Seeing Tang Ying react so violently, Chu Feng was genuinely surprised. He realized that this man might truly be someone extraordinary.
But Chu Feng remained as calm as ever, smiling as he said to Tang Ying, "Have you forgotten? I'm your bodyguard. How could I possibly abandon you?"
"But... Chu Feng." Hearing his words, Tang Ying's face filled with gratitude, yet she still worried greatly for Chu Feng.
"No buts. No matter who poses a threat to you, I will protect you," Chu Feng said.
"Oh my, how touching. No wonder this Tang Ying refused to marry into my Cao family — turns out she's been having an affair with her own bodyguard." The man sneered from the side, but Chu Feng noticed that beneath his smiling eyes lurked a dense killing intent.
"Since you still haven't left, it seems you've decided to die by my hand." Chu Feng narrowed his eyes, a cold gleam surging within them.
Setting aside the fact that soldiers on opposite sides serve different masters, the main issue was that although this man wore a smiling face, he was truly harboring a blade behind that smile.
Chu Feng had already sensed his killing intent — this man was determined to put Chu Feng to death no matter what. So for someone like this, Chu Feng would show no mercy. Even if the man wanted to leave, Chu Feng wouldn't let him.
"Ohoho, listen to that tone — talking awfully big for a mere first-rank half-Ancestor. I'm a fourth-rank half-Ancestor. Where exactly do you find the nerve to challenge me like this?" Finally, a note of mockery crept into the man's smile.
"First-rank half-Ancestor, are you sure?" As Chu Feng spoke, lightning flickered in his eyes. Bolts of thunder intertwined as the Thunder Armor and Thunder Wings materialized, and his aura surged from first-rank half-Ancestor to third-rank half-Ancestor in the blink of an eye.
"You're from the Heavenly Clan?" Seeing Chu Feng in this state, the man's expression shifted, revealing a flash of shock.
However, the surprise lasted only an instant. Soon he was smiling again. "So you're from the Heavenly Clan — that means you possess the ability to fight three ranks above your level. In other words, your true combat power can match an ordinary sixth-rank half-Ancestor. No wonder you're so confident."
"But I'm afraid you don't know — I've killed members of the Heavenly Clan before. Don't think for a second that being from the Heavenly Clan means I'll let you off."
"Because I am the third young master of the Cao family — the famous Cao Yuxuan!!!"
That last line, the man suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice practically ringing throughout the entire Tang residence. Even people outside the city could hear it.
"Cao Yuxuan?" Hearing those three words, countless Tang family experts changed their expressions and couldn't help but turn their gazes his way.
"It's really him? What's he doing here?" When people used various means to confirm the man's identity across the great distance, their faces grew even uglier.
Noticing the Tang family's reaction, Chu Feng sensed something was off and said to Tang Ying, "Tang Ying, you might as well tell me about this Cao Yuxuan."
"Chu Feng, his name is Cao Yuxuan. He's the third young master of the Cao family, born with a Heavenly Bestowed Divine Body. Don't let his cultivation at fourth-rank half-Ancestor fool you — he possesses the combat ability to fight one rank above his level. And his Heavenly Bestowed Divine Body can elevate his cultivation by one more rank, pushing his true combat power to the level of a sixth-rank half-Ancestor."
"He's the greatest genius the Cao family has produced in twenty thousand years. My eldest brother once fought him, but was defeated in a single blow."
"Most importantly, he's a member of the Lu Yang Pavilion. He's one of the three personal disciples accepted by the Pavilion Master and holds an extremely high position within the Lu Yang Pavilion. Even my father wouldn't dare be disrespectful to him."
"He was originally in seclusion at the Lu Yang Pavilion and had said he would not participate in the conflict between the Tang and Cao families."
"But now, clearly he's gone back on his word. He intends to join this fight."
"But... with his special status, almost no one dares to act against him. Our Tang family might truly be finished this time..."
"Chu Feng, please leave quickly. This has nothing to do with you. I don't want to drag you into this," Tang Ying said.
"Are you Tang family people truly stupid or just pretending to be?" At this point, Chu Feng was utterly exasperated.
If the Cao family had a card like this, the Tang family should have surrendered sooner rather than later. But instead they actually believed that Cao Yuxuan wouldn't participate in the family conflict.
How was that even possible? This was his own family — would he really stand by and watch his family's life and death go unchecked? Would he refrain from using his special status?
At this moment, Chu Feng couldn't help but admire the intelligence of these Tang family people, because overall, it really was impressively low.
No wonder they were on the back foot in every aspect of their struggle with the Cao family, ending up in the state they were today.
"But whenever the Lu Yang Pavilion says it won't participate, it never does. Who could have imagined that this Cao Yuxuan would..." Tang Ying said with a look of grievance.
"Idiot. Cao Yuxuan is a member of the Cao family — how could he not care about the Cao family's fate?" Chu Feng said helplessly.
"Oh my, listen to that tone. Sounds like you're scared."
"If you're scared, you can scram right now, and I might spare your life."
"But don't worry — even if you scram now, I won't kill this Tang Ying."