Chapter 96: The Leap Mode Begins

The next day, Chu Tianfeng and Du Jingjing made their way back to Qianiao Lake, eventually plunging into the small island in the middle of the lake.

Originally, Chu Tianfeng planned to return to Tianhai, but Du Jingjing strongly opposed the idea. She explained that the academy had been occupied by various martial artists, and even Old Xu’s small courtyard was surrounded by agents from the special operations team.

In the end, Chu Tianfeng followed Du Jingjing’s plan. After all, the spiritual energy around Qianiao Lake was quite abundant, making it a suitable place to study and cultivate simultaneously.

The two purchased many daily necessities along with several books Chu Tianfeng needed, officially settling into Qianiao Lake.

Perhaps news of Chu Tianfeng and the special operations team having taken the lake’s treasures had already spread, as most martial artists had withdrawn. The “Battle of Red Cliffs” film crew’s base was now deserted; Director Yang and his team had likely finished their shooting and returned to Shudian.

In short, Qianiao Lake returned to its former tranquility, with laughter and joy once again gracing the water’s surface, free of the clashing of swords and blades.

At Du Jingjing’s strong recommendation, they returned to the small island where she had stayed after her injury last time. They cleared a spot, pitched tents and hammocks, and began living a secluded life like a paradise away from the world.

Du Jingjing was initially curious about Chu Tianfeng’s occasional conjuring of objects, but she gradually grew accustomed to it. Even when he summoned a pile of tables and chairs, she barely paid attention.

Chu Tianfeng tried several times to persuade her to return home, but she refused, insisting on watching over him to keep him out of trouble. Resigned, he gave up.

During the day, Chu Tianfeng either read or accompanied her in swimming on the lake. At night, he usually spent time cultivating, while Xi Yazhi served as their sentinel, constantly scanning the entire island with her spiritual awareness to ensure their safety.

That evening, after dinner, they each settled into a lounge chair, quietly admiring the shimmering lake under the setting sun.

“I’ve always aspired to be a female knight-errant, to bring justice and speak up for the oppressed,” Du Jingjing sighed deeply, gazing at the distant sparkling water.

Holding a cup of monkey wine, Chu Tianfeng sipped slowly. “Miss, aren’t you that already?”

“What do you mean?” Du Jingjing bit her small canine. “I know the Tomb Robbers killed Brother Fan, but I haven’t been able to do anything about them.”

There was more she didn’t say—there was a despicable man right beside her she was equally powerless against.

Because she had fallen deeply in love with him.

Since the night he saved her, he had occupied her heart. Whenever possible, she kept a close watch on his whereabouts.

When she heard he had caused trouble in the Li family territory, she immediately took a long leave and stayed on the outskirts of Li’s domain every day.

He knew she didn’t exactly like him, and that he had a fiancée.

Yet, she loved him—cherished the feeling of being with him.

Chu Tianfeng, of course, had no idea what was going on in Du Jingjing’s mind. He simply looked at her, hesitating to speak.

“I know what you want to say—that my cultivation is too weak,” Du Jingjing sighed with resignation, regaining her composure. “I’m busy with investigations; where would I find time to cultivate? Otherwise, I’d at least be at the early stage of Transformation Qi.”

“Don’t overthink it.” Chu Tianfeng patted her shoulder and took two origin-nourishing pills from his ring, placing them in her palm. “Try these.”

After spending so much time together, Chu Tianfeng gradually regarded Du Jingjing as a friend.

Besides, she had helped him many times before. As repayment, he should return the favor.

“What’s this?” Du Jingjing eyed the two green pills curiously.

“You’ll know once you take them,” Chu Tianfeng shrugged.

Without hesitation, she flipped them into her mouth.

Moments later, Du Jingjing felt an unbearable pain in her lower abdomen and cried out in alarm, “What did you make me eat?”

Chu Tianfeng pressed a hand to his forehead. “Miss, didn’t you feel a surge of heat rushing through your dantian? Hurry and sit down to refine the pill power.”

Startled, Du Jingjing quickly sat cross-legged on the lounge chair and began to cultivate.

Soon, sweat beaded on her forehead, and her body trembled uncontrollably.

Chu Tianfeng didn’t intervene—firstly because he was unfamiliar with her true energy pathways, and secondly because he didn’t know her spiritual root type. If he intervened recklessly, the true energy he supplied might clash with hers, doing more harm than good.

Half an hour later, Du Jingjing was soaked through with sweat, but the aura surrounding her body was soaring violently.

Dark Qi mid-stage, late-stage, peak, and then, in one breath, she broke through to the early stage of Transformation Qi before finally stopping.

Chu Tianfeng still didn’t disturb her, sitting beside her as her protector.

Only at midnight did Du Jingjing exhale a long breath and leap up.

“Thank you!” Du Jingjing threw herself onto Chu Tianfeng and hugged him tightly.

Chu Tianfeng trembled in surprise, raising both hands high. “Miss, do you know how bad you smell?”

Upon hearing this, Du Jingjing sniffed her nose, then screamed and pushed him away.

Chu Tianfeng laughed heartily.

Du Jingjing rolled her eyes at him before jumping into the lake.

That night, Du Jingjing was too excited to sleep, sitting on Chu Tianfeng’s hammock and refusing to leave.

“Miss, I’m going to cultivate!” Chu Tianfeng said, having lost count of how many times he’d mentioned it.

“Giggling,” Du Jingjing pretended not to hear. “This pill is really good. Honestly, what’s your cultivation level now?”

She was genuinely happy. She knew these pills must be expensive, yet Chu Tianfeng gave them to her without hesitation.

That alone showed she wasn’t absent from his heart—that he cared about her.

To her, that mattered more than anything—even more than breaking through to the early stage of Transformation Qi.

