On the bluestone paving of the Azure Qilin Platform, Yang Jing and Wei Dongting faced each other from a distance.
Morning light fell over them, stamping their shadows onto the ground. One stood tall in white robes, his expression composed; the other wore fitted martial attire, his bearing deadly and his gaze burning.
The clamor surrounding the platform seemed shut out by an invisible barrier. Every gaze was fixed on the two men, and even the elders at the judges' station grew more solemn.
Wei Dongting struck first with a low shout. His legs drove against the ground, sending him charging toward Yang Jing with fierce, explosive speed.
Internal energy surged throughout his body, and a faint crimson sheen appeared on his palms-the sign that he had unleashed the full power of Blazing Sun Palm.
His palm strike carried a scorching blast of air, hurtling straight toward Yang Jing's face like a ball of flame. The attack was fierce and domineering, its momentum utterly relentless.
Yang Jing's gaze sharpened. He neither dodged nor retreated, instead circulating his internal energy rapidly and pouring it all into his fists.
This time, he held little back. He immediately summoned ninety percent of his internal energy and unleashed Mountain-Splitting Seal.
His fist tore through the air with the crushing weight of a collapsing mountain and slammed into Wei Dongting's palm.
A deafening, muffled boom erupted. Powerful waves of air spread outward, stirring clouds of dust.
Yang Jing's feet remained firmly rooted to the ground, his body unmoving. Only his robes snapped in the fierce wind.
Wei Dongting, by contrast, felt an incomparably fierce force pour through his palm into every limb and bone. His internal energy churned, the web of his hand went numb, and he staggered back several steps before barely regaining his