"Merciless?!"
At that moment, the entire crowd was stunned. Especially Misty Immortal Fairy, Zhan Feng, Xia Yu, Dong Xue, and the others — on their faces was not just shock, but far more complicated expressions.
Because not only had they been certain Chu Feng was dead, but they had also wished for his death. Yet just when they believed their wish had been fulfilled and Chu Feng was gone for good, he appeared right before them, completely unharmed. This clearly went against their wishes, leaving them utterly dumbfounded — it was a reality they simply did not want to accept.
"Merciless Junior Brother!!!" But compared to Zhan Feng and the others, Chun Wu, Qiu Zhu, Jiang Wanshi, and the rest were beaming with pure ecstasy. Chun Wu, in particular, could hardly believe her own eyes. She rubbed them vigorously before finally confirming that it truly was Chu Feng who had returned — that Chu Feng was really alive.
The three beauties sprang to their feet and almost simultaneously rushed to Chu Feng's side. The warmth of their affectionate greeting was enough to make countless onlookers seethe with envy.
Chun Wu was the most dramatic of all. She grabbed Chu Feng's clothes and bounced up and down excitedly. If there hadn't been so many people present, and if her master wasn't among them, she would have certainly thrown herself straight into his arms.
"Merciless Junior Brother, it's such a relief that you're alright! Why did it take you so long to come out? Where on earth did you go? Do you have any idea how worried we all were?"
Qiu Zhu and the others asked.
"Exactly! Look at Senior Sister Chun Wu — look at what state her crying has left her in." Jiang Wanshi pointed toward Chun Wu's eyes, which had grown slightly swollen, reddened, and were still glistening with tears.
Seeing this, Chu Feng felt a pang in his heart. He didn't need to think hard to understand why Chun Wu looked this way — she must have believed something terrible had happened to him and had cried herself into this state from sheer grief.
And this told Chu Feng that Chun Wu truly cared about him. In fact, he could tell that Jiang Wanshi had been crying too, and even Qiu Zhu had likely shed tears in secret. But none of them had been as intense or as obvious about it as Chun Wu.
But regardless, Chu Feng already had a clear picture in his heart. As for who genuinely cared about him and who was merely paying lip service, he had his own judgment.
"I'm truly sorry for making you all worry. The reason I was gone for so long is that I stayed inside the Nurturing Sacred Hall the entire time," Chu Feng said, feeling rather ashamed.
"The Nurturing Sacred Hall? But that Misty Immortal Fairy clearly planted a self-destruct rune — how did you manage to survive?" Chun Wu was both astonished and deeply curious.
"Heh." Regarding this matter, Chu Feng first offered a faint smile, then said: "Everything within the Martial Rune Wonderland is extraordinarily profound. While we are inside, we are nothing but ants. And yet some ants harbored delusions of shaking an iron fortress, thinking they could destroy the Nurturing Sacred Hall with a mere self-destruct rune. All I can say is that such people are far too naive."
Although Chu Feng didn't explicitly name who had used the self-destruct rune, as he spoke, he cast a glance toward Misty Immortal Fairy and her companions.
That gaze immediately made Misty Immortal Fairy's already shocked face turn ugly, because she knew full well that Chu Feng was humiliating her.
"Really? So you're saying everything inside the Nurturing Sacred Hall is completely undamaged?" Chun Wu asked, overjoyed.
"Of course. Look at me — I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?" Chu Feng said with a smile.
"That's wonderful!" Having heard all this, Chun Wu understood everything. Even as she jumped with joy, she hurriedly urged: "Merciless Junior Brother, the entrance to the Martial Rune Wonderland is about to close. You should go in quickly and exchange your martial runes for martial arts!"
"I've been keeping the first-place reward safe for you." As she spoke, Chun Wu showed off the Universe Bag in her hand.
Chu Feng was an incredibly perceptive person. One glance told him that Chun Wu had clearly claimed first place and already received the first-place reward. But Chun Wu knew that the martial runes Chu Feng currently possessed surely surpassed her own, which was why she said what she did.
Chu Feng didn't hesitate either. In his hands, he held a full six thousand martial runes — with that many, he could certainly exchange them for some impressive martial arts. He wasn't about to squander the opportunity, especially after witnessing the terrifying power of a forbidden martial art. He was determined to get one of his own here.
Meanwhile, as Chu Feng strode toward the entrance, every gaze upon the mountaintop was fixed intently upon him.
In the past, Chu Feng would never have attracted such attention. People might have been curious to see what kind of results he achieved, but they certainly wouldn't have watched with such eager anticipation.