A silver light flared like a bolt of lightning as a slender figure materialized in front of Hong Yu.
At the sa ti, Hong Tiande's strike, which seed powerful enough to cleave heaven and earth, ca crashing down, landing squarely on the silver figure.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted.
The strike from the long saber, weighing well over ten thousand pounds, unleashed an incredibly powerful shockwave. It kicked up a howling gale that sent the silver figure flying as the sharp edge of the blade shattered on impact.
Sohow, the impossibly close call had been averted!
"What the hell was that?" Hong Tiande's expression darkened.
Even though his strike had sent the silver figure flying, a powerful recoil had traveled up the long saber, making his hand go numb.
He frowned, his eyes fixed on the figure.
What he saw left him utterly stunned. His expression beca a complex mix of disbelief, shock, confusion, and even a trace of inexplicable horror.
"H-How can it be you?"
Hong Tiande cried out in shock.
As a mighty Mid-stage Earth Soul Realm Powerhouse, his mory was naturally excellent. How could he not recognize the face of that silver figure?
This was clearly the boy he had personally killed on the execution grounds not long ago, whose body had been utterly annihilated!
And yet here he was, alive and breathing, standing right before his eyes?
And what's more...
'He just took the full force of my Crescent Moon Frenzy head-on. An attack that terrifying would gravely injure even a Late-stage Earth Soul Realm Powerhouse, if not kill them outright. Yet, this silver-clad boy just got back up, completely unhard.'
"How is this possible? Wh-what in the world is going on?"
Hong Tiande muttered to himself in shock.
Suddenly, he looked up at Hong Yu. "This is all your doing, isn't it?"
Hong Yu let out a long breath. 'That was a close one!'
'If I hadn't summoned Xingtian at the last possible mont to block that attack, the Crescent Moon Frenzy would have sliced in half.'
Hong Yu raised his eyebrows, giving Hong Tiande a wry, amused look. "It seems you recognize him. The innocent boy you murdered that day."
"He was clearly dead! How could he possibly be alive?" Hong Tiande demanded, his face contorted in a ferocious scowl.
Hong Yu rubbed his nose. "What do you think?"
"It was you?"
Hong Tiande froze as he suddenly recalled Hong Yu's teoric rise.
A few months ago, he had been just an ordinary disciple from a side branch. Yet in a matter of months, this disciple of average talent had grown to his current state. Although the world was not without its miracles—sudden enlightennt in a dream, a koi transforming into a dragon—Hong Tiande refused to believe such a thing had happened to Hong Yu.
Which ant...
'A fortuitous encounter! The boy must have had so heaven-defying stroke of luck!'
Hong Tiande's gaze suddenly burned with intensity. A seed of greed had taken root in his heart, and it was now sprouting and growing rapidly.
'An opportunity that can turn a common disciple into a genius on par with the Four Kings... it has to be sothing absolutely extraordinary,' he thought. 'If I could obtain such a treasure, I might even be able to break through to the Celestial Soul Realm, perhaps even the Primordial Core Realm. Once I'm in the Primordial Core Realm, forget the Qin Family—I'll be able to run rampant throughout the entire Fengyue Kingdom!'
The mont the thought appeared, it beca an obsession. Hong Tiande's eyes narrowed, his burning greed unconcealed. "Hong Yu, as long as you hand over the secret to your good fortune, I promise I will spare your life! I will even give you my full support and see to it that you enjoy the sa status as the Four Kings. In the future, I will help you secure the position of Patriarch and guarantee you a lifeti of riches and glory..."
"Oh?"
Seeing the burning look in Hong Tiande's eyes, Hong Yu easily guessed his thoughts and laughed to himself. 'This old dog is a sly one!'
"A lifeti of riches and glory? Heh. Hong Tiande, you old dog, don't insult my intelligence with your shalessness, alright?" Hong Yu sneered.
"You..."
Hong Tiande's face twitched. Humiliated and enraged, he jabbed a finger at Hong Yu, his voice a low roar that was more bluster than bravery. "You ungrateful whelp! Did you really think so lucky break would let you stand against ? It doesn't matter if you won't hand it over. I'll just break your arms and legs and cripple your cultivation. I'd like to see you run your mouth then!"
