“Shaking Light!”
With a thunderous shout, Lin Xiao’s sword slashed downward. The void trembled, and a dazzling white sword arc burst forth, radiating unmatched sword energy. Infused with the power to annihilate all, its ancient pressure surged, making the heavens and earth seem to quake.
“Boom!”
A massive explosion erupted as the white sword arc collided with Duan Emperor’s bamboo-like fist energy. A brilliant light burst forth, and vast shockwaves, like a raging sea, surged outward. The terrifying force swept in all directions.
Both Lin Xiao and Duan Emperor were pushed back, but Lin Xiao, closer to the collision, was flung farther. Yet, he remained uninjured. With his current strength, even Duan Emperor’s full effort likely couldn’t harm him.
Meanwhile, the Purple Corpse Puppet clashed with Mingluo, the Ming Sect Martial Emperor. The puppet’s overwhelming power, despite Mingluo’s Second-Level Martial Emperor status, sent him flying with a single strike, leaving him lightly injured. The puppet pressed its attack relentlessly.
Man and corpse battled fiercely. Mingluo was fully occupied, unable to aid Duan Emperor, only managing to keep the puppet from joining Lin Xiao. He retreated while fighting, knowing that facing the puppet head-on would lead to his demise. Fortunately, the puppet’s limited intelligence relied on instinct, or Mingluo would be in grave danger.
Back with Lin Xiao, Duan Emperor charged again, unleashing even stronger attacks. Lin Xiao countered with his trump cards, and their battle darkened the skies, shaking the earth. Fist energy soared, sword qi crisscrossed, and shockwaves carved craters into the ground. At times, Lin Xiao was pushed back; at others, Duan Emperor retreated. They fought for an hour.
Duan Emperor, with his vast Martial Emperor reserves, unleashed relentless attacks. Lin Xiao, expending immense energy to counter, began to show signs of fatigue after an hour, his attacks weakening. This was deliberate, as he suppressed his cultivation to Fifth-Level Martial Lord, intentionally revealing a vulnerability.
After a powerful strike sent Lin Xiao reeling, Duan Emperor laughed triumphantly. “Haha, Lin Xiao, do you now see the gap between Martial Lord and Martial Emperor? No matter how strong you are, you’re only a Martial Lord. A Martial Emperor’s reserves far surpass a Martial Lord’s. The real battle starts now!”
With that, Duan Emperor swallowed a pill and said coldly, “This is a Seventh-Grade Initial Energy-Boosting Pill, increasing my strength by several folds. Let’s see how long you can hold out!”
His aura surged, hair flying, robes fluttering. His Martial Emperor presence filled the heavens, nearing the peak of Second-Level Martial Emperor.
Lin Xiao frowned, activating his Blood Dragon Vision and unleashing the Reverse Chaos Three Forms, a heaven-tier martial technique. As he pushed his palms forward, countless blades of elemental energy shot out, twisting like a chaotic killing machine. The void seemed to collapse, the air roiling and boiling.
The slaughtering blades, appearing slow but incredibly fast, rushed toward Duan Emperor, who was preparing a massive strike.
But as they neared, a “Boom!” resounded. Duan Emperor’s fist unleashed a blinding golden light, its radiant fist energy smashing into the chaotic blades. A deafening explosion followed, scattering the blades into surging shockwaves.
Duan Emperor’s fist energy, though weakened, carried rolling waves of force, striking Lin Xiao at incredible speed. Lin Xiao raised his hands to block, but with little time to muster strength, the fist energy and shockwaves hit him, sending him flying with a spurt of blood.
“Swish!”
At that moment, a golden light, moving at beam-like speed, streaked from behind Lin Xiao. In an instant, it reached him, a sword thrusting toward his back.
Duan Emperor froze. The attacker was none other than Lingjian Sect’s Elder Zhou, riding a Sky御舟 at breakneck speed.
Duan Emperor realized Elder Zhou hadn’t fled but had hidden nearby, waiting to strike—not him, but Lin Xiao. Zhou’s hatred for Lin Xiao was so deep he’d forgo fighting the Xi Emperors to kill him.
This was advantageous for Duan Emperor. Lin Xiao was hard to kill, even with his Energy-Boosting Pill and Lin Xiao’s depleted energy. He wasn’t sure if Lin Xiao had escape trump cards. Plus, the Purple Corpse Puppet was overwhelming Mingluo, who could fall at any moment, freeing the puppet to aid Lin Xiao.
Now, with Zhou’s sneak attack, especially after Duan Emperor’s blow, Lin Xiao was unlikely to react in time. Zhou’s strike would likely kill or cripple him.
“Lin Xiao, die!” Zhou’s booming voice rang out. His Sky御舟 was precisely aimed at Lin Xiao’s side, and from its edge, his sword thrust straight at Lin Xiao’s back.
Having prepared for so long, Zhou was confident this strike would end Lin Xiao’s life.
