Chapter 87: Rising to Fame and Glory

Three days slipped by in the blink of an eye.

At dawn on that morning, the lesser and greater powers of the Nine Mountains and Eighteen Veins began arriving one after another at the Thunderwind Martial Hall, answering the summons of the grand assembly convened by Lord Thundershadow Wind, eager to hear the full story behind the turmoil of Willow Sage.

The number of martial factions attending was vast. Aside from the four great powers, there were also several mountain estates, small bands that ruled their own hills, and lone wanderers from across the land.

Just as Chu Feng had expected, representatives from the Nine Mystic Sect, the Heavenly Mechanism Wood Clan, and the Fear Gate among the four great powers had all come as well.

The Heavenly Mechanism Wood Clan had sent the elder Wood Tremor South, along with the leading figures among the fiftieth generation disciples, Wood Rise the Mountain and Wood Cross the River. From the Fear Gate came Bear Martial and three mountain chieftains.

As for the people of the Nine Mystic Sect, Chu Feng had not yet seen them; even if he did, without introductions he would not recognize them.

Elder Han had said that by taking advantage of this gathering, Chu Feng’s name would be spread far and wide, and in a good way at that. Indeed, what martial artist with any aspiration of cultivation would not long to rise to fame at the earliest opportunity? He, too, should seize this chance and make more friends among like-minded souls in the martial world.

Chu Feng could not help thinking this to himself.

By noon, all the martial figures from the Nine Mountains and Eighteen Veins who were meant to come had arrived in a grand bustle, bearing gifts from their various factions.

In the reception hall of the Thunderwind Martial Hall, tables were set across three floors, three hundred in all. Each table was laden with the finest medicinal wine and tonic dishes, and every seat was filled. The lively spectacle of a hall packed with guests and friends was truly enough to stir the spirit.

On the third floor of the reception hall, at the eastern end, Chu Feng sat at the first banquet table.

Those seated there were all men and women of high standing. Aside from the hosts, Thundershadow Wind, Fan Shang, and Han Mo, there were also the two hall masters of the Nine Mystic Sect, the brothers Gao Guangying and Gao Guanghe, as well as the elder of the Heavenly Mechanism Wood Clan, Wood Tremor South. Then came Chu Feng and Lei Jianqin.

Lei Jianqin was seated right beside Chu Feng.

Chu Feng found this somewhat strange. Who among those qualified to sit at this chief table was not a person of formidable power and resounding reputation? Of course, his own place there came entirely from his merit in quelling the turmoil of Willow Sage, which had earned him the Thunderwind Martial Hall’s esteem as an honored guest.

Lei Jianqin was different. Among the disciples of the Thunderwind Martial Hall, aside from her lofty status, her martial strength certainly did not place her in the top ten. And Thundershadow Wind would never have allowed her to sit at this chief table simply because she was his daughter.

“Senior Sister Lei, a few days without seeing you. Are you feeling better?” Chu Feng asked in a low voice.

“Yes, I’m completely recovered. Young Master Chu, thank you.” As she spoke, Lei Jianqin’s face reddened. “Young Master Chu, congratulations on stepping into the realm of gathering chi. You can now cultivate inner energy!”

“Heh, that is also thanks to your sect’s martial art, the Grand Martial Refining Chi Art,” Chu Feng said with a smile, looking at Lei Jianqin.

Unexpectedly, Lei Jianqin flushed even more deeply, as though afraid of his gaze. She actually lowered her head with her cheeks burning, looking exceedingly shy.

Chu Feng was momentarily taken aback. What was this about? With Lei Jianqin’s temperament, she had always seemed something of a heroine among women, and this was hardly their first meeting. Why, then, had a few casual words left her blushing and acting so bashful?

At that moment, the banquet had already begun. The heroes and heroines from all corners of the martial world were drinking bowl after bowl, eating hearty mouthfuls of meat, raising cups and toasting one another in a scene of great merriment.

After three rounds of drink, Thundershadow Wind rose and said, “Friends of the martial path, I thank you all for coming today! I, Thundershadow Wind, am a straightforward man, and I speak plainly. First, let Elder Fan tell everyone about a disgraceful matter that occurred at our hall a few days ago: the conspiracy of Willow Sage!”

With those words, the martial artists who had been drinking heartily set down their cups at once and listened intently to the full story behind Willow Sage’s rebellion.

Compared with this matter, fine wine in the cup could no longer hold the curiosity of the martial crowd.

Thus Fan Shang stood, clasped his fists in salute to the assembled warriors, and spoke directly of the whole affair from beginning to end.

Earlier, in the punishment hall, after a night of questioning and with Wen Lie’s confession added to the record, the causes and consequences of Willow Sage’s treachery had already been made perfectly clear.