"Mad Lion Saber Technique—Lion King's Fury!"
Hong Tiande let out a low roar.
The Crescent Moon Frenzy he held high above his head erupted with powerful montum, and in an instant, he took on the air of a heaven-and-earth-penetrating War God. A faint red glow spread around his body, forming red energy chains that rose from his feet and slowly crept upward.
In the blink of an eye, these red energy chains converged on the Crescent Moon Frenzy.
RUMBLE!
The sound was like a thunderclap on a clear day. Faintly, the Crescent Moon Frenzy transford, taking the illusory shape of a fearso Fla Lion King!
This was the Top-Level Martial Skill Hong Tiande had gained from his own fortuitous encounter, the Mad Lion Saber Technique. The technique was exceptionally ferocious, and he had never revealed it before, not even turning the Secret Manual over to the Hong Family. It was a testant to how much he had been hiding his true strength.
He was unleashing it without reservation now for two reasons: one, Hong Yu had forced his hand; and two, he was certain that Hong Yu was about to die and could never leak his secret!
"Hong Yu, die! My Mad Lion Saber Technique is a Half-Step Mortal Level Martial Skill! No matter how much of a monstrous genius you are, you won't be able to withstand it!"
Hong Tiande let out a deep growl and abruptly brought his hands down.
At his movent, a pillar of fla shot into the sky. The temperature for hundreds of yards around soared to a terrifying degree, as if the very air were being incinerated in a massive furnace. As the Fla Lion King ford by the Crescent Moon Frenzy slashed down, wave after wave of searing heat washed over them.
ROAR!
The Fla Lion King was overwhelmingly powerful. How could the might of a Top-Level Martial Skill possibly compare to that of a Half-Step Mortal Level one?
Moreover, Hong Tiande had practiced this Martial Skill for over a decade, long ago reaching the Realm of Perfection. With this single strike, he could even hold his own against a Late-stage Earth Soul Realm Powerhouse!
AAGH!
Before Hong Yu could even make a move, Execution Corpse Xingtian—who had just been blasted away—let out a low growl. A cold glint appeared in his emotionless eyes as he once again beca a streak of flowing light. He moved like a thunderbolt, shrouded in a faint silver glow, and in a flash, he was standing in front of Hong Yu again.
WHOOSH!
Silver light flared around Xingtian as he suddenly raised his hands high.
Flesh-and-blood palms t the terrifying Fla Lion King in mid-air.
It was an unstoppable force eting an immovable object.
For a mont, ti itself seed to freeze. The Execution Corpse remained expressionless, Hong Yu's eyes narrowed, and Hong Tiande's face was a mask of savage cruelty. Of course, ti hadn't truly stopped; it was rely a visual illusion created by the collision of two imnse powers.
ROAR! ROAR!
The Fla Lion King roared again and again.
Xingtian's hands were clamped firmly around the blade of the Crescent Moon Frenzy, gripping the neck of the Fla Lion King ford from the Power of Primordial Spirit. It looked like a frail boy trying to wrestle a magnificent lion to the death with his bare hands—a collision of absolute strength!
'Such a tough body! Not even my Crescent Moon Frenzy can cut through it?'
Hong Tiande's expression flickered, and the greedy light in his eyes grew even more intense.
'Even if I don't understand how this boy I killed ca back to life, his incredibly durable body alone is a Supre Treasure!' he thought. A greedy glint appeared in his eyes as he looked at Xingtian. To him, Xingtian's value was no less than that of the clan's ultimate treasure sealed away in the Scripture Pavilion!
"Excellent, excellent! What an unbeatable tank! With this boy's help, I could even hold my own against a Peak Earth Soul Realm Powerhouse. Hong Yu, once I've crippled your limbs and destroyed your cultivation, all these secrets will be mine!" Hong Tiande's face twitched as he let out a savage roar, the Power of Primordial Spirit within him surging once more.
BAM!
The sudden surge in his Power of Primordial Spirit instantly shredded the clothes on his upper body, revealing a powerful physique.
His strength tripled in an instant!
