Each and every single disciple of the Yun Hai Sect stood up and stared at Lin Feng, or more precisely, at his ring. They couldn't understand what was happening.
But at that moment, Lin Feng put his hand on his waist and said to the slaves: "Those willing to follow me, stand up."
The hearts of these Yun Hai Sect disciples were pounding. They were stupefied. Flashes of hope appeared in their eyes. That was the Patriarch's ring, Lin Feng might be a disciple of the Yun Hai Sect, just like them.
"I am willing to follow you."
At that moment, a silhouette stood up and walked towards the edge of his cell. He looked excited.
"I am willing to follow you."
"I also want to follow you."
More and more people were standing up and expressing themselves. The whole situation stupefied the slave merchant. He was deeply surprised by the actions of these slaves. Why were so many people willing to follow Lin Feng? They would certainly bring about their own destruction.
Could it be that they found living here so horrible that they had chosen death?
Ba Dao and Yi Xue were astonished too and looked at Lin Feng trying to get a hint of what was happening. Lin Feng had just said that he was looking for slaves to clear the path against some ferocious beasts, how could they be so willing to go with him?
More than thirty slaves had stood up and were standing at the entrance of their cells. Lin Feng sighed with mixed emotions. The number of people who had managed to survive that day, was quite important. They hadn't been killed on the spot but their lives was far from being one of happiness. They had been made into slaves and a great number of them had died in the Prisoner Arena. There were also many people that had been sold in the slave exchange previously.
"Release them, I want to buy all of them." said Lin Feng indifferently. A light flashed in the slave merchants eyes and he slightly nodded. Even though he didn't understand what was happening, he couldn't deny that someone buying so many slaves at once was a large amount of business.
"Are you sure that you want me to release all of these slaves?" At that moment, the slave merchant wasn't smiling any longer and was no longer trying to sell his slaves. He looked solemn and calm as if it was a completely different person.
Lin Feng looked at the slave merchant in a strange way but, immediately after, was relieved. The slave merchant was concerned that Lin Feng wasn't strong enough and something bad would happen to him if he was unable to control the slaves.
"Yes, I am. Release them." said Lin Feng while nodding. It was clear to him that the slave merchant was worried about him not being strong enough; which would be problematic if he did not have the power to control all of these slaves. But did Lin Feng need to keep them under control?
"Since you have insisted, I will release them." said the slave merchant while nodding. The slave merchant moved to the large cell in which most of the slaves were inside and unlocked it. He then said: "Those willing to follow him, come out one by one. If you dare do something suspicious, you will die!"
When the slave merchant finished talking, a deadly energy emerged from his body and spread into the air. A light flashed in Lin Feng's eyes.
How powerful. The slave merchant had broken through to the seventh Ling Qi layer. It seemed like this person was a completely different person from the one a moment before.
The slaves had their heads down and did not look anyone in the eyes. They were all moving out of the cell one by one so that each person could fit through the small door. Their hearts were pounding out of excitement. Very quickly, thirty two people were standing by Lin Feng's side.
"How many purity stones?" calmly asked Lin Feng.
"Eight slaves of the first Ling Qi layer, nine slaves of the second Ling Qi layer, seven slaves of the third Ling Qi layer, five of the fourth Ling Qi layer, three of the fifth Ling Qi layer and none of the sixth Ling Qi layer. That's three thousand four hundred purity stones of medium quality." said the slave merchant after having counting the total in his head.
Lin Feng slightly nodded. A light flashed and at that moment, a thick pure Qi emerged. In Lin Feng's hand appeared a huge number of purity stones.
"He can store things in a pocket of space!"
The crowd was stupefied. Lin Feng surprisingly could store things into a special pocket. That didn't seem like an easy thing for one to achieve.
"You can count them if you would like."
Lin Feng put all the purity stones on the ground while saying this.
The slave merchant indifferently glanced at the ground and then immediately said while smiling: "No need to count. You can leave with your slaves now."
"Alright." said Lin Feng while slightly nodding. He turned around, looked at the slaves and said: "Come with me."
When Lin Feng finished talking, he started walking. Those thirty two slaves followed behind him as a group. Everybody's pace was surprisingly identical and their formation was clear and neat which surprised everybody that saw.
It didn't seem like that group of people came from the slave exchange at all. The way they moved in formation was way too strange. They looked like Lin Feng's subordinates, calmly following behind him.
