Wang Ming

"Begin!"

At the referee's shout, Jiang Feng charged with both swords in hand, shooting forward at incredible speed.

Wang Ming, however, stood rooted to the spot across from him, his towering frame as immovable as a small mountain. He raised his Giant Shield before him, and an earthen-yellow halo spread outward, as though separating him and Jiang Feng into two different worlds.

Jiang Feng was surprised. It seemed this was a true Shield Warrior.

Within a few breaths, Jiang Feng reached Wang Ming. Naturally, he had no intention of meeting him head-on. He needed to try maneuvering around him.

Jiang Feng pushed hard off the ground and leaped into the air, then activated the Sixth Order knight skill Charge, appearing behind Wang Ming in an instant.

Wang Ming remained motionless. Jiang Feng wondered whether the shield was so large that it blocked his view, leaving him completely unaware of Jiang Feng's movements.

That was not the case. Just as Jiang Feng's twin swords erupted with brilliant golden light, gathering two dazzling bursts of radiance, Wang Ming turned around, keeping his Giant Shield in front of him.

Jiang Feng decided to test just how much defensive power that Giant Shield possessed. He instantly unleashed Holy Radiance Cross Slash, combining Holy Sword with Sunlight Slash.

Two sharp blades of light crossed as they struck Wang Ming's Giant Shield.

With a thunderous boom, Holy Radiance Cross Slash scattered. Yet Wang Ming remained perfectly still, like a sturdy pine rooted in the earth.

Admittedly, the earthen-yellow light radiating from Wang Ming's shield had nearly been dispersed, but the shield itself still stood there like a mountain, solid and imposing.

Jiang Feng could sense the weight of ages emanating from the Giant Shield. He was certain it was a weapon passed down from the glorious era six thousand years ago. Like the Giant Spirit God's Shield in Wang Yuanyuan's hands, it was a Legacy Weapon.

Wang Ming's Giant Shield was ancient and substantial, with a socket in its body clearly intended for a gem or magic crystal. At the moment, however, it was empty, with nothing set into it.

Even so, the Giant Shield already reached the peak of the glorious level.

Jiang Feng felt a pang of frustration. Why did it seem as though everyone had better equipment than he did?

But he was in the middle of a fight and could not afford distractions. Jiang Feng rushed forward with his swords, his imposing momentum steadily mounting, determined to cut through everything in his path.

Wang Ming was the first opponent to block Jiang Feng's Holy Radiance Cross Slash head-on without being pushed back. Although Jiang Feng had not used his full strength, finding such a worthy opponent excited him. He decided to stop holding back and bring all his strength to bear.

After Dragon Baby's breakthrough yesterday, Jiang Feng had also made considerable progress. Had Wang Yuanyuan faced the current Jiang Feng yesterday, she would probably have lost even more badly.

The Wang Ming before him was a whetstone, clearly arranged to let Jiang Feng test his own strength.

Although Wang Yuanyuan had slightly damaged Jiang Feng's twin swords in yesterday's battle, they could still hold up in combat under the protection of the Holy Sword skill.

As he rushed forward, the light along the sword in his right hand surged, extending the blade to thirty feet. Jiang Feng slashed, as though cleaving space itself in two, and his unstoppable momentum drove Wang Ming back dozens of steps.

The sight not only shocked Wang Ming, but also astonished the competitors in the stands and the Knight Temple's senior figures on the dais.

Had his cultivation really advanced so dramatically in just one day?

Or had Jiang Feng been holding back in all his previous matches?

Naturally, everyone leaned toward the latter explanation. His opening Holy Radiance Cross Slash was clearly far too powerful a skill for an ordinary knight to unleash, yet Wang Ming had blocked it.

Now, however, a simple Third Order skill, Light Slash Sword, had driven Wang Ming back.

If that was not holding back, what was?

Every competitor in the stands grew wary, regarding Jiang Feng as their most troublesome opponent.

Lin Xin looked astonished. He had thought he had seen the full extent of Jiang Feng's strength yesterday. He had never imagined that Jiang Feng would rise to meet stronger opposition, revealing his true strength only when faced with a more powerful opponent.

Wang Yuanyuan, meanwhile, looked furious. After seeing the fighting power Jiang Feng displayed now, she was convinced that he had held back during their match yesterday.

What was that supposed to mean?

Did he have no respect for her?

Or was Wang Yuanyuan so weak that he could not be bothered to use his full strength?

Wang Yuanyuan was angry, but she was also astonished. She had never expected him to be this powerful.

Even if she encountered Jiang Feng again later, Wang Yuanyuan knew she still had no confidence in defeating him. The gap in their strength was too great, leaving her feeling helpless.

Even the senior figures on the dais were pleasantly surprised. It seemed the champion of this Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament had already been decided, and he was still a competitor from their Knight Temple.

"This little fellow manages to surprise me in every single match!" Holy Knight Commander Han Ci said with a smile.

"Indeed. I'd estimate that this child has reached at least the sixth level of the Fifth Order. No one in this tournament can stand up to that kind of fighting power," the man beside Han Ci exclaimed.

"He's far stronger than we were back then!"

Han Ci nodded, thinking to himself, It seems that, compared with Long Haochen and Yang Wenzhao, Jiang Feng is the true leader of the Knight Temple's younger generation. I wonder how high this child's innate spiritual power is. Long Haochen is younger, so perhaps both of them have innate spiritual power above eighty.

Back in the arena, Jiang Feng swung his twin swords freely, every strike carrying immense force. With a full 3,100 points of external spiritual power, his physical strength alone was enough to suppress an ordinary Fifth Order professional.

Now that Jiang Feng had closed in, aside from casting Holy Sword to keep his blades from snapping easily, almost every slash landed solidly on Wang Ming's Giant Shield.

Clang, clang, clang...

The sounds of impact rang out continuously as Jiang Feng unleashed his external spiritual power without restraint. His tremendous strength left Wang Ming struggling to withstand the blows.

Wang Ming had only recently broken through to the Fifth Order, barely reaching the minimum cultivation required to wield this shield.

Although its defensive power was unrivaled within his order, it also drained him considerably. As he was now, he was unsuited to prolonged combat.

Against an opponent with explosive power like Jiang Feng, he could manage for a short time. Once his spiritual power ran dry, however, he would no longer be able to maintain the shield's defenses.

Meanwhile, Jiang Feng was surprised that Wang Ming had not launched a single attack throughout the battle, not even the simplest shield-block countercharge.

Jiang Feng could not help wondering, Could this guy really not know how to attack?

As a Shield Warrior, his defense had nearly reached the pinnacle of his order, but did he truly lack even a single offensive move?

With a crack, just as Jiang Feng was getting into the fight, he suddenly discovered that the sword in his right hand could no longer bear the strain. It snapped under a heavy slash.

"Damn..." Jiang Feng stared dumbfounded. There went another thousand gold coins.

Looking at the utterly unscathed Giant Shield, Jiang Feng suddenly felt deeply resentful. Right now, the last thing he wanted to see was good equipment.

Clenching his fist and gathering all his strength, Jiang Feng smashed a punch as hard as a Spirit Demon Level Shield into Wang Ming's Giant Shield. With a resounding clang, the earthen-yellow halo on the shield nearly vanished, shattered by Jiang Feng's punch.