Chapter 5345: Upon Learning Chu Feng’s Identity

A world spiritist who had reached White Dragon God-cloak at an age younger than Zhou Zhi was, without a doubt, a prodigy.

“Young hero Chu Feng is already at White Dragon God-cloak despite your young age. May I know which lineage you have descended from?”

The skeptical expression of the Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief was quickly replaced with a fawning one. This was how pragmatic the world of cultivation was. Respect was often determined by how strong an individual was.

But before Chu Feng could answer, Zhou Yi had already chirped in, “Chu Feng, young master Chu Feng doesn’t want to reveal his background.”

“No worries, no worries!” The Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief laughed. He turned to Chu Feng and asked, “Young master Chu Feng, what kind of compensation would you like?”

“I’m here for the treasure on the Unageing Peak. In exchange for me representing your Zhou Clan, I want you to open the protection formation and allow me to awaken the treasure,” Chu Feng said. 

“Just that?” the Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief asked.

“That’s right,” Chu Feng replied.

“Very well, young master Chu Feng. I’ll be counting on you for the bet. Regardless of the outcome, I’ll open the protection formation for you so that you can try to awaken the treasure,” the Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief promised.

“Father, Master Liu is already on his way,” Zhou Shuang hurriedly exclaimed.

The Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief frowned in displeasure upon hearing those words. 

“Master Liu doesn’t have any respect for our Zhou Clan at all! The fact that he’s only a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist despite being nine thousand years of age reflects his lacking talent. How can he compare with young master Chu Feng? 

“If not for the other party insisting that only White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritists can participate in the bet, I wouldn’t have lowered myself and requested his help. Yet, he kept imposing more and more demands on us. I have already shown him ample respect on your account, but do you think that he has returned the respect?” the Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief said.

“I…” Zhou Shuang was at a loss for words.

What they were discussing earlier was none other than Master Liu.

Master Liu was supposed to travel with them, but he demanded an increase in payment out of the blue. The Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief refused him, so Master Liu took his leave, claiming that he had urgent matters to attend to and would return very soon.  

It was already beyond their agreed meeting time now, but Master Liu still wasn’t back yet. Even a fool could tell that Master Liu was trying to take advantage of them. 

Zhou Shuang knew that she was in the wrong here and dared not to talk back to her father, so she could only glare at Zhou Yi with eyes filled with resentment. She felt that Zhou Yi had gotten in the way of her plan.

“All right, the matter is decided.”

The Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief walked out of the war chariot together with Chu Feng and Zhou Yi.

“I have something to announce! Master Liu has urgent matters on hand and won’t be representing our Zhou Clan for the bet anymore. Fortunately, young master Chu Feng appeared during our time of need and agreed to help us. He, too, is a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist despite his young age. Thus, I hereby declare that young master Chu Feng will be representing us for the duel instead!” the Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief said.

“He’s a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist?”

“But he looks like a junior?”

The crowd began assessing Chu Feng. In particular, a yellow-haired elder looked at Chu Feng with contemplative eyes. 

“Chu Feng? That name sounds oddly familiar to me. He does look quite familiar too.” 

“Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief, what do you mean by this?” 

An old man dressed in a world spiritist cloak suddenly swooped down. He was none other than Master Liu. It turned out that his departure was an intentional ploy to get more compensation out of the Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief, and he had been hiding nearby all along.

He thought that it was about time to show himself when the Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief suddenly announced that someone else would be representing their Zhou Clan. That displeased him.

“Master Liu, I didn’t know you were nearby. There’s no deeper meaning to this; the situation is as you have heard,” the Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief replied with a sarcastic tone.

“It looks like you’re determined to replace me?” Master Liu asked.

“That’s right,” the Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief replied.

Master Liu turned to Zhou Shuang. “Zhou Shuang, I came here on your account. What does your Zhou Clan mean by this? I demand an explanation.”

“Master Liu, I…” Zhou Shuang didn’t know how to answer the question.

Rather, it was the Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief who replied to the question, “Master Liu, this bet that we’re going to have is of huge importance to our Zhou Clan. We have to choose the best world spiritist to represent us.”

“Heh… Best world spiritist? You’re just being stingy because you think that I’m asking too much. How can a mere junior possibly compete with me?” Master Liu sneered. “Brat, how much did you ask from them?”

Zhou Yi spoke up in Chu Feng’s place, “Young master Chu Feng didn’t ask for any compensation.”

“No compensation?” Master Liu laughed in disdain. “Brat, are you really a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist?”

The meaning behind his words was clear. He was claiming that Chu Feng was a liar.

Regarding the doubt Master Liu was casting on him, Chu Feng only had four words in response. “None of your business.”

Master Liu’s expression stiffened. He didn’t think that a liar would dare to insult him in public. “You arrogant brat. How dare you act so smug before me? I’ll show you the true prowess of a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist!”

Master Liu furiously exerted his spirit power, but it was immediately blocked by a stronger one. The Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief had made a move.

“Master Liu, don’t blame me for getting nasty if you continue messing around,” the Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief growled menacingly.

“Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief, how could that junior possibly be a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist? Don’t get duped by him!” Master Liu asked.

