Chu Feng was shaken by the impact, but he did not waver or falter. Instead, he continued to dismantle the formation and began devoting his full concentration.
Since his opponent was so powerful, Chu Feng could not afford to hold anything back.
Even if the odds of victory were slim, Chu Feng would fight to the very end.
Give up?
That word simply did not exist in Chu Feng's dictionary.
"Oh? Still refusing to give up?"
"Can't you two see the massive gap in strength between you and me?"
"You two skulking rats — all you know how to do is hide in the shadows. What else can you even do?"
"If it came down to real ability, you two would be nothing but dogs I could grind into the ground."
Ridiculing voices rang out — it was Bai Yunqing.
Bai Yunqing had noticed that Chu Feng and the other person were far slower than him at dismantling the formation, which was why he had opened his mouth to mock them.
But what he didn't know was that his words only served to enrage Chu Feng.
With Chu Feng provoked, the barrier bloodline within his body began to boil.
Then his eyes, his perception, and even his control over the barrier formations all grew sharper.
Chu Feng's fighting spirit was ignited, his bloodline awakened, and his speed of dismantling the formations surged dramatically.
In terms of sheer speed alone, he had begun to match Bai Yunqing, and was even showing clear signs of catching up.
"Was this fellow holding back before?"
Seeing Chu Feng's dismantling speed start to climb, Bai Yunqing grew somewhat flustered. Unwilling to accept defeat, he too began going all out.
Though Chu Feng's senses had been sharpened by the blessing of his barrier bloodline, the art of dismantling formations relied far more on technique.
Chu Feng's technique had always been exceptional — among his peers, he had virtually no rival.
But this time, he had clearly met a match, and a formidable one at that.
For all his arrogance, Bai Yunqing was genuinely talented. Once he unleashed his full power, even Chu Feng struggled to close the gap.
In the end, when there was still ten percent of Chu Feng's formation left to dismantle, Bai Yunqing had already succeeded.
Hum—
A flash of light appeared. From within the formation Bai Yunqing had broken, a key materialized, drifted toward him of its own accord, and came to hover above his head.
Meanwhile, the formation Chu Feng had been working on was sealed off. Even if he wanted to continue, there was no longer any opportunity.
Ultimately, Chu Feng had dismantled ninety percent of the formation — a far better showing than the one surnamed Hu.
The man surnamed Hu had only managed to break through forty percent.
But in truth, it no longer mattered. They were both failures.
Still, Chu Feng felt no discouragement, nor was he demoralized.
After all, his opponent had received the guidance and inheritance of the True Dragon Spirit World Master. Losing to a disciple of the True Dragon Spirit World Master was nothing to be ashamed of.
"That was close — you almost caught up to me."
"But luckily, my raw strength is still far above yours. Even if only by a little, you're still nothing but a failure in the end."
"Though you're still way better than that Hu fellow. What level is that trash at? And he actually had the nerve to come after Lord True Dragon's inheritance?"
Having secured the key, Bai Yunqing heaped further ridicule on Chu Feng and the other contestant.
But Chu Feng paid him no mind.
He had seen scenes like this far too many times. His temperament had long since been tempered beyond such things.
Bai Yunqing's mockery would not only fail to hurt Chu Feng — in his eyes, Bai Yunqing looked nothing more than a buffoon jumping about on a stage.
"Kid, enjoy your arrogance now — you'll have plenty of suffering coming your way."
But suddenly, a voice rang out from the direction of the palace's far end, where a door had already opened.
It was clear that compared to Chu Feng, the one surnamed Hu had already reached his limit of tolerance for Bai Yunqing's insults.
And judging from the direction of his voice, he had already exited the palace and was heading deeper into the ruins.
"That Hu trash — why are you running so fast? Wait for me!"
Seeing this, Bai Yunqing hurried after him, afraid of losing his advantage.
"That voice... why does it sound a little familiar?"
Upon hearing the voice of the one surnamed Hu, Chu Feng felt a strange sense of familiarity.
But he couldn't immediately place it — he couldn't recall where he had heard that voice before.
Given the urgency of the situation, Chu Feng didn't have much time to dwell on the matter. He quickened his pace and followed after them as well.