Chu Tianfeng merely assumed she was delighted by her cultivation breakthrough.

Reluctant to reveal his own level but wary that she’d pester him endlessly, he casually said, “I’m mid-stage Innate, but even if I faced late-stage Innate, I wouldn’t flinch.”

In truth, his cultivation was only at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, equivalent to late-stage Dark Qi. But in terms of combat power, he wasn’t afraid of late-stage Innate fighters.

“Mid-stage Innate?” Du Jingjing’s eyes widened, but thinking of his miraculous pills, she understood somewhat.

She also secretly felt happy for him. She knew his situation was perilous; the more powerful he became, the safer he would be.

The next day, they rose early, packed their bags, and headed to Qianiao Lake town before parting ways.

Du Jingjing’s leave was too long, so she had to return to the capital to report back. Chu Tianfeng, meanwhile, went back to Shudian Film City, randomly found a film crew, and bought several young male masks for quick disguise changes.

When leaving Shudian town, he unexpectedly ran into Yuan Qi at the station.

This kid’s mischievous nature hadn’t changed; he was once again pestering two pretty girls, trying to recruit them for “work.”

Without hesitation, Chu Tianfeng used his spiritual awareness to manipulate the true energy he had left inside Yuan Qi’s body, leaving him utterly disoriented.

Even after dragging Yuan Qi outside the station, Yuan didn’t understand what had just happened.

“Where’s Peng Yongliang?” Chu Tianfeng asked with his true voice.

Only then did Yuan Qi realize who he was, stammering, “You… you’re… Chu Tianfeng?”

“Cut the crap. Want me to do it again?” Chu Tianfeng kicked him. “Spill it—where’s Peng Yongliang?”

“Brother Liang should be in An City. He was chosen by the Heavenly Master Sect... yes, the Heavenly Master Sect. I heard he’s already become a disciple of theirs,” Yuan Qi hurriedly answered.

Chu Tianfeng was enlightened, thinking no wonder he couldn’t reach that kid—he had gone to the Heavenly Master Sect.

But something felt off; he’d heard the sect was very strict in accepting disciples, usually only taking teenagers. He wondered what incense Peng Yongliang had burned to catch their attention.

After beating Yuan Qi up a bit more, Chu Tianfeng forced him to give the new phone numbers of both Yuan and Peng before finally leaving Shudian town satisfied.

Afterward, still dressed as a woman, Chu Tianfeng hurried back to Tianhai to prepare for the English proficiency test for his degree in two days.

To divert the attention of martial artists from various sects, the day before the exam, Chu Tianfeng ordered Yuan Qi to spread the news of his appearance in Shudian wildly.

Though somewhat crude, the tactic was effective—most uninformed martial artists swarmed to Shudian, surrounding the film city completely.

Thus, Shudian Film City was quickly occupied by martial artists from various sects, and Yuan Qi was tossed about by countless fighters for an entire day and night.

In similar frustration were Hua Zhengjun and his daughter Hua Wu, who were visited by numerous martial artists. Hua Zhengjun was even forcibly injected with true energy by an elder of the Huangshan Sect at the Yuan Tian level, who said he would remove it only after handing over Chu Tianfeng.

Chu Tianfeng was oblivious to all this. He only noticed that martial artists at the Tianhai Film Academy had dwindled, allowing him to enter the exam hall leisurely.

The exam questions were not difficult, and even without cheating, Chu Tianfeng could probably pass smoothly.

But as a thief, not cheating when possible would be a disservice to himself.

So he occasionally scanned the exam hall with spiritual awareness, cross-checking each answer.

After leaving the exam, Chu Tianfeng felt light and unburdened, not the least bit nervous despite seeing more than a dozen martial artists standing around with arms folded.

There were fifteen in total; one radiated true energy, clearly at or above the Innate stage—the Yuan Tian level—while the others ranged from early to peak Innate, not a serious threat.

Having once led martial artists around the campus, Chu Tianfeng was experienced.

“Classmates, follow me!” he shouted silently in his heart, lightly tapping the ground with his toes before darting forward like a swallow.

“Stop!” nearly half the martial artists shouted simultaneously.

Chu Tianfeng didn’t look back, his feet constantly changing position as he flew forward swiftly.

Then began the jump-down mode!

The first teaching building posed no difficulty; most martial artists easily leapt from the fifth-floor balcony.

After jumping from the sixth floor of the second building, the number of pursuers halved.

At the third building, Chu Tianfeng increased the difficulty, running to the sixth-floor rooftop and jumping down from there.

He slid down the treetops and landed steadily, only to find behind him the Yuan Tian elder remained; the rest had vanished.

“Next!” Chu Tianfeng charged up the fourth teaching building.

The Yuan Tian elder was furious, grinding his teeth as he followed Chu Tianfeng up the building but dared not jump this time.

The tenth floor—nearly forty meters high.

Chu Tianfeng chose an exceptionally high jumping platform for the elder, leaving him helpless and trembling as he grasped the railing, cursing Chu Tianfeng’s entire female lineage.

After climbing to the ground, Chu Tianfeng saw the elder still standing on the tenth-floor balcony, reciting poetry into the wind. Chu Tianfeng responded with a middle finger.

Crossing a small path, Chu Tianfeng unexpectedly arrived at the dormitory area—specifically, the faculty dormitories.

The street was sparsely populated, with only a few scattered people.

Among them, a conspicuous middle-aged foreign couple stood out. The man had wavy blond hair and a tall stature; the woman had golden hair and blue eyes, attractive and of medium build. Both appeared to be in their forties, likely foreign teachers employed by the school.

The woman formed a gesture with her index and middle fingers pressed together, pointed at her temple, and smiled directly at Chu Tianfeng, greeting him warmly.