Those words evoked the concern of others. They didn’t know whether Chu Feng was a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist or not, and they were worried that Master Liu was right. 

Chu Feng’s face turned cold, but before he could make his move, a yellow-haired elder suddenly exclaimed in astonishment, “Young hero Chu Feng, it’s you! I was still wondering why you looked so familiar!”

In his hand was a portrait. He alternated his gaze between the portrait and Chu Feng, and his expression only seemed to get increasingly excited. He was born in this Upper Realm and was a close friend of the Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief, but he was fond of traveling around. He happened to be present at the Trial of the Strongest as a spectator.

Even though he didn’t see Chu Feng in person, he had heard about the latter’s affairs and even spent money to purchase one of his portraits. Admittedly, the portrait he had bought did have some differences from the real Chu Feng, but the key details were there. That was also why he found Chu Feng familiar earlier on.

“Guys, you must not be aware that the goddess of luck is shining on you!” The yellow-haired old man roared in laughter. “Do you know who this young master Chu Feng is?”

“Who is he?” 

The crowd knew that the yellow-haired elder often traveled around and thus knew a lot of things. He must have known something about Chu Feng that they didn’t have to say such words.

“I’m telling you, young master Chu Feng is the one who won the late Martial Exalted level category for the Trial of the Strongest!” the yellow-haired elder cried out.

“You’re talking about the Trial of the Strongest hosted by the Totem Dragon Clan?” someone asked.

“Of course!” the yellow-haired elder replied.

“The heck!”

Everyone turned to look at Chu Feng once more, this time with a different look in their eyes. In particular, the juniors harbored deep admiration in their eyes that it looked almost as if they were looking at their idol. Even Zhou Zhi also began looking at Chu Feng in a different light. 

They had long heard about the happenings at the Trial of the Strongest from the yellow-haired elder. While the demon monk’s grand fight with the Totem Dragon Clan formed the bulk of the conversation, that didn’t hinder their interest in the champions of the Trial of the Strongest.

After all, these were the people who were likely going to be the future powerhouses of their galaxy!

“Young master Chu Feng, are you really one of the champions of the Trial of the Strongest?” the Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief asked.

“Yes, I am,” Chu Feng replied.

“My gosh! What did our Zhou Clan do to deserve the help of the strongest late Martial Exalted level cultivator of our Totem Galaxy?” The face of the Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief visibly lit up.

The only person who remained calm here was Zhou Yi. How could this news surprise her after witnessing how Chu Feng raised his cultivation by three ranks despite being at Half-God level? To her, this was far more shocking, but she didn’t make a fuss out of it. 

It was not because she didn’t want to, but that she dared not to.

Despite Chu Feng’s amicable attitude toward her, she was still afraid of him from the bottom of her heart. He was someone far beyond her level, a monster that they must not offend. Whatever he didn’t mention, she dared not to say either.

“L-l-l-lord Chu Feng, I was rash! Please show some magnanimity and forgive me!” Master Liu cried out as he bowed deeply to Chu Feng. He didn’t dare to raise his head, and his hands were trembling ever so slightly. 

He thought that Chu Feng was a liar trying to take advantage of the Zhou Clan’s desperation, but it turned out that the latter was someone he couldn’t afford to cross.

Chu Feng paid him no heed. He had always looked down on those who pandered to the strong but oppressed the weak, which was why he wanted to teach Master Liu a lesson, but now, he didn’t think that the other party was even worth his time at all. 

“Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief, I’d like to rest for a while. Let me know when we arrive,” Chu Feng said.

“Of course, of course!” The Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief quickly prepared an individual war chariot so that Chu Feng could rest up well. 

Chu Feng knew that the Zhou Clan would want to hold a grand welcoming ceremony for him, but not in a mood for such festivity, he chose to excuse himself. However, his departure hardly quelled the crowd’s excitement at all. He could still hear discussions outside. 

“Who could have thought that the Zhou Clan’s Clan Chief would be able to get Lord Chu Feng here? It looks like he’ll be able to get back their family heirloom, after all.”

“I reckon that young master Bai Yue will back down as soon as he learns about young master Chu Feng’s identity. We’re talking about the strongest Martial Exalted level cultivator here, someone who has won the favor of the Totem Dragon Clan! Who would dare to offend someone like that?”

Nearly all the ongoing conversations were centered around Chu Feng, with most people holding onto the stance that Chu Feng would definitely win the bet. 

“Look at how useful the title of the strongest Martial Exalted level cultivator is. Practically everyone believes that you’ll win the bet,” Eggy said with a sweet smile. She was even happier than Chu Feng to hear those praises.

But another voice soon sounded. It was coming from Zhou Shuang’s war chariot, and her younger brother, Zhou Zhi, was in there too. 

“Is there a need to go this far for a mere strongest Martial Exalted level cultivator? Just think about it! Given the time he has spent on his martial cultivation, how could he possibly be any good in world spiritist techniques? Even if he is a White Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist, he must have artificially raised his spirit power using external means. 

“I really wonder what our father is thinking. How could he trust that man so easily and even allow him to represent our Zhou Clan? A lot is at stake here! We’ll really be goners if we lose this bet!” Zhou Shuang complained.

Despite having learned Chu Feng’s identity, she was filled with grudges toward him.