Everyone turned to look at Li Chunfeng simultaneously. Some of the independent cultivators secretly thought he was meddling in affairs that didn't concern him, while others believed he was courageous for daring to stop someone stronger than himself.
It wasn't that Li Chunfeng enjoyed poking his nose into other people's business; rather, he felt this was an unfair fight. The burly independent cultivator was simple-minded and had clearly been used by someone with ulterior motives when he threw that punch, yet no one had stepped forward to help him. Juejuezi of the Fenghua Sect showed no mercy at all—if that kick landed, the burly cultivator would likely be crippled.
Having decades of cultivation ruined over such a senseless brawl would be devastating beyond measure. Li Chunfeng had experienced it himself, and now he didn't want an innocent person to suffer punishment on behalf of cowards hiding in the shadows.
Yet Juejuezi's body remained entirely unaffected, showing not the slightest intention of stopping. He carved a graceful arc through the air, gathering force in his foot as a sharp edge flashed.
The crowd's gaze shifted rapidly from Li Chunfeng back to Juejuezi, following the trajectory of Juejuezi's kick until it finally landed on the injured burly cultivator.
Seeing that the burly cultivator could not escape this disaster, everyone had already anticipated the outcome. Those with a shred of pity expressed their sympathy with a sigh.
Just at that moment, however, the force behind Juejuezi's strike was deflected by an umbrella, which flew out and shattered the stone tablet on the other side of the mountain gate. The onlookers turned in the direction the umbrella had come from and laid their eyes upon a malnourished, sallow-faced cultivator—the owner of the umbrella.
"It wasn't me, it wasn't me, don't look at me... Really, it wasn't me..." The thin cultivator waved his hands frantically and stammered in terror. He was timid by nature, and now he was so frightened he could barely speak clearly.
Those who knew him naturally understood that even if you gave him ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare make a move. The crowd's gaze shifted once again, this time to Li Chunfeng standing beside the frail cultivator. Li Chunfeng was seen retracting a single-handed punch, striking a pose as if celebrating.
"Brat, who the hell do you think you are? You think that umbrella-throwing posture of yours looks pretty cool, huh?" a Fenghua Sect disciple shouted angrily.
With Senior Brother Juejuezi backing them up this time, their words carried an extra dose of backbone.
"Everyone, we're all here contributing to the Fenghua Sect. There's no need to let things get completely out of hand. A friendly spar should stop at the appropriate point," Li Chunfeng said with a mild and amicable tone.
"What you call getting completely out of hand, I'm afraid I really don't understand. Why don't you... come and tell me..." Juejuezi's gaze was piercing and sharp, his words leaving people struggling to breathe.
Juejuezi walked straight toward Li Chunfeng, every step carrying an oppressive weight that sent chills down the spines of those around them.
"Enough..." A deep, resonant voice echoed from the clouds, carrying a faint trace of Ling Yun that smoothed away the ripples in everyone's hearts and halted the escalating situation just in time.
In a single instant, an old man with a white beard descended before the mountain gate like an ethereal immortal. He possessed such a Taoist aura of wind and bones that people felt a deep sense of reverence and hurriedly bowed to make way.
"Oh dear, my guardian stone..." He wore a look of profound sorrow, gazing with deep pity at a shattered rock.
"You little brats, you don't run a household so you don't know how expensive firewood and rice are..." Next, he pointed a finger at the gathered cultivators and cursed them out thoroughly, completely ruining the venerable and awe-inspiring image he had projected just a moment ago.
"I'll... let you ruin things..." As if he hadn't quite vented his anger yet, he casually picked up a tree branch from the ground and actually started thrashing Juejuezi with it, cursing as he struck.
"I'll give you Juejuezi, I'll cut you off completely today..."
In an instant, the scene fell into chaos once more. What should have been a solemn occasion had somehow turned into a spectacle that left people unsure whether to laugh or cry.
The Fenghua Sect disciples knew this elder's temper well and quickly fled in all directions. As for the independent cultivators who were witnessing such an eccentric character for the first time, they were completely baffled, standing there with no idea where they should go.