on the first floor to request a few days off, claiming he had family matters to attend to.

The prison guards were given one day of leave each month, which could be accumulated. His predecessor hadn't taken any leave for half a year, accumulating several days, which came in handy now.

After getting his leave approved, Gu Qingfeng went to the horse market in Wutong Prefecture and took out all his savings - two taels of silver.

He bought a poor-quality horse and then left the city.

His destination: Zhang Family Village in Ji County.

Indeed, Gu Qingfeng was going to retrieve the Wood King Sword that the locust tree spirit had mentioned!

It was a Dark rank Spirit Weapon, worth thousands of gold pieces, and priceless in the market.

Even Dark-rank Demon Eliminators might not possess such a high-level weapon - its value was beyond imagination.

To avoid any unexpected complications, Gu Qingfeng had to get his hands on the Wood King Sword as soon as possible.

It wasn't like his system provided weapons or medicinal pills anyway.

Ji County was under the jurisdiction of Wutong Prefecture, and while it wasn't particularly close, it was reachable within a day if one rode hard.

Clop, clop, clop...

With the help of his inferior horse, Gu Qingfeng quickly reached the official road.

The official road was a main thoroughfare built by the government, serving as the primary route. Most people traveled on it because it was safer and less likely to encounter demons and monsters.

However, Gu Qingfeng didn't take the official road. Instead, he pulled on the reins, turned his horse around, and took a secluded path.

The small path was convenient and quick, serving as a shortcut, though it was more life-threatening.

Because the path went through mountain forests, which were the natural habitat of demons and monsters. During the day it was fine, but at night, whether one encountered man-eating demons was purely a matter of luck.

Therefore, normal people would never take such paths unless absolutely necessary.

However, Gu Qingfeng wasn't normal - he actually hoped to encounter demons and monsters in the wilderness. The journey was boring, and such encounters might add some excitement.

On the small path, Gu Qingfeng galloped forward on his horse, with dense trees continuously receding on both sides. The surroundings were silent except for occasional bird calls.

"The environment in this world is truly wonderful!" Gu Qingfeng's mood lifted as he observed the lush grass and towering trees.

The scenery made him want to compose a poem, but lacking literary talent, he could only focus on the journey ahead.

Time passed minute by minute, and soon... darkness fell!

As the sun set, night descended like a terrifying beast, opening its abyssal maw to swallow the entire world.

Gu Qingfeng was well-prepared for this situation. He casually cut down a nearby branch, added some dry grass and kerosene, wrapped it with specially prepared cloth, and lit it with a small fire starter to create an improvised torch.

The Demon Suppression Bureau manual mentioned that it was best not to light fires in the wilderness at night.

While firelight would drive away wild beasts, it would also attract the attention of demons lurking in the darkness.

Gu Qingfeng didn't care about that - he was actually worried about being bored if no demons showed up.

After walking with the torch for quite a while, suddenly...

In the darkness...

Round, glowing objects appeared in the dense forest ahead of him. They floated in mid-air, like countless eyes forming a dense cluster, staring intently at him.

Gu Qingfeng was overjoyed!

"Finally, something worth waiting for!" Gu Qingfeng let out a strange cry and jumped off his horse, rushing toward the cluster of glowing objects.

And then...

"What the... They're just fireflies!? Damn, the fireflies in this other world look like ghost eyes - who are they trying to fool!"

Gu Qingfeng's composure crumbled.

Continuing on his journey, he arrived at the Mountain God Temple behind Zhang Family Village without any further incidents.

Looking at the dilapidated temple, Gu Qingfeng sighed: "So, should I consider myself lucky or unlucky?"

"I didn't encounter a single demon or monster along the way? The odds of that are about the same as racing down a highway for a day without getting hit by a car."

"Well, let's focus on getting the Wood King Sword first."

Feeling dejected, Gu Qingfeng walked to the location specified by the locust tree spirit and began digging.

The locust tree spirit had buried it deep, but with Gu Qingfeng's tremendous strength, digging wasn't particularly difficult.

After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Gu Qingfeng had dug five meters deep, and finally struck something hard. Excited, he quickly reached down to scrape away the dirt and pulled out the object.

As the object was fully revealed, it was indeed a sword!