Chapter 326: Quality of an Expert
Translator: Alsey Editor: Chrissy
Gao Yuan was one of the most eye-catching experts with a rising reputation. He had defeated many famous kings and solidified his position as a top-grade king level expert.
He had practiced the Baji Fist to near perfection and his strength was astonis.h.i.+ng. He was already able to deploy a remarkable ability with his fist seal.
"Brother Gao, let"s not act rashly. The Wudang Grandmaster is also here," someone beside him persuaded.
"What do you take me for? He"s just a cripple. Do I need to make a move against him?" Gao Yuan laughed. He naturally sensed the sparsity of the energy within Chu Feng"s body.
Against someone with such power and sharp divine senses, Chu Feng wouldn"t be able to hide his level even if he wanted to.
"The young master of the Baji School has arrived!"
The expressions of those near Gao Yuan changed.
That was because this striking young grandmaster of the Baji School was currently a rising star. He had once said that he was sorry to hear Chu Feng had been crippled and that he had originally wanted to find him to exchange pointers.
How would Gao Yuan react now that the two had met? The people in the vicinity were watching carefully.
Gao Yuan approached Chu Feng and sized up this young man whose name used to be glorious but had been crippled. The latter was even younger than him. This made him reveal an odd expression.
"So you"re Chu Feng? Your great fame is like thunder to my ears. It"s unfortunate that we won"t have the chance to fight."
Gao Yuan was very direct in his speech. It was unknown if this was his real temperament or if he was being sarcastic and overbearing.
Many people in the surrounding were paying attention. This was Chu Feng"s first public appearance after three months in obscurity. How should he react after being addressed like so by a rising expert?
Even though he was crippled, Chu Feng still attracted a lot of attention.
At the moment, the immediate area became silent. Many people at the front also cast sidelong glances.
Chu Feng was extremely calm. "Fighting and killing are meaningless. I"ve given up on them."
These words stunned many people.
The evolved beings on the scene were all tongue tied and revealed odd expressions. Chu Feng actually… said such words. This caused people to be dumbfounded.
In the past, who didn"t know his t.i.tle? He had killed his way to fame and was t.i.tled Demon King Chu by his enemies. The most ruthless person was actually saying that killing was meaningless and that he had given up on it.
With a pfft, someone nearby couldn"t help but let out a laugh. Wasn"t this reply too casual? Was this something one just gives up on? It was evidently because he was crippled.
But no one dared to mock him because they were still apprehensive about his power. Furthermore, this boss rarely played by the rules—he had long since announced that his body was failing him, but in the end, he had shamelessly fought several "final battles".
Gao Yuan was flabbergasted. He hadn"t expected such a light reply from Chu Feng. It was as if he was practicing Taiji and had used the "four taels repel a thousand catties". [1]
At this moment, the Wudang Grandmaster, who was greeting a friend, returned to the area. He glanced at Gao Yuan and asked, "Is your master well?"
"Greetings to senior. The Baji School founder is quite well. His body is robust and his spirit, hearty. He had always been hoping to exchange pointers with you," Gao Yuan replied with a smile.
Many people who heard this were shocked. This signified a battle between two old ancestors. In terms of fist arts, they were absolutely peerless in this current era. Their attainments were unimaginable!
Others were powerful because they had chanced upon the upheavals and borrowed the power of mutant fruits to evolve. These hundred-year-old elders were already grandmasters of the fist arts as ordinary human beings.
Chu Feng said, "I"m not fond of such words. Your master is very powerful, but why didn"t I see him coming to find me for exchanging pointers when my body was fine?"
Those were takeover words. He had just seized the potential challenge and s.h.i.+fted it onto himself. It wasn"t different from Gao Yuan"s words just now. It seemed like a show of his true temperament but also appeared as if he was forcing the other party.
Many people in the surroundings revealed odd expressions. Chu Feng"s old rivals could hardly disguise the intrigue in their eyes. This Demon King Chu was about to cause trouble again.
In everyone"s eyes, Chu Feng had already been crippled. How was he going to do battle? If he really was to provoke the Baji School, he would have to face the consequences. These old adversaries naturally wished to see Chu Feng suffer. They rejoiced internally and were hoping for something to happen.
Gaoyuan smiled faintly and replied, "Chu Feng, you were indeed extraordinary before, but our Baji School wasn"t lucky back then and couldn"t find enough mutant fruits to evolve. We were in obscurity while you were rising, but when we had risen, you had already declined. It"s truly regrettable that we won"t have an opportunity for a real battle."
