"What's going on?"
Yi Feng stared in bewilderment, instinctively voicing his confusion.
Beside him, Qing Yin Xianyun was no less shocked, her eyes filled with tension and disbelief!
"I... I don’t know either..."
Watching as Xiong Fen and his son suddenly collapsed, she and the Moon God Pavilion Master were both terrified. They hurried forward, calling out to the pair and gently shaking them.
"Elder Xiong?"
"Elder Xiong!"
Despite their urgent cries, there was no response—it seemed they had truly fainted.
Qing Yin Xianyun’s eyes flashed with panic as she turned to the Moon God Pavilion Master.
"Master, how could this happen?""Could Elder Xiong and his son have been injured?"
The reminder made the Moon God Pavilion Master’s eyes widen in realization.
"That must be it!"
"Elder Xiong once mentioned that he and his son witnessed an earth-shattering battle. Though they didn’t participate in the final clash, they might have suffered severe injuries from the aftermath!"
As he spoke, he anxiously extended his divine sense to examine them.
But after probing, he found no signs of injury. Frowning, he turned to Yi Feng with urgency.
"Elder Yi, go fetch Elder Feng at once! He oversees the Moon God Pavilion’s elixirs and is skilled in medicine—he’ll know what to do!"
Yi Feng wanted to explain that a jade slip message would suffice.
But seeing the two in disarray, and knowing that the Xiong father and son were pivotal figures for the Moon God Pavilion’s future—and his own chance to meet the legendary experts—he had no choice but to leave.
After he departed, the Moon God Pavilion Master and Qing Yin Xianyun paced anxiously, carefully tending to the unconscious pair while muttering in distress.
"How could this happen?!"
"Master, Elder Xiong doesn’t seem injured. Why would he faint out of nowhere?"
"I don’t know either! What should we do?"
"Perhaps they’re just exhausted. They’ll wake up soon, right? If not, once Elder Feng arrives, he’ll surely have a solution!"
"I hope so! Otherwise, we must spare no expense to ensure their recovery!"
...
Just as the two were at a loss, Xiong Fen’s finger twitched slightly!
Instantly, Qing Yin Xianyun’s eyes lit up with joy!
"Master! Look! Elder Xiong’s finger moved!"
"Young Master Xiong moved too!"
The Moon God Pavilion Master immediately bent down in excitement!
Sure enough, Elder Xiong’s fingers trembled weakly, and his eyes fluttered open!
The faint movements sent their hearts racing.
At the same time, hope and relief bloomed in their expressions!
Before Elder Xiong could fully open his eyes, they called out to him softly, their worried brows smoothing as color returned to their faces.
"Elder Xiong? Elder Xiong!"
But then—
The moment Xiong Fen’s eyes opened, before they could even smile, the previously unconscious elder suddenly widened his eyes, his body jerking upright as if struck by lightning!
He threw himself to the ground, kowtowing frantically!
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
The abrupt movement and relentless pounding stunned the two onlookers.
The elder’s actions seemed almost manic, driven by an overwhelming terror—as if he were on the verge of a qi deviation!
Qing Yin Xianyun and the Moon God Pavilion Master were dumbfounded!
What could possibly terrify Elder Xiong so much?
Before they could even turn to ask—
Xiong Zhong, now awake, also flung himself to the ground, kowtowing with equal fervor!
Father and son trembled violently, their foreheads striking the floor so hard the ground shook!
Even stranger, they muttered incoherently, their voices quivering with reverence—like devout worshippers before a deity!
"We were wrong! We were wrong!"
The two spectators gaped, exchanging bewildered glances, too stunned to speak.
They couldn’t fathom it.
Given Elder Xiong and his son’s status, what could possibly reduce them to such terror?
Had they truly lost their minds?
Feeling the floor tremble beneath them, the Moon God Pavilion Master’s throat tightened.
After watching for a few moments, his own forehead began to ache in sympathy. Unable to bear it any longer, he cautiously whispered,
"Uh..."
"Elder Xiong, who are you bowing to? There’s no one else here. Why must you do this?"
At his words, the father and son froze.
They paused their kowtowing, cautiously lifting their heads to look around.
Only then did they realize—the space before them was empty.
The figure of "the gentleman" had vanished without a trace!
