"No, perhaps... perhaps I still have a chance. After all, Chu Feng did come back. If I change my attitude toward him and try harder to win his heart, maybe I still have a chance to become his woman."
"After all, Grandpa has such a good relationship with Chu Feng — that's my advantage." With this thought, a spark of hope reignited in Luo Lian's heart. She put on a bright smile and turned to look at Chu Feng.
But the moment her eyes fell on him, she was instantly petrified. Not only was the hope she'd just kindled snuffed out in an instant — in that very moment, it felt as though she had plunged into a bottomless ice chasm, chilled to the bone from the inside out, a cold she could barely endure.
Because she noticed that a woman now stood beside Chu Feng — and that woman was none other than Dantai Xue, the one who had healed her injuries.
Dantai Xue was so beautiful, ethereal as an immortal maiden untouched by the mortal dust. A woman of such beauty simply should not walk among mortals.
And Dantai Xue was so powerful — her aura was incomparably beyond her own, a chasm too vast to even be compared.
Most importantly, standing there beside Chu Feng, Dantai Xue looked so perfectly matched with him. It was as though only a woman like her was worthy of a Chu Feng so exceptional.
In that moment, she knew — she had no hope. She could never compete with Dantai Xue, and therefore she was simply not worthy of Chu Feng.
Loss — an indescribable sense of loss — flooded her vain heart.
"Grandpa Luo, let's not stay here any longer. I don't want you going back to a life of being bullied. Let me take you all away," Chu Feng said.
"To where?" Grandpa Luo had already recognized the precariousness of their situation. This was a world where the strong devoured the weak. Without sufficient strength or a powerful backer, one could only be trampled upon.
He didn't care much for himself — after all, he was just an old man. But he refused to let his two granddaughters suffer the same fate, bullied and downtrodden.
"The Southern Greenwood," Chu Feng said.
"The Southern Greenwood? Is it really safe to go there?" Grandpa Luo still hesitated. To them, the Southern Greenwood was a tremendously powerful faction. He had recently heard that its sect master had already reached the Half Emperor realm. The Southern Greenwood was no longer what it once had been — it had grown ever more prosperous and formidable.
The ones who cultivated there were mostly sons and daughters of prestigious families, even scions of colossal clans. With their standing, wouldn't going there only put them in greater danger?
"Rest assured. I can't vouch for other places, but in the Southern Greenwood, no one will dare lay a finger on the three of you."
"If anyone bullies you in the Southern Greenwood, not only will those bullies face consequences — even the Southern Greenwood's own sect master won't be able to wash his hands of it."
"Chu Feng is now the First Disciple of Greenwood Mountain, a personal favorite of Sect Master Dugu Xingfeng himself. So forget the Southern Greenwood — even at Greenwood Mountain, absolutely no one would dare bully the three of you," Hong Qiang said, having seen through Grandpa Luo's worries.
"Chu Feng, is that true? You've already become Greenwood Mountain's First Disciple?" At those words, the color drained from Luo Lian's face. The news was simply too staggering.
What was Greenwood Mountain? It was the supreme power of the entire Greenwood Domain — a true hegemon. And Greenwood Mountain's First Disciple was, without exaggeration, the most formidable young cultivator in the entire Greenwood Domain. Countless great figures would have to bow before him.
"Grandpa Luo, going to the Southern Greenwood is only temporary." Chu Feng paid no attention to Luo Lian and spoke directly to Grandpa Luo. "Xiaoru is still young — let her cultivate at the Southern Greenwood for now. When she's a bit older, she can move on to Greenwood Mountain. And if you're worried, you can accompany her there yourself."