Chapter Seventy-Six: The Brick on the Street Stall

At first, Lin Feng was merely sucking his teeth, glancing around at the crowd, noting that there were twice as many people on his side as around Zhang Ning, and feeling troubled. But when he spared a thought to see how things were going for Zhang Ning, he nearly ground his teeth to pieces. Although Lin Feng had initially entered the disciple examination of the Grand Freedom Demon Sect simply to escape a strange fate, and then, by a twist of fate, was recruited under Zhang Ning, he had always been thinking about how to get out. However, once he truly became a member of the Grand Freedom Demon Sect and gained access to new channels of information, he finally realized the extent of Zhang Ning’s investment in his live streams. After much bitter contemplation, Lin Feng guessed at Zhang Ning’s schemes and began to genuinely admire the Fifth Prince, even feeling a sincere desire to serve him.

Yet Lin Feng’s experiences after being recruited into the sect were no less remarkable than Zhang Ning’s. Not long ago, he discovered that the subtly connected Yin Hongling was actually the daughter of the Divine Cauldron Demon Lord, who, like the Myriad Phenomena Demon Lord, also held the title of Supreme. At that time, Lin Feng almost jumped off the flying artifact in shock. But in the end, Chen Baishu clung to his waist, sobbing and sniffling, and dragged him back. Afterwards, Lin Feng went through a series of adversarial encounters with Luo Suiyuan—a man who appeared gentle and upright but was in reality deeply cunning—until they eventually became, perhaps, friends rather than foes. The bitter process of being set up again and again was something Lin Feng preferred to forget.

Oh, and there was Liang Si as well. Previously, they had both seized upon each other’s weaknesses, but later that fellow seemed to go mad with the urge to serve the Fifth Prince, and, thanks to his own outstanding abilities, was inducted into the prince’s current shadow guards’ reserve squad. Lin Feng hadn’t seen him for quite some time.

“Brother Feng, what are you looking at? What do you want to buy? I’ll buy it for you!” The chubby Chen Baishu, seeing Lin Feng stop in front of an unremarkable stall without asking about the price, immediately patted his chest and declared, all the while sneaking glances at the nearby food stalls.

Seeing Chen Baishu’s little rolls of fat quiver from his own pats, Lin Feng couldn’t help but cover his face.

This kid, after slimming down, was quite handsome, but he had no self-restraint at all… Maybe he really should spend some of his money? Lin Feng thought: If I use up Chen Baishu’s pocket money today, maybe he won’t gorge himself on snacks. With that in mind, Lin Feng’s gaze sharpened as he truly began to examine the stall.

Of course, Lin Feng hadn’t been hesitating over what was on the stall before; he had merely been organizing his thoughts while quietly following the prince ahead. He was truly worried about Zhang Ning’s current predicament: profits already in hand were being coveted, trusted aides were being bypassed and punished, and the rivalry with his senior brothers was becoming ever more intense.

Based on just the few events he had witnessed since arriving at the Grand Freedom Demon Sect, Lin Feng was not optimistic, let alone considering what the prince might suffer in secret… Even if Zhang Ning were just an ordinary child, Lin Feng would not have stood idly by, much less now, when he sincerely wished to serve him.

So when the prince really decided to come down to the lantern festival for the utterly made-up reason Chen Baishu had given, the group followed as well—otherwise, wouldn’t that be deceiving the prince?

But as Lin Feng’s eyes finally fell upon the stall, he realized it was truly a peculiar one. Fragments of various magic tools and unknown pills looked worthless, yet exuded an air of mystery. What drew Lin Feng in most was an ordinary-looking, black, brick-like object used to weigh down the stall. For some reason, a voice inside him said: I must have it, I must! It’s important to me!

Lin Feng mulled it over, planning to buy a few other things and take that brick as an extra, when suddenly a clear, birdlike female voice rang out behind him: “Stall owner, I want that black brick on the ground!” The voice was as crisp as an oriole singing in the valley, immediately marking its speaker as extraordinary.

The stall owner and everyone nearby unconsciously looked toward the source, only to see two beautiful women standing in the glow of lanterns. The one who had spoken, with dark eyes and brilliant teeth, was as lovely as peach blossoms—sweet, charming, and with a hint of mischief as she looked at Lin Feng with pride. The other, standing beside her with a gentle smile as if apologizing for her companion’s boldness, was composed and graceful, her eyes carrying a unique feminine allure that seemed to captivate the soul.

The passersby whispered in awe, feeling lucky to witness such beauties together. Even Yin Hongling, herself a beauty, couldn’t help but glance at the two sisters. Meanwhile, Lin Feng’s vision went dark: Here we go again! It’s starting again!

As it happened, the girl who had spoken was the very one Lin Feng had accidentally bumped into earlier when he was distracted. But he had already apologized! Judging by her demeanor… perhaps she was just looking for a pretext.

Even if it was just a pretext…

Lin Feng glanced at the material of their clothes and the magic items they wore, and began to feel like backing off. It wasn’t that he was cowardly or that the brick was unimportant; he was simply wary of those endless dramas where a trivial matter escalated until entire families were wiped out. Fortunately, ever since his fiancée broke off their engagement, Lin Feng had gradually learned: some people, as long as you give them a little, they’ll be satisfied and let things go. So he decided to give way to the young lady.

At that moment, someone added fuel to the fire by calling out the two sisters’ names—or rather, their nickname: the Twin Beauties of Wuning!

They were none other than the famous sisters of Wuning City. The enchantingly beautiful one was Wu Youshu, daughter of the Wu family, one of the city’s top second-tier clans. The sweet and lively one was Wang Yan’er, daughter of the Wang family, a clan on par with the Wu family. Yet their fame was not just for their looks—in the martial world of the Azure Realm, where strength was everything, both sisters were highly gifted in martial arts, and had both made it onto the Human Ranking. Even if only at the tail end, the Human Ranking was recognized as credible!

Everyone listed there was a heaven’s chosen, with the potential to become a Martial Emperor or even a Martial Sovereign. Who would dare offend them? Who could look down on them? Thus, these two beauties had become a celebrated sight in Wuning, among the most famous people in the city.

Lin Feng’s expression darkened. Since they were on the Human Ranking, they were already beyond the category of ordinary women—among the strong, gender no longer mattered. Yielding to a lady was nothing shameful, but yielding to a strong opponent… Lin Feng had never done such a thing!

He didn’t know what expression he wore, but his look jolted Chen Baishu from his reverie over the beauties. Glancing at Lin Feng, Chen Baishu, completely missing the situation, blurted out, “Isn’t there a rule of first come, first served? My brother saw this—um—this brick first!” And with that, Chen Baishu actually began to argue with the two sisters.