Luo Wanwan looked at Ning Xuanyuan across from her, a flicker of surprise in her eyes, which were filled with icy killing intent. The young man was more meticulous than she had imagined. Ning Xuanyuan was right; that was indeed what she had planned.
"In that case, Your Highness, please forgive Wanwan's discourtesy." Luo Wanwan took a step forward. Holy Light rose from her body, flowing and circling around her like a fairy from the nine heavens, inviolable.
That single step seemed to align with the Great Dao, making heaven and earth resonate.
Ning Xuanyuan narrowed his eyes. He knew that Luo Wanwan would be the strongest opponent he had encountered on this trip. On the surface, she looked like a girl in the flower of her youth, but in truth, a wisp of an empress's soul was hidden within her body.
What Human Emperor expert had not been a figure who commanded the winds and clouds? And Empress Qianxun was a mighty figure from the most ancient of times. Of course, the current Luo Wanwan had yet to reach that level, but within the Soul Sea Realm, she was unquestionably among the very strongest.
Luo Wanwan's cultivation was at the peak of the Soul Sea Realm, but her true combat strength was more than enough to take down a Life Palace Realm expert! Leaving aside her public identity as the Moon Spirit Palace's divine maiden, the inherited memories she had received from Empress Qianxun alone were enough to grant her terrifying strength far beyond what she showed.
To take a single step and align with the Great Dao of heaven and earth was something only possible after comprehending the rules of the Dao to a profound degree.
Ning Xuanyuan clenched both hands, and a powerful bearing spread across his body as well, as though he had become one with heaven and earth. He stepped forward, and the force of his presence roared forth like rolling thunder. It collided fiercely with Luo Wanwan's presence, neither yielding an inch.
A terrifying storm immediately swept through the space.
"Boom!"
Luo Wanwan raised her arm, radiance flowing over it as the power of the Great Dao aligned with it, and thrust out a finger. In an instant, the terrifying power seemed to make heaven collapse and earth split. A suffocating pressure burst forth, piercing the void as it struck at Ning Xuanyuan's chest.
A surging presence rose from Ning Xuanyuan as well, meeting hers head-on. Today, he would see just how powerful this divine maiden of the Moon Spirit Palace, the strongest in its history and bearer of an empress's soul, truly was.
He unleashed a punch, as natural as heaven itself. Terrifying power flowed down his arm and gathered in his palm, taking shape like a cluster of brilliant stars as it crushed down toward Luo Wanwan.
Fist and finger clashed!
With a thunderous crash, the entire space shuddered violently. At the point where the two struck, two dazzling rays of light erupted and collided, blazing in the air with a brilliance that pierced the eyes.
Luo Wanwan was actually forced back, and a flicker of surprise passed through her beautiful eyes. Her finger strike had contained the Dao's might of a Human Emperor. Even if it was only a wisp, it was far beyond what anyone in the Soul Sea Realm could withstand. A strike like that had carried rules within it, yet Ning Xuanyuan had driven her back with a punch?
The Blood Scion of the Asura Domain possessed power this terrifying!
Ning Xuanyuan had tempered his body in the Asura Ancestral Land for ten years. Then, upon awakening, he had devoured all the innate Spiritual Qi in the entire Ancestral Land. Moreover, the Chaos Origin within him had completely fused with him, and every kind of Great Dao law, rule, and primal power had become part of him. His formidable strength was easy to imagine.
This was Luo Wanwan he was facing; against anyone else, that punch would have been enough to inflict grievous injuries!
Luo Wanwan suppressed the surprise in her eyes and stepped forward, drawing the Great Dao of heaven and earth into resonance with her body. Sharp beams of finger light pierced forth one after another, overbearing in the extreme.
Had Ning Xuanyuan not seen it with his own eyes, he could hardly have believed that such utterly overbearing power could erupt from a woman.
A true tomboy!
Ning Xuanyuan shot forward once more. The force of heaven and earth grew fiercer and more immense as he thrust out his arm and unleashed a punch, meeting Luo Wanwan's attacks with attacks of his own.
As the two clashed madly, terrifying sonic booms rang out like thunder, and a wave of destruction swept outward. Even the void between them was whipped into a heaven-shaking storm, terrifying beyond measure.
Luo Wanwan's gaze had grown especially grave, with a trace of shock she could scarcely conceal. She had never underestimated Ning Xuanyuan. As the Blood Scion of the Asura Domain, second only to one person, Ning Xuanyuan was naturally extremely powerful. He had already proven as much outside the secret realm when he crushed the Demon Domain's experts single-handedly.
But Luo Wanwan discovered that Ning Xuanyuan was even stronger than she had imagined! She had been able to comprehend rules, laws, and the power of the Great Dao while still in the Soul Sea Realm because she had a wisp of an empress's soul within her.
In truth, she was neither Empress Qianxun's reincarnation nor had her body been taken over. In some respects, her relationship with Empress Qianxun was closer to that of master and disciple. With Empress Qianxun's teachings and guidance, her understanding of the powers of various rules, the order of laws, and the Great Dao of heaven and earth far surpassed that of others.
Yet now, she discovered that Ning Xuanyuan was in no way inferior to her in this respect. He might even surpass her!
How was that possible?!
What shocked her most was that Ning Xuanyuan grew stronger the longer he fought! As the battle continued, his fist intent seemed to undergo a complete transformation. Every punch carried the might of heaven and earth, defying all beneath the heavens.
With each punch, layer upon layer of fist intent erupted, as though the void itself might shatter. That fist intent could even strike into her body across the intervening space, churning ceaselessly within her with overwhelming force.
If her body had not been so powerful, she would have long since been torn to dust.
With a tremendous crash, Luo Wanwan was finally driven back. But she saw Ning Xuanyuan follow her like a shadow, attacking once again. Like a maggot clinging to bone, he stayed on her, refusing to let go.
"Boom!"
Ning Xuanyuan strode through the air, his presence surging with vast force. Layer upon layer of fist light blotted out the sky, unstoppable. Luo Wanwan's expression changed as her jade-like hands fluttered, leaving afterimages across the sky. Yet Ning Xuanyuan's fist intent pierced through space with overwhelming power, shattering every one of her finger shadows.
At last, after Ning Xuanyuan unleashed another punch, Luo Wanwan could hold on no longer. Her slender body flickered repeatedly as she retreated a great distance.
"Do you want to continue?" This time, Ning Xuanyuan did not press her relentlessly. He stopped attacking.
Luo Wanwan said nothing, but her expression was particularly grim. The pressure emanating from her did not weaken in the slightest; instead, it grew even stronger, answering Ning Xuanyuan through her actions.
The next moment, she stepped through the air like a fairy from the nine heavens, her delicate face breathtakingly beautiful. She raised both hands, and brilliant sword light flashed from her slender, pale fingertips, shooting forth.
Wherever the sword light passed, it seemed ready to tear the void apart. The sword intent it released was incomparably sharp.
Empress Qianxun was an ancient Human Emperor expert, so naturally she could not have cultivated only one method. Luo Wanwan was evidently the same.
Ning Xuanyuan's expression turned solemn, his gaze sharp, though a hint of excitement showed on his face.
An opponent like Luo Wanwan would probably be hard to find anywhere else in the Ancient Eight Domains. Was a battle like this not also a chance to temper himself?
If Luo Wanwan knew what Ning Xuanyuan was thinking at that moment, she would probably cough up blood in anger.
Ning Xuanyuan was using her as his own whetstone!