"He's actually alive? What on earth is going on?"
Although Chu Zhiyuan's grandfather appeared calm on the surface, his heart was already racing with unease.
Chu Youyuan was no ordinary member of the clan. He was the one entrusted with guarding the Nine Moon Divine Domain — the only person assigned to that duty.
No one understood the secrets of the Nine Moon Divine Domain better than he did.
Which meant that Chu Zhiyuan's grandfather was genuinely worried. Worried that Chu Youyuan might know how to escape from the Nine Moon Divine Domain. If that were the case and the two sides confronted each other, they would be at a severe disadvantage.
Even if the matter ended up being resolved inconclusively, simply swept under the rug, the fact that Chu Feng — that monster — was alive would be extremely bad for his grandson.
And Chu Feng was the type to hold a grudge. If the boy grew stronger in the future, it wouldn't just be his grandson who suffered — he himself would be in trouble as well.
Under these circumstances, all he could do was silently pray in his heart. Pray that Chu Youyuan did not know the method of escape. Pray that both Chu Feng and Chu Youyuan perished inside the Nine Moon Divine Domain.
Boom boom boom — But just then, above the Nine Moon Divine Domain, streaks of lightning appeared once more. And this time, the might descending from the heavens was even more fearsome than before.
"No way… could this be a consecutive breakthrough?"
"Is Chu Feng… breaking through in rapid succession?"
The crowd was stunned. The Divine Thunder had reappeared, and its might had grown stronger — that could only mean one thing.
Chu Feng had already endured the previous heavenly tribulation. He had broken through.
Now, the Divine Thunder in the sky had been drawn forth by Chu Feng's subsequent breakthrough.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before the lightning above the nine heavens converged once again and plummeted straight down from the firmament, vanishing the instant it touched the earth.
But after a brief pause, the rumble of thunder returned to the skies above, and blinding radiance once again illuminated the land.
The heavens filled with lightning yet again, and this time the might surpassed even the last.
"Another breakthrough?"
The crowd was astonished. They had seen two consecutive breakthroughs before, but three in a row — that was exceedingly rare.
Fortunately, after the third bolt of lightning descended, the skies above finally fell silent.
Once the void grew calm, the surrounding world followed suit.
"Three consecutive breakthroughs — even if all of them succeeded, Chu Feng should only be at the ninth level of True Immortal at most."
"So don't worry, Zhiyuan. Even if that Chu Feng manages to escape the Nine Moon Divine Domain alive, with only the strength of a ninth-level True Immortal, he won't be able to defeat you — someone on the verge of becoming a Heavenly Immortal." Chu Zhiyuan's grandfather said to him.
"Mm." Chu Zhiyuan nodded firmly.
In truth, he had been deeply worried. Worried that Chu Feng had encountered an even greater fortune than his own — a treasure more valuable than that spring.
So when Chu Feng stopped breaking through, the weight on his heart naturally lifted considerably.
Even if Chu Feng had somehow gotten incredibly lucky and survived the Nine Moon Divine Domain, the strength of a ninth-level True Immortal would not be enough to stand in his way.
Even if Chu Feng was still alive, at the upcoming Heavenly Prodigy Assembly, he, Chu Zhiyuan, would make a name for himself and reclaim the title of the strongest junior in the Entire Great Thousand Upper Realm.
But what Chu Zhiyuan did not know was that Chu Feng had not stopped breaking through because he had failed to grasp the opportunity. He had stopped because he had run into trouble.
Right now, Chu Feng was still inside the source of the fire lake. He had already risen to his feet, scanning his surroundings warily. Even Chu Youyuan stood beside him.
The fire lake's source had undergone a drastic transformation. The vortex formed by the spring water had grown immensely powerful — so powerful that neither Chu Feng nor Chu Youyuan could break free from it.
The surrounding space itself had begun to turn ethereal and unstable.