The painting depicted a young man.
Long black hair fell loosely around his face, which was hard-featured and gave off an aura of cold detachment, as though he were keeping everyone at arm's length. Yet his eyes held a certain gentleness.
The moment Chu Feng laid eyes on him, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.
But after studying the portrait carefully, he realized he had no recollection of this person whatsoever.
Chu Feng possessed an extraordinary memory. Almost anyone he had ever met, he could recall at a single glance. So this was strange — how could someone he didn't know feel so familiar?
At that moment, Little Fishy and Xianhai Shaoyu were also studying the painting intently. The more Shaoyu looked, the deeper his frown became, as though he had noticed something troubling. He turned to Zhan Moli: "Is he the Heavenly Dragon realm Spirit World Master who attacked your Ancient War Clan?"
"It's him," Zhan Moli confirmed.
"Why does he look so young? Like a member of the younger generation."
Xianhai Shaoyu's words were not without merit.
In terms of appearance, this individual did indeed look remarkably young — about the same age as Chu Feng and Shaoyu, bearing the look of a youth.
Little Fishy then asked, "Could he actually be from the younger generation?"
The reason Shaoyu and Little Fishy asked this was not idle speculation.
Cultivators possessed not only keen senses but also sharp intuition, and this intuition was closely tied to one's experience and extraordinary perception.
It might have sounded like a wild guess, but there was actually a certain basis for it. And this person had simultaneously triggered that instinct in all three of them.
"Rest assured, young heroes. Although this man may look young, it is impossible for him to be from the younger generation."
"A prodigy like Young Hero Chu Feng, who has already entered the ranks of a True Dragon Spirit World Master, is something unheard of."
"How could anyone possibly reach the rank of Heavenly Dragon Spirit World Master while still in the younger generation?"
"If such a person truly existed, what sort of being would that be? The forces behind him could likely crush my entire Ancient War Clan with a single hand."
"Why would he need to go to all this trouble?"
The Ancient War Clan elder sighed as he spoke.
"Elder, you shouldn't be so absolute in your words."
"My brother Chu Feng may well reach the rank of Heavenly Dragon Spirit World Master in just a few more years."
"And with his talent, the Heavenly Dragon Spirit World Master rank will absolutely not be his ceiling within the younger generation," Xianhai Shaoyu said.
"......"
The Ancient War Clan elder looked at Chu Feng, then at Shaoyu, and for a moment didn't know how to respond.
In the past, he would have immediately dismissed Shaoyu's claim. But now he didn't dare.
Under normal circumstances, someone Chu Feng's age shouldn't have been a True Dragon Spirit World Master — after all, that was a rank that countless cultivators spent their entire lives pursuing, training for tens of thousands of years without necessarily ever reaching it. Yet Chu Feng had accomplished it in mere decades.
But then again.
Everything came down to talent.
And the path of martial cultivation was no exception.
Throughout history, every great figure who had ever been celebrated was a person of extraordinary talent.
The reason geniuses were geniuses was precisely because they could accomplish with ease what ordinary people could never achieve in a lifetime.
From that perspective, he could almost accept that the impossible had happened. After all, history and legend always needed new people to shatter what came before.
He looked at Chu Feng once more, and even began to think that perhaps one day, this young man truly could enter the ranks of a Heavenly Dragon Spirit World Master while still in the younger generation.
What a spectacle that would be.
It would undoubtedly be remembered and celebrated by all.
At the thought, the old man couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration: "When you say Young Hero Chu Feng could reach the Heavenly Dragon realm while still in the younger generation, I do believe it. But Young Hero Chu Feng's talent is absolutely unparalleled in this era. I simply cannot believe that anyone else's talent could truly rival his."
"Well, you got that part right. My brother Chu Feng's talent is indeed without equal. But the world is vast, and there is no shortage of people with extraordinary talent."
"In terms of raw talent alone, those who surpass my brother may not exist — but those who come close? There could very well be many."
This had always been Shaoyu's viewpoint.
He was confident, yet he never underestimated others. He had always felt that if he himself could possess such talent, others might possess it too.
His sister's birth had later confirmed his view, and Chu Feng's appearance had further solidified his conviction.
The world was so vast, and none of them had yet seen its full scope. Who could say with certainty that there weren't even more terrifying prodigies out there?
"Oh, right — Young Master Shaoyu, Miss Little Fishy."
"Since you both hail from the Xianhai Fish Clan, your cultivation must be remarkably high as well. It's just that you've never shown it before."
"Would you mind giving me a hint? I'm honestly quite curious."
The moment Zhan Moli said this, the old man's eyes also lit up with curiosity.
He, too, was very curious about just how much strength these two young master and miss from the Xianhai Fish Clan actually possessed.
Their own Miss Moli and Miss Mudan were considered the strongest members of the younger generation in the Ancient War Clan — prodigies said to be the ones who would restore the clan to its former glory.
But who could have imagined that they would run into a monster like Chu Feng, who instantly made them look completely insignificant by comparison?