116: Appearing to accept apprentices

“Damn it! These traitors dare to treat Crown Prince Chu Feng like this! This old man cannot tolerate it!”

In a private room not far from the restaurant.

An old man, an eighth-level Saint Emperor, wearing a blue robe, watched the beaten and starving Chu Feng being assaulted by several youths, and cried out in anger.

With a determined expression, he was about to fly down from the window to save the beaten and starving Chu Feng.

“Elder Yan, don't be rash! Saving Crown Prince Chu Feng requires careful planning. We cannot fall into their trap.”

“That's right, Elder Yan. They are treating Crown Prince Chu Feng this way precisely to lure out those of us who are still loyal to the previous Emperor. We must not act impulsively.”

Standing beside the old man were six cultivators, all in the Saint Emperor Realm. Seeing the old man about to climb out the window to save someone, they quickly restrained him.

The rebellious Vassal King did not kill Chu Feng but threw him into such an obvious place to beg, definitely not out of kindness.

Instead, he intends to use the former Crown Prince to lure out and kill those loyal to the previous Emperor, eliminating future trouble.

If they acted rashly, not only would they lose their lives, but Chu Feng would also die with them.

“Then what should we do? Just watch Crown Prince Chu Feng suffer such humiliation?”

The old man calmed down, released his grip on the window, turned his head, and demanded.

Although the others felt awkward facing the old man's question, they knew the old man was also loyal.

So two of them spoke up to comfort him.

“Elder Yan, since things have come to this, we can only let Crown Prince Chu Feng endure some hardship. We must observe the situation and wait for an opportunity, striving to rescue him in one go, lest we alert the enemy.”

“Exactly, Elder Yan. We also feel terrible seeing Crown Prince Chu Feng humiliated, but if we lose our lives impulsively, no one will be left to save him.”

Although the remaining four did not speak, they looked at the old man with warning eyes.

Hoping he wouldn't act rashly, harming himself and everyone else.

“Alas! Your Majesty, your subject is incompetent, forced to watch the Crown Prince suffer humiliation.”

The old man sighed and knelt on the ground.

How could he not know the logic the others spoke of? But watching Chu Feng be humiliated like this was more painful than killing him.

Seeing the old man calm down, the others quietly focused on Chu Feng in front of the restaurant entrance.

They had to wait for the right moment—when those people relaxed their guard, believing no one would save Chu Feng—before making their move.

In front of the restaurant entrance.

The youths saw that after beating Chu Feng for so long, no one had come out to save him.

They stopped their actions, scanned the surroundings, and then looked coldly at the bruised and swollen Chu Feng.

“Hmph, this trash is clearly useless. Who would still come to save him?”

“Exactly. I don't know what Father Emperor is thinking, making us come here every day to humiliate him. We've been hitting him for so long, and not even a dog has come over to sniff him.”

“Let's go, let's go. Let's grab a bite inside first. We'll come back out and continue the work after we've eaten.”

“Heh, that's a good suggestion. We need energy to work.”

The youths stepped over the huddled Chu Feng and cheerfully entered the restaurant, ready to eat something.

Seeing the youths leave, the huddled Chu Feng also stood up and continued shouting at the cultivators entering and exiting, “Sirs, beautiful ladies, please have mercy, give me a bite to eat.”

His foolish, idiotic appearance suggested that he knew nothing else besides food.

“Heh heh, interesting. He knows how to endure quite well for such a young age.”

Just then, Jiang Chen walked up to Chu Feng and looked at him with a smile.

In fact, he had arrived long ago, but was observing from the side, wanting to see what kind of temperament this little brat had.

At this moment, Chu Feng's detailed information was displayed on his System Panel.

[Chu Feng, 12 years old, Tenth-Grade Talent, Ninth-Level Body Tempering Cultivation]

[Special Physique: Devouring Physique (Unactivated)]

(The Devouring Physique is a constitution that can devour all things for its own use; the more it devours, the faster the cultivation.)

[Life Trajectory: Born in the True Martial Dynasty, a top-tier imperial dynasty in the Eastern Region. He is the only son of the Current Emperor and the present Crown Prince. Three days ago, a Vassal King of the True Martial Dynasty rebelled, slaughtering the True Martial Emperor and all imperial family members in the Imperial City, leaving only Chu Feng, the Crown Prince, as bait, throwing him outside the restaurant entrance to lure out remaining loyal forces and eliminate future threats.]

“Sir, please be kind and give me a bite to eat. I'm truly starving.”

Chu Feng stared blankly at the smiling Jiang Chen, not understanding why he was staring at him like that.

However, to demonstrate sufficient idiocy, he still cried out to beg.

Because only by making those traitors believe he was an idiot and posed no threat could he gain a sliver of a chance to survive and eventually avenge his Father Emperor, Mother Empress, and all his clansmen.

After all, he had fallen to this state. How could anyone possibly still come to save him?

“Heh heh, alright, little brat, stop pretending in front of this Lord.”

Looking at Chu Feng, who was still feigning idiocy, Jiang Chen exposed him and continued, “This Lord is the Sect Master of Qingtian Sect. I passed by here and saw that you have a good nature, and I now intend to take you as my disciple. As long as you acknowledge this Lord as your master, this Lord can guarantee your life and take you away from here. Are you willing?”

After Jiang Chen finished speaking, he looked at Chu Feng with a faint smile.

He knew that taking this little guy as a disciple might require some effort, as anyone who had experienced such events at a young age would surely be very cautious.

“Ah? Take me as a disciple?”

Hearing this, Chu Feng's young face showed obvious surprise before quickly reverting to his idiotic appearance.

However, his mind was already racing.

What exactly did Jiang Chen mean by wanting to take him as a disciple now? Did he not know his identity?

Or was Jiang Chen sent by the traitors to test him, intending to kill him once they discovered he was only pretending to be foolish?

After various considerations, he still felt that Jiang Chen was somewhat unreliable.

After all, throughout the entire Eastern Region, the True Martial Dynasty was the top-tier power.

That rebellious Vassal King was a peerless expert at the Fourth Level of Quasi-Emperor, and he had a host of powerful followers.

Besides assuming he posed no threat and intentionally letting him go, only an expert above the Fourth Level of Quasi-Emperor could save him.

But Jiang Chen looked so young; he didn't look like that kind of expert at all.

Therefore, he was not prepared to reveal his true, normal state.

“Sir, can this Lord be eaten? I'm so hungry. Give this Lord to me to eat.” Chu Feng replied foolishly.

“Heh.”

Jiang Chen found Chu Feng's poor acting rather amusing.

No matter how well a twelve-year-old acted, how could he escape the eyes of him, a Great Emperor?

Those people didn't kill him simply because he still had value as bait.

This little guy naively thought that pretending to be foolish could give him a chance at survival.

Nevertheless, he still appreciated Chu Feng's performance. Being so composed and calm at such a young age, though somewhat naive, was still better than most children his age.