The Illusory Thunder Sect wasn't actually far from the Li Family's home. An ordinary citizen traveling by carriage would need several days, but at Chu Feng's speed, half a day was more than enough.
After half a day of travel, Chu Feng had arrived at the so-called Illusory Thunder Sect. Since he'd come here to rescue someone, he didn't enter openly — instead, he snuck in cautiously.
Chu Feng discovered that although the Illusory Thunder Sect was only a second-rate sect, its elders and disciples were far from weak. Their strength was absolutely comparable to a first-rate sect in Qingzhou.
For Chu Feng, such a sect posed no real threat. In fact, if he borrowed Egg Egg's power, he alone could wipe the place out. But after all, Qinzhou wasn't Qingzhou, and since he was new to the area, Chu Feng decided to keep a low profile.
Using the unique abilities of a Spirit World Master, Chu Feng silently infiltrated the Illusory Thunder Sect's core area and arrived in a lush garden brimming with colorful flowers and willow trees. His first step toward finding Li Datou's rescuer was to locate the person who had imprisoned him — the young sect master of the Illusory Thunder Sect.
Stealing closer step by step, Chu Feng finally spotted a few figures. They were a group of young men and women, all of a respectable cultivation level — each at the Xuan Martial Realm.
In particular, one man wearing a feathered crown stood out. His cultivation had already reached the sixth level of the Xuan Martial Realm, which was genuinely impressive. Back in Qingzhou, only a handful of young cultivators had ever reached that level.
Yet here in Qinzhou, the young master of some random second-rate sect casually possessed such cultivation. It really drove home just how vast the gap between Qinzhou and Qingzhou truly was.
At this moment, Chu Feng was tempted to rush out and give this young master a lesson first, then extract Li Datou's whereabouts. But when he caught the content of their conversation, he held back that impulse, because among their words he picked up on three sensitive characters — "Myriad Beast Mountain."
"Hard to believe that after all this time of lying low, the Supreme Villa still couldn't resist making a move against Myriad Beast Mountain."
"Right, as they say — one mountain can't hold two tigers, and one province can't tolerate two kings. Sure, the demon beasts of Myriad Beast Mountain don't interfere with the various powers in Qinzhou. They just stick to their own little patch of land."
"But the Supreme Villa, as the ruler of Qinzhou, naturally won't tolerate a group of beings it can't control existing on its turf. So a war with Myriad Beast Mountain was only a matter of time. This current situation isn't surprising at all."
"Mm, but you have to admit, the Supreme Villa does know how to play its cards. They organized a marriage alliance tournament, putting out all those stunningly beautiful and incredibly talented young women from the Supreme Villa. Now the entire young generation of Qinzhou has headed to the Supreme Villa, and even the top geniuses from other provinces have shown up."
"You're kidding me? To deal with Myriad Beast Mountain, the Supreme Villa actually pulled a move like that? Forging alliances with forces from other provinces?"
"Absolutely true. They didn't exactly call it a formal alliance, but once this marriage tournament succeeds, they'll naturally have allied relationships with those provincial powers. And once the Supreme Villa launches its offensive against Myriad Beast Mountain, those other major powers won't just sit on the sidelines — after all, that mountain range holds countless treasures."
"Forming alliances with the top forces of other provinces — that's a double-edged sword. They could easily end up losing their bride and their army. Isn't this a bit too reckless?"
"Well, I'm sure the Supreme Villa has its own reasons. That's not something for us to worry about. What I did hear is that the future clan leader of the Jie Clan in Jiezhou — Jie Qingming — has already come to Qinzhou, specifically to attend this marriage tournament."
"Jie Qingming? Now that's a remarkable genius. I heard that when he was at the ninth level of the Xuan Martial Realm, he actually defeated a master of the Heaven Martial Realm. By now he's probably stepped into that realm himself, right?"
"Jie Qingming isn't the only one. Top young talents from Tangzhou, Songzhou, Yuanzhou, Mingzhou, and Suizhou have all come to Qinzhou, all for this marriage tournament."
"Heavens, who knew the Supreme Villa's influence ran this deep? Doesn't this mean the strongest young generation from across the entire Nine Provinces Continent is all converging on Qinzhou?"
"Sigh, I'd really love to see those monsters in action. But unfortunately, I heard this marriage tournament only allows the younger generation to participate. Apart from those geniuses who received formal invitations, anyone else who wants to attend has to pass layer upon layer of selection. Looks like we don't stand a chance."
After hearing this conversation, Chu Feng couldn't help but feel pleased. He thought to himself, "I can't believe the Supreme Villa is actually planning an attack on Myriad Beast Mountain and gathering forces from all over. Heaven is truly helping me."
He had to admit, this trip had yielded some excellent intelligence. So he didn't bother listening to this bunch drone on any longer. His figure flickered, and like a ghost he appeared inside the pavilion where the three were sitting. He looked at the feathered-crown man and asked with a smile, "You're the young master of the Illusory Thunder Sect?"
This sudden appearance terrified everyone present. The Illusory Thunder Sect's young master especially, his face drained of color. He pointed at Chu Feng in panic and stammered, "Who are you?!"
"BANG!" Without another word, Chu Feng threw a punch straight into the young master's face. The tremendous force slammed him hard to the ground. Despite being at the sixth level of the Xuan Martial Realm, half the teeth in his mouth had been shattered by the blow.
"When I ask you a question, you answer. Don't you dare turn around and ask me who I am." After decking the young master with a single punch, Chu Feng said coldly.
At that moment, the other young men and women had already gone deathly pale. Seeing their strongest member — the Illusory Thunder Sect's young master — laid out by a single punch, they all realized Chu Feng was an expert.
Without a second thought, they turned to run. But with just a flick of his will, Chu Feng spread out his gray barrier, enveloping all of them. Forget escaping — they couldn't even make a sound that could pass beyond it.
"I'll ask you one more time. Are you the young master of the Illusory Thunder Sect or not?" Chu Feng ignored the others trying to flee and pointed at the feathered-crown man once more, pressing him for an answer.
"I... I am." This time, the Illusory Thunder Sect's young master didn't dare hesitate. Clutching the side of his face, he answered meekly.
"A while back, did you imprison a Core Disciple named Li Datou?" Chu Feng asked.
"Li Datou? I don't know him!" The young master hurriedly shook his head.
"Oh, you don't know him?" Chu Feng delivered a vicious uppercut, knocking the young master — who had only just managed to crawl back up — flat on the ground again. This time, the teeth on the other side of his mouth were all smashed out too.
"I'll talk, I'll talk! Every disciple from the Illusory Thunder Sect who offended me got thrown into the dungeon. The person you're looking for has to be there!" This time, the Illusory Thunder Sect's young master was completely and utterly subdued.