Willow Sage was a man who appeared mild and courteous on the outside, yet harbored enormous ambition within.

Ten years ago, when he and Thundershadow Wind rose together to become deputy hall masters of the Thunderwind Martial Hall, Thundershadow Wind was a martial fanatic who devoted all his energies to cultivation. All matters large and small in the hall were left to Willow Sage to handle. As the years passed, Willow Sage’s hunger for power swelled ever greater, and he increasingly felt that the hall master’s seat should rightly belong to him if justice were to be done.

Over the course of the previous few years, Willow Sage had been secretly cultivating his own loyal followers while quietly suppressing the influence of the Thunder faction. And as his ambition expanded day by day, he finally devised a venomous plan.

This year marked the hall’s tenth Thunderwind Tribulation. Willow Sage therefore instructed his son, Willow Ripper, to deliberately provoke the caged Golden War Python, then release it. After the Golden War Python ran riot through the hall, it escaped as well.

Without the Golden War Python, it would be extremely troublesome for the hall to face the tenth Thunderwind Tribulation. That, however, was exactly what Willow Sage wanted. By using the coming tribulation as cover, he intended to seize the chaos, to strike at Thundershadow Wind in the midst of the turmoil, and to reorder the hall’s Wind faction and Thunder faction.

By then, though the Thunderwind Martial Hall would suffer grievous losses from the tribulation and the lands under its rule would lie in ruins, Willow Sage would not care in the least. So long as he could sit in the hall master’s seat and ensure that the Wind faction held eternal supremacy, that would be enough!

Yet what Willow Sage never anticipated was that Chu Feng, who appeared out of nowhere, not only had the courage to enter the Thunderwind Cavern, but also cut a bloody path through every obstacle and truly dissolved the tenth Thunderwind Tribulation.

Even more unforeseen was that Chu Feng not only did what he himself ought to have done, but also, with uncompromising force, intervened in the internal affairs of the hall. As a result, the rebellion collapsed at the final moment, leaving the plotters dead or wounded, and the dream of usurping power shattered into nothingness.

After hearing Fan Shang recount the whole course of Willow Sage’s rebellion, every martial artist present sighed in admiration and dismay.

“Willow Sage schemed in every possible way and stopped at nothing to achieve his ends. He had already seized control of the situation, and the entire Thunderwind Martial Hall was in his grasp. But who could have expected that Young Master Chu would suddenly arrive, defeat his accomplices, and even capture him alive?”

Fan Shang said loudly. “If not for Young Master Chu, the Thunderwind Martial Hall would already have belonged to Willow Sage alone. And the rest of us, I fear, would either have been butchered by him or imprisoned by him. Our ends would have been truly miserable!”

As soon as those words were spoken, the hall erupted once more in uproar.

“Young Master Chu is truly extraordinary! Not only did he venture deep into the Thunderwind Cavern and successfully dissolve the tenth Thunderwind Tribulation, he then pressed on in a single breath and shattered Willow Sage’s conspiracy. This is enough to make anyone look at him in a new light!”

“Such means, such prowess! To turn the tide all by himself and shatter Willow Sage’s grand dream, truly a youth of exceptional promise!”

“Young Master Chu is indeed a model for us all! I, Sun, am also a martial artist at the sixth level of body refinement, yet have accomplished nothing. Compared with Young Master Chu’s deeds, I am utterly outshone!”

“Heh, I heard that not long ago, Young Master Chu helped the Heavenly Mechanism Wood Clan survive a crisis, and now he has earned great merit here in the Thunderwind Martial Hall. I fear that throughout the Nine Mountains and Eighteen Veins, there is scarcely anyone who does not know Young Master Chu’s name!”

In an instant, from one banquet table to another, martial artists everywhere were discussing Chu Feng. Every face wore admiration and envy, and some, seeking to become acquainted with him, praised him almost to the heavens.

Hearing all these words of praise in his ears, Chu Feng smiled on the surface, but inwardly he could not help feeling moved.

For a martial artist, to cultivate the body, to seek strength, and to strive for fame was no different in principle from the scholars of the secular world seeking rank and honor for their families.

Ten years of study in obscurity, unnoticed by a soul; one brilliant success, and the whole world knows your name.

Back when he had been a laborer in the Fear Gate, year after year had passed in bitterness. How many people knew the name Chu Feng then?

But ever since he had broken away from the Fear Gate, his fate had been like a dragon soaring into the ninth heaven or a whale roaming the sea. In barely two months, not only had his body grown formidable, he had also made a measure of renown. At the very least, almost all the martial artists of the Nine Mountains and Eighteen Veins knew the name Chu Feng now.

Chu Feng nodded inwardly. This splendid moment before him had not come easily, and it ought to be cherished well so that he might stride toward a broader world.