The news spread quickly, and more and more people poured into the grand hall.
Everyone who entered was immediately drawn to the golden command token.
But suddenly, the golden token shot out a beam of light that landed squarely in the center of the hall.
Where the beam touched down, it formed a sealed formation space.
However, the barrier of the formation space was transparent, so everyone could see everything inside with perfect clarity.
The formation expanded outward, pushing everyone who had been standing in the center of the hall to its corners.
As for the central area, it was now completely empty — only the formation space remained.
The formation space transformed once more, and the space within was far larger than the area it covered in the hall, yet relatively simple — no mountains, no rivers, just a vast, boundless grassland.
"What's going on?"
At first, the crowd was bewildered.
But before long, two teleportation formations appeared simultaneously at opposite ends of the formation space.
In the next instant, two figures materialized in midair above each end.
Almost everyone present recognized these two individuals.
It was Chu Feng — and Jie Tian.
"Chu Feng? Jie Tian?"
"How did the two of them end up here?"
"With this kind of setup — could it be that Jie Tian refused to accept having his name stripped, and challenged Chu Feng to reclaim control of the Life-Protection Command Token?"
"Holy cow, a challenge match — something that's never happened before — actually showed up?"
"So that formation is actually an arena?"
"Oh my god, what kind of luck did I stumble into?"
The crowd buzzed with discussion, their anticipation reaching a fever pitch.
At that moment, an aged voice emanated from within the formation.
That voice could be heard with crystalline clarity throughout the entire ruins city of the Ancestral Martial Realm Sect — inside and out.
"The current holder of the Ancestral Martial Realm Sect's Life-Protection Command Token has been challenged by a former holder."
"Because the current holder successfully challenged the Third Level and obtained the highest-grade Life-Protection Gold Token."
"The challenger holds only the Second Level Life-Protection Silver Token. Therefore, the current holder has the right to refuse the challenge."
"Current holder — do you accept, or refuse?"
The moment those words left the formation, the crowd was stunned.
Jie Tian's face turned dark, his teeth gritted in fury.
The voice had confirmed that this was indeed Jie Tian's challenge against Chu Feng.
But it had also made clear the distinction between the golden token and the silver token.
The gap was so significant that Chu Feng had the right to refuse Jie Tian's challenge entirely.
What the crowd did not know was that beyond the formation voice broadcast to everyone, there was another — one that only Chu Feng could hear.
This second formation voice revealed Jie Tian's current strength to Chu Feng.
First, within these ruins, martial cultivation power could not be used. The only thing one could employ was the art of barrier formations.
This was an enormous restriction on Chu Feng, to say the least.
After all, Chu Feng's strongest trump card right now was his bloodline skill — Divine Thunder Gift.
Though it came with the side effect of a brief unconsciousness, once unleashed, an ordinary Second Grade True God was essentially no match for him, let alone a Half God or a God Cloak expert.
This restriction was clearly aimed squarely at him.
Fortunately, Chu Feng had also learned Jie Tian's current strength from that formation voice.
Venerable Dragon God Cloak — his normal combat power was comparable to an Eighth Grade Half God.
However, Jie Tian possessed a First Grade combat boost in barrier arts, as well as formation-breaking techniques. That meant his true level had already reached the peak of the God Cloak realm — the Sacred Dragon tier — equivalent to a Ninth Grade Half God.
As for Chu Feng's barrier cultivation, his Immortal Dragon God Cloak was currently weaker than Jie Tian's, with normal power comparable to a Seventh Grade Half God.
But Chu Feng's combat power and formation-breaking techniques had both reached the peak of the God Cloak realm, making him comparable to a Ninth Grade Half God as well.
In terms of realm, Chu Feng lagged behind Jie Tian.
But in terms of actual combat power, the two were dead even.
"I accept."
The moment Chu Feng spoke those words, the crowd erupted with excitement.
"He accepted! Chu Feng accepted!"
They had no desire to miss this spectacle. They had actually worried Chu Feng might refuse — after all, he had every right to do so.
Seeing Chu Feng accept, the crowd was thrilled. This showdown, for them, was an absolutely unexpected delight.