Not only has he reached the peak of Dou Wang… his physique has already stepped into the Dou Huang tier. And that bizarre sword qi—terrifying. No wonder he caught the young miss's eye.
Ling Ying muttered inwardly. Then his tone shifted, his expression darkening.
But the gap between Dou Wang and Dou Huang isn't something that can be bridged by physique alone.
Feeling the numbness spreading through his—arms, Ling Ying took a deep breath and swung his crescent blade. Vast black energy surged violently from his back, erupting outward. In an instant, countless black shadows filled the sky, nearly covering it completely. The sheer momentum made Xiao Se frown.
Standing at the center of the black curtain formed by the shadows, Ling Ying looked like a heavenly demon descending upon the world. He threw his head back and laughed loudly.
"Boy, I'll admit—you're strong. Reaching the peak of Dou Wang at such an age is indeed rare. But you were too arrogant. Today, I'll give you a proper lesson."
"I'd like to see how you plan to teach me."
A cold smile tugged at Xiao Se's lips. He tightened his grip on the demonic sword. At the same time, boundless pink flames erupted behind him as well, the blazing firelight spreading across the sky and directly contending against Ling Ying's black curtain.
"This feeling… an Heavenly Flame?"
Ling Ying raised an eyebrow. "Such powerful soul strength—to control this much Heavenly Flame at once…"
He sheathed his crescent blade at his waist, rapidly forming seals with his hands as his body completely merged into the sea of black shadows.
"Ten Thousand Shadows Bind!"
The massive black curtain churned violently. Countless black energy streams shot out like whips, intertwining with one another before blasting straight toward Xiao Se.
"Crimson Flame Sword!"
Ling Ying unleashed his killing move—Xiao Se naturally wouldn't sit idle. His right hand swung the demonic sword while his left formed a sword finger. His body merged into the pink flames as the firestorm surged violently.
In the blink of an eye, thousands upon thousands of Heavenly Flame longswords condensed out of the sea of fire, charging head-on toward the incoming black streams.
One red, one black.
Two completely different yet equally terrifying attacks tore through the sky and collided headfirst.
BOOM—!
A thunderous explosion resounded across the heavens. In an instant, a terrifying energy shockwave burst outward from the collision point, forcibly scattering both the black curtain and the pink firelight. The forest below was ravaged into utter chaos.
"So this is a Dou Huang…"
Xiao Se's expression tightened slightly.
"Without using secret techniques, if it weren't for the Heavenly Flame and the demonic sword, that attack alone would've killed me. In that case… let's see if you can block this."
A red glow flickered over Xiao Se's left arm.
Fire Dragon King Left Arm Bone — First Soul Skill: Fire Attribute Amplification!
Guided by the crimson light, the flames around Xiao Se exploded outward, their power instantly amplified tenfold. All of it poured into the demonic sword in his right hand.
In mere moments, a colossal Heavenly Flame greatsword—over forty meters long—condensed into existence.
With a powerful push of his palm, Xiao Se thrust it straight toward Ling Ying.
"The power of the Heavenly Flame increased this much… a secret technique?"
Seeing the almost tangible flame greatsword, Ling Ying's expression finally turned solemn.
He extended a hand from his sleeve. Jet-black Dou Qi rapidly gathered in his palm, condensing into a black dragon spear over two meters long.
A black dragon coiled around the spear's surface as waves of energy poured downward like flowing water. Black smoke curled upward.
Twisting his body halfway, Ling Ying thrust the spear forward.
A massive black energy beam—no smaller than the Heavenly Flame greatsword—shot forth.
"Demonic Serpent Devour!"
The black dragon spear streaked across the sky like a dark meteor. As black qi roiled around it, it transformed into a gigantic black serpent.
The serpent roared skyward, space trembling in response, before charging violently toward the Heavenly Flame greatsword with overwhelming momentum.
The instant the two collided, violent Dou Qi fluctuations erupted through the air, shaking heaven and earth.
Xiao Se and Ling Ying both clenched their teeth, forcing their entire cultivation into the attack.
At this moment, whoever retreated would die.
Even Ling Ying himself hadn't realized it—what was meant to be merely a lesson on behalf of his young miss had, due to Xiao Se's terrifying strength, escalated into him unleashing his full power.
An Eight-Star Dou Huang—fighting at full capacity.
Ling Ying's all-out assault far exceeded Xiao Se's expectations.
Xiao Se had once fought Tang Ritian. Without using the Great Sumeru Hammer, that very move would have severely injured him. But against Ling Ying, it fell short.
Because Ling Ying was a Dou Huang—capable of mobilizing vast amounts of external energy of the same attribute.
Under the intense clash, the Heavenly Flame was suppressed by surrounding dark-attribute energy, its power drastically reduced.
Looks like I underestimated Dou Huang experts before.
Xiao Se thought inwardly. Then a playful smile appeared on his face.
The palm pushing the flame greatsword suddenly curled slightly.
A faint crimson flame flickered into existence within his palm.
The moment that flame appeared—
Black. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red.
Six terrifying soul rings rose from beneath Xiao Se's feet.
Without any extra movement, the first black soul ring abruptly lit up.
The flame in Xiao Se's palm instantly turned pitch-black.
Black fire spread rapidly, engulfing the entire Heavenly Flame greatsword in an instant. As black and pink flames intertwined, their combined power erupted explosively.
The black serpent that had been gaining the upper hand shattered inch by inch.
Ling Ying himself suffered a violent backlash.
PFF—!
Blood sprayed from his mouth as his body was blasted backward hundreds of meters, carving a trench dozens of meters long across the ground. Trees collapsed along his path. He finally crashed into a mountain peak, coming to a halt as blood poured from his mouth.
"And now—what do you have left to say?"
Xiao Se stood above him, the demonic sword pressed against Ling Ying's throat as he looked down coldly.
"Heh…"
Ling Ying gave a bitter laugh.
"The younger waves truly push the old ones to death on the shore. You win."
"I know Xun'er's backing is powerful," Xiao Se said coldly. "But I'm no longer the boy from the Xiao Clan who let you monitor him at will."
"Get lost. And don't let me see you again. Next time, you won't be this lucky."
With a cold snort, the Evil God Wings burst from Xiao Se's back. With a powerful flap, his body turned into a streak of light and vanished into the horizon.
"What a terrifying young man…"
Ling Ying let out a bitter smile.
"The young miss really does have good taste—just a pity he's far too flirtatious."
Dragging his injured body, Ling Ying transformed into a wisp of black mist and disappeared from the spot.
Not long after both men left, a white-haired old man arrived at the battlefield. He surveyed the destruction left behind, his brows knitting tightly together.
"Two Dou Huang auras… one of them feels strangely familiar. Who could it be?"
Warm sunlight poured down, illuminating the old man's aged face.
If Xiao Se were still here, he would've recognized him at once—
It was Hu Qian, Vice Dean of Jia Nan Academy's Outer Courtyard.
—
Elsewhere, Xiao Se continued to fly rapidly through the sky. The Inner Courtyard entrance was drawing ever closer.
"Brother," Hongkui's voice suddenly rang out in his mind, cold and filled with killing intent.
"That man kept provoking you again and again. Why didn't you kill him?"
Ling Ying's second attack had clearly crossed Hongkui's bottom line. At this moment, murderous intent churned violently within her heart. If Xiao Se hadn't stopped her earlier, she would have already shot him dead with a single arrow.
(End of Chapter)
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