Sparrow in a Cage

Chen Ping'an carved his way south through the formation alone. Wherever he went, spells and spiritual artifacts poured down, raining in torrential waves.

Then Chen Ping'an finally encountered a hard nut to crack: a short man clad in bright scarlet chainmail, wearing a Phoenix-Winged Purple-Gold Crown at a slant, with two extraordinarily long pheasant-tail plumes inserted into it. He looked like one of those gaudy figures from the opera stages in the marketplaces of Vast Heaven and Earth.

Anyone daring to swagger so ostentatiously across the battlefield of Sword Qi Great Wall either did not fear death or possessed the qualifications not to fear it. This Demon Race Cultivator moved with astonishing speed, nearly as fast as a Ground Shrinking Talisman. In the blink of an eye, he crossed several miles and arrived at Chen Ping'an's side. His fist directly shattered the dense fist intent protecting Chen Ping'an's body and slammed into his temple, sending Chen Ping'an flying dozens of yards.

Chen Ping'an slapped the ground with one palm, spun gracefully through the air, and rose to his feet. The other man followed like a shadow, exchanging a punch with Chen Ping'an.

They nearly slid backward at the same time, plowing trenches knee-deep across the earth. The other man shook his right wrist after punching, then used two fingers of his left hand to pluck off a plume. When he spoke, it was surprisingly in the dialect of Sword Qi Great Wall. "You're the New Yin Guan? A Far Travel Realm martial man already? Your fists aren't light. No wonder you first lost three matches to Cao Ci, then won three against Yu Juanfu."

He raised his right hand, signaling the surrounding Demon Race Army to retreat and leave the battlefield to himself and the young Yin Guan of Sword