After more than ten exchanges, Lu Yunfei saw that he still could not bring down Chu Feng, and anxiety began to gnaw at him.
"Heh!"
He let out a thunderous shout. The golden veins bulging across his body writhed like golden serpents, and in an instant, the speed and force of his punches increased severalfold.
One punch followed another, their shadows crisscrossing as they densely enveloped Chu Feng from head to toe.
Chu Feng had originally been able to stand there without moving, strolling leisurely through the courtyard as he blocked each move one by one.
But as Lu Yunfei's punches grew increasingly ferocious, he stopped limiting himself to defense and occasionally struck back.
In this manner, Lu Yunfei's punches came in waves. He unleashed a storm of bombardment for the time it took to finish a cup of tea, until even his breathing began to grow ragged.
Chu Feng's hand blade flashed out, easily seizing the opening in his opponent's breathing rhythm and striking straight at Lu Yunfei's throat.
The fierce wind kicked up Lu Yunfei's long hair, while the air current slammed against his throat.
Along with the intense sensation of suffocation, Lu Yunfei felt as though something were stuck in his throat, as if he would choke to death the very next moment.
Fortunately, Chu Feng's hand blade stopped, halting a hair's breadth from Lu Yunfei's throat.
Lu Yunfei felt the gaze of the Grim Reaper upon him. If Chu Feng's hand blade had fallen, he truly might have been welcomed into the Grim Reaper's embrace.
Cold sweat streamed down Lu Yunfei's face. He did not know whether it was because he had thrown too many punches and grown exhausted, or because he was afraid.
Chu Feng slowly withdrew his hand blade and said with calm composure,
"Master Lu, it seems the victor has been decided. In that case, I'll accept the Tiger Leopard Blood Vitality Pill without further ceremony..."
Hearing Chu Feng's words, Lu Yunfei finally came back to his senses.
Perhaps angered by his performance just now, he snorted coldly and said, "I wasn't using my full strength just now. I was afraid of injuring you, so you naturally seized the chance to erupt and launch a sneak attack. Let's fight again—I may not lose to you!"
Lu Yunfei's face was flushed with shame and indignation. He still had powerful family-inherited techniques that he had yet to use, so he could only believe that his carelessness and underestimating the enemy had allowed Chu Feng to seize an opening and win the match.
Chu Feng helplessly shook his head and said, "You really are impossible. Go ahead and use whatever ultimate move you have left."
His helpless tone was just like that of someone coaxing an angry little child.
Lu Yunfei's face flushed bright red when he heard this, and he immediately prepared to use his family-inherited technique.
"That's enough..."
At that moment, Li Xuanhai let out a cold snort and directly interrupted him.
Looking at Chu Feng, he said, "Young brother, you truly are a heaven-sent genius. Without guidance from a renowned master, you actually managed to cultivate yourself to the limits of the Muscle Tempering Realm and Tendon Transformation."
"My disciple is no match for you. Take the Tiger Leopard Blood Vitality Pill. However, this boy is currently a source of infection and must be isolated. No one below the Muscle Tempering Realm may approach him..."
In truth, Li Xuanhai had sensed that something was wrong after watching the two exchange ten moves.
Chu Feng's muscles and sinews were astonishingly powerful, as if flawless. No matter how tricky the angle of Lu Yunfei's attacks was, Chu Feng blocked them with ease. It was clearly a sign of an enormous gap in strength.
"Thank you, Lord Li."
Chu Feng cupped his hands in thanks.
"Master, I haven't used my family-inherited technique yet..." Lu Yunfei said, his face full of unwillingness.
"Shut up!"
"Have you not disgraced yourself enough already?" Li Xuanhai shouted sternly.
Lu Yunfei fell silent, but his expression clearly proclaimed, I'm not convinced!
Seeing this, Li Xuanhai said helplessly, "Take a look at where you two fought..."
Lu Yunfei looked over and was stunned to discover that the spot where Chu Feng had stood had been traced into a perfect "circle" by his footsteps.
