Thus, Chu Hanpeng recounted the events in detail to Chu Feng.
Initially, entering the Purple Star Otherworld was forced upon them by Purple Star Hall.
At first, everyone thought it was a good opportunity, but after being coerced, they realised things weren’t so simple.
Even the Chu Heavenly Clan Leader was uneasy.
Not to mention the Star Attraction Stone, which could draw the Purple Star Otherworld Beast.
Even just dealing with potential trouble from the Xuanming Family inside was daunting enough.
Thus, while other forces ventured deep into the Purple Star Otherworld to win the three-stage Supreme Forbidden Technique or find the legendary cultivation treasure, the Chu Heavenly Clan Leader led his clan to linger on the periphery.
This was to avoid danger.
Each force was accompanied by an elder from Purple Star Hall.
Seeing the Chu Heavenly Clan Leader unwilling to venture deeper, instead lingering in the energy-weak periphery, even the Purple Star Hall elder grew angry.
He even pressured the Chu Heavenly Clan to advance deeper into the Otherworld.
To protect his clan, the upright Chu Heavenly Clan Leader had no choice but to resort to special means.
He gifted the most precious treasures, obtained from the Xuanming Family, to the Purple Star Hall elder accompanying them.
After receiving the benefits, though the elder still scorned the leader’s avoidance, he stopped forcing them to venture deeper.
They thought the Chu Heavenly Clan had dodged a crisis.
But no one expected that, while circling the periphery, they would discover a phenomenon.
It was a massive convergence of heaven and earth energy.
As the Chu Heavenly Clan Leader approached, the Star Attraction Stone he carried activated, absorbing the energy.
But the energy was so vast that during absorption, the phenomenon intensified, affecting half the Purple Star Otherworld.
The sky-covering phenomenon naturally drew attention.
This brought calamity.
Other forces arrived, not only stealing the Star Attraction Stone that had absorbed the phenomenon but also gravely injuring the Chu Heavenly Clan Leader.
“Where’s the Clan Leader?”
“Where is he now?”
“Take me to him.”
Chu Feng said.
Without hesitation, Chu Hanpeng led Chu Feng to where the Clan Leader was recovering.
In a grand hall, the Chu Heavenly Clan’s senior elders were gathered.
At the centre was a healing formation in operation.
Through it, Chu Feng could see the Clan Leader’s condition.
The Clan Leader was not only in critical condition but in a horrific state.
Despite the clan’s experts tirelessly healing him these days, he remained torn and disfigured.
Not just externally—his internal injuries were severe, bones shattered, meridians broken, and his soul as gravely wounded as his body.
It was the soul damage that prevented even his physical recovery despite the clan’s efforts.
“The Clan Leader entered the Purple Star Otherworld to help Purple Star Hall.”
“With such severe injuries, has Purple Star Hall sent no one to treat him?”
Chu Feng asked.
“I sought help from Purple Star Hall, but they said personal grudges are not their concern,” Chu Hanpeng replied.
“Personal grudges, not their concern?”
“Very well.”
Chu Feng gritted his teeth in anger.
To him, Purple Star Hall was clearly abandoning the Clan Leader to die.
But Chu Feng didn’t dwell on hatred.
He immediately set up a formation to heal the Clan Leader.
Under Chu Feng’s formation, the Clan Leader’s body began to recover.
Even his aura grew less frail.
Seeing the Clan Leader’s life pulled back from the gates of hell, Chu Hanpeng and the gathered elders wept with joy.
These days, they had lived in fear of his death.
Though he remained unconscious, they could sense he was no longer in mortal danger.
This relieved them, allowing their pent-up grievances to pour out.
Thus, cries filled the hall.
“What’s the use of crying? Can crying solve anything?”
Chu Feng stood, glaring at the crowd.
Though they were his seniors, his gaze was one of disappointment.
Most people in the world bullied the weak and feared the strong, and his seniors were no different.
Notably, despite Chu Feng, a junior, scolding his elders, they didn’t resist.
Instead, they trembled, quietly wiping their tears.
Times had changed. Chu Feng was no longer the abandoned outcast but the pillar of the clan, even for the Clan Leader.
