Inside the underground palace, Chu Feng and Zi Ling were locked in an embrace. They didn’t speak much, just held each other as if they could never let go. A full half-hour passed, and they still hadn’t released their grip.
At this moment, Zi Xuanyuan, who had initially wanted to give them their sweet moment, could hold back no longer. He spoke up. “Chu Feng, we should leave this place quickly while we haven’t been discovered.”
“Indeed, we should leave as soon as possible.”
Zi Ling’s parents also urged them. During the time Chu Feng and Zi Ling were embracing, Zi Xuanyuan had secretly transmitted his voice to them, explaining how he and Chu Feng had arrived here. Zi Ling’s parents now knew that Chu Feng had come to rescue them.
Although they found it hard to believe that Chu Feng’s cultivation had grown so powerful in such a short time, seeing his strength laid out before them left no room for doubt.
“Elder Xuanyuan, actually, we were discovered long ago.” Chu Feng released Zi Ling from his arms and smiled faintly.
“What? Discovered long ago?!” Hearing this, not only did Zi Xuanyuan and Zi Ling’s parents’ expressions change drastically, but Zi Ling’s beautiful face also paled.
“Starting from the first barrier of this underground palace, once it was broken, the one who set it would know. So the moment we entered, we were already surrounded.” As he spoke, Chu Feng turned his gaze behind him and shouted, “Come out! Stop lurking in the shadows.”
“Hahaha, impressive. You actually found us?”
At that moment, a burst of aged laughter echoed through the vast corridor of the underground palace. Simultaneously, the space rippled, and a hidden barrier slowly opened, revealing several hundred figures within.
There were men and women, old and young. Among them were nearly a hundred Martial Lord experts, with the rest being at the Heaven Martial realm. All were members of the Zi family. Leading them was the family head, Zi Dingkong.
“I forgot to introduce you all. This brat here is Zi Ling’s sweetheart from the Nine Provinces Continent, a fool who dreams of competing with Young Island Lord Murong Xun for Zi Ling’s affection.” The Zi family head, a smile on his face, explained to the crowd behind him.
“So that’s the little bastard. A toad lusting after swan meat. How does someone like him deserve to compete with Young Master Murong Xun for our Zi Ling?”
After hearing the family head’s words, everyone in the Zi family, regardless of age or gender, began to mock them. Their spiteful expressions revealed they were not only the family head’s dogs but also Murong Xun’s.
“Shut up! I belong only to Brother Chu Feng. Murong Xun can never have me!” Seeing everyone humiliate Chu Feng, Zi Ling flew into a rage and pointed at them, shouting rebukes.
“Zi Ling, you must not be stubborn and be deceived by this brat. What does he have? He is utterly unworthy of being with you.”
“Exactly, Ling’er. You need to open your eyes and not be blinded by his hypocrisy. You and Young Island Lord Murong Xun are a match made in heaven.” The Zi family members urged her, speaking to Zi Ling with a measure of courtesy.
“Silence! Do not pair me with Murong Xun! I will never be with him!” Zi Ling shouted again, her exquisitely beautiful face flushed with anger.
“Alas, Zi Ling, you haven’t met Young Island Lord Murong Xun yet. Once you do, you will surely realize that this brat is just an ordinary man, as common as they come. In the Eastern Sea, there are countless people like him. Only the Young Island Lord is an unparalleled genius. Only he is worthy of you.”
“Zi Ling, don’t worry. The Young Island Lord has already informed us. In a few days, once he handles his current affairs, he will come to visit you. Then you will see just how outstanding your fiancé truly is.” The Zi family members, as if not hearing Zi Ling’s words, spoke only of Murong Xun’s virtues.
“You…” Zi Ling was so angry her willow-leaf eyebrows stood up, and her face turned scarlet. If she had the power, she would have slapped these disgusting relatives to death with a single palm.
“Zi Ling, no need to argue with this bunch of animals. Leave this to me.” Finally, Chu Feng spoke. Hearing his words, Zi Ling obediently nodded, took a step back, and stood together with her parents and grandfather.
*Suddenly*, Chu Feng stamped down hard, crushing one of Zi Dingkong’s grandson’s legs with his foot.
“Ahhh—!” The grandson, Zi Kun, had already been unconscious, but the pain of his broken leg jolted him awake. He let out a string of agonized screams until he saw the Zi family members. His expression turned to one of relief, and he shouted loudly, “Father! Mother! Grandfather! Save me—!”
“Kun’er!!!” At this moment, a middle-aged couple’s faces changed drastically. As they spoke, they rushed toward Chu Feng, trying to rescue Zi Kun, the grandson. Their pained expressions clearly marked them as Zi Kun’s parents.
“If you dare come any closer, I’ll crush his skull!” However, Chu Feng gave them no chance. Before they could get near, his foot was already on Zi Kun’s face.
“Don’t—!” Seeing this, Zi Kun’s parents immediately halted, not daring to make another rash move. Instead, they turned their pleading gazes to the family head, Zi Dingkong.
“Heh, using my grandson to threaten me so you can escape with Zi Ling?” Compared to Zi Kun’s parents, Zi Dingkong was far less concerned about his grandson’s safety. On the contrary, a look of disdain appeared in his eyes, the kind that showed he didn’t consider Chu Feng a threat at all. Though Chu Feng’s change in cultivation strength had surprised him, in his eyes, Chu Feng was still no threat whatsoever.
“You guessed right. If you want your grandson to live, you’d better step aside right now. Otherwise, I’ll crush his head right under my foot.” Chu Feng sneered. Even though he was now surrounded by the Zi family’s experts, he appeared remarkably calm.
The Zi family didn’t take Chu Feng seriously, but had Chu Feng ever taken them seriously either?
“Haha, what a joke! With your mere third-rank Martial Lord cultivation, you think you can threaten me?” Suddenly, Zi Dingkong laughed coldly. As he spoke, his sword-like eyebrows stood upright, and an invisible wave of power erupted from within him.
He made his move. In the mere thought of an instant, he unleashed the unique pressure of a sixth-rank Martial Lord. Like an invisible tidal wave, it hurtled toward Chu Feng at an unimaginable speed. He was striking by surprise, intending to subdue Chu Feng directly and rescue his grandson.
But he had underestimated Chu Feng. Chu Feng snorted coldly, raised his hand slightly, and made a casual flick. With a resounding *boom*, he neutralized Zi Dingkong’s attack.
“Since you want your grandson to die, I’ll grant your wish.”
Immediately after, the foot crushing Zi Kun’s face shifted slightly. Then, with a sudden exertion of force, amidst a spray of blood and gore, half of Zi Kun’s head was crushed flat.
“Ah—!” At that moment, a scream resembling a pig being slaughtered erupted from Zi Kun’s mouth, echoing throughout the entire underground palace.
P.S. After over six hours on a high-speed train and an hour by car, I’ve finally arrived. This chapter was written on the train. I had planned to write two chapters on the train and upload them once I reached my destination, but after writing a little over one chapter, I got carsick. Felt awful to death. The plan had to be abandoned. I’m uploading the third chapter I managed to write on the train now. I’ll aim to get the fourth chapter up by 2 AM. I know you’re all tired of waiting for updates. The Bee (author) is off to write now.