Chapter 4661: Rank Nine Utmost Exalted “Chu Feng, did you succeed in your tempering?” Tu Yuanyuan asked. “You silly girl. Isn’t that obvious?” Chu Feng’s confident smile was more than enough to answer Tu Yuanyuan’s question. “Woah, the two of us succeeded in the tempering. This is incredible!” Tu Yuanyuan was overjoyed. However, the other disciples revealed conflicted expressions on their faces. They had seen with their own eyes how Chu Feng was swallowed by the lake water earlier on, so they thought that he would be dead. Yet, he actually emerged alive and successfully completed the tempering. While he didn’t break Lord Dugu Lingtian’s record, his feat was still not one that could be evaluated using common sense. “Lord Protector, thank you for your care. Have a good rest and don’t work too hard. Make sure to treasure the present, for no one knows whether there’ll be a tomorrow for you,” Chu Feng said with a smile. “Chu Feng, what do you mean by those words? Are you cursing me?” the protector bellowed with a deep frown. “Of course not, how could I dare to curse you? Lord Protector, please don’t distort the meaning of my words. I speak with kind intentions in mind. I know that I’m not the best with words, but given how much you treasure all of us, you wouldn’t really hold it against me, right? “Since the cultivation is finally over, I’ll be taking my leave first,” Chu Feng said before turning around to leave. “Hmph! Let’s see how long more you’re able to remain gleeful!” The protector felt like his veins were going to burst just by seeing how arrogant Chu Feng was. It was only under someone else’s request that he chose to deal with Chu Feng, but now, he would still ensure Chu Feng’s downfall even if he didn’t receive any further orders. He couldn’t tolerate a disciple acting so haughtily in his presence. … After leaving the Blackwater Sixfinger Lake, Chu Feng headed straight back to his residence. After learning of the encounters Chu Feng had at the Sixfinger Blackwater Lake, the chief elder of the North Tortoise Hall held a banquet in his residence to celebrate this victory. Of course, there were only five people at this celebration though. Other than the chief elder and Chu Feng, there was the Law Enforcement Elder Li Boyu, Elder Dao Qinian, and Song Xi. Naturally, Song Xi could only participate in this banquet due to Chu Feng. The chief elder intentionally brought him over because he knew that the two of them were on good terms. According to him, it seemed like he had invited Chu Feng’s big brother, Duan Liufeng, too. It was just that Duan Liufeng was in closed-door training at the moment, so he turned down the invitation. “Duan Liufeng has been acting rather weird recently. Does he not know that he wouldn’t even be qualified to enter the North Tortoise Hall if not for you? Given the calamity that you have just been through, the least he could do is to come over and show some concern for you!” Elder Li Boyi murmured in displeasure. “Elder Li, Brother Duan must be trying to regain his cultivation at the moment. It wouldn’t be good to bother him at the moment,” Chu Feng spoke up on Duan Liufeng’s behalf. Since Chu Feng had already said so, Li Boyi chose not to harp on the matter. He was only grumbling for Chu Feng’s behalf in the first place. “Chu Feng, you mentioned that it was Protector Qi who intentionally trapped you in the seventh lake. Do you have any basis behind your claims?” the chief elder asked. Everyone immediately put down their wine glasses to look at Chu Feng upon hearing those words. This was a matter with grave importance as Protector Qi was no trifling figure. “I do. I was cultivating normally when he secretly used his energy to push me into the depths of the lake, intending to use the lake as an excuse to plot my death. However, he underestimated me,” Chu Feng said. “Haaa…” The chief elder sighed helplessly upon hearing those words. Li Boyi, Dao Qinian, and Song Xi also frowned as well. The banquet suddenly fell silent at this instant. “This is unlikely to be an accident. I heard that Protector Qi is indebted to Nangong Yuliu’s grandmother, Lord Nangong Chunyue, and has joined her faction. If it’s a request from Nangong Yuliu, it’s likely that Protector Qi would indeed do it,” the chief elder said. It turned out that the thing he had been worrying about all this while really came true. “In the end, everything is still traced back to Nangong Yuliu. Chu Feng, you should just apologize to him,” Li Boyi advised. Their North Tortoise Hall was simply too weak. Chu Feng had offended someone whom even they dared not to, so there was no way they could side with him. They didn’t have to power to resolve this matter on his behalf, so they could only ask him to swallow down his grievances and apologize to Nangong Yuliu. “Elders, do you think that this is a problem that can be solved by apologizing? I have no grudge with Nangong Yuliu, but a conflict still occurred between us in the end,” Chu Feng said. Those words made the chief elder, Li Boyi, and Dao Qinian fall silent. They knew the ins and outs of the matter, and Chu Feng was indeed not to be blamed for it. There was some truth in what Chu Feng said. This was indeed not a problem that could be resolved by just apologizing. Nangong Yuliu simply looked down on Chu Feng, and that was why he dared to trample on him. Regardless of whether Chu Feng put on a tough attitude or feigned weakness, the results would still be the same. They didn’t want to open up a path for Chu Feng to rise up through the ranks. In truth, they were just praying for a glimmer of hope that Nangong Yuliu would let Chu Feng off if he was just willing to apologize. After a short moment of silence, Elder Dao Qinian suddenly thought of something and asked, “Chu Feng, since you’re acquainted with Li Muzhi, why don’t you ask him for his help? If Li Muzhi’s grandfather, Lord Li Fengxian, is willing to help you…” However, before Chu Feng could respond, the chief elder shook his head and said, “It’s futile. Lord Li Fengxian already has some conflict with Lord Nangong Chunyue, but they’re looking to reconcile due to some official matters they have to cooperate on. There’s no way Lord Li Fengxian would turn against Lord Nangong Chunyue for Chu Feng at this critical moment.” The chief elder’s words plunged Dao Qinian and the others into despair. Even though the chief elder wasn’t particularly strong, he was still the leader of the North Tortoise Hall. The information he had was most likely to be true. “Elders, I know that you’re concerned about me, but you can put your mind at ease. I can deal with these matters myself. Today is a day of celebration, so let’s put aside our worries for the time being, alright? Shall we have a toast?” Chu Feng raised his cup with a smile. The chief elder and the others raised their cups to return the formality, but they were still unable to bring themselves to smile. Despite it being a celebratory banquet, the only one who seemed to be happy here was Chu Feng. And the reason why Chu Feng was so happy was because he had obtained a huge benefit and successfully overcome the illusion. The benefit from the Hidden Dragon Illusory Palace was an accumulation of natural energies, but Chu Feng had already gathered sufficient natural energies in his body. All he lacked was just an impetus to make a breakthrough here. While the natural energies from the Hidden Dragon Illusory Palace contained bits of martial comprehension too, they were of little help to Chu Feng. Thus, this benefit wasn’t of great use to him. However, he obtained what he needed the most from breaking the illusion. What was it that Chu Feng needed the most at the moment? Clearly, it was to unlock the Hidden Dragon Soul Armor. And at the Hidden Dragon Illusory Palace, Chu Feng managed to open two locks on the Hidden Dragon Soul Armor. It didn’t remove the seal on his World Spirit Space, but it raised his cultivation from rank seven Utmost Exalted level to rank nine Utmost Exalted level.