“Rank one Utmost Exalted level? How could he be at rank one Utmost Exalted level?”


  Hua Xu stared at Chu Feng with a look of disbelief on his face. He confirmed the matter again and again, but there was no doubt about it. Slowly, fear and unease seeped into his eyes.

  All along, he had only thought of Chu Feng as a small fry. He looked down on the latter, and that was why he dared to provoke him. But now, he realized that the person he messed with was someone far beyond his means to deal with.

  As a fellow junior, Hua Xu knew just what it meant for a junior to reach Utmost Exalted level.

  His gleeful look vanished without a trace, replaced with a downpour of cold sweat.

  “J-Junior Tu! What is Chu Feng’s background? Which power does he come from? Why haven’t I heard of him before?”


  In a state of fluster, Hua Xu turned to Tu Yuanyuan to inquire about Chu Feng’s affairs using voice transmission. He felt that Tu Yuanyuan must know something about Chu Feng, considering how warmly she had treated him earlier.

  “You’ve already entered the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect, so what’s the point of bothering with outside affairs?” Tu Yuanyuan replied, refusing to tell Hua Xu about Chu Feng’s affairs.

  However, her response felt like a reminder to Hua Xu. He felt that Tu Yuanyuan was telling him that no matter how capable Chu Feng was out there, once he was inside the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect, they would be all on the same starting line.

  Hua Xu carefully considered the matter, and that was indeed the case.

  Chu Feng might be strong right now, but Hua Xu had superior talent here. Besides, he had his master to back him up in the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect. He might be unable to offend Chu Feng outside, but in the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect at least, he didn’t have to fear Chu Feng.

  With such thoughts in mind, he slowly calmed down. Remembering that his master was standing right behind him, he found his confidence once more.

  “Dao Qinian, what’s going on? Did something go wrong with the aptitude test?”


  Unexpectedly, Hua Xu’s master, Elder Ouyang Che, glared at Dao Qinian with a furious look on his face.

  “Elder Ouyang, the test was held according to the rules,” Dao Qinian replied.

  “Something must have gone wrong. Test him once more!”


  Another one of the elders from the East Dragon Hall spoke up as well.

  “There’s no need for it. The aptitude test is just a gauge; it’s not always accurate. The fact that this child has managed to reach rank one Utmost Exalted level despite his young age is the best proof of his talents,” Elder Ouyang Che said as he began to reassess Chu Feng once more.

  His eyes that were filled with enmity a moment ago were now filled with appreciation.

  “Young friend Chu Feng, I apologize for not fully understanding the situation earlier and misunderstanding you. I hope that you won’t take this matter to heart.”


  As Ouyang Che said those words, there was a smile on his face.

  Seeing this, Hua Xu felt his heart clenching tightly.

  No matter how foolish he might be, he could discern the intentions his master had in mind.

  In contrast, the surrounding crowd wasn’t surprised by Elder Ouyang Che’s change in attitude. Both Chu Feng and Xu Cheng were at rank one Utmost Exalted level, but Chu Feng was able to subdue the latter in a single strike. This was more than enough to prove Chu Feng’s strength.

  Chu Feng might have only obtained a wooden token from the earlier aptitude test, but it was likely that he was a monstrously talented prodigy. Putting aside Ouyang Che, even the stronger elders of the East Dragon Hall would be interested in taking him in as their disciple!

  Once this matter got around, the guts of many elders from the East Dragon Hall would probably go green in regret for not attending this selection, resulting in them missing their opportunity with a disciple as outstanding as Chu Feng.

  “Ouyang Che, it was just a moment ago that you were still framing Chu Feng. Did you think that you can resolve this matter just by saying some pleasant-sounding words?”


  The strongest one of the three elders from the East Dragon Hall, the female elder who took in Tu Yuanyuan, spoke up. She stopped Tu Yuanyuan from speaking up for Chu Feng earlier, but at this very moment, she was taking the initiative to defend Chu Feng herself.

  Her change in attitude was no less abrupt than Ouyang Che’s. The reason behind that was naturally due to Chu Feng’s talent. She was interested in taking Chu Feng in as her disciple too.

  “I was blind.”


  Right after saying those words, Ouyang Che flung his sleeve and slapped Hua Xu loudly. His slap carried so much strength that it sent Hua Xu flying tens of thousands of meters away.

