Dark clouds drifted in and covered the sky in a matter of moments, making it impossible to see anything else other than the billowing darkness.
The crowd was bewildered.
A bunch of dark clouds couldnât be considered a phenomenon. It didnât make sense for the phenomenon to be so lackluster, considering the strength of the sparring duo. As a matter of fact, Jie Zhou had sparred with another junior here not too long ago, and the phenomenon they produced was amazing. That was why the crowd harbored great expectations about this duel.
Yet, the phenomenon induced this time around was unremarkable. This hinted that one of them was a fraud, and that person couldnât possibly be Jie Zhou since he had already proven himself.
With such thoughts in mind, the crowd turned their eyes toward Chu Feng.
They had witnessed Chu Fengâs strength back in the Hidden Land, which was why many thought that Chu Feng had been framed. After all, it was hard to imagine that he had faked the power he had displayed back then.
However, the current situation left them with no choice but to suspect that Chu Feng had resorted to external means back in the Hidden Land. Otherwise, how could the phenomenon induced by the two of them be so unseemly?
âThis doesnât make sense. Chu Feng doesnât seem to have reached Golden Dragon God-cloak, but heâs on par with Purple Dragon God-cloak World Spiritists at the very least. Itâs impossible for someone like him to be untalented.â
The crowd was stunned.
They knew that Chu Feng had reached Blue Dragon God-cloak, but the formation he had constructed back when they were still at the Hidden Land surpassed even that of a Purple Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist.
Of course, the prowess Chu Feng had displayed was in deciphering the formation and not in raw spirit power, but even so, his raw spirit power was definitely comparable to that of Purple Dragon God-cloak World Spiritists.
Unlike cultivators, it was very rare for world spiritists to possess heaven-defying battle power. Not even Jie Zhou possessed such means. Only the most talented prodigies had the ability to exert power beyond their current spirit power.
Yet, Chu Feng actually possessed such means!
Otherwise, there was no way a Blue Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist like him could fight on equal terms with a Purple Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist like Jie Zhou.
The crowd had never heard of a pill that could raise a world spiritistâs spirit power by that much, but assuming that Chu Feng did have such a pill and had consumed it ahead of time to achieve his current heaven-defying battle power, it should be safe to assume that the pill only worked for a short period of time and came with severe side effects.
In other words, if Chu Feng was truly a fraud relying on medicine to raise his spirit power, it was only a matter of time before he gave himself away. All they had to do now was to wait.
On the other hand, Jie Zhou frowned in unease. He knew that Chu Feng wasnât relying on pills, for that was just a lie he had concocted with Lord Shuang Yu to sully Chu Fengâs reputation. That was why he had consumed some Immemorial Divine Water he had obtained from Lord Nianqing beforehand.
Admittedly, the Immemorial Divine Water he had received was unrefined and too little to grant him heaven-defying battle power as Ling Xiao did, but it still significantly raised his fighting prowess. It was due to this that he dared to challenge Chu Feng to a battle.
Little did he know that he would still struggle against Chu Feng.
Chu Fengâs fighting prowess hadnât just reached the level of a Purple Dragon God-cloak World Spiritist; it actually surpassed most Purple Dragon God-cloak World Spiritists. At the very least, it was far above Jie Zhouâs original level.
To make things worse, Chu Feng was far more adept at controlling his spirit power and constructing formations. At this rate, Jie Zhou would lose the battle as soon as the effects of his Immemorial Divine Water wore off.
But to his surprise, he noticed that Chu Feng had begun losing steam. A pained look could be seen on his face. That immediately turned the tides of the battle.
âChu Feng is getting weaker!â
The crowd also noticed that Chu Feng was getting weaker too, which made them even more certain that he had resorted to external means to raise his fighting prowess.
âHow could this be?â
In contrast, Ling Shengâer and Jie Yu were bewildered by the turn of events. They couldnât understand why Chu Feng was losing strength.
