Soon enough, the news of Chu Feng killing Song Qingfeng, Liu Xiaoyao, Bai Yunfei, and Tang Yixiu spread completely, and almost everyone knew about it.
However, after learning of it, the greatest uproar came from the four major powers: the Fire God Gate, the Carefree Valley, the White Tibetan Sect, and the Yuan Gang Sect.
Currently, they had put a bounty on Chu Feng, but not only had they failed to capture him, their own First Disciples had been killed by him. This was a matter of extreme humiliation for them.
Moreover, Song Qingfeng and the other three were disciples these four powers had painstakingly nurtured for many years. They had placed great hopes on them, expecting them to carry the sect's banner and eventually become Sect Masters in the future.
And now, they had been killed, all by the same person. How could the Sect Masters of these powers possibly accept this? How could they endure it? How could they bear it?
On this day, the Sect Master of the Yuan Gang Sect, the Gate Master of the Fire God Gate, the Valley Master of the Carefree Valley, and the Sect Master of the White Tibetan Sect—these four titans—gathered together once more after parting ways at the Supreme Villa. This meeting took place in the Carefree Valley.
"Should we really hire that Thousand-Faced Old Man?" asked the Yuan Gang Sect Master.
"I also feel it's inappropriate. We are overlords of the Nine Provinces. To resort to hiring a killer just to hunt down one person—if word gets out, it will be a laughingstock," said the White Tibetan Sect Master.
"We've already become a joke for people to talk about. The bounty notice stated Chu Feng was at the third level of Xuan Martial, yet the strength he displayed was the seventh level of Xuan Martial, and he killed four disciples we painstakingly nurtured for years. This... this is truly a loss of all face," sighed the Fire God Gate Master.
"Face is a small matter. It's the lives of those four children that can't be lost in vain. Although Xiaoyao had no blood relation to me, I treated him like my own son. Now that he has died so tragically, how can I sit idly by?"
"Although hiring the Thousand-Faced Old Man might sound bad if it spreads, who will know it was us who hired him? As the number one assassin on the Nine Provinces Continent, wouldn't he be tempted if we offered a bounty of one million Xuan Pearls?"
"So, even if we actively hired the Thousand-Faced Old Man, outsiders will only think he couldn't resist the bounty's temptation and took action on his own."
"Moreover, this Thousand-Faced Old Man indeed possesses methods others lack. He is a Blue-Robed Spirit Realm Master and an expert at the third level of Heaven Martial. Most importantly, his tracking abilities are unmatched in the world—there is no one he cannot find, only those he does not wish to find. If we wish to kill Chu Feng now, we have no choice but to hire him," said the Valley Master of the Carefree Valley.
"That may be so, but his demand is that we pay five hundred thousand Xuan Pearls upfront, and only then will he capture Chu Feng alive. Isn't this price too heavy? What if he takes the money and doesn't do the job? Wouldn't we have been deceived again?" worried the Yuan Gang Sect Master.
"Indeed. Originally, the bounty was to be paid by six powers. Now, the four of us are jointly hiring the Thousand-Faced Old Man, and he wants us to prepay five hundred thousand Xuan Pearls. This amount must come from our four powers alone. It's really not safe," agreed the White Tibetan Sect Master.
"The Thousand-Faced Old Man has earned his place as number one on the assassin ranking not only because no one he wishes to kill ever survives, but also because of his excellent reputation. He only takes the bounty and never claims a single coin beyond it."
"Besides, the ones who died are our four painstakingly nurtured children. They are already dead, and you are still haggling over some Xuan Pearls. Are the lives of these four children not worth one hundred thousand Xuan Pearls each?"
"If you feel this matter is inappropriate, you may withdraw. My Carefree Valley will bear the five hundred thousand Xuan Pearls alone," said the Valley Master, growing somewhat angry.
"This..." The Yuan Gang Sect Master and the White Tibetan Sect Master exchanged glances, momentarily speechless.
"My Fire God Gate is willing to pay to hire the Thousand-Faced Old Man," spoke the Fire God Gate Master.
"Um, Valley Master of Carefree Valley, five hundred thousand Xuan Pearls is no small sum. If your Carefree Valley bears it alone, your finances will surely suffer greatly and your vitality will be damaged. Let us four powers share the cost," said the Yuan Gang Sect Master after a moment's consideration, forcing a smile.
"Yes, let us share the burden together. We also want to avenge the children. Moreover, we must obtain that Asura Ghost Axe," added the White Tibetan Sect Master with a smile.
"Since that's the case, then it's settled. I will contact the Thousand-Faced Old Man immediately." As he spoke, the Valley Master of the Carefree Valley retrieved a peculiar birdcage from within the hall.
Inside the cage was a strange bird roughly the size of an owl. It was called strange because it had grown six pairs of wings.
This type of bird was extremely expensive, affordable only by top-tier powers. It was a tool used for transmitting information, moving with a speed like light, almost unparalleled. Hence, it was called a Messenger Bird.
However, this Messenger Bird was not raised by the Valley Master of the Carefree Valley; it had been sent by the Thousand-Faced Old Man. To be precise, the matter of hiring the Thousand-Faced Old Man to kill Chu Feng was actually his own proposal.
"Gentlemen, I trust you have prepared the Xuan Pearls?" The Valley Master of the Carefree Valley took out a Universe Bag, which already contained one hundred and twenty-five thousand Xuan Pearls, prepared by him in advance.
Seeing this, the others also took out the Xuan Pearls they had brought and placed them into the Universe Bag. After confirming that the Universe Bag held five hundred thousand Xuan Pearls, the Valley Master tied it to the Messenger Bird's leg.
"Valley Master of Carefree Valley, are you certain this is the Thousand-Faced Old Man's Messenger Bird? Could it be someone using it to deceive us?" asked the Yuan Gang Sect Master with concern.
"To tell you the truth, my Carefree Valley has conducted multiple transactions with the Thousand-Faced Old Man, so I am very familiar with his Messenger Bird. This is unequivocally his unique Messenger Bird."
As he spoke, the Valley Master waved his hand. The Messenger Bird took flight. A flash of light passed, and the Messenger Bird vanished without a trace, leaving behind not a hint of its aura.
In the state of Qinzhou, Chu Feng remained. Another few days passed in the blink of an eye, and Zi Ling still had not come to find him.
And Chu Feng had not been idle during these days. He had slain countless disciples and elders from the Six Great Powers, one of whom was actually an elder at the Heaven Martial Realm.
Although both were at the first level of Heaven Martial, killing that elder had not been as difficult for Chu Feng as killing Song Qingfeng and the others. Thus, he reached a conclusion.
With his strength at the seventh level of Xuan Martial, he was fully capable of killing an ordinary cultivator at the first level of Heaven Martial. As for the second level of Heaven Martial, if they weren't too strong, he could still fight them. But against the third level of Heaven Martial, he could probably only flee.