After that furious voice rang out, two figures descended from the sky. They were both men—one middle-aged, one young.
These two were none other than Zhang Tianyi and that mysterious man, who was, in fact, Zhang Tianyi's biological father.
Looking at them now, Chu Feng could indeed see a striking resemblance between Zhang Tianyi and the mysterious man in their brows and features. They truly looked like father and son.
However, Zhang Tianyi wore a tense expression and kept shooting Chu Feng meaningful glances, while the mysterious man's face, which had been calm before, was now filled with fury.
Chu Feng didn't even need to guess—he knew that Leng Yue's three golden bowls weren't that powerful. They may have fooled everyone else, but they clearly hadn't fooled Zhang Tianyi's father.
That was why Zhang Tianyi's father was so enraged.
"Chu Feng, Leng Yue—you two have broken the rules. Are you prepared to face your punishment?" Zhang Tianyi's father glared at Chu Feng and Leng Yue, his sword-like brows bristling with anger.
"Punishment? What punishment? Even if we broke the rules, the most you can do is disqualify us from tomorrow's competition. What punishment could there possibly be?" Leng Yue challenged.
"If it had been a private spar between the two of you, there would be no need for punishment. But you killed someone on my territory—you killed the Weapon Refining Immortal's disciple. How am I supposed to answer to the Weapon Refining Immortal? Naturally, you must be punished." Zhang Tianyi's father replied.
"......" At that, Leng Yue fell silent. She, too, knew that killing Baili Xinghe had been wrong.
"Father, Leng Yue killed someone, but Chu Feng didn't. He shouldn't have to be punished, right?" Zhang Tianyi stepped forward and said.
"Tianyi, precisely because Chu Feng is your friend, we must punish him as well—to avoid the appearance of favoritism." Zhang Tianyi's father replied.
"But—" Zhang Tianyi tried to speak further.
"Senior Zhang, Chu Feng is willing to accept the punishment." Before Zhang Tianyi could finish, Chu Feng spoke up. He didn't want to put Zhang Tianyi in a difficult position.
"In that case, brace yourselves." Zhang Tianyi's father pulled a gourd from within his sleeve.
The gourd was battered and worn, even bearing fine cracks along its surface. But the moment it appeared, both Chu Feng and Leng Yue's eyes lit up.
Strange patterns were carved all over the gourd—patterns neither of them could decipher. Beyond that, the gourd exuded a thick aura of antiquity. It was unmistakably an ancient relic.
"What are you going to do? What exactly is this punishment?" Leng Yue panicked. She could sense the danger radiating from the gourd.
"You'll stay inside for one hour. After one hour, I'll let you out." Zhang Tianyi's father opened the gourd, then reached out with his hand. A powerful suction erupted forth, pulling both Chu Feng and Leng Yue inside.
Whooooosh— In an instant, Chu Feng felt the world shake and tilt around him. Everything was pitch black, and the space itself kept twisting and distorting. Most critically, in this place, he couldn't even move.
Mmm— At the same time, Chu Feng began clenching his teeth, because an unbearable wave of pain started surging through every part of his body.
His head in particular throbbed with an excruciating agony, as though countless hammers were striking his skull at a rate of three thousand blows per second. The pain was so severe that Chu Feng clenched both fists, unable to bear it—his very soul was trembling.
One hour... could he really endure that long?
Doubt crept into Chu Feng's heart. He had to admit—Zhang Tianyi's father truly was impartial. He was genuinely merciless.