"Brother Chu Feng, why aren't you saying anything? Are you still angry? If so, why don't you hit me a few times. A few times isn't enough — hit me ten times, even a hundred times. Whatever makes you feel better."
Li Xiang grew anxious when Chu Feng remained silent, and he continued speaking.
"We feel the same way. If you're not satisfied, forget a hundred times — a thousand punches is fine too. As long as you don't kill me, go ahead."
The other two men spoke up nervously as well.
And the fact that all three of them said such things only confirmed what everyone present had already guessed.
In truth, there had never been any bullying or humiliation on Chu Feng's part. Quite the opposite — it was the three from the Sacred Pill Master's Manor who had been in the wrong first.
Otherwise, they wouldn't be apologizing to Chu Feng like this.
"I said it before — it was just a small misunderstanding between us. Don't take it to heart. What's past is past," Chu Feng said with a smile.
He could tell that Li Xiang and the other two had been sincere in their words, so his impression of them had shifted.
It wasn't because they worshipped him that Chu Feng's opinion changed — rather, he felt that they were, in their own way, genuine people.
"Chu Feng, you've really forgiven us?"
"Then... can we be friends?"
Li Xiang asked Chu Feng, his voice full of nervousness, trembling with apprehension. Chu Feng could actually hear his voice shaking.
At the same time, the other two men from the Sacred Pill Master's Manor gazed at Chu Feng with eyes that held both longing and fear.
All three of them seemed terrified that Chu Feng would refuse.
"We can," Chu Feng finally said with a nod and a smile.
"Holy crap, did you hear that? I'm Chu Feng's friend — I actually became friends with Chu Feng!"
In his excitement, Li Xiang shouted out to everyone present, his voice so loud he might as well have been trying to tell the entire world.
Many people laughed at this sight, finding Li Xiang quite amusing.
But Chu Feng noticed that the corner of Han Yu's mouth had curved into a cold smile.
It was a mocking smile — a contemptuous one. And as he smiled, even his gaze changed, as though he were looking at a clown — looking at Li Xiang and Chu Feng.
That's right. In Han Yu's eyes, Chu Feng was also a clown.
But he was an excellent actor. That smile and that look vanished in the span of a single heartbeat.
Presumably, while everyone's attention had been focused on Chu Feng and Li Xiang's little group, no one had noticed that brief flash of ridicule on Han Yu's face.
"Look! It's the people from the Starfall Sacred Ground!"
Just then, someone suddenly pointed into the distance and cried out in alarm.
Everyone raised their gaze to look. Only then did they spot several figures approaching through the sky in the distance. Their arrival was grand and imposing — there were several hundred of them.
These people, whether men or women, old or young, were all dressed in white robes, arranged in perfect order.
They strode through the air as though descended from a celestial realm — noble, elegant.
They moved at an unhurried pace, yet their speed was remarkably fast.
One person was the exception. This individual was not walking through the air but riding in a palanquin.
The palanquin was enormous, resembling a small moving palace. It required no one to carry it — it flew through the air on its own, following along with the group.
It was treated like a sacred relic, surrounded and guarded by the members of the Starfall Sacred Ground.
The palanquin appeared to be crafted from jade, with flowing white silk curtains billowing around it. The curtains served as a barrier, making it impossible to see who sat inside — even Chu Feng could not peer through.
It was worth noting that among those present, there were no shortage of powerful experts. But the strongest of them all were the eight elders encircling the palanquin.
These eight elders were identical in appearance.
Each wore a long white robe as pure as snow. Their expressions were cold, and they did not even blink, as though devoid of any emotion whatsoever.
Most importantly, their cultivation was immensely deep — like a bottomless ancient well, impossible to see through.