As for everyone's reaction at that moment, Taikou simply let out a contemptuous laugh, his smile brimming with disdain.
He then extended a single palm and directly pulled the identity token out of Qin Yu's hand. With a sweep of his wide sleeve, he sent the token flying into Chu Feng's grasp.
After completing these actions, Taikou turned to face the crowd once more and bellowed, "Listen up, all of you! I'm giving this identity token to young friend Chu Feng. From this day forward, seeing young friend Chu Feng is the same as seeing me. All disciples must bow and pay their respects to young friend Chu Feng. If anyone dares to show him disrespect — hmph, even if it's the Heavenly King himself, I, Taikou, will beat him until he can't take care of his own daily needs!"
"Whoooaaa~~~~" These words, once spoken, stirred up another massive uproar among the crowd. If people had been somewhat confused by Taikou's earlier actions — thinking perhaps he was simply flying into a rage to protect his own pride — Then at this moment, they were almost certain that Taikou was doing all of this for no other reason than to make it known to everyone that he was going to protect this Chu Feng.
In that instant, everyone couldn't help but steal glances toward Chu Feng, secretly reevaluating him, wondering in their hearts what kind of person this guy really was, that he could earn such high regard and such fierce protection from the reclusive, eccentric living hell known as Taikou.
But regardless of what anyone thought, they all understood clearly in their hearts that this Chu Feng was not someone to be offended — Qin Yu was a vivid example of that.
"Who's in charge of opening this thousand-year-old ancient city?" Taikou suddenly asked.
"Me — forgive me, Senior Taikou — I am responsible for this location," the Punishment Elder who had been slapped by Taikou hurriedly stood up and replied with great respect.
"The hell? Who are you calling 'Senior'? You look older than me and you're calling me 'Senior'?" However, these words only earned the elder a furious scolding from Taikou.
"My mistake, my mistake." This Punishment Elder was truly terrified of Taikou and hastily corrected himself. "Forgive me, Instructor Taikou — I am the one in charge of opening the thousand-year-old ancient city."
"Chu Feng will enter the ancient city together with them. Do you have any objections?" Taikou asked again.
"None — none at all." The Punishment Elder shook his head, not daring to say a single word of refusal.
"Chu Feng, go on in with them. As for this token, keep it on you — you don't need to give it back to me."
"From now on, this Four Seas Academy is your home. Come whenever you want, leave whenever you want. You can wander freely wherever you please. If anyone in this Four Seas Academy tries to stop you, just let me know. Damn it, anyone who doesn't give me, Taikou, face — I'll beat the shit out of them." Taikou said to Chu Feng.
"Thank you, Senior Taikou." Chu Feng performed a deep bow of gratitude toward Taikou. He truly hadn't expected Taikou to appear here and take such actions. But there was no denying that everything Taikou had done was paving the way for Chu Feng, so that within the Four Seas Academy, Chu Feng could move about without obstruction.
Yet, thinking about it, he and Taikou had no family connection whatsoever. Back then, Taikou had wanted to take him as a disciple, and Chu Feng had refused. Now, Taikou was willing to lend him the token — that alone was more than generous. But to go even further than that, to this extent, it truly left Chu Feng at a loss for words. He felt a genuine, heartfelt gratitude for everything Taikou had done.
Everyone's heart is made of flesh. Anyone with even a shred of conscience would repay the kindness shown to them, and Chu Feng was precisely such a person. So he had already made a silent vow — when he had the ability in the future, he would absolutely repay this kindness to Taikou.
"This brat Qin Yu shows no respect for his elders and betters. Not only does he spout nothing but lies, he's also shamelessly despicable — resorting to any means necessary to deal with others. I'm going to have a talk with his master and have him teach this unfilial disciple a proper lesson. I won't stay any longer here. You all should go ahead and open the ancient city — those who need to enter for training, get on with it."
With that, Taikou reached out and grabbed the nearly unrecognizable Qin Yu in his hand. Then, holding him like a little chick, he soared into the air and flew off into the distance.
"Hoooosh~~~~~~"
Watching Taikou's figure disappear completely, every elder present, along with quite a few disciples, felt a massive weight lift from their shoulders and couldn't help but let out a long breath of relief. The Punishment Elder, in particular, looked as though he had been granted a new lease on life, hurriedly wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth and the beads of sweat from his forehead.
At that moment, neither the elders nor the disciples dared say anything more to Chu Feng. In fact, no one even dared look at him directly — if they glanced his way at all, it was only a fleeting peek before quickly averting their gaze. Chu Feng understood that these elders were afraid — not truly afraid of Chu Feng himself, but afraid of Taikou, who stood behind him as his backer.
Under the guidance of the Punishment Elder, the assembled elders began working together to open the entrance to the thousand-year-old ancient city.
The process was straightforward — it amounted to using special methods to activate a particular formation array, opening a gap in the powerful barrier so that Chu Feng and the others could enter.
"Buzzzzz"
Finally, under the combined efforts of nearly a hundred elders, ripples like water began to appear in the air before the invisible forest. The ripples grew larger and larger, until a brilliant golden radiance emerged.
Chu Feng knew that this was a hidden barrier — and a formidable one at that. But under the special techniques of nearly a hundred elders working in concert, the barrier had been opened.
Sure enough, the undulating golden barrier soon began to part, ultimately forming a magnificent gate with a golden frame that materialized before the forest.
"The thousand-year-old ancient city is a place of many mysteries. I trust you are all already familiar with its legends."
"However, since this is where you will be conducting your training, there are certain things I must tell you so that you have some idea of what you're getting into. Once inside, you'll know what to do and what not to do, and when you encounter danger, you'll at least have some means of coping."
"As for why I call it a place of mystery — it's because many things within this thousand-year-old ancient city remain unsolved enigmas to this day."
"Everyone knows that the thousand-year-old ancient city is enormous. Thousands of years ago, it was the lair of a powerful demon beast clan in the Eastern Sea. That demon beast clan built a civilization here no less impressive than humanity's — and that is the thousand-year-old ancient city."
"But today, the glory of the ancient city has not only failed to endure — even the core area of the city has vanished entirely, as though it was never built, or perhaps never existed at all. There is no trace of it."
"Yet, thousands of years ago, someone had already painted a full depiction of the ancient city. In that painting, the city's area was at least twice as large as it is now, and it definitively included a core area. So it can be almost certainly confirmed that the core area of the thousand-year-old ancient city has disappeared — or been hidden by someone."
"However, that is not the most puzzling thing about the ancient city. The most puzzling aspect is that the entire forest is now blanketed by a strange form of pressure. The pressure is peculiar, eerie, but there is no denying that it is powerful."
"Once inside, one cannot fly through the air at all. Even for us cultivators, moving through it is extremely difficult — every step is a struggle."
"As for the origin of this pressure, the predecessors of our Four Seas Academy explored the matter long ago but were unable to find an answer. What can be confirmed is that the thousand-year-old ancient city remains a place of great mystery."