“Lü Jie, you… you managed to set up such an offensive formation while dueling me? Are you even human?” Chu Feng exclaimed.
Gone were the pride and confidence in his eyes.
Instead, they were filled with shock and, unmistakably, fear.
From the start, Chu Feng had been fearless, calm, and defiant. But now, he was afraid.
It seemed even he hadn’t realised Lü Jie could achieve this.
His shock stemmed from Lü Jie’s feat.
Seeing Chu Feng’s expression, everyone knew he was helpless against Lü Jie’s next attack.
“Lü Jie, stop! It’s just a duel, no need to kill!” Master Tang Chen’s voice thundered, reaching into the Ancient Spirit Domain.
Seeing Chu Feng outmatched and unable to intervene, he could only plead with Lü Jie.
But would Lü Jie heed Master Tang Chen?
His killing intent was set.
Unless his master, Saint Venerable Wudao, intervened, not even the heavens could stop him from killing Chu Feng.
“Chu Feng, die!” Lü Jie finally spoke again.
This time, no roar, just a calm tone.
Yet, within that calm, murderous intent surged.
As his words fell, the beast behind him opened its maw.
Instantly, flames erupted.
Countless massive fireballs shot out like a storm, soaring skyward before raining down on Chu Feng.
“Oh no,” Master Tang Chen and others muttered, sensing disaster.
From Chu Feng’s performance, he had been giving his all from the start.
Now, he had no means to dodge.
If he tried, Lü Jie’s barrier energy would hit him, strong enough to reduce him to ashes.
Unable to evade, Chu Feng could only face the barrage of fireballs.
But their power matched Lü Jie’s barrier energy. If hit, Chu Feng was doomed.
“The outcome is decided,” someone sighed. “Though we don’t know how Chu Feng gained barrier energy rivaling a Sixth-Rank Supreme, Lü Jie’s skill surpasses him. What a pity for such a genius. Despite his talent, he’s one move short.”
Almost no one believed Chu Feng had any chance left.
Even Chu Feng himself looked terrified.
Boom, boom, boom!
Fireballs exploded, their blasts resounding as they detonated above Chu Feng’s head, erupting like volcanoes.
The area was engulfed in flames, even tinting the Ancient Spirit Domain’s exterior a fiery red.
“What’s that?” the crowd gasped.
To their astonishment, though the fireballs exploded, they didn’t hit Chu Feng.
They detonated in the void above him, their fiery ripples blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to harm him.
“What is that? Did the Ancient Spirit Domain intervene again?” people wondered, assuming the domain had stepped in to block Lü Jie’s decisive attack.
“It seems the Ancient Spirit Domain won’t allow either to die,” Master Tang Chen, Yuan Shu, and others sighed in relief.
Though Chu Feng’s loss was confirmed with the domain’s intervention, at least he lived.
That was a silver lining.
“It’s unfair! Unfair!” Lü Jie roared. “You called for this duel, yet you protect him time and again! Why can’t we settle this ourselves? Why interfere?”
His fury was palpable to all.
Like others, he believed the Ancient Spirit Domain’s power had stopped him from killing Chu Feng.
Twice now, it had protected Chu Feng, fueling his sense of injustice.
“What are you yelling about? Look closely. You’re not the only one who can set up formations mid-duel,” Chu Feng said.
As he spoke, a change occurred above him.
A massive barrier shield, over a thousand meters long, appeared overhead.
Radiant and seemingly indestructible, it had blocked Lü Jie’s attack.
It wasn’t the Ancient Spirit Domain but Chu Feng’s own barrier formation that had thwarted Lü Jie.
Moreover, Chu Feng’s formation outshone Lü Jie’s in both power and scale.
Beneath the shield, a giant hand grasped it.
Rumbling earth followed as the hand, pushing the shield skyward, revealed a massive arm.
Soon, a colossal figure, three thousand meters tall, emerged from the depths behind Chu Feng.
It was an armoured warrior, human-like but faceless, glowing with majestic radiance.
Its left hand held the thousand-meter shield that had blocked Lü Jie’s attack.
In its right hand was a two-thousand-meter-long blade.
Standing behind Chu Feng like a guardian deity, it was awe-inspiring.
“This… this is Chu Feng’s formation?”
“He set this up while dueling Lü Jie?”
“He created a formation of this caliber?”
People could hardly believe their eyes, jaws dropping.
Even seasoned elders were stunned, and juniors like Yuan Shu were dumbfounded with shock.
Such a formidable formation was beyond most, even with ample time.
Yet Chu Feng had crafted it secretly during an intense duel with Lü Jie.
What control over barrier energy was required for this?
“Lü Jie, I was just praising you earlier. But I never said you’re the only one who can set up formations mid-duel. Did you really think you had me beaten?” Chu Feng said, his fear replaced by a sly grin.
That grin was infuriatingly smug.
“This kid’s such a rascal, but I like his audacity,” Fairy Muzhi couldn’t help but praise.
It was clear now.
Chu Feng’s earlier fear was feigned.
From the start, he knew Lü Jie’s formation couldn’t harm him.
Lü Jie’s beast head, though powerful, was an incomplete formation.
But Chu Feng’s armoured warrior was a complete, superior formation.
Both could set up formations mid-duel, a feat of genius.
Yet, in terms of formation completeness, Chu Feng far surpassed Lü Jie.
“Impressive, truly impressive,” someone exclaimed. “This is the genius who stood on the third tier of the talent stairs. Lü Jie’s loss is no injustice!”
Even those unrelated to Chu Feng, some harbouring resentment, couldn’t help but praise him.
Love him or hate him, all had to acknowledge his prowess.
