"The world of martial cultivation is vast beyond measure, yet no matter where you are, one thing remains constant: there is never absolute fairness." With those words, Ma Yue let out a bitter laugh. And in that bitter smile of hers, there was far too much helplessness and sorrow.
Yet from that smile alone, Chu Feng could almost see everything—the every injustice that she and Tian Yi had suffered within this Hundred Refinements Stage.
"That fellow Zhou Zongzhi — he's a man, isn't he?" Chu Feng asked.
"Zhou Zongzhi is indeed a man. A grown man who would do something like that to a woman — he's truly worse than a beast." Tian Yi spoke through gritted teeth.
"Indeed." Chu Feng nodded, and his impression of Zhou Zongzhi souring considerably.
Of all the types of people Chu Feng despised, those who bullied women ranked among the very worst.
If it had been a straightforward fight, that would be one thing. But to poison a woman, and then to follow up with such a vicious attack afterward — that was as despicable as it got.
Because Chu Feng had personally treated Ma Yue's injuries, he could sense that while the poison inside her body was the most dangerous element, the person who had beaten her had also struck with killing intent. They had truly been trying to end her life.
That told him everything he needed to know about Zhou Zongzhi — the man was no good.
"Absolutely shameless and despicable! That's too much, Chu Feng — even I can't stand it," the Queen declared at that moment, hands on her hips and small lips pursed in indignation.
"Does Your Majesty have any orders?" Chu Feng asked with a grin. He could see that the Queen had taken a very poor opinion of Zhou Zongzhi, and unlike Chu Feng, when the Queen formed a bad impression of someone, she typically intended to do something about it.
"Chu Feng, if Ma Yue and Tian Yi can't deal with Zhou Zongzhi themselves, then you take care of him for them," the Queen said.
"As you command." Chu Feng agreed without hesitation.
In truth, even without the Queen saying it, that had already been his intention.
"But in the end, it comes down to our own weakness. We have no one to blame but ourselves."
"If we possessed your strength, Senior, we'd be able to come and go from the Hundred Refinements Stage as we pleased — naturally no one would dare bully us." Ma Yue gazed at Chu Feng, admiration shining brightly in her eyes.
"Actually, I sneaked in as well. If I had to go up against the Guardian Clan head-on, I wouldn't dare either," Chu Feng replied with a faint smile, then added, "Besides, you two really should stop calling me 'Senior.' It feels a bit strange, given that I'm actually much younger than both of you."
"What?! You — you're younger than us?" Upon hearing this, both Ma Yue and Tian Yi were stunned.
"Could it be that you really are just a junior?" Once the shock had passed, they asked in unison.
In truth, they could tell that Chu Feng was quite young — truly a junior among juniors. But precisely because his age was so young and his strength so extraordinary, it defied everything they knew. That was why they had assumed his age was a disguise, that his real age had to be far greater than theirs.
"Mm." Chu Feng nodded.
"This is—!"
After Chu Feng confirmed it, the two were even more astonished. At his age, to have achieved such accomplishments was truly beyond anything they could have imagined.
Honest with themselves, they knew that at Chu Feng's age, they had still been far, far weaker.
"The Hundred Refinements Mortal World truly is extraordinary. We really were frogs in a well back then."
"Seeing you today, Senior, has truly opened our eyes." Tian Yi and Ma Yue sighed in succession with deep emotion.
"Actually, I'm not from the Hundred Refinements Mortal World either. I came from a lower realm as well — I just happened by circumstance to miss my chance to enter this Hundred Refinements Stage," Chu Feng said with a smile.
"You're also from a lower realm?" At this point, Tian Yi and Ma Yue were utterly speechless, thoroughly shaken by the truths Chu Feng kept laying out one after another.
"Might we ask — which lower realm are you from?"
"You — you wouldn't happen to be from the… Huiye Lower Realm as well, would you?"
After a moment of thought, Ma Yue and Tian Yi actually grew somewhat flustered. After all, among all the lower realms, the strongest was the Huiye Lower Realm. Since arriving here, they had heard quite a bit about the powerhouses of the Huiye Lower Realm.