Ignoring the others, the two exchanged stunned glances.
"No one’s here? That can’t be..."
"Son, I really saw the gentleman!"
"Father, so did I!"
"Could it be... we’ve been thinking of him so much that we hallucinated?"
Hearing the term "gentleman" again, the Moon God Pavilion Master frowned slightly, recalling the earlier scene.
Before this—
Aside from himself and his disciple, the only other person present had been Yi Feng, Elder Yi.
Could it be...?
The thought sent a fresh wave of shock through him!
"Both of you... when you say 'the gentleman,' do you mean Elder Yi?"
The question—
Made both father and son shudder violently, collapsing back to the ground!
"The gentleman was really here?!"
"We’ve shown him such disrespect—how can we ever atone?!"
"We’re doomed, doomed..."
As the pair wailed and beat their chests, their faces ashen as if they’d committed an unforgivable sin, the Moon God Pavilion Master and Qing Yin Xianyun were utterly baffled!
Why were they calling Yi Feng "the gentleman"? What in the world was going on?!
Their confusion only deepened.
Crouching cautiously beside the distraught pair, they spent a long time soothing them. Only when Elder Xiong’s expression seemed to stabilize slightly did the Moon God Pavilion Master dare to whisper,
"Why do you call Elder Yi 'the gentleman'? What’s the meaning of this?"
The question—
Finally made Xiong Fen look up.
Gazing at the Moon God Pavilion Master’s tense face, he let out a long, despairing sigh!
"Ah!"
"The Elder Yi you speak of is the gentleman! He is the master of the power behind us!"
What?!
Yi Feng was that legendary figure?!
The Moon God Pavilion Master and Qing Yin Xianyun felt as if lightning had struck them. That single sentence alone made their scalps tingle with shock!
When they spoke again, their tongues were tied!
"H-h-he’s the one?! The peerless expert you mentioned before?!"
As their trembling voices rang out, Xiong Fen gave a solemn nod.
That slight motion sent the Moon God Pavilion Master’s heart plunging into an abyss, his entire body turning ice-cold!
His legs gave way—
And he collapsed onto the floor, utterly dumbstruck!
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined—
The extraordinary expert he’d tried so hard to recruit, the elder he’d hoped to bind to the Moon God Pavilion, was actually the untouchable master behind Xiong Fen’s power!
How laughable—he’d once thought to have this "Gentleman Yi" serve the Moon God Pavilion!
Recalling every past interaction...
The Moon God Pavilion Master cringed with embarrassment.
Gradually, a chill crept up his spine, filling him with dread!
Especially when he remembered—
He’d sat side by side with the gentleman, even repeatedly hinted at "mentoring" him!
Cold sweat drenched the Moon God Pavilion Master’s back as he trembled, too afraid to ask more!
Looking back now, he felt nothing but foolish ignorance!
What kind of existence was the gentleman Yi...?
His visit to Lanxing was likely just a casual journey, his mindset far beyond mortal comprehension. Yet, he’d dared to think of recruiting him—even bragged about introducing him to Elder Xiong!
What a joke!
Introduce him?!
In front of the gentleman, Elder Xiong was nothing but a minor underling!
And then there was the time he’d ordered Yi Feng—this towering figure—to scout enemy forces...
The Moon God Pavilion Master was drenched in cold sweat, utterly terrified into silence!
It's over... it's all over!
The thought of utter defeat flashed across his face as he sat slumped beside Xiong Fen and Xiong Zhong, too drained to even stand—looking even more wretched and panicked than the father-son pair!
All three of them stared blankly, dumbfounded as they crouched on the ground.
Finally, the truth came to light.
Qing Yin Xianyun was stunned, her beautiful eyes wide with shock, her delicate hands covering her crimson lips as her entire body froze in place!
She had never imagined...
That Yi Feng, whom she had met earlier, would turn out to be such an extraordinary figure! If someone like him existed, then the long-secluded Cloud Star, sealed away for a hundred thousand years, must be far more formidable than anyone had ever imagined!
In an instant, $2 colossal shadow loomed over everyone's hearts, and an overwhelming pressure began to spread.
The grand hall fell so silent you could hear a pin drop—yet their minds were roiling with stormy waves!