A light flickered across everyone"s eyes. This Baji School young master was indeed unconvinced of Chu Feng"s past strength and refused to recognize his status.
The corner of Gao Yuan"s lips was held in a smile as he added, "I see that your energy is at the awakened realm. Why don"t we hold a simple contest? I won"t bully you. I"ll also use awakened realm energy."
At this moment, Chu Feng"s old rivals were all excited. They glanced at Chu Feng and then at Gaoyuan.
Even the white-robed Xu Qing was somewhat intrigued and wanted to see how the two would fare against each other.
"Let it be. It"s meaningless." Chu Feng shook his head.
"You don"t dare? Are you afraid of losing the fame you"d earned before?" Gao Yuan laughed insipidly.
Many gazes were cast towards Chu Feng. All of those who had arrived here weren"t simple people.
"I feel that such an arrangement will be like bullying you. The victory will come with little suspense. It"s too meaningless," said Chu Feng. His arrogant words caused a commotion among the people.
"It really is his style. He"s so… bold when facing his opponents," someone mumbled.
Naturally, the words bold could also be subst.i.tuted by arrogant or egomaniac, but no one dared to provoke him so. Everyone was apprehensive.
In truth, many people were speechless. This man was already crippled but his character hadn"t changed. Some people were dissatisfied because Chu Feng was acting as if he was the greatest in the world.
Naturally, there were also many people who had a favorable impression of Chu Feng. Those people let out a soft sigh. They felt this was the reason Chu Feng was invincible in the past. His mental state was too strong. He was still so confident even after falling to such a state. A peerless mindset was the perpetual quality of an expert!
Gao Yuan was greatly dissatisfied. He had swept through all opponents since his rise to become one of the most brilliant kings and everyone knew of him. But today, this Chu Feng dared to act so ostentatiously.
However, he glanced at Chu Feng without getting worked up and said calmly, "Then let"s see how you can bully me."
At this time, some people suddenly arrived and said to Gao Yuan, "Brother Gao, this way, please. The seniors such as the Hollow Jade Temple Master are already waiting for you on an island. They invited you to go over."
The people revealed envious expressions after hearing this. That was because there was more than just one island in Lake Xuanwu. The other island was where most of the experts from the previous generation gathered. All of them were top-grade experts. Ordinary people wouldn"t be able to set foot on that island.
Gao Yuan was young but he was like a midday sun and possessed astonis.h.i.+ng strength. The issue was self-evident since even people like the Hollow Jade Temple Master favored him enough to invite him over.
"Very well, I"ll go right away." Gao Yuan nodded before glancing at Chu Feng. "We"ll meet soon afterwards. I really want to see how you plan to bully me."
Chu Feng nodded calmly and said, "Since that is so, go first. You can come back later on to taste my fist."
"Humph!"
Gao Yuan wasn"t a person with a good temper. He was controlling himself all this time in order to seem peaceful and broadminded. But now, he left with a cold snort.
The people were amazed and glanced at each other. They suspected whether Chu Feng really was crippled since he was acting so casually without any fear for himself.
Anyone else who had become an ordinary person would probably be depressed and find an isolated place to lick their wounds. Who would dare to maintain their past sharpness?
"What do you know? This is a true expert. Even though he had encountered a problem with his body, his spirit is still unrivaled!" Some people started speaking at this time. Now that Gao Yuan had left, they were no longer afraid of speaking.
"As expected of Demon King Chu. Sigh, this little granduncle is simply too domineering." Xiong Kun sighed in the distance. Hu Sheng and the others had also arrived and witnessed everything. They were somewhat dumbfounded.
Naturally, there were also those who were sneering.
At this time, someone came to invite the old grandmaster to the other island to discuss certain matters. It was hard for people not to notice the arrival of someone of his stature.
The old grandmaster sighed as he looked towards Chu Feng. How could the Hollow Jade Temple Master and the others not know of his arrival? They had even invited Gao Yuan but they didn"t invite Chu Feng.
"Old grandmaster this way, please. The marine races have also arrived and certain regulations will be confirmed during this meeting. You must go." The man invited the grandmaster courteously.
Chu Feng saw this and understood that the old grandmaster wanted to bring him along, but Chu Feng shook his head. He didn"t want to go to that side.
"Very well. Take care here." Thus the old grandmaster left. He wasn"t actually too worried because he knew Chu Feng had some odd magnetic stones on him. He had already experienced their effects first hand and was certain Chu Feng could protect himself.
