"So you really are Senior Jie Ranqing's son?"
After hearing Chu Feng's words, Fuxing's face was filled with astonishment.
"That's right. The great Jie Ranqing — she is my mother."
Chu Feng said truthfully, and when he spoke those words, his face was brimming with pride and reverence.
He even flaunted the Purple Demon Dagger in his hand, fearing that Fuxing might not believe him.
At this point, he saw no reason to keep it hidden.
After the initial shock faded, a look of sudden understanding washed over Fuxing's face.
"Since you're Senior Jie Ranqing's son, then it's not so hard to accept that you surpass me."
Both she and Chu Feng had consumed the black fruit. But for some reason, Chu Feng's mark had grown far stronger — and she knew full well that she had lost this trial to him.
Truthfully, she accepted the loss wholeheartedly.
Though she had played a significant role, she knew that Chu Feng had outperformed her.
"You're not from the Seven Realms Sacred Palace either, are you?"
"Otherwise you wouldn't be risking your life here over a Sacred-level treasure."
"And you certainly wouldn't have been bullied by a faction like the Alchemy Dao Immortal Sect," Fuxing said.
Chu Feng gave a complicated smile before answering. "Though my mother is Jie Ranqing, I have no connection to the Seven Realms Sacred Palace."
"So the rumors are true," Fuxing said.
"What have you heard?" Chu Feng asked.
"I suppose we're friends?" Fuxing asked.
"Of course. Friends who've been through life and death together."
"We just shared that experience," Chu Feng said.
"Then I won't hold back — I'll speak plainly."
"I once heard a piece of information. It's extremely secretive — almost no one dares spread it," Fuxing said.
"Go ahead," Chu Feng said.
"I heard that Senior Jie Ranqing was not secluded in cultivation, but was forcibly imprisoned by the Seven Realms Sacred Palace."
"And the reason for that was that Senior Jie Ranqing committed a grave offense," Fuxing said.
"What offense?" Chu Feng asked.
"If the rumors are true, it was a monstrous offense."
"The rumor says that Senior Jie Ranqing was with someone outside the Seven Realms Sacred Palace — and bore a son with him."
"The Seven Realms Sacred Palace has always believed that anyone beyond its walls is trash."
"So they insisted on marriages within the Sacred Palace alone, to preserve their superior bloodline."
"Senior Jie Ranqing possessed the legendary King-level bloodline — she was the most prized member of the Seven Realms Sacred Palace."
"And so when she took an outsider as her partner and bore a son, the Sacred Palace flew into a towering rage."
"They believed Senior Jie Ranqing's bloodline had been defiled, and demanded that she personally kill the man and the child."
"But Senior Jie Ranqing not only refused that outrageous demand — she had anticipated it, and secretly sent her child somewhere safe beforehand."
"She refused to divulge any information about her husband or her child, and that is why she was imprisoned."
To anyone else, Fuxing's words would have sounded absurd.
But to Chu Feng, every sentence cut like a knife to his heart.
He knew this was no rumor — it was the truth.
Especially when Fuxing described how his mother had endured that pressure all alone.
He could imagine just how crushing that pressure from the Seven Realms Sacred Palace must have been, and his heart ached as though someone were gripping it in a vice.
Not for himself — for his mother.
Fuxing watched the changes in Chu Feng's expression. His face had grown solemn, and she could faintly sense killing intent radiating from him.
It was deeply concealed, but once she perceived it, she could feel just how terrifying that killing intent truly was.
"Chu Feng, it seems the rumors are real."
"Rest assured — the Seven Realms Sacred Palace will come to regret their foolish decision."
"Because you have not defiled Senior Jie Ranqing's bloodline. You are the most powerful Spirit World Master of the younger generation in the entire cultivation world today."
"Not a single genius from the Seven Realms Sacred Palace can compare to you," Fuxing told Chu Feng.
She too could imagine the kind of pressure Jie Ranqing had shouldered when she stood against her own family.
But she felt that the burden Chu Feng carried was even heavier.