Cloud-Piercing, Mist-Breaking, Shaking Heaven and Earth; Drinking Rain, Dining on Wind, Making Ghosts and Gods Weep

"Woooo—!"

Amid the howling wind came the faint roar of a tiger, a sound that shook the soul!

It was not the roar of a tangible beast, but a phenomenon produced when Malevolent Qi and will condensed to their utmost limit, stirring the Heaven and Earth Essence!

The vague phantom of a black tiger behind him became somewhat more solid amid the gale and Malevolent Qi. Though it remained illusory, its savage, tyrannical majesty made the charging Seven-Colored Poisonous Miasma Python stiffen. For the first time, uncertainty appeared in its cold vertical pupils.

Yet Situ Xuan, standing at the center of the storm's eye, instead felt a strange "stillness."

His mind rose without limit, and his senses became sharper than ever before. He could even "hear" the faint tightening of the Seven-Colored Poisonous Miasma Python's muscle fibers, "see" the subtle changes in airflow caused by every beat of the Iron-Winged Goshawk's wings, and "sense" the rhythm of every Bloodthirsty Demon Rat's heartbeat and gnawing beneath his feet.

The entire world seemed to slow in his "eyes," breaking down into countless clearly visible "lines" and "points."

They were the paths along which energy flowed, the weak links in strength, the... gaps between life and death!

"So this is... First of the First?"

A realization welled up within him. It was not foresight into the future, but the instinctive grasp of that fleeting "cause" that determined victory or defeat before the beginning of battle itself—through supreme insight and complete control over the environment and one's opponent!

His body remained in that state of "stillness," yet it felt as though it had been wound tight, containing explosive "motion"!

In the end, the Seven-Colored Poisonous Miasma Python could not overcome its instincts and greed. After that brief hesitation, it shot forward like a streak of colored lightning. Its gaping jaws were large enough to swallow Situ Xuan's head, while foul poisonous mist surged ahead of it!

At almost the same moment, the Iron-Winged Goshawk's talons descended from overhead!

However, Situ Xuan moved.

His movements did not appear fast. They even carried the effortless calm of drifting clouds and flowing water, yet at the very brink of danger, he evaded every fatal attack with perfect precision.

Faced with the venomous python's lunge, he neither retreated nor blocked. Instead, his body slid slightly to the left as though boneless. At the same time, he pressed together the index and middle fingers of his right hand, and an imperceptible gleam of black light condensed at his fingertips. Like a dragonfly touching water, he lightly tapped an extremely concealed spot beneath the python's jaw, hidden under dense, colorful scales!

Fist of the North Star—Pressure Point Striking!

Awakening Sharp Point!

There was no earth-shattering explosion. Yet the fiercely charging Seven-Colored Poisonous Miasma Python seemed to have all its strength instantly drained away. Its massive body abruptly stiffened, its forward momentum stopped dead, and then it collapsed limply onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

It was not dead, but the poisonous elemental energy circulating through its body seemed to have been severed. Its enormous form twitched, unable to move for the moment.

At the same time, Situ Xuan lightly pushed his left palm upward, the motion gentle as though he were lifting something invisible.

A soft yet irresistible force of suction suddenly emerged from his palm—a modified application of the Two-Finger Vacuum Hold!

The diving Iron-Winged Goshawk felt the air below it instantly turn incomparably viscous, as though it had fallen into an invisible swamp. Its prideful speed and agility were greatly reduced, and its diving trajectory was forcibly twisted off course!

"Shriek!"

The goshawk cried out in alarm, beating its wings desperately as it tried to break free.

But how could Situ Xuan give it that chance?

Borrowing the recoil from striking the venomous python, he spun like a whirlwind. His right leg swept out like a steel whip, its force tearing through the air with a piercing howl!

"Big Dipper Steel Tendon Severing Kick!"

This kick struck with unmatched precision at the relatively vulnerable joint at the root of the Iron-Winged Goshawk's wing, exposed as it struggled!

"Crack!"

That teeth-grating sound of bones breaking rang out once more!

