Chapter 98: The Sect Master of the Nine Mysteries Sect

“Hall Master Wang, is there a letter for me?” Chu Feng immediately stepped forward and asked.

“Master Chu, just now the Courier Hall received this flying eagle letter, sent to you by Ge Zhong, the young master of Great King Manor! As for the contents, we know nothing of it,” Hall Master Wang replied as he handed the wax-sealed envelope to Chu Feng.

Chu Feng was quite curious; at that banquet, he had only just met Ge Zhong, the young master of Great King Manor, for the first time. He wondered what business prompted Ge Zhong to send him a letter so soon.

Han Mo and the two Gao brothers, being sensible men, discreetly stepped away to give Chu Feng space to read his letter.

Chu Feng broke open the seal and glanced through the contents. He couldn’t help but chuckle, saying, “Young Master Ge is indeed thoughtful! While in the town outside Hengshan, he happened to see Xiong Wu with gold and silver, inquiring at the Rare Treasures Pavilion about buying various rare materials—apparently preparing for a breakthrough. So, he sent me this letter by flying eagle to warn me.”

“Oh? So that’s what it is? Nephew Chu, your connections in the martial world are truly impressive! You’ve only shared a drink with Young Master Ge, barely known him for a couple of days, and already you’ve won his admiration. That's no small feat!” one of the Gao brothers remarked.

“Indeed! Nephew Chu, though you are still young and recently made your debut, you’ve already made quite a name for yourself! Among the younger generation of the Nine Mountains and Eighteen Streams, you are already a leading figure!” the other Gao brother chimed in, each taking turns to praise Chu Feng with utmost seriousness, clearly holding him in high regard.

Chu Feng smiled faintly, thinking to himself that the legends of martial masters having friends everywhere were true. It was a wonderful feeling to know that even those met only in passing, even a thousand miles away, would look out for you and send tokens of friendship.

“Uncle Han, I’m about to set out. Could I trouble you to reply to Young Master Ge of Great King Manor for me, to thank him for his kind concern?” Chu Feng asked Han Mo.

“Rest assured, I’ll take care of it,” Han Mo nodded.

At this point, Chu Feng truly had no further business at the Thunderwind Martial Hall. He had intended to find a place to train, to attempt a breakthrough and study the ‘Wind Thunder Codex,’ but with the matter of the Wuhansnow Tribe weighing on his mind, he knew he could not focus. It was better to strike while the iron was hot and fulfill the mission entrusted to him by the Ninefold Sect.

As for the matter of Liu Shenghua’s rebellion, it had already ended. The selection of a new hall master and the reorganization of the Wind and Thunder Halls were not matters for a nominal hall master like Chu Feng to worry about.

What truly lingered in Chu Feng’s thoughts, however, was that mountain of gold in the Wind Thunder Cavern.

After Lei Yingfeng received the map drawn by Chu Feng, he sent several experts to explore whether the mountain of gold was truly solid gold or if there was more to it. This investigation would take several days, perhaps more than ten. Chu Feng thought to himself that if he could be rewarded with one or two large gold ingots, it would be quite a fortune.

After bidding farewell to Han Mo and Hall Master Wang, Chu Feng mounted the Fire-Feathered Eagle with the two Gao hall masters and set off for the Ninefold Sect.

As for the King Beast of Thunder and Fusion, Chu Feng kept it in his storage pouch, where it was now sleeping. Since the Ninefold Sect had provided Fire-Feathered Eagles, there was no need to tire the King Beast.

…

The Fire-Feathered Eagle, though ten times smaller than the Cloud-Splitting Eagle, was also a spirit beast famed for its endurance and long-distance flight. Carrying Chu Feng into the sky, it let out a clear, resonant cry.

The three Fire-Feathered Eagles, bearing Chu Feng and the Gao brothers, flew in a V formation like wild geese, heading northward.

Chu Feng sat astride the eagle as if on horseback, occasionally gazing down at the rivers and mountains below. The endless mountain ranges, flat farmlands, boundless forests, and roaring rivers all flashed past his eyes like scenes unfurling from an immense scroll.

Unnoticed, the Fire-Feathered Eagles had flown for more than two hours. After nightfall, the land was shrouded in darkness, but the three eagles pressed on, their speed undiminished as they continued north.

Chu Feng had learned that these Fire-Feathered Eagles, bred in the Great Snow Mountains, were not only extremely enduring—capable of flying nearly ten thousand li in a single journey—but also that the longer they flew, the more heat their bodies generated, eventually becoming as hot as flames. Thus came the name Fire-Feathered Eagle.

After the night passed and the eastern horizon grew pale, the three eagles had already flown more than three thousand li north through the night. At this rate, by sundown they would reach the Ninefold Sect.

