Chapter 353: First Place, End of the Ceremony

The elders started discussing animatedly. They had nothing but words of praise for Chu Yuntian and Chu Yunfan. There was no conflict of interest. With Chu Yuntian and Chu Yunfan’s current level, it was not easy to have a conflict of interest with them.

Since there was no conflict of interest, the elders wanted to rope them in. They naturally were not stingy with their praise.

Most importantly, they could see that the clan leader, Chu Yan, greatly admired the two cousins.

Naturally, they were not stingy in their cooperation!

As for Chu Yunfan, after defeating Chu Yuntian, he just stood there quietly and did not move.

Defeated. Chu Yunfan had finally defeated Chu Yuntian!

Chu Yunfan could sense something had ruptured deep in his heart. It was his obsession. When his obsession was broken, his state of mind instantly rushed to the Acquired Stage.

Although an inner demon of obsession was a terrifying thing, once broken, it would be a breakthrough. In the Ancient Zenith Civilization, there were even sects that specialized in cultivating such inner demons. Ordinary people avoided it, but these sects specialized in creating obsessions—inner demons—and then severing them to attain greater wisdom. This was also a method of cultivation. However, this path was dangerous, and completing it was challenging. Those who successfully cultivated such methods were usually legendary top-notch experts.

Combined with Alchemy Emperor’s memories, Chu Yunfan could sense a change in his body. The ancients had paid a lot of attention to cultivation. Even in ancient China when it was not suitable for cultivation, many martial arts masters had been born.

Such people were all stunning figures. With their state of mind and cultivation, it was no problem for them to reach the Innate Stage within minutes.

In the Ancient Zenith Civilization, emphasis was placed on the cultivation of the mind. But it was different in modern society. The modern cultivation theory emphasized the cultivation of both life and death. The state of mind was internal and martial arts cultivation was external. Only by cultivating both inside and outside could one attain great strength.

The cultivation of the mind alone did not cultivate life. This was the number one flaw in cultivation.

In Chu Yunfan’s heart, he also approved of cultivating both the internal and external—cultivating both life and death. In the memories of the Alchemy Emperor, during the Ancient Zenith Civilization, many people had tried different methods of cultivation. There were like the Alchemy Emperor who stocked up pills, and there were also tyrannical characters whose cultivation bases were invincible and who forcibly attained enlightenment. There were also those who sought to achieve the greatest of heights in their cultivation their entire lives. One day, they would be enlightened and soar in the sky, and their cultivation base would soar by three thousand miles a day.

But all of their methods had drawbacks. The most terrifying people among them were definitely those who cultivated both the internal and external. This fact has remained throughout ancient and modern times. For the Alchemy Emperor to have achieved the level that he did was already considered miraculous.

In a short time, countless thoughts flashed through Chu Yunfan’s mind. Under everyone’s watchful gaze, he did not move at all. But at this moment, everyone was still immersed in the shock of Chu Yunfan’s victory over Chu Yuntian. They did not notice Chu Yunfan’s strange behavior.

By the time Chu Yunfan came back to his senses, Chu Yuntian had stepped back into the ring. Specks of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. He seemed in disbelief that he had just lost.

Even though Chu Yuntian had realized that Chu Yuntian was showing signs of catching up, he never thought that Chu Yunfan would actually be able to defeat him one day. For someone as proud as him, being able to admit that Chu Yunfan was on par with him was his limit. Defeating him was a miracle that he had never thought of.

“You’ve lost,” Chu Yuntian said simply.

“Yes, I’ve lost, but…” Chu Yuntian was about to continue speaking when he saw Chu Yunfan was completely ignoring him. Chu Yunfan turned around and left as if Chu Yuntian’s defeat was a matter of no doubt.

Chu Yuntian could feel the transformation in Chu Yunfan’s state of mind. Chu Yunfan was no longer obsessed with defeating him. Chu Yuntian was completely ignored.

For the first time in his life, Chu Yuntian felt aggrieved. He had always ignored his cousin who was the same age as him. Since when could Chu Yunfan ignore him like this?

But Chu Yuntian had nothing to say. He had lost. These three words were enough to explain everything. He finally understood what Chu Yunfan had endured all these years—a child from another family was stronger than you and he does not give a d*mn about you!

“Don’t go thinking the results of this battle is the end. I’ll definitely defeat you the next time,” Chu Yuntian said as he gritted his teeth.

“I’ll be waiting.” Chu Yunfan sped up and left the ring. At this moment, he was feeling elated. He felt like he was walking on cloud nine.

Shortly, the top three in the sparring competition for this year’s Chu family ancestor worship ceremony were decided. The first place went to Chu Yunfan, the second place went to Chu Yuntian, and the third place went to Chu Xuelian who was highly regarded as one of the main descendants of the Chu family.

The ceremony finally came to an end.

The three of them were brought before Chu Haoyue. Chu Haoyue looked at the three of them and could not help but feel a little emotional. Thinking back to those years, he had also obtained the first place like this. In the blink of an eye, everything had changed.

“The three of you have performed well,” Chu Haoyue proclaimed, “However, I don’t want you to grow complacent because the enemies you’ll face in the future will far exceed your imagination. Putting aside the countless experts in Federation University, even the current situation of society requires that you grow rapidly. The outcome of today’s match doesn’t matter. A momentary victory or defeat will not be for life. How far a person can go depends on whether his competitors are strong or not. I hope that you can become the driving force for each other’s advancement.”

“Thank you for your words of wisdom, Junior Leader,” the three of them said in unison.

“Earlier, my father said that the top three would receive a special reward in addition to the prize money that they’ve earned. Three of you, come with me. The prize money will be transferred to your private accounts. This special reward will be yours alone,” Chu Haoyue said.

The three of them nodded. Chu Yunfan had already received the message that over ten million had been transferred into his account.

Although this amount was not an astronomical figure to him at the moment, there was no doubt that the Chus had spent a large sum of money. But what Chu Yunfan was more concerned with was the rewards for the top three.

Under Chu Haoyue’s lead, they quickly entered the depths of the Chu family’s ancestral land. With the junior leader leading the way, they naturally encountered no obstructions along the way. Chu Yunfan could sense that the closer they got to the depths of the Chu family’s ancestral land, the more he could sense powerful gazes spying on them. Numerous powerful auras like hibernating giant dragons emitted extremely terrifying auras.

The foundation of the Chus was far deeper than it appeared from the outside.

The four of them passed by a valley. Although this area was a dip in the land, the valley was unexpectedly well preserved and did not seem affected by any external factors.