Volume 2: Shenzhou Academy & The Battle of Venice
Chapter 186
The Summit Duel Appointment on Demonic Sky Peak
The night wind from the Maluo Estuary brushed past the ancient wutong trees in the campus of the Shenzhou Magic Academy, carrying with it a biting early winter chill. Yet, this wintry cold could do nothing to quench the scorching atmosphere engulfing the continent’s most prestigious institution.
Ye Lingtian’s battle challenge had finally arrived.
That piece of news exploded like a thunderclap in broad daylight, sweeping through every single topic of discussion in under two hours—spreading rapidly from the lecture halls and dormitories all the way up to the highest magic observatory towers.
On the Shenzhou Magic Forum, a surge of user traffic caused the three magic communication arrays to vibrate violently, nearly bringing the network to the brink of collapse. Tens of thousands of heated debate posts were popping up by the second:
“Ye Lingtian has finally emerged from seclusion! Six months of closed-door cultivation in the Demonic Thunder Ravine, and he has truly stepped half a foot into the Advanced Realm!”
“Undefeated atop the Combat Rankings for three straight years, the premier genius of the distinguished Ye Clan... And this time, he has personally issued a formal challenge to a freshman who hasn’t even studied here for a full year!”
“Lin Feng just performed a monumental feat at Heavenly Harbor Island, slaying a Blue-Robed Grand Deacon and receiving a First-Class Military Merit Medal. His momentum is at its dazzling peak. But facing Ye Lingtian... isn’t this a bit too rushed?”
“Rushed? Do you even know what element Ye Lingtian awakened? Space Element! The supreme sovereign of governing laws, one in a thousand! Among mages of the same rank, a Space Mage is fundamentally an unbeatable existence...”
“Indeed. Even though Lin Feng wields four heaven-defying elements, in the face of formless and traceless spatial magic, all attacks are no different from casting stones into a void...”
Public opinion was deeply divided. One faction revered the undefeated prestige of Ye Lingtian—a colossal mountain pressing heavily upon an entire generation. Another faction placed their absolute faith in Lin Feng—the ferocious dark horse who had used his fists and lightning-fire to shatter every impossible boundary time and time again.
As night fell, the tension grew as thick as lead, weighing heavily upon everyone’s minds.
Deep within the tranquil confines of Villa No. 1, reserved exclusively for core disciples of the Fire Academy, an eerie stillness reigned.
Beneath the rustling canopy of red-leaved night-maples, Lin Feng sat beside the stone table near the magic-stone lotus pond. A dark woolen coat hung loosely over his shoulders, revealing a scorch mark on the tactical sleeve of his uniform that he hadn’t yet had time to change since returning from the military port. The First-Class Military Merit Medal, inlaid with blood-dragon jade, lay neatly on the table, reflecting the pale moonlight into a razor-sharp beam of light.
SWISH... RUSTLE...
Soft footsteps trod lightly over the carpet of fallen leaves along the white gravel path. The footsteps hesitated, carrying the weight of a thousand pounds.
Lin Feng did not turn his head, the corners of his lips curving upward slightly:
“The night wind by the lake is bitterly cold. You’ve been standing at the courtyard entrance for half a day—aren’t you afraid the nocturnal dew will ruin that snow-silk brocade cloak of yours, Qingwan?”
The slender figure beneath the arched doorway started slightly before slowly emerging from the bamboo shadows.
Under the moonlight, Ye Qingwan wore a pale-blue cloak trimmed with immaculate white snow-fox fur. Her autumn-water clear eyes lacked their usual lively sparkle, filled instead with an unshakeable complexity and solemnity. She stopped beside the stone table, gazing straight into the youth’s eyes.
“You accepted my brother’s challenge, didn’t you?” Qingwan asked, her voice slightly husky with worry.
Lin Feng poured a steaming cup of spiritual tea and pushed it across toward her: “Dean Xiao Yan handed it to me this afternoon. The Space-Thunderbird seal is extremely exquisite, carrying a sharp coercive pressure. True to the style of Shenzhou’s number one.”
