Faced with Jie Bufan's provocation, Chu Feng merely smiled and was about to follow without hesitation. But just then, Gu Bo grabbed his arm and said with some concern, "Chu Feng, you can teach him a lesson anytime. There's no need to go head-to-head with him right now."
"Are you worried he'll ambush me?" Chu Feng said.
"It's not just about the ambush. The Xuan Wu-level underground palace truly isn't suited for us."
"Besides, Jie Bufan deliberately waited until the senior brothers from our Spirit World Guild had entered the underground palace before coming to provoke you. He clearly has ulterior motives. I'm afraid that what's waiting for you in there isn't just those few people from earlier." Gu Bo warned.
"Relax. As long as Jie Qingming isn't around, no one from the Jie clan can do anything to me." Chu Feng smiled casually and strode quickly toward the Xuan Wu-level underground palace.
Chu Feng's Mental Power was incredibly sharp—he had long since noticed Jie Bufan and his people secretly watching him. But as long as there were no Heaven Martial realm experts present, he feared nothing.
"Gu Bo, this kid's way too arrogant. Let's just leave him be. Brother Zhao just told us to enter the Yuan Wu-level underground palace. We can't ignore that." Behind Gu Bo, several other youths under eighteen spoke up.
"No. I can't just leave him." But Gu Bo followed after Chu Feng without a moment's hesitation.
Seeing this, the remaining Spirit World Guild youngsters exchanged glances, hesitating. But watching Gu Bo's departing back, they eventually gritted their teeth and followed along.
The underground palace was vast and exquisitely designed, giving off the feeling of a subterranean castle. But even if it was a castle, it was a super-massive one.
However, that wasn't the point. The point was that not long after Chu Feng and the others had entered the underground palace, before they even reached the checkpoint area, their path was blocked by a group of people—it was Jie Bufan and his Jie clan members.
Just as Chu Feng and Gu Bo had anticipated, the group that appeared now wasn't just the handful from before. There were over twenty of them.
Of these twenty-odd people, only Jie Bufan was at the ninth level of Yuan Martial, while all the rest were in the Xuan Wu Realm. Two among them had even reached the third level of Xuan Martial, radiating an oppressive aura.
"This is bad. There really was an ambush."
Looking at the Jie clan members surrounding them on all sides, some of the Spirit World Guild people began casting blaming glances at Chu Feng. They knew that this time, they probably wouldn't be able to pass through the underground palace within the time limit—and it was all because of this Chu Feng.
Seeing the fear on the faces of the Spirit World Guild members, Jie Bufan smiled smugly and said, "Gu Bo, today I'm settling scores with Chu Feng. This has nothing to do with your Spirit World Guild. If you leave now, there's still time."
"Jie Bufan, I don't think you understand the situation. Chu Feng is already a member of our Spirit World Guild. His business is our business—how could it possibly have nothing to do with us?"
"I'd advise you not to make trouble, or our Spirit World Guild will absolutely not let this slide." Gu Bo knew the situation was dire, but he didn't back down. Instead, he stepped in front of Chu Feng.
At that moment, Chu Feng felt a warmth in his heart beyond words. Adversity reveals true character. For Gu Bo to stand in front of him at a time like this—this was truly a brother worth having.
"Gu Bo, it's true that I, Chu Feng, am a member of the Spirit World Guild. But today, I'd like to handle this myself." Chu Feng stepped forward, reached out his arm, and pulled Gu Bo behind him. Then, with a smiling expression, he looked at Jie Bufan and said: "Jie Bufan, didn't you just say that the reason I was able to defeat you that day was because I had the advantage inside the Asura Ghost Tower?"