Seeing Chu Feng brimming with killing intent, even the three big shots outside were taken aback—let alone Linghu Hongfei inside the formation.
Though Linghu Hongfei kept a calm facade, hesitation flickered in his eyes.
It wasn’t just Chu Feng’s murderous aura that made him pause and take notice.
It was Chu Feng’s words.
That Supreme Realm monster didn’t seem fake—and Chu Feng had taken it down with a single punch.
Then there was Chu Feng’s ability to move freely within the grand formation.
Linghu Hongfei was starting to lose his nerve.
In terms of raw cultivation, ten thousand Chu Fengs wouldn’t match him.
But against a Chu Feng wielding mysterious powers inside this formation, Linghu Hongfei’s confidence faltered.
“Chu Feng, these black flames aren’t simple. Even if you fuse them and gain their power, it’ll come at a cost,” Linghu Hongfei said.
“I’m worried you won’t be able to handle fusing so much at once.”
“Brother Linghu, I’m scared too. My appetite’s tiny—handling all these black flames? I’m terrified I can’t take it,” Chu Feng replied, his face a mask of mock distress. “But I’ve got no choice. This power’s locked onto me, forcing its way in, insisting on fusing with me. I’m helpless—really, what can I do?”
Linghu Hongfei’s insides churned with rage, his organs practically exploding from the sheer gall of Chu Feng’s shamelessness.
When it came to playing dirty, Chu Feng clearly had the upper hand.
In normal circumstances, Linghu Hongfei would’ve crushed Chu Feng with one hand. But without the assurance of overpowering him here, he swallowed his emotions, tossing out a cold line instead: “Chu Feng, don’t get cocky. The road’s long—we’ll see who’s laughing later.”
With that, he plopped down, closed his eyes, and acted like Chu Feng didn’t exist.
Chu Feng’s grin didn’t waver at the threat. He hadn’t walked this far by being intimidated.
He’d climbed over so-called geniuses and towering giants, step by bloody step.
Then he sat cross-legged too, beginning to fuse with the black flames flooding into him. As they fully merged, a seismic shift erupted within his body.
The vast black aura morphed into surging boundary energy—but it didn’t belong to Chu Feng yet. It was wild, ferocious, laced with some other force, making it a beast to tame. It roiled inside him like a stormy sea.
Caught off guard, Chu Feng couldn’t think too hard. He focused all his mental strength on wrestling it under control.
If he didn’t, forget breaking through—he might even get hit with backlash.
“Master,” Liangqiu Chengfeng said, watching Chu Feng start the fusion. He glanced at Master Liangqiu. “Chu Feng seems fine now. Should we…?”
Master Liangqiu caught his drift. With Chu Feng fusing the black flames, the formation they’d set up was hitting its climax—their shot at a breakthrough hung in the balance.
He’d skipped entering earlier because Linghu Hongfei had stolen Chu Feng’s haul, souring his mood. But now? Things had flipped.
Chu Feng had turned the tables, snagging all the power back. Even Linghu Hongfei, itching to throw down, had backed off out of wariness.
Chu Feng had the situation locked down tight. Master Liangqiu’s spirits soared—it was time to jump in and reap the rewards he’d been craving.
Still, a sliver of doubt lingered. He glanced at Linghu Yuhua.
“Go on,” she said. “You’ve prepped this long—don’t let it go to waste.”
“No need to worry about me. I can’t enter that formation even if I wanted to. And even if I could, I wouldn’t mess with what’s happening. I told you—juniors’ business is their own. As long as no one’s hurting Hongfei, I’m hands-off.”
Linghu Yuhua knew both the formation Master Liangqiu had crafted and the hesitation gnawing at him.
“If I break through, I’ll treat you to drinks after,” Master Liangqiu said.
“No drinks if you don’t?” Linghu Yuhua teased.
“I’ll treat you either way,” he replied.
“Then I want that three-thousand-year stash of yours,” she said.
“Deal,” he agreed.
“Get going then—don’t miss your window,” she said with a wave and a smile.
“Thanks,” Master Liangqiu said, clasping his fists. His gratitude was for her not moving against Chu Feng.
With her strength, no one here could’ve stopped her if she had.
With that, he leaped into action. Liangqiu Chengfeng gave Linghu Yuhua a quick salute before following his master.
Now, only Linghu Yuhua remained.
“Looks like the youngest Saint-cloak World Spiritist might actually emerge,” she murmured, gazing at Chu Feng in the formation. “Just not how our clan pictured it.”
“A carefully laid plan, and it ends up crowning someone else. Wonder if the clan will let it slide.”
Her words carried a trace of worry—she didn’t seem keen on Linghu Celestial Clan tangling with Chu Feng.
Chu Feng, of course, couldn’t hear this chatter outside.
Even if he could, he wouldn’t care. He was in a crisis.
The boundary energy born from the black flames’ fusion didn’t belong to him yet—and it was berserk.
But thankfully, his mental strength was up to the task. Soon, he tamed a chunk of it, fully fusing it with himself.
And his spirit techniques broke through.
The boundary energy he could summon now still bore a cloak, but dragon patterns rippled across it.
Chu Feng had officially become a Dragon Mark Saint-cloak World Spiritist.
“Dear master, please form a contract with me—I wish to serve you,” a familiar voice chimed in the moment he broke through.
It was that spirit again—the one he’d heard during his last few breakthroughs.
Chu Feng was curious about her. How did she find him? Why was she so dead-set on contracting with him?
But right now, the boundary energy from the black flames was overwhelming—and growing wilder, like molten lava boiling inside him. If he didn’t get a grip, it’d erupt like a volcano, and he’d lose it all, missing his shot at Saint-cloak.
He had to act fast!!!
“Dear master, trust my loyalty. Contract with me—let me be your most faithful servant,” the spirit pleaded again.
“Girl, don’t mess with me right now—I’ve got no time to chat. Next time,” Chu Feng snapped, cutting her off forcibly.
“Damn you, rejecting me? You’ll regret this!!!” came her furious, threatening roar as the connection severed.
“Figures—her politeness was fake. Trouble from the start,” Chu Feng muttered, smirking. He couldn’t blame himself—her flip was too quick.
But he brushed it off. The priority was fusing that raging boundary energy and hitting Saint-cloak in one go.
If his martial talent came from his father, his spirit talent was his mother’s legacy.
And now, that talent shone brilliantly.
The boundary energy was like a storm of primed thunder, chaotic and dense, filling a world.
Chu Feng’s mental strength? A rod to wrangle that storm.
Taming such wild power with a single tool was insanely tough.
But Chu Feng pulled it off.
The rampant energy, once a mess, bent to his will, fusing with him in orderly waves.
The moment it fully merged—
The boundary energy he wielded transformed.
Dragon patterns shrank back to insect patterns.
But these weren’t Saint-level—they were Holy-level!!!
“It’s done,” Linghu Yuhua gasped outside.
Inside, Linghu Hongfei’s eyes burned with jealousy.
Chu Feng radiated boundless boundary energy—his own, perfectly matched to him.
The dazzling display told everyone watching…
Chu Feng was now a Saint-cloak World Spiritist!!!