“Can you still smile?” Qingwan bit her lower lip gently: “You just returned from the jaws of death at Heavenly Harbor Island! Your physical stamina is depleted, your magical energy hasn’t fully recovered, yet you actually accepted a duel!”
Lin Feng replied calmly: “He set the date three days from now—more than enough time for me to regulate my physical condition. Besides, the challenge was delivered right before the Fire Academy’s Dean and the entire administrative board. Do you think I had any reason to refuse?”
“It could have been postponed! As long as you speak up, Dean Xiao Yan and the Ministry of National Defense will definitely protect—”
“Qingwan.” Lin Feng interrupted her, his voice calm yet heavy with conviction: “If I back down for a reason like that, the fire in my heart will go out. Once a mage starts making excuses before the strong, their Dao heart is as good as shattered. For the rest of my life, I would never touch the supreme pinnacle.”
Qingwan fell silent, staring into the resolute flames burning within his eyes. She understood Lin Feng’s proud bones—a person who had never bowed before any adversity.
She sighed and sat down opposite him, lifting the warm teacup:
“You don’t understand my brother... Ye Lingtian is the only person in the Ye Clan to have awakened the Space Element right from his very first awakening at age sixteen. This branch of rule-based magic stands at the absolute apex of the natural elements’ food chain.”
She earnestly explained her brother’s three core ultimate moves:
“First, Spatial Psychokinesis. He doesn’t need to trace star-orbits or chant incantations. With a single thought, the spatial force field around you will warp, turning into a vacuum wall that strangles your magic the moment you try to condense elements. Within a thirty-pace radius around him, the circulation of magical energy in your meridians suffers ten times the normal resistance!”
“Second, Spatial Rift—his most destructive ultimate move. By tearing apart the spatial structure, he creates invisible spatial blades that sever the connection between material molecules. Ice shields, fire walls, or heavy rock armor are as fragile as cicada wings before a spatial tear! All elemental defense is rendered utterly meaningless!”
“Third, Earth-Shrinking Art and Spatial Refraction. He can bend distances at will. You see him a hundred meters away, yet half a breath later he appears right behind you with violent lightning magic. Conversely, when your long-range Thunder-Fire strike shoots toward him, he simply stretches the spatial folds, causing the magic to dissipate entirely before it can even brush his lapel.”
Qingwan looked at him anxiously: “Ye Lingtian is an extreme battle maniac who worships absolute strength. If you step onto the Demonic Sky Arena... he will genuinely crush you!”
The room fell silent. Suddenly, a soft chuckle escaped Lin Feng’s lips.
He reached out and placed his hand over her cold hand, transmitting a steady, grounding warmth:
“Thank you for warning me in advance. But ever since I stepped onto the path of magic, I have never feared an opponent being too strong. I only fear an opponent being too weak, not enough to force out all my potential!”
Lin Feng stood up, his dark robes fluttering in the night wind:
“The Space Element is incomparably miraculous, and Ye Lingtian is a towering mountain. But if I cannot flatten that mountain, how can I ever behold the vast ocean beyond? The battle three days from now... will not only decide the throne of Shenzhou’s number one, but also serve as the stepping stone for me to shatter the shackles of the Intermediate Realm!”
Looking at the youth’s proud silhouette printed against the night sky, the lingering unease in Qingwan’s heart vanished, replaced by an intense, burning faith.
She smiled with relief: “Very well. I’ll wait and see... the day you use your own lightning-fire to tear apart my brother’s void mist!”
After bidding farewell to Qingwan, Lin Feng strode toward the Gravity Training Chamber, located fifty meters beneath the academy grounds.
CLANG-CLANG... SNAP!
The heavy metal door slammed shut. The circular chamber, five hundred square meters wide and forged entirely from millennium-old black obsidian, was enveloped by twelve layers of defensive barriers. At its center stood a magic-stone pillar fitted with a magical gravity compass.