“Supreme Elder, you’ve been evasive, unwilling to tell me who injured the Clan Leader.”
“Are you going to keep hiding it, or will you tell me now?”
Chu Feng turned to Chu Hanpeng.
“Chu Feng, I’m not protecting that force. I’m trying to protect you,” Chu Hanpeng said.
“Chu Feng, the Supreme Elder is right. We’re not hiding it on purpose; we truly want to protect you.”
“You’re no match for that force.”
“Yes, Chu Feng, don’t act rashly. You’re the hope of our Chu Heavenly Clan. If something happens to you, what will we do?”
The other elders chimed in, united in their stance against Chu Feng seeking revenge.
“Protect me?”
Looking at his seniors, Chu Feng let out a cold laugh.
“When I was deemed a cultivation-less waste, abandoned by the clan, where was your protection?”
At these words, the crowd froze, struck speechless, as if ashamed.
“When I was bullied in the Ancestral Martial Lower Realm, the Hundred Refinements Ordinary Realm, even the Great Chiliocosm Upper Realm, where was your protection?”
Chu Feng asked again.
They bowed their heads in guilt, silent.
“In truth, some in the Chu Heavenly Clan did protect me.”
“But those who stood before me, shielding me, don’t seem to include any of you.”
“If I relied on your protection, I’d have died countless times.”
“And now you talk of protecting me?”
Chu Feng’s sneer deepened.
Their faces paled, not just with shame.
They grew afraid.
“Let me ask you all a question.”
“As Chu Heavenly Clan members, after our Clan Leader was gravely injured, did any of you seek revenge?”
Chu Feng suddenly asked.
“Chu Feng, it’s not that we don’t want revenge, but going would be suicide.”
“Facing a force far stronger than us is just asking for death.”
Finally, they spoke.
But their words answered Chu Feng’s question.
After the Clan Leader was nearly killed, they hadn’t sought revenge or even considered it.
“Why dress it up so nobly? Just say you’re afraid of dying.”
Chu Feng sneered.
“We…”
They were speechless.
But Chu Feng’s anger only grew.
“You didn’t fight back, fine. But you hid their identity from me, stopping me from seeking revenge, calling it protection?”
“In truth, you’re afraid I’ll stir trouble by retaliating, bringing problems to you, aren’t you?”
“Ask yourselves, are you protecting me or protecting yourselves?”
Chu Feng’s tone grew sharper.
“Chu Feng, how can you say that? We’re your seniors.”
Finally, someone couldn’t hold back, retorting.
“Seniors? What a fine word.”
“Then, senior, let me ask, why wasn’t it you who raised, nurtured, and protected me?”
“Speak, why wasn’t it you?!”
Chu Feng demanded.
“I…”
The elder couldn’t answer, trembling with sweat under Chu Feng’s pressure.
But Chu Feng showed no pity or guilt.
He knew it was wrong to speak to his seniors this way, but even so, he had to.
When he returned to the Chu Heavenly Clan, many had targeted him. Except for a few, the Clan Leader was the one who truly protected him.
Without the Clan Leader, Chu Feng would have been killed by his own clan.
To him, the Clan Leader was too important.
He was true family.
He was the one Chu Feng truly wanted to protect.
Whoever dared harm him, no matter who, Chu Feng would make them pay.
But these people, after the Clan Leader’s grievous injury, chose to endure silently. How could Chu Feng tolerate that?
Suddenly, Chu Feng pointed at everyone present, declaring loudly.
“Listen well. Everything I do for the Chu Heavenly Clan isn’t for you but for those who treat me as family.”
“I, Chu Feng, am only kind to those I care about. You… are just basking in their light.”
His face stern, his voice shook the hall.
The seniors trembled, sensing Chu Feng’s true anger.
Bang—
With a kick, Chu Feng burst open the hall’s doors.
He was leaving but paused at the threshold, looking back.
“You don’t need to tell me. I can find out who did this.”
“And you can guess what I’ll do.”
“If you’re afraid, leave now…”
“Leave this place, leave the Chu Heavenly Clan, leave the martial world…”
“Because you might not be worthy of being martial cultivators, let alone Chu Heavenly Clan members.”
