Fierce Battle with Earthflame Gate

Yun Sha was accompanied by five Dou Wangs and five or six high-level Dou Lings—essentially all of Earthflame Gate's elite forces.

Judging by the lineup, Qin Han's group of three was at an absolute disadvantage.

Fortunately, the two elders responsible for maintaining the Fire Pavilion's seal were sitting cross-legged at the rear, their faces waxen and blood staining the corners of their mouths as they regulated their breathing.

When the Fire Pavilion seal had been broken, the backlash had nearly knocked them unconscious with severe injuries. They no longer had the strength to fight.

It was just a pity that Wu Tianlang's Bloodblade strike had only caused Yun Sha's Qi and Blood to churn, leaving him with minor injuries.

Otherwise, Wu Tianlang alone could have dealt with this bunch of small fry.

"Third Brother, deal with Wu Tianlang with me!"

"The rest of you, kill those little bastards from Jia Nan Academy! Don't hold back—move!"

With a furious roar, Yun Sha charged out first.

Zi Yan was also quickly intercepted by one of their Four-Star Dou Wangs.

The last Two-Star Dou Wang waved at the Dou Ling disciples behind him, who were eagerly rubbing their fists, then rushed straight at Qin Han.

"Finish this quickly! Kill the brat!"

The Fifth Elder shouted coldly as his body shot forward. His gaunt hand curled into a claw, dark-red Dou Qi rising from his fingertips with an aura of corrosive scorching heat as it clawed for Qin Han's throat.

The five Dou Ling disciples also shouted and unleashed their signature Dou Techniques, pouncing on Qin Han from different directions. Flaming palm seals, blade radiance, and fist winds intertwined, sealing off every avenue of retreat around him.

"Well, looks like they took me for a soft target."

Qin Han shrugged, not the least bit flustered.

He glanced at the other two battlefields. Wu Tianlang was fighting two opponents alone without falling behind, his blood-red blade radiance forcing the pair into constant danger.

Though all of them were peak Dou Wangs, Yun Sha's combat strength was still a level below that of a veteran like Wu Tianlang, who had fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Zi Yan held the upper hand as well.

Her opponent had thought the purple-haired little girl would be easy prey, but the instant their fists collided with Zi Yan's tiny pale fists, his arm went numb and his Qi and Blood churned violently.

The Maniac King fought without any form or pattern—just fast, accurate, ruthless, and absurdly strong. After only a few punches, her opponent was left dazed and disoriented, capable only of defending himself.

Qin Han relaxed, and the Dou Qi within him began circulating with a thunderous roar.

Strange dark-red patterns instantly emerged across his skin, his muscles swelling slightly as an exceedingly ferocious and violent aura rose from him.

Though the Flame Demon Rage Phase had not been fully unleashed, his strength and Dou Qi still became several times more violent in an instant.

As the Fifth Elder's flaming claw reached him, Qin Han neither dodged nor retreated.

His right fist clenched, and a layer of flame covered in fine, scale-like patterns suddenly enveloped it. He threw out a fierce punch.

Fist and claw collided. Dark-red and crimson flames crashed against each other wildly, erupting with booming explosions.

Thud!

Qin Han's body swayed as he took half a step back. A cold, corrosive force seeped into his fist, but it was swiftly dispersed and vaporized by the Fallen Heart Flame.

The Fifth Elder, however, shuddered, a trace of gravity flashing through his eyes.

His claw contained Earth Fiend Fire Poison. Even an ordinary Dou Wang who took it head-on would have their Dou Qi corroded, yet this boy showed no reaction at all?!

"What? Didn't you know that students of Jia Nan Academy grew up eating fire poison?"

"With that little bit of fire poison, it doesn't even match the concentration in the air of our Inner Academy. And you still have the nerve to show it off?"

Qin Han grinned mockingly and taunted him without mercy.

"You insolent brat! You're courting death!"

Having his sore spot exposed, the Fifth Elder's face turned as dark as pig liver.

His attacks became even faster. Both claws lashed out in succession, waves of dark-red claw shadows enveloping Qin Han's vital points.

