Chapter 4782: Shocking the Crowd
“You all should leave too,” the chief elder looked at the other elders behind him and said.
“Chief elder, there’s no way to protect Chu Feng anymore.”
The other elders tried to dissuade the chief elder from his decision.
They remained in the area not because they wanted to stand against Nangong Chunyue but that they didn’t want to turn their backs on the chief elder. However, they knew deep well that their presence here served no meaning at all.
“I know we won’t be able to stop Nangong Chunyue, but I am the chief elder of the North Tortoise Hall. It’s my job to protect the disciples and ensure that they are ent.i.tled to fair treatment. It’s about time for me to fulfill my responsibility.
“It’s the blessing of our North Tortoise Hall to have a prodigy like Chu Feng, and I promised him that I would ensure his safety. Yet, he had to overcome all sorts of trials along the way all by himself. I wasn’t able to offer him any help at all, and I’m deeply ashamed by my powerlessness.
“He’s currently facing his greatest crisis thus far. I won’t be able to live with myself if I abandon him at this juncture.”
As the chief elder said those words, he took out a token with the words ‘North Tortoise’ inscribed on it and pressed it to his chest.
“Chief elder!”
The elders of the North Tortoise Hall were astonished to see the token. They knew the significance of his action.
“Hurry up and leave. You have to live to hold the North Tortoise Hall together if I were to lose my life here today,” the chief elder said with a wave of his hand.
The elders knew that the chief elder had already made up his mind when they saw the token, so they quickly rose to their feet and left the area.
“Activate formation!”
With the token in hand, the chief elder began forming a series of hand seals.
Boom!
The ground beneath the North Tortoise Hall began trembling intensely as brilliant light shone from the earth. A ma.s.sive formation was rising from underground, forming and contracting at a rapid pace…
Eventually, the ma.s.sive formation contracted to a very small area that encompa.s.sed only Chu Feng’s residence.
This was a powerful defensive formation, but the chief elder looked as if he had aged decades immediately after activating the formation.
“Chief elder, you are…?”
Chu Feng’s eyes glistened. He knew that this formation was formidable, and that the chief elder’s rapid aging was the price he was paying in order to activate this formation.
“Chu Feng, since you refuse to live, I shall face this crisis together with you!”
Despite the aged look of the chief elder, he looked at Chu Feng with benevolent eyes.
“Chief elder, there’s no need for you to do this. I have a countermeasure against Nangong Chunyue,” Chu Feng replied.
“Even if you do have a countermeasure, I’m still determined to do everything I can to stop her. If Nangong Chunyue wants to take your life today, she’ll have to step across my dead body!” the chief elder bellowed.
“What arrogant words!”
A piercing voice echoed from the distance as a person flitted over at an incredible speed. It didn’t take her long to arrive right outside Chu Feng’s residence.
She was no other than Nangong Yuliu’s grandmother, Hidden Dragon Elder Nangong Chunyue!
“The North Tortoise Defensive Formation? Chief elder of the North Tortoise Hall, does this mean that you’re intending to side with Chu Feng here?” Nangong Chunyue questioned coldly.
“Chu Feng is a disciple of our North Tortoise Hall. I am obliged to…”
Nangong Chunyue impatiently cut off the chief elder’s words and hollered, “Cut the c.r.a.p and get straight to the point. Are you intending to interfere in this matter or not?”
The chief elder’s body shuddered instinctively out of fear. How could he possibly not fear someone as powerful as Nangong Chunyue?
However, after taking a deep breath to calm himself, he nodded affirmatively in response.
“Since you’re courting death, I’ll fulfill your wis.h.!.+”
Nangong Chunyue raised her hand and summoned a dense congregation of martial power to strike down on the residence where Chu Feng and the chief elder were in like a ferocious beast.
It was a powerful strike, the North Tortoise Defensive Formation managed to hold its ground. However, the corner of the chief elder’s lips began to seep blood as his complexion grew more and more awful. Soon, his nose started bleeding, followed by his ears and eyes too.
“Elder Nangong, stop what you’re doing. The chief elder of the North Tortoise Hall is weaker in terms of cultivation. He’ll die if you continue bombarding the formation.”
Three new figures suddenly appeared in the vicinity. Just like Nangong Chunyue, they were Hidden Dragon Elders too.
Li Fengxian, Xia Zhicheng, and Huyan Xiaotian.
“Don’t try to stop me. I’ll take the life of anyone who dares stand in my way today!”
However, Nangong Chunyue ignored their words and continued striking down on the formation.
Faced with the frenzied Nangong Chunyue, Li Fengxian, Xia Zhicheng, and Huyan Xiaotian looked at one another, but none of them stood forward to stop her. They knew just how much Nangong Chunyue treasured Nangong Yuliu, such that it could be said to be her ‘reverse scale’.
Given that Chu Feng had killed Nangong Yuliu, there was no doubt that Nangong Chunyue would avenge him even if she had to put her life on the line. At this point, it wouldn’t be an over exaggeration to call Nangong Chunyue a mad dog.
It would be unwise to get on her bad side at a time like this.
Not to mention, the sectmaster had told them to maintain friendly relations as far as they could during this period of time, so they dared not to make a move here recklessly.
They looked at Chu Feng with a mixture of helplessness, sympathy, and reproach.
They sympathized with Chu Feng for crossing such a Nangong Chunyue while blaming him for being so reckless as to kill Nangong Yuliu.
Under Nangong Chunyue’s furious a.s.sault, the chief elder’s skin began breaking apart. At this rate, he might really just explode and lose his life.
“Nangong Chunyue, I was the one who killed your grandson. Come for me instead!”
