Inside the fortress, hearts raced with anticipation. Outside, the air was no less turbulent.
At that moment, above the fortress, a body of light materialized, arranging itself into twenty neatly ordered numbers.
And among the lower-ranking names, several had already appeared — the Holy Deer of the East, the Sea Crocodile Clan, the Golden Roc Clan, the Demon Flood Dragon King, Ximen Feixue, Feng Sanmei, Feng Erhong, Baili Xinghe, and others.
"Amazing — almost all of them are from the invitation list. The most influential younger generation of the Martial Sacred Land."
"Even Ximen Feixue is here. I wonder if Chu Feng will show up." One of the onlookers spoke with eager anticipation.
"Hmph. The four great Imperial Clans have sent tens of thousands of troops and already sealed off the entire fortress. If Chu Feng dares come, he's courting death." Another swept a glance around the surroundings as he spoke.
Sure enough, the four great Imperial Clans had deployed tens of thousands of soldiers in perfect formation, blockading every approach to the fortress. Leading these armies were none other than the four Clan Masters themselves.
And beyond the Imperial Clans' own forces, their vassal factions had also dispatched elite troops in great numbers. All told, the visible military presence amounted to well over a million strong.
But that was only the surface force. The true elites were hidden deep underground, commanded by four Supreme Elders who had yet to make their appearance.
"Sigh. I never imagined the four great Imperial Clans would harbor such hatred for Chu Feng. To capture one junior, they've deployed this level of might — even the four Clan Masters have come in person."
"That Chu Feng — he's just a junior. What kind of power could he possibly possess?" Witnessing the four Imperial Clans' overwhelming mobilization, many people began to grasp just how seriously — and how bitterly — the Clans regarded Chu Feng.
"Brother Nangong, do you think Chu Feng will come?" Clan Master Beidou stood aloft in the sky, addressing Nangong Beidou beside him.
"I believe he will," Nangong Beidou replied.
"He will? Heh… I think there's no chance he shows up. Last time he dared raid Moon-Admiring Cloud City because he knew we weren't prepared."
"But this time, virtually everyone knows we're lying in wait here. Chu Feng isn't stupid — why would he walk into a trap?" Clan Master Beidou chuckled lightly. Despite the massive deployment, he didn't truly believe Chu Feng would come. In his eyes, they had simply made a wasted trip.
"I also think Chu Feng won't come. Even if he did, he'd probably have run off by now." Clan Master Dongfang paused, then turned toward Clan Master Ximen and asked, "Clan Master Ximen, what do you think?"
"He'd better not come. If he does, I'll make sure he never leaves." Clan Master Ximen's voice was cold as iron.
"I actually hope he comes — I'm just afraid he won't," Clan Master Beidou sighed.
"He will definitely come." Nangong Beidou's tone was unwavering. "You don't understand that Chu Feng yet. But after everything that's happened, I've come to know him somewhat. This young man has extraordinary nerve — his courage exceeds anything you can imagine."
"Moreover, the backers behind him may not be limited to the one who wielded that Execution Brush that day. So we absolutely cannot let our guard down." As he spoke, a flicker of gravity and unease passed through Nangong Beidou's eyes.
He knew all too well that the combat power the four great Imperial Clans had mobilized today was truly formidable. They had even deployed a full four Supreme Elders — calling this the Imperial Clans' strongest possible strike force would not be an exaggeration.
And yet, even so, he had no absolute confidence that they could kill Chu Feng.
Because…
That day, in the Nangong Imperial Clan, the sight of Chu Feng unleashing the Shura Evil Spirit remained burned into his memory.
That day, in Moon-Admiring Cloud City, the sight of Chu Feng sweeping through all four Clans' younger generation remained burned into his memory.
And he could only stand by and watch his interests destroyed, his dignity humiliated, with no way to touch Chu Feng.
At this point, when it came to Chu Feng, Nangong Beidou simply did not dare to underestimate him.
"Hahaha…"
"Brother Nangong, in my opinion, you've been scared witless by that Chu Feng. No matter how talented he is, he's still just a junior. Is all this really necessary?" Clan Master Dongfang laughed softly.
"Agreed — this doesn't sound like the Nangong Beidou we know." Clan Master Beidou wore a mocking grin.
"If I could, I would hope my concerns are unnecessary. Otherwise…" Nangong Beidou did not finish the sentence, because he did not want to think about what "otherwise" might entail.
"Look — they've already announced down to seventh place! Almost all of the remaining ranks are taken by the Three Houses. As expected of the Three Houses — truly remarkable." Clan Master Beidou gazed at the names continuing to materialize across the sky and let out a sigh of admiration.
"The demon race and the human race juniors are mostly accounted for. So the ones ranked even higher must be the Ancient Elves?" Clan Master Dongfang's gaze grew serious.
Hum—
At that moment, a flash of light, and Little Radish's name appeared in the sky, displayed just below the sixth rank.
"What?! Little Radish?! What the hell is going on?!"
Seeing those three characters, forget the four Clan Masters — nearly every person present froze in stunned silence, mouths agape in total bewilderment.
Hum—
And then came another flash of light as Big Radish's name appeared as well, positioned just below the fifth rank.
"What?! Now there's a Big Radish too — it's a pair of radishes!!"
Hum—