I place my faith in the capabilities of Lord Iori Yagami! A single battle outside Dragon Mountain Town wiped out ten thousand men; if a war truly breaks out, the contingent you command is capable of sweeping the world clean!" the aged voice declared. "Therefore... we shall be honorable before we are ignoble. Pass these three trials, and then defeat me, and I will naturally release the hostages. If you refuse, then let us fight!"

"You think I dare not?" Chen Feng sneered.

"I know you dare, but I still hope you will consider this: John and Yas are ultimately innocent. Do not let your rashness lead to any accidents!" the elder’s voice continued to sound.

"Then I wish to see exactly what sorcery lies within your so-called three trials!" Chen Feng snorted coldly and proceeded up the mountain path.

The dead cannot be brought back to life; Chen Feng dared not act recklessly.

Although the Dragon Clan possessed methods of resurrection—it was how Xiao Hu was revived—those methods were limited to magical beasts and divine beasts. The human body simply could not endure the power of rebirth contained within the blood of the Phoenix Fire. If the secret art were enacted, the corpse would likely explode.

The bustling crowd, hearing the elder’s voice, had already begun to disperse, with only a sparse few scattering down the mountain, abandoning any interest in the 'Dragon Soaring, Phoenix Dancing' spectacle.

"Let's go!" Ling Feng quickly caught up in two strides.

"Good! Since this place is the 'Dragon Soaring, Phoenix Dancing,' today we shall join forces and see who else in this world can stand against us!" Chen Feng’s chest suddenly swelled with heroic spirit, brimming with energy.

"My Lord, take me with you!" Ande hurriedly squeezed closer, a look of helplessness flickering across his face. He could only pin his hopes on Chen Feng defeating the ancestor of his own family; only then would he be spared this constant anxiety.

Chen Feng ignored him and strode up the mountain with Ling Feng. Their not-so-broad backs, seen by those behind them, appeared as the most solid thing in the world—unbreakable and eternal.

……………………………………………………………… "Ancestor, must it come to this?" Emperor Suomen stood motionless in the fierce wind atop the mountain, yet his eyes revealed a shade of confusion.

"This is the only chance! You know the influence of the forces from the overseas continent; clashing with them would be no different than an egg striking a stone. Doing this now is something we must do out of necessity!" an old man in golden robes sighed, remaining seated.

"But... if we kill him, won't we invite an even fiercer counterattack?" Emperor Suomen asked anxiously.

"No," the old man in gold robes said with a smile. "Our goal is to make him perish... not to personally kill him!"

Emperor Suomen’s eyes brightened. "You mean..."

The old man in gold robes smiled. "Once he passes these three trials, something very interesting will appear, and then something even more interesting will unfold!"

Emperor Suomen was utterly bewildered. "What interesting thing? What even more interesting thing?"

"The place of 'Dragon Soaring, Phoenix Dancing,' hehe, don't you know what is destined to happen here today?" the old man in gold robes explained with a chuckle.

Emperor Suomen's eyes lit up, and he bowed deeply to the golden-robed elder. "Your planning is truly meticulous, Ancestor!"

"Heh, actually, this idea wasn't mine to begin with..." The old man in gold robes shook his head mid-sentence. "When a man gets old, he just spouts too much nonsense! Let’s just wait and watch the show!"

Emperor Suomen hurriedly nodded and settled quietly in place, excitement gleaming in his eyes. "Iori Yagami... I see if you survive today!"

………………………………………………………………… Chen Feng lightly stamped his feet, using the ground's rebound force to easily leap forward. Here, he did not employ the Void-Walking technique (Wukong Shu), but relied solely on his physical strength to advance. Ling Feng followed behind him at neither a fast nor slow pace, always staying within two meters of him.

This speed was nothing to Xiao Hu, but for Anthony and Milo trailing behind, it was agonizing; they strained every muscle just to keep up.

Anthony followed out of fear of being killed by Suomen, but Milo followed desperately, afraid his idol might misunderstand—after all, it was he who had invited the idol, only to find an ambush set up here!

He had only heard about coming to this place this morning from his sister. Could this matter be related to her? Impossible. His sister knew how much he admired Iori Yagami; she absolutely would not harm him...

"Don't you find something strange?" Ling Feng suddenly spoke up.

"What's strange?" Chen Feng paused his steps and advanced level with her.

"Your appearance has changed so much. You came here from the Finlay Empire, yet you didn't know the royal family of the Loki Empire could set up a trap precisely here waiting for us?" Ling Feng, having learned nearly everything about Chen Feng's past, analyzed the situation logically.

"You mean..." Chen Feng frowned.

"Someone must have leaked the news of your arrival. It’s impossible to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops and set up three trial checkpoints in such a rush," Ling Feng stated.

"Exactly!" A reminder from her made Chen Feng realize the logic. After a moment of thought, he said, "We flew over the Finlay Empire. If anyone knew our exact path, it would be Austin. He wouldn't leak the news of my arrival!"

"Perhaps I am overthinking it," Ling Feng conceded. "Since the Loki Empire could discover the relationship between you, John, and Yas, they surely could have learned of your movements by now!"

