Chapter 948: The Bizarre Mark of Brilliance

The skies churned as dark clouds gathered overhead. A powerful force was awakening, one that sent shivers through the heavens.

"Condense!"

With a roar that split the air, Ling Feng shattered the final remnants of chaos in his sea of mind. A blinding light surged outward, and within that brilliance, a strange object began to take shape.

In the midst of swirling radiance, a milky-white, oval mass slowly emerged. Shaped like an egg, it pulsed with an otherworldly glow, suspended between clarity and illusion.

"An... egg?"

Yue Yunlan and Qiao Qiao stared at one another in disbelief. Neither of them could make sense of what they were seeing. Ling Feng had just completed the condensation of his Mark of Brilliance, yet what floated behind him looked like nothing more than an egg.

After all the celestial uproar, this was the result?

Even if it's no ordinary egg, how impressive could an egg-shaped Mark of Brilliance truly be?

The act of condensing a Mark of Brilliance alone proved that Ling Feng possessed talent far beyond the norm. Yet what he had produced seemed almost absurd. By Yue Yunlan's judgment, anything less than a celestial phenomenon-grade Mark of Brilliance would have been a disappointment, given the magnitude of power he had drawn from the monument.

She watched in stunned silence. Ling Feng had absorbed more Mark of Brilliance light than anyone she had ever seen. With such an overwhelming influx, the result should have been extraordinary. How could it possibly have turned out like this?

It was incomprehensible.

Ling Feng quietly withdrew the egg-shaped illusion into his body. The moment it disappeared, his knees nearly buckled. Though the act had required little physical movement, it had drained his body completely. His energy had been spent, and his will felt hollowed out.

If he had not already endured the agony of having the Qi-Refining Primordial Lock implanted again and again, his spiritual will would have collapsed while deciphering those countless patterns.

Ling Feng focused inward, observing the egg-shaped Mark of Brilliance floating in his sea of mind. A bitter chuckle escaped him,

Is this some kind of celestial prank?

After all that suffering, this was what he received.

An egg.

How could anyone accept that?

"Could this egg hatch into something incredible?"

Ling Feng swallowed hard. His gaze stayed fixed on the egg-shaped Mark of Brilliance, hoping it would suddenly stir, change, or reveal some deeper power.

But nothing happened.

The divine light from the Mark of Brilliance Sacred Monument no longer flowed into him. The patterns etched into the chaotic stone formation had lost their glow. His sea of mind remained still. The egg hung in place, unmoving and silent.

"

This is ridiculous!

"

He cursed inwardly. He had clearly memorized and branded every last pattern into that chaotic space. He had not missed a single one. So why had this been the result?

There was no turning back now.

The Mark of Brilliance had already taken form. Though it appeared utterly unremarkable, Ling Feng could not believe it was ordinary. He had poured his entire soul into it, engraved every profound pattern with absolute precision. If this was truly just an egg, then fate itself had chosen to mock him.

He took a deep breath and slowly rose to his feet. Without looking back, he stepped out from the heart of the chaotic stone formation.

Yue Yunlan had been waiting nearby. The moment she saw him appear, she rushed to his side. Her smile was warm, her voice soft with comfort.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Ling Feng, a Mark of Brilliance doesn't define everything. Even if it looks strange now, your talent is already far beyond what most people can hope to achieve. Besides, who knows? Maybe that egg will hatch into a primordial divine beast when your soul manifestation awakens."

Ling Feng gave her a faint smile, his voice calm and a little dry.

"Let's hope so."

...

Yunmiao Residence.

"Impressive! I never expected your first visit to the Shadowmist Sword Forest would yield such gains!"

Xiao Yunsu's eyes lit up with genuine astonishment. Although Ling Feng's cultivation had not yet broken through the peak of the Transformation Realm, his aura had transformed. It was far more refined than before, with a purity so intense it bordered on the unnatural.

