Chapter 257: Chapter 123: The Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber Breaks the Limit! A Storm Comes to Cyan Yang Ancient City

As the mistress and her servant were talking, the sound of footsteps came from outside the door again.

This time, a young man dressed in black robes entered.

The young man had refined, handsome features, even more striking than the bow-carrying youth from before. He carried himself with an extraordinary air.

For some reason, however, a strange aura clung to him—a coldness tinged with an oppressive feeling that made one instinctively want to keep their distance.

"This one is so handsome!" Chrysanthemum couldn’t help but exclaim in a hushed voice.

But just as the black-robed youth was about to step over the threshold, someone suddenly shouted from behind him, "Chu Fan, slow down! I still have something to say to you!"

The youth turned at the sound of the voice, but his foot caught on the threshold, and he pitched forward!

A sudden gust of wind blew from outside the hall, making the curtains sway lightly, as if to add a touch of chaos to the clumsy scene.

Just as he was about to take an embarrassing fall, his reaction was lightning-fast.

He planted one hand on the ground, using the momentum to flip his body. He executed several clean somersaults in a row, finally landing in a half-kneeling pose like the Terminator!

The sight left both Duan Qingling and Chrysanthemum, who were in the main hall, completely stunned.

Duan Qingling was inwardly shocked. ’Such a fast reaction!’

’Wait...’

’He’s Chu Fan?’

’Then who was that just now?’

’Did I actually mistake someone else for him?’

Cao Feng, Li Qingxue, and the others who entered after him also stared wide-eyed at the scene.

Chu Fan, however, remained unfazed. He rose slowly and declared loudly to the person who had followed him in, "See that? I’ve perfected my Hawk Form Body Technique from the Twelve Forms Fist. Ordinary people can’t compare!"

The hall fell silent, the only sound being the soft jingle of the bronze bells on the eaves.

Cao Feng, Li Qingxue, and the others exchanged glances, trying their best to stifle their laughter.

Chrysanthemum, however, couldn’t hold back and let out a PFFT of laughter. "Um... I may not be from the Seven Stars Gang, but I’ve seen the Twelve Forms Fist before. How is that the Hawk Form Body Technique? You clearly almost tripped and fell. It was a complete mess!"

Chu Fan raised an eyebrow at Chrysanthemum. "And who might you be?"

Chrysanthemum puffed out her chest, quite proud. "My name is Chrysanthemum!"

"...A fine name." Chu Fan’s mouth twitched.

"Of course it is!" Chrysanthemum glanced smugly at Duan Qingling. "My lady gave me the name."

Hearing this, Chu Fan’s gaze shifted to Duan Qingling.

Duan Qingling’s face reddened slightly as she nodded politely.

Chu Fan returned the nod with a smile, then strode quickly toward the inner hall.

As soon as Chu Fan left, Chrysanthemum immediately said, "My lady, we got the wrong person just now. It turns out the one who came in after was the real Chu Fan... But, although he’s a bit more handsome than the last one, he’s a total blockhead."

"Chrysanthemum!" Duan Qingling chided softly. "You should be slapped for running your mouth like that!"

Chrysanthemum pouted aggrievedly and lowered her head.

Just then, Cao Feng and Li Qingxue walked over.

Duan Qingling immediately stood up. "Qing Ling greets Uncle Cao and Qingxue."

...

「Inside the inner hall.」

A pot of cold tea sat on the table, its steam long gone, which only seemed to accentuate the heavy atmosphere in the room.

Zhao Tianxing was speaking in a low voice with Chen Xuan, the master of the Moon Arrow Martial Arts Hall, with a few bursts of laughter heard from time to time.

Wang Kaishan, the master of the Mountain Opening Boxing Hall, stared at Chu Fan, who was sitting on the other side, with an incredibly complicated expression.

When he had come to the Seven Stars Gang a few days ago and learned that he had missed out on such a genius disciple, he had nearly coughed up blood.

Little did he expect, an even greater shock was yet to come—

Cao Yan had been hunted by people from the Moon Worship Sect and Seven Stars Castle, and in the end, he had been rescued by Chu Fan!

Although he didn’t know the specifics of what had happened in the Mist Marsh, he was completely certain of one thing...

Chu Fan’s strength was comparable to someone at the Mortal Transformation stage!

But the problem was, Chu Fan clearly hadn’t reached Mortal Transformation yet!

Wang Kaishan’s heart turned to ash as he watched Chen Xuan chatting and laughing with Zhao Tianxing. ’The heavens are too unfair! Why did all the good fortune go to that old bastard?’

’If that fool Deng Rong hadn’t driven him away back then, this genius would be my disciple now, and the Mountain Opening Boxing Hall could have risen because of him!’

He hadn’t had a single peaceful night’s sleep these past few days.

The thought of losing such a talent made him want to beat his chest and stamp his feet. He tossed and turned at night, his mind consumed with "what ifs."

Suddenly...

His disciple, Deng Rong, walked in. "Master, we’ve finished packing. Are we heading back to the Martial Arts Hall now?"

After Cao Yan’s incident, Wang Kaishan and Chen Xuan had stayed behind, fearing a potential crisis within the Seven Stars Gang.

Now that Cao Yan had been rescued by Chu Fan and three days had passed with no movement from Seven Stars Castle, the two planned to leave—leaving only some of their elite disciples at the Seven Stars Gang.

"Deng Rong..."

Wang Kaishan’s mouth twitched twice. "Perform the Mountain Opening Fist for me. Let me see if you’ve been slacking lately."

He looked at Deng Rong, his heart filled with rage.

’It was this brat who drove Chu Fan away!’

’And now look. The boy has become the prized disciple of Cao Feng and Chen Xuan, and he even saved Cao Yan, while I can only watch here, green with envy.’ 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Huh? Right here?" Deng Rong was baffled, but he obediently began to practice the "Mountain Opening Fist."

Chen Xuan and the others stopped their conversation, watching Deng Rong practice the fist form with some confusion.

Deng Rong finished one set and was waiting for a word or two of praise from his master, but something unexpected happened—

Wang Kaishan, having found a bamboo cane from somewhere, brought it down on Deng Rong with a sharp WHACK!

"OW!"

Deng Rong leaped three feet in the air from the pain. "Master, why did you hit me?"

"..."

Chen Xuan, Zhao Tianxing, and the others were all dumbfounded.

’Why did I hit you?’

’You idiot! You pushed a Golden Phoenix out the door, and now someone else has reaped the rewards. How could I not be furious!’

"I told you to practice your fist form properly!" Wang Kaishan said, fuming. "What is this garbage you’re performing?!"

"It’s worse than dog shit!"

In truth, he knew Deng Rong’s performance was quite good. But whenever he thought of Chu Fan, looking at his own disciple just irritated him more and more.

As he spoke, he lashed Deng Rong two more times, making him jump around like a monkey in pain.

"HEY, HEY, HEY!"

Chen Xuan couldn’t watch any longer. "If you’re angry about something, there’s no need to take it out on a junior! I thought the ’Mountain Opening Fist’ Deng Rong just performed was excellent!"