When Linghu Yuhua uttered the name “Chu Feng,” Linghu Hongfei’s face suddenly contorted. He clutched his chest in haste.
At that moment, not only did his face twist in pain, but his body trembled violently.
“Hongfei!” Seeing this, Linghu Yuhua quickly supported Linghu Hongfei.
A faint glow emanated from Linghu Hongfei’s chest. When the glow faded, his face was covered in beads of sweat the size of beans, his complexion as pale as paper, and his aura weakened to the extreme.
Yet, both Linghu Hongfei and Linghu Yuhua seemed prepared for this scene.
Linghu Hongfei opened the hand clutching his chest. In his palm lay a stone.
The stone was no larger than a fingernail, yet it pulsed with life, flickering with a faint blue light in a rhythm like a heartbeat. It was clearly no ordinary object, though it was now in a shattered state.
*Crack—*
Suddenly, Linghu Hongfei clenched his fist, crushing the stone to dust.
His trembling intensified, no longer solely due to his injuries but driven by rage—boundless rage.
Seeing Linghu Hongfei in such a state, Linghu Yuhua’s face showed heartache.
Everyone knew that when Linghu Hongfei was born, the Linghu Heavenly Clan had fused the Qingming Soul into his body.
But in truth, before the Qingming Soul, the clan had fused another object into him.
This object’s value was no less than the Qingming Soul. It was the stone Linghu Hongfei had just taken from his chest and crushed—the Life-Protecting Soul Stone.
The Life-Protecting Soul Stone’s purpose was to grant Linghu Hongfei an extra life.
It had been fused into his body first to prevent the Qingming Soul from failing to integrate and taking over Linghu Hongfei’s consciousness.
But who could have predicted that Linghu Hongfei’s will would be so resolute? He easily subdued the Qingming Soul.
Thus, from the day of his birth, Linghu Hongfei not only possessed the Qingming Soul, a power from ancient times, but also had an extra life compared to ordinary people.
Yet, who could have foreseen that today, the Life-Protecting Soul Stone, which had been with him since birth, would shatter?
And it was broken by a junior whose cultivation was far weaker than his.
That person, naturally, was Chu Feng.
How Chu Feng accomplished this, Linghu Yuhua could guess—it must have been the formation Chu Feng had set up.
The Eight Elephants Thunder Sealing Formation, as Chu Feng called it.
Once activated, the formation completely suppressed Linghu Hongfei.
Linghu Hongfei was pinned down, unable to break free from the formation.
In that situation, he had only two choices: admit defeat or fight to the death.
Linghu Hongfei chose the latter.
Thus, he sacrificed the extra life that had accompanied him since birth—the Life-Protecting Soul Stone.
Making this decision was excruciating for Linghu Hongfei.
But he had no choice. He couldn’t lose to Chu Feng in front of so many people. If he had been defeated like that, he would have no standing in the Ancestral Martial Starfield henceforth.
Moreover, Linghu Hongfei believed he had been careless. Given another chance, he was certain he could defeat Chu Feng.
Though it came at the cost of losing the Life-Protecting Soul Stone, the price seemed worth it.
However, what Linghu Hongfei—and everyone else—hadn’t anticipated was that Chu Feng’s spirit techniques had reached such a level.
They far surpassed his martial prowess.
A First Rank Venerable spirit had forced Linghu Hongfei to unleash all his lifelong skills, yet he still couldn’t win.
A draw?
That wasn’t the result Linghu Hongfei wanted, but it was the final outcome of the battle.
At the cost of the Life-Protecting Soul Stone, he had only achieved a draw. For Linghu Hongfei, this was, in truth, a defeat.
“Senior, tell me the truth. Am I really inferior to Chu Xuanyuan?” Linghu Hongfei asked.
“Hongfei, in life, there’s no need to compare yourself to others. As long as you keep breaking through your own limits, that’s the greatest progress,” Linghu Yuhua said.
“I can avoid comparing myself to others, but if I want to become the strongest in the Ancestral Martial Starfield, I have no choice but to measure myself against him,” Linghu Hongfei said.
“Senior, tell me the truth. Was Chu Xuanyuan truly stronger than me back then?” Linghu Hongfei looked at Linghu Yuhua, his eyes filled with yearning.
He wasn’t just seeking an answer—he wanted to untie a knot in his heart.
A knot that had plagued him for years.
Seeing Linghu Hongfei like this, Linghu Yuhua couldn’t bear to deceive him further.
“Chu Xuanyuan’s performance back then surpassed even his father, Chu Hanxian. Even his son, Chu Feng, doesn’t compare.”
“Let alone the Ancestral Martial Starfield, I’m afraid the entire Holy Light Galaxy has never seen such a figure,” Linghu Yuhua said.
Hearing this, Linghu Hongfei said nothing, but the light in his eyes dimmed instantly, as if his soul had left him.
Yet, moments later, he let out a long sigh.
At that moment, it was as if a heavy stone that had weighed on him for years had been lifted. He suddenly felt much lighter.
“As expected, I’ve been deluding myself all along.”
Linghu Hongfei shook his head with a bitter smile.
“Hongfei, within a hundred years, no matter what you do, you can’t surpass Chu Xuanyuan’s achievements. But the future is uncertain.”
“Because, unlike you, Chu Xuanyuan wasn’t as fortunate. Like you, he shone brilliantly and was early on seen as a threat by the Starfield Master Realm.”
“But you have the Linghu Heavenly Clan behind you, and the Starfield Master Realm dares not touch you.”
“Chu Xuanyuan, however, was different. Though he was extraordinarily talented, the Chu Heavenly Clan was weak and powerless.”
“With no backing to support him, Chu Xuanyuan was forced to flee the Ancestral Martial Starfield at a young age. Upon returning to his homeland, he immediately faced threats from the Starfield Master Realm. With no other choice, he was imprisoned by his own clan.”
“It’s said that the Chu Heavenly Clan’s forbidden land can weaken his cultivation. Chu Xuanyuan is no longer a threat to the Starfield Master Realm.”
“Indeed, he was dazzling beyond compare at birth, unmatched by anyone. But his fate is a tragic one.”
“His path of martial cultivation has reached its end, while yours has only just begun.”
“So, Hongfei, you don’t need to fixate on his past achievements. In the future, you will surely surpass Chu Xuanyuan,” Linghu Yuhua said.
“Senior, don’t lie to me. Is Chu Xuanyuan really no longer a threat to the Starfield Master Realm?”
“If that were true, why would the Clan Leader send people to the Ancestral Martial Lower Realm to find Chu Xuanyuan?” Linghu Hongfei asked.
At these words, Linghu Yuhua’s expression shifted slightly. “Hongfei, where did you hear this?”
“Senior, I not only heard about it, but I also heard that when our clan members reached the Chu Heavenly Clan’s forbidden land in the Ancestral Martial Lower Realm, they didn’t even see Chu Xuanyuan’s face.”
“Because there was a barrier there, so powerful that no one from our clan could break it.”
Linghu Hongfei said.
