At that moment, the childhood sweetheart of Chu Ruoshi seemed to sense Chu Feng's gaze, for he suddenly turned his head and looked toward Chu Feng.
Seeing that Chu Feng was indeed looking at him, he actually walked over to Chu Feng, arrived before him, and clasped his fists politely. "I am Chu Zhiyuan. My father and your father are of the same generation, and so are you and I. Since I am older than you, if you don't mind, I should call you Brother Chu Feng."
"Just call me Chu Feng." Chu Feng clasped his fists and replied.
He said this because he would not call the other party "brother." Although it was merely an instinct, Chu Feng trusted his instincts deeply.
Having already sensed a dangerous signal from Chu Zhiyuan, Chu Feng naturally would not get too involved with him—at the very least, he would not be on brotherly terms with him.
"Alright, then I'll call you Chu Feng, and you can call me Chu Zhiyuan." Chu Zhiyuan was indeed a clever person; he had actually understood Chu Feng's intention to keep his distance.
"Regardless, I must thank you today. If you hadn't been the first to discover the method of awakening the Flame Extinguishing Pearl, I'm afraid none of us would have been able to awaken the Flame Extinguishing Pearl so easily," Chu Zhiyuan said.
"No need for thanks," Chu Feng said flatly. He then turned to Chu Yue and said, "Sister Chu Yue, weren't you just in a hurry to call me back, saying you wanted to discuss the Yin Yang Life Pearls with me in detail?"
"Right! You still don't understand the Yin Yang Life Pearls. I need to explain them to you properly." Chu Yue was quick-witted as well; she understood Chu Feng's meaning and smoothly picked up where he left off without missing a beat.
"My apologies. The chance to enter the Nine Moon Divine Domain is rare, so I'm afraid I'll need to take my leave first," Chu Feng said to Chu Zhiyuan.
"Nonsense. Now that you've returned to the clan, we'll have plenty of opportunities to meet. We can have a proper drink together another day," Chu Zhiyuan said with a smile.
"Then I'll be going." Chu Feng clasped his fists, and he and Chu Yue turned to leave.
However, even though Chu Yue had smoothly deflected the situation, once Chu Feng and Chu Yue had walked a fair distance away, a flash of cold darkness passed through Chu Zhiyuan's eyes.
That look was extremely subtle—not only would others have missed it, even Chu Feng himself had not noticed it.
"Brother Chu Feng, you don't seem to like Chu Zhiyuan very much. Could it be that you also have feelings for Chu Ruoshi?" Chu Yue asked after they returned to Chu Feng's quarters.
"Not at all. I genuinely need to understand these Yin Yang Life Pearls as quickly as possible. However... I am a little curious about this Chu Zhiyuan. I wonder... could Sister Chu Yue tell me a bit about him?" Chu Feng said.
"Of course." Chu Yue held nothing back and began recounting everything she knew about Chu Zhiyuan.
As it turned out, Chu Zhiyuan was no ordinary person. In fact, in his younger days, he had been regarded as a prodigy of martial cultivation.
He was two years younger than Chu Qing, who currently ranked first on the Monster Genius List of the Great Thousand Upper Realm.
However, during the time he first began his cultivation, he and Chu Qing were both hailed as successors for the future patriarch of the Chu Heavenly Clan.
Unfortunately, there were two types of geniuses.
One type charges forward triumphantly, reaching the pinnacle of martial cultivation.
The other type is like a meteor—its brilliance lasts for only a very brief time.
Chu Qing was the first type.
Unfortunately, Chu Zhiyuan was the second.
Ever since Chu Zhiyuan sparred with Chu Qing and lost to him at the age of twenty, he had never recovered, languishing in dejection for a long time.
Although later, with Chu Ruoshi's unwavering companionship, he gradually regained his fighting spirit and resumed his cultivation, by then he had already been left far behind by Chu Qing.
At that time, Chu Qing was the undisputed foremost member of the younger generation of the Chu Heavenly Clan.