“Backer? How big are their backers?” Chen Feng scoffed inwardly. He was already a mid-level Human Immortal, the Island Lord of East Dragon Island with a territory spanning a radius of half a million kilometres in the ocean region. He also had many subordinates, with Yao Immortals and Demon Kings in their ranks. Due to that, there were many first-rate forces within the world of cultivation that wanted to recruit him.

“Jue Wushen, Gui Liubing, Dao Jun and the others were from some big clans and sects. In order to be able to enter Absolute Academy, one must not only possess extraordinary talent. They must also possess a high enough amount of cultivation resources. Without a good cultivation environment and resources, no matter how good their talent may be, they would be incapable of standing out,” Lan Hai slowly said.

“Don't talk about that. First, tell me about their backers.” Chen Feng waved his hand. Considering how he was only a mid-level Human Immortal, Chen Feng knew that some people would definitely choose to attack him.

“Jue Wushen is from Heavenly End Sect, Dao Jun is from Blade Sect, Gui Liubing is from Heavenly Ghost Sect and Young Master Feng Liu is an a.s.sa.s.sin from Void Palace. As for the other students that we recruited, one of them is from the Asura Border Path.”

“Heavenly End Sect and Blade Sect. Not bad. Although those few sects are not comparable to the Four Great Holylands, not even comparable to Heavenly Sword Faction, each of them can already be considered as possessing the might of a first-rate sect. They would possess at least ten cultivators who are at the Earthen Immortal stage or above.” Chen Feng nodded.

“As for the bandits we found from the Absolute Mountain Range, they do not matter. Even if they die, no one will come avenge them.”

“Some of the students were quite influential in the academy. Although the high-ranking elders of the academy would be unwilling to personally step forward to deal with you, they would have no problems arranging some machinations against you,” Lan Hai said.

“There are actually people who would come trouble me for the sake of some dead people?” Chen Feng scoffed scornfully. “If that is the case, I will just have to kill whoever comes.”

Lan Hai shook his head. For him, Chen Feng's words were somewhat too boastful. No matter how formidable Chen Feng may be, he was only a Human Immortal in the end. If an Earthen Immortal were to take action, Chen Feng would be incapable of running away.

“No need to think too much about it then. Since the academy did not directly investigate me, nothing will happen. As for those who would secretly take action against me, they are all small fries not worth getting concerned over.” Chen Feng shook his head. Next, he waved his hand and a fist-sized ball of Dawnsource Crystal Water floated over to hover before Lan Hai.

“This is, Dawnsource Crystal Water!” Lan Hai stared with widened eyes.

“You cultivate the dao of water. This Dawnsource Crystal Water will be helpful to you. I will never be stingy towards those who are loyal to me. As long as your performance is satisfactory, there will be many more of such rewards,” Chen Feng said coolly. In order to gain himself more subordinates, suppressive power alone was insufficient. He also needed to bring out some benefits, letting might and favourable treatment work in tandem.

As expected, Lan Hai grew overjoyed after obtaining the Dawnsource Crystal Water. For Lan Hai, even absorbing one drop of the Dawnsource Crystal Water would be greatly beneficial towards him. And yet, there were at least 100 drops of Dawnsource Crystal Water within the ball.

For cultivators walking the path of cultivation, paying a price for the sake of making progress was very normal.

“I have some contacts in Absolute Academy. Should anything happen, I will be able to quickly find out about it.” After saying a few more words, Lan Hai happily went to cultivate himself. With the Dawnsource Crystal Water, Lan Hai was confident that he would be able to advance to the next level soon.

I am personally eager to see which blind fellow would dare come trouble me. Since refining the Heart of Seven Apertures and advancing to the mid-level Human Immortal stage, Chen Feng's cultivation base had skyrocketed. Thus, he felt very confident. He wanted nothing more to have someone come and throw a ruckus. Then, Chen Feng will be able to start a bloodbath.

What happened next, however, surprised Chen Feng. There were no unusual activities on Absolute Academy's side and no one came to disturb him. It was so peaceful that Chen Feng found it wrong. It felt as though something was about to happen.

In the end, however, Chen Feng decided to ignore it and focus wholeheartedly on cultivating himself within Absolute Academy. Cultivating within his grotto-mansion, Chen Feng was able to link up to the essence power underground. In between his cultivation sessions, he would also head to the Teaching Hall and listen to the lectures on the grand dao. Occasionally, he would also wander about to visit some friends and talk about their experiences. He had a very carefree time there. It truly felt like the life of an Immortal Human spoken of in legends.

Time flew and one year quickly went by.

During that one year, Chen Feng managed to stabilize his cultivation level, growing even stronger in the process. However, his biggest net gain was the change to his body.

Since refining and fusing with the Heart of Seven Apertures, Chen Feng's ability to absorb energy had increased by seven times. Add the Heavengulping Absorption Technique and Demonic Heavengorging Art into the equation, Chen Feng was able to constantly extract a high amount of essence power from the underground essence vein.

Thankfully, the essence power beneath the Absolute Mountain Range was connected to Eternal World itself, something that innately pulsated with life. So long as Eternal World remained, the essence power there would not disappear. Even if Chen Feng's rate of absorption was ten times greater, it would still be incapable of bringing about a significant change to the Absolute Mountain Range. The amount that Chen Feng devoured each day could be easily replenished with just one energy circulation from Eternal World.

Naturally, things would be different if Chen Feng's absorption rate was a thousand or ten thousand times higher.

