Chu Feng did not respond immediately to Han Yu's provocation.
He did not know much about Han Yu, nor was he clear on the man's true strength.
He only had a vague feeling that Han Yu would not be as easy to deal with as Yuwen Hualong — otherwise, the man would not be so confident in challenging him.
"Oh my, what a lively scene here — everyone's gathered in one place."
Just then, a clear, melodious voice rang out.
People turned toward the sound and noticed a beautiful young girl standing before a pillar of light.
It was none other than Chu Lingxi, young miss of the Chu Heavenly Clan.
She was not alone. Xia Yun'er was there as well — the two young beauties had walked out of the mountain together at the same time.
"Holy Maiden, I heard you entered the Burial Spirit Pool. Did your Spirit World techniques break through?"
Upon seeing Xia Yun'er, the disciples of the Starfall Sacred Ground hurriedly surrounded her.
Among them were the very disciples Xia Yun'er had abandoned earlier.
Yet none of them so much as mentioned how she had left them behind — it was as if nothing had ever happened.
Not only that, they were all congratulating her.
"Thank you, Senior Brothers and Sisters, and all the esteemed seniors, for your concern. The harvest this time was quite bountiful. Lady Chu Lingxi, Young Master Chu Feng, and I all successfully broke through from the Snake Mark level to the Dragon Mark Royal-cloak Spirit World Master realm."
Xia Yun'er smiled gracefully and addressed everyone in an exceptionally warm and amiable tone.
"They all broke through?"
The moment those words left Xia Yun'er's lips, the crowd involuntarily drew sharp breaths.
No one had expected that this single occasion would produce three Dragon Mark Royal-cloak Spirit World Masters in one go.
It was simply too shocking. Setting aside their cultivation talent, their ages alone were enough to astonish the entire Great Thousand Upper Realm.
The three of them were very likely the youngest Dragon Mark Royal-cloak Spirit World Masters in the whole realm.
However, while everyone was stunned by this news, Chu Feng was equally surprised.
But what surprised him was that Xia Yun'er — who had been gnashing her teeth and vowing to kill him just moments ago — had now completely reverted to her usual attitude toward him in front of the crowd, as though nothing had ever happened between them. This girl's ability to put on a mask was truly extraordinary.
That said, upon learning that all three of them had broken through, Han Yu's expression grew even uglier.
Originally, being a Dragon Mark Royal-cloak Spirit World Master had been a mark of his exceptional talent. After all, someone as young as he was achieving that rank was exceedingly rare.
But now that Chu Feng had also become a Dragon Mark Royal-cloak Spirit World Master, Han Yu would inevitably be overshadowed — Chu Feng was considerably younger than him.
Thus, his hatred for Chu Feng only deepened.
Pointing at Chu Feng, he shouted, "Chu Feng, I'm asking you — do you dare fight me, Han Yu?"
"Han Yu, have you no shame? Your cultivation is a full two ranks above Chu Feng's, and you're asking him if he dares to fight you? Why don't you just ask him if he'd like to be beaten to death by you?"
Before Chu Feng could open his mouth, Li Xiang spoke up. Ever since Yuwen Ting had crippled his cultivation, Li Xiang had actually grown bolder — especially when it came to dealing with Han Yu and his lot. He showed them no courtesy whatsoever.
"Isn't this Chu Feng some kind of genius? He's cultivated the Divine Punishment Mystic Art and even commands heaven-defying secret techniques — his methods are far from ordinary."
"He crippled the cultivation of two of my brothers in succession. Now that's what I call arrogant."
"But when it comes to facing me, suddenly he doesn't dare?"
Han Yu ignored Li Xiang entirely and instead fixed Chu Feng with a mocking gaze, his eyes brimming with provocation and derision.
"It's true that Chu Feng possesses the Divine Punishment Mystic Art, but doesn't your Heavenly Power Body also allow you to boost your cultivation by a rank?"
"The gap between you two right now is enormous. How could Chu Feng possibly be your match?"
"If you're going to challenge Chu Feng, at the very least you should wait until his strength is on par with yours — that would at least be fair," Li Xiang pressed on.
Chu Feng understood clearly that Li Xiang was saying all of this to warn him — that Han Yu possessed extraordinary means of his own, and that he should not engage him in combat.
"What methods I have are my own ability. What cultivation I possess, I cultivated myself."