The faces of those seeking to capture Chu Feng turned livid, especially the formation master who had called the elders over. His face had turned as pale as a sheet of paper.
They were all doomed now that Chu Feng was going to join the ranks of the Star Sea Central City.
âElder, please choose someone else for the slot to the Star Sea Central City.â
Just then, a person with a huge entourage descended from the sky. All of the formation entities quickly bowed to him, for he was none other than this cityâs city master.
Upon the arrival of the city master, the three trial elders responsible for administering the trials stepped out of their respective palaces.
âCity Master 19, what do you mean by that?â the trial elder in charge of testing Chu Feng asked.
âThat child disregarded our rules by concealing his cultivation and severely injuring a fellow formation master from our Formation Master Hall. He ought to be punished by our city rules. Furthermore, he is a despicable man who canât be entrusted with important responsibilities. It would be unwise to assign him to the Star Sea Central City. Elders, I beseech you to choose someone else,â the city master said.
âIs there anyone more outstanding in your city?â one of the trial elders asked.
âFather, allow me to give it a try,â a suave man with an extraordinary disposition stepped forward and said.
This man was the city masterâs son, though they werenât blood related as formation entities lacked the ability to reproduce. In truth, the city master had specifically picked him to be his son in view of his talents and raised him from a young age, so their ties were no different from that of a father and his son.
âGo on,â the city master said with a nod.
The young city master cut the queue and entered one of the trial palaces.
âArrest him!â
Shortly after the young city master entered, the city master turned to Chu Feng with freezing eyes.
âWait a moment,â one of the trial elders said as he took his position beside Chu Feng. âIn accordance with the rules, unless someone does better than him in the trial, heâll be the formation master taken in by our Star Sea Central City.â
With his backing, no one in the city dared to touch Chu Feng. Not even the city master dared to protest against his verdict.
Moments later, the young city master stepped out of the trial palace. His result was decent; he had deciphered 29 formations. However, the city master frowned upon hearing that, knowing his son didnât beat Chu Fengâs record.
The city master stepped forward and said, âElder, that child lacks integrity. It is unwise to use someone like that. Please allow my son to go instead.â
âCity Master 19, your son is indeed highly talented to have been able to decipher 29 formations. He would have qualified to enter the Star Sea Central City under any other circumstance, but according to the rules, each city only has a single slot, and the slot is assigned to the one who deciphers the most formations,â the trial elder said.
âElder, is my words not clear enough? That child canât be used,â the city master insisted.
âWe only obey the chief elderâs instructions. Our job is to bring back the formation master who deciphers the most formations in each city. I donât think that thereâs anyone else who can best this childâs record, so Iâll be taking him back with me,â the trial elder said as he prepared to take Chu Feng away with him.
Boom!
A powerful surge of spirit power suddenly sealed off the surroundings. The city master had made his move!
âCity Master 19, are you challenging our authority?â the trial elder asked.
He didnât fear the city master despite being weaker than the latter. After all, he had the backing of the chief elder.
âLord Elder, I wouldnât dare to challenge you, but City 19 has its rules. That child violated my cityâs rules, so he has to be punished. If the Star Sea Central City is in need of talents, youâre free to take my son. If you think my son isnât qualified, you may continue the trial to choose the most suitable individual. In any case, you canât take 521,â the city master expressed his stance.
âHehâ¦â
One of the other trial elders burst into laughter. He wasnât the one in charge of supervising Chu Fengâs test, but he could see through the city masterâs intention.
âCity Master 19, I know that you want to secure this rare opportunity for your son. Iâll be frank. While your son meets the requirement, he isnât talented enough to be valued by our Star Sea Central City. The same cannot be said about this child. I could have done you this favor on any other occasion, but not this time. This child is simply far too talented. Itâd be a great merit on our side if we bring this child back,â the trial elder said.
This revealed why they were so insistent on taking Chu Feng away with them.
The city master didnât want Chu Feng to go because he wanted his son to take the slot instead. To put it bluntly, his insistence on enforcing the rules was an excuse to hold Chu Feng down so that his son would get a shot at the slot.
Upon hearing the eldersâ stance, the city masterâs face darkened.
âI have made myself clear. City 19 has its own rules, and these rules are set by the chief elder. You should bring the chief elder here to speak to me if you insist on doing things your way, or else you shouldnât even dream about taking this child away with you,â the city master said with an icy voice.
His mind was made up.
Boom!
Just then, a single person shattered the massive barrier sealing off the sky like a mirror.
âWhat airs, City Master 19,â an aged voice sounded.
Several figures descended from the sky. They were all from the Star Sea Central City.
Chu Fengâs eyes lit up upon seeing the leader of the group. It was the old man he had saved not too long ago.
âPaying respects to the chief elder.â
The city master and the three trial elders first paid respects to the chief elder. The crowd belatedly snapped out of their daze and bowed as well.
âChief elder?! Chu Feng, youâre in luck!â Eggy exclaimed in excitement.
Chu Fengâs lips curled into a smile, knowing that he had a backing to fall back on now.
The chief elder landed right in front of the city master.
âChief elder,â the city master greeted the other party with a pale face.
It was just moments ago that he insisted on having the chief elder talk to him, but he started panicking as soon as the chief elder really appeared.
âCity Master 19, I came because you called for me,â the chief elder said.
âLord Chief Elder, I dare not to make things difficult for your elders. Itâs just thatâ¦â
The city master was planning to insist on Chu Fengâs sins, knowing that this was a legitimate reason for him to punish the latter.
Before he could finish his words, the chief elder interjected, âStop. I know what happened here. Those two crippled men deserve their plight. They were the ones who provoked 521 and injured his follower. According to our rules, the ones who should be punished are them.â
At this point, the chief elder narrowed his eyes and sneered, âCity Master 19, do you not investigate cases before passing your verdict? I canât help but wonder if youâre abusing your power or plain incompetent.â