Previously, the five Primordial Locks had concealed his strength, making him appear no stronger than a mid-stage Transformation Realm cultivator. Now, however, the quality of his energy, vitality, and spirit clearly placed him at the very peak of the realm. It felt as if a single step would carry him into the next stage.

And this was with the Primordial Locks still sealed. Should they ever be released, the power that burst forth would be unimaginable.

The Shadowmist Sword Forest was indeed a rare cultivation ground. Without those three days of immersion, this level of progress would have taken Ling Feng at least a month or two of painstaking effort.

"I owe my progress to your permission to enter the Shadowmist Sword Forest, Senior," Ling Feng said, clasping his hands in a fist-and-palm salute.

"So, what kind of Mark of Brilliance did you condense? Was it a celestial phenomenon? A primordial divine beast?"

Xiao Yunsu studied his silence for a moment. Then her eyes widened with a sharp intake of breath.

"Don't tell me... was it an attribute source?"

"Neither. My Mark of Brilliance... encountered some complications."

Ling Feng rubbed the bridge of his nose, clearly at a loss for how to explain. This thing defied all common sense.

That Despicable Donkey had done nothing but laugh ever since it saw the result.

"Then what is it?" Xiao Yunsu asked, lowering her voice. "Did you condense multiple attribute sources?"

Given Ling Feng's monstrous talent, it was not an impossible guess.

"

Heehee,

Elder Yunmiao, you guessed wrong!" Qiao Qiao giggled, barely able to contain her amusement.

"No?" Xiao Yunsu frowned slightly. What could surpass even multiple attribute sources?

Ling Feng's face flushed with embarrassment. "Senior, may I ask, if someone imprinted multiple visions from the Mark of Brilliance Sacred Monument into their sea of mind, what grade would their Mark of Brilliance likely be?"

"Multiple visions?" Xiao Yunsu's brow creased. "You mean more than one?"

"

Mhmm

." Ling Feng nodded. "Quite a few."

He chose not to mention that he had imprinted every single vision. If he had, even this renowned Sword Emperor might have been stunned speechless.

"In that case, the lowest it should reach would still be celestial phenomenon-grade," Xiao Yunsu said slowly. "What sort of celestial manifestation occurred when you formed it?"

"Master, when Ling Feng condensed his Mark of Brilliance, the skies darkened all at once. A Nine-Star Alignment appeared overhead. Thunder rolled across the heavens, and the entire world seemed to tremble. It felt as if a divine artifact was about to be born. But in the end... he produced an egg-shaped Mark of Brilliance."

Yue Yunlan bit her lip, then looked up hesitantly.

"Master, what grade do you think something like that would be?"

"An... egg?" Xiao Yunsu blinked, clearly taken aback. Her voice turned uncertain. "If it truly caused that level of disturbance, especially a Nine-Star Alignment, then the grade must be no less than celestial phenomenon. Perhaps the egg is not the final form, but rather a vessel, like a star waiting to ignite."

"No."

Ling Feng sighed, then summoned the illusion of his Mark of Brilliance.

Above his head, the egg-shaped illusion quietly emerged, glowing with a faint, milky light.

There could be no doubt. It was an egg!

"Truly unheard of," Xiao Yunsu murmured. "We may not understand it yet, but when your soul manifestation awakens, its true nature will reveal itself."

She met Ling Feng's gaze and continued with steady conviction.

"Still, the heavenly signs that appeared when you condensed it were real. The stellar changes, the divine thunder, and the Nine-Star Alignment all prove that this Mark of Brilliance carries tremendous significance. Regardless of its shape, this is no ordinary creation."

Ling Feng gave a faint nod. He had endured soul-wrenching pain to engrave every last pattern from the Mark of Brilliance Sacred Monument into his mind. To believe the result was merely a common egg would be absurd.

Only by advancing to the Spiritual Element Realm would he finally find out what this bizarre-looking Mark of Brilliance truly was.