"That kid is a monster."
When the elder spoke those words, his emotions were incredibly complicated—there was shock, there was fear, and even his voice trembled slightly.
But the young man, who had been tense moments before, suddenly laughed upon hearing this.
"Master, stop joking."
"A monster?"
"Before our Sacred Valley, who would dare call themselves a monster?"
The young man spoke with a grin, genuinely believing that his master was simply joking.
"Joking?"
"Look at me right now—do I look like I'm joking?"
"Why do you think I pulled my power back after only half an incense stick's worth of time?"
"If I hadn't retracted my power, I would have died in there."
The elder spoke with considerable anger.
"Huh? Master, his… his bloodline power suppressed you?"
"Could it be that you've been reduced to this state because of that guy?"
Seeing how serious his master was, the young man's expression grew complicated as well.
He truly hadn't expected that Chu Feng could reduce his master to such a state.
He knew exactly what kind of figure his master was—even within the Sacred Valley, where the strong were as numerous as clouds, his master was someone of considerable standing.
And Chu Feng, in his eyes, was nothing more than an ant with decent talent but a lowly background.
In his view, talent was important for a martial cultivator, but background was equally important.
Without a powerful backing to protect them, no matter how great one's talent, they would be cut down in their prime.
So even if Chu Feng's talent was extraordinary, he might give the kid a second glance at most, but he would never consider Chu Feng a threat.
Yet now, his master's words seemed to be telling him that his master had been reduced to this state by that very Chu Feng.
This shattered his worldview. His mind was shaken to its core, and he could barely accept it.
"That kid's Heavenly Bloodline is terrifying."
"I have never seen such a terrifying Heavenly Bloodline in all my life."
"That level of oppressive pressure—never in my life have I experienced anything like it."
The elder spoke.
"You don't mean to say it's even more powerful than Lord Dao Kui's bloodline?" the young man asked.
"Dao Kui?"
"Dao Kui's bloodline is formidable, sure—but I could at least hold out for a full incense stick's worth of time against it."
"But that kid's bloodline power—half an incense stick was my absolute limit."
"Any longer, and I would have died."
As the elder said this, his face was filled with lingering fear.
"Hsssss~~~"
Upon hearing this, the young man drew in a sharp breath.
The Lord Dao Kui he spoke of was one of the very few figures within the Sacred Valley whose strength surpassed his master's.
His master had once competed with Lord Dao Kui in a contest of bloodline power.
And in the end, it was his master who had lost.
He still remembered the wretched state his master had been in afterward.
So in his eyes, Lord Dao Kui's bloodline power had already reached an absolute pinnacle.
He had assumed that if that guy's bloodline power was even comparable to Lord Dao Kui's, that would already be remarkable.
But he had never imagined his master would give such an evaluation of Chu Feng.
This wasn't simply a matter of being a little stronger than Lord Dao Kui's bloodline power.
It was twice as powerful.
"Could there really be someone whose bloodline power is this formidable?"
"Could he be a descendant of the Yuwen Heavenly Clan—those who once ruled the Bloodline Heavenly River?" the young man guessed.
"Impossible. Didn't you hear the others mention his name earlier?"
"That kid's surname is Chu, given name Feng—Chu Feng."
The elder said.
Previously, when Chu Feng and Long Xiaoxiao had arrived at the White Day Star River, the elder and this young man had already been there.
They had overheard the conversations among Chu Feng and the others, so they knew Chu Feng's name.
"Master, what if he's a genius descendant of the Yuwen Heavenly Clan who ended up among the common folk?"