They had exchanged dozens of moves, yet Chu Feng had remained within that circle without taking a single step outside it...
At that moment, Lu Yunfei said nothing more.
He silently picked up the jade pendant and put it back around his waist, then obediently stood behind Li Xuanhai without uttering a word...
At this point, Li Zhenshan, who had remained silent all along, suddenly spoke.
"Lord Li, I wonder if you've ever heard of Shen Jingfeng, Captain Shen?"
Li Xuanhai turned around in surprise. After giving the chubby old man a brief look, he pondered for a moment before saying,
"Shen Jingfeng? He was an old senior of the Demon Suppression Division. Unfortunately, his old injuries flared up again a few years ago, and he's already dead..."
After saying this, he left with Lu Yunfei and the others.
After hearing the news, Li Zhenshan stood stunned for a long while, gazing at the sky as though lost in thought.
Seeing that something was wrong with the old man, Chu Feng did not see Li Xuanhai and the others off. Instead, he stayed by Li Zhenshan's side.
After a long while...
Li Zhenshan let out a long breath and said slowly, "I had originally planned to rely on my old friend's recommendation to get you into the Demon Suppression Division, but unfortunately, he actually died..."
Chu Feng was not overly disappointed. With his cheat in hand, he could get in sooner or later as long as he wanted to.
Li Zhenshan, however, looked solemn as he said, "Do you know why the dynasty's official administration has been corrupt and demons have run rampant all these years?"
"Uh? What does that have to do with me being unable to enter the Demon Suppression Division?" Chu Feng asked in bewilderment.
"The reason Noble Families are Noble Families is because of their enormous influence."
"They control the court, collude with martial experts, control ordinary warriors' paths of advancement, appoint only their own relatives and associates, and use the Great Zhou Dynasty's resources to nurture their family disciples. That is where their true power lies."
"It's not only this Li Xuanhai. Most experts have ties to Noble Families. Otherwise, how could they have cultivated to become Viscera Refinement Warriors?"
"And the Shen Jingfeng I was looking for was one of the rare people who reached the Organ Tempering Realm without relying on Noble Family resources. Unfortunately, he's dead..."
Li Zhenshan gazed in the direction where Li Xuanhai and the others had disappeared and spoke in a low voice.
"You're clearly such a genius, yet Li Xuanhai turned a blind eye, ignored you, and left without a second thought. Do you know why?"
Chu Feng let out a cold laugh and said, "You don't need to tell me, old sir. I can more or less guess. It's because if I rose up, Lu Yunfei would have to step down, right?"
Li Zhenshan nodded and said, "This world isn't one where being a genius guarantees that you'll be valued. It's the same principle as 'even the fragrance of wine fears the depth of the alley.'"
"A genius also needs to be seen by others, and entering the Demon Suppression Division is the first step toward being seen. If no one discovers you, your day of rising above the rest may be a long way off..."
Elsewhere, Li Xuanhai was walking toward the inn where he and Lu Yunfei had taken lodging.
They remained silent the entire way. Just as they were nearing the inn, Lu Yunfei suddenly spoke. "Brother-in-law, why didn't you take that Chu Feng as your disciple? That way, you could also recommend a true genius to the Demon Suppression Division!"
"What would you do, then?"
"I can wait another two years..." Lu Yunfei said in a low voice.
"On the path of martial arts, being one step slower means being slower at every step! How could you hand an opportunity to someone else? If you can't enter the Demon Suppression Division, the resources provided to the Lu Lineage will be reduced by more than half. How will you contend with the prodigies of the other Noble Families?"
"Even if I gave him my recommendation slot, what benefit would I gain? Without the support of Noble Family resources, he ultimately won't go far..."
Hearing this, Lu Yunfei's eyes gradually turned vicious. He made a throat-slitting gesture and said coldly, "Brother-in-law, should we..."
"There's no need. The Demon Suppression Division's talent selection is based solely on internal recommendations. Those Demon Suppression Captains with recommendation slots already have people in mind. He won't be able to get in..."
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