Could the person that the Chu and Yun scions were here for be the mysterious fellow in front of Qin Feng? Surely not. That fellow possessed no sense of noble bearing at all!

"Don't you know what happened to the Li clan today?" Chu Xun prompted Qin Feng.

"Ah, of course I do. The majority of the Li elites perished, and Li Jin himself was stripped of his cultivation..."

"And you're daring to provoke the hunter who caused it all? I don't have to remind you about the difference in strength between the Li clan and your Qin clan, do I?" Chu Xun smiled, as though she were watching an entertaining spectacle.

Qin Feng's brain stalled. "Y-You mean that he, he's..."

"That's right. From today onwards, there will only be five great clans in the Blacksteel settlement, not six. The instigator of this entire affair, well, he's the hunter you just tried to terrorize." 

Chu Xun's mocking words struck Qin Feng and his subordinates like bolts of lightning.

Did they have no sense of self-preservation? How could they have tried to taunt and frighten someone like him? Qin Feng clambered out of his seat and knelt down in front of the mysterious hunter. 

As he kowtowed, he begged, "Sir, please forgive me for my insolence. I offended you in my ignorance, and I beg for your mercy. Please, allow me to pay for all your expenses at the bar today!"

Naturally, his subordinates followed suit.

"Esteemed hunter, compared to you, I'm nothing more than a fart. Please let me out!"

"Please, forgive us! I have a family to care for at home, elders and children, so won't you show us some clemency?"

Those hunters who had mocked Zhang Lie earlier were all kneeling on the floor, kowtowing in equal proportion to the crudeness of their earlier remarks. 

If this hunter was someone who could ruin even the Li clan, then he surely wasn't an existence they could provoke at any cost! And their lives were certainly far more important than their pride.

Zhang Lie stared somewhat speechlessly at the kneeling Qin hunters on the floor. "Little girl, why do I see you everywhere I go?" he asked Chu Xun.

She pinched her nose with a dainty hand. "I can't help it. Your scent is just too strong! Deep-fried superior-grade blood ant meat must be tasty, but it's no good to enjoy such delicacies alone. Don't you have any left for me?"

Zhang Lie immediately ignored her and turned to the others. "Young Master Chu, Young Miss Yun, this is your territory, I take it? I'm sure I don't have to invite you to take a seat."

Chu Feng, Yun Bing, and the others all sat down by his table.

"Honestly, if you hadn't motioned for us to sit, we wouldn't have. After all, your performance today was just too shocking! We worked together in the past, but you seem to have grown so much stronger and more fearsome in a matter of days!" Chu Feng began, expressing his awe toward Zhang Lie.

Yun Bing and the others didn't speak up, but from their gazes, it was evident that they felt much the same way.

The Qin hunters kneeling on the floor began to quake.

Zhang Lie smiled. "Am I all that frightening? After all, this Young Master Qin certainly didn't seem to fear me, and I'm sure you must be stronger than he is."

His words caused the Qin hunters to slam their heads against the floor even more forcefully, and some of them were even bleeding from their foreheads by this point.

"Alright, alright, that's enough. If this goes on any further, I'm sure Yun Bing will blame me for ruining the mood in this bar. You'll remember not to bully country bumpkins like me in the future, won't you? Go on, get!" Qin Feng was so far beneath Zhang Lie's level that he felt it damaging to his reputation to play around with him too much.

"Yes, sir! I'll keep this lesson imprinted in my mind!" Qin Feng cried out.

"Thank you, sir!" his subordinates chorused.

They all stood up thankfully as they turned to leave.

"Wait!" The moment they turned around, the silent Yun Bing spoke up.

"I apologize for our behav—"

Qin Feng was interrupted halfway through his apology. "Do not worry. If this hunter wants to let you go, I certainly will not contradict his decision. I simply called you back to inform you never to return to this bar again. Do you understand?"

Qin Feng didn't dare say no. He nodded to Yun Bing, bowed again, and then scurried out of the bar.

Qin Feng's kowtowing had drawn the attention of the guests in the bar, as did Chu Feng and Yun Bing's appearance. The guests by the nearby tables all had their attention focused on this mysterious hunter, whom even Chu Feng and Yun Bing were showing respect to.

Zhang Lie didn't much mind: after all, he was still cloaked in black, and it wasn't as though they would be able to see his face. 

On the other hand, Yun Bing and Chu Feng were unused to such public scrutiny. As scions of the Yun and Chu clans, if they ever went to a bar, they would head straight for the suites reserved for them on the upper levels, never to mingle with the common hunter on the ground floor.

Uneasy at being gawked at, Chu Feng motioned to Zhang Lie. "When are you going to take off that dreadful black cloak and show us your true appearance?"

Chu Feng was being surprisingly direct, but Zhang Lie only gave him a relaxed smile in response. "You'll learn about my identity once the time's right. I just fear that you won't be able to believe what you're seeing then."

Chu Feng laughed. 

"What's there not to believe? The Blacksteel settlement is so large that I'm sure it boasts quite a few hidden talents. Surely you can't be, oh, say, that hunter at the bottom of the gene leaderboard?" Chu Feng replied casually, but his words caused Zhang Lie's eyes to narrow for a moment.

No one noticed anything. 

"Oh? And what if I am? What would you think?"

Chu Feng blinked twice, not knowing how to respond.

"Chu Feng, haven't you led the conversation in a rather strange direction?" Yun Bing spoke up, turning to Zhang Lie. "The reason all of us are here today is because we have an important question for you."

Zhang Lie motioned for her to continue. "Ask what you will. I'm feeling good today, so I might even tell you the truth!"