Bang—!
A palm struck true, and an explosion of force erupted on the spot. Chu Feng was sent hurtling out of the palace like an arrow loosed from its bow, crashing into the vast garden beyond.
Chu Feng looked the part of a man utterly defeated — yet in truth, he was completely unscathed. Every bit of it had been nothing more than an act.
"Hsssk—!"
But at that moment, Xianyu Shi's face twisted in agony. He hastily looked down at the palm that had struck Chu Feng, only to discover that while the surface of his hand appeared perfectly fine, the bones beneath had actually been shattered into fragments. The searing pain of splintered bone twisted his features into a grimace.
And all of this — every last bit of it — was because of Chu Feng. He had been the one to land that palm strike, and in doing so, had reduced his own hand bones to powder.
"Damn it — he set me up!" Xianyu Shi flew into a rage. In his mind, Chu Feng had covertly done something to sabotage him. In reality, Chu Feng had merely put up a simple defensive measure with no intention of harming him. The fact that Xianyu Shi had been injured was entirely due to his own constitution being too frail.
"Wow, Brother Yushi, you're incredible! You actually sent Chu Feng flying!"
"Brother Yushi, does that mean you could also slay a rank-three Martial Emperor? I never knew you were this strong!"
"I always thought that among all our brothers, only Brother Yuyin was the strongest. Now I know that Brother Yushi is just as powerful as Brother Yuyin!"
Just as Xianyu Shi was about to unleash his fury on Chu Feng, the two little girls bounded over and surrounded him, their faces alight with admiration as they gazed up at him.
Their words instantly transformed Xianyu Shi's rage into beaming delight. Especially that one remark — that he was just as powerful as Xianyu Yin — it sent a thrill of elation through him.
Xianyu Yin was his elder brother, the very goal Xianyu Shi had aspired to catch up to since childhood. Because of their age gap, he had never managed to match him. But now, these two little girls' words made him feel that he had finally earned recognition. His confidence restored, he was overjoyed.
"Of course. How could the strength of us Ancient Elves ever be compared to that of humans? Among those of the same cultivation level, no human can defeat an Ancient Elf," Xianyu Shi declared smugly.
Hearing him say that, Chu Feng couldn't hold back a laugh. He truly hadn't expected that even among the Ancient Elves, there could be such shameless scum.
It only proved a universal truth: the world held countless living beings, divided among many races, but scoundrels recognized no racial boundaries. They all shared the same defining trait — utter shamelessness.
"What is going on here?"
At that moment, a woman's voice rang out suddenly. Dozens of figures filed in behind her. Most of them were junior members of the Ancient Elves, and leading them was none other than Princess Lingyue.
"Sister Lingyue!" The two little girls lit up with excitement at the sight of Princess Lingyue and ran toward her.
"Chu Feng, show your respects at once upon seeing Princess Lingyue!" Xianyu Shi barked at Chu Feng with a sharp rebuke.
"Chu Feng greets Princess Lingyue." As he spoke, Chu Feng moved to bow. He did so not because of Xianyu Shi's reprimand, but because he had a premonition that Princess Lingyue's arrival would reverse the tide of his current situation.
From the very beginning, Chu Feng had never considered Xianyu Shi a real threat. He had always felt that Princess Lingyue was the true mastermind behind the scenes. Though Xianyu Shi's dislike of him was genuine, Chu Feng believed that all of it was nothing more than a test orchestrated by Princess Lingyue.