Chapter 236: The Key in Hand

Black cracks, resembling mottled spiderwebs, crisscrossed across the sky—tears in space. Roaring explosions and fleeting shadows made it hard to look away.
Ye Feng and Ryan had clashed hundreds of times already, each encounter a fierce head-on collision, with neither giving an inch. What surprised Jiǔwěi and the others even more was that Ye Feng not only showed no signs of exhaustion but seemed to grow stronger with each fight, becoming more adept at the struggle.
Jiǔwěi and the others felt uneasy. “This guy has improved to this extent in such a short time.”
Fát kept staring at Ye Feng, who had changed completely. He had always known that after Ye Feng’s last retreat, he had undergone a dramatic transformation. Though he didn’t know what that change was, he had sensed it long ago.
He tried to stop thinking about how much time it took for Ye Feng to rise two levels, but the number 200 days haunted him like a nightmare.
“Even in the later stages of his cultivation, he was already able to fight against Xiu Luo. Back then, Xiu Luo’s strength was comparable to that of a Second Calamity Immortal. After becoming demonic, his power surpassed that of a Third Calamity Immortal, approaching the level of an Immortal. Now that he’s reached the later stages of the Calamity Crossing phase, I should have realized that he should have no trouble dealing with a Seventh Calamity Immortal or an early-stage Spirit Immortal.”
Ryan, deep in the battle, was equally astonished. At first, he thought Ye Feng could barely survive his attacks given his current cultivation level. Yet, Ye Feng managed to match him evenly.
He knew full well that his innate divine strength made him stronger than other demon cultivators who retained human forms. Moreover, he was skilled in close combat—most peers couldn’t stand a chance once he got close. And Ye Feng’s close combat skills were no weaker than his own. Everything proved that he had greatly underestimated Ye Feng. He was a peer at the same level.
Yet Ryan wasn’t discouraged; instead, he grew even more excited. He was a battle fanatic who longed for someone to fight against for days on end. Now that he’d found a worthy opponent, he certainly wouldn’t let go easily.
Although Ye Feng wasn’t a battle fanatic, after reaching the Calamity Crossing phase, he too wanted someone to test just how far he had come.

The two of them, each with their own motives, schemed against one another while also using each other. They turned the skies over the entire Mix Planet into a scene as beautiful as one from the end of the world.
“Hey, continuing like this won’t lead to any result!” Ryan shouted at Ye Feng. “I admit you’re strong—much stronger than I thought! How about we settle this with just one fight? Any competition needs a winner and a loser, right? Otherwise, fighting without clear outcomes means no one knows who won or lost, and that’s not very interesting!”
“Sure!” Ye Feng nodded in agreement. He had long wanted to try out his new move, and now that someone was offering to let him test it for free, he certainly wouldn’t miss this chance.
The two stood apart in the void, facing each other from afar.
Ryan slowly closed his eyes.
Seeing this, Jiuwei immediately frowned again. Having spent so many years with Ryan, she knew exactly what his move was.
On Ye Feng’s side, he stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, took a deep breath, and then pulled his fists back to his waist.
The atmosphere at the scene instantly fell dead silent as everyone held their breath, eager to witness this astonishing battle.
Under the gaze of everyone present, a huge black shadow gradually took shape behind Ryan.
Upon closer inspection, it was a giant black tiger, about ten meters tall and nearly thirty meters long. Its fur gradually became more vivid over time, leaving everyone in awe.
Compared to Ryan’s imposing presence, the changes on Ye Feng’s side seemed rather subdued—even somewhat dull. Only a gust of wind arose around him, lingering for a long time…
After about two or three minutes, the entire tiger seemed to come to life, its black fur even moving with the wind.
What was most surprising was that the shadow began to move—the giant tiger slowly circled around Ryan from behind and moved to his right side.
At that moment, Ryan finally opened his eyes, a white light bursting from them as he fixed his gaze on Ye Feng. The tiger seemed to receive some command, letting out a deep roar before turning its head toward Ye Feng, its massive body adopting a ready-to-attack stance.
Ye Feng remained motionless, still in his seemingly relaxed posture.

