While Shi Yang clashes with the Soul Awakening cultivator in the sky, the remaining four break formation and dive downward.
Their target is clear.
Chu Feng.
Chu Feng descends and lands swiftly.
He places Biyun gently on the ground.
Without delay, he raises his hand.
The dragon shield unfolds.
Blue energy blooms outward.
It forms a dome around the boy.
A coiling dragon silhouette guards its surface.
Chu Feng turns.
Faces the incoming enemies.
In his left hand, the dragon chain coils and hums.
In his right, a sword with a deep blue edge gleams coldly.
The four cultivators land around him.
A spear.
An axe.
Two swords.
Their weapons shine with star, fire, and wood energy.
Without words,
They attack.
Chu Feng moves first.
A dragon-shaped surge of water energy bursts from his body.
He shoots forward.
His sword cuts downward.
"Dragon Tide Slash."
A wave rises from the ground.
Shaped like a roaring dragon's head.
The spear wielder meets it head-on.
Star energy gathers.
He thrusts.
The clash explodes.
Water scatters.
Light fractures.
At the same time, the axe wielder swings from the side.
Fire and wood energy intertwine.
The strike carries explosive force.
Chu Feng twists.
His dragon chain lashes out.
It wraps around the axe mid-swing.
Locks it.
Then pulls.
The wielder stumbles forward.
A sword flashes toward Chu Feng's back.
Another from the front.
Two angles.
Perfect coordination.
Chu Feng exhales sharply.
"Water Mirror."
A layer of liquid forms around him.
The blades strike.
Ripple.
Slow.
He steps through the distortion.
His sword sweeps horizontally.
Blue energy erupts.
The two attackers are forced back.
But not unscathed.
One cut lands across Chu Feng's shoulder.
Blood spills.
He does not stop.
Water gathers beneath his feet.
He rises.
A dragon current lifts him into the air.
The battlefield shifts upward.
Above,
Shi Yang clashes with the Soul Awakening cultivator.
Light and star energy collide violently.
"Star Thunder Palm!"
A massive hand crackling with lightning descends.
Shi Yang raises his blade.
"Radiant Heaven Cleave."
Golden fire and holy light merge.
The strike splits the palm.
But the force drives him back.
Blood trails from his lips.
His wings flare.
He stabilises.
Then charges again.
"Seraphic Flame Rain."
Countless light-infused flames descend.
Like falling stars.
The Soul Awakening cultivator raises his hand.
Star energy condenses.
Lightning dances within it.
The attacks collide midair.
Explosions ripple across the sky.
Below him,
Chu Feng rejoins the aerial battlefield.
The four cultivators follow closely.
They do not give him space.
The spear thrusts again.
Faster.
Sharper.
The axe crashes downward.
The two swords close in.
Chu Feng responds.
"Dragon Spiral Current."
Water coils around him.
A spinning dragon current forms.
Deflecting attacks.
But not completely.
A blade cuts his side.
The spear grazes his arm.
The axe strikes the current.
Cracking it.
Chu Feng coughs up blood.
But counters instantly.
His chain shoots forward.
Wrapping one opponent's leg.
He pulls hard.
Then slashes downward.
The man blocks,
But it is forced lower.
Above, Shi Yang dives.
"Judgement Spear!"
Light gathers at his blade.
He thrusts downward.
The Soul Awakening cultivator raises both hands.
"Starfall Barrier."
A dome of lightning and star energy forms.
The attack pierces halfway,
Then explodes.
Both are thrown back.
Shi Yang's wing feathers scatter.
The opponent's aura flickers.
Both injured.
Both standing.
The battle continues.
Below,
Chu Feng clashes again with the four.
Water dragons surge.
Fire and wood energy erupt.
Star energy cuts through waves.
Blades meet chain.
Axe meets current.
Each exchange leaves wounds.
Cuts deepen.
Energy depletes.
But neither side yields.
Above,
Light, fire, and star lightning tear through the sky.
Below,
Water dragons collide with elemental force.
Neither side gains an advantage.
Each strike is met.
Each wound returned.
The battle locks into a stalemate.
Equal.
Violent.
Unforgiving.
The battle continues without pause.
Energy tears through the sky in violent waves.
Water dragons surge and collide with blades of star and flame.
Above, light and lightning crash again and again.
No one retreats.
No one yields.
Chu Feng's breathing grows heavier.
He glances upward for a brief moment.
Shi Yang's aura flickers.
Unstable.
The strain is becoming clear.
Chu Feng's gaze sharpens.
He makes a decision.
His heart begins to pound.
Faster.
He burns his energy.
His body changes.
Blue scales emerge across his skin.
Spreading over his arms.
His chest.
His face.
His aura shifts.
Becoming ferocious.
Brutal.
Like a true dragon awakening.
He roars and charges.
The four cultivators react instantly.
