Chapter 4774: Disappointment

“What did you say? You’re sentencing Chu Feng into the Hidden Dragon Prison, not to mention the eleventh level at that? What did Chu Feng do so wrong as to be punished so harshly?” 

A piercing voice echoed in the air. It was Xia Yan.

As soon as Xia Yan spoke up, another elder swiftly appeared out of nowhere beside her. This elder was Hidden Dragon Elder Xia Zhicheng, Xia Yan’s grandfather.

Xia Yan immediately found herself unable to move, as if her body had been bound by something. Naturally, she was unable to speak either. She could only direct her furious eyes around.

Everyone knew that Xia Zhicheng was stopping Xia Yan because he didn’t want her to get involved in the affairs here.

“Milord, Chu Feng might have erred, but his actions are justified given the circumstances. Isn’t it too harsh to sentence him to the Hidden Dragon Prison over that?”

The chief elder of the North Tortoise Hall also spoke up for Chu Feng’s leniency.

The crowd immediately shot him a look of respect. The sounding of the Dragon Bell meant that the verdict had come from the sectmaster herself, so it must have taken the chief elder a lot of courage to dare to speak up in such a situation.

“Chief elder of the North Tortoise Hall, this is a decision from our sectmaster. There’s no room for objections here,” Li Fengxian said.

The chief elder of the North Tortoise Hall felt deeply indignant, but he had no choice but to step down.

He might have still been able to voice his thoughts out if Li Fengxian hadn’t clarified the matter, but with him explicitly pointing out that this was the sectmaster’s decision, it was no longer his place to voice his comments anymore. 

The sectmaster’s decision was absolute in the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect.

The crowd turned to look at Chu Feng, some feeling gleeful whereas others feeling sympathetic for his plight. Most of them couldn’t understand the rationale behind the sectmaster’s decision, but they dared not to question it.

“Chief elder, can you tell me what kind of place the Hidden Dragon Prison is?” Chu Feng asked.

He could sense from the atmosphere that the Hidden Dragon Prison wasn’t as innocent of a place as he thought it out to be. 

“The Hidden Dragon Prison is the harshest prison in the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect. The first ten levels are already unbearable for most cultivators, and anything beyond that can easily claim a person’s life. 

“Chu Feng, you should quickly beg for mercy. There might still be room for reconciliation here,” the chief elder told Chu Feng through his voice transmission.

Chu Feng turned to look at Li Fengxian in disbelief upon hearing those words.

“Lord Hidden Dragon Elder, does my crime really warrant being sentenced to the eleventh level of the Hidden Dragon Prison?” he asked.

“Chu Feng, this is the sectmaster’s verdict,” Li Fengxian replied.

“Hahahaha!”

Chu Feng burst into laughter upon hearing those words. His laughter was filled with scorn. Everyone could sense the disappointment in his voice.

“Chu Feng, how dare you act audaciously before the Dragon Bell?!”

Many elders stood forward to berate Chu Feng menacingly. They were prepared to teach Chu Feng a lesson if he didn’t rein in his laughter.

However, Li Fengxian shot a cold glance at the elders who criticized Chu Feng and remarked sharply, “Are you all trying to obstruct the proceedings here?”

The elders quickly backed down fearfully.

Li Fengxian wasn’t just a Hidden Dragon Elder at the moment but an envoy relaying the sectmaster’s orders. Unless the sectmaster or vice sectmaster was here, no one else had the right to undermine Li Fengxian’s authority here.

At the same time, Chu Feng reined in his laughter, but his gaze showed no hints of compromise at all.

“I’ve never provoked anyone on my own accord ever since entering the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect. Yet, the oppression constantly occurring in the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect left me with no choice but to retaliate against those who abuse their power, but even so, I always made sure not to go too far.

“I did so not because I’m afraid of trouble but out of respect for the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect. Yet, I ended up landing in such a state.”

Chu Feng glanced at the crowd as he spoke those words, as if he was addressing all of them.

“Shut your mouth, Chu Feng. If you dare to run your mouth once more, I’ll end your life here before you can even find your way into the Hidden Dragon Prison!”

Another person spoke up. This time around, it was Nangong Yuliu’s grandmother, Nangong Chunyue.

Only someone like her would dare to criticize Chu Feng after Li Fengxian had exerted his dominance.

However, Chu Feng had no fear of Nangong Chunyue. He simply sneered coldly and said, “Oh, isn’t this Lord Nangong Chunyue of the Hidden Dragon Elders? Is your grandson not with you today? Or is he simply hiding amongst the crowd? Tell him that he hasn’t fulfilled the end of his bet yet, and I’ll make sure to look for him once I’m back.”

After saying those words, he turned to Li Fengxian and said, “Lord HIdden Dragon Elder, let’s go. I’ll accept my fate”

It was not that Chu Feng was without a temper. On the contrary, rage was filling up his mind at this very moment. Had it been in the past, he would have surely lashed out than to suffer such grievance. However, he was no longer the rash young man he used to be.

He knew that he was here to save Zi Ling, and he was more determined than ever to do so after realizing how repugnant of a place the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect was. 

He had tried his best to hold back so as to not go too far as to give Nangong Chunyue an opportunity to attack him. He knew that he was simply too weak at the moment that he had no choice but to lower his head for the time being. Otherwise, he would simply be courting death. 

Li Fengxian quickly brought Chu Feng toward the Hidden Dragon Prison.

The Hidden Dragon Prison wasn’t a forbidden ground, so all of the sect members were allowed to enter the area. So, the elders and the disciples quickly followed Li Fengxian, hoping to watch everything with their own eyes.

They knew that this could be the last time they would be seeing Chu Feng.

… 

There was a radiant golden field in the Hidden Dragon Prison that gave off an air of divinity. Were it not for the eighteen black metal gates that towered over ten thousand meters high on it, no one would associate it with the Hidden Dragon Prison.

Each of the eighteen black metal gates had a number inscribed on it. It was the levels of the prison they led one toward. In front of each of the gates sat a black-robed elder.

These eighteen black-robed elders looked identical to one another in terms of dress-up and appearance, having long black hair and a thick mustache. It would be hard to differentiate them from one another without taking a close look. 

All of them remained perfectly calm despite the sudden arrival of a huge crowd.

Li Fengxian took out his Hidden Dragon Elder Token and ordered, “Open the gate to the eleventh level.”

The elder sitting before the eleventh gate placed his hands together, and the gate behind him began to creak open, revealing a black spirit formation gate.

Chu Feng had no idea what was waiting for him beyond the spirit formation gate, but he knew that he had no other choice but to walk in. So, he turned to Li Fengxian and asked, “Lord Hidden Dragon Elder, do I have to walk in with the shackles?”

“No, there’s no need for that.”

Li Fengxian removed the chains binding Chu Feng’s body with a wave of his hand.

Chu Feng directed a bow toward Li Fengxian. Even though Li Fengxian was the one who brought him here, he didn’t blame him for that. He could tell that Li Fengxian had already tried speaking up for him through the helplessness in his eyes.

It was all the sectmaster’s decision.

After the bow, he began making his way into the spirit formation gate.

Li Fengxian looked at Chu Feng’s silhouette hesitantly. He wanted to console the latter and even apologize to him on behalf of the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect, but he couldn’t do so because it would be going against the sectmaster’s wishes.

He had no idea what he should say or do right now.

Nevertheless, the moment Chu Feng was just about to step in, he still said, “Chu Feng, make sure to return alive.”

Chu Feng turned around and replied with a smile, “Don’t worry, elder. I’m bound to die one day, but this definitely won’t be my burial ground.”

With those words, he stepped into the spirit formation gate.