“Chi! Boom!”
As the black-azure spiritual energy surged and consumed Feng Lanyue’s black sword aura, the chaotic vitality beam crashed into it. A sharp, searing sound erupted, and rolling waves of black energy exploded from the collision, sending terrifying shockwaves in all directions.
Then, the chaotic vitality pierced through the spinning black sword aura, streaking toward Feng Lanyue like lightning.
“Not good!” Feng Lanyue’s face paled. She hastily summoned her protective vitality, swinging her sword horizontally to block.
“Bang!” The beam of chaotic vitality slammed into her short sword. Her protective vitality and the chaotic energy shattered simultaneously at her chest, unleashing a powerful force that sent her reeling backward.
“Pfft!” A mouthful of blood sprayed from Feng Lanyue’s lips.
“What? Feng Lanyue lost?”
The crowd gaped in disbelief. Feng Lanyue, at Heavenly Martial Sixth Layer and wielding the Feng family’s Earth-tier skill, had still fallen to Lin Xiao?
The youths of the Feng and Chen families wore expressions of shock. It was hard to fathom that the goddess-like Feng Lanyue they’d revered moments ago had been defeated by Lin Xiao.
The elders’ faces darkened like still water. Feng Lanyue and Chen Yan losing to Lin Xiao at their own wedding—what a blow to the two families’ prestige.
Killing intent glinted in their eyes.
Only Feng Youyu seemed lost in thought.
“He won! That guy Heimu won!” On the other side, Xuanxuan cheered excitedly, while Wu Sha beside her let out a long sigh of relief.
“Truly a dragon among men!” Ye Fenghua nodded in approval.
“No less from a third-grade intermediate spirit controller!” Wu Gong, amidst the Spirit Controller Alliance, couldn’t help but exclaim.
“It was a vitality strike that ultimately beat Feng Lanyue!” Fan Renlou reminded him, snapping Wu Gong back to reality with renewed awe.
Indeed, Lin Xiao wasn’t just formidable in spiritual power—his vitality was terrifying too. In every aspect, Wu Gong couldn’t compare.
“This kid’s gotten stronger again in just two months!” Yi Xuanfeng muttered, gazing at the defiant少年 in the arena with a low sigh.
“Haha, let’s see how the two families handle this now!” The Zhou family was the most thrilled, with Zhou Moyi stroking his black beard and chuckling.
“Not necessarily. That girl’s not so simple,” Meng Xi countered, shaking her head with narrowed eyes.
Meng Ying looked surprised.
“Well done!” Feng Lanyue steadied herself with her back foot, wiping the blood from her mouth. Her eyes turned crimson as her aura shifted and surged again, now laced with a burning essence.
“Feng Lanyue has more up her sleeve?” The crowd gasped.
“This just keeps getting better!” someone remarked.
The Feng and Chen families clenched their fists in secret anticipation, while the onlookers watched with eager curiosity—unconcerned with the outcome, just enjoying the spectacle.
Facing Feng Lanyue’s rising aura, Lin Xiao remained calm. He stepped forward slowly, unhurried.
He’d long suspected she wouldn’t fall so easily—she had to have a trump card.
But even with a hidden move, what did he have to fear?
As Lin Xiao advanced toward Feng Lanyue, the crowd’s attention sharpened.
When he was five or six zhang away, an enraged voice broke the tension—Chen Yan’s.
“Courting death!” Chen Yan sprang forward, charging first.
Sword in hand, his aura exploded, reaching Heavenly Martial Sixth Layer. His bloodshot eyes burned with fury, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner—some secret technique had clearly boosted his strength.
“Hmph!” Lin Xiao snorted, pulling a skeletal hand from his storage ring. With a surge of spiritual power, the skeletal fist shot toward Chen Yan from the side.
The fist exuded an eerie, chilling aura, driven by potent spiritual power that stirred a twisted gust.
Clang!
Chen Yan’s sword clashed with the skeletal hand, halting his advance. The fist recoiled but, under Lin Xiao’s control, struck again. A rapid “ding-ding-dang-dang!” rang out.
The skeletal fist kept Chen Yan pinned, while Lin Xiao’s eyes locked onto Feng Lanyue, continuing his advance.
“Ga!”
A clear cry rang from within Feng Lanyue. A deep, mysterious light burst from her dantian, its brilliance illuminating the surroundings. A formidable wave of power rippled outward.
Above and behind her, a fiery phoenix phantom emerged. Ancient and majestic, it flapped its wings as if gazing down on all creation. An archaic aura radiated, its overwhelming pressure shaking the eight directions, stirring an urge to kneel in reverence.
“That’s a Mysterious-tier advanced anomaly—Phoenix Anomaly!” someone shouted in shock.
“Heavens, a phoenix—an ancient divine beast! Feng Lanyue has condensed a divine beast anomaly!”
“A divine beast anomaly—her talent and strength must be unimaginable!”
“Just the anomaly’s rank—Mysterious-tier advanced—is something the empire hasn’t seen in centuries. She’s terrifying!”
“No wonder her cultivation soared so fast—with talent like this!”
“The Phoenix Anomaly, kept hidden all this time—the Feng family plays deep!”
The crowd buzzed with discussion. Those with dantian anomalies far outstripped ordinary martial artists in combat and cultivation speed.
A dantian anomaly symbolized cultivation talent—the higher the rank, the greater the future potential.
Even a Yellow-tier elementary anomaly guaranteed at least Heavenly Martial prowess.
A Mysterious-tier advanced anomaly, barring accidents, assured a breakthrough to Martial Venerable, perhaps even Martial Lord.
Such talent was a rarity in the Lanlan Empire’s history.
The anomaly’s type determined its inherent power. A divine beast—near-mythical in ancient lore—was incomparably mighty. Possessing such an anomaly spoke to its sheer dominance.
The phoenix—ruler of birds, divine among fowl.
The Phoenix Anomaly was awe-inspiring!
Even powerhouses like Ye Fenghua and Meng Xi were moved.
“Lin Xiao, this is the first time anyone’s pushed me this far!”
Feng Lanyue stared coldly at him, her crimson eyes blazing. Behind her, the anomaly surged, her palms glowing with radiant fire, a scorching aura spreading outward.
“Lin Xiao’s in danger!” the crowd thought.
Lin Xiao was startled too. Feng Lanyue was far more than she seemed. The Phoenix Anomaly was a talent that shone through the ages in the Lanlan Empire.
But when it came to anomaly ranks, he had no fear!
“We’ll see about that!”
Facing her lethal intent, Lin Xiao spat coldly. He stepped forward, vitality surging as his blood boiled. A vast, ocean-like power roared within his dantian.
A faint earthen light bloomed from his dantian, its brilliance dazzling and outshining Feng Lanyue’s deep mysterious glow.
“Roar!” A resonant dragon cry erupted from within him. A blood-red dragon phantom materialized behind him, its ancient aura from the primordial wilds raging outward. A terrifying, boundless pressure swept the eight directions.
The blood dragon’s indistinct face gazed down imperiously, its aura earth-shaking. Its fearsome presence rattled every heart, urging submission.