The Iron-Winged Goshawk let out an incomparably miserable cry. One wing hung limply at its side, and its massive body lost balance. Like a kite with a snapped string, it spun as it crashed into the distant forest, breaking countless branches. Whether it lived or died was unknown.

In that flash of lightning, two formidable enemies had fallen—one restrained, the other crippled!

At that moment, the Bloodthirsty Demon Rats on Situ Xuan's body had already climbed to his chest, their sharp teeth frantically gnawing at his protective Malevolent Qi and flesh.

A cold glint flashed in Situ Xuan's eyes. That mysterious state of "stillness" had not vanished; instead, it perfectly merged with the boiling Malevolent Qi of "motion" within him.

He no longer used any particular technique. He simply unleashed the remaining Soul Power in his body and the Malevolent Qi drawn from heaven and earth in an almost instinctive eruption!

"Get lost!"

His low shout exploded like thunder!

Centered on his body, a shockwave mixed with jet-black Malevolent Qi and pale golden Soul Power spread outward in a ring!

"Puff puff puff puff—!"

The Bloodthirsty Demon Rats clinging to his body were crushed by an invisible colossal force, instantly bursting into clouds of bloody mist!

The demon rats farther away were also hurled back by the shockwave, rolling away like a receding black tide as their squeaks of misery filled the air.

After the shockwave passed, an empty space had been cleared around Situ Xuan.

The wind blew past, carrying the heavy stench of blood.

On the battlefield, Situ Xuan was the only one still standing.

The Earth-Shaking Giant Ape lay on the ground howling, blood pouring from behind its knees; the Seven-Colored Poisonous Miasma Python was sprawled on the ground, struggling in vain; the Iron-Winged Goshawk had fallen into the forest, its sounds gradually fading; the tide of Bloodthirsty Demon Rats had retreated dozens of meters, too afraid to advance.

He stood alone amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood, his clothes tattered and his body covered in wounds. His left arm had been ravaged by venom, blood still stained the corner of his mouth, and his face was pale from blood loss and exhaustion.

Yet his back remained as straight as ever.

The madness and brutality were gone from those eyes. In their place lay a fathomless weariness, and beneath that weariness, a hard, tranquil gleam like tempered steel.

He slowly raised his hands and looked at his scarred palms. He felt the nearly exhausted strength within him slowly regenerating as the Dragon-Turning Breathing Method drew thread after thread of essence from heaven and earth, along with the Soul Power that had undergone a qualitative transformation after its initial fusion with Malevolent Qi.

An indescribable realization rose in his heart.

Yin and yang, motion and stillness, life and death, malevolence and righteousness...

They were not absolute opposites. Under extreme pressure, they could transform into one another and bring each other to fulfillment.

"Heh..."

He gave a soft laugh, carrying a trace of hoarseness and relief.

Then he drew a deep breath, his chest swelling as he turned all the pain, exhaustion, madness, rage, and the heroic exhilaration of finally defeating powerful foes and surpassing himself into a world-shattering howl!

"Awwooo—ROAR—!!!"

At first, the long howl resembled a wolf's cry, mournful yet unyielding; midway through, it changed into a tiger's roar, tyrannical and savage!

"Hahahaha!"

"Cloud-piercing, mist-breaking, shaking heaven and earth; drinking rain, dining on wind, making ghosts and gods weep. The layered skies tremble for ten thousand miles; heaven and earth, the four seas, churn and overturn."

"Magnificent! Truly magnificent!"

Situ Xuan laughed wildly. As wind and clouds churned around him, several flashes of finger light shot out, killing the still-wailing Soul Beasts in an instant. Without the slightest hesitation, he sat down cross-legged where he stood and began absorbing the Spirit Power halos that resembled nebulae.

The Soul Spirit Little Black Tiger once again transformed into a streak of black light and flew out. Exhausted, it sprawled atop Situ Xuan's head, found a comfortable position, and enjoyed the soothing sensation of those Spirit Power halos continuously strengthening its origin.