Xun'er Battles Ling Ying!

They strolled along the bluestone path.

"Yun Xi, Father said he knew. What did he know?" Xun'er asked in confusion.

She had originally wanted to tell her father about Yun Xi's existence, but before she could say anything, her father had interrupted her. What puzzled her even more was that Gu Yuan had said he knew.

"Do you think Father might know about your existence?" Xun'er suddenly stopped in her tracks, voicing her startling thought.

All the signs seemed to indicate that Gu Yuan knew of Yun Xi's existence.

At her words, Yun Xi slowly emerged from within her body. Hearing her speculation, he was somewhat shocked as well, but he quickly returned to his usual indifferent expression.

"It's fine. We'll deal with whatever comes our way. What is meant to be discovered cannot be hidden forever. If we really are found out, we can just come clean. It's not a big problem," Yun Xi reassured the stunned Xun'er.

Indeed, with Gu Yuan's peak strength on the continent, it was impossible to hide from him without leaving the slightest trace for a lifetime. The day of discovery would eventually come. All they could do now was conceal it as best they could.

Yun Xi continued, "What you need to do now is cultivate as quickly as possible and improve your strength. Strive to shine in your Gu Clan's Clan Competition, then claim the championship of the Great Clan Competition."

Xun'er nodded slightly, tapped off the ground with the tips of her feet, and darted toward the cultivation grounds in the back mountain like a butterfly.

After returning to the cultivation grounds in the back mountain, Xun'er crushed the talisman seal Ling Ying had given her. She then sat cross-legged atop a protruding boulder and quietly waited for Old Ling to arrive.

Bzzzz—

Amid a ripple of spatial fluctuations, Ling Ying, clad in black, appeared before Xun'er.

"Old Ling, can you suppress your strength? Preferably down to the Dou Master level."

The moment Ling Ying appeared, Xun'er asked impatiently.

Though he did not understand why, Ling Ying still nodded. "I can. What is it, Miss?"

Hearing Ling Ying's answer, Xun'er was delighted. She hurriedly asked, "Then, then... Old Ling, will you train with me? Promise me you won't hold back."

Ling Ying laughed. "Haha, alright."

"Then here I come!" The moment she spoke, Xun'er struck Ling Ying with her palm.

Bang!

Ling Ying staggered back several steps before planting his feet firmly on the ground. Looking at Xun'er in the distance, a trace of surprise appeared on his aged face.

Though she had caught him off guard, being able to force a Dou Master back with one palm was enough to prove her current strength.

When Xun'er saw the surprise on Ling Ying's face, she chuckled inwardly. She stamped the ground and shot forward again. Palm seals formed as she shouted, "Guardian Eight Trigrams Palm!"

"Shadow Escape."

Facing Xun'er's fierce palm wind, Ling Ying, whose strength had been suppressed to the Dou Master level, did not dare let down his guard in the slightest.

Bang!

Xun'er's palm shattered the boulder behind the spot where Ling Ying had just stood. Sensing something was wrong, she immediately struck out to her right.

To her surprise, the instant her palm shot forth, it was knocked aside by another palm. The Dou Qi gathered in her hand was dispersed as well. Alarmed, Xun'er swiftly retreated.

"Miss, here I come."

As soon as he spoke, Ling Ying's fist technique unfolded. Fist shadows flew out one after another, accompanied by dragon roars. His punches were incredibly fast, and their momentum made Xun'er unwilling to meet them head-on.

"What fist technique is this?"

The Heavenly Flames barrier activated its passive defense. Xun'er raised her brows slightly as she watched Ling Ying's fist technique.

Its form was like the wind, its movements like thunder, and its intent like a dragon. It was impossible to predict, giving one the feeling that it could not be resisted.

What she did not know was that the wonder of this Mystic High-Rank Dou Skill, Shadow Dragon Fist, lay in the fact that once its fist momentum was fully unleashed, the user's mind would become focused within it. By then, each punch would be stronger than the last.

Gritting her teeth, Xun'er glanced at the boulder behind her from the corner of her eye. She knew she could not retreat any farther.

Since she could not retreat, then she would fight!

Crack!

The Heavenly Flames barrier was finally about to give way. Meanwhile, the palm seals in Xun'er's hands changed faster and faster. As two palm seals appeared at her sides, her aura reached its peak.

"Guardian Eight Trigrams Palm!"

Four palms struck out at once. Palm technique collided with fist technique, followed by a series of impacts. Black fist winds and golden light palms crashed against one another, but to everyone's surprise, the black fist winds were steadily driven back.

"Hm? What palm technique is Miss using? Why does it possess such overwhelming pressure?" Ling Ying stared intently at Xun'er's hands, deeply puzzled.

Bang!

The black fist winds shattered, and Ling Ying's figure retreated rapidly. Yet the golden palm technique from afar followed close behind, moving with astonishing speed.

"Not good!" Ling Ying cried out, hurriedly raising both hands to block.

But it was too late. Under Yun Xi's watchful gaze from within her body, Xun'er's palm fell upon the Ling Ying who had no time to evade, like a meteor. Its fierce explosive force sent him flying backward before he slammed heavily into an ancient tree nearby.

Xun'er withdrew her palm and stared blankly at Ling Ying beneath the distant tree. After freezing for a second, she hurried over and helped him up.

"Old Ling, are you alright? It's... it's all Xun'er's fault. I'm... I'm sorry..." Seeing Ling Ying's tattered clothes, Xun'er was at a complete loss. In her panic, she was nearly in tears.

She had never expected that her all-out palm strike would send Ling Ying flying and slam him straight into a tree.

"Haha, Miss, there is no need to worry. Although I suppressed my strength to the Dou Master level, the toughness of my body is still at the Dou Emperor level. This little injury is nothing."

Ling Ying looked at Xun'er's reddened eyes and comforted her softly.

He was also astonished. He truly had not expected Xun'er's palm-type Dou Skill to possess such destructive power. Though he had suppressed his strength to the Dou Master level, he still could not defeat the Four Star Dou Zhe Xun'er.

Seeing that Ling Ying was unharmed, Xun'er let out a heavy sigh of relief. For that moment, she had truly forgotten Ling Ying's actual strength as a Dou Emperor and had merely seen him as an elderly man.

"I would like to ask, what is the name of Miss's palm technique?" Having been startled by Xun'er's Dou Skill, Ling Ying asked curiously.

"This Dou Skill is called the Guardian Eight Trigrams Palm, a Mystic High-Rank Dou Skill. Father gave it to me before. I heard it is a very precious Dou Skill," Xun'er answered truthfully upon hearing his question.

Ling Ying stroked his beard and slowly nodded.

"This Dou Skill is extremely powerful, but it seems to still lack refinement. It is called the Eight Trigrams Palm, yet there are only four palms. If cultivated to mastery, it seems capable of rivaling Earth Rank Dou Skills." Though surprised, the widely experienced Ling Ying saw the flaw in this Dou Skill at a glance.

"Hahahaha, Xun'er, I never expected you to find Ling Ying as your sparring partner. Even I, as your father, am rather surprised."

Just as Ling Ying was about to say more, a satisfied voice came from behind them.

The two turned around, and different forms of address came from their mouths.

"Father!"

"Clan Chief."

Clearly, the newcomer was Gu Yuan, the Gu Clan Chief.