Within the territory of the Four Seas Academy, fighting was strictly prohibited, and killing was out of the question.
Which meant that if Shen Tu Jiang and Shen Tu Hai wanted to deal with Chu Feng, they had to tail him until he left the Academy's borders before making their move.
But Chu Feng was far from the pushover they imagined. The moment he stepped outside the Academy's domain, he unleashed the movement martial art "Dragon Soaring Nine Heavens" to cover ground.
Though Dragon Soaring Nine Heavens couldn't compare to the Azure Dragon Swift Movement Technique in speed, it was still incredibly fast—so much so that the Shen Tu brothers exhausted every trick they had and still couldn't close the gap.
They couldn't catch up, but they also weren't falling behind—both sides were traveling at roughly the same pace. At first, the brothers suspected Chu Feng had spotted them, but they noticed he never looked hurried. He even sang as he traveled, looking so relaxed that he seemed about as far from feeling threatened as anyone could be.
So Shen Tu Jiang and Shen Tu Hai concluded that Chu Feng hadn't noticed them at all. It was just that his method of travel was freakish—not only was his speed absurd, but he didn't rest, didn't sleep, and didn't eat, covering distance for days on end without stopping.
Still, their hatred for Chu Feng ran bone-deep, and with only killing him left as an outlet for their fury, the brothers naturally refused to give up. They followed him all the way until he entered the luxury inn district—only to discover that Chu Feng's trail had vanished without a trace.
"Damn it! Where did that brat go? How did he just disappear?!" Shen Tu Jiang hovered above the luxury inns, scanning in every direction, but Chu Feng was nowhere to be seen. Panic crept in—he was increasingly starting to suspect that the two of them had been played.
"Wait, this place looks familiar. Oh my god—this is the inn where we rested when we first arrived at the Eastern Ocean Region!" Shen Tu Hai studied the city below and suddenly gasped in shock.
"You're right. Back then it was bustling with people and thriving—how did it end up looking like this? Something must have happened here." Hearing Shen Tu Hai's words, Shen Tu Jiang looked again and confirmed that this was indeed the same inn where they had once stayed.
"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle."
But just as the brothers were staring in surprise, a strange sound suddenly echoed from the center of the inn.
"There's a sound over there—let's check it out!" At the noise, both Shen Tu Jiang and Shen Tu Hai's expressions changed. Thinking they had found Chu Feng, they darted toward the source of the sound.
"What… what is that?!" But when they flew over and got a clear look at what was producing the noise, they immediately clamped their hands over their noses and mouths, barely managing to keep from throwing up.
Below them was a churning, bubbling cesspit. The pool belched continuously, producing those gurgling sounds, and an absolutely revolting stench permeated the entire area.
"Boom!"
But suddenly, a massive explosion erupted from inside the cesspool. At the same time, the pool erupted skyward like a volcanic blast.
"Holy—!"
Seeing the yellowish mass hurtling toward them, Shen Tu Jiang and Shen Tu Hai turned pale green with terror. They frantically activated their most powerful movement techniques and dodged to the side, barely avoiding being drenched in filth.
"Haha! I'm finally out!"
But just as the brothers were breathing a sigh of relief, a voice filled with wild jubilation suddenly rang out across the sky above the cesspool. They looked up—and their jaws dropped. They even rubbed their eyes, unable to believe what they were seeing.
Because the person standing in the sky, laughing like a madman, was someone they both knew. He was the foremost genius of the Shen Tu Royal Clan—Shen Tu Lang.
"Big brother Shen Tu Lang, is it really you?!" Still reeling with disbelief, both brothers cried out in unison.
"Xiao Jiang? Xiao Hai? What are you two doing here?" Upon seeing them, Shen Tu Lang's expression also shifted with surprise.
"Big brother, shouldn't we be asking you that? Why didn't you go take the Four Seas Academy's entrance exam, and how did you end up down there?" Shen Tu Jiang pointed at the cesspool below and shot back.
"Sigh… it's a long story. I really, truly got the worst luck imaginable." When Shen Tu Jiang brought it up, Shen Tu Lang didn't hide anything. He gave the two of them a rough account of what had happened.
"Something like that actually happened?!"
Upon learning that Shen Tu Lang had been sealed inside a cesspool by someone even younger than himself, Shen Tu Jiang and Shen Tu Hai were absolutely stunned. It seemed completely unbelievable.
After all, they knew how powerful Shen Tu Lang was. He was the greatest genius the Shen Tu Royal Clan had produced in centuries—no empty title. They even believed that had Shen Tu Lang taken this year's Four Seas Academy entrance exam, he would have been the most talked-about candidate, possibly even the top performer among the current generation.
And now there was someone whose strength far surpassed his? How could they not be shocked?
"Oh right, Xiao Jiang, Xiao Hai—at this point the Academy's entrance exams should be over, right? Why aren't you two staying at the Academy? How did you end up here?" Shen Tu Lang asked curiously.
"Don't even get us started. We were chasing some bastard brat, but somehow he vanished the moment we got here." Shen Tu Jiang's face was flushed with anger. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that he and Shen Tu Hai had been duped by Chu Feng.
"Xiao Jiang, what exactly happened? Tell me everything." Seeing how furious they were, Shen Tu Lang realized his brothers had been wronged.
And so Shen Tu Jiang and Shen Tu Hai held nothing back, giving Shen Tu Lang a full account of the ordeal.
"That's absolutely outrageous! Someone actually dare bully my brothers like this?!" Sure enough, upon hearing the story, Shen Tu Lang was furious, grinding his teeth with rage. He then slapped his chest and vowed, "Don't you worry, Xiao Jiang, Xiao Hai. If what you say is true, he can't have gone far. I'll search for him right now. With my strength, there's no way he can escape my grasp."
"That's great! If you step in, Big Brother, forget him—even those top dogs from the Four Seas Academy are done for!" In that moment, Shen Tu Jiang and Shen Tu Hai felt as if they finally had someone to depend on. Their faces lit up with excitement and elation.
"No need to look. I'm right here."
But just then, a loud, clear voice suddenly rang out across the sky. Immediately after, an earth-shaking dragon roar thundered through the air.
In that instant, gale-force winds erupted across the heavens and clouds churned wildly as a massive azure dragon, radiating tremendous pressure, materialized at the edge of the sky.
And standing atop the dragon's enormous head was a figure. It was none other than Chu Feng.
"Chu Feng! You actually dare show your face to us!"
"Big Brother, that's him! He's the one who humiliated us in front of everyone! You have to teach this bastard a lesson today!" At the sight of Chu Feng, Shen Tu Jiang and Shen Tu Hai were overcome with delight.
But when they turned to look at Shen Tu Lang, expecting him to spring into action and give Chu Feng a painful lesson, their expressions changed drastically. In tense, alarmed voices, they both cried out: "Big Brother—what's wrong with you?!"