"Chu Feng, do you dare?" the Greedy Immortal asked again.
"Greedy Immortal, you are at least an elder. Please watch your words and conduct so you don't disgrace your status," Princess Lingyue said coldly.
"Princess Lingyue, you don't understand. What I am defending right now is my dignity as a Spirit World Master. Otherwise, I will have no face to walk the Sacred Land of Martial Arts ever again," the Greedy Immortal retorted.
"Face? You still have the nerve to talk about face? You know perfectly well what you've done. Let me be blunt — if the Boundless Immortal hadn't insisted on bringing you along to help him forge the Blood-Devouring Armors, our Elf Kingdom would never have let someone like you through the door," Xian Miaomiao said without holding back.
The Greedy Immortal, no matter how thick-skinned he might be, could not endure such a direct humiliation from Xian Miaomiao. His face turned ashen, grim and wretched to behold.
So he turned to Chu Feng once more and said, "Chu Feng, are you even a man?"
"Heh heh heh…" Chu Feng did not answer. He merely let out a cold laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" the Greedy Immortal demanded loudly.
"Am I losing my mind? Why does everything happening today feel so much like what happened yesterday?" As Chu Feng spoke these words, he cast a glance at Xian Yuyin.
The day before, when Xian Yuyin had challenged Chu Feng, his attitude had been identical to the Greedy Immortal's right now — and in the end, it had ended in a crushing defeat.
Chu Feng's meaning was clear: the Greedy Immortal would meet… the same fate as Xian Yuyin.
"Hmph. I bet you wouldn't dare." Seeing that Chu Feng continued to remain silent, the Greedy Immortal let out a cold sneer. He then swept his gaze over the crowd and declared, "Princes, young masters, esteemed lords — you have all witnessed it. Chu Feng's barrier arts are simply inferior to mine. His current accusations against me are nothing but slander."
"Greedy, I never said I wouldn't compete," Chu Feng said.
"You actually want to compete?" the Greedy Immortal asked.
"Of course I do. If we don't compete, you'll never know how weak you truly are. But even if we compete, there have to be conditions. I'm afraid you won't have the guts," Chu Feng said.
"Ridiculous. What wouldn't I dare? Name your conditions," the Greedy Immortal shot back.
"A wager of life. Do you dare?" Chu Feng said.
"What? You want to wager our lives?" The Greedy Immortal was stunned. This was supposed to be his own tactic to intimidate Chu Feng — he had never imagined Chu Feng would turn it around on him.
In truth, everyone present was equally stunned.
What was going on?
Even if Chu Feng and the Greedy Immortal harbored deep enmity toward each other, there was no reason to wager their lives over a contest of barrier arts. With Chu Feng's current strength, he could easily kill the Greedy Immortal with his cultivation alone — there was absolutely no need to take such a risk.
Or perhaps… Chu Feng truly had enough confidence to win even in a contest of barrier arts?
For a time, speculation rippled through the crowd. Yet at the same time, everyone regarded Chu Feng with new eyes. This young man's audacity was nothing short of astonishing.
"Compete, then! I want to see how you could possibly beat me!" the Greedy Immortal roared, having already accepted the challenge.
"Very well. How should we compete? You decide," Chu Feng said, actually handing the initiative to the Greedy Immortal.
"Don't think you're doing me a favor. The terms should come from me — I am your elder, after all," the Greedy Immortal scoffed, refusing the gesture.
But his words only drew shaking heads from those around them. This was hardly befitting of an elder's dignity. By comparison, everything Chu Feng did showed the bearing of a true master, surpassing the Greedy Immortal in every respect.
"I set the formation, and you break it."