"Today is the Ancestral Worship Ceremony of our Seal Ancient Village, so naturally it's quite the occasion." Zhou Sitian stepped forward and said.
"Did I speak to you? What gives you the right to interrupt?" However, to Zhou Sitian's surprise, before he could even finish his sentence, he was rebuked by the oldest man among the Spirit World Alliance members.
Hearing this, Zhou Sitian's face changed instantly. As a dignified vice village chief, being publicly reprimanded by a junior — he felt utterly humiliated.
He wanted to say something more, but unexpectedly, the old village chief gave a sudden cough and shot him a meaningful look.
He understood — the old village chief did not want him to say another word. So he could only swallow whatever else he had been about to say, hold his tongue, and step behind the old village chief, leaving everything in Old Village Chief Ma's hands.
"Young friend Sun Lei, may I ask what brings you to our Seal Ancient Village this time?"
The old village chief stepped forward, asking with a warm smile, his manner extremely cordial. The fact that he could call the young man by his name made it clear that he obviously knew him.
At this moment, hearing the whispered murmurs around him, Chu Feng learned that the young man named Sun Lei was actually quite famous within Seal Ancient Village — a genius of the Spirit World Alliance.
He also had an older brother named Sun Chao, and it was said that the two brothers were considered anomalies within the Spirit World Alliance.
Most geniuses of the Spirit World Alliance excelled in barrier techniques but possessed relatively weak combat power.
For instance, the four men and women who had come with Sun Lei — although they all possessed Heaven-defying battle power, they could only surpass opponents by a single rank. In the realm of Heaven-defying strength, that was considered the lowest tier.
But this did not diminish their reputation as geniuses. From the look in their eyes alone, Chu Feng could tell that while their combat power was not particularly formidable, their mastery of barrier techniques was surely extraordinary. They were well-deserved geniuses — much like Sima Ying, their brilliance lay in the art of barriers.
And that was the hallmark of Spirit World Alliance geniuses: their greatest strength lay not in martial combat, but in the application of barrier techniques.
The reason Sun Lei and his brother Sun Chao were considered anomalies was that their barrier techniques, compared to those of other illustrious heirs, were rather mediocre. What they excelled at was raw martial force.
Take Sun Lei, for example — he not only possessed the cultivation of an eighth-rank Martial King, but Chu Feng could sense that his combat power surpassed opponents by two full ranks. In other words, Sun Lei's true fighting strength had reached the level of a first-rank Half-Emperor, and far from an ordinary one at that — only a second-rank Half-Emperor could hope to match him.
And the reason Sun Lei and his brother were so well-known in Seal Ancient Village was that their grandfather was extremely formidable as well. He was reputed to be the most ferocious active Spirit World Master in the Spirit World Alliance, one of its most feared figures, who had once single-handedly annihilated a powerful faction.
Sun Lei and his brother, banking on their grandfather's fearsome reputation, had visited Seal Ancient Village numerous times. Each time, they would make unreasonable demands, extorting portions of Seal Cold Water from the village.
So even the old village chief of Seal Ancient Village had to treat Sun Lei with the utmost courtesy. What they feared was not merely Sun Lei himself, but the terrifying grandfather standing behind him.
"Hah, now that's more like it — Village Chief Ma speaks more pleasantly." Only after hearing the old village chief's words did a satisfied smile appear at the corner of Sun Lei's lips. Then he said:
"Village Chief Ma, you're already quite familiar with me, since this isn't my first time visiting Seal Ancient Village. But I'm afraid you don't know these four beside me very well."
"But that's fine — allow me to introduce them. These four are siblings, from eldest to youngest: Huang Feng, Huang Ping, Huang Lang, and Huang Jing."
"Speaking of them, you may not have any impression, Village Chief Ma. But if I were to mention their grandfather, I'm certain you would know exactly who I mean."
"Because their grandfather is none other than the one who once competed against you in barrier techniques and achieved a crushing victory — our Spirit World Alliance's very own active Spirit World Master, Senior Huang Xiuji." Sun Lei spoke with a sly, beaming smile.