Xianhai Shuoyi was thrown into the dungeon, and once his fury subsided, clarity gradually followed.
At last, he realized he had made a grave mistake.
But he still couldn't understand.
How did that man know Xiao Yu'er?
Why had Xiao Yu'er looked at him with such murderous eyes on that man's account?
After all, in Xianhai Shuoyi's mind, even if he and Xiao Yu'er hadn't been in contact these past few years, their old bond still existed.
At the very least, compared to the other clansmen, his standing in Xiao Yu'er's heart had to be different.
Yet just moments ago, he had detected killing intent in Xiao Yu'er's gaze.
What old bond was left to speak of?
Xiao Yu'er had clearly wanted him dead.
"Shuoyi, have you lost your mind?"
Suddenly, the cell door swung open and Xianhai Shuoyi's mother walked in. She had already cried herself into a wreck.
"Mother, I know I was wrong, but… but that man — what right does he have to have Yu'er train with him? What kind of person is he? I just couldn't stand it."
Xianhai Shuoyi explained the reason behind his impulsiveness.
"Shuoyi, oh Shuoyi — has cultivation addled your brain? Do you truly not know who Lord Chu Feng is?"
Xianhai Shuoyi's mother stared at him in disbelief.
"You… you call him 'Lord'?"
Seeing his mother's expression, Xianhai Shuoyi suddenly realized he may have gravely misjudged Chu Feng's identity.
That man apparently wasn't some worthless nobody — otherwise, how could his mother address him as "Lord"? He hurriedly asked, "He… is his status particularly special?"
"Of course."
"Forget about the two of us — in the entire vast martial cultivation world, there are probably few who would dare offend him."
Xianhai Shuoyi's mother then proceeded to tell her son about Chu Feng's identity and his many exploits.
When he learned that Chu Feng was Jie Tianran's son, Xianhai Shuoyi was left slack-jawed and pale as paper.
When he heard that Chu Feng had stood against the Seven Realms Sacred Palace and walked away unscathed, his whole body went limp and he could hardly stand.
When he learned that Chu Feng had swept through every young generation in the current era, claiming the top position among all juniors — surpassing even Xianhai Shaoyu and Xianhai Yu'er — Xianhai Shuoyi's face turned ashen. His eyes brimmed with terror as he lay on the ground like a heap of rotting mud, unable to rise.
He finally understood why that elder had been so terrified of Chu Feng — that the mere flicker of killing intent from him was enough to have Shuoyi seized and thrown into this cell.
He finally understood why Xianhai Yu'er had given him such a horrifying look.
Compared to Chu Feng, what was he even worth?
His mother's account fell upon him like hammer blow after hammer blow, pounding his head — yet each one knocked him back to his senses.
He lay on the ground, eyes wide, lips trembling, and weakly managed a few words: "Mother… am I as good as dead?"
"Shuoyi, fortunately Lord Chu Feng is magnanimous and chose not to pursue the matter. But being so rude to an honored guest in public — that still cannot go unpunished."
"You will be confined in this dungeon for a hundred years. After that, you may resume your cultivation," his mother said.
"A hundred years?"
In the past, hearing that sentence would have driven Xianhai Shuoyi into a frenzy.
Once a hundred years passed, he would no longer count as a junior.
But now, upon hearing that hundred-year term, he actually breathed a sigh of relief.
Having offended someone of Chu Feng's caliber, merely receiving a hundred years of confinement — he knew that was an exceedingly light punishment.
As for his dream of pursuing Xiao Yu'er, in the face of life and death, it suddenly seemed not so important after all.
"Mother — you're saying Chu Feng had no one backing him, that he rose from a place like the Ancestral Martial Heavenly River entirely on his own?" Xianhai Shuoyi asked.
"Yes. At least from what is known, Lord Chu Feng truly has no one standing behind him," his mother replied.
Hearing those words, an incredibly complicated expression crossed Xianhai Shuoyi's face — part despair, part relief.
Even the most reckless of men would eventually come to their senses after certain encounters.
Chu Feng's appearance had jolted Xianhai Shuoyi back to reality.
He knew that no matter how hard he tried, he could never measure up to Chu Feng.
With his own cultivation resources, he still fell short of the other man.
What hope did he have of catching up in the future?
Perhaps Chu Feng truly had been someone unworthy of notice in his eyes once upon a time.
But now, he himself was not even worthy of entering Chu Feng's sights.
After all, even the brilliance of the martial cultivation world's most prodigious geniuses had already dimmed in Chu Feng's presence.
Let alone someone like him?
……