Chapter 382: A Big Secret

"I wanted to thank your master properly. After all, he's the one who saved me," Su Miaoke said.

"You probably won't get the chance. Once I find a Soul Cultivation Technique, things will be easier. We can deal with the physical body later; that's not too hard to solve," Chu Feng said.

Chu Feng's biggest worry was actually the Soul Cultivation Technique. As for physical strength, that could be built up, even if it took some effort.

But without a Soul Cultivation Technique, it would be extremely difficult. Advancing further would be almost hopeless.

If his soul couldn't be elevated, he would be stuck at the Human Martial Arts Peak Realm, unable to attempt Crossing the Tribulation.

And if he couldn't cross the tribulation, then everything else would be pointless. He'd be unable to improve any further.

"Alright, I'll listen to you, honey. This Martial Arts Grand Ceremony has really been an eye-opener. I had no idea there were so many powerful people," Su Miaoke sighed. She had been extremely careful during the selection trials these past few days but had still witnessed many experts.

"That's why you need to work even harder on your Cultivation. I'll handle finding a Soul Cultivation Technique. This path is far more difficult than I ever imagined. I don't know if it's a good or bad thing for you all," Chu Feng said.

He recalled the Celestial Tribulation from that day and shivered just thinking about it.

Of all the people he knew of who had attempted Crossing the Tribulation, not a single one had succeeded. It was a near-certain death.

"Well, it's still better than being an ordinary person, right? Most of them only live for sixty or seventy years. Besides, we're still young. We have a long life ahead of us together," Su Miaoke said.

"You're right. We'll worry about the future when it comes. For now, let's just live in the moment," Chu Feng said with a smile.

"Honey, I heard that the second round of the competition is going to be even more terrifying than the first. Something about enemies we have to fight?" Su Miaoke said.

"There is a round like that. They're just trash from places like the Wo Country overseas," Chu Feng said.

"Anyway, there won't be any truly strong opponents. If someone dies to them, they'll have no one to blame but themselves. It just means they were too weak," Chu Feng said flatly.

The enemies Su Miaoke mentioned were actually just some captives from the Wo Country, used for sparring and practice.

The Great Xia Country was constantly at war, and captives from the surrounding nations were often used as practice for the younger generation.

As for why the Martial Arts Families managed to attain such high status and inspire fear in the mundane world...

It was because every year, they were required to dispatch a certain number of experts to report to the region's Celestial King and serve on the border.

Even the Chu Family, which had remained in seclusion for years, had to send several Qi Cultivation Realm Cultivators to fight each year, similar to how the mundane world had mandatory military service.

This was also why the major families and Sects could coexist peacefully with the government; the main reason was that they had all reached a cooperative agreement.

However, the government now wanted to gain more control over the power of the Martial Arts Families and Martial Arts Sects, which would likely be very difficult to achieve.

After all, everyone's interests were at stake.

"I heard those captives are incredibly vicious. If you don't kill them the first chance you get, they'll kill you instead," Su Miaoke said.

"Of course. You need to be strong enough. If you don't have solid skills, you're just asking to die. You also need plenty of combat experience. Otherwise, you're finished the moment you face an enemy on the battlefield," Chu Feng said.

"And you, honey? Are you so experienced?" Su Miaoke asked, tilting her head with a smile.

"My combat experience is still too limited. When I get the chance, I'll go train under the Western Celestial King and fight on the Western Border. Maybe I'll run into some foreigners and gain some experience," Chu Feng said.

The probability of death for an ordinary person joining the border conflicts was still very high.

Even Martial Cultivators had to be extremely careful, or they could easily lose their lives. After all, it was real, life-or-death combat.

"Okay, let's not talk about that anymore. What about Chu Wushuang and Chu Wuqing?" Su Miaoke asked.

"I don't know. That's up to them," Chu Feng said.

Chu Feng wouldn't force them to do anything.

After all, everyone has their own path to walk. You can't interfere with another person's journey.

Besides, Chu Wushuang had fought on the border before. Although it might not have been for very long, his combat power and experience were completely different from those who had never been through a life-or-death trial.

When he fought, he exuded a killing intent so potent it could chill you to the bone.

"That's true. They are the best of the Chu Family's younger generation right now. If something happened to them, wouldn't the younger generation of the Chu Family be completely finished?" Su Miaoke said.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen," Chu Feng said reassuringly.

In truth, he wasn't too worried about Chu Wushuang and Chu Wuqing, because both of them were reasonably strong.

Plus, Chu Wushuang was a very calm person who didn't panic in a crisis and acted with a steady hand.

Therefore, Chu Feng was quite confident in Chu Wushuang.