"It's the Dean, the Dean is here!"

"It really is the esteemed Dean. Looks like this beauty is in for some trouble."

"Naturally. The Dean is a ninth-level Magus, one of the strongest on the entire continent. How could he possibly lose to a mere girl!"

Amidst the murmurs, Xia Liubinqing stood firmly on the dueling platform, bowed respectfully to the young woman, and spoke: "To possess such cultivation at such a young age, you truly are a genius rarely seen in the Phoenix Clan over ten thousand years. Xia Liubinqing sends his regards to the elders of your tribe!"

Xia Liubinqing’s voice wasn't loud, yet everyone in the entire venue heard it, and the expressions on their faces became wonderfully complex.

"The Phoenix Clan... Could it be the Phoenix Clan of the Four Great Divine Beasts?"

"The families of the Four Great Divine Beasts... Isn't that just a legend? How could they possibly exist?"

"A Divine Beast family? Damn, am I dreaming..."

The crowd below erupted like a boiler bursting, filled with doubt, disbelief, and terror... all sorts of emotions boiled over, immediately throwing the assembly into chaos.

Chen Feng was momentarily stunned, then composed himself. No wonder Ling Feng possessed such cultivation at her age. If she belonged to a Divine Beast family, it was understandable. Just looking at the countless super-experts in the Dragon Clan could illustrate the might of the Phoenix Clan!

Divine Beasts, even without cultivating, could easily reach the Dou Zun level upon reaching maturity.

However, Divine Beasts lived extremely long lives; their maturity took at least several centuries. Ling Feng's true age could not possibly exceed seventeen, which showed how formidable her innate talent for cultivation truly was.

That familiar feeling he had when first encountering Ling Feng must have been due to the functioning of the Flame Dragon bloodline within him! Dragons and Phoenixes both belonged to the Divine Beasts, so a mysterious bloodline resonance was natural.

Back when he encountered Luo Bo at Dragon Map Mountain, he could sense Luo Bo's familiar aura from hundreds of kilometers away before even seeing him. It wasn't surprising that he felt a kinship with Ling Feng now.

Ling Feng stood still, waiting for Xia Liubinqing to finish his salute, and stated flatly, "Let's begin!" Her tone was crisp, without the slightest hesitation.

Xia Liubinqing straightened up, his magic robe billowing without wind, immediately revealing a powerful aura.

Ling Feng flipped her wrist, and suddenly a gleaming sword appeared in her hand. Under the impetus of her Dou Qi, the sword emitted a faint, fiery-red glow, and an equally powerful aura burst forth from her delicate body.

Seeing this sword, Xia Liubinqing’s pupils contracted sharply. After a moment, he sighed, "I didn't expect Clan Leader Feng Ming to give you the Phoenix Soaring Sword. It seems they have high hopes for your battle today!"

Ling Feng’s expression did not change; she slowly raised the sword, and a ring of fiery-red misty aura immediately surged around her body.

"That's a Domain..."

"Yes, absolutely correct, it's the power of a Domain!"

The spectators below roared with excitement.

Domains were exclusive to experts at the Dou Zun level. How could these students down below not be thrilled to witness the power of a legendary expert?

The fiery-red mist enveloped the entire dueling platform like a protective shield, not dissipating unnecessarily, demonstrating the precision of her power control.

This was the first time Chen Feng observed a Domain fully unfurled, and to his surprise, the Domain, once active, was faintly transparent, allowing those outside to see the people inside perfectly clearly.

Xia Liubinqing flicked his hand and produced a pure white magic staff, tapping it gently before him, instantly creating a magical barrier. For a mage, protecting their body was always paramount.

After finishing the magic shield, a layer of white, hazy mist also began to emanate from around his body—his own Domain.

The white mist and the fiery-red mist did not clash as expected but merged, also enclosing the dueling stage.

"Aren't Domains supposed to be mutually exclusive?" Chen Feng was momentarily confused, then understood: "It seems Ling Feng allowed him to do this, for the sake of fairness."

In a battle between Dou Zuns of the same rank, if one deployed a Domain and the other did not, it meant the latter was disadvantaged from the start, which would absolutely affect the outcome. Ling Feng deploying her Domain first was not to gain an advantage, so she naturally allowed Xia Liubinqing’s Domain to manifest as well.

Seeing his Domain fully expanded, Ling Feng’s expression instantly turned cold as an autumn wind. With a crisp shout, she flicked the Phoenix Soaring Sword in her hand, conjuring a sword light stretching over ten meters long, which she swung down toward Xia Liubinqing.

As the sword was swung, the fiery-red mist within the Domain frantically surged toward the sword light. Those outside witnessed only a spectacular sight, feeling none of the coercive pressure, but Xia Liubinqing, standing beneath the giant sword, felt as if ten thousand high mountains were collapsing before him, an infinite pressure causing him to feel the urge to vomit blood.

If not for the added magical barrier, he would have been crushed into a meat patty by the sword's momentum alone before it even arrived.

