Chu Lingguang asked respectfully.

"If it were that easy, the Dragon Claw Tree would have no meaning for atonement, nor would it be found only in the Trial Ground."

Yun Hong snorted coldly.

He was somewhat displeased with Chu Lingguang’s scheme and turned to leave.

"Remember, just focus on your cultivation and don’t go near the Dragon Claw Tree again."

Poisonous Snake said, pointing a finger at him.

Then he ran over to Yun Hong and said, "Teacher Yun Hong, why don’t you just forbid Chu Lingguang from going near it?"

"Why should I forbid him?"

Yun Hong retorted.

"Well..."

Poisonous Snake looked awkward.

"If he has the ability to pull it off, I’d be thrilled to have him go near it."

Yun Hong didn’t explain further, only adding that one remark.

There was nothing Poisonous Snake could do about Yun Hong. He just turned to look at Chu Lingguang’s small courtyard and muttered, "If atonement were really that simple, the world would be in chaos."

「The next day.」

The news about Chu Lingguang approaching the Dragon Claw Tree, intending to cut a branch for atonement, caused a huge stir in the Trial Ground. Despite Chu Lingguang’s Heavenly Talent, many people were mocking him. Some even tried to find out what mistake he had committed that required using the Dragon Claw Tree to atone for it.

Chu Lingguang paid them no mind.

He couldn’t just explain it to everyone he met. The more he explained, the bigger the misunderstanding would become, and it could also cause trouble for Du Wushuang. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

However, he had to consider Yun Hong’s words. He couldn’t really risk losing the opportunity to become the best candidate just for a single branch of the Dragon Claw Tree.

Washing Marrow was second only to a complete Rebirth.

One could only imagine how much it would help his advancement in strength.

Chu Lingguang understood that when Yun Hong spoke of "losing" the opportunity, he didn’t mean it would be directly taken away from him. Rather, it meant that approaching the Dragon Claw Tree again would be extremely dangerous.

He might very well suffer a mental collapse and become a mindless fool.

The price was simply too high.

After finishing his lessons at the Learning Palace,

Chu Lingguang, in a rare move, didn’t immediately head to the back mountain to cultivate for two hours. Instead, he returned to his small courtyard and wrote a letter to Guo Wei.

He carefully detailed his situation to Guo Wei, telling him that he had already found his Sea of Consciousness and even possessed a small patch of it. He explained that Yun Hong had personally confirmed he had these abilities and had even mastered Spiritual Sense.

Finally, he asked Guo Wei what he would do in his position: should he stop approaching the Dragon Claw Tree and, after leaving, tell Du Wushuang that he had done his best? Or should he wait until his Spiritual Sense could form a defense and risk trying again?

After finishing the letter, Chu Lingguang gave it to a Black Armored Warrior. The warrior took it to Poisonous Snake for inspection, who then took the letter to review with Xu Guozhong.

When the two of them saw the question Chu Lingguang posed in the letter, they both instinctively shook their heads. Then, with wry smiles, they handed the letter back to the Black Armored Warrior and had him send it to Guo Wei via falcon.

At the same time, they instructed that when Guo Wei’s reply arrived, it must be brought to them for inspection immediately.

After writing the letter, Chu Lingguang returned to the stone stele.

Zhao Rushuang had already reached the eighty-five-meter mark. She was silently resisting the pressure there, trying to get a response from her root and bone. When she saw Chu Lingguang walk past her and step into the eighty-meter zone, she wanted to speak but hesitated. She couldn’t help but feel that she had put him in a terrible position.

People were already whispering that she had conspired with Xia Tianzhong and the other two to trick Chu Lingguang into approaching the Dragon Claw Tree, all to prevent him from stealing the spot of the best candidate.

No matter what, Chu Lingguang was just a Lower-class Youth.

Xia Tianzhong’s group and she, Zhao Rushuang, were all from the Royal Family and Nobility. How could they possibly hand over the opportunity for a Washing Marrow to Chu Lingguang?

Chu Lingguang stepped past the eighty-meter mark and continued forward a few more paces. By the time he entered the seventy-five-meter zone, the peculiar ripple emanating from the stone stele finally made his flesh and bones feel an unprecedented pressure.

