This was especially so for Feng Xu.
He was known as the strongest cultivator beneath God Kings in the Inferno Phoenix Clan, and he was ranked third on the Sky of Spirit Origin’s Board of Potential God Kings!
In the past, the reason Feng Jiuge had been so highly regarded in the clan was because of his talent, not his fighting prowess.
Feng Xu was already in his six hundreds, which meant that the chances of him reaching God King were extremely slim. It was for that reason that the clan had favored Feng Jiuge over him. However, his fighting prowess was definitely not for show.
Just the fact that he was in the third place on the Board of Potential God Kings was enough to leave most people despaired.
“Are you frightened?” Zhang Xuan suddenly asked.
“No, that’s not it. I’m just… not very confident…” Feng Jiuge replied.
Even though the earlier lecture had opened his eyes to many things, he had not had time to put his new knowledge into practice. As such, he was not sure how far he could go with the knowledge that he had just absorbed.
If he slipped up inside against so many powerful experts, he might really lose his life.
“As long as you are able to put what I have taught you into practice, you will be able to overcome the formation easily,” Zhang Xuan reassured him calmly.
“I understand!” Feng Jiuge nodded.
Taking a deep breath, he tossed aside all his doubts and leaped right into the dueling ring.
As soon as he stepped into the dueling ring, the nine opponents that he was going to face suddenly vanished from sight. The formation had concealed their presence, preventing Feng Jiuge from perceiving their whereabouts.
Feng Jiuge warily took a step forward, but all of a sudden, he felt a chilling sensation behind him.
Teacher said that such a situation is likely to be a decoy. If I turn around, it would be as good as leaping right into the enemy’s trap. It’s also highly likely that they will have a countermeasure on the off chance that I rush forward in an attempt to barge out of their encirclement. The only step I can make is to return to my position while launching an offense…
Without any hesitation, Feng Jiuge stepped back to where he had been standing previously.
It was an extremely dangerous move to retreat when there was someone coming at him from behind. One mistake, and he could be impaled by the enemy’s weapon. However, he had no other choice given the situation.
So, as soon as he placed his foot on the ground, he immediately whipped up his other leg to kick right in front of him.
Peng!
He could feel his leg striking something. It seemed like there was indeed a person there.
This… Feng Jiuge’s eyes lit up in excitement.
To be frank, he was still in the phase where he was trying things out to see if the theories really worked in practice. So, he did not really bear much hope regarding it, especially since it was clear that he was in a disadvantageous position.
So, he was pleasantly surprised to see that it had actually worked.
Teacher said that if my attack connects, in order to prevent me from following up with another strike, those at the side will surely make use of this opportunity to assault me. In order to overcome such a situation, there’s no need for me to make any elaborate dodging maneuvers or run away. All I have to do is return to the spot where I stepped forward to earlier…
Feng Jiuge recalled Zhang Xuan’s teachings.
The fact that there was no one who attacked him earlier when he stepped forward meant that there was no enemy there. He could exploit this fact to his advantage.
Thus, he took a step forward once more, and he immediately felt two forces colliding against one another behind him.
It worked!
Seeing how things worked just as his teacher had said, as if he had predicted all of this beforehand, Feng Jiuge trembled in excitement. That being said, he did not allow his excitement to get the better of him. He decisively twisted his body ninety-degrees before kicking toward a certain spot.
Peng!
There was yet another dull thud.
Another opponent who was trying to make a sneak attack on him ended up being kicked in the chest before he could land his attack.
With everything that had happened so far going just as his teacher had planned, Feng Jiuge finally cast away his fear and devoted his all to the battle.
…
Meanwhile, outside the dueling ring…
On another side of the ring from Zhang Xuan, there was a tower that rose into the clouds. There were several elders looking out of the window from there.
“Feng Jiuge actually regained his cultivation and willingly challenged the Nine Phoenix Stellar Formation… I must say that I didn’t expect such a development,” a gray-bearded elder said.
He was the First Elder of the Inferno Phoenix Clan, Feng Danqing.
