"In fact, before Chu Feng dissolved the Asura Division, it already had nearly ten thousand members. Before the dissolution, Chu Feng had said that if the Asura Division were ever rebuilt in the future, every member would be welcome to return — no trials required."
"After the Asura Division was rebuilt, many people did choose to come back. But some felt too ashamed to return. Still, when all was said and done, only one hundred and eighty-seven people had earned the people's respect."
"All one hundred and eighty-seven of them were people who, back then, refused to leave no matter how hard Chu Feng tried to send them away." Jiang Furong continued.
"They had great judgment. When so many others had given up on Chu Feng, they swore to follow him to the very end." Even though Ma Hu knew there was no point being envious, the admiration in his eyes did not fade one bit.
Li Qing and Zhao Xue, meanwhile, felt an even deeper sense of reverence toward those one hundred and eighty-seven people.
After that, Li Qing and the other two headed toward the lecture hall together with Jiang Furong, pressing her to tell them who exactly those one hundred and eighty-seven people were.
And Jiang Furong was truly remarkable — she had memorized every single one of their names, and she recited each one to Li Qing's group.
Jiang Furong had been there. She had witnessed with her own eyes the day when Chu Feng's Asura Division had been driven to a dead end by Bai Yunxiao, Tao Xiangyu, and the rest.
So in her heart, she held those one hundred and eighty-seven people in the highest regard.
"Sister Jiang, I want to know — who were the ones who stood against Chu Feng back then?" Li Qing suddenly asked.
"Quite a few people. Bai Yunxiao, Tao Xiangyu, Zhao Jingang, Ben Leihu, Qi Yanyu — they were all Chu Feng's enemies at the time." Jiang Furong replied.
"They? Weren't they members of the Asura Division?" Ma Hu was stunned.
"That should be obvious, shouldn't it? They saw that Chu Feng had risen to power and chose to side with him again."
"Chu Feng really is magnanimous. Not only did he let bygones be bygones, he actually took them back in." Zhao Xue said, pouting. She truly detested those people who had persecuted Chu Feng and then switched allegiances once things turned in his favor.
"No, it wasn't because they saw Chu Feng's rise that they joined the Asura Division. It was because Chu Feng had saved their lives — and saved mine, too. We joined the Asura Division out of gratitude toward Chu Feng." Jiang Furong said.
"What?" Hearing this, Li Qing and the others were even more shocked. They had never imagined that when Chu Feng had been bullied by Bai Yunxiao and the others, he had not only refrained from seeking revenge but had actually saved their lives.
"Surprised? I was surprised too, back then. But I suppose this is what you call putting the greater good first. Junior Brother Chu Feng once said that no matter how much disciples may fight among themselves, they are still fellow disciples. When facing outsiders, they must stand united." Jiang Furong said.
Hearing this, Li Qing and the others exchanged glances. There were things they could not yet fully grasp, but their admiration for Chu Feng only deepened — at the very least, none of them possessed such broad-mindedness.
"Sister Jiang, I've heard that Senior Brother Chu Feng was originally a disciple of the Azurewood Southern Forest. Is that right? I'd like to know — what has the Azurewood Southern Forest become now?" Zhao Xue asked.
Now, nearly everyone connected to Chu Feng had reaped tremendous benefits. Zhao Xue had heard that Chu Feng came from the Azurewood Southern Forest, but as a subsidiary force of the Azurewood Mountain, it had never been anything special before. She was very curious about what it looked like now.
"The Azurewood Southern Forest? The Azurewood Southern Forest no longer exists." Jiang Furong said.
"No longer exists?" The three of them were shocked once more.
"The Azurewood Southern Forest has been fully relocated to the Azurewood Mountain. Regardless of their cultivation level, every elder of the Azurewood Southern Forest has become an elder of the Azurewood Mountain, and every disciple has become a disciple of the Azurewood Mountain." Jiang Furong said with a smile.
"Wow, they went from being a subsidiary force to becoming full members of the Azurewood Mountain!" Upon learning this, Li Qing and the others were truly amazed. They knew that the Azurewood Southern Forest owed its current standing entirely to Chu Feng.
Whoosh—
But just as Jiang Furong and the others were approaching the lecture hall, a figure suddenly plummeted from the sky and crashed into the ground with a deafening boom.
The sheer force of the impact shattered the specially crafted stone beneath it.
"Bai Yunxiao?" Seeing who it was, all the disciples were stunned. The figure that had fallen from the sky was none other than Bai Yunxiao.
()
Bai Yunxiao was vomiting blood, his face deathly pale. He was already gravely injured.
Who dared to injure Bai Yunxiao within the Azurewood Mountain? Setting aside Bai Yunxiao's own strength, he was a cadre-level figure of the Asura Division. For someone to dare wound him — wasn't that tantamount to opposing the Asura Division?
Forget the disciples — even the elders wouldn't dare do such a thing.
Amid their confusion, all eyes turned skyward, where a figure stood — and it was this figure who had struck down Bai Yunxiao.