"Good!" Xia Liubinqing shouted, and dozens of beams of light shot out from his staff, each one striking the fiery-red great sword sequentially. With every beam that hit, the sword’s glow faded slightly. When the final beam struck the sword, this great sword, formed from a convergence of Dou Qi and Domain energy, vanished without a trace.

As the great sword exploded, Ling Feng's face instantly turned ashen, and a trickle of blood escaped her lips. With a "thud, thud," she staggered back seven or eight steps, shattering the bluestone tiles of the arena beneath her with every stride.

Xia Liubinqing, having continuously released so many beams of light, also looked quite strained; it seemed he had exerted his full effort.

Silence reigned all around.

"Wh-what is happening? I don't understand any of this?"

"Yeah, why are both of them injured after just one move?"

After a moment, the crowd began to discuss heatedly.

These people hadn't even reached the Dou Shi level, so naturally, they couldn't comprehend this level of combat. A duel between Dou Zuns was a clash of Domains, and without being within the Domain, one could never grasp the true power involved.

It was like watching a boxing match without understanding boxing. To an outsider, a punch might look funny, but if that person were actually to face a single punch from a boxer, only then would they understand the immense power contained in that seemingly plain strike.

The situation now was that everyone only saw Ling Feng swing her sword and the Dean blocking it. There was no explosive sound, no brilliant burst of energy waves; everything was so simple that these onlookers were instead puzzled.

Chen Feng was different. His face was instantly replaced by astonishment. He had fought with Ling Feng for two months and knew her Domain power inside and out. From her building momentum to swing the sword, to stepping back several paces, he witnessed the entire process, and he knew Ling Feng had lost on the very first exchange!

Dean Xia Liubinqing had reacted hastily, using skillful force to block Ling Feng's long-prepared great sword, and most importantly, he had not used the power of his Domain!

While casting magic within a Domain could provide amplification, without coordinating it with the Domain's power, it was still difficult to unleash its full potential!

To injure Ling Feng without utilizing the Domain’s power showed how thoroughly Ling Feng had been defeated in this opening move.

"Dean Xia Liun is indeed formidable!" Ling Feng stated, her tone suggesting she was not surprised that he had blocked her single strike.

The Dean sighed, coughed a couple of times, and shook his head, "It seems the body really doesn't compare to you youngsters!"

"Let's see if you can block my Phoenix Dance of Nine Heavens and the Phoenix Cry of Nine Heavens!" Ling Feng said before suddenly leaping high into the air, striking a soaring pose, a flash of fire in her eyes, and immediately behind her appeared a pair of seven-colored wings composed of flames.

At this moment, she resembled a Phoenix soaring through the ninth heaven!

"Ming..."

A piercing cry emanated from her in the sky, and simultaneously, the wings behind her merged with the Domain, releasing ten thousand rays of light!

The fire elementals in the sky converged into the Domain simultaneously; the entire Domain became like a massive magnetic field gathering elements.

"This is bad, move quickly..." The surrounding students had never witnessed such majesty and screamed, retreating rapidly.

Warren also couldn't withstand the elemental invasion in the surrounding air and fled dozens of meters backward.

"Chen Feng, hurry over here, it's dangerous..."

The elemental chaos in the air was absolutely fatal to Dou Shis. Warren shouted loudly when he saw Chen Feng standing motionless, looking as if he were (stupid/dazed).

Chen Feng stood quietly on the spot, deaf to Warren’s shouts. His fists were clenched, and he felt his entire body boiling.

"Heaven Grade Middle-Tier Dou Skill, comparable to the Black Particles of the Great Serpent's move!"

Seeing Ling Feng unleash the Phoenix Dance of Nine Heavens, Chen Feng immediately understood the power of this Dou Skill.

At this moment, the Flame Dragon bloodline within his body resonated instantly, giving rise to an incomparably powerful force from within his body. This power flowed back and forth through his meridians like a flood tide.

"Ah..."

He roared, his eyes wide open, and an extremely powerful aura radiated from him, harmonizing with the Domain above the high platform.

"This is... the precursor to advancing to Dou Zun... We have a student about to advance to Dou Zun?" A man who looked like a teacher exclaimed in shock.

Seeing Chen Feng standing at the front of the platform, he assumed he was a student of their academy.

"Quickly check which grade and class he belongs to. I know all the Dou Shi level students; how have I never seen this student?" This teacher shouted to a teacher beside him.

"Dean of Academic Affairs, I don't seem to have seen this student either. He... might not be a student of this academy!" the teacher behind him replied.

"Not a student of this academy?" The Dean of Academic Affairs was stunned. "Didn't I issue an order today to seal the school gates, prohibiting non-academy students from entering? How did someone get in? Investigate how he entered!"

"Yes..."

Xia Liubinqing within the Domain seemed to sense Chen Feng's incomparably powerful aura. He turned his head and looked with some surprise, but this was no time to be distracted. He took only one glance before turning back, muttering incantations, raising his magic staff high, and his Domain space instantly trembled violently as it gathered immense power.

PS:: I have something urgent tonight, I'll write another chapter when I return. Only 9000+ today, sigh, I guess I won't get my 16 accumulated update tickets. .(To be continued, to know what happens next, please log in to www**m, for more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) First published