Previously, he had held high hopes for Feng Jiuge. He had thought that the young man, just like the clan head, would eventually rise to the heights of a God King and expand the Inferno Phoenix Clan’s influence.
Never had he expected that the young man’s potential would suddenly vanish just like that.
Over the past two years, he had called in many favors from his close physician friends, but none of them had been able to solve his condition. Left with no choice, he could only cast Feng Jiuge aside.
After all, even though he was the First Elder, he had to be accountable to the rest of the clan.
But who could have known that Feng Jiuge would be able to make a comeback shortly after he was expelled from the clan? Not only so, he even confidently challenged the Nine Phoenix Stellar Formation…
Just what did Feng Jiuge encounter in the hour that he was gone?
“I had my men look into it, and it seems like right after he left the clan, he encountered a descendant of our clan outside. The latter treated his condition and helped him make a breakthrough in his cultivation,” the old man standing beside Feng Danqing said.
He was the Second Elder, Feng Tianyun’s.
“I heard that the descendant defeated Feng Jiang in a battle?” Feng Danqing asked.
“Yes, I heard the same. It seems like he’s no ordinary person,” Feng Tianyun remarked.
“Feng Jiuge seems to have changed quite a bit as well over the years. It was unfortunate that his cultivation started regressing for no reason, but it did help him to mature quite a bit. Even if he doesn’t clear the Nine Phoenix Stellar Formation, he’s still qualified to return to our clan.” Feng Danqing stroked his beard as he spoke.
Feng Tianyun nodded in agreement.
As elders of the Inferno Phoenix Clan, they prioritized the interests of the clan over everything else. Naturally, they would be delighted to have Feng Jiuge back if he really had regained his cultivation.
It was just that being expelled from the clan was not a matter to be made light of. In view of the pride of the clan, they could not allow a person to simply join and leave the clan as they pleased.
So, the trial had to continue.
It was just that they had the discretion to decide which side should win.
Feng Danqing quickly counted the time that had elapsed since Feng Jiuge entered the formation before instructing, “It’ll be good for Feng Jiuge to face a bit of hardship in the trial… However, tell Feng Xu and the others that it will suffice to make him suffer a bit. Just don’t do anything that will hurt his foundation and affect his future cultivation!”
The Nine Phoenix Stellar Formation was a particularly powerful formation within their clan, such that not even Feng Danqing and Feng Tianyun could peer through the mist to see what was happening within.
The formation allowed Feng Xu, Feng Yuancheng, Feng Qingyan, and the others to pool their powers together synergistically. Even if Feng Jiuge was three times stronger than he was, he still would not stand a chance.
The only reason Feng Danqing had allowed the trial to go ahead was to temper Feng Jiuge’s character, hoping that he could rid himself of complacency and work harder in the future.
“Alright, I’ll send the message right now…” Feng Tianyun nodded.
A moment later, however, a slight frown appeared on his face.
“They aren’t answering. Could it be that… Feng Jiuge is so weak that he couldn’t even survive the first phase of the trial?”
Even if they wanted to temper a person, the person should at least be strong enough to be tempered. If Feng Jiuge was so weak that he collapsed before the others could utilize their full prowess, he could only blame himself for his weakness.
“Killed?” Feng Danqing also frowned as well. He immediately ordered, “Stop the formation!”
“Alright!”
Feng Tianyun flicked his finger and infused a surge of his energy into the mist.
Even though it appeared that the Nine Phoenix Stellar Formation was controlled by the nine cultivators within, in truth, the master key was still in their hands. They could stop the formation with a mere thought.
Hu!
The air in the dueling ring jolted violently before the mist began dispersing.
“If Feng Jiuge couldn’t even last for three minutes, I must say that it doesn’t matter even if he died in the trial…” Feng Tianyun harrumphed.
But before he could finish his words, he saw the real situation in the dueling ring and froze.
Feng Danqing’s eyes also nearly bulged out.
In the dueling ring, Feng Jiuge, whom they had thought might have lost his life, was chasing after his opponents spiritedly whereas Feng Xu and the others could only tremble in fear as they retreated again and again…
