"Chu Zhen!!!" Turning his head to look, Chu Feng discovered that among the Azure Dragon Sect's group, there was a familiar figure — none other than Chu Zhen.
"Chu Feng, is that you?!!" Upon seeing Chu Feng, Chu Zhen's body trembled, and then a look of wild joy spread across his face. He strode quickly over to Chu Feng and looked him up and down, examining him carefully.
"Oh my god, it really is you, kid! When did you come back? How have you been all these years?" Seeing Chu Feng made Chu Zhen incredibly happy — he was absolutely thrilled.
"I just returned, so I came to pay my respects to Grandfather and the others first," Chu Feng replied with a faint smile, before asking, "What are you doing here?"
"This is, after all, our Chu Family's burial ground. Even though the Azure Dragon Sect sent people to guard it, we were still uneasy about it. So the remaining brothers and sisters of our Chu Family take turns standing watch here. This month happens to be my turn," Chu Zhen said with a smile.
"Lord Chu Zhen, who is this?" At that moment, the other Azure Dragon Sect members also approached curiously, their gazes filled with both reverence and a hint of timidity as they studied Chu Feng.
"This is none other than the legendary Chu Feng of our Azure Dragon Sect. Why haven't you paid your respects yet?" Chu Zhen said with a grin.
"We pay our respects to Lord Chu Feng!" Once they confirmed Chu Feng's identity, the Azure Dragon Sect members all knelt in unison, performing the full prostration of respect before him.
Chu Feng's prestige was simply too overwhelming — not just in Qingzhou, but across the entire Nine Provinces Continent and the whole Eastern Sea. The name Chu Feng had long since become a legend throughout the Eastern Sea. And so, although many of these people had never actually seen Chu Feng before, they still held him in the highest admiration.
"Rise," Chu Feng said, gently sweeping his arm. The people were lifted to their feet by an invisible force. Then Chu Feng flicked his sleeve, and a number of Martial Beads dropped neatly into each person's hands.
"Oh my heavens, Lord Chu Feng, what is this? It contains such dense natural energy!"
Clutching the Martial Beads, their eyes immediately lit up. They were considered fairly capable cultivators within the Azure Dragon Sect — all at the Xuan Wu Realm — and had seen their fair share of rare cultivation treasures. But they had never encountered beads like these before.
"They're called Martial Beads. Consider them a small welcome gift," Chu Feng said.
"Thank you, Lord Chu Feng! Thank you, Lord Chu Feng!!!"
Hearing his words, the Azure Dragon Sect members bowed once more in gratitude. Even a casual glance told them the Martial Beads were incredibly valuable, and Chu Feng had just given each of them a hundred — how could they not be excited? They felt that with just these Martial Beads alone, they had struck it rich.
"Brother Chu Feng, you've really become more and more generous, haven't you? Giving away such precious things just like that," Chu Zhen remarked from the side. But his words carried a faint note of jealousy, as if to say: if you're giving that many of such fine things to outsiders, you ought to give me at least a little something.
"I already have your gift prepared." As Chu Feng spoke, he produced a Universe Bag and pressed it into Chu Zhen's hand.
Chu Zhen took the Universe Bag and opened it. In an instant, his expression changed dramatically, as if he were in a dream. Inside the Universe Bag, there were several hundred thousand Martial Beads alone — and apart from that, there were other treasures he had never seen before in his life.
"Junior Brother Chu Feng, you really are becoming more and more extraordinary. The gap between you and us just keeps growing wider and wider." Chu Zhen carefully stowed the Universe Bag away and looked at Chu Feng with undisguised admiration.
Back in the day, he and Chu Feng had both been disciples of the Azure Dragon Sect. At that time, Chu Zhen had frequently given Chu Feng a hard time and looked down on him. But now, the gap in their strength had truly become as vast as the distance between heaven and earth. Even though many years had passed, whenever he recalled how he had behaved back then, he still felt a deep sense of shame.
"We're brothers — don't be modest with me," Chu Feng said with a faint smile, and then asked, "How are things at the Azure Dragon Sect these days?"