An ordinary Early-stage Earth Soul Realm powerhouse possessed about ten thousand pounds of strength, with each subsequent breakthrough adding another ten thousand. This, of course, was only for those with average talent, Cultivation Techniques, Martial Skills, and weapons. Geniuses from major Sects could unleash far more power at the sa cultivation level.
As the Seventh Elder of the Hong Family, Hong Tiande's foundations were far from poor. This strike alone unleashed a terrifying fifty thousand pounds of force.
BOOM!
The Fla Lion King instantly broke free from Xingtian's grasp, violently flinging him away.
As Xingtian's body flew backward, his feet dug into the ground, carving out two massive trenches nearly two feet deep and a hundred feet long, like hideous scars torn into the earth.
Having repelled Xingtian, Hong Tiande's eyes danced with excitent. His cold gaze swept over to Hong Yu. "And now, it's your turn!"
"Indeed, it is my turn."
Hong Yu calmly exhaled, showing no fear.
With a flip of his hand, the clan's ultimate treasure from the Scripture Pavilion—a Mortal-level Middle-grade Primordial Weapon long spear—appeared in his grasp. The power radiating from the Primordial Weapon was imnse, carrying a cold glint that one dared not look at directly. The mont it appeared, a murderous aura filled the air. A flowing light shimred along its length, as if it thirsted for the blood of its enemies.
"Th-That's the Breaking Army Spear? It's supposed to be sealed away in the Scripture Pavilion! How did it fall into your hands?" Hong Tiande cried out in disbelief.
Hong Yu's cold eyes swept over him as he smiled faintly. "For that, I have you to thank."
"Damn it! You actually managed to get into the top floor of the Scripture Pavilion? Not even a Celestial Soul Realm powerhouse can do that! How did you manage it?"
Amid his shock, Hong Tiande suddenly rembered Hong Yu's great fortune, and the greed in his eyes grew even stronger. "Excellent, excellent! It seems your lucky break was truly extraordinary! Heh heh... but it doesn't matter. I just need to capture you, and then your secret and the Breaking Army Spear will all be mine!"
"You're still deluded enough to think you can kill ? Hong Tiande, I have to say, you're truly naive."
Hong Yu let out a contemptuous sneer and suddenly attacked.
"Destruc... tion..."
In the past, when Hong Yu had only absorbed enough Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to fill a third of his Lower Dantian, he had used this move to slay both Hong Qi and Hong Hu. Now, he had five Qi Vortexes in his Lower Dantian, equivalent to the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi reserves of five full Lower Dantians. A massive amount of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi instantly condensed onto the Breaking Army Spear.
The Breaking Army long spear was like a beached Flood Dragon returning to the vast ocean, letting out waves of excitent that seed to pierce the heavens.
VMMMM!
With a single thrust, tens of millions of spear afterimages appeared, a chaotic blizzard reminiscent of Falling Petals.
SWOOSH!
The tens of millions of spear afterimages instantly converged, transforming into a single Flaming Dragon Spear that shot toward Hong Tiande.
"Hmph, you think you can defeat with such a parlor trick? That's just..."
Hong Tiande sneered, bringing his Mad Lion Saber Technique down again, but his expression changed drastically mid-swing.
When the ferocious Fla Lion King t the Flaming Dragon Spear created by Hong Yu's Destruction, it was like a lowly subject encountering his sovereign. It actually trembled in fear before being blasted to pieces by Hong Yu's spear. The spear then continued on, arriving before Hong Tiande with ease.
"No—"
Hong Tiande roared in terror, trying to dodge.
However... at that critical mont, a silver light flashed behind him. Xingtian appeared, his hands shooting out to grab Hong Tiande's body. With a quick shift, he turned Hong Tiande to face the incoming spear. SQUELCH! The long spear plunged into his flesh. Terrifying Fla Power began to rampage through Hong Tiande's body, setting off a series of horrific explosions from within.
"N-no..."
Hong Tiande could clearly feel death's approach, could feel his life slipping away. He frantically tried to cover the wound with his hands, but it did nothing to slow the drain on his life force.
The greed and cruelty in his eyes vanished, replaced by disbelief and profound resentnt. Staring at the increasingly blurry image of Hong Yu, he let out his final, unwilling roar in the world of the living...
"No, I can't accept this...!"
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