Inside the Punishment Hall of the Chu Heavenly Clan.
Chu Xuanchengfa, Vice Hall Master of the Chu Heavenly Clan's Punishment Hall, sat in the seat of honor.
Below him, a man knelt on the ground.
This man was the very person who had received the secret Punishment Hall order that day.
"Punisher, you've done well. I never expected you to find that Chu Feng so quickly."
Chu Xuanchengfa's face was filled with elation.
He had just learned from the man before him that the Punishment Hall's people had located Chu Feng at the Ascension Stairway connecting the Hundred Refinements Ordinary World to the Upper Realm, and that they had already dispatched someone to covertly monitor him.
"My lord, should we bring that Chu Feng here? Or continue surveilling him from the shadows?" asked the man, whose name was Chu Xingren.
"No need." Chu Xuanchengfa shook his head, then continued: "Xingren, recall the rest of our people. You alone will personally follow that Chu Feng."
"Remember — unless his life is in genuine danger, do not intervene to help him. Also, be certain to pay close attention to everyone he comes into contact with."
"The purpose of your surveillance is simple: determine exactly where this Chu Feng truly comes from."
"If that Chu Feng turns out to be a member of some other Heavenly Clan, there is no need to continue following him. Return immediately."
"But — should that Chu Feng prove to be a member of our Chu Heavenly Clan, then continue shadowing him, and report back to me at once."
"Remember, this matter must not be told to anyone. Report directly to me," Chu Xuanchengfa said.
"Understood." Chu Xingren responded respectfully, then departed the Punishment Hall and set off in the direction where Chu Feng was located.
Meanwhile, Chu Xuanchengfa sank into deep thought. After a long moment, he murmured in a low voice: "Xuanyuan… could this Chu Feng really be your son?"
"What exactly were you thinking?"
……
The OuYang Family was a clan that had taken root beneath the Divine Mountain, with its own city.
Truthfully, the OuYang Family's strength was nothing remarkable — their strongest member, the Family Head, was only a fourth-grade Martial Ancestor.
However, in the region around Falling Phoenix City, a fourth-grade Martial Ancestor was no weakling. On top of that, the OuYang Family Head had a decent relationship with the Zhao Manor in Falling Phoenix City.
As a result, the OuYang Family enjoyed considerable prestige in the area and was regarded as one of the local powers around Falling Phoenix City.
The OuYang Family Head was a decrepit old man who had lived for over seven thousand years.
He was an incorrigible lecher. His wives and concubines together numbered well over a thousand — a truly staggering harem.
And today happened to be the day the OuYang Family Head would take his one thousand two hundred and thirty-fourth concubine as a bride.
The OuYang estate was festooned with lanterns and colorful decorations, welcoming guests from all around. The atmosphere was nothing short of jubilant.
The OuYang Family Head himself was in high spirits, brimming with vigor.
But he was an aged old man after all. No matter how carefully he had groomed himself, nothing could conceal the deep wrinkles and weathered appearance of his face. One glance at him was enough to inspire a measure of revulsion.
Yet for all his repulsiveness, every woman he took as a wife was more beautiful than the last — and the concubine he was marrying today, Wang Lianzhi, was no exception.
Wang Lianzhi was a renowned beauty throughout the Falling Phoenix City region, famous far and wide.
The OuYang Family Head had coveted Wang Lianzhi for a very long time. But Wang Lianzhi had eyes only for Song Xi.
As a result, Song Xi had become the object of both envy and jealousy among many of the unmarried men in the Falling Phoenix City area.
In truth, had it not been for Wang Lianzhi, Song Xi would not have been bullied so relentlessly while working at the Zhao Manor.
If there was no such thing as hatred without cause in this world, then the hatred those people bore for Song Xi was undoubtedly because of Wang Lianzhi.
However, ever since Song Xi's mother had fallen gravely ill, Wang Lianzhi and Song Xi had begun to drift apart.
Recently, Wang Lianzhi had even broken off her engagement to Song Xi and agreed to marry the OuYang Family Head.
It was precisely because the OuYang Family Head's bride today was Wang Lianzhi that so many unmarried men found themselves consumed with envy toward the old patriarch.
By now, virtually all of the invited guests had already arrived — even the bride herself had long since been present — yet the wedding ceremony still had not begun.
The reason for the delay was that the people from the Zhao Manor had not yet shown up.
"Oh, Steward Zhao — you've finally arrived!"
A large procession came striding in with great fanfare, and the OuYang Family Head immediately rose to his feet, greeting them with a broad, ingratiating smile.
This procession was none other than the people from the Zhao Manor of Falling Phoenix City, and the elderly man at its head was the Zhao Manor's Head Steward.
This man was a Martial Ancestor.
When the Zhao Manor's people entered, everyone in attendance instinctively lowered their voices, not daring to make any more noise.
It was a clear testament to the reverence — and fear — they held for the Zhao Manor.