Weapons rise.
Energy surges.
But Chu Feng is already upon them.
His dragon chain lashes out.
It coils around one of them.
Locks tight.
At the same time,
"Dragon Tide Slash!"
His sword cuts through the air.
A massive wave erupts.
Forcing the other three to step back.
Their formation breaks.
Chu Feng pulls.
The chained cultivator, a woman, is dragged toward him.
She reacts immediately.
Her sword flashes.
"Star Slash!"
A sharp arc of star energy cuts forward.
Chu Feng does not block.
He tilts his head.
The slash passes inches from him.
At the same moment,
He swings the chain downward with full force.
The woman is smashed toward the ground.
She stabilises mid-fall,
But Chu Feng is already moving.
"Dragon Tail."
The chain transforms.
A massive dragon tail forms from its length.
It strikes her directly.
She is blasted downward.
Like a meteor crashing to earth.
The remaining three attack simultaneously.
Their weapons strike.
Chu Feng cannot avoid all of them.
Blades cut into him.
Energy slams into his body.
Blood spills from his lips.
But he does not stop.
He shifts his focus.
One target.
Always one.
He moves like a predator.
Ignoring the others.
His attacks concentrate.
Precise.
Relentless.
The targeted cultivator is forced into defence.
Injured.
Driven back.
But the others interfere.
They strike.
They disrupt.
They protect.
The injured rise again.
Rejoins the fight.
Again and again.
But Chu Feng does not change his method.
He repeats.
Targets.
Breaks.
Injures.
Returns.
The cycle continues.
Time stretches.
Then,
A mistake.
A small opening.
Chu Feng seizes it instantly.
His sword pierces through.
The first cultivator falls.
Dead.
The balance shifts.
Three remain.
But Chu Feng does not slow.
The same method.
The same brutality.
One after another,
They fall.
The second.
The third.
The last.
All slain.
Chu Feng stands alone.
Blood covers his body.
He's breathing heavy.
But his eyes remain sharp.
He looks upward.
Just in time,
A massive palm of star lightning crashes down.
It strikes Shi Yang directly.
The explosion tears through the sky.
Shi Yang is thrown downward.
His body spins.
Falling rapidly.
But midway,
He stabilises.
Wings flare.
Light erupts.
He roars and surges upward again.
Releasing everything.
His full power.
At the same time,
Chu Feng moves.
He gathers all remaining strength.
Water and dragon energy converge.
He launches forward.
Both attacks converge toward the Soul Awakening cultivator.
But the opponent does not retreat.
He does not defend.
Instead,
He smiles coldly.
And attacks.
Star lightning gathers in his palm.
He strikes forward.
The three forces collide.
Shi Yang's light.
Chu Feng's dragon energy.
The cultivator's star lightning.
They crash together.
Each pushing against the other.
None yielding.
None collapsing.
The sky trembles under their clash.
The Soul Awakening cultivator looks at them with a faint trace of appreciation and says, "You two are impressive."
"If Marquis Merin did not exist…"
"You would have been known as the greatest geniuses of this era."
He pauses briefly.
Then his tone turns colder.
"But with him here…"
"You are nothing more than foils."
"In everything."
"In cultivation."
"And even in love."
Their expressions tighten instantly upon hearing those words.
Neither of them fully connects the deeper implication that both of them stand on the same side of an unspoken bond with Merin's wife.
To them, it sounds like mockery.
A deliberate provocation.
Their anger rises.
Their attacks grow fiercer.
Less controlled.
More violent.
The balance of their techniques begins to break.
Their energies fluctuate.
Clash.
Then,
Explode.
The violent detonation engulfs everything around them.
It tears apart the surrounding space of the battlefield.
And swallows the Soul Awakening cultivator's attack along with it.
A massive explosion echoes through the sky.
The Soul Awakening cultivator steps back slightly.
Watching.
Smiling.
His plan has worked.
He successfully provoked them.
Forced them into instability.
He senses it clearly,
Shi Yang's aura has already dropped.
Falling back toward the Sublimation Stage.
The strain of his technique is catching up to him.
Victory seems close.
The cultivator relaxes slightly.
Already imagining the outcome.
Capturing them.
Presenting them.
The reward he would receive from his leader.
But then,
A voice cuts through the aftermath.
"Dragon rises from the abyss!"
Chu Feng's shout echoes across the sky.
In that instant,
His aura erupts.
Surging upward violently.
Breaking through.
Reaching the Soul Awakening Stage.
A deep blue light gathers around his sword.
Condenses.
Compresses.
Then releases.
A streak of sword energy shoots forward.
Like a meteor tearing through the sky.
It moves so fast,
It seems to teleport.
Before the Soul Awakening cultivator can react,
It is already in front of him.
Then,
It pierces through his chest.
Straight into his heart.
The energy explodes within.
Destroying everything inside.