"Sister Yiyi, what you're saying is wrong. Putting aside the fact that Brother Chu Feng hasn't suffered any real damage to his cultivation..."
"Furthermore, what Brother Chu Feng used earlier was the art of sealing formations. He didn't use a single bit of martial power. If I spar with him, I won't have any unfair advantage," Kou Kang said.
"Chu Feng is a fourth-grade Half Ancestor, while you're a sixth-grade Half Ancestor. You're two full grades apart. How can that possibly be fair?" Xu Yiyi retorted.
"My cultivation level is indeed two grades higher than Brother Chu Feng's."
"But Brother Chu Feng is a possessor of Heavenly Bloodline. If he activates his Thunder Armor and Thunder Wings, his cultivation can also reach the sixth-grade Half Ancestor level. I won't have any real advantage in terms of cultivation."
"Of course, I am older than Brother Chu Feng, and I've been cultivating longer. If we do spar, I'll hold back. After all, this is just a friendly exchange — I'll stop when the point is made. I won't get serious," Kou Kang said with a grin.
"Master, look at this Kou Kang. He's obviously trying to bully Chu Feng." Left with no other recourse, Xu Yiyi turned to her Master, Su Jingrui, for help.
However, Su Jingrui simply smiled without saying a word. And he wasn't the only one — the Luoxia Valley Master and the Three Star Hall's Headmaster also showed no intention of stepping in to stop Kou Kang.
In truth, with their status, putting a stop to Kou Kang would have taken nothing more than a single word.
The reason they remained silent was that they, too, wanted to see just how far Chu Feng's martial strength actually went.
After all, Chu Feng's mastery of sealing formations was already so formidable. If his combat prowess in martial cultivation proved equally powerful, then he would truly be a once-in-an-age prodigy.
Kou Kang's strength was not far from Chu Feng's — even if stronger, only by a narrow margin. Both of them were young. A spar between the two would be just about right.
And so, these three old figures were all quite eager to see this exchange.
They didn't care about who won or lost. They only cared about what level Chu Feng's combat power in martial cultivation could reach.
Kou Kang was a deeply calculating man. Seeing that none of the three were stepping in to dissuade him, he understood their intentions and grew even more confident. He addressed Chu Feng: "Brother Chu Feng, don't put yourself out. I'm merely making a suggestion. If you truly don't want to, then forget it — pretend I never said anything."
"In any case, we've eaten and drunk our fill. There's nothing else to do, and loosening up our limbs doesn't sound half bad."
"Since Brother Kou Kang is in such high spirits, Chu Feng will be happy to oblige." As he spoke, Chu Feng set down the wine cup in his hand and walked voluntarily to the center of the great hall.
Though only a handful of people attended this banquet, the hall itself was far from small — its space was more than enough for Chu Feng and Kou Kang to test their skills.
At that very moment, Xu Yiyi's secret voice transmission reached Chu Feng's ears: "Chu Feng, don't let your guard down. The fact that Kou Kang dares to challenge you even knowing about your Heavenly Bloodline is because he possesses a God-Given Body."
"After he activates his God-Given Power, his cultivation can rise from the sixth-grade Half Ancestor to the seventh-grade Half Ancestor. Combined with his ability to fight two grades above his level, he can contend with an ordinary ninth-grade Half Ancestor."
"Moreover, his God-Given Power is extremely strong. At least among all the young cultivators I've seen so far, none have been able to defeat Kou Kang."
"Though I really don't like him as a person, I have to admit that among the current generation of young cultivators, he is a rare martial genius."
After hearing Xu Yiyi's transmission, Chu Feng did not respond in kind. Instead, he simply flashed her a confident smile.
In truth, even without Xu Yiyi's warning, Chu Feng would have guessed as much.
But even if Kou Kang was no ordinary fighter — capable, with all his trump cards, of matching a ninth-grade Half Ancestor — Chu Feng could also fight an ordinary ninth-grade Half Ancestor head-on. And against Chu Feng's combat power, an ordinary ninth-grade Half Ancestor was simply no match.
That was precisely why, even knowing that Kou Kang had some real ability, Chu Feng had still accepted the challenge.
*Crackling—*
Blinding bolts of lightning crackled to life. Chu Feng's Thunder Armor and Thunder Wings manifested simultaneously, and his cultivation soared directly from the fourth-grade Half Ancestor to the sixth-grade Half Ancestor.