The middle-aged man in the black robe looked down at the fist protruding from his chest, blood continuously streaming from the corner of his mouth. He shook his head frantically, his body trembling in spasms, utterly refusing to believe this was real.

"Earth Crystal Bean?" Chen Feng snorted, "Even the Divine Power Crystal Bean would be useless before me!"

"Ah... I don't believe you!" The middle-aged man in the black robe roared once more, the earthy yellow light around him surging intensely again, and the wound on his chest actually showed signs of slow recovery.

"Do you really think you can still live?" Chen Feng sighed, withdrawing his fist. A ball of blood-red flame suddenly sprouted from his fingertip. This flame burned brighter and hotter, as if consuming the very air, emitting a strange and inexplicable aura.

The fusion of powers had altered the flame's might and color, transforming it from its original purple to this current blood-red hue.

With the flame birthed, Chen Feng's gaze was cold, devoid of any emotion. He clenched his fist and abruptly pulled his arm upward, thrusting the elongated flame straight toward the middle-aged man in the black robe.

Hundred Styles—Ghost Burn!

"An attack like this, is it still updating quickly? Uploaded by Yingzi! The Five Elements counteract each other—Earth conquers Fire. Haha, you’re finished this time!" Seeing Chen Feng use fire, the middle-aged man in the black robe let out a strange cry, suddenly regaining strength. The earthy yellow light around him surged fiercely again, and his fist met Chen Feng’s head-on.

Too much Earth smothers Fire; intense Fire scorches Earth; Fire can nurture Earth, yet Earth remains Fire's nemesis. Due to the cycle of the Five Elements, the middle-aged man in the black robe rejoiced upon seeing Chen Feng employ fire.

"Die!" he roared, channeling explosive power into the earthy yellow light as his fist collided with Chen Feng's. A section of the air was ripped apart by the immense force.

Boom!

A violent explosion erupted. A massive cloud of earthy yellow light engulfed the entire sky, forming a gigantic mushroom cloud.

"Chen Feng..." Ling Feng watched the sudden surge of power from the middle-aged man in the black robe nearby, and fear gripped her heart.

She knew the true strength of the man in the black robe best. He had defeated her transformed true form, "Phoenix Dance of the Nine Heavens," using only thirty percent of his power. Now, having consumed the Earth Crystal Bean, his strength had greatly increased; Chen Feng confronting him directly was bound to result in a heavy loss! The earthy yellow mushroom cloud slowly drifted outwards with a slight breeze. A silhouette emerged from the area of the original battle. Seeing this figure, Ling Feng’s heart plummeted. Her vision blurred, tears immediately streamed down her face, and she nearly fell from the sky.

The one revealed was the middle-aged man in the black robe. Since it was him, it naturally meant Chen Feng had already...

Just as she was about to rush forward, Ling Feng caught a hint of something amiss. The middle-aged man in the black robe stood motionless in the air, blood flowing simultaneously from the corners of his eyes and mouth. His body was making continuous cracking sounds, like firecrackers going off, and suddenly, thousands of bizarre, blood-red flames erupted from within his body, radiating out like ten thousand intense beams of light from him.

"What... a terrifyingly powerful move..." The middle-aged man in the black robe stared fixedly at the interior of the mushroom cloud, his eyes wide like a dead fish, filled with unwillingness and helplessness. With a wretched scream, he disintegrated into countless pieces of flesh, each fragment carrying a wisp of flame, burning to ash in the air before being scattered far away by the wind.

This sudden turn of events startled Ling Feng, leaving her momentarily frozen in place.

The earthy yellow mist slowly dissipated, gradually revealing Chen Feng's sturdy figure. His expression remained completely unchanged, as if killing this middle-aged man in the black robe had been a simple matter for him.

"You... killed him..." Ling Feng’s speech was slightly stuttered.

"Yes, he was too weak!" Chen Feng nodded, slowly flying over.

"Weak?" Ling Feng felt utter bitterness. If this man was considered weak, what was the point of her even living?

——————————————————————————————————————

"If you hadn't killed him immediately, perhaps you could have interrogated him about why he was targeting us!" After a while, Ling Feng finally managed to process the shock and spoke slowly.

"People like him have hard mouths. Even if I hadn't killed him, he wouldn't have said anything valuable. If pressed, he would just spout nonsense. It was better to just kill him..." Chen Feng replied.

"Clap! Clap!"

At that moment, the sound of applause echoed in the sky, followed by a detached voice slowly drifting from afar.

"Well done. You truly haven't disappointed me!"

Chen Feng narrowed his eyes slightly, tracing the sound to its source. A pinpoint of light shot toward them from hundreds of meters away, like a meteor, instantly appearing less than a hundred meters from him.

This speed was more than double what he recalled encountering when facing Jin Ling. If he hadn't seen the newcomer was a youth in white, he might have suspected Jin Xuanhu had arrived.

"Who are you?" Chen Feng stared coldly at the youth and demanded.

"You killed my subordinate, and now you ask who I am? Don't you think that's a bit redundant?" the white-robed youth said, seemingly unconcerned by the death of his underling.

