Fantasy, starting with a treasure bowl

"Yes, Senior Lu!"

Mei Renxing's head bobbed up like a pestle, and he continued, "According to the rules of Falling Star Academy over the years, whenever the Starfall Secret Realm opens, the elders will select a group of powerful elites from the East Academy and students from the South Academy to enter it."

"As for what these people are doing inside the Starfall Secret Realm, even I'm not entirely sure..."

"Wait a minute."

Raising his hand again to interrupt, Lu Feng glanced at Mei Renxing opposite him and said, "So, you've been guarding me outside my cave for a month?"

"Uh, yes...!"

Mei Renxing nodded somewhat fearfully.

"Heh, I didn't expect you to be such an obedient and honest guy, but..."

With another grin, Lu Feng changed the subject, saying in a low voice, "Back during the academy's grand competition, Brother Xia and Miss Leng had already withdrawn from the Five Spirits Society, and that scoundrel Xu Tianlong had also severed all ties with them..."

"Now that you are a member of the Five Spirits Society, you should obey Xu Tianlong's orders. Why have you risked coming here to deliver a message? Aren't you afraid that Xu Tianlong will hold a grudge against you and make an example of you?"

"Senior Lu is absolutely right. Sister Leng and Second Master Xia have indeed severed ties with the Five Spirits Society, but..."

Faced with Lu Feng's suspicion and probing, Mei Renxing could only smile helplessly, and then slowly explained, "I was once greatly favored by Sister Leng, who even saved my life once. So I can never forget this kindness, no matter when or where..."

So Leng Ying saved this kid's life before?

No wonder Leng Ying remained so loyal even after leaving the Five Spirits Society, even at the cost of offending Xu Tianlong, the leader of the Five Spirits Society.

That explains everything...

Upon hearing Mei Renxing's words, Lu Feng immediately understood the whole story.

"Mei Renxing, you're a sword cultivator, kid?"

His gaze shifted again, landing on the long sword sheath behind the other person, and Lu Feng raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, yes, in response to Senior Lu's question!"

Although he didn't know what Lu Feng meant by asking, Mei Renxing answered honestly without daring to hide anything.

"I happen to have a fine sword on hand, which I think would be perfect for you, lad..."

As he spoke, Lu Feng raised his hand and lightly touched the storage ring between his fingers. He then took out the Jueqiao Sword, which he had picked up from the corpses of Li Linyue and the others, and handed it to Mei Renxing opposite him.

"This...this is?!"

Faced with Lu Feng's sudden gift of the sword, Mei Renxing was stunned for a moment, seemingly quite surprised.

"This sword is called the Absolute Cliff Sword. Its previous owner is unknown, but its power is quite good. It seems to be ranked twelfth on some list of famous swords?"

"However, I am not a sword cultivator, so I am not very interested in this sword. I will now give it to you. I hope you will make good use of it in the future and not let down Miss Leng and the others who have trained you."

Lu Feng stood with his hands behind his back, his tone full of composure and magnanimity, as if he were not bestowing a sword, but merely giving away a small gift.

"Thank you, Senior Lu!"

"I will never forget Senior Lu's great kindness and virtue, and I will be willing to go through fire and water for you in the future!"

Upon seeing this, Mei Renxing was completely dumbfounded. He was so moved that he knelt down and thanked them profusely.

After all, he never expected that he would end up getting a Jueqiao Sword, which was comparable to an eighth-grade spiritual treasure, for free, simply by delivering a message to Lu Feng's cave!

This isn't just finding money while out for a stroll; it's like a windfall!

Seeing Mei Renxing repeatedly kowtowing and thanking him, his expression extremely excited, Lu Feng simply nodded silently and said nothing more.

Because his actions were not a pretense of magnanimity, but rather an attempt to win people over and have ulterior motives.

After all, he can't keep fighting alone forever; he'll eventually have to cultivate his own power base.

Although Mei Renxing in front of him was of average strength and talent, he was honest and kind, and was also a loyal follower of Leng Ying and others, so he was worth Lu Feng's efforts to win him over.

"It truly is a fine sword...!"

After examining the Absolute Cliff Sword in his hand once more, Mei Renxing could not hide his excitement. After a long while, he slowly sheathed the sword and bowed to Lu Feng, saying, "Senior Lu, now that the letter has been delivered, I will not disturb you any longer. I will take my leave now!"

Swish!

Not long after Mei Renxing left, a beautiful figure in crimson arrived on a cloud and landed steadily in front of Lu Feng.