On this journey, Chu Feng also noticed that the farther north they flew, the colder it became. Soaring high above, he could feel the chill in the air, and the landscape below had long since lost all greenery.

“Now, with over three thousand li to go before reaching the Ninefold Sect, the air is already bitterly cold. How much colder must it be at the sect itself? And north of the Ninefold Sect lies the Wuhansnow Mountains, a realm of ice and snow, frozen and desolate,” Chu Feng mused as he rode the eagle, realizing that earning his three hundred thousand gold travel fee would be no easy task.

Thus the three eagles flew on, from sunrise to midday to sunset, covering almost three thousand more li in a single day.

Chu Feng looked around. All he could see was a vast expanse of white; not a hint of green remained. Grass, trees, and rocks were all coated in thick frost, and in the far distance, several great mountains stood like white-crowned giants, with snow blanketing their upper slopes—a scene both majestic and captivating.

“Nephew Chu, how are you feeling? If it’s too cold, I have a Fire Yang Pill here—would you like one?” Gao Guangying called out as he guided his eagle closer.

“No need! It is cold, but I can handle it,” Chu Feng replied with a nod.

Indeed, once a martial artist reached the sixth level of the Body Tempering stage, with powerful bodies and vigorous life force, their senses were keen but they were not troubled by mere cold.

At the fifth level—Iron Bone—a martial artist’s body was already impervious to water and fire, able to soak in icy pools without harm. For those at the sixth level, resisting cold was even easier.

“Good! The sun has just set. At most, another hour, and we’ll reach the Ninefold Sect!” Gao Guangying said with excitement.

The three Fire-Feathered Eagles, sensing they had entered the territory of the Ninefold Sect, seemed to become even more spirited, surging northward toward the main peak—Ninefold Peak—like arrows.

An hour later, the eagles slowed as a towering snow mountain appeared in the far north, its summit piercing the clouds. Scattered across the surrounding peaks were houses, halls, and numerous training grounds.

This snow mountain was none other than Ninefold Peak, the foremost of all the Nine Mountains and Eighteen Streams.

By now, night had fallen, but Ninefold Peak shone as bright as day. In front of a grand hall illuminated by thousands of torches, Chu Feng saw an elderly man of about seventy, dressed in a snowy white crane robe, leading a group of disciples in golden martial attire—men and women alike—who stood quietly before the hall, all eyes fixed on him.

“Uncles Gao, do you know who that elder standing before the main hall is?” Chu Feng, ever observant, could tell this elder was a figure of extraordinary strength. He thought to himself that, as a newcomer, he must not be disrespectful.

“Hehe! That is our master, Sikong Xing, the sect leader of the Ninefold Sect! And that grand hall is none other than the Ninefold Hall, the first among the sect’s eighteen halls,” Gao Guangying replied with a smile, guiding Chu Feng’s eagle down in front of the hall.

As soon as the eagles landed, Chu Feng stood firmly and saluted Sikong Xing, saying, “Junior Chu Feng pays his respects to Sect Leader Sikong!”

With the Gao hall masters, Chu Feng could bargain and maintain the air of a ‘young hero,’ but before the sect leader of the Ninefold Sect, he had no choice but to restrain himself and pay his respects with proper deference.

“Haha, so you are Chu Feng! Among the young martial artists of the Nine Mountains and Eighteen Streams, your name resounds far and wide! Excellent, excellent!” Sikong Xing, his white beard flowing, nodded in approval as he looked Chu Feng over, clearly pleased.

“Ah, they say Chu Feng isn’t yet twenty, and he does look only sixteen or seventeen! At such a young age to be so famous in the martial world—his future is boundless!” came a whisper.

“Yes! I heard that a few days ago, the head of the Thunderwind Martial Hall publicly betrothed his only daughter, Lei Jianqin, to Chu Feng. I wonder if that’s true?”

“Even our sect leader Sikong praised Chu Feng as ‘excellent’—he truly is famous across the land! But I wonder, compared to our own Hall Master Bai, whose momentum is greater?”

“In my opinion, though Hall Master Bai gained fame earlier, it was a slow and steady rise. Chu Feng, on the other hand, has done one astonishing deed after another, making a name for himself overnight!”

As Chu Feng steadied himself, the disciples behind Sikong Xing began to murmur, some calling him a once-in-a-century genius, others dismissing his achievements as mere luck, saying he was still a shade below their own Hall Master Bai.

Sikong Xing waved his hand, and the disciples fell silent at once.

“Chu Feng, I see that your spirit is vigorous and your bones robust—you are a rare talent indeed!” Sikong Xing said as he studied Chu Feng. “I would like to take you as my disciple. Chu Feng, would you become my final pupil?”