Under Linghu Hongfei’s efforts, the black flames around him had undergone a qualitative transformation, a sign that his fusion with the flames was progressing rapidly. Otherwise, so many of the black flames wouldn’t have submitted to him.
Yet no matter how hard Linghu Hongfei tried, Chu Feng’s fusion speed outpaced his own.
Even though Linghu Hongfei was a Dragon Mark Saint-cloak World Spiritist while Chu Feng was merely a Snake Mark Saint-cloak, Linghu Hongfei couldn’t catch up. In fact… the gap between them only widened.
“Master Liangqiu, why is it that Hongfei, a Dragon Mark Saint-cloak, is fusing with that power slower than Chu Feng? Could it be that Chu Feng knows some secret we don’t?” Outside the formation, Linghu Yuhua asked Master Liangqiu, her face full of confusion.
“Chu Feng does know some mysteries of the grand formation, but those shouldn’t relate to this power. The reason for this must be the Boundary Swords’ influence,” Master Liangqiu explained. “The Boundary Swords are deeply tied to this power. Since Chu Feng gained the approval of three Boundary Swords, he naturally outpaces Linghu Hongfei, who only has two.”
“Oh, I see. No wonder,” Linghu Yuhua nodded, suddenly enlightened.
*Buzz—*
Just then, Linghu Hongfei’s eyes snapped open. A surge of overwhelming boundary energy burst from his body.
It was incredibly potent—eerily so.
Yet this strange, formidable energy now rushed toward Chu Feng like an army of thousands, engulfing him in an instant.
Once it enveloped Chu Feng, the black flames he’d already fused with began to be siphoned away by Linghu Hongfei.
“He’s using a supreme treasure to steal the power Chu Feng has already fused!” Master Liangqiu’s eyes flashed with anger as he turned to Linghu Yuhua. “Linghu Yuhua, if your clan’s junior pulls this stunt, it’s hardly the act of a gentleman.”
“I’m only here to protect him. What he does is his own choice—I can’t control it,” Linghu Yuhua replied. As an onlooker, she’d noticed everything, but her face was etched with helplessness.
It was clear she didn’t approve of Linghu Hongfei’s actions either.
Feeling his hard-earned fused black flames being forcibly taken, how could Chu Feng not sense it?
He opened his eyes and looked at Linghu Hongfei. “Brother Linghu, this isn’t exactly sporting, is it?”
“Brother Chu Feng, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Linghu Hongfei said, feigning confusion.
Chu Feng just smiled.
He’d figured it out. Linghu Hongfei might be the Ancestral Martial Starfield’s top genius, gifted beyond measure in both martial cultivation and spirit techniques—worthy of the title “greatest talent.”
But he was no upright gentleman. He was a thoroughgoing hypocrite.
His kindness? A mask.
This was the real him.
Faced with such a despicable, shameless-to-the-core Linghu Hongfei, Chu Feng had no intention of arguing.
Right now, everyone was fusing with the black flames, lost in their own agony.
No one had noticed Linghu Hongfei’s actions—or likely even heard their exchange.
Without witnesses to back him up, what was the point of debating a shameless creep like this?
Beg him to stop stealing his fused power?
That was obviously futile.
So Chu Feng ignored him, letting Linghu Hongfei keep pilfering his fused black flames while he continued fusing more… and let Linghu Hongfei take it.
“Looks like Chu Feng’s given up,” Linghu Yuhua remarked outside the formation.
“Linghu Hongfei’s using a supreme treasure in his body to forcibly snatch Chu Feng’s results. You and I both know how powerful that treasure is—what can Chu Feng do but yield? Can he resist?” Master Liangqiu fumed.
He was furious.
After all, he’d taken a shine to Chu Feng and wanted him as a disciple.
Seeing someone he prized suffer such injustice—how could he not be livid?
“It’s indeed a shame for Chu Xuan’er’s descendant,” Linghu Yuhua said. “But the world of martial cultivators has always been like this—survival of the fittest, crueler than the animal kingdom. Only the adaptable thrive; the rest get weeded out.”
Master Liangqiu didn’t argue. Her words were harsh but not wrong.
Indeed, wasn’t the martial cultivator’s world always about the strong devouring the weak?
Like in the jungle—herbivores eaten by predators. Were they wronged? Sure.
But could you call the predators evil?
Strictly speaking, yes—they killed without cause, just to survive, an act against the heavens.
Yet if they didn’t, they’d be the ones to die.
There’s a saying: “If you don’t look out for yourself, heaven and earth will destroy you.” It holds true for animals, for any life.
All living things have a selfish streak.
This world has no fairness. Want it? Your fist better be harder than the other guy’s. Otherwise, you don’t get to talk about justice—and no one’s shedding tears for you.
Inside the formation, many had passed out, unable to bear the black flames’ torment.
Aside from Chu Feng and Linghu Hongfei, only Linghu Yueyue, Wuma Shengjie, Tantai Xing’er, and the Liangqiu sisters still held on.
Linghu Hongfei, especially—he fused with the black flames himself while stripping Chu Feng’s share, claiming most of the flames here for himself.
The black flames were dwindling, signaling the trial’s end was near.
And the final winner? Linghu Hongfei, no doubt.
