"Borrow what? Name it!"
Understanding the urgency, Hai Bo Dong agreed without hesitation.
"Indeed! Master Bai, whatever you need, just ask. If the royal family has it, we won't hold back!" Jia Xing Tian added hastily. Having chosen a side, he had to go all in. If they lost, no amount of resources would matter—they'd belong to someone else.
At their words, Xiao Bai's eyes glinted with a strange, cryptic smile, sending an inexplicable chill through Hai Bo Dong and Jia Xing Tian.
His hand extended, five-colored light coalescing in his palm, writhing into a three-foot-long blade.
"What the—?! Xiao Bai, you…" Hai Bo Dong's face twisted in horror, instinctively stepping back. But a hand clamped onto his shoulder like iron, unyielding.
His eyes flickered with doubt and fear. Could this guy, realizing he can't beat Yun Shan, be planning to borrow our heads as a peace offering?
As his thoughts raced, the blade neared. Despair crept into his eyes, and he slowly closed them.
Xiao Bai's arm moved thrice, striking three times under the shocked gazes of the crowd.
No blood sprayed. With each strike, Hai Bo Dong's aura weakened. After three, his once-rosy complexion paled slightly.
"Master Bai, what… what is this?" Jia Xing Tian stared in disbelief. He could sense Hai Bo Dong's energy dropping with each strike, while Xiao Bai's aura surged.
"Dou Huang!!" Moments later, Xiao Bai's aura seemed to break a barrier, entering a new realm. Jia Xing Tian gaped, exclaiming in shock.
"Huh? I'm not dead?" Hai Bo Dong opened his eyes, patting himself down. Breathing a sigh of relief, he muttered, "Just my cultivation dropped!"
"It's temporary. You'll recover in a few days," Xiao Bai said, releasing Hai Bo Dong's shoulder with a teasing grin. "Hai Lao, you've got to work harder. Your cultivation only pushed me to two-star Dou Huang—barely!"
"…" Hai Bo Dong.
This bastard nearly scared me to death, and now he's complaining I'm weak? If I'm so weak, go strike that old monster over there!
Jia Xing Tian, grasping the situation, realized Xiao Bai wasn't borrowing heads but cultivation—and it was reversible. His eyes lit up. Having stepped back earlier, he now strode forward, puffing out his chest. "Master Bai, strike me!! This old geezer's too weak, only getting you to two-star. I'm far stronger—I'll push you higher!"
"…" Hai Bo Dong.
Enough already! A five-star Dou Huang like me, weak?
Scanning the group, he realized with dismay that among today's fighters, excluding Xiao Yan, he was the weakest. His spirits sank.
Above the plaza, Yun Shan's shock faded, his face darkening. He hadn't expected Xiao Bai to possess such a secret technique—absorbing others' cultivation to break through. Though likely limited and temporary, or it'd be too heaven-defying, a peak Dou Wang was already troublesome. Now a two-star Dou Huang? If he absorbed Jia Xing Tian's cultivation, Yun Shan might as well concede!
This man has too many trump cards. No more holding back—he must be dealt with swiftly!
With a flick of his sleeve, torrents of deep cyan energy surged, gathering above his head with a strange fluctuation. Moments later, it formed a massive cyan sword, several meters long.
As the sword took shape, the surrounding space quaked violently.
"So strong! Yun Shan's going all out!" Jia Xing Tian looked up, a bone-chilling dread rising from his soles at the overwhelming pressure.
The sword's tip pointed directly at them.
"Master Bai, sure you don't need to strike me?" Jia Xing Tian glanced at Xiao Bai, a hint of worry in his voice.
"Save it for now. This cultivation's enough," Xiao Bai shook his head faintly. The Great Five Elements Divine Light lasted only ten minutes—Jia Xing Tian's cultivation could wait, kept as a reserve.
He looked up at the enormous energy sword hovering above Yun Shan, spinning slowly, his expression growing solemn.