’If the Dragon Claw Tree can launch a Consciousness Attack against me, then the ripple it emits must be identical to Spiritual Sense. The ripple from this stele in front of me can make my flesh and bones feel pressure from head to toe. But this pressure is also generated by a ripple; there’s no physical substance squeezing my body, nor is there anything weighing down on my shoulders.’

’They are both just ripples, so why can they generate so much Attack Power? If I can figure out their patterns, does that mean I’ll be able to withstand a Consciousness Attack?’

’No, that’s not right. If I can figure out their patterns, perhaps I can discover the pattern for making my own consciousness form a defense.’

’Teacher Yun Hong’s and Teacher Xu’s notes both state that the strength of one’s Spiritual Sense is directly related to the size of their Sea of Consciousness. I’ve already formed a small patch of a Sea of Consciousness. Even if it’s just a small patch, my Spiritual Sense should have some defensive capability. But right now, it seems useless for anything other than examining my own physique and sensing the slightest stirrings in my surroundings. This must be because I haven’t found the pattern of my own Spiritual Sense yet—the one that would let it emit a special ripple, like the stele or the Dragon Claw Tree, to form a defense or attack.’

Chu Lingguang seemed to have an epiphany.

Lately, while resisting the pressure from the stele, he had been focused on the problem between his Sea of Consciousness and his Abdominal Vortex. He had never once thought of strengthening his Spiritual Sense to try and form a defense.

Now, for the sake of getting close to the Dragon Claw Tree, the idea of strengthening his Spiritual Sense and making it form a defense arose in his mind for the first time.

「Two hours later.」

Chu Lingguang’s face was full of confusion. Under the pressure, the more he tried to find the ripple pattern of his own Spiritual Sense, the more clearly he could perceive the image between his Sea of Consciousness and his Abdominal Dantian—a scene like a gauze net, with countless strands of qi interwoven.

He felt as if he couldn’t find the ripple pattern of his own Spiritual Sense, and thus couldn’t make it form a defense, until he understood the problem between his Sea of Consciousness and his Abdominal Dantian.

’It seems I can only take this one step at a time. Maybe I really should give up on the idea of approaching the Dragon Claw Tree again and just focus on my cultivation to seize the spot of the best candidate.’

When the time was up,

Chu Lingguang retreated beyond the hundred-meter mark.

Xia Tianzhong and his two companions surrounded him at that moment.

Their cultivation time in front of the stele today was shorter than usual, apparently because of Chu Lingguang.

"Chu Lingguang, I forbid you from approaching the Dragon Claw Tree again."

Xia Tianzhong said unequivocally.

"Why?"

Chu Lingguang was confused.

"All the other students are now spreading rumors that the three of us and Commandery Princess Rushuang tricked you into approaching the Dragon Claw Tree. We don’t care who you’re trying to atone for by going near that tree, but you are not allowed to approach it again until we’ve settled who’s the best."

Long Xin said angrily.

"We’re waiting for you to compete for the best candidate spot. Don’t let us be subjected to this slander."

Xu Kanghui added.

"I’m sorry, I didn’t realize this would affect you all. I promise you, I won’t go near the Dragon Claw Tree again so easily."

Chu Lingguang said with a nod.

"Hmph!"

Xia Tianzhong and his two companions were satisfied with his answer and walked down the mountain together.

"Commandery Princess Rushuang, I’ll explain to everyone. I’m sorry."

Chu Lingguang said apologetically.

"It’s fine. Just don’t go near the Dragon Claw Tree again."

Hearing this, Zhao Rushuang also breathed a secret sigh of relief.

「The next day.」

After his lessons at the Learning Palace, just as Chu Lingguang was about to head to the back mountain to cultivate, Poisonous Snake approached him with a grave expression. He handed him a letter—it was Guo Wei’s reply.

Poisonous Snake and Xu Guozhong had already read the letter’s contents.

What was inside was not what they had expected.

Chu Lingguang thanked him, then stepped to the side, opened the letter, and began to read it carefully.

Guo Wei’s reply consisted of only three words.

"Follow your heart."

Chu Lingguang was a little lost. Was Guo Wei telling him to give up, or to keep trying?

(Sorry for the late update, it’s not even nine thousand characters!)

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