Chu Feng didn’t want the chief elder to die for his stead, so he decided to step out of his residence and the area of protection of the North Tortoise Defensive Formation so as to draw Nangong Chunyue’s attention.
However, as soon as he took a step away, a forceful power suddenly shrouded around his body and held him in place. The next moment, he was brought right to the chief elder’s side.
The chief elder was forcefully restricting Chu Feng’s movements.
“Chu Feng, no one will harm you as long as I’m around!”
The chief elder’s face was filled with blood, such that it was hard to perceive his facial features anymore. Yet, his eyes still remained as determined as ever.
His sentiments left Chu Feng deeply moved.
“Chief elder, I really do have…”
Chu Feng wanted to say something, but once again, before he could finish his sentence, another voice suddenly boomed from elsewhere.
“Li Fengxian, Xia Zhicheng, and Huyan Xiaotian, it’s your responsibility as Hidden Dragon Elders to protect the sect. Yet, you stood idly as another person took away the lives of innocent disciples right before your eyes. Is this how the Hidden Dragon Elders of our sect should conduct themselves?”
A person came into appearance along with the booming voice, just that the familiar face left everyone present astonished.
As it turned out, that person was no one significant. On the contrary, he was a person who was looked down on by the disciples and elders.
He was no other than Chu Feng’s brother, Duan Liufeng.
“Duan Liufeng, how dare you speak to the three Hidden Dragon Elders in such a manner?”
Before the three Hidden Dragon Elders could even speak, the spectating elders had already begun to criticize Duan Liufeng.
However, Duan Liufeng didn’t pay them any heed. He leisurely walked toward Chu Feng’s residence, but his sharp eyes remained focused on the four Hidden Dragon Elders in the sky.
“Personal Disciple Nangong Yuliu has framed 33 of his fellow disciples and murdered 203 of them. Of them, 150 are female disciples. They rejected Nangong Yuliu when he approached them for a fling, so he forced himself on them before killing them.
“These are all concrete evidence of Nangong Yuliu’s crime, so you’re free to take a look at it. Nangong Yuliu would have been put through an even more horrendous fate even if Chu Feng hadn’t killed him..”
Duan Liufeng tossed a Cosmos Sack into the air as he spoke.
Li Fengxian caught the sack and opened it to take a look, and there were indeed many articles of evidence of Nangong Yuliu’s crimes in there. He didn’t expect Duan Liufeng to have collated such comprehensive evidence of Nangong Yuliu’s misdeeds.
“Nangong Yuliu is a poisonous tumor to our Hidden Dragon Martial Sect, and the only reason why he’s able to live to this day is out of consideration of Nangong Chunyue.
“Nangong Chunyue, as a Hidden Dragon Elder, you share blame for your grandson’s crimes. You ought to be repenting over your failure to keep your own family members in check, yet you dare to march here and harm the innocent. Your actions are completely reprehensible and deserving of death.
“In view that you’re a Hidden Dragon Elder, I shan’t punish you and leave your sentencing to the sectmaster. However, if you continue acting obstinately, these words would be your outcome.”
Duan Liufeng gestured to the ma.s.sive plaque erected in front of Chu Feng’s residence as he spoke.
“Duan Liufeng, you were the one who erected the plaque?”
Someone amidst the crowd asked.
“Indeed,” Duan Liufeng replied.
“This is insane. What’s becoming of this world?”
The crowd was rendered speechless. In truth, there were many people who were aware of the foul mess that was going on in the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect, but cleaning it up was no easy task.
Even if Duan Liufeng had brought out concrete evidence, someone of his standing couldn’t hope to stand against Nangong Chunyue. It was as if a mere ant trying to stop a ma.s.sive war chariot.
“Brother Chu, don’t worry. I’ll be s.h.i.+elding you today.”
Ignoring the crowd, Duan Liufeng turned around and directed a rea.s.suring smile in Chu Feng’s direction.
Boom!
A powerful might suddenly gushed in Duan Liufeng’s direction.
Nangong Chunyue had made her move. Not even bothering with words, she struck her palm out at Duan Liufeng, intending to blast him into smithereens. The palm strike harnessed such immense prowess that even s.p.a.ce collapsed in its face. Duan Liufeng vanished in the face of this attack.
But just when everyone thought that he was dead, a voice suddenly sounded from above, “Nangong Chunyue, you’re asking for it.”
The crowd turned their gazes toward the source of the voice and gasped in astonishment.
Duan Liufeng was actually standing right next to Nangong Chunyue completely unharmed. He wielded a dagger in his hand, and it was directed right at Nangong Chunyue’s dantian.
It was utterly bewildering how someone as weak as Duan Liufeng could survive Nangong Chunyue’s attack and even sneak up to her.
“Scram!”
The infuriated Nangong Chunyue couldn’t be bothered to think about such logic. With a furious roar, she exerted her oppressive might on Duan Liufeng. The force was much greater than her earlier strike, such that it sent the three Hidden Dragon Elders standing by the side retreating.
But shockingly, her powerful oppressive might couldn’t push away the closest Duan Liufeng. No matter how she tried, she was unable to faze him.
A vicious glint flashed across Duan Liufeng’s eyes as he slowly pushed his dagger in.
Puchi!
Blood splattered all around as the dagger plunged into Nangong Chunyue’s dantian.
“This!!!”
This sight shocked everyone, including Li Fengxian, Xia Zhicheng, and Huyan Xiaoting. They were horrified by what they saw.
One must know that Nangong Chunyue ranked amongst the forefront of the Hidden Dragon Elders, and that was why none of them were willing to interfere when she was going on a rampage. Yet, she was actually harmed by Duan Liufeng?
Not to mention, he was able to do it with such astounding ease!