"Let's hope so," Chen Feng murmured, his eyes deliberately glancing back at Anthony. He suddenly accelerated his pace and moved forward again.

……………………………………………………………… The checkpoint for the first trial was situated halfway up the mountainside, along a steep, straight path where hundreds of men were ambushed.

The mountain path was treacherous, yet the ambushers were not particularly well-hidden. Chen Feng saw them instantly; did they really think such a setup could trap anyone? Wasn't this too much like child's play?

"The first trial welcomes Lord Iori Yagami!" At that moment, the entire group leaped out from their hidden spots. It seemed the opposing side knew they were discovered and decided to reveal themselves brazenly.

"Against a master like yourself, we are certainly no match, but we are following orders, so we must offend you!" The one speaking stepped forward first. "We trust a master of your caliber would disdain using superior cultivation to bully us and will certainly suppress your power below the Dou Zun level!"

"Don't try to provoke me with tactics; I have none. If someone blocks my path, I have only one method: turning them into dead men!" Chen Feng stated calmly, unaffected by their flattery.

"Good!" The speaker seemed to realize further words were useless and agreed readily. "Form the array!"

As the loud shout rang out, a trace of magical fluctuation emerged from the bodies of the hundreds of men simultaneously. The ground suddenly flared with light—the magic circle was activated.

"This is our [Darkness Overwhelming Array] (Hūn Tiān Àn Dì Dà Zhèn). Once you step inside, it will feel as if the heavens are dark and the earth is dim, and you will find no exit! We ask Lord Iori Yagami to enter!"

"Fine!" Chen Feng agreed, walking straight in, and Ling Feng followed him.

The scene flashed before their eyes, instantly turning pitch black like ink; the clear sky had vanished. Any person with lower cultivation suddenly brought here would certainly be disoriented and clueless.

"This formation isn't bad, but the cultivators maintaining it are too weak—they're only at the level of Third-Tier Dou Shi," Ling Feng observed, speaking faintly into the oppressive darkness.

Before her words fully faded, sharp piercing sounds erupted from the darkness, as if hundreds of sharp arrows were shooting toward them. The ground beneath their feet subtly trembled, threatening to collapse at any moment.

The most terrifying thing wasn't the cliff before them or any visible danger, but the ground beneath their feet!

A person only feels secure when their feet are firmly planted; otherwise, no matter how carefree their life, they feel empty and lonely, always living in a castle in the air.

In the pitch black, with the ground constantly shaking beneath them, normal people would naturally feel panic. Just then, a faint light rose from the depths of the darkness. Under this illumination, swarms of arrows instantly flooded their vision!

A powerful sense of oppression instantly filled their entire bodies.

"Magic Arrows?" Chen Feng was startled, instantly judging the attribute of the surrounding projectiles in a flash.

Given Chen Feng and Ling Feng’s cultivation, they weren't afraid of mere magic arrows, but being hit would be too embarrassing. With a wave of his right hand, a small, elliptical halo of light formed around them.

Clatter...

The arrows rained down like a storm, smashing against the halo. They couldn't penetrate even an inch, producing loud crackling sounds.

"That's not right!" Ling Feng suddenly cried out. "Have you noticed this magic array is continuously absorbing our power?"

Chen Feng smiled faintly. "I cast this light shield; how could I not know! For three hundred-odd Third-Tier Dou Shi to generate an array of this power is beyond my expectation!"

"It causes those who wander in to feel panicked and involuntarily release the power within their bodies, which in turn makes the array's power grow stronger until it grinds the opponent to death... If I guess correctly, even a Ninth-Tier Dou Zun falling into this formation would be worn out and killed within it!" Chen Feng explained.

Ling Feng nodded, lightly flipping her jade palm and delivering a strike toward the dark area!

Her palm contained intense energy fluctuations, but this energy instantly vanished and dissipated, melding into the entire darkness. Simultaneously, the two felt the array’s power grow even stronger than before.

"Striking it doesn't break it; it only adds power to the array. If this continues, we will only grow weaker as it grows stronger, and we'll be trapped here forever!" Ling Feng said.

"Heh heh," Chen Feng shook his head. "This array can absorb energy, but... it also has a fatal flaw."

"A flaw?" Ling Feng asked.

"Yes," Chen Feng sneered, slowly clenching his fist, and stated faintly, "Absorbing power is strong, but... what if the power is too great?"

With that, his eyes burst open, shooting out a golden light. He let out a mighty roar and punched directly forward!

Hundred-and-Fourteenth Style: Bite, Dark Force 68!

ps: Ah, what a tragedy. I bought a ticket for the 11th, and I have to head home from Qinghai (to Shandong). Since there's no direct train, I have to buy two more tickets (Xining, Xi'an). Therefore, updates will decrease starting from the 11th; don't expect any bursts. I'll be on the train... Don't expect normal updates; all I can do is avoid completely stopping... So frustrating. And to undertake this glorious and arduous mission of not stopping updates, Old Ya has to stockpile manuscripts starting today. Ugh, too much trouble... (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log on to www**m for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!)