“Heh… Master Feng, you are indeed a master…” Ji Fenglong smiled slightly and said, “I originally thought that the step you took backward out of the pavilion just now had already used ten-tenths of your speed…”

Chi chi—

Ji Fenglong had not finished speaking when two golden lights suddenly appeared from mid-air, drawing two strange arcs as they attacked her ribs.

“…I didn’t expect you to have any strength left…” As she spoke, she raised her right hand, creating an eggshell-shaped Holy Yuan Force Field in front of her. “It’s just… the flying speed of these two spells of yours is not as fast as you are in person.”

The next second, the two death poker cards that came flying at her struck the Holy Yuan Force Field. The former… instantly turned into particles of light.

“And… ridiculously weak.” Ji Fenglong looked at the golden dust and shook her head.

Boom—

Almost at the same time she spoke, a sound of air being torn apart rang out from behind her.

That was the sound of Jue-Ge's [Spiritual Consciousness Convergence - Modified] state, as he exerted all his strength to perform Moon Steps.

With this propulsion, Feng Bujue's speed had reached the limit of his current state. If nothing unexpected happened, in half a second, Jue-Ge would pin Ji Fenglong with a very beautiful pinning motion, winning the bet.

His battle strategy could be described as simple, clear, and efficient—to strike first, feint to the east and attack to the west, and subdue the enemy with one move. From the initial sudden acceleration to the feigned attack with the death poker cards, to the final surprise attack from behind, it was all done in one go.

However… this time, he miscalculated.

Chi—

Suddenly, a sound like boiling water could be heard in mid-air, followed by a cloud of red mist.

Then, there were three consecutive, heavy, powerful Moon Steps, each step further away from Ji Fenglong's location.

“Heh… Master Feng, how is it? Not hurt, are you?” Ji Fenglong slowly turned around and said in the direction the sound came from.

On the other side, in a cloud of blood, Feng Bujue's figure reappeared, his two forearms… for some reason, covered in blood.

“So that’s how it is… no wonder you proposed a condition like ‘if I touch your body within a certain period, I win’…” Feng Bujue took the opportunity to cancel the Spiritual Consciousness Convergence and shook his arms as he muttered, “You’re relying on your protective qi-veil, aren’t you…”

“Protective qi-veil?” Ji Fenglong repeated. “This is the first time I’ve heard that term…”

“Then what do you call it?” Feng Bujue asked.

“Heh…” Ji Fenglong smiled. “Actually, I don’t know what it’s called.” She paused, revealing a rather smug look. “This move… is a technique I created myself after entering the Yuansheng realm. I’ve hardly ever used it in front of people, so… it hasn’t been named yet.” As she said this, she simply put her hands behind her back, striking a posture of being fearless. “Oh… by the way, Master Feng is an extraordinary expert, very knowledgeable, and must have seen similar methods to be able to name it. I think… we might as well call it the protective qi-veil.”

“Interesting…” As Feng Bujue muttered these three words, his mind was already racing, and he immediately saw a flaw. “Since you have a protective qi-veil, why did you use Holy Yuan as a shield to block my flying cards just now?”

“It was instinct, perhaps.” Ji Fenglong’s expression did not change, and she replied calmly, “It’s like… even if you’ve already cultivated an indestructible body, when a knife flies towards your face, if you have time, you’ll still use your hand to block it first.”

“Okay, then block it once more and let me see.” As Feng Bujue spoke, a golden light flashed in his hand, and the special effect five of the Death Poker, [Soul Chaser (randomly consumes thirty cards, releasing 1-100 single poker cards with the power equivalent to "7" in an instant)], was suddenly activated.

In the blink of an eye, a hundred golden lights scattered out, and under the precise control of “Zero Time Difference Calculation,” these light cards attacked Ji Fenglong at slightly different speeds and from a hundred different angles.

“Tch…” Ji Fenglong spat unhappily when she saw this, and then clenched her fists and gathered her Yuan to attack.

But she saw, vast Holy Yuan, spraying out. In an instant, a shield with a radius of one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) bloomed open with Ji Fenglong as the center.

