"Junior Sisters, I truly have an urgent matter with Senior Qiushui. Please, let me see her." Seeing no other option, Chu Feng continued to plead. He had traveled all this way and didn't want to make the trip in vain, only to leave empty-handed.
"Get lost!" But at that very moment, the arrogant woman, who was at the eighth level of Heaven Martial, suddenly let out a shout and launched her attack.
She didn't even look at Chu Feng, merely locking onto his position with her Mental Power. She was clearly a Spirit World Master as well, but that wasn't the main point. What mattered was that her attack was also a barrier technique. Purple barrier energy wove together to form a colossal purple barrier wall, pressing down towards Chu Feng. She was, in fact, a Purple-Robed Spirit World Master.
"Truly insufferable and unreasonable." Looking at the approaching purple barrier wall, a flash of displeasure appeared in Chu Feng's eyes. Though all the opponents were beauties, he hadn't taken them seriously. If not for his request regarding Qiushui Fuyan, he wouldn't have been this polite to them.
And now, this woman was attacking him directly. Chu Feng naturally wouldn't endure this meekly. He wanted to teach her a lesson; otherwise, with their temperament, they would certainly block him from the entrance today.
"ROAR!"
However, just as Chu Feng was about to act, an angry roar suddenly came from behind him. It made him frown, and instead of attacking, he turned his gaze behind him, only to see a colossal purple barrier beast charging towards him.
The beast trampled through the empty air and, after rushing past Chu Feng, crashed violently into the purple barrier wall.
"BOOM!"
The two collided, instantly producing a heaven-shaking boom and stirring up a violent ripple of energy. When the ripple dissipated, both the colossal beast and the wall formed from the purple barrier had vanished, having completely annihilated each other.
At this moment, Chu Feng also saw the person who had condensed the purple beast. It was a dashing young man, quite good-looking, even comparable to a woman in appearance.
However, because his features were too small and delicate, and his skin was as white and fine as snow, he lacked the masculine dominance of a man and instead carried a touch of feminine grace.
Though his looks were feminine, his cultivation was not weak. He was at the same level as the arrogant woman, both at the eighth level of Heaven Martial.
And behind him followed several other men, all of whom possessed impressive cultivation and could be called extraordinary individuals. But what truly caught Chu Feng's attention wasn't them, but rather a middle-aged man with a face full of scars.
This man had deliberately concealed his aura, but he hadn't escaped Chu Feng's perception. Chu Feng discovered that this middle-aged man was a master of the ninth level of Heaven Martial, and his aura was incredibly thick, already infinitely close to the Martial Lord realm. Judging by the look of it, he was truly only a single step away from the Martial Lord realm and could soon step into it.
"Xue Yi, I was driving this person away. Why did you interfere? Could it be that you're with him?" Seeing this group of men, the arrogant woman actually spoke up, her tone surprisingly surprised. Although her manner was still overbearing, one had to admit her voice was quite pleasant.
"Hehe, Miss Wanshi, please don't misunderstand. I don't know this kid at all. My earlier intervention wasn't to help him out of his predicament. I simply saw you using barrier techniques and felt an itch to have a little exchange with you."
"Why are you so angry, Miss Wanshi? Did this kid offend you ladies, causing such fury?"
"Ladies, please don't be angry. Since this one is so oblivious to his own standing and dares to be disrespectful to you all, let me, Xue Yi, teach him a lesson on your behalf." Xue Yi first offered an ingratiating smile, then swept his icy gaze towards Chu Feng, moving as if to strike him as he spoke.
"There's no need. If you have something to say, say it directly. There's no need to beat around the bush," the arrogant woman said coldly.
"Hehe, Miss Wanshi is truly clever; nothing can be hidden from you. Very well, since that's the case, I won't beat around the bush."
"Actually, I've come here to retrieve the Martial Flower Fruit I lost to you last time," Xue Yi said with a smile.
"Heh, so it's the Martial Flower Fruit you want. You lost that to me in our last exchange of barrier techniques. Taking it back is fine, but you must defeat me first."
The arrogant woman gave a contemptuous smile. As she spoke, a light flashed from her Universe Bag, and an odd-looking fruit, about three inches long, appeared in her hand.
When this strange fruit appeared, even Chu Feng's eyes lit up. Setting aside its peculiar appearance, it contained incredibly potent natural energy—this was, in fact, Martial Force.
Everyone knew there were Spirit Medicines, Mystic Medicines, and Heavenly Medicines in the world. This strange fruit was clearly a Martial Medicine containing Martial Force, and based on Chu Feng's assessment, its grade was certainly not low—it was likely a mid-grade Martial Medicine.
"Fine. But it won't be me sparring with you. It will be my cousin here," Xue Yi said with a slight smile, then pointed at the scar-faced man beside him.
"My name is Xue Jian. I am Xue Yi's cousin. I've long heard that Miss Jiang Wanshi of the Mandarin Duck Terrace is a peerless genius, and her control over barrier techniques is exceptional."
"And I, Xue Jian, happen to enjoy studying barrier techniques as well. So I would like to seek your guidance, Miss Jiang." The scar-faced man took two steps forward, cupped his fists, and spoke to Jiang Wanshi with a voice as loud as a bell.
"Oh my, Xue Yi, what's the meaning of this? You can't beat my Senior Sister Jiang yourself, so you've brought in reinforcements?"
"Your cousin isn't from our Mandarin Duck Terrace, is he? How did he get in at his age? Xue Yi, you've broken our rules!" The haughty girl with twin ponytails pouted her small mouth and scolded sharply.
"This young lady speaks quite sharply. You must be Sun Yihan, the Miss Sun my cousin often talks about?" Xue Jian asked, cupping his fists.
"That's right, it's me!" Sun Yihan crossed her arms over her chest and proudly thrust out her ample bosom.
"Miss Sun, I am indeed not from the Mandarin Duck Terrace. But coming to visit my cousin is perfectly reasonable. Moreover, I am speaking with Miss Jiang now. Please do not interrupt. If Miss Jiang says she is afraid and doesn't want to fight me, Xue Jian, then I will turn and leave immediately. But you are not yet qualified to speak to me, Xue Jian." Xue Jian declared loudly.
"You..." Xue Jian's words struck a nerve, infuriating Sun Yihan. She pointed at him, ready to unleash a torrent of abuse.
"Yihan, enough!" But before Sun Yihan could speak, Jiang Wanshi stopped her with a raised hand. Then she smiled charmingly at Xue Jian. "Quite the provocation. But it won't work on me."
"If you wish to fight me, that's fine. But even a spar must have rules. If you want to retrieve the Martial Flower Fruit your cousin lost to me, you must stake something of equivalent value. Otherwise, please leave."