"Gu Qingfeng!"
Jingtao took a step forward, charging over to stare at Gu Qingfeng, a cold sneer playing on his lips as he spat out each word deliberately: "You've kept this young master searching for quite a while!"
Across from him.
Gu Qingfeng leaned against a stone pillar, sitting within the pavilion, his eyes slightly closed. Within his Purple Mansion Dantian, ever since that dusky lone star had shown signs of vitality, not only had his Spiritual Power been affected, rampaging wildly through his meridians, but his blood and qi had also begun to flow backwards in a bizarre reversal. Even his mind and spirit had undergone inexplicable changes.
This change was very strange, to be precise, it was excitement.
Truly excitement.
Gu Qingfeng could clearly feel his mind and spirit inexplicably excited, and his Spiritual Power and blood and qi were rampaging about because of this excitement, churning his internal state into utter chaos.
Why was this happening?
Even now, Gu Qingfeng hadn't figured it out.
He had been carefully observing that dusky lone star, but alas, he couldn't observe anything. He truly didn't know what this thing was.
Although his consciousness had been focused within his Purple Mansion, that didn't mean he was unaware of what was happening outside.
Opening his eyes, he glanced at Jingtao glaring at him, raised an eyebrow slightly, then looked at Zhuo Feng not far away. His lazy gaze then swept over everyone present one by one, inadvertently spotting Lan Feier hiding in the crowd. He chuckled, "Well, isn't this Miss Lan Feier? We meet again."
Hmm?
Did this fellow actually know Lan Feier?
This scene surprised everyone present, because judging from Gu Qingfeng's tone, he not only knew Lan Feier, but they seemed to be quite familiar. Everyone looked over curiously.
Lan Feier was stunned, her eyes widening as she cried out in panic, "Who are you... I don't know you at all!"
Back when she had emerged from the Black-Raven Secret Realm, her face had been flushed and she carried remnants of the Union Bliss aura, leading to widespread gossip. At this juncture, Lan Feier absolutely did not want to be associated with this fellow. Without a second thought, she immediately denied it.
Perhaps because she felt too guilty, Lan Feier repeated herself: "I don't know him at all!"
Seeing this, the surrounding crowd began to murmur, speculating that Gu Qingfeng, seeing members of the Fire Cloud Branch Hall coming to cause trouble for him, was probably scared and trying to latch onto Lan Feier's connection. Unfortunately, she didn't know him at all.
"Gu Qingfeng, so you have times when you're afraid too?"
Clearly, Jingtao also thought this was the case, sneering coldly, "Weren't you very arrogant? Very cocky?"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head helplessly, "You're called Jingtao, right? If I remember correctly, you're from the Fire Cloud Branch Hall?"
"So what if I am!"
"Last time at the Ice-Profound Sect celebration, I already showed you mercy. Have you not learned your lesson?"
"What did you say!"
The Ice-Profound celebration was the last thing Jingtao wanted brought up, especially now by Gu Qingfeng himself. He flew into a rage, radiant light flickering around him as he summoned his Great Natural Order Colorful Spirit. Just as he was about to make a move, he stopped.
Because this scene before him was far too similar to the one at the Ice-Profound celebration.
At the Ice-Profound celebration, Gu Qingfeng had been lazily sitting in a pavilion at the foot of the mountain.
And now, he still had that same lazy demeanor, also sitting in a pavilion.
At the Ice-Profound celebration, he had been defeated in one move, nearly crippled, leaving a deep psychological shadow.
Now, looking at Gu Qingfeng, he truly didn't dare to act. He snorted coldly, "You're nothing but a Nouveau Riche who stumbled upon some lucky encounter, what's so great about that? My elder brother Zhuo Feng is a genius of the Ninefold Flowing Color, with a cultivation of forty-five Golden Core revolutions. Crushing you would be as easy as turning over his hand!"
"Is that so?"
Gu Qingfeng shifted his posture, tilting his head slightly to rest against the stone pillar, then closed his eyes again. He looked utterly listless, as if very weak, and replied, "Then call him over. Let this master see what he's capable of."
This scene struck the surrounding onlookers as very strange.
Was this fellow being arrogant?
Not really.
He wasn't arrogant at all. Not only was he not arrogant, he actually seemed very calm.
But it wasn't calmness either.
It was more like indifference, a lack of concern.
As if he didn't place Zhuo Feng in his eyes at all, not even a tiny bit. It was as if no matter who Zhuo Feng was or what abilities he had, he simply didn't care.
What was this?
And what gave him the right?
Who didn't know Zhuo Feng was the leader of the Nine Young Masters of the Fire Cloud Branch Hall? Who didn't know he was a genius of the Great Natural Order's Ninefold Flowing Color? The Ninefold Flowing Color contained the imposing might of the Great Natural Order. Once summoned, it was like a spiritual transformation of the Great Natural Order itself, something ordinary cultivators simply couldn't withstand.
Just as everyone was looking forward to Zhuo Feng stepping forward to teach this fellow a lesson, what was puzzling was that Zhuo Feng just stood there, showing no intention of making a move. His face was very ugly, his expression extremely unnatural.
Why was this?
"Elder Brother!"
Jingtao had been counting on Zhuo Feng to stand up for him. Now that Zhuo Feng was just standing there frozen, he grew very anxious. He called out several times in succession, but Zhuo Feng seemed not to hear, remaining unmoved.
"Zhuo Feng."
Kang Zhengqi, who was nearby, also stepped forward and asked, "Weren't you just saying you'd make this Nouveau Riche surnamed Gu kneel and apologize to Jingtao? Didn't you also say you'd exact tenfold repayment for how he beat Jingtao that day? Hmm? Why aren't you making a move?"
Kang Zhengqi's confusion was shared by everyone.
They couldn't understand why Zhuo Feng didn't dare to act.
Although this fellow surnamed Gu had once instantly killed Long Fei, who possessed the Sevenfold Jade Color, Zhuo Feng, after all, possessed the Ninefold Flowing Color!
Everyone knew the Ninefold Flowing Color was the true meaning of a Colorful Spirit. Moreover, his Golden Core had forty-five revolutions. What exactly was he worried about?
And it didn't seem to be just worry; it looked more like fear.
Kang Zhengqi also sensed something, asking with some disbelief, "Are you afraid?"
"Would I be afraid?" Zhuo Feng retorted sharply.
"If not, why don't you dare to act!"
Zhuo Feng breathed heavily in suppressed fury, his face dark and livid, glaring deathly at Gu Qingfeng. Even the muscles at the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
He didn't dare to act.
Earlier, inside the ancient pagoda of the Black-Raven Secret Realm, he had personally witnessed how terrifying Gu Qingfeng's Spiritual Power was. Moreover, he had been shaken until he was covered in blood. Given that, how could he dare to act now?
But he also didn't dare to say it out loud. Because earlier, to save face, he had falsely claimed his injuries were from the Buddha's aura. If people found out he had been injured by Gu Qingfeng—and not just injured, but violently shaken until injured—then it wouldn't just be a matter of losing face. Whether he could hold his head up in the future would be a problem.
"You are afraid!"
"I!" Zhuo Feng gritted his teeth, not knowing how to respond.
"Hmph! Afraid is afraid. Truly useless!"
Kang Zhengqi was utterly disdainful. Looking at Gu Qingfeng, he said arrogantly, "Open your eyes wide and see how this young master will stand up for your Fire Cloud Branch Hall today!"
As his words fell, Kang Zhengqi's figure flashed, instantly charging forward.