At the same time, the old grandmaster was also quite certain that no one would dare commit the heinous crime of harming Chu Feng. At most, they would get into a verbal conflict.
Anyone daring to openly make a move against him would be inviting trouble on himself. After all, Chu Feng had saved so many fierce characters back at Mount Longhu. These were all protective charms!
White-robed Xu Qing was very low key. He wasn"t invited either, but he chatted with Chu Feng in a calm and friendly manner.
At this time Xiong Kun, Hu Sheng, and Lu Qing ran over. They were still very pa.s.sionate after their reunion and didn"t show any indifference because Chu Feng had been crippled.
Chu Feng revealed a smile and, with a gla.s.s of wine in hand, chatted happily with them for quite some time.
Xiong Kun whispered, "Little granduncle, you"re so bold! Now there are superior king level ent.i.ties rising continuously. Many of them want to challenge your old position in order to prove themselves. There are several other stars similar to Gao Yuan, and some of them are even more powerful. It worries me that you"re appearing in a meeting like this."
"No matter. All are useless characters," Chu Feng replied calmly.
"G.o.d!" Hu Sheng squinted his long eyes and shrunk his neck. He was much more cautious than Xiong Kun and felt that Chu Feng dared to say just about anything.
Even the usually careless Xiong Kun was speechless. Was this granduncle still thinking himself capable of looking down on the world? This was overly arrogant.
"Aren"t you being too arrogant?" someone said from afar.
"Little granduncle, take it easy. Don"t let people hate you," said Xiong Kun.
Chu Feng nodded and said, "The years of accomplishment and success are behind me. Let"s not talk about killing and fighting anymore. It"s truly meaningless. I hate violence."
Many of his past rivals who were here felt like crying after hearing these words. Who could be more violent than him in the past!?
"Chu Feng?!" Jiang Luoshen approached. She was deeply astonished to actually meet him here and that he even dared appear.
Her figure was tall and thin. She strode over gracefully, her legs long and slender, and her eyes bright and clear. She was known as the national G.o.ddess. Her appearance and charm were perfect.
"It hasn"t been that long since we last me. You don"t recognize me anymore? Why are you staring at me so curiously?" Chu Feng replied.
Jiang Luoshen"s sweet smile was quite touching. "Don"t tell me you"ve come here to meet your old lover, Lin Naoi? This is, after all, her domain."
Naturally, she and Lin Naoi were always secretly competing with each other. She would never forget to drag the other lady down.
"You"re overthinking it," Chu Feng replied calmly before shooting her a glance. "Don"t we have an even closer relations.h.i.+p?"
The people were all astonished. What did they just hear? Did Chu Feng just personally confirm that he and Jiang Luoshen were old lovers? There were too many rumors flying around about the two, but most of them were cleared later on.
"Stop joking." Jiang Luoshen hurriedly s.h.i.+fted the topic of conversation. She was truly worried Chu Feng would reveal various things here. Recalling how they had slept on the same bed before, her fair l.u.s.trous face began to turn red. She quickly adjusted her hair to cover it up.
"What"s your real reason for coming here? I know your temperament!" Jiang Luoshen felt Chu Feng definitely had his motives.
"I miss everyone, so I came to visit," Chu Feng said boldly.
His old rivals and enemies shot him sidelong glances and wanted to curse out loud.
Those who favored him felt somewhat sad. They felt that they had forgotten him in a corner after he was crippled. Now that he had come to see them, all of them felt complex emotions.
"In truth, I came here wanting to help some old friends produce weapons. Yes. I"ve been studying the stars and astronomical phenomenon these days and was enlightened in a great dao which I wanted to share with everyone," Chu Feng spoke these bold words without blus.h.i.+ng.
"This is the quality of an expert. He"s peerlessly arrogant and doubly shameless!" someone mumbled.
Jiang Luoshen urged him on, "Speak quickly. Why exactly did you come here? If you"re looking for Lin Naoi, I"ll go and find her for you right away."
Chu Feng withdrew his smile and said solemnly, "Let me speak the truth. I"m currently delving into spiritual weapons. Frankly speaking, I can now raise the grade of some weapons and can even refine flying knives. This time, I came to cooperate with everyone."
The people were all stunned. They were rather doubtful and couldn"t believe it.
In truth, this was simply too sudden. Many people felt that he was joking and didn"t take it seriously.
"I guarantee with my dignity that it"s true." Chu Feng withdrew his smile and said seriously.
Everyone was astonished. Was this real?
