At that moment, they were not far from the Ethereal Immortal Peak, so there were quite a few travelers passing through the area. Hearing the woman's cries for help, everyone turned their gaze over to see what was happening.
However, upon witnessing the scene, the second-grade Martial King's eyes narrowed and he barked coldly, "I am Tie Fan, young master of the Tyrant Tiger Manor."
"This woman swindled me out of my money. I'm merely taking it back and issuing a warning. I'd advise you all to mind your own business." Though Tie Fan's words sounded courteous on the surface, they were laden with menace.
Although the people who had gathered here were no weaklings, the strongest among the onlookers was merely a first-grade Martial King at best. On top of that, the Tyrant Tiger Manor still held a degree of status and power in the Eastern Ocean Region.
So upon learning Tie Fan's identity, all the spectators quickened their pace without a single person daring to intervene.
Seeing the world's cold indifference — so many passersby, yet not one willing to come to her rescue — the girl's earlier bravado evaporated. She plastered on a sheepish grin and said, "Hey, hey, hey, it was just a few low-grade martial medicines. I'll give them back to you, alright?"
"Hmph, you'll certainly return our martial medicines. But if you think merely handing them back lets you off after making fools of us, you're sorely mistaken," Tie Fan snorted coldly. With a swift leap, he vaulted into the barrier, and in the same instant, his hand clamped around the woman's throat.
"Nngh—" The girl thrashed desperately, swinging both fists and hammering against Tie Fan's arm, but she couldn't budge him in the slightest. She could only feel the hand crushing her throat growing tighter by the second. Not only was she unable to breathe, she felt as though her neck would be snapped clean off. Pain twisted across her face.
"Boom!" But just when the woman thought she was about to die, a thunderous boom erupted. Simultaneously, a powerful gale plummeted from the sky.
The force of the blast sent the four first-grade Martial Kings flying thousands of meters in an instant. Even Tie Fan, a second-grade Martial King, saw his expression change — though he didn't retreat. Instead, he tightened the hand gripping the woman's neck.
"Snap!" Right then, a hand suddenly appeared and clamped down on Tie Fan's wrist. With a crisp crack, Tie Fan felt a numbing ache shoot through his wrist, forcing him to release his hold on the woman's throat.
After stumbling back several steps, Tie Fan finally saw that a figure now stood beside the woman. It was none other than
"Who are you?" Tie Fan shouted icily, his eyes brimming with hostility. He could tell that Chu Feng was strong, but the man was only a first-grade Martial King. Being repelled by a fellow first-grade Martial King left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that I can't stand men beating women," Chu Feng said with a smile, though his eyes were filled with contempt.
At the same time,
"Damn it! You've got some nerve — do you even know who we are?! How dare you stick your nose into our business?!" At that moment, the four first-grade Martial Kings whom Chu Feng had knocked back charged forward in a fury, unleashing attacks at him.
Though none of the four strikes were proper martial skills, they were far from negligible — the sheer force behind them could tear through the void. In truth, facing those four surges of power bearing down on them, both Jiang Wanshi and the woman broke into panicked expressions.
Jiang Wanshi, in particular, couldn't help but tug the girl and retreat. At only the eighth level of Heaven Martial, she had no hope of withstanding that kind of pressure — not even with her strongest techniques. That was the chasm between Heaven Martial and the Martial King realm.
Watching Jiang Wanshi's fearful retreat, the four first-grade Martial Kings exchanged smirks, thoroughly pleased with themselves. But they never imagined that while Jiang Wanshi cowered before their onslaught, Chu Feng felt not the slightest trace of fear.
"Begone!" Chu Feng stood rooted in place without so much as shifting. He simply roared — and a tremendous wave of pressure erupted from his body. An invisible shockwave rippled outward, engulfing all four of them. The immense force didn't merely dissolve their attacks; it sent them tumbling backward once again.
"You're courting death!" Witnessing this, Tie Fan could no longer stand by. He launched a powerful fist straight at Chu Feng.
"Boom!" As the punch flew, heaven and earth seemed to shudder. The sheer aura alone sent cracks splintering through the surrounding void like shattered glass. This was no ordinary strike — it was a formidable martial skill.
"Hmph." Yet even before this devastating fist, Chu Feng remained unflinching. He raised a single fist and met the blow head-on, employing no martial skill whatsoever — only raw martial force channeled behind a completely ordinary punch.
"Rumble-rumble-rumble—!"
The two fists collided with an ear-splitting detonation. A violent ripple of energy swept across the sky, shattering the void above and sending the seas roiling below. The power on display was nothing short of terrifying.
Under that fearsome shockwave, Tie Fan's feet slipped and he staggered back several paces. But when all eyes turned to Chu Feng, he hadn't moved a single step — standing exactly where he had been.
"How is this possible? He's only a first-grade Martial King — how can he possess such power?" Only now did the four who had been repelled earlier finally grasp what they were dealing with. Chu Feng was anything but ordinary.
Tie Fan's expression had also grown grave, his face taut with discomfort. He asked coldly, "No wonder that girl dares to be so arrogant — she's had a backer all along. Do wicked deeds, and retribution will find you. Since you dare to stand up for her, do you have the guts to tell me your name?"
"Heh, someone like you doesn't deserve to hear my great name. But I'm in a good mood today, so I'll make an exception."
"Listen carefully, all of you — my name is Wuqing. No sect, no clan, I walk alone. If you want revenge, come find me directly!" Chu Feng's words dripped with disdain, and he truly didn't consider any of them worth his attention.
"Fine, you've got guts. This isn't over," Tie Fan ground out through clenched teeth, humiliated by the dismissal — yet powerless to do anything about it. He turned and walked away.
Their brief exchange had shown him just how strong Chu Feng was. If they fought again, he had no confidence he could win. Beating a first-grade Martial King was expected for a second-grade Martial King like himself — no great glory in that. But losing to one would be an utter disgrace. So he had no intention of continuing the fight.
"Brother Tie Fan, you're really letting him go?" Seeing Tie Fan leave Chu Feng be, his companions were baffled.
"It's getting late. If we don't reach the Ethereal Immortal Peak soon, we won't be let in. I doubt any of you want to spend the night on this ocean."
"Besides, that girl is annoying, but she's still a woman. This already drew some attention. If the wrong person gossipes and brings in busybody do-gooders, it'll be trouble for us." Tie Fan naturally needed an excuse for his own cowardice.
"Brother Tie Fan makes a good point. We can teach this brat a lesson some other time." The other four, though they saw right through his reasoning, had no intention of bruising Tie Fan's ego. And so they departed.