Upon hearing Li Rong's words, Deng Yongshi's face immediately flushed with anger. Now, all the younger members of the Deng family were watching her as a laughingstock. She wished she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
Ling Feng merely shrugged indifferently. As long as he kept his promise to Deng Yongshi not to speak, it didn't matter. Such petty squabbles among family juniors were all too common, and he saw no need to get involved.
Thus, Ling Feng pretended not to hear, not even glancing at Deng Yongshi. He lightly patted her shoulder and said calmly, "Let's go."
Deng Yongshi looked at Ling Feng, noticing his serene expression as if he hadn't heard the mockery and ridicule around him. She gritted her teeth after realizing her own composure was far inferior to his.
Seeing that Ling Feng didn't even bother to acknowledge her, Li Rong felt a bit embarrassed. She snorted lightly, forcing a smile, and said, "Teacher Ling seems quite aloof! I wonder what he is capable of? To be invited by my grandfather to teach my cousin, you must be extraordinary!
"By the way, my teacher is a vice president of the Alchemist Guild which is not very impressive. He’s just a fifth-grade alchemist with some fame in the capital. I suppose Teacher Ling isn't too bad either, right?"
Li Rong's intention was clear. She wanted to embarrass Deng Yongshi. She didn't dare make things too difficult for Deng Yongshi directly, so she ridiculed Ling Feng, hoping to make Deng Yongshi lose face.
In her eyes, Ling Feng was just a young lad in his teens. How capable can he be? General Deng must have invited him mostly to keep Deng Yongshi company.
Ling Feng glanced at Li Rong and shrugged, replying indifferently, "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but unfortunately, I really don't have any special skills."
At that moment, an elderly man with graying hair emerged from the crowd. Li Rong immediately stepped forward to greet him respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Teacher!"
The elderly man nodded slightly, glanced at Ling Feng, and said calmly, "Little Rong, didn't I teach you to be humble and not aggressive? This young man is probably not a teacher but just an ordinary follower."
His words immediately sparked laughter.
"Haha, he must be a companion!"
"Look at his foolish appearance! He's probably not a companion but a servant!"
"You all!" Deng Yongshi clenched her fists and angrily shouted at the mocking crowd, "Don't go too far!"
The angrier Deng Yongshi got, the happier Li Rong felt. She said coldly, "Teacher, you are right. We shouldn't be too harsh on a mere companion. I'm sorry, Teacher Ling Feng!!!"
She emphasized the word "teacher" sarcastically, making her ridicule evident.
Some of the teachers of the Deng family juniors also shook their heads, bluntly saying, "Young man, not everyone can be called a teacher. At your age, what can you teach others?"
Everyone looked on coldly, mocking Ling Feng as if they were saying: someone like you shouldn't even show your face here!
"You all!" Deng Yongshi was fuming with rage. Without thinking, she defended Ling Feng with, "He is not a companion, he is a teacher! He is my teacher!"
While she had always disliked Ling Feng and didn't want to admit having such a "young teacher," she couldn’t bear to see everyone mock Ling Feng..
To her, no one was a better teacher than Ling Feng. Although he had only been with her for three days, she had learned more in those three days than in the previous ten years!
"Calm down," Ling Feng said without a trace of anger, feeling a bit gratified instead.
At least Deng Yongshi finally acknowledged him as her teacher in public. His efforts over the past few days had not been in vain.
As for the others, what did it matter how they saw him?
However, seeing Deng Yongshi so angry, he stepped forward, grabbed her arm, and shook his head slightly. He then looked at the elderly teacher of Li Rong and smiled faintly. "Sorry, I hadn't finished speaking earlier."
Li Rong's eyes twitched as she looked at Ling Feng strangely.
What can this young boy possibly say now? No matter how much he speaks, he is still just an inexperienced youngster with no qualifications.
The elderly man also became interested, squinting at Ling Feng and asking calmly, "Do you have anything more to say, young man?"
"I, Ling Feng, indeed lack any special skills. Thanks to the misplaced favor of General Deng, I am fortunate enough to be Miss Deng's teacher. However, a mere fifth-grade alchemist isn't qualified to be arrogant in front of me."
Ling Feng's voice was calm and slightly lazy, as if a fifth-grade pill was nothing in his eyes.
But was that even possible?
"Wow, he's really talking big now!"
"Tsk, tsk, he really doesn't know his limits, daring to say a fifth-grade alchemist is nothing!"
"My goodness, was this kid kicked in the head by a donkey? He dares to say anything!"
"This is getting interesting. Li Rong's teacher, Master He, is a fifth-grade alchemist. This kid is looking for trouble!"
The crowd began to murmur, and the elderly man, Master He Taichong, frowned and glanced coldly at Ling Feng.
"Young man, you don't know the immensity of heaven and earth. I will allow you to take back what you just said. Otherwise, I want to see what weight you carry to dare belittle a fifth-grade alchemist!"
He Taichong's eyes flashed with anger. As a revered senior, he had merely given a few pointers to this junior. The junior should have listened obediently, yet he dared to act arrogantly. Such disrespectful juniors deserved to be taught a lesson!
Deng Yongshi was also startled by Ling Feng's tone. What is this guy talking about? Even if he wanted to save face, there was no need to boast so outrageously!
Now, Master He was truly angry!
"Hey, what are you doing? Didn't I tell you not to speak?" Deng Yongshi tugged at Ling Feng's sleeve, secretly worried.
Ling Feng smiled faintly, giving Deng Yongshi a reassuring look before speaking slowly, "If you truly love alchemy, then you should see the identity of an alchemist as an honor, not a means to show off. A fifth-grade alchemist is merely a small threshold in the path of alchemy. At such a level, don't you find it laughable to be ignorant and narrow-minded?"
"You! How dare you lecture me?" He Taichong's face changed dramatically, his beard trembling with rage. As a fifth-grade alchemist, he was revered and flattered wherever he went. Yet Ling Feng, this young boy, dared to speak so arrogantly!?
At this moment, a deep and powerful voice came from outside the courtyard, full of magnetism. Everyone couldn't help but turn to look, only to see an elderly man in a broad robe striding in.
Beside the elderly man was another person walking in tandem—General Deng!