"Heh, heh, isn"t this the Demon King Chu who used to shake the whole world? Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
At this moment, a purple-haired young man walked over. He was incomparably handsome and possessed a bewitching temperament. He wore a mocking expression and was completely unbridled as he targeted Chu Feng fearlessly.
There were some people following him. Some of them were beasts while other were humans.
Chu Feng"s expression changed slightly. He said with a laugh, "Kong Sheng, you"re actually alive! I shot you a few times that year and I remember one of those arrows got stuck in your b.u.t.t, blossoming with b.l.o.o.d.y flowers. You were actually able to recover. What a surprise!"
This man was Kong Sheng!
Back when Chu Feng wasn"t yet a king level ent.i.ty, he had gotten into a conflict with the Peac.o.c.k Race and the Mount Pan weasels. This young man was the enemy"s leader.
Kong Sheng was accompanied by Huang Xiaoxian and his group of young men back then and was was quite powerful in Shuntian. Various human powers were doing their best to rope them in.
That day, Chu Feng had killed the quasi-kings of the peac.o.c.k race and the weasel race in succession. Only Kong Sheng had escaped with grievous wounds. Unexpectedly, he had appeared again today.
Kong Sheng had long since become a king level expert with astonis.h.i.+ng strength.
In truth, with his strength back then and as a descendant favored by the Peac.o.c.k King, he had definitely reached the king level long ago.
Now that he had appeared, he naturally felt a bone-deep hatred for Chu Feng. His eyes were full of frost.
Kong Sheng restrained the cold gleam in his eyes and said with a laugh, "What happened? Is the stately Demon King Chu now a blacksmith? Where"s the peerless spirit of the past? How pitiful!"
"What the h.e.l.l do you know? You think you can come and prance around in front of me after severing five shackles? In the past, I could"ve slaughtered you like a dog and chase you until you have no road left up in the sky or down in the earth. Even right now, you"re nothing in my eyes." Chu Feng"s words weren"t polite at all. This changed Kong Sheng"s expression.
Chu Feng was disdainful and had never treated his enemies courteously.
The whole place turned silent at this moment. All of them were paying attention because they had a feeling a conflict was about to ensue.
"I won"t kill you since the Wudang Grandmaster and a host of kings are protecting you, but teaching you a lesson isn"t out of the question!" Kong Sheng said coldly.
With a wave of his hand, some people beside him followed up forward and surrounded Chu Feng. Some were humans and some were beasts, all of whom had conflicts with him in the past.
"Is this considered ability? Which of you dared to appear when Chu Feng was well? Only now do you come to show off. What a display of incompetence!" someone cried out.
"Don"t you dare be rude!" Xiong Kun, Hu Sheng, and the others barred their way.
Kong Sheng was calm and collected as he stepped forward. "He declined on his own. Who"s to blame here? He still dares to act unbridled towards me without sufficient strength. Does he think he"s the Demon King Chu of the past? This is a sign of not knowing life from death! Get lost!"
"You…" Hu Sheng and the others were shocked and worried at the same time.
"Kong Sheng, let it be," Jiang Luoshen dissuaded.
"All of you move back," Chu Feng said at this time. He had all of them withdraw to the back and said calmly, "I was astonished when that Gao Yuan came to me, wanting to taste my fist. I thought he"d be the first one run away crying mommy, but I never expected you lot to be in such a rush. Come now, all of you."
Everyone was stunned after hearing this. He truly dared to say such words. Did he still think he was standing at the peak?
At the same time, some people felt sorry for Gao Yuan who had been struck once again by Chu Feng"s disdain.
"You truly are reckless. I guess you"re too used to being arrogant. I"ll fulfill your wishes then!" Kong Sheng"s handsome face was filled with a spurious smile as he approached.
Naturally, a certain magnetic stone under Chu Feng"s foot changed its position. Following which several magnetic stones in the nearby gra.s.s lit up. The whole place was suddenly different.
"I"ll let you have this too." Chu Feng tossed a magnetic stone carved with symbols towards the ground in front.
As a result, everyone witnessed an astonis.h.i.+ng scene—Kong Sheng and his group lost their footing and swayed unsteadily from side to side, as if they had lost their souls. All of them tottered on the verge of collapse and almost fell to the ground.
"I hate violence the most. Killing and fighting are so meaningless. However, you lot keep forcing my hand." Chu Feng walked over after saying this. He kept saying he hated killing and violence, but then he slapped Kong Sheng several times and knocked him limp on the ground.
Everyone was astonished and flabbergasted.
...
[1] A Taiji move which makes use of the opponent"s" momentum against him without exerting much strength.