Chapter 1685: The Hidden Crisis
Thud! Thud! Thud!
One of Ling Feng's legs sank deep into the ground as he forced himself to a stop. Fixing his gaze on Ao Jue across from him, a trace of solemnity flickered through his eyes.
Anyone capable of standing alongside Shi Haoxuan as one of the Three Great Prodigies was bound to be extraordinary.
His white robes billowed wildly in the wind. Ling Feng stood straight as a spear, dazzling blood-red light radiating from his entire body. He resembled a supreme blood sun hanging high above the world, releasing boundless blood energy so overwhelming that few could bear to look directly at him.
In terms of pure vitality alone, he was even suppressing Ao Jue by a small margin.
After driving Ling Feng back with a single punch, Ao Jue's own vitality had fallen into disorder. Only after taking a deep breath did he manage to stabilize it once more.
Turning back toward Ling Feng, he felt that overwhelming vitality blazing like nine suns in the heavens and could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
"How did you cultivate your vitality to such a terrifying level?"
Among his generation, he had only ever felt such overwhelming vitality from one being.
No, to be precise, it had not even been a person.
It had been a Demon Ruler.
Ling Feng merely smiled without answering.
The Dragon-Elephant Tyrant Body Art had remained unconquered for thousands of years. Yet once mastered, its vitality could dominate all heroes beneath the heavens. Against opponents of the same tier, it was virtually unmatched.
At this moment, Ao Jue felt as though the man before him had transformed into a humanoid ferocious beast.
This fellow was a monster through and through.
Yet rather than feeling discouraged, Ao Jue's battle will surged even higher.
The stronger his opponent became, the more his blood boiled.
"Good! Excellent!" Ao Jue threw his head back and laughed. "I never expected to meet such a worthy opponent at this year's Sunset Heaven Selection! Ling Feng, today I, Ao Jue, will settle who stands higher between us!"
With a wild laugh, he stepped forward.
In an instant, his figure split into a string of crimson afterimages that swept forward with overwhelming force.
Ling Feng's battle will likewise erupted.
His body transformed into a streak of thunder and lightning and vanished from everyone's sight.
Boom!
Bang!
Crackle!
The sounds of countless collisions rang out like torrential rain hammering the earth without end. At the same time, they resembled peals of thunder exploding continuously within dark storm clouds. Every exchange shook the heavens and the earth.
The spectators felt their hearts pounding wildly.
Had any of them been caught within such a battlefield, they would have been pulverized into dust in an instant.
Yet what made them even more uneasy was the fact that although they could clearly hear the relentless sounds of battle, they could not see the combatants at all.
Only at the moment their attacks collided would their figures briefly appear.
Even then, those figures were merely afterimages.
Before anyone could react, the next clash had already erupted elsewhere.
Across the arena, their shadows flashed in and out like ghosts. Countless afterimages appeared and disappeared so rapidly that nobody could match the sounds of impact to any particular figure.
Both of them had clearly reached the level where their power could shatter space itself.
Every move tore cracks through the void.
The audience could hear nothing but the explosive sounds of impact and the constant shattering of the bluestone tiles covering the arena.
Neither combatant relied on flashy techniques or martial arts.
This was a pure contest of power and speed.
Everyone stared with eyes wide open, overwhelmed with shock.
So this was a battle between true top-tier geniuses!
Then another realization struck them.
Ling Feng was actually fighting Ao Jue, the king among prodigies, on completely equal footing.
In other words, Ling Feng possessed the strength to contend for a top-three position.
Crack!
The bronze ground beneath the feet of the Pavilion Master of Cloudsky Pavilion from Yunluo Sacred Land suddenly shattered.
A tidal wave of shock crashed through his soul.
"Could it be that this year's Sunset Heaven Selection will see Dongling Immortal Pool take two of the top three positions?"
His fists clenched tightly.
In the previous Sunset Heaven Selection, Yunluo Sacred Land had claimed both second and third place.
But this time, Ye Ting and Ling Feng had risen out of nowhere.
Could it be that Yunluo Sacred Land would actually finish last among the Three Great Sacred Lands?
The Elder Haoling of Wulei Sacred Land wore an equally grim expression.
His gaze shifted toward Ye Ting in the preparation area.
If Ye Ting fought Ling Feng, how much chance of victory would he really have?
Before this year's Sunset Heaven Selection began, countless people had claimed that Dongling Immortal Pool was in decline.
But looking at the situation now...
Decline?
Those people clearly had a very strange understanding of what that word meant.
Boom!
Bang! Bang!
Under the frenzied battle between Ling Feng and Ao Jue, the bronze arena suffered catastrophic damage.
Savage cracks spread everywhere.
The entire platform exploded into countless fragments.
Yet this battle between supreme prodigies was still far from over.
At last, the bronze arena could no longer withstand their destructive power.
With a thunderous crash, it collapsed completely.
Two afterimages shot into the sky and continued fighting above the ruins.
For the first time, the puppet referee released a beam of golden divine light.
The radiance spread in every direction before enveloping both Ling Feng and Ao Jue.
The two fighters seemed to sense something simultaneously and halted their battle.
"The arena has been destroyed. The match is temporarily suspended while a replacement arena is prepared."
The puppet referee announced the decision expressionlessly.
The entire venue fell silent.
This was the first arena replacement since the start of the current Sunset Heaven Selection.
High atop the mountain peak, ten figures stood beneath the heavens.
The Divine General Cangwu narrowed his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing within them.
"If I remember correctly, the arena wasn't even damaged until the championship match during the previous Sunset Heaven Selection, wasn't it?"
Beside him, the Cold-Faced Divine General nodded without changing expression.
"The quality of this generation's geniuses in the Dongling Region is several times greater than the last."
"Indeed." Divine General Cangwu laughed heartily. "It seems the Dongling Region is entering a golden age. Another flourishing era of martial arts is about to begin."
"Prosperity often conceals danger beneath its surface."
The Cold-Faced Divine General remained as expressionless as ever.
"For the sect world of the Dongling Region, a great calamity may already be approaching."
"You really know how to ruin the mood."
Divine General Cangwu rolled his eyes at him irritably.
The Cold-Faced Divine General remained completely unmoved.
"I'm merely stating a fact."
"Heh..."
Divine General Cangwu could only shake his head.
If this man were not his biological elder brother, nobody would willingly spend more than a few words speaking to someone with such a perpetually grim face.
...
Before long, black light began flickering around the puppet referee.
The destroyed arena beneath him was instantly restored, replaced by a brand-new platform in perfect condition.
Taking the strength of the two combatants into consideration, the defensive barrier surrounding the arena was reinforced once again.
"The match resumes."
The puppet referee made the announcement coldly.
Neither Ling Feng nor Ao Jue attacked immediately.
After fighting for so long, neither had managed to gain any advantage.
They were evenly matched.
Both had expended a considerable amount of stamina. With several more matches still awaiting them, continuing this war of attrition was not a practical option.
"Brother Ling," Ao Jue said after catching his breath, "let's decide this with our strongest attack."
When a worthy rival meets an equal, mutual respect naturally follows.
After this exhilarating battle, Ao Jue no longer held the slightest trace of underestimation toward Ling Feng. He now regarded him as a true equal.
Ling Feng nodded.
"Agreed. That was exactly what I had in mind."