Upon reading the scroll's contents, everyone finally understood.
It was clear that the Seven Worlds Master had long ago dispatched investigators to look into Chu Feng's background the moment he first discovered him.
This scroll was the report sent back by those investigators.
But back then, even the Seven Worlds Master had never imagined that Chu Feng would turn out to be his grandson. He had still been thinking of putting Chu Feng to use for his own purposes.
"Hide — can he really hide?"
"Master, I am willing to travel to the Ancestral Martial Starfield and slaughter every last soul within it." Ling Miaozi volunteered.
"Have you no shame?"
The instant these words left his mouth, they drew the Seven Worlds Master's towering fury.
"If you can't capture Chu Feng, you'll go bully a pack of ants that anyone could trample?"
"Are you so eager for the world to know that our Seven Worlds Holy Land has been humiliated into lashing out at innocents?"
the Seven Worlds Master asked.
"I…"
Ling Miaozi froze, then flushed with shame, not knowing how to respond. His rage had clouded his thinking, and he truly hadn't considered the matter as thoroughly as the Master.
"Master, then what should we do now?" Elder Zhenfu asked.
The Seven Worlds Master did not answer directly. Instead, he asked:
"Do you all think Chu Feng can survive?"
"Survive?"
The question landed like a blow to the ear, snapping everyone to their senses.
That formation had been far too powerful for Chu Feng to have activated. Even if he had somehow managed it, the backlash alone would have cost him his life.
That was the law of heaven and earth — the very rule of cultivation.
"Master, you believe Chu Feng won't make it?" Elder Zhenfu asked.
"Under normal circumstances, he should be dead."
"But this boy inherited the Ranqing bloodline, and truly cannot be judged by ordinary reasoning."
"Pass down my orders: capture Chu Feng alive. Remember — he must be taken alive."
"Furthermore, no one is to set foot in the Ancestral Martial Starfield. If you lay a hand on those ants, that would be the real disgrace."
the Seven Worlds Master commanded.
"As you command."
Every elder present responded in unison.
"Dismissed."
The Seven Worlds Master waved his hand, and the elders filed out.
But the grandfather of Ling Sheng'er — the patriarch of the Ling bloodline — remained.
"Elder Ling, you have something to say?" the Seven Worlds Master asked.
"Master, you earlier said Chu Feng is to be captured alive. May I ask what the Master intends to do with him once he is caught?" the Ling patriarch asked.
"Elder Ling, how would you like me to handle him?" the Seven Worlds Master asked.
"Master, the decision is yours alone. I would not dare overstep," the Ling patriarch said.
"Elder Ling, you are not only a Supreme Elder but also the head of the Ling bloodline."
"I trust that every judgment you make is for the good of our Seven Worlds Holy Land. There is no one else here — speak your mind freely," the Seven Worlds Master said.
The Ling patriarch hesitated. He knew that what he was about to say might be a misstep.
But the Master's words — that he trusted his judgment was in the Holy Land's best interest — gave him the resolve to try.
"Master, Chu Feng has indeed committed a grave offense today. But when all is said and done, there were extenuating circumstances, and his actions cannot be judged at face value."
"Setting aside the fact that he is Ranqing's own flesh and blood — simply consider that he inherited Ranqing's King's bloodline, obtained the mark of the Exalted World Spirit Immortal King, and even activated a formation of such devastating power."
"I believe…"
At this point, the Ling patriarch still faltered.
"What do you believe?" the Seven Worlds Master asked.
The Ling patriarch did not answer directly. Instead, with a thud, he dropped to his knees before the Seven Worlds Master.
The patriarch of the Ling bloodline — a man whose status was second only to the Seven Worlds Master himself — performed the full rite of kneeling.
"Master, what I wish to say is this: if Chu Feng manages to survive the backlash from that consumption…"