Talented Martial Hero

After the mysterious woman took Belle away, Darren let it out of his mind. He went back to his room and began absorbing the spiritual energy from heaven and earth.

The next morning, Darren woke from his meditation. When he opened his eyes, light radiated from his pupils, and he found that his vital energy had sharply increased.

"Wow! That's incredible! Now I can absorb spiritual energy at such a fast speed. But I'm still at the eighth stage of the Primary Realm. Alas, one cannot make a stage breakthrough overnight.”

The higher cultivation base was, the more difficult a breakthrough would be. For example, if the spiritual energy Darren needed to make a breakthrough from the seventh stage to the eighth stage equaled a pot of water, the spiritual energy he needed to move from eighth to ninth would be a pond.

The difficulty in upgrading one's cultivation base was more evidence of the great gap between different stages. This was why the chance for a cultivator to defeat one at a higher stage was close to zero.

"After two days, it's time to choose a school of martial arts. I have to leave for the llmen Sect now. Otherwise, I will miss that.” Darren started off after he packed up. His cultivation journey in the llmen Sect was coming soon.

As the preeminent sect of this country, the Iimen Sect possessed plenty of cultivation resources and rare books on martial arts skills. It was the sacred place that every cultivator yearned to enter, including Darren.

When Darren passed by the central yard of the Chu Clan, the young men watched him with admiration and envy.

"Have you heard the latest news? The rule for selecting our family chief after half a year has been changed.”

"Yeah! Of course! I read the bulletin in the morning. I'm guessing the rule was changed to deter Mr. Darren. After all, nobody among the younger generation has the skill to defeat Mr. Darren.”

"I agree with you. I heard that some strong cultivators of the other factions came to meet the Chief Elder last night. They staged a demonstration and stated they would stop supporting the Chu Clan if the Chief Elder didn't change the rule, leaving him no choice but to reach a compromise with them." Those people murmured among themselves.

Darren heard part of their conversation when he passed by them. When he saw the bulletin in the training ground, the fragments of their conversation came together like puzzle pieces and formed the whole story.

Darren frowned deeply after he finished reading the bulletin. It was obvious the rules were changed because of him.

As the bulletin said, the competition for selecting the Chief of the Chu Clan half a year from now allows the elder generation to join. The maternal relatives are allowed to participate in the competition on behalf of the members of the direct family.”

In other words, Reed, Mark, and strong cultivators that were maternal relatives of other factions had the right to join the competition.

They were all strong cultivators of the Spirit Realm, and most of them were at the second or third stage. Although Darren's talent was the Black Degree, it was impossible for his cultivation base to reach the Spirit Realm in half a year.

"Darren, are you heading for the llmen Sect now?" an elder with a frail build said as he walked up to Darren.

"Yes, sir!" The elder was the guard of the Martial Skill Library, whom Darren respected deeply.

"I guess you have read the bulletin. Don't let this bother you, kid! Focus your attention on the limen Sect, and the martial arts skills you choose to learn in the future. Being one of their disciples, you will improve your cultivation base greatly. That's the most important thing for you now. Remember this, kid. The so-called chief of this family is nothing at all. It doesn't deserve your time and effort. What matters is your cultivation base. The higher, the better. Got it?"

Darren understood the elder's underlying meaning. The elder was trying to tell Darren that his cultivation base couldn't reach the same level as the elder generation in just half a year.

"Yes, sir! I will keep this in mind. Thank you so much, sir!" Darren answered humbly. Then he changed the topic, "I have no interest in being the chief, but I can't forgive the insults and humiliation my sister and I have endured for years and pretend nothing has happened. I want to get even."

From the determination sparkling in Darren's eyes, the elder knew that nothing could change his mind now. After all, Darren was the son of the Chief and had suffered much scorn and humiliation since his father's death. It was, thus, natural that he wanted to get revenge. And the competition for selecting the chief of the Chu Clan offered him a perfect opportunity.

"So you've decided to join the competition after half a year?" the elder said with a deep sigh.

"Yes, sir," Darren answered calmly.

"Well, that's your call to make. I know you are a talented kid, but you should keep up your discipline when you begin your cultivation in the limen Sect. The progress in cultivation base requires persistence and diligence. There are millions of strong cultivators beyond our standing, but I believe you will be one of them sooner or later. Work hard, kid!"

Then the elder took out a roll of parchment and handed it to Darren. The elder said, "Although I'm not as talented as you, my knowledge about the Profound Nine Sword Skills is much better than yours. After all, I've studied this skill for as long as I can remember. This is my note about the first four moves. I hope this will be helpful for you to understand the Profound Nine Sword Skills. Here you are."

Darren took the parchment, which was an incredible gift to him.

Darren's talent was at the Black Degree, but he still had difficulty understanding the Profound Nine Sword Skills. The parchment would be a great help for Darren to have a better grasp of the top martial arts skill.