With a wave of his sleeve, a ten-foot-long, five-colored thunder spear materialized before him. His hands formed seals rapidly, his robust Five Elements Thunder Dou Qi coursing through his meridians like a roaring river, pouring into the spear.
As the tidal Dou Qi flooded in, the spear grew, wreathed in five-colored lightning. The surrounding space rippled faintly.
At a certain moment, the spear blazed like a miniature sun, emanating a strange fluctuation.
The massive spear seemed to come alive, dragon roars mingling with thunderclaps echoing ceaselessly.
Yun Shan, sensing the terrifying energy in the spear aimed at him, frowned, his heart jolting. How does this Xiao Clan member have such profound foundations? This Dou Technique's power likely reaches Di Class—and not an ordinary one!
Cold light flashed in his eyes. His hand seals shifted, and a shout laced with killing intent thundered across the sky: "Wind Annihilation Strike!"
A piercing sword cry rang out. The crowd looked up in shock as the giant sword above Yun Shan spun wildly, streaking forth.
The sword seemed to pierce space, flickering several times to appear mere dozens of meters above Xiao Bai. Hai Bo Dong and Jia Xing Tian's faces paled, grabbing the ashen Xiao Yan and retreating swiftly.
Even Jia Xing Tian, a peak Dou Huang, knew that facing this ferocious strike, he'd be gravely injured, if not dead.
On the high platform, Yun Yun shot to her feet, her regal face pale. Her slender hand clutched her lips, her eyes fixed on the black-robed figure below, filled with worry and fear.
Under countless gazes brimming with varied emotions, Xiao Bai's hand seals snapped shut, his palms thrusting forward.
Roar!
A dragon's cry merged with rolling thunder. The spear before Xiao Bai shot upward, transforming mid-flight into a several-meter-long, five-colored thunder dragon.
"Thunder Dragon… Rift!"
With his low shout, the thunder dragon seemed to awaken, its tail flicking as it soared. The surrounding space rippled like water, spreading rapidly.
Cyan greatsword, five-colored thunder dragon.
In countless shocked gazes, carrying unmatched pressure and energy fluctuations, they collided fiercely.
Boom!
A terrifying explosion roared, drowning out all sound. Despite their distance, the crowd's ears rang sharply, their vision blurring.
At the collision's epicenter, tangible energy surged outward, space twisting violently. At a critical moment, it reached its limit.
Crack!
A several-meter-long spatial rift, exuding devouring darkness, appeared in the sky.
Who won?
This was the crowd's burning question. Though the battle in the clouds was the highest-tier, it was two against one, its outcome clear. This clash was the key to victory.
Thud, thud, thud!
Amid blurred vision, the sound of flesh striking flesh rang out.
Moments later, space normalized, the energy settling. As vision cleared, the crowd looked up to see two figures locked in furious close combat, fists pounding.
"Yun Shan, surrender, and I won't kill you!" Xiao Bai's dark hair whipped wildly, his eyes blazing. His fists, carrying sonic booms, hammered at Yun Shan.
His appearance was wretched—black robe gone, upper body bare, as if dredged from a blood pool. Sword gashes bled across his skin.
Opposite, Yun Shan's face was pale, blood trickling from his lips. A vivid bloodstain marked his white robe's chest, as if pierced by a spear tip.
He hadn't expected Xiao Bai's strike to wound him so gravely. The boy's battle instincts were terrifying, his ferocity unmatched. Seizing Yun Shan's moment of weakness, fearless of the spatial rift, Xiao Bai had charged before it closed, leveraging his robust physique to pummel Yun Shan, who struggled to parry.
"Kill me?" Yun Shan sneered, fending off the fists. "Yun'er, join your teacher to slay the enemy and protect our sect!"
Xiao Bai's fist faltered, a flash of anger in his eyes, then swung harder.
Crack!
A faint bone snap sounded. Pain shot through Yun Shan's hand—his right arm's bones were broken!
"A-Niu, don't!" A cyan flash, and a graceful figure blocked Yun Shan. Yun Yun's face was pale, her eyes pleading as she shook her head, voice trembling. "He's my teacher. Please, don't kill him, okay?"