"Which devil from Tianfeng Academy are you? The one who sent people to test me on the road, the one they called 'Young Master'?" Chen Feng’s fists tightened slightly.

The white-robed youth’s lips curved slightly upward. "As expected of the opponent I chose, you are indeed sharp!"

"You know me?" Chen Feng felt a flash of aversion at his arrogant assumption.

"The champion of the Five-Total Competition, the only person in the world who could enter the inner halls of the Seven Divine Temples. How could I not know you!" the white-robed youth declared.

"Entering the inner halls of the Seven Divine Temples?" Chen Feng paused in surprise.

"Heh, stop playing dumb. Didn't Yan Long go through immense effort to modify your bloodline and physique precisely for the purpose of entering the inner halls of the Seven Divine Temples?" the white-robed youth sneered, acting as if he knew everything.

"Nonsense!" Chen Feng retorted, looking at him. "If you came here just to tell me this, I’m not interested. If you want revenge for your subordinate, then hurry up and attack. I dislike unnecessary chatter!"

"..." The white-robed youth shook his head. "I thought I was arrogant, but you are even more so! However, one needs capital to be so impudent!"

"Idiot!" Chen Feng muttered, turned, and started walking away with Ling Feng.

"You..." The white-robed youth was shocked by Chen Feng’s open disregard for him. A hint of ferocity crossed his handsome face. "Originally, I thought your power was too low. If I killed you now, it would be dull. But now... if I don't kill you today, I will be utterly displeased!"

Chen Feng stopped, nodded to Ling Feng, and said, "Go back to the peak first!"

"You..." Ling Feng grew anxious.

"I'll find you after I kill him!" Chen Feng said lightly, showing no sign that he considered the opponent a threat.

Hearing Chen Feng speak of him with such disdain, the white-robed youth's face turned green, almost spitting fire. The reason he had sent people to test him repeatedly was because of his own extreme arrogance; when the opponent's strength didn't reach his level, they wouldn't strike easily. If a fight couldn't happen, and it turned into a one-sided slaughter, it was better to go after someone unrelated.

"Fine, you are indeed arrogant!" The white-robed youth gritted his teeth, his fists clenched tightly, his eyes burning like a venomous snake with a scarlet gleam. "Those who dare to be insolent before me have never had a decent end. You will follow in their footsteps!"

"Stupid son of a..." Chen Feng tilted his face slightly, casting him a sidelong glance, and said coolly.

"Hahahaha..." The white-robed youth didn't get angry at Chen Feng's deliberately insulting words; instead, he laughed. "Very good. To provoke me to the point of wanting to kill you, you should be proud! However... let me tell you, provoking me won't result in an immediate death. I will torture you bit by bit, until you die!"

"That depends on your ability. If you are about the same level as that trash from before, you better just shut your mouth," Chen Feng replied.

"You mean Wu Kun? He is complete trash!" the white-robed youth sneered. "It seems you still don't know my true power. But then again, you don't even know who I am, so how could you possibly know my strength!"

The white-robed youth slowly paced forward in the air. "I am the Young Master of Yinri Island, the strongest entity among what you call the hidden powers! At the age of three, I inducted Qi into my body; at seven, I reached the Dou Shi realm; at eleven, the Dou Zun realm; at fifteen, the Sacred Domain. This year, I am nineteen—hehe... I have successfully condensed a Divine Spark and possess Divine-level cultivation!"

"Divine-level cultivation?" Chen Feng was stunned, hardly believing his ears. "Reaching the Divine level without enduring the Heavenly Tribulation?"

"Hahahaha... My method of cultivation is different from everyone else's. Even Heaven can only reluctantly give way. Do you think I can't kill you if I want to?" the white-robed youth sneered.

"A cultivation method different from others?" Chen Feng blinked, and a sharp glint appeared in his eyes. The first time he heard of this white-robed youth was when Durutes was captured at the long-distance teleportation array leading to the Purple Cloud Continent; he was mentioned casually by someone who could dissolve into water. Later, there was this middle-aged man, capable of using Earth Element fist techniques...

"The Five Elements?" A sudden realization flashed through Chen Feng's mind, and he spoke out.

"Oh? I didn't expect you to know about that too!" the white-robed youth said with a smile. "What I cultivate is precisely the Power of the Five Elements. As long as there is enough Five Element Power, I can create as many Divine Sparks as I wish!"

"The Power of the Five Elements automatically creates Divine Sparks?" Chen Feng gasped, taking a sharp intake of breath.

The preciousness of a Divine Spark was self-evident. Back then, places like the Purple Garden Demon Territory fought tooth and nail over the Profound Heaven Diagram, all for a chance to enter the Profound Heaven Demon Palace and seize a Divine Spark? His own goal in ordering the 'Sweep Across the Horizon' legion to conquer the chaotic zones and establish faith was to collect more power of faith so he could smoothly condense his Divine Spark. Even he couldn't escape this mundane pursuit, yet this youth before him claimed he could use the Power of the Five Elements to spontaneously forge Divine Sparks...

This news was utterly shocking!