A wide smile formed on Jie Zhouâs face. He was initially uncertain about it, but now he was certain that Chu Feng had also relied on external means to raise his fighting prowess, just like him. There was no other reason why he would lose steam and reveal a pained look.
âChu Feng, you finally gave yourself away! No matter how formidable the pill you consumed is, itâs only a matter of time before its effects wear off!â Jie Zhou sneered.
As soon as Jie Zhou said those words, the pained look on Chu Fengâs face suddenly vanished without a trace.
âWhat are you saying, Jie Zhou? I suppressed my own fighting prowess so that you could at least put up a fight, but you were more useless than I thought. What a disappointment. Your skills are so lacking that you canât defeat me even when I gave you the advantage in terms of spirit power,â Chu Feng scoffed.
Jie Zhou was taken aback. He wasnât sure whether Chu Feng was bluffing or not, but there was no way he would admit defeat before everyone else. Thus, he raised his voice and bellowed, âStill putting on a brave front? How shameless can you get?â
âA brave front? Very well, I shall show you my true strength then.â
Chu Feng raised his finger, and a powerful slaughter formation surfaced.
The slaughter formation released a powerful blast of energy that instantaneously unraveled Jie Zhouâs offense and knocked him to the ground.
The crowd was shocked by Chu Fengâs astounding might. He was so powerful that Jie Zhou didnât stand a chance at all! Was the gap between the two of them that great?
Lord Shuang Yuâs face darkened.
She couldnât allow Chu Feng to harm Jie Zhou, so she readied herself to put a halt to this duel.
Boom!
A loud explosion suddenly sounded from the sky. The dark clouds billowed, and the earth began to shake. A terrifying pressure from the sky terrorized the crowd, leaving them trembling from their very souls. It felt like something frightening was about to emerge from the sky.
The only ones who were spared from the pressure were Chu Feng and Jie Zhou. Even Lord Shuang Yu found herself unable to move at all. She could only watch helplessly as Chu Feng slowly made his way toward Jie Zhou.
âThis is my true strength, Jie Zhou. What do you think?â Chu Feng asked with a smile.
Horror filled Jie Zhouâs face. He desperately begged Lord Shuang Yu to save him through voice transmission. He could sense firsthand how powerful Chu Fengâs formation was, and he knew that he wouldnât stand a chance against it at all.
His life was already in Chu Fengâs grasp.
He didnât want to admit it, but there was a huge gap between him and Chu Feng. He was no match for Chu Feng even after consuming the Immemorial Divine Water.
The only person who could save him now was Lord Shuang Yu, but the latter made no move no matter how he pleaded with her.
âKill him, Chu Feng!â Eggy urged.
However, Chu Feng wasnât planning to kill Jie Zhou yet as he wasnât done toying with the latter. He had intentionally concealed his fighting prowess to mislead Jie Zhou into thinking that victory was in his grasp, all so that he could utterly shatter the latterâs hope and dignity afterward.
Boom!
The explosions in the sky grew increasingly louder, and the pressure was swiftly intensifying. For some reason, Chu Feng felt like something was beckoning him, prompting him to raise his head to take a look.
It was only then that he realized that the dark clouds were forming different images like a transforming ink painting. The formed images had a sinister feeling that made oneâs heart palpitate in fear, leaving one not daring to look directly at it.
Yet, Chu Feng found himself unable to turn his eyes away from those images. His instincts were telling him that the images contained something he was looking for.
âThat isâ¦â
Chu Feng suddenly noticed something that made his eyes narrow. The dark clouds had formed an image that was identical to the one he had seen on the scroll, the image that symbolized the spirit formation gate he needed to enter in order to access the next trial.
âCould it beâ¦â
A thought surfaced in Chu Fengâs mind, but there was no time for him to properly think things through. The image was already on the verge of changing. Without any hesitation, he rose into the sky and charged right into the dark clouds.