Xiao Bai's heart quivered at the sight of her. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, suppressing his emotions. Opening them, he said coldly, "Step aside!"
Today, he had to plant a contingency in Yun Shan's soul—it was his plan from the start. If Protector Wu used the Soul Hall's secret art to devour Yun Shan's soul, his cultivation would surge toward high-tier Dou Zong, unstoppable.
"Yun'er, hold him for a moment!" Yun Shan transmitted secretly, swallowing a pill.
"I…" Yun Yun's heart tangled in knots. She couldn't watch her teacher die, but stalling A-Niu meant he'd suffer once her teacher recovered.
Seeing her turmoil, Xiao Bai stepped forward, his expression earnest. "I promise you, I won't kill him. But he can't recover—that's my biggest concession."
Yun Yun bit her lip, her clear eyes filled with conflict, worry, and a hint of grievance. After a moment, seeing Xiao Bai's resolute gaze, she sighed helplessly, nodding and stepping aside.
She knew if it weren't her standing here, he wouldn't have bothered talking—he'd have acted. Her three-star Dou Huang cultivation was useless in this scene.
"Yun'er!" Yun Shan roared, furious. He'd hoped to use Yun Yun's connection to stall Xiao Bai, buying time for the pill to take effect. But before it could, Yun Yun stepped aside on a promise he doubted was sincere.
What a "fine" disciple!
Seeing Yun Yun's frame tremble, Xiao Bai's eyes flashed with pity, then rage. He stepped forward, space rippling, appearing before Yun Shan.
"You're angry? If not for her, I'd leave the Yun Lan Sect in ruins today!" Under countless shocked gazes, his fist slammed into Yun Shan's chest.
Pfft!
Yun Shan flew back a hundred meters, blood spraying. He stared at Xiao Bai in horror, gasping, "Spatial power… you wield spatial power? A Dou Wang—how?!"
A peak Dou Wang, matching him to this degree, still had hidden cards. Spatial power, a Dou Zong's rudimentary domain, was wielded with greater mastery than his own.
"Surprised?" Xiao Bai's eyes glinted coldly. His form flickered, vanishing and reappearing behind Yun Shan, another fist striking. "Thank Yun Zhi. Without her, a fake Dou Zong like you wouldn't even qualify to look up to me, yet you dared use her!"
Boom!
A deafening impact. Yun Shan plummeted, crashing into the plaza, debris flying, dust billowing.
Xiao Bai stepped through the air, vanishing.
Silence blanketed the sky.
Even the battle in the clouds paused for an instant.
The Yun Lan Sect disciples stared, dazed. This was their ancestral master, a Dou Zong, whose earlier pressure had been overwhelming, subduing two Dou Huangs with ease. Now, he was battered, his life hanging by a thread.
And the cause? A mere Dou Wang!
Jia Xing Tian and Hai Bo Dong's eyes bulged, breaths heavy, faces flushed, faint veins pulsing on their foreheads, hearts racing with excitement.
"Damn, Xiao Bai's a beast!" Hai Bo Dong's worries vanished. He'd thought holding Yun Shan off was the best-case scenario, not a direct victory!
"Bet paid off!" Jia Xing Tian murmured, his earlier regrets evaporating. Today's rollercoaster, with powerhouses emerging one after another, had been thrilling. Standing firm against Yun Shan's Dou Zong breakthrough and the mysterious figure's appearance, this battle concerned the Jia Ma Royal Family's survival. A loss would've been catastrophic.
Countless eyes locked on the dust cloud. Moments later, the scene cleared.
A young figure, bare-chested, muscles chiseled like carved stone, held Yun Shan by the neck, lifting him.
Nearby, Yun Yun stood like a shattered white lotus, aloof and desolate. Her pale lips stained red, her disheveled hair stirred by the breeze, her misty eyes fixed stubbornly on Xiao Bai, fists clenched.
"You promised me!"
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