Completely Fooled

The hall was filled with overwhelming fury, and the power of the Great Dao thundered like a tempest!

An old man with eyebrows over a foot long was the first to step forward, pointing an angry finger.

"You insolent whelp! A mere rogue cultivator, how dare you be so arrogant! Since you recklessly spout such insolence and care not for life or death, don't blame this old man for striking first. Regret it in your next life!"

As he spoke, the elder gathered terrifying Dao power, mingled with strange, multicolored chaos energy, all converging at his fingertip, shimmering like a star!

A fierce roar shook the great hall!

"Heavenly Desolation Void-Piercing Finger!"

A dazzling beam of light shot from his fingertip. Its terrifying force severed the currents of Dao power within the hall, streaking through like a white rainbow, startling everyone present.

Before anyone could utter a word, a deafening boom shook heaven and earth!

Even the Falling Star Hall, constructed from the power of the Great Dao, seemed to tremble slightly from this fearsome strike. The dense Dao energy was churned into turbid chaos.

Shockwaves blasted toward the horizon, slicing through the clouds.

The figure behind the hall's entrance was engulfed by a haze of nothingness, as if turned to dust.

The terrifying spectacle horrified the entire assembly, drawing hushed exclamations from many elders.

Yet, mere moments later...

Everyone's expressions suddenly froze. Even the white-browed elder who had struck stood rigid, eyes wide, his outstretched finger forgotten in mid-air...

Under the gaze of numerous horrified eyes, that figure remained standing calmly.

Utterly unharmed!

The hall fell deathly quiet. Pairs of aged eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.

How... how is this possible?

How could this youngster be so formidable, completely unscathed even by the Grand Elder's full-power strike?

Within the shadows behind the beaded curtain, unseen eyes flickered with a strange light. Witnessing this anomaly, they seemed to feel a hint of surprise.

The brief silence lasted only a few breaths.

Seeing that calmly standing figure, all the elders suddenly felt immense pressure multiply.

Exchanging furtive glances, panic began to set in.

"Everyone, this lad is quite unorthodox. We must not hold back any longer!"

"Attack together!"

Even the observing Liu Runan sensed something amiss. Losing his earlier composure of watching from the sidelines, he couldn't help but clench his fist and shout, "Elders, do not underestimate him! Forget about saving face! Let us all unleash our ultimate techniques together!"

At these words, all the old men stepped forward in unison, channeling their Primordial Ancient power!

Instantly!

A multicolored tide of strange hues intertwined, and furious roars shook the hall!

"Great Desolation Cloud-Overturning Palm!"

"Heavenly Desolation Void-Piercing Finger!"

"Ethereal Void Sword Strike!"

"Lamentation Fist!"

...

A torrent of dazzling, intertwined energies surged toward the hall entrance, immediately causing the great hall to shudder violently!

A thunderous boom echoed across the sky, making even the floating island seem to sway slightly. It startled major sects into gazing upward as shockwaves rolled forth for thousands of miles without end!

The vast divine hall was already submerged in chaotic energy flows!

Even so, all the panting elders and the one-armed Star Envoy stared nervously at the turbulent waves of energy, not daring to relax their vigilance for a single moment.

As the dust and shockwaves dissipated, everyone's eyes nearly popped out of their heads!

Holy shit...

That person was still standing there as if nothing had happened, completely fine!

This was the combined assault of all the elders, a terrifying force capable of leveling the great sects of the floating island! How could it not even stir a ripple? Was this a dream?

They were dumbfounded.

Both the Star Envoy and the elders stood there utterly stupefied, like stone statues.

Staring dumbly at the calmly standing youth, they felt trapped in a nightmare from which they could not wake. For a long time, no one uttered a word; sound had completely vanished.

Looking at this bunch of stunned idiots,

Yi Feng had already anticipated this and wasn't the least bit surprised.

After so many failures, he held no expectations for ordinary people anymore. The louder they boasted, the more useless they usually were. Hearing all their earlier shouting, he had guessed it would likely be pointless.

Sure enough, all flash and no substance.

Following this trail, his main target was never these lackeys anyway.

Ignoring the group of stunned old men, Yi Feng walked toward the nine-tiered jade dais. A glimmer finally appeared in his eyes as he spoke words of faint encouragement.

"Your turn."

"You better take this seriously."

His words jolted everyone awake.

They snapped their gazes toward the beaded curtain on the high platform, their eyes now tinged with apprehension!