Lin Feng walked up to the pillar and turned the compass straight to maximum.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
“Level Three Danger Warning: Gravity is adjusting to TWENTY TIMES natural pressure!”
BOOM——!!
An invisible force as heavy as a towering mountain slammed down instantly! The joints throughout Lin Feng’s body emitted sharp cracking sounds. With weight surging twentyfold, his muscles tightened, and his chest was squeezed so fiercely that breathing became extremely difficult. The granite floor beneath his feet cracked into a spiderweb of fractures.
Lin Feng’s expression remained as steady as a monolith. He walked to the center, crossed his legs, and sat in lotus position.
Twenty times gravity! Under this pressure, the speed of connecting star-orbits dropped by at least fivefold. If he could cast smoothly here, when stepping onto the real arena, his casting speed would reach an astonishing realm!
Lin Feng closed his eyes tightly, plunging deep into his boundless spiritual sea.
Within his spiritual sea, four brilliant Star Nebulae revolved harmoniously around a central axis:
The deep-purple Thunder Star Nebula churned with violent Wild Lightning bolts, cleansing his bones and withstanding the external pressure.
The Fire Star Nebula blazed with brilliant Scarlet Flame Flowing Fire, fusing with ancient Dragon Blood to dispel all fatigue and hidden injuries sustained after the Heavenly Harbor battle.
The Shadow Element diffused a tranquil veil of night, helping Lin Feng perceive the twisting and deformation of invisible force fields in the air.
And the Summoning Star Nebula glowed with a mysterious platinum radiance, transmitting spiritual life-fluctuations linked to the little Wolf King within the contract space.
The Four Elements converged in unison! The perfect vortex of magical energy flowed along his Great Heavenly meridian pathways.
HUMMM——!!
Right at Lin Feng’s chest, the Primordial Dragon Pendant suddenly grew scorching hot! An ancient golden radiance permeated through his skin, illuminating deep into his soul alongside a majestic dragon roar echoing from primeval times!
Before his eyes, a magnificent vista unfolded:
An Archaic Great Dragon covered in golden dragon scales stood tall across the cosmos. Before it, space was not empty void, but an infinite number of rule threads woven together like a colossal net. The Great Dragon extended sharp talons shrouded in destructive lightning-fire, grabbing straight at the intersection points of those rule threads!
CRASH!! The spatial net exploded into hundreds of thousands of fragments!
That vision flashed and vanished, blasting wide open the doors of enlightenment within Lin Feng’s mind!
“I understand...” Lin Feng murmured, the corners of his lips twitching with excitement:
“The Space Element is not fundamentally inviolable! Spatial Psychokinesis strangles magic because the pressure of spatial folds seals off the elemental flow. If the elemental flow becomes violent enough to exceed the fold’s threshold, the psychokinesis itself will be torn apart!”
“And the Spatial Rift... Before forming a complete tear, space at that exact point must undergo warping oscillations! As long as I use the Shadow Element’s sensitivity to catch those oscillations half a breath in advance, I can entirely evade them or use a saturation burst of lightning-fire to shatter those coordinates in their infancy!”
With the dao of magic thoroughly comprehended, all the magical energy within Lin Feng’s body roared fiercely!
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!
The four Star Nebulae simultaneously expanded, their aura continuously escalating, steadily surging from the third tier of the Intermediate Realm straight to the Great Circle Peak of the Intermediate Realm, pressing right against the barrier of the Advanced Realm!
Lin Feng’s eyes snapped open. Within his pitch-black pupils, golden flames surged on one side while purple-blue lightning blazed on the other, with shadowy spirits and echoing dragon roars lurking in the depths!
The battle atop Demonic Sky Peak... he was now fully prepared!
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The appointed day of the duel had arrived.
Early that morning, sunlight bathed the Floating Island—a magical isle suspended at an altitude of three thousand meters amidst the clouds of the Shenzhou Academy. This was none other than the Demonic Sky Arena!
