“Nameless Starfall—could it be *that* lord from the Starfield Main Realm? The Sacred Robe Boundary Spirit Master up on Ice Summit Peak right now?”
The sight of Chu Feng’s token sent shock rippling through the crowd.
“Where’d you get this token?” Tantai Changfei demanded, snatching it from Chu Feng with a flick of his hand. After inspecting it closely, he asked in a stern tone.
“It was given to me by Lord Wuming Fenghuo,” Chu Feng replied.
“Wuming Fenghuo?”
The name sparked another wave of astonishment.
The ten top experts of the Starfield Main Realm were the strongest below the Supreme level—peak Venerables. Everyone present had heard of them.
Even Xu Morong, who’d been so smug moments ago, started to panic.
If this was real, hadn’t he just offended someone tied to the Starfield Main Realm?
Backed by the Tantai Heavenly Clan, he had the clout to throw his weight around—but that clout had limits depending on who he faced.
Even the Tantai Clan wouldn’t dare cross the Starfield Main Realm—how could he?
“Lord Wuming Fenghuo gave you this token for what? Are you trying to see Lord Wuming Xingyun?” Tantai Changfei pressed.
“I do have business with Lord Wuming Xingyun,” Chu Feng confirmed.
“Hahaha…” Tantai Changfei suddenly burst into laughter, then squinted at Chu Feng with hostility. “Of course I know you want to see Lord Wuming Xingyun. Ask any junior here—which one *doesn’t* want to meet him?”
“But everyone lines up properly, climbs the peak, and passes the trials. Those who qualify get to see Lord Wuming Xingyun.”
“You, though—forging a token of Lord Wuming Xingyun? You’re the first!”
“What? A forged token?”
Tantai Changfei’s words stunned the crowd. After a brief pause, their gazes turned to Chu Feng, dripping with disdain.
They hesitated only a moment before buying Tantai Changfei’s claim.
It made sense—a Chu Heavenly Clan member getting a token from Lord Wuming Fenghuo? Unlikely.
Everyone was queuing up, climbing and passing trials on merit—everyone except the Ancestral Martial Ten Stars. Why should this Chu Clan kid get a free pass with a token?
Only one answer: it was fake.
“Elder, this token’s real—I swear it!” Seeing the shift, the Wuma Clan Leader panicked. He feared they’d brand Chu Feng a fraud—a serious offense with real consequences. “Elder, he’s got a handwritten letter from Lord Wuming Fenghuo too. If you don’t believe—”
“Senior, forget it. If he won’t believe us, nothing we say matters,” Chu Feng interrupted, shaking his head. He knew if Tantai Changfei was set on calling the token fake, even a letter could be dismissed as forged.
Instead of arguing, he faced Tantai Changfei directly. “If you don’t believe me, take it to Lord Wuming Xingyun. He’ll know if it’s real or not.”
“Hmph, you think I’d bring your fake token to Lord Wuming Xingyun? Your brain must be broken.”
“Guards! Seize this audacious Chu Heavenly Clan trash and lock him in the fire prison!” Tantai Changfei bellowed.
At his command, the two elders behind him moved toward Chu Feng.
The Wuma Clan Leader tensed, ready to resist—but before he could act, a crushing pressure forced him to his knees.
It was Tantai Changfei.
A Seventh Rank Venerable, he left Wuma Tao no room to fight back.
“Sir, it’s a mistake! It’s real—the token’s real!” Wuma Tao pleaded desperately.
But it was useless. Chu Feng was hauled away, and Wuma Tao could only watch, powerless.
“You two, get lost too—or I’ll throw you both in the fire prison as well,” Tantai Changfei snapped.
“Fine, Elder, lock me in the fire prison too,” Wuma Tao said defiantly. He’d come to protect Chu Feng as best he could, unafraid of danger—even knowing the fire prison’s perils.
*Whoosh—*
Before he finished, he was flung backward, crashing into the rock wall.
Bloodied and broken, he teetered on the edge of death.
Tantai Changfei’s palm strike had nearly killed him—ruthless and swift.
“You dare defy the Tantai Heavenly Clan’s authority? You must be tired of living.”
“Get out of my sight, or next time I see you, you’re dead,” Tantai Changfei sneered, flicking his sleeve before soaring back to the peak.
“Clan Leader, are you alright?”
Wuma Shengjie rushed to his side.
She’d once despised Wuma Tao for failing to protect her parents.
But seeing him gravely injured, worry surged within her—surprising even herself. Still, she helped him up.
“Little con artist, better take your old con man and scram—or you’ll really end up in the fire prison,” Xu Morong taunted Wuma Shengjie, smirking with triumphant glee.
He’d panicked earlier, which made his victory now all the sweeter.
The Xu Clan joined in, mocking Wuma Shengjie and Wuma Tao with cold jeers.
Even the onlookers piled on, ridiculing and cursing them.
It was inevitable—everyone had bought that Chu Feng’s token was fake, branding Wuma Shengjie and Wuma Tao as liars too.
“Laugh all you want. Enjoy it—I doubt you’ll have much time left to smile,” Wuma Shengjie shot Xu Morong a frigid glare before supporting Wuma Tao down the mountain.
“Damn, a fraud still acting so cocky—she’s begging for a beating,” an Xu Clan member grumbled, watching her go.
“Forget it. Why bother with trash like them? Lowly scum don’t even deserve to rile us up,” Xu Morong sneered.
Wuma Shengjie’s threat didn’t faze him. To him, it was laughable—like a joke that only amused him more.
What Xu Morong didn’t know was that Tantai Changfei hadn’t just returned to the peak—he’d entered a palace there.
Unintentionally, he’d brought Chu Feng’s token along with him.