The indistinct figure showed no movement. Its blurred visage was veiled by an aura of supreme majesty, revealing no expression. It hadn't made a single sound the entire time.

Suddenly!

A completely different, icy sensation swept through the hall, startling all the old men into wakefulness!

This terrifying pressure was far beyond what they had collectively mustered earlier, clearly on another level of horror. Even the already chaotic Dao power within the hall was instantly suppressed and brought to a standstill!

In a mere instant, the entire hall seemed engulfed by endless darkness, stripped of all color from the Great Dao's power. Every elder felt their hair stand on end, their breath catching in their throats.

This was the Star Lord's true strength, the might of one who had reached the Heavenly Transformation stage of the Primordial Realm!

A silent aura, enough to drain color from the world!

Sensing the deathly atmosphere and seeing the pure blackness enveloping the high platform, Yi Feng finally felt a spark of anticipation, revealing a long-absent smile.

Now this was more like it.

A Star Lord, after all. Not making a racket, just acting directly. This was how a true figure should be. There's definitely something here!

While secretly praising,

That shade of black spread forth like a curtain of night, swallowing and submerging all the power of the Great Dao. Wherever it passed, only darkness remained, as if severing all aura from the world!

Watching the black mist approach him, the light in Yi Feng's eyes gradually brightened.

Finally...

He had finally encountered a true powerhouse. All his hardship was finally paying off!

He calmly closed his eyes, awaiting the arrival of death.

One breath.

Two breaths.

...

An unknown amount of time passed. Yi Feng was starting to feel drowsy.

He didn't seem to feel anything particularly special. The wait was making him a bit anxious. Weren't people supposed to feel great discomfort at the moment of death? Why did it only feel like a gentle breeze, quite comfortable actually...

Puzzled, he opened his eyes.

Only then did he realize everything before him was already clear. The black mist was gone. The previously terrifying nine-tiered dais now seemed utterly ordinary. Apart from the figure still seated there, not even a ripple of energy had reached him.

Glancing around subconsciously, all the old men and the one-armed fellow were gaping, mouths wide open in a uniform "O" shape.

Seeing this,

Yi Feng suddenly had a bad premonition. Frowning, he looked toward the high platform.

"Are you... already done...?"

The high platform remained silent. Only heavy breathing could be heard around. The atmosphere seemed rather awkward; no one dared make another sound.

Instantly!

Yi Feng was furious!

"Damn it!"

"I waited all this time, and all you gave me was a breeze to help me sleep? Are you running a clinic here?!"

Even after this merciless cursing, the rigidly seated figure on the dais offered no retort.

Yi Feng's composure shattered on the spot.

For fuck's sake...

What kind of trash is this?!

A whole bunch of them, old and young, boasting like they were heaven-sent, wasting so much of his time and energy, and they weren't even as good as a Martial Spirit expert from Pingjiang City!

And this is a Star Lord? All he does is put on a damn show!

Pah!

Yi Feng lost all interest. He directly drew his greatsword and swung it forward!

BOOM!!!

One sword cleaved the void, and the divine hall collapsed!

The supreme realm constructed by the power of the Great Dao collapsed into two halves in an instant. Spatial turbulence swept through like a violent storm, sending Liu Runan, his son, and the elders tumbling head over heels, scattered and lost to sight.

Within that endless space, the tiny figure vanished in a flash.

Witnessing the complete destruction and desolation, Yi Feng grew angrier the more he looked. He cursed and grumbled for a long while, unable to calm down, feeling utterly cheated. He never imagined it would truly come down to a "fight to the death."

Faced with such a disappointing outcome, Yi Feng lost all interest in staying any longer. He sheathed his longsword and departed into the distance.

Beneath the cloud peaks.

Witnessing the collapse of the eternal and enduring divine temple was like experiencing a heaven-sent, world-ending catastrophe. Countless sects across the divine floating islands watched with awe and shock, their gazes filled with reverence and tremor.

Only Lin Ruowei and her uncle, who knew a little of the truth, wore expressions of profound astonishment, marveling that Senior Yi Feng had actually managed to strike all the way to the Star Lord...

Meanwhile.

Within the sea of stars, in the depths of endless space.

A man of middle-aged appearance opened his starry eyes, a faint smile playing on his lips as if he had discovered something extraordinary, causing a slight ripple in his otherwise indifferent gaze.

"Unexpected. This person could withstand one percent of my cultivation and even extinguish a wisp of my essence. For a mere mortal star to produce such an anomaly... this is somewhat interesting."