The arena was a monolithic block of magical marble tens of thousands of square meters wide, enclosed by nine towering magic pillar towers reaching into the clouds to maintain a sturdy High-Level barrier. The entire arc-shaped spectator stands were packed to absolute capacity. Over fifty thousand students from every department poured in like a tidal wave.
In the highest VIP honorary seating, Dean Xiao Yan wore a blazing red cloak, sitting as imposing as a volcano alongside the other Deans and dozens of Advanced-level elders. On the left VIP wing sat prominent figures of the Ye Clan clad in majestic, Thunder-Bird embroidered robes.
“Look! Ye Lingtian is here!”
A loud cry erupted from the northern stands.
SWISSHHHH——!!
In the clear sky, space suddenly ripped open a fissure over ten zhang long, emitting blinding purple-silver lightning! Ye Lingtian’s tall figure slowly stepped out from the void fracture.
He walked as if treading on invisible steps mid-air, each downward step generating rippling spatial shockwaves. His dark-purple battle robe was embroidered with a lightning dragon, and his silver hair flowed over his shoulders, fluttering wildly in the high winds. His ash-purple eyes carried the arrogant contempt of an emperor looking down upon all living beings.
The Half-Step Advanced aura around his body surged like a roaring tsunami!
He landed lightly at the center of the platform, hands clasped behind his back, his cold gaze sweeping across the sea of people below.
“What terrifying aura... He’s genuinely stepped half a foot into the Advanced Realm!” Shocked whispers broke out on all sides.
Right at that moment, from the southern archway of the arena, steady footsteps rang out.
CLOP... CLOP... CLOP...
Each step falling onto the stone floor carried a peculiar rhythm, tearing through the oppressive atmosphere generated by Ye Lingtian.
All gazes instantly shifted in unison.
Beneath the brilliant morning sun, Lin Feng wore a dark battle robe trimmed with gold leaf as he slowly climbed the stone steps. His posture was as straight as a spear piercing straight into the blue sky. His deep black eyes were calm, a confident smile playing at the corners of his lips. On his chest, the First-Class Military Merit Medal gleamed with golden light. Around each of his steps, tiny golden sparks and dancing purple lightning motes fluttered gracefully!
“Lin Feng! The hero of Heavenly Harbor Island has arrived!”
The cheers of tens of thousands of students erupted like thunder, shaking all nine magic pillar towers!
Lin Feng stepped onto the peak of the platform, stopping exactly thirty paces away from Ye Lingtian. The fierce winds atop Demonic Sky Peak howled, whipping the robes of the two most outstanding figures of Shenzhou’s younger generation.
Two pairs of eyes—one ash-purple and contemptuous of heroes, the other pitch-black and steadfast as a monolith—collided violently mid-air!
BOOM!!
An invisible, muffled explosion resounded across the arena. The air between them twisted, and the floating dust and fragments of magic stone were instantly pulverized into nothingness!
Ye Lingtian stared intently at Lin Feng, his thin lips curling into a cold smirk:
“Lin Feng. You’ve got guts. To dare stand before me after witnessing a spatial rift... in this entire Shenzhou Academy, you are the first.”
Lin Feng stood tall, his right hand clenched into a fist as crackling sparks of lightning-fire snapped at his fingertips:
“Ye Lingtian. You’ve sat on your throne for far too long. Today, I’m here not just to stand before you...”
The youth raised his head high, his sonorous voice echoing across the skies of the Floating Island:
“...but to kick you off that rotten throne!”
BONGGGGG ——!!
At that exact moment, the millennium-old ancient bell atop the Demonic Sky Tower chimed nine crisp, resounding strokes to signal the arrival of noon! The nine-colored magic barrier curtains from the nine towers simultaneously burst into blinding light, completely sealing off the life-and-death battlefield!
The pinnacle duel that would shake Shenzhou’s history... officially commenced!