Chapter 38 - Unbreakable Shield

Han Feng had told Ning Rongrong not to move—and she listened. She stayed exactly where she was, pouring all her energy into supporting him, not daring to be careless.

What she didn't expect… was that Han Feng would completely ignore her.

At that moment, not just Ning Rongrong, but even the spectators—Dai Mubai and the others—began to wonder: Had Han Feng decided to abandon her? Or worse—had he planned to use her as bait from the very beginning?

After all, if Han Feng chose to chase after the scorpion soul master, he could have severely injured her. Once that was done, he'd have the upper hand against the snake-user and practically secured victory.

But to Ning Rongrong… that would be too cruel.

She bit her lip, feeling a wave of grievance rise in her chest. Logically, she understood it all. But if logic could solve everything in this world, then there wouldn't be so many stories of unrequited love or people who just couldn't let go.

As the snake soul master drew closer and closer, Ning Rongrong realized she had no chance of escaping. Her opponent was an agility-type spirit master, several times faster than her. The distance between them may have only been ten or so meters, but it felt like an entire chasm. Staring at Han Feng's back, she forced herself to stay calm and tried to self-soothe:

"That jerk Han Feng has made me mad so many times. This is nothing… nothing…"

But even so, her throat tightened, and her chest grew heavy.

She shot a resentful glance at Han Feng's back, then adopted the expression of a mischievous little witch, flashing the snake-user a sly grin—and suddenly turned, preparing to jump off the platform!

Like she'd be allowed to get away so easily.

"Damn it! "

The snake soul master cursed under her breath. She hadn't expected Ning Rongrong to be so decisive. Outside the ring, if she gave chase, she would definitely be stopped by the Grand Arena's security. Just thinking about Han Feng's insults from earlier made her seethe, and she no longer held back.

Both her first and second spirit rings flared to life. Her speed more than doubled, and she transformed into a venomous blur, lunging toward Ning Rongrong—her mouth open wide, like a snake ready to devour prey.

"No! There's no time! "

In the audience, Dai Mubai's heterochromatic eyes widened. His handsome face turned grim.

Ning Rongrong gasped, her wide eyes filled with fear. She closed them in despair.

But then—

"Bang!"

One second passed… two seconds…

The pain she'd expected never came. Instead, she felt herself pulled into a warm, protective embrace.

She cautiously opened her eyes—and found herself just inches away from Han Feng's face. Her cheeks flushed bright red.

"Roar!"

Han Feng's expression, however, was far from gentle. He cast Sunfire to force the snake-user back but didn't pursue. Instead, he looked down at Ning Rongrong and said sternly:

"What did I say back when we fought Zhao Wuji? As long as we're teammates, if you get hurt—it's an insult to me. What were you trying to do just now? You don't trust me? "

Ning Rongrong, the proud and temperamental heiress of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, suddenly panicked under his gaze. She shook her head quickly:

"No! It's not that! I just… I…"

"You thought I used you as bait, didn't you? You thought from the beginning I was ready to throw you away to win? "Han Feng pressed, his eyes sharp. "You think a defense-type spirit master doesn't even have that much resolve!? "

"Let me tell you right now—as long as you're behind me in a Soul Duel, no one can hurt you unless I fall."

"If you can't even believe that—then there's no point in this 'Blazing Treasure' team existing! "

You couldn't really blame Han Feng for being angry. Ever since awakening his martial spirit, his father had drilled into him the duties and pride of a defense-type soul master—the idea that their value lay in protecting others. If they couldn't do that, what were they good for?

No one willingly takes a hit for a tank. A useless defense-type master might as well be a lump of scrap iron.

What Han Feng didn't expect… was Ning Rongrong's reaction.

Instead of a confident reply or a fiery rebuttal, she shyly nodded in his arms, cheeks flushed, and murmured a soft "Mm…"

That wasn't right! She was supposed to shout, "I believe in you! " with conviction—that would've been way cooler!

No—based on her personality, she should've snapped at him, all feisty and haughty. What was this bashful act?

Had he misjudged her all along? Was Ning Rongrong not the spoiled princess he thought she was?

Han Feng didn't have time to puzzle it out. They were still mid-fight.

"If you get it now—what are you still hiding for!? "

"O-Okay!"

Ning Rongrong scrambled to her feet, her her face bright red, even her slender neck flushed with color. She kept her head down, looking utterly flustered and adorable.

Unfortunately, Han Feng was too dense to appreciate it. He simply huffed and walked away, dissatisfied.

"You're not going to scold me? " she asked, unused to his silence.

Han Feng rolled his eyes. "If we were back at the academy, I'd definitely let you have it."

Ning Rongrong blinked. Was it her imagination, or did Han Feng's figure just flicker… five times?

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ring, the snake and scorpion soul masters had finally broken through the Sunfire trap, looking scorched and disheveled. Their faces were smeared with soot and fury.

"Brat! Are you looking down on us!? "

"Second spirit skill—Venomous Snake Strike! "

"First spirit skill—Poison Pincer Slash! "

Enraged, they activated their soul skills and charged toward Han Feng.

He just sneered—not dodging, not blocking—just standing there, completely still. That infuriated them even more.

A defense-type soul master, this arrogant?

They poured every ounce of soul power into their attacks, determined to teach him a lesson.

"Shatter!"

"Roar! Roar, roar, roar, roar, roar! "

Just as they reached within a meter of him, Han Feng suddenly shouted, and six blazing flame shields materialized in front of him.

It was his second spirit skill: Fixed-Point Guard—a passive ability. Each activation created a shield that could block a single strike from a peer-level opponent.

So no, Ning Rongrong hadn't imagined things—Han Feng had used his second skill five times earlier, hiding the shields with stealth. With the initial cast, that made six total.

Only someone with such pure and abundant spirit power could pull this off. Anyone else—like Ma Hongjun or Zhu Zhuqing—would've been drained dry by now.

Fixed-Point Guard consumed a huge amount of spirit power!

"Bang! Bang! "

The sisters were stunned. Their full-force attacks didn't even make Han Feng flinch.

"Impossible! "The snake soul master cried out in disbelief.

Desperate, both activated their soul skills again—overdrawing their energy reserves.

But the combined defense of six flame shields was not something two mere Soul Masters could break.

They collapsed, utterly spent—and they still hadn't destroyed the final shield. And that was with Han Feng not even launching a Sunfire counterattack.

He looked down at them, smirking.

"What's the matter? Keep scratching."

"No… impossible…" the snake soul master murmured, nearing collapse.

"His martial spirit… it's just a shield… it's just a shield…"

Han Feng grinned wider. Ning Rongrong's earlier doubt had annoyed him, but he couldn't take it out on her—so he vented on them instead.

"Who says a shield can't deal damage!? "

Self-created soul skill: Power Shield Slam.

The sisters had kindly charged him up through constant attacks, and with Ning Rongrong's strength boost—

This hit was no weaker than Dai Mubai's all-out strike.

"BOOM!"