The slave merchant of the slave market looked at the backs of the departing slaves and a thought flashed through his mind. He then said: "Master, walk slowly!"
Walking on the large road with thirty two slaves would obviously attract everybody's attention. How could people outside not see the marks that the slaves had on their faces.
Besides, they were still within the slave exchange, if they were outside then they would draw even more people's attention.
...
In a mansion not far from the Holy Courtyard of Xue Yue, Lin Feng, Ba Dao, Yi Xue and thirty two slaves were cultivating.
The place they were training was a rocky terrain. There was a pavilion in the middle with a small bridge, flowing water and even a small lake. This was the mansion that Lin Feng just recently bought. He spent five hundred purity stones of medium quality to buy the mansion which was incredibly expensive.
Lin Feng needed a place for the slaves to stay. The Celestial Academy wasn't his after all. Even if he could enjoy all the benefits of the academy, he couldn't draw everybody's attention by walking in with so many slaves following him. That would not have been appropriate.
Each and every slave from the Yun Hai Sect was looking at Lin Feng. They were curious to know who he was. They were very troubled by not knowing who it was under the mask. They all wanted that mask to be removed so they could see the face underneath.
Who could be wearing the Patriarch's ring?
Lin Feng calmly glanced at the crowd and said: "You've gone through a lot of hardships."
While talking, he put his hand on his mask. The heart of the people in the crowd started beating faster. Lin Feng then slowly took off his mask.
"BOOM." Seeing Lin Feng's face made the group completely shocked. Everybody knew the young man, who was wearing the Patriarch's ring. It was Lin Feng. That was the unique, exceptional and frivolous Lin Feng.
Back in the days of the Yun Hai Sect, Lin Feng had stood out because he had killed the elite disciples and he defeated top ranking Elite Disciple: Wen Ren Yan. He was like a conquering hero.
In the Life and Death Arena, he had made the Patriarch regret his actions and reflect upon his mistakes. How imposing was he when reprimanding the patriarch!
Lin Feng had become a source of hope for the future of the Yun Hai Sect. Everybody thought that, sooner or later, Lin Feng would make the Yun Hai Sect rise again to new heights and regain its place in the Xue Yue Country.
But the Yun Hai Sect, instead, had been the victim of a tragedy.
And at that moment, they could see Lin Feng again. Their hearts were beating from just looking at the wonderful disciple of the Yun Hai Sect standing there alive. It was the young man who had refused Duan Tian Lang's offer because he stayed true to his own convictions. They were infinitely touched and surprised by his actions.
Lin Feng was still alive.
Lin Feng had freed them from their slave status and took them from the slave exchange. They wouldn't have to live as slaves again and could regain their humanity. They wouldn't be enduring pain and humiliation on a daily basis.
"No need to look at me that way and no need to be too excited either. Don't forget that your faces still have the mark of the slave carved into them. Your hearts are still filled with an endless shame." said Lin Feng when he saw that the crowd was growing excited.
Lin Feng's coldness quickly ended the excited feelings that had begun. That's right, they still had the mark of a slave carved into their face, so they still had the status of slave.
"Have you forgotten how our sect was destroyed? How you forgotten the people who carved these letters into your faces." said Lin Feng coldly. The crowd was filled with hatred. They hated Duan Tian Lang. He was the one who had destroyed the Yun Hai Sect. They were marked as slaves because of him. He had made them become slaves.
"Because the Yun Hai Sect was weak, it was destroyed. It didn't have the power to even defend itself. As far as you are concerned, you are weak, that is why you have the mark of a slave carved onto your face. This is why you were humiliated each day." said Lin Feng. He then slowly added: "If you do not have enough strength you will never break free from your status as a slave. You will, as before, remain slaves and could even get taken away just like an animal."
Lin Feng's words were not pleasant to hear but every single sentence made their heart beat even faster. Lin Feng was right though, if their strength didn't increase, they would never be able to change their destiny.
"If you are sick of being bullied and humiliated, if you want to change your destiny and not be a slave for your entire life, if you want to hold a festival to celebrate the end of your past hardships and humiliations, there is only one way!" said Lin Feng, whose voice was becoming louder and louder, while looking at everyone in the crowd. He then spat out the following words: "Become stronger! Unceasingly stronger! Only the strong can change their Destiny!"