"Who is that?"
People stared at the shifty-eyed fellow with a nose like a bull's, and the reactions ranged from disgust to outright fury.
Among those present, the number of people who wanted to take Chu Feng as their disciple was beyond counting.
Aside from the three—Ghost Face Sovereign, Grandmaster Luo Tuo, and Fairy Mu Zhi—practically no one had dared to openly declare their desire to become Chu Feng's Master. Most had resorted to secret voice transmissions, or at most whispered their intentions under their breath.
Yet here was this nobody—ugly as a petty villain and completely unknown—who had the audacity to announce so brazenly that Chu Feng was his disciple.
"Where did this clueless fool come from? Get out of my sight before I take your dog's life."
Grandmaster Luo Tuo, already in a foul mood, snarled at the bull-nosed old Taoist.
Meanwhile, many others in the crowd were sneering as well.
They all figured the bull-nosed old Taoist was a madman—and a death-seeking one at that.
"You people…"
Seeing the crowd mock the bull-nosed old Taoist like this, Grandmaster Tang Chen's face darkened with anger, and he was about to roar at them.
After all, while no one else knew who the bull-nosed old Taoist was, Tang Chen knew perfectly well. If anything, practically no one present had any right to mock him.
But before Tang Chen could speak, a secret voice transmission landed in his ear.
"Brother Tang Chen, don't interfere. Leave everything to me."
The voice belonged to none other than the bull-nosed old Taoist himself.
Tang Chen looked over at the old Taoist, who was not only beaming with a smile but had even given him a little wink with those crinkled, crow's-feet-lined eyes.
"So the old coot is finally making his move?"
Seeing the bull-nosed old Taoist like this, Grandmaster Tang Chen was so delighted he couldn't close his mouth.
All those years of laying low. All that tempering, starting from scratch.
Tang Chen knew—the bull-nosed old Taoist was finally coming back.
"Everyone, silence."
"I've already said it—Chu Feng is my disciple. And here you are, standing in front of my disciple, loudly proclaiming that you want to be his Master. Do you have so little regard for me?"
The bull-nosed old Taoist spoke again.
And this time, his words drew fierce resentment from the crowd.
"This old fool has really lost his mind. Someone like him dares claim to be Chu Feng's Master?"
"Where did this ugly thing crawl out from? Get lost!"
The ordinary folk were content to simply hurl insults and tell him to scram.
But Grandmaster Luo Tuo was not about to stop at mere words.
His sharp old eyes had already begun radiating killing intent.
"You old beggar, you really don't know when to quit."
"Are you courting death?"
Luo Tuo believed that a wretch like this had no business competing with him for Chu Feng. If the bull-nosed old Taoist didn't leave immediately, he was prepared to strike.
But at that very moment, a voice rang out from the Ancient Spirit Domain—and the moment it did, every face in the crowd drained of color.
"How dare you speak to my Master with such disrespect! Are you tired of living?"
Had it been anyone else, the crowd would not have been so shocked.
But the one who had spoken was none other than Chu Feng.
It was truly Chu Feng.
Chu Feng had not originally wanted to acknowledge the bull-nosed old Taoist as his Master.
His reluctance was not because the old Taoist was unworthy.
It was because he had once sworn an oath that he would never take another person as his Master in this lifetime.
He had made that resolve because of all the experience he had accumulated along his journey.
His own kin would suffer because of him.
Chu Feng did not want anyone else to be dragged into harm's sake on his account, which was why he refused to take a Master.
But later he discovered that even without formally taking a Master, anyone close to him would still end up entangled in his troubles.
So ultimately, his refusal of the bull-nosed old Taoist had been out of fairness to the others.
After all, he had already turned down too many people along the way.
If he accepted the bull-nosed old Taoist, it would be unfair to the rest.
But today, it was clear that if he didn't acknowledge a Master, the inheritance truly would be out of reach.
And Chu Feng was not willing to give up this inheritance.
In a situation where he absolutely had to take a Master, the bull-nosed old Taoist was without question the best choice.
Setting aside strength and reputation, the fact that the old Taoist had helped him fuse the Four Symbols Divine Body alone made him worthy of being his Master.
"Junior Chu Feng, what did you say?"
"You're telling me that that bull-nosed fellow is your Master?"
"I… I didn't mishear that, did I?"