No matter how tricky the hundred golden lights’ angles of attack were, no matter how well the time difference between them was coordinated, in front of this all-encompassing defense without any blind spots, they could only turn into nothingness.

“City Lord Ji, according to my observation…” Feng Bujue stroked his chin, thoughtfully, “Your protective qi-veil seems to have some flaws?”

Seeing that her previous bluff had been seen through in an instant, Ji Fenglong had no choice but to admit, “Hmph… there’s really no way…” She waved her sleeves and retracted the outer layer of the Holy Yuan Force Field. “That’s right, my qi-veil can only erode physical matter and cannot defend against spells.” She raised her head, squinting at Jue-Ge and said, “It doesn’t matter if I let you know, anyway, my qi-veil…”

“…can be maintained for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.” Feng Bujue took over the other party’s words, and said with a smile.

“You…” Ji Fenglong’s expression changed drastically, and she was speechless for a moment. But a master is a master after all, and she quickly accepted the reality before her, calmed down, and said in a deep voice, “Good! Good, Feng Bujue.” Her eyes changed, and for the first time since meeting him, she clasped her fist at Jue-Ge. “Master Feng is wise and calm, courageous and resourceful. I admire you, Ji.”

“You flatter me, you flatter me.” Feng Bujue also made a perfunctory bow, as a polite gesture, just to show some respect. “However… for me, even if I know all this, it doesn’t seem to help… after all, you are a Yuansheng cultivator, and your Holy Yuan is as vast as the sea. It’s impossible to exhaust it in a short period of time. And as long as you have any remaining strength, the qi-veil's duration won't be shortened, so… I'll have no chance.”

“Hmph… your analysis is very reasonable.” Ji Fenglong continued, “Master Feng… are you planning to admit defeat?”

“No, what I mean is…” Feng Bujue said, “Let’s double the stakes.”

“What did you say?” Ji Fenglong was shocked when she heard this, she simply couldn’t believe her ears.

“The conditions remain exactly the same, we’ll still determine the outcome by whether I can touch your body.” As Feng Bujue spoke, he raised his finger and pointed to the hourglass in the sky. “You don’t have to reset the time, let’s just bet with the remaining time.”

“Hey, hey… what are you trying to do again?” Xu Huishang, in the stone pavilion, sat at the table with her hands propping up her cheeks, staring at him with dead fish eyes.

It seems… Goddess Xu has resigned herself to fate…

“Then… how do we double the stakes?” Ji Fenglong originally thought that Jue-Ge wanted to use this method to reset the time or something, but she didn’t expect the other party to say no, which made her interested.

“Hehe…” Feng Bujue smiled sinisterly. “The City Lord should have heard that there’s also a Miss Lu who entered the city with me. She is also as beautiful as a heavenly immortal, comparable to that Miss Xu, each with her own merits…”

“Thank you for the compliment…” Xu Huishang in the distance took a sip of tea, calmly adding, “…scumbag.”

Feng Bujue ignored her and continued, “I propose that the bet be changed to… if I lose, not only will I leave Miss Xu behind, but I will also invite Miss Lu to you, and I won’t take any of my magical treasures.”

Ji Fenglong’s expression clearly changed, and a look of anticipation had already appeared in her eyes. “If you win… then what?”

“If I win… I will naturally take Miss Xu away.” Feng Bujue shrugged and smiled, his expression looking extremely relaxed and confident. “However, I still don’t want your magical treasures.”

“Oh?” Ji Fenglong was not just puzzled anymore, she was even a little surprised. “Then what do you want?”

“Feng Bujue, before you answer her question, I must remind you.” Before Jue-Ge could speak, Xu Huishang interjected, “If you say something strange…” She squinted, staring at Jue-Ge fiercely. “…I’ll call the police.”

“Call whoever you want, I’m doing serious business here, stop interrupting with nonsense.” Feng Bujue impatiently glared at her and replied in a reprimanding tone.

Xu Huishang had never been treated this way by a member of the opposite sex in her entire life, and she was stunned at the time…

And before she could recover, Jue-Ge had already turned his head to look at Ji Fenglong and said seriously, “If I win… City Lord Ji will let me take a trip to your ‘Book of Heaven World,’ how about it?”