In the war back then, my spiritual root was destroyed. Unexpectedly, I would find a chance to recover it. Chen Feng chuckled. The war back then had left the Longevity Tower badly damaged while his spiritual root was destroyed. In the end, he was left drifting in s.p.a.ce alongside the Longevity Tower for a million years. The cause of this incident was not simply limited to the existence of external enemies. There were also some internal issues within the Celestial Longevity Plane itself.

At any rate, the spiritual root that Chen Feng possessed back then was simply too terrifying, giving birth to feelings of jealousy and the desire to harm him.

“You want to recover your spiritual root? It's still too early to be thinking about that. In order to attain a Chaos Const.i.tution, absorbing a large quant.i.ty of essence power is only one of the requirements. More importantly, you must possess a high level of perseverance, courage, indomitable will, essence, energy, soul power and luck,” Tower said, snickering.

“There is no need for you to tell me that. I already know how to form a Chaos Const.i.tution.”

“You know? In that case, if you have any questions in the future, don't come ask me about it.”

As Chen Feng was bickering with Tower, an elder from Absolute Academy approached Chen Feng's grotto-mansion.

“Eh, someone is here.” With a thought from Chen Feng, his figure swiftly appeared in front of his grotto-mansion.

So, it's Elder Mo. Why did he come looking for me? Upon seeing who it was, Chen Feng felt somewhat puzzled.

This person's name was Mo Qingsong, an executive elder of Absolute Academy. He was a mid-level Human Immortal with quite the high status. However, Chen Feng was also already a mid-level Human Immortal. Thus, he could stand on the same level as him. Rather, due to Chen Feng's status as a young student and his potential, Chen Feng was more important to Absolute Academy than Mo Qingsong.

Due to all the above, Mo Qingsong was quick to respond to Chen Feng's appearance, speaking up first, “Ha ha ha! I'm sorry for disturbing you while you're cultivating.”

“No, no. Why did Elder Mo come here?” Chen Feng replied smilingly.

“We'll have to talk about the details after we are in the Task Hall.”

“Oh? Can Elder Mo not give me some clues beforehand?”

“I'm sorry, that is not possible. However, you will know about it once you reach the Task Hall. It is a good thing.”

“A good thing.” Chen Feng's heart thumped and he didn't know what else to say. Next, he followed Mo Qingsong to the Task Hall.

The Task Hall was a special place within Absolute Academy where tasks were posted. When Chen Feng arrived, he saw that there were already several cultivators waiting for him.

Chen Feng only recognized a few of them, elders who would often show up around Absolute Academy. However, all of them possessed formidable cultivation bases. Even the weakest amongst them was at the mid-level Human Immortal stage. Several of them were already peak-level Human Immortals, only one step between them and the Earthen Immortal stage.

These fellows should be the elites amongst elites of Absolute Academy. Heh! Once they advance to the Earthen Immortal stage, they would become even greater characters. Only, what is going on here? Are we going to partic.i.p.ate in a task? Chen Feng pondered.

Upon Chen Feng's arrival, all of them turned their gazes over, causing Chen Feng's heart to abruptly turn tense. Despite the smile on their faces, he had sensed a hint of hostility from some of their gazes.

One of them, a stately-looking middle-aged man said with a smile, “Chen Feng, you are here. Come, sit.”

“Greetings, Elder Shi.” Chen Feng saluted respectfully before finding a place to sit.

This elder's name was Shi Benlei, also known as Immortal Chargebolt. He was a peak-level Human Immortal who had attempted to a.s.sail the Earthen Immortal stage before. Despite failing, he could already be considered the closest one there to the Earthen Immortal stage.

After Chen Feng sat down, two more cultivators arrived. Chen Feng looked around. The elders aside, their group had a total of 16 students, Chen Feng included.

There were 4 peak-level Human Immortals, 10 high-level Human Immortals and 2 mid-level Human Immortals.

“We summoned you fellows here for the sake of a task,” Elder Shi said, his voice calm but clear. There was a smile on his face as he looked at them all.

“This task is very difficult and there is no way that one person alone would be capable of completing it. That is also why we had gathered all of you here today.”

“Everyone here is an outstanding student of our academy. All of you were selected after a detailed selection process by us elders.”

“The specifics of the task will only be given after you have agreed to go. However, I can reveal that the destination for your task is the Lightning Pond. Additionally, the other three Holylands will also be sending their own students there,” Elder Shi slowly said.

“Lightning Pond!”

Everyone's eyes lit up. That was a danger zone.

“Now, it is time for you to come to a decision. If you do not want to partic.i.p.ate, that is fine. We will not force you.”

“I'll go.”

“I'm willing to go.”

All of them responded quickly and it did not take long before Chen Feng was the only one left.

“Chen Feng, what about you? Are you going?” a black-clothed cultivator sitting beside Shi Benlei asked coldly, his eyes focused as he looked at Chen Feng.

Shi Tiandao. He can be considered as Jue Wushen's master, a peak-level Human Immortal. Heh! As expected, these fellows do not have good intentions. Still, I would like to see what you fellows are up to. Chen Feng scoffed inwardly.

“Err, I will need to consider this.” Chen Feng deliberately put on a troubled look.

“What is there to consider? What an indecisive fellow, useless!” Shi Tiandao scoffed before ignoring Chen Feng.

“Like I said, this task is very dangerous. Even some high-level Human Immortals might be incapable of completing it. These two students at the mid-level Human Immortal stage should just quit.” A contemptuous voice suddenly rang out. It was from a high-level Human Immortal who looked at Chen Feng with a ridiculing expression.

Note: Shi Tiandao and Shi Benlei do not share the same surname. Shi Tiandao's surname is '弒' (pinyin: shì) (rough translation: murdering one's superior) while Shi Benlei's surname is '石' (pinyin: shí) (rough translation: stone).