Chapter 4729: Assassination
“Chu Feng, congratulations,” Protector Zhao said with a smile.
“Thank you, Lord Protector.”
Chu Feng walked up and bowed respectfully to Protector Zhao.
Were it not for the other party intervening earlier, he would have likely suffered a defeat in Xia Ran’s hands as his cultivation hadn’t recovered then.
Shoosh!
Protector Zhao suddenly took out an evaluation rock and threw it over by Chu Feng’s feet.
“Lord Protector, this is…”
Chu Feng looked at Protector Zhao in confusion.
“Since you were able to break Lord Dugu Lingtian’s record, it wouldn’t come as a surprise that you possess god aptitude. This evaluation rock I have definitely hasn’t been tampered with. Give it a try. If you’re able to invoke the god aptitude phenomenon, I’ll redress the grievances you suffered earlier,” Protector Zhao said.
“Thank you for your concern, Lord Protector.”
Without any hesitation, Chu Feng stepped on top of the evaluation rock.
Soon enough, the wondrous phenomenon of multiple dragons soaring into the sky shone from the evaluation rock, just that it was witnessed by everyone present this time around.
“It really is the phenomenon for god aptitude! How breathtaking it is…”
While most people had guessed that Chu Feng possessed god aptitude, it was still a different matter altogether to witness it in person.
“For forging an evaluation rock and slandering your fellow peers, Xia Ran, what do you have to say for yourself?” Protector Zhao turned to Xia Ran and asked coldly.
“Lord Protector, I… I don’t know what’s going on too!” Xia Ran tried to argue his way out.
“Still unwilling to admit your mistakes, huh?” Protector Zhang flung his sleeves grandly, and a token manifested in his hand. The word ‘Enforcement’ was written on the token.
A brilliant light shone out of the ‘Enforcement’ word, spurring the formation of a spirit formation gate. This spirit formation gate was transparent, allowing one to view what was on the other side.
It was a blood-red valley filled with all sorts of terrifying monsters. Sorrowful wailings could be heard here and there, making it look like a living hell.
“Skypeak Hell?”
Looks of horror appeared on the faces of the disciples when they saw the spirit formation gate, and they hurriedly backed away fearfully.
“Lord Protector, I know my mistake now! I’ll repent, I’ll repent!”
Xia Ran hurriedly got to his knees and begged for mercy. He was so afraid that his body wouldn’t stop trembling.
“Xia Ran has used despicable means to slander his own peers. If it had happened anywhere else, I wouldn’t have bothered to intervene. However, since you boldly did it on my Snowy Heavenly Peak, I can’t just turn a blind eye to it.
“For your deeds, I’ll sentence you to two hours in Skypeak Hell!”
The spirit formation gate suddenly released a powerful suction force that pulled Xia Ran in. Upon seeing this sight, the crowd gulped fearfully.
They had long heard of what kind of place Skypeak Hell was.
There was once a disciple who was sentenced into there by a protector for four hours, but he ended up losing his mind as a result of that. There was also another case where a disciple was sentenced for six hours, and he ended up crawling out of the spirit formation gate as a cripple.
While Xia Ran was only sentenced there for two hours, there was no doubt that he would suffer greatly in there as well.
Protector Zhao wasn’t one to get involved in such matters, so the crowd couldn’t help but link this matter to Chu Feng.
As such, two pieces of news began spreading like wildfire throughout the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect. One, Chu Feng’s feat of breaking Lord Dugu Lingtian’s record, and two, Zhao Yushu, the protector of the Snowy Heavenly Peak, favored Chu Feng greatly.
In fact, some even started speculating that Zhao Yushu was interested in taking Chu Feng in as his disciple.
Of course, those were just speculations.
After punishing Xia Ran, Protector Zhao evicted Chu Feng and the others away from the Snowy Heavenly Peak, and nothing else happened afterward. So, Chu Feng returned back to his residence to rest.
Chu Feng’s feat of breaking Dugu Lingtian’s record caused a huge commotion, such that everyone in the four halls began discussing it. However, the ones who were most affected by the matter was no other than those from the South Vermilion Hall.
…
Nightfall, five elders of high standing gathered in a grand palace inside the South Vermilion Hall. There was also a junior amidst their group, and he was no other than Xia Ran.
Xia Ran’s skin had turned purple, seemingly having been poisoned. There were glaring wounds all over his body, as if he had been chowed on by a ferocious beast. He even lost one of his limbs. There was no one who could deny that he was in a miserable state.
He lay fainted on the ground, and four of the elders were currently treating him.
“How useless. Back in my earlier years, I entered the Skypeak Hell for six hours but still fared just fine, but how did he end up in such a state just by spending two hours in there?”
The one yellow-haired elder who wasn’t treating Xia Ran in the hall remarked with a displeased voice.
“Lord Tuoba, you’re an extraordinarily talented cultivator. Even back then, your talents still towered over the others. There’s no way Xia Ran could compete with you.”
Even though the other four elders were busy treating Xia Ran, they didn’t neglect to fawn on this Elder Tuoba.