Qin Han grinned, shifting his steps as his body weaved through the claw shadows.

His hands closed loosely. A flash of deep-blue chill appeared in his left palm, and an Ice Crystal Spear formed instantly from dense, pale-white flames.

The spearhead danced, precisely striking the weak points in the Fifth Elder's claw shadows. Ice and fire collided with sharp hissing sounds.

After they exchanged more than ten blows, Qin Han suddenly swept his right hand, silently firing an invisible, formless scorching wave.

The Fifth Elder was just about to change techniques when an inexplicable irritation and palpitation suddenly rose in his heart. Even his Dou Qi circulation stalled for half a beat, leaving a flaw in his claw shadows that should never have appeared.

A sharp gleam flashed in Qin Han's eyes. Seizing that fleeting chance, he stomped hard on the ground with his left foot and drove the Flame Demon Rage Phase to its limit. He shot forward like a cannonball, his lava-covered right fist smashing viciously toward the Fifth Elder's chest!

"Bastard!"

The Fifth Elder's expression twisted as he desperately mobilized his Dou Qi, condensing a layer of dark-red energy crystals over his arms and chest.

Bang!!

With a heavy muffled impact, the Fifth Elder was still struck hard enough for pain to shoot through his arms. He staggered backward dozens of steps, leaving two deep gouges in the bluestone ground.

Using the recoil, Qin Han drifted lightly backward through the air—straight toward the five Dou Ling disciples who had just closed in, intending to finish him off.

"Watch out!"

Fifth Elder steadied himself. The moment he saw this, alarm bells rang in his heart, and he shouted a warning.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Seeing Qin Han left weakened and wide open after exchanging blows with Fifth Elder, the five Dou Lings thought they had stumbled upon an enormous advantage and immediately unleashed their strongest Dou Techniques.

Flaming blades, swords, fists, and palms came crashing in from every direction, striking at Qin Han's back and flanks as he lost his balance.

Suspended in midair with his back facing the barrage of attacks, the sneer at Qin Han's lips only grew more pronounced.

He let out a cold snort. His body, which had been flying backward, forcefully twisted in midair, turning him to face the five Dou Lings head-on.

The muscles in his arms bulged to their limit beneath the Flame Demon Rage Phase.

"Flame Demon—!"

"Ming Gou!!"

His arms blasted forward at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow.

Boom!

Five crimson fist shadows made entirely of thick, scorching magma shot from his fists like five snarling fire hounds.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Five heavy impacts rang out almost simultaneously.

"Aah—!"

Amid miserable screams, the five Dou Lings spat blood mixed with fragments of their internal organs as they were flung backward.

Their bodies twitched a few times before falling completely still, their fate unknown.

While fiercely battling Wu Tianlang, Yun Sha caught sight of this from the corner of his eye, and his heart sank sharply.

Fifth Elder, who had only just regained his footing, looked at his subordinates, wiped out in an instant, then at Qin Han ahead, who slowly withdrew his fists as crimson magma swirled around him.

A chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

This brat possessed deep and powerful Dou Qi, crafty and seasoned moves, and a Fire Control Technique that was impossible to predict. How did he look anything like a soft One-Star Dou King?!

"Wu Tianlang!"

Yun Sha swept aside Wu Tianlang's crimson blade aura and used the chance to retreat several steps, his expression grim. "Is Jia Nan Academy truly determined to fight my Earthflame Gate to the death?!"

With a flick of his wrist, Wu Tianlang angled the Crimson Longblade toward the ground, a trace of mockery flashing through his eyes.

"Fight to the death?"

"If the Fallen Fire Sect said that, Jia Nan Academy might actually have to give it some thought. But a bunch of little brats who only survived by sheer luck back then—what makes you think you're worthy?"

Before his words had even faded, the crimson blade light surged once more, forcing Yun Sha to swallow everything he had been about to say.

"Qin Han! Stop playing around. Clean this up and let's go!"

As Wu Tianlang suppressed Yun Sha and the Five Star Dou Wang so thoroughly that they could barely catch their breath, he barked an order toward Qin Han without looking back.

"On it!"