The next day, after finishing breakfast, Gu Feng prepared to go find his grandfather, Gu Cheng, to reveal his talent.
Just as he reached his grandfather's quarters, he saw the old man lying back on a courtyard recliner, eyes half-closed and soaking up the sun with a leisurely and carefree expression.
"Good morning, Grandpa."
Hearing someone call out to him, the old man lifted his torso slightly and slowly opened his half-closed eyes, a sharp gleam flashing within his slightly weathered gaze.
"Oh, it's you, little Feng. Coming to see your grandfather this early—is something the matter?"
Elder Gu asked with a trace of puzzlement. In his heart, this third son's grandson was nothing more than a pitiful and reclusive child. For over a decade in his youth, he had lived in a daze, and even after being cured, he had missed the prime age for cultivation. Furthermore, his personality was withdrawn, and he usually preferred to be by himself. Even as his grandfather, he only ever laid eyes on this grandson during family banquets. The older relatives had often urged him to get out more and see the world, but while Gu Feng always gave agreeable answers, he would turn right around and continue doing things his own way.
Never had Gu Cheng imagined that this grandson would take the initiative to come see him today, leaving him quite perplexed.
"Grandpa, I have something very important to discuss with you."
After respectfully offering a greeting to the old man, Gu Feng spoke with a serious expression.
"Oh? Just how important?"
First giving Gu Feng a careful, up-and-down inspection and sensing he was not joking, the old man spoke with grave solemnity.
"It concerns the fate of the entire Gu Family's future!" Gu Feng stated, word by word.
Hearing this, the old man slowly straightened his slightly hunched torso, stared intently at Gu Feng for a long moment, and then said with a stern face:
"Little Feng, this isn't the sort of thing to joke about. Are you certain?"
Gu Feng nodded affirmatively. "Absolute certainty!"
Upon hearing this, the old man immediately stood up and gave a slight nod. "As long as you know the consequences, follow me."
Gu Feng followed the old man deep into the courtyard. After passing through two corridors, they stopped in front of an ordinary storeroom.
The old man first turned his head to scan the surroundings. Finding no one nearby, he brought Gu Feng inside the storeroom. He then stopped in front of a section of wall on the right side of the room, and using a specialized technique, struck several stone bricks on the wall back and forth a dozen times. With a sharp click, the stone wall parted to both sides in response.
"Follow me in," the old man said to Gu Feng behind him, and walked on ahead.
Gu Feng gave no reply, simply following closely behind the old man as they stepped into the secret chamber. Once both of them were inside, the old man struck a pair of bricks on the adjacent wall, and with a heavy *thud*, the stone door slammed shut.
The old man picked up a lit candle from the side and walked deeper into the passage. Gu Feng followed him for a short distance further, when suddenly the view opened up before them as a spacious hall appeared.
This underground hall was not dark and damp as Gu Feng had imagined; on the contrary, it looked quite bright. Streams of golden light poured down into the hall and then dispersed, bathing the entire chamber in a warm, golden hue.
Gu Feng looked toward the source of the light and saw numerous crystal-clear gems suspended from the ceiling. The indoor light was being cast down through apertures in the ceiling. His exceptional eyesight even allowed him a hazy glimpse of artificial rockery outside.
Gu Feng couldn't help pondering inwardly: Could it be that this secret chamber was built by first chiseling holes into the ceiling, channeling outdoor light inside, and then using the gems on the ceiling to refract that light to every corner of the room? And finally, placing rockery directly above the chamber and planting flowers, grass, and trees to design a small garden landscape that would conceal any traces from the outside?
Upon entering the hall, the old man turned around just in time to see Gu Feng gazing upward with a thoughtful look on his face. As if guessing what Gu Feng was thinking, a smile appeared on his face as he said:
"You guessed right—this light is indeed channeled in from the garden above. But this secret chamber is not as simple as you think."
Elder Gu paused deliberately, then said with deep meaning:
"Although our Gu Family has no true array masters, setting up a few simple mechanism arrays is not a problem. This secret chamber is equipped with quite a few ingenious mechanisms. These array mechanisms range from small ones solely for ventilation and drainage to large ones capable of killing enemies and vanquishing foes—quite comprehensive. The third floor of the Library Pavilion holds a fair amount of knowledge on arrays; if you're interested, you can take them to study later.
"But let's put that aside for now. This secret chamber is known to only a handful of people in the entire Gu Family, making it sufficiently safe. What was that matter concerning the fate of the entire Gu Family that you mentioned earlier? You can speak of it now."
As he spoke, the old man kept his eyes locked firmly on Gu Feng.
Hearing this, Gu Feng said nothing. Instead, he suddenly clenched his fist and struck a blow directly toward the old man's chest.
*Boom—*
The lightning-fast punch whipped up a violent tearing sound in the air, and in the blink of an eye, the fist was about to strike the old man's body.
"Such speed! At least the Blood-Changing Realm!!!"
A look of shock crossed the old man's face, his heart filled with extreme astonishment, yet his movements were entirely unpanicked. His five fingers gently curled together, and he casually launched a palm strike.
*Thud...*
A dull, muffled sound echoed through the enclosed hall, lingering for a long time. The instant fist and palm collided, Gu Feng immediately felt an overwhelming, freakish force crush down upon him.
*Thump, thump, thump...*
Gu Feng was forced back several steps before barely managing to steady his stance.
"Who are you? Why are you impersonating my grandson?!"
The old man's eyebrows stood upright, the skin at the corners of his eyes pulled taut as he suppressed the fury in his heart and demanded:
"Where is my grandson? If you dare to harm him, I will make sure you wish you were dead."
"Grandpa, you've misunderstood. I am Little Feng. If you don't believe me, you can examine me yourself."
With that, Gu Feng spread his hands to signal he was giving up resistance, looking entirely ready for an inspection.
Gu Cheng, however, paid no heed to what Gu Feng said. In his lifetime, he had witnessed many prodigies, and he himself was a martial arts genius of superior cultivation aptitude. He had even once heard it said that the Qingmu Kingdom had once produced an peerless prodigy with top-tier cultivation aptitude who had reached the Blood-Changing Realm at the tender age of fifteen.
The talent tiers for martial artists were divided into lowest-grade (unrated), low-grade, lower-middle, middle, upper-middle, superior (genius), and top-tier (prodigy). If someone claimed the Gu Family had a fifteen-year-old Blood-Changing Realm prodigy, the old man might not find it completely unacceptable—since the Qingmu Kingdom had seen such geniuses in the past, why couldn't the Taicang Kingdom have one? And if the Taicang Kingdom could have one, why couldn't that person be a member of the Gu Family?!
But to claim that this prodigy was Gu Feng? He would die before believing that. A child who was mentally dull right up until age twelve could advance to the Blood-Changing Realm after merely three years of cultivation?
Did they take him for a fool?
At this thought, the cold glint in Gu Cheng's eyes grew even sharper. With a forward shift of his figure, a blur flashed through the air, and he appeared directly behind Gu Feng, pressing a hand onto Gu Feng's shoulder.
Gu Feng felt a sudden numbness wash over his body, and the next moment, he realized he had completely lost control of himself.