Upon seeing this, Xianhai Shaoyu and his parents quickly placed their hands on Wang Qiang, carefully assessing his condition in detail.
Only then did they discover that while Wang Qiang appeared unharmed on the surface, his body had been completely hollowed out, leaving him extremely weak.
"I'm really fine, I just need to recover, don't... don't worry."
"A bet's a bet... a bet's a bet."
"I'm not the kind of person who can't afford to lose." Wang Qiang put on a nonchalant look.
"What exactly happened? What did they make you do? Did they drain your bloodline?" Chu Feng asked.
"They had me... had me help them temper something. It did cost me some of my bloodline, but it's fine, nothing fundamental was damaged. I'll recover in time," Wang Qiang said.
In truth, based on his own observations, Chu Feng had already formed some guesses. And what Wang Qiang described was more or less consistent with those guesses — which was about the best outcome he could have hoped for.
But his brother had been bullied, and Chu Feng certainly wasn't going to swallow that insult.
"Was that person very strong?" Chu Feng asked.
"Pretty... pretty strong. Had some tricks up his sleeve. But if you're a Third Grade True Brother, I reckon he wouldn't be your match," Wang Qiang said.
"As it happens, I just broke through to Third Grade True God," Chu Feng said.
"Big brother broke through too!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu'er and the others all lit up with joy.
But no one was happier than Wang Qiang.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go... and get my brother's pride back," Wang Qiang said.
"Let's go. I was planning to head up there anyway," Chu Feng said.
After that, Chu Feng, Wang Qiang, Xiao Yu'er, Xianhai Shaoyu, and the others made straight for the summit of the Steel Mountain Peak.
A barrier of immense power lay at the peak. It not only blocked people's vision but also restricted anyone who wasn't a junior from climbing the mountain.
However, just as they were about to touch the barrier, Chu Feng stopped.
He observed it carefully.
Seeing this, Wang Qiang and the others didn't rush him. They all knew that if Chu Feng had suddenly stopped, there had to be a reason.
The observation didn't last long before Chu Feng couldn't help but smile.
"So that's how it is."
"What is it?" Dan Dan asked.
At the same time, Xiao Yu'er, Wang Qiang, and Xianhai Shaoyu all looked at Chu Feng, their eyes filled with curiosity.
They knew Chu Feng must have discovered something.
"The barrier power here is extremely strong. Breaking through this restriction is very difficult."
"But besides that, there's also a hidden sensing power fused into it. The sensing power is very subtle, but equally formidable."
"If I'm not mistaken, the moment we step inside, they'll know our true cultivation level, giving them the upper hand."
Chu Feng didn't announce this openly — instead, he sent a voice transmission to Wang Qiang and the others in secret.
After all, right now, aside from them, there was a steady stream of young cultivators entering the barrier's range.
"Damn it, there's... there's something like that going on?"
Hearing this, Wang Qiang and the others were all stunned. After all, they had already been inside, yet they hadn't noticed any barrier power capable of detecting their cultivation levels.
But soon enough, it all clicked.
"No wonder when I first wanted to challenge that woman, she said I was too ugly and turned me down."
"I nearly started doubting myself — how could I possibly be ugly?"
"She definitely knew I was a Third Grade True God, and she wasn't a match for a Third Grade True God, so she... she didn't dare accept."
"Damn it, turns out they were cheating." Wang Qiang cursed and grumbled as he brought this up.
"It does seem like that's the case."
"I also wanted to challenge someone weaker at first, just to see what kind of reward I could get. But that person said he was cultivating and couldn't accept challenges for the time being."
"But after Brother Wang Qiang fought that golden-haired young man, while we were waiting, other people came to challenge the person I had originally wanted to challenge, and he accepted."