Lian paid no attention to Ye Feng’s current state. His gaze was icy, and his robes moved as if stirred by an unseen wind. After the tiger beside him assumed a fighting stance, he slightly parted his lips and softly uttered one word, “Kill!!!” Almost simultaneously, the tiger, like a hungry beast released from its cage, charged at Ye Feng with tremendous force. With a single leap, it seemed to break through spatial constraints and appeared right in front of Ye Feng. It let out an angry roar, lunging at him with its front paws, its bloody maw also closing in—clearly aiming to kill Ye Feng in one strike. Fat and the others were shocked. He and Gunan could clearly sense the tiger’s power. Though it seemed somewhat unreal, they could feel the pressure emanating from it, surpassing even the cultivation levels of early Spirit Immortals and Seven Calamities Immortals. They knew that if they were to face such an attack, their only option was to dodge; otherwise, they would be severely injured if not killed. But Ye Feng seemed unfazed at all. Even when the giant beast rushed at him, he showed no intention of dodging. Instead, he slowly extended his left hand and drew a circle in front of him, while his right fist struck out several times at terrifying speed. Under these actions by Ye Feng, the huge tiger stopped in its tracks, let out a low moan, then fell. After struggling uselessly for a while, it disappeared. “Those few punches were so fast!” Fat’s eyes flashed with shock. With his own strength, he couldn’t tell how many punches Ye Feng had thrown; he only saw the afterimages left by Ye Feng’s right hand attacks. Ye Feng’s performance clearly exceeded everyone’s expectations. Not only Fat and the others but also Lian, who had been fighting Ye Feng, was filled with astonishment. He stood there stunned, seemingly at a loss. Jiuwei and the others had complex expressions on their faces—clearly, Ye Feng had shocked them greatly. “You lost!” Ye Feng ended his attacking stance and said to Lian. Lian’s expression showed a mix of helplessness, reluctance, and mostly shock. He remained silent for a long time before slowly lifting his head to look at Ye Feng. “How many punches did you throw just now?”

“You could say one punch, or ninety-nine punches!” Ye Feng laughed. “Actually, I haven’t fully mastered the essence of this move yet, so I’ve used it in a different way. This is something I figured out after retreating to study recently.”
“You’re really strong!” Ryan forced a smile, trying to appear less awkward and clueless.
“As far as I know, after transforming into human form, your strength should increase significantly!” Ye Feng asked. “If you return to your original form, I might not be a match for you.”
“That’s not quite right. Although our strength doubles when we return to our original form, the battle between us was already unequal from the moment I stayed in human form. No, it should be said that our cultivation levels were unequal.” Ryan shook his head and laughed. “If I lose like this, I have no face to continue fighting. Losing is losing. We demons respect the strong and can also face our failures openly.”
“Ryan, let’s go!” Nine-Tails glanced at Ye Feng and then called out to Ryan.
“You’re leaving?” Ye Feng was surprised. He had thought that since Ryan had lost, someone else would take his place.
“No need,” Nine-Tails said with a hint of bitterness on her face. “We acknowledge your strength. You may take that child! We demons respect the strong and keep our promises. We’ve lost— the child belongs to you. We don’t need this key anymore. There are still three keys; we can find them again.”
Ye Feng hadn’t expected things to resolve so easily. He thought they would be unwilling to give up after losing one of their people, but it seemed they had no intention of continuing the fight.
“I know what you’re thinking!” Nine-Tails saw the strange expression on Ye Feng’s face and shook her head with a smile. “What sets us apart from humans is that our survival of the fittest is more direct. We don’t like schemes or tricks. Although some say our nine-tailed fox clan is the most cunning race in the world, that’s not true. Humans are the most cunning. We won’t resort to any means to achieve our goals; we just strive for what we want through our own efforts.”
“Besides, among the five of us, Ryan may not be the strongest, but he’s still among the top three. If you could beat him, it means it wasn’t luck but true strength. You may not have beaten the others, but continuing the fight is pointless. Instead of wasting time on you, we’d rather save time looking for the other keys.” Nine-Tails explained.

“Well then, I wish you success in getting the other key!” Ye Feng nodded with a smile.