Chu Feng’s martial power light blades surged towards Hun Lei one after another.
The enormous light blades tore through the void. In front of them, Hun Lei looked as insignificant as an ant.
Yet Hun Lei neither dodged nor flinched. He showed no fear at all.
Haah!
Suddenly, Hun Lei roared, and an invisible tidal wave burst from his body.
The void trembled, wild winds howled.
Even those colossal martial power light blades were instantly shattered by the invisible surge.
When people looked at Hun Lei again, they saw blue flames surging across his body. His aura had reached Ninth Grade Venerable.
This was Hun Lei’s Heaven-bestowed Divine Power. It was this very power that allowed his cultivation to rise from Eighth Grade Venerable to Ninth Grade Venerable.
Seeing the change in Hun Lei, people turned back to Chu Feng. Some felt pity, some sympathy, while others gloated.
Chu Feng had used Lightning Markings, Lightning Armour, and his own Heaven-bestowed Divine Power, three layers of enhancement, to forcibly raise his cultivation from Fifth Grade Venerable to Eighth Grade Venerable.
His methods were undeniably impressive, at least superior to Hun Lei’s.
Everyone knew Hun Lei only had one way to boost his cultivation: the Heaven-bestowed Divine Power he had just displayed.
Yet today, that single boost was enough to surpass Chu Feng.
The reason was simple. Hun Lei’s base cultivation was Eighth Grade Venerable, a full three grades higher than Chu Feng’s.
“Is he finally going to unleash it?”
While most people believed Chu Feng was about to die, Sheng Guang Jin’an stared at him, eyes filled with anticipation.
And his hunch was correct.
Chu Feng had indeed been preparing a technique.
This technique was the strongest one he currently possessed.
Heavenly Lightning Ninefold Slash.
Heavenly Lightning Ninefold Slash was extremely difficult to master. Even now, with his cultivation greatly improved, Chu Feng had only grasped the first slash.
First Slash: Heavenly Lightning Manifests.
Even so, just this first slash was more than enough to obliterate Hun Lei.
Chu Feng had sensed Hun Lei approaching long ago. From the very beginning, he had been brewing the first slash of Heavenly Lightning Ninefold Slash.
The reason it took so long was that his bloodline power was too weak.
In order to help Yue Xian, Chu Feng had extracted part of his own bloodline power and fused it into the formation.
Although bloodline power could recover, it required time.
At present, the bloodline power available for combat within his body was already insufficient.
After activating Lightning Markings and Lightning Armour, it became even scarcer.
And unfortunately, executing Heavenly Lightning Ninefold Slash also required bloodline power.
This was why Chu Feng had needed so much time to prepare.
Zzzzt!
Suddenly, Chu Feng sharply raised the Blue Jade Mandarin Sword.
At the same moment, dazzling lightning flashed in his eyes.
Rumble, rumble!
Abruptly, thunder exploded across the sky.
Above Chu Feng’s head, boundless lightning surged forth.
A phenomenon. This was a phenomenon triggered by Chu Feng.
The lightning spread in an instant.
By the time people noticed, it no longer hovered only above Chu Feng. It covered the entire heaven and earth.
This spectacle was even more terrifying than ordinary heavenly tribulations.
Most importantly, the moment the lightning phenomenon appeared, identical lightning emerged across Chu Feng’s body and the Blue Jade Mandarin Sword in his hand.
Even without explanation, everyone could tell that this terrifying lightning had been summoned by Chu Feng himself.
“What kind of technique is this? It actually triggered a phenomenon.”
“Such a frightening aura. That power seems to contain heaven-defying battle strength.”
Seeing the tribulation Chu Feng had called forth, everyone realised they had still underestimated him.
No wonder he faced Hun Lei with such calm calculation and confidence. He possessed this kind of horrifying technique.
“You… just who are you?”
Hun Lei asked in a heavy voice.
Though he tried to appear calm, everyone could see the fear in him.
He was truly afraid. From Chu Feng at this moment, Hun Lei sensed a power capable of erasing him completely.
“Who I am is not important.”
“But if you wish to die with your eyes closed, I can grant you that.”
“Hun Lei, remember well.”
“The strike that kills you today is called First Slash: Heavenly Lightning Manifests.”
Chu Feng declared.
“First Slash: Heavenly Lightning Manifests?”
“What kind of technique is this? A Venerable Taboo martial skill? A secret skill? I’ve never even heard of it.”
The crowd exclaimed in shock.
Zzzzt!
At that instant, Chu Feng swung his sword down fiercely.
All the lightning on his body surged into the sword and poured out along the descending blade.
Chu Feng wasted no time. He wanted a swift conclusion, to eliminate Hun Lei as quickly as possible.
Zzzzt!
However, when the lightning left the sword, no lightning blade appeared.
Instead, it formed only a few weak strands of lightning.
Those strands were pitifully faint, like dying fish flopping weakly in mid-air before vanishing completely.
“Damn it.”
Seeing this, Chu Feng inwardly cursed.
His bloodline power was simply too weak. Although he had gathered strength beforehand, when it came time to release it, the power inside him proved insufficient. The technique failed at the critical moment.
Now, everyone else was also stunned by what they saw.
After such an imposing buildup, how could the actual strike be so pathetic?
Crack!
At that moment, a strange rumbling sounded.
Cracks had appeared in the barriers around the Immortal Cave and the Demon Den.
Without a word, Chu Feng shot forward and passed through one of the cracks.
But after crossing the barrier, instead of heading towards the Immortal Cave, he flew straight towards the Demon Den.
Everything happened too quickly. By the time people reacted, Chu Feng had already entered the Demon Den.
Only then did they look up at the still-raging lightning covering the sky and suddenly understand something.
“What rubbish First Slash: Heavenly Lightning Manifests!”
“I thought it was some earth-shattering move. Turns out it was just a bluff.”
Many disciples of the Soul Locking Sect cursed Chu Feng repeatedly.
They all believed the so-called First Slash: Heavenly Lightning Manifests was nothing but deception.
Chu Feng had merely used it as a distraction to escape.
“But something’s off. Why didn’t he flee far away? Why did he run back inside the barrier?”
“Even if he went inside the barrier, why choose the Demon Den instead of the Immortal Cave? Doesn’t he know the Demon Den of this forbidden training ground is a deadly place even the people of Overlord Star Manor dare not enter?”
Soon, others voiced their confusion.
Yet right then, a Soul Locking Sect disciple answered.
“Isn’t it obvious? That guy looked calm on the surface, but he was actually scared witless by Senior Brother Hun Lei. He didn’t mean to run into the Demon Den. He was so terrified his mind went blank and he fled in the wrong direction.”
The disciple’s words dripped with mockery towards Chu Feng.
Yet strangely, many people present nodded in agreement.
They found Chu Feng’s actions incomprehensible, but if he had panicked and lost his bearings under fear, running the wrong way made sense.
In an instant, Chu Feng became a laughing stock in everyone’s eyes.
Even Sheng Guang Jin’an shook his head repeatedly, undisguised disappointment clear on his face.
Compared to Sheng Guang Jin’an’s disappointment, the Soul Locking Sect disciples wore smug expressions.
Chu Feng’s earlier performance had been heaven-defying. Even they could see that, at the same cultivation level, Hun Lei would be no match for him.
Yet such a Chu Feng had been frightened into fleeing in panic by Hun Lei, so scared he even ran in the wrong direction and entered the deadly Demon Den.
In their view, Chu Feng would most likely never leave the Demon Den alive.
And so, this extraordinary Chu Feng had ultimately been defeated by a disciple of their Soul Locking Sect. Naturally, they felt proud.