The yellow-haired elder was no other than Tuoba Jianshu, one of the leading elders of the South Vermilion Hall. He was a Martial Exalted level cultivator, making him a force to be reckoned with.
“Useless!”
Tuoba Jianshu eyed Xia Ran with an incredibly discontented look on his face.
“Lord Tuoba, Zhao Yushu noticed that the evaluation rock is fake. Do you think that he’ll look into the matter? If he does…”
The other elders were nervous about this, for they were the ones who had tampered with the evaluation rock. It was precisely due to their intervention that Chu Feng failed to notice anything amiss with the evaluation rock. In fact, they were the ones who had sent Xia Ran to deal with Chu Feng in the first place.
Thus, they were afraid that they would be implicated if a thorough investigation were to be made on this matter.
“Don’t worry, Zhao Yushu isn’t the type to meddle in matters that don’t concern him. He’s just warning us through Xia Ran, but he won’t really make a move on us,” Tuoba Jianshu replied.
“Lord Tuoba, does this mean that we’ve no choice but to watch as Chu Feng mature? It’s one thing for him to possess god aptitude, but he was actually able to break even Lord Dugu Lingtian’s record too! Are we going to watch as Lord Dugu Lingtian’s legend slowly unravels due to him? If so, our South Vermilion Hall’s standing will fall in the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect!”
The other four elders were worried about this.
“Don’t worry, I have my own plans in mind,” Tuoba Jianshu replied.
It was then that the doors to the palace opened, and another elder rushed in.
“Lord Tuoba. I’ve already looked into the matter carefully, and Lord Zhao Yushu is still in the Snowy Heavenly Peak. He didn’t head for the North Tortoise Hall to protect Chu Feng. If need be, I can head to the North Tortoise Hall right now to kill Chu Feng,” the elder reported.
The other elders in the room glanced at one another. They could guess what Tuoba Jianshu’s plan was. He wanted to sever the problem at its root, killing Chu Feng outright.
“We can’t guarantee success if you go. I’ll be the one to do it. As long as Zhao Yushu doesn’t intervene, there’s no one in the North Tortoise Hall who can stop me,” Tuoba Jianshu said.
“Lord Tuoba, isn’t that a little too dangerous? If word gets out… our South Vermilion Hall’s reputation will fall to tatters.”
Two of the elders present tried to dissuade Tuoba Jianshu from it.
“Are you questioning my competency here?” Tuoba Jianshu looked at the two elders with chilling eyes.
The two elders immediately lowered their heads humbly.
“I’m doing this for our South Vermilion Hall. If Chu Feng continues to grow, our South Vermilion Hall will become the weakest hall of the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect. I don’t know what the rest of you think about it, but I, Tuoba Jianshu, cannot allow that to happen.”
A ferocious glint flickered across the eyes of Tuoba Jianshu.
“Also, you need not worry about it. I’ll accomplish this matter discreetly.”
As he spoke, Tuoba Jianshu took out a transparent pearl. Despite its transparent quality, it emanated an incredibly formidable aura.
“This is… Soulelusive Pearl?”
The other elders felt more reassured upon seeing the pearl. Some of them even broke out in smiles. They were familiar with just how formidable the Soulelusive Pearl was.
Anyone who consumed the Soulelusive Pearl would be able to conceal their body and presence completely, such that they would even be able to bypass most powerful formations. This was an incredibly valuable treasure, often used to free one from a dire situation or assassinate a target.
…
Tuoba Jianshu wasn’t one to drag things out. He swallowed the Soulelusive Pearl and quickly headed out. With the power of the pearl, he managed to infiltrate the North Tortoise Hall and enter Chu Feng’s residence without any issues.
One must know that Chu Feng was always a careful one. He made sure to construct a formation around his own residence for protection.
However, this formation was completely ineffective on Tuoba Jianshu, who was under the effects of the Soulelusive Pearl.
Once Tuoba Jianshu was inside the residence, he saw Chu Feng sitting in the middle of the room with his legs crossed, focused on his cultivation.
Chu Feng was completely unaware that someone had already infiltrated his residence, and he was oblivious to how close danger was lurking around him.
As soon as Tuoba Jianshu caught sight of Chu Feng, he raised his hand to blast Chu Feng into bits.
Pah!
A palm suddenly appeared out of nowhere to grab Tuoba Jianshu’s wrist. Tuoba Jianshu suddenly found his surroundings distorting beyond his control. By the time he finally regained his balance, he noticed that he was already out of Chu Feng’s residence and was currently standing in a remote clearing in the midst of the North Tortoise Hall.
“Who is it?” Tuoba Jianshu shouted in alarm.
He had already consumed the Soulelusive Pearl, so it should have been impossible for someone to notice him. To make things worse, he couldn’t sense any presence around him at all. In other words, he had no idea who was the one who brought him here!
“I’ll let you off today. If you dare to touch Chu Feng once more, I’ll take your life!”
While Tuoba Jianshu was still flustering over the unexpected situation, a voice filled with murderous intent sounded.