The newcomer was dressed in a heavy red and white martial robe, with a red embroidered shawl draped over her shoulders, resembling a seasoned female general. She was none other than Liu Lanyu, one of the Seven Fallen Stars, the Elder of the Scripture Hall!

However, at this moment, Liu Lanyu's face was cold and serious, and her eyebrows were tightly furrowed, as if she was holding back a lot of anger, which made people feel intimidated.

"Elder Liu?"

Upon seeing that the visitor was Liu Lanyu, Lu Feng was momentarily stunned. He then instinctively reached for his hands in a gesture of respect, saying, "Student Lu Feng greets Elder Liu..."

"You, Lu Feng! I thought you had a reason for not going to Baiqiu Peak to receive your orders immediately, but I didn't expect you to be hiding here slacking off and deliberately resisting the academy's arrangements!"

Liu Lanyu interrupted Lu Feng's bow with a sharp voice, still looking furious, clearly quite angry.

After all, it was a decision she and Dao Butong made together to designate Lu Feng as one of the next batch of students to enter the Starfall Secret Realm for a mission, and Liu Lanyu herself also had high hopes for Lu Feng.

However, Lu Feng not only stood Liu Lanyu up, but also stayed in the disciple's cave on Shanxing Peak and did not go to Baiqiu Peak to receive his orders. Naturally, this made Liu Lanyu very angry, and in the end, she had no choice but to go to his door to find him herself.

"Going to Bai Qiufeng to report back? Deliberately resisting the academy's arrangements?"

"Holy crap! What crime did they come up with this time? I'm more wronged than Dou E!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Feng remained completely bewildered. The next moment, as if remembering something, he couldn't help but cry out that he was wronged!

After all, he hadn't expected his seclusion to last so long.

According to Lu Feng's initial estimate, he would be able to break through and emerge from seclusion in at most two months.

However, things didn't go as planned. In order to break through to the seventh level of the Spirit Soul Realm in one fell swoop, Lu Feng still spent an extra month before he was able to successfully emerge from seclusion.

At this point, more than a month had passed since the Starfall Secret Realm opened, so it's no wonder that Liu Lanyu was so angry and furious.

"Elder Liu, how could I dare to deliberately disobey the academy's arrangements! You have greatly misunderstood me. I have been in seclusion for the past few months, which is why I was delayed in entering the Starfall Secret Realm. This is all a misunderstanding..."

Faced with the furious Liu Lanyu, Lu Feng felt wronged but dared not argue. He could only weakly explain, "To be honest, I'm currently planning to go to Baiqiu Peak to receive my orders..."

Is this really true?

Liu Lanyu raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Absolutely true! If a student dares to tell even a single lie, may he be struck by lightning and never be able to get married again!"

As Lu Feng spoke, he raised his right hand to swear an oath.

"Hmph! Whether what you say is true or false, this elder cannot judge for the moment, but if you want to get married in the future, it won't be as difficult as you think..."

With another cold snort, Liu Lanyu's beautiful eyes flickered as she subconsciously glanced at the "enormous thing" between Lu Feng's legs and said in a somewhat teasing tone.

"Elder Liu is indeed a reasonable person; I admire him!"

Seeing that Liu Lanyu's anger had subsided considerably, Lu Feng also bowed and clasped his hands, grinning obsequiously, clearly a seasoned flatterer.

"Forget the formalities! Although the misunderstanding has been cleared up, you still delayed the trip by a month, so the punishment you deserve is still necessary!"

Despite Lu Feng's flattery, Liu Lanyu seemed unmoved. She waved her hand dismissively, her tone remaining cold and stern, "According to the academy rules established by our founder, anyone who resists the academy's arrangements will be severely punished with three hundred lashes!"

Swish!

After saying that, Liu Lanyu didn't waste any more words with Lu Feng. She raised her hand and lightly touched the storage ring on her finger, then took out a thick, long, black iron whip covered with barbs.

"What the heck? A punishment according to the school rules? And three hundred lashes at that?!"

Seeing Liu Lanyu slowly approaching him while holding an iron whip, Lu Feng's face turned pale, his body trembled slightly, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

Not to mention that the other party himself is a Yuanhai Realm expert, whose strength is almost no weaker than Xu Yiping and others from the Wusheng Sect in the past, just the fact that this black, thick iron whip covered with barbs is lashing his body, and that it is lashed three hundred times in a row, is something that even someone as strong as Lu Feng might not be able to withstand!