  Saying that the slap left a bloody handprint on Hua Xu’s face would be a grave understatement. Half of his face had been distorted by that strike.

  “Master, you……”


  Hua Xu was dumbstruck.

  “Don’t call me your master, you wretched brat. I don’t have a disciple like you. Hua Xu has spread falsehoods to slander his fellow clan members despite having just joined the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect. I, Ouyang Che, hereby declare that I’d evict Hua Xu from my lineage. Whatever happens to him from this day onward has nothing to do with me!”


  Shockingly, Ouyang Che actually expelled Hua Xu on the spot!

  “.……”


  Hua Xu’s face paled as fear and shock flickered across his eyes. He felt deeply indignant, but he dared not to say anything at all.

  He wasn’t lying when he mentioned that he had an elder in the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect, but he hadn’t seen the elder for many years, so he didn’t know how the latter was doing to date. At least until he found the elder, he couldn’t afford to offend Ouyang Che.

  No matter what, Ouyang Che was still an elder of the East Dragon Hall, a Martial Exalted level cultivator, whereas he was just a disciple who was barely qualified to join the East Dragon Hall.

  “Young friend Chu Feng, I was foolish to have trusted Hua Xu earlier, and I’ve already punished him for that. If you’re willing, I can take you in as my disciple and bring you into the East Dragon Hall.”


  Despite trying to corner Chu Feng earlier, Ouyang Che had no qualms about trying to take Chu Feng in as his disciple right now.

  “Ouyang Che, aren’t you a little too thick-skinned here? Do you think that you can make up for the grievances Chu Feng suffered just by evicting Hua Xu from your lineage?”


  Tu Yuanyuan’s master sneered coldly before turning to look at Chu Feng, saying, “Young friend Chu Feng, become my disciple instead.”


  Seeing this, Ouyang Che quickly fell silent, not daring to object at all. Tu Yuanyuan’s master was of a higher cultivation level than him, so he dared not to compete with her.

  This was also the reason why he chose Hua Xu instead of Tu Yuanyuan earlier despite the latter having better aptitude. Of everyone present, there was no doubt that Tu Yuanyuan’s master was the one who was most qualified to become Chu Feng’s master.

  But just as everyone thought that Chu Feng would accept the offer made by Tu Yuanyuan’s master, he bowed slightly and said, “Elder, thank you for your appreciation, but I’ve already chosen an elder as my master. It’s just that the elder refuses to acknowledge me. I’ll have to try my best to prove myself to him.”


  “Oh?”


  Those words surprised everyone present. They instinctively felt that the person Chu Feng was referring to had to be someone of formidable means.

  “Young friend Chu Feng, may I know which elder have you chosen?” Tu Yuanyuan’s master asked.

  “That elder hasn’t accepted me as his disciple yet, so I’m afraid that it might be inconvenient for me to reveal his identity,” Chu Feng replied.

  “Young friend Chu Feng, I understand the difficulties you’re facing, but I’d like to know who you are choosing over me. I promise that I won’t make things difficult for the elder,” Tu Yuanyuan’s master said to dispel Chu Feng’s hesitation.

  Needless to say, the person that Chu Feng was referring to was Duan Liufeng. The reason why he was hesitant to reveal Duan Liufeng’s identity was because the latter was only an outer elder.

  The elders of the East Dragon Hall wielded great authority, so if they wanted to make things difficult for Duan Liufeng, they definitely had the means to do so. However, from the current looks of it, if Chu Feng refused to speak, Tu Yuanyuan’s master wouldn’t let this matter go easily.

  After a moment of consideration, Chu Feng decided to reveal the truth, “The person whom I would like to acknowledge as my master is Elder Duan Liufeng.”


  “Duan Liufeng?”


  Those words caused a huge commotion right away.

  The disciples didn’t react much as they didn’t know who Duan Liufeng was. They simply whispered to one another to speculate what was going on.

  On the other hand, the elders were acting much more unnaturally. From their shocked expressions, it could be seen that they knew who Duan Liufeng was, and that was the problem in itself.

  One must know that Duan Liufeng was an outer elder. It was still understandable if those from the North Tortoise Hall knew of him, but from the looks of it, it appeared that the elders of all four halls had heard of him.