Chapter 663 - 180: I see you’re quite handsome, you must owe a ton of money, right?

Chapter 663: Chapter 180: I see you’re quite handsome, you must owe a ton of money, right?

At the foot of Cuiyun Mountain, a hubbub of voices filled the air.

Several thousand cultivators from Qing Province had gathered, their gazes intense as they stared at the massive light screen of the array suspended in mid-air.

On the light screen, runes swirled.

Names flashed and rearranged at high speed, finally settling into pairs of opponents who would be pitted against each other.

"This drawing is surprisingly sophisticated..."

Chu Fan gazed up at the iridescent light screen, a pensive look on his face.

He casually brushed a conspicuous patch of dust from his cyan robes—an embarrassing mark left from his "landing" moments earlier.

He first waved to the members of the Seven Stars Gang, then turned to follow the aloof Xiao Ziye, who was standing beside him. They walked toward the Demon Suppression Bureau’s viewing section, not far from the Seven Stars Gang’s area.

As the government’s most powerful enforcement agency, the Demon Suppression Bureau naturally had an excellent viewing position.

Demon Suppression Envoy Leng Qingqiu was not in her armor today. Instead, she wore a black, cloud-patterned cloak and presided personally from the center of the section.

At her side stood several Demon Suppression Captains with profound auras, along with a contingent of elite Demon Suppression Guards. Their presence was solemn and imposing.

However, when the group’s gazes fell upon the approaching trio of Xiao Ziye, Chu Fan, and a dejected Shi Hao, the solemn atmosphere instantly shattered.

The corners of several colleagues’ mouths twitched as they tried to suppress smirks, struggling to contain their amusement at the trio’s misfortune.

The competition hadn’t even begun, yet the three of them had already taken a massive tumble in front of everyone. Disheveled and covered in dust, they had instantly become a peculiar center of attention.

With the Profound Origin Secret Realm tournament packed with experts, becoming famous this way was no small feat.

Leng Qingqiu’s cool gaze swept over the three of them. She finally sighed, her tone unreadable. "You three have really made a name for the Demon Suppression Bureau."

Xiao Ziye paused, taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Beside them, Chu Fan feigned complete ignorance, as if he hadn’t been the one to make a fool of himself just now.

Only Shi Hao, whose already tan face had flushed a deep crimson, looked like he wanted to bury his head in his lap.

Leng Qingqiu looked at the three of them, speechless.

One was playing the fool.

One was utterly shameless.

The last one seemed normal, but unfortunately, his cultivation was mediocre, making him useless.

As if sensing her stare, Shi Hao cautiously looked up, his eyes meeting Leng Qingqiu’s complex gaze.

He froze.

’Why is it that when Lord Leng looks at those two, her expression is one of frustrated disappointment?’

’But when she looks at me, her eyes are clearly filled with disgust and disdain?’

’It was my aunt who messed up the flight! What does that have to do with me!’

’I’m a victim here, too!’

He was seething with frustration but had no one to take it out on.

Even if he were a hundred times bolder, he wouldn’t dare act out in front of Leng Qingqiu.

So he whipped his head around, glaring viciously toward the Seven Stars Gang’s section, his eyes frantically scanning the crowd.

’Where’s that damn Fatty?’

’Get over here!’

’I promise I won’t kill you!’

But the Fatty in question, clearly aware he’d caused a disaster, had long since vanished into some unknown corner.

Unable to find his scapegoat, Shi Hao huffily plopped down in the empty seat beside Xiao Ziye, making the chair GROAN in protest.

Chu Fan didn’t sit down. After greeting the senior officers, he turned and walked directly toward the Seven Stars Gang’s area.

The Seven Stars Gang’s section was rather crowded, yet a conspicuous empty space, a "vacuum zone," had formed at the very front.

Demon Suppression Guards Yun Bufan and Tang Tinghua were standing at the edge like sentinels, which made many of the other gangs hesitant to underestimate the Seven Stars Gang.

Seeing Chu Fan approach, Yun Bufan deftly pulled a brand-new white towel from his robes. He bent over and meticulously wiped down the empty chair next to Cao Feng, not even missing the crevices in the chair’s back.

Tang Tinghua stood to the side, his hands clasped and his head bowed in reverence.

This scene left many of the cultivators from smaller factions staring, dumbfounded.

Those in the know understood that the Seven Stars Gang was just a bottom-tier, third-rate gang in Qing Province.

Those who didn’t, seeing two Demon Suppression Guards performing such menial tasks, assumed this plainly dressed group must be extraordinarily powerful figures from the Imperial Capital visiting incognito.

’Chu Fan is a Demon Suppression Guard too, so why are those two acting so subserviently toward him?’

Over in the Demon Suppression Bureau’s section, Zhao Qingyan, sitting in a back row, nudged her companion Qin Fang with her elbow. "Hey," she whispered, "don’t you think Yun Bufan and Tang Tinghua are acting weird around Chu Fan? They’re treating him like he’s their own father."

"Now that you mention it..." Qin Fang turned to look, nodding thoughtfully. "It is strange. Just the other day, Tang Tinghua was boasting over drinks that once his cultivation improved, he was going to get revenge on Chu Fan."

"And Yun Bufan, he and Tang Tinghua are usually thick as thieves. He saw Chu Fan beat Tang Tinghua to a pulp, and he was always bad-mouthing Chu Fan behind his back."

"So why the complete change of heart? Why are they over there standing guard for the Seven Stars Gang?"

"The higher-ups didn’t assign them to any such task."

Zhao Qingyan’s brow furrowed. The more she watched, the stranger it seemed. "It’s just too weird."

"Look closely at their eyes. It’s not just respect. It’s a bone-deep fear."

"They barely dare to breathe when they look at Chu Fan. They can’t even stand up straight."

"To be blunt, they’re not even this well-behaved in front of Lord Xiao Ziye!"

Qin Fang stroked his chin, musing, "I guess Chu Fan must have beaten them into complete submission."

"Those two are unlucky, too. Who would have thought their boss, Pei Yufeng, was actually a mole for the Moon Worship Sect."

"They’re incredibly lucky they weren’t implicated and executed as his accomplices. Their ancestors must be smiling on them."

"If they offend Chu Fan now, who’s going to protect them?"

At the mention of that name, Zhao Qingyan lowered her voice even further. "Speaking of which, after Pei Yufeng died, those two were also internally investigated and interrogated for several days..."

"Right, how did Pei Yufeng die, anyway? The whole affair was kept under such tight wraps..."

"There’s a rumor that Pei Yufeng originally asked Chu Fan for help catching a Fox Demon, but it was actually a setup to trap and kill him. In the end, Chu Fan turned the tables and killed him instead?"