"Such arrogance! Do you really think that having extraordinary talent means having extraordinary strength?"
"I'll show you right now just how wide the gap between us is."
As Lu Jie spoke, a torrent of formation energy erupted from within him. He intended to face Chu Feng head-on using his formation arts.
"Since this is a battle between Spirit World Masters, you should both fully showcase your formation techniques."
"Merely clashing raw power would be far too dull."
But before Lu Jie could make his move, the Ruyi Elder suddenly spoke up.
His meaning was clear — he did not want Lu Jie and Chu Feng to engage in a direct confrontation of brute force. Instead, he wanted the two of them to refine their formations and battle through more sophisticated arrays.
Not like martial cultivators, simply pitting formation energy against each other in raw power.
After all, the longer a Spirit World Master spent constructing a formation, the more powerful it became. In a proper duel, both sides would be given time — that was how truly formidable arrays were built.
"If you have any suggestions, feel free to speak your mind. I, Lu Jie, am open to anything." Lu Jie glanced at the Ruyi Elder with a light smile.
He had long been dissatisfied with the Ruyi Elder, feeling that the old man was showing favoritism toward Chu Feng.
But he didn't really care. He possessed absolute confidence that he could defeat Chu Feng.
So no matter what the Ruyi Elder decided, it was all the same to him. He would not only make Chu Feng accept his defeat with a convinced heart — he would make everyone present see that he, Lu Jie, was superior to this Chu Feng.
He, Lu Jie, was still the undisputed strongest Spirit World Master of the younger generation in the Sacred Light Galaxy.
He had been before, he was now, and he would be in the future.
"Young friend Chu Feng, would you be willing to let this old man set the rules?"
The Ruyi Elder did not impose the rules directly but instead turned his gaze toward Chu Feng.
"I'm fine with whatever. Since Lu Jie is willing, I have no objections. Please set the rules, Senior."
In contrast to Lu Jie, Chu Feng spoke with courtesy.
"In truth, the outcome of this battle — who wins and who loses — has nothing to do with this old man."
"But with so many Spirit World Masters here today, I believe that not only I, but everyone else as well, hopes that you two can put on a true feast of formation mastery."
When the Ruyi Elder said this, many people nodded in agreement, and some even called out their support for the elder's words.
Everyone wanted to witness a spectacular duel between two Spirit World Masters.
"Then let's keep it simple — an offense-and-defense exchange."
"The construction time will be limited to one incense stick."
"Is that acceptable?"
The Ruyi Elder asked.
"I can do that," Chu Feng said.
"No problem," Lu Jie replied.
"Very well, then. We'll draw lots to determine who attacks first—"
Before the Ruyi Elder could finish, Chu Feng suddenly spoke: "No need to draw. Let him go first."
"What, I need you to give me a handicap?"
Lu Jie raised an eyebrow at Chu Feng, showing disdain for Chu Feng's offer.
"It's not a handicap. Either way, we each get one turn to attack and one turn to defend. The result depends entirely on the formations we build."
"So there's no need to waste time. Let's begin."
As Chu Feng spoke, he sat cross-legged on the ground and began constructing his formation.
"Hmph."
Though displeased, Lu Jie did not hesitate. He too settled down and began laying out his formation.
"They really are remarkable — their construction techniques don't look like those of juniors at all."
Watching Chu Feng and Lu Jie work, the younger generation couldn't even follow what they were doing, and even the elders couldn't help but marvel.
The level of mastery over formation arts that Chu Feng and Lu Jie displayed far surpassed that of their peers. This degree of control was something most Spirit World Masters with thousands of years of cultivation couldn't achieve.
Only long-established grandmasters of formation arts could match it.
Yet Lu Jie was only a few hundred years old, and Chu Feng was even more frightening — he was still a junior who hadn't even reached a hundred years of age.
As time passed, the formations of Chu Feng and Lu Jie gradually took shape.
The formation Chu Feng constructed was a simple defensive array.
It appeared as a semi-transparent barrier, resembling a great translucent bowl that enclosed him within.
Though the formation didn't look particularly impressive, every Spirit World Master present could sense the aura it radiated.
This was an extraordinarily powerful defensive formation.
Setting everything else aside, Chu Feng's current combat strength was comparable to that of a second-tier Supreme.
Yet even a second-tier Supreme martial cultivator would be unable to break through this defensive formation of Chu Feng's. That was the terrifying power of Chu Feng's array — and the terrifying power of a Spirit World Master.
In a normal fight at equal combat strength, a Spirit World Master's formations might not match the martial techniques and secret arts of a cultivator.
But if given enough time to construct a complete formation, any martial cultivator who engaged them would be at a severe disadvantage.
That was the advantage of a Spirit World Master.
And the defensive formation that Chu Feng had constructed was exceedingly powerful.