Instant Defeat

Xie Xie abruptly looked up.

At some point, Zhong Shenxiu had already leaped into the air, his body stretched out like a young dragon spreading its wings.

The warm afternoon sunlight fell over him. Pale golden dragon scales glimmered with a faint sheen, while the pair of brilliant golden dragon horns stood out strikingly beneath the sun.

His gaze calmly looked down upon the three below.

Then, he descended.

He did not fall, nor did he drift down. He came down like a streak of golden lightning tearing through the sky.

"Boom—!"

The instant Zhong Shenxiu landed, the ground within a ten-meter radius around him violently trembled.

Countless fine cracks spread outward from beneath his feet. Stones flew, and dust billowed into the air.

Tang Wulin and the other two staggered back from the shockwave, forced to raise their arms against the blast of air rushing at them.

When the dust settled slightly, they finally saw the scene in the center.

Zhong Shenxiu stood where he was. The pale golden dragon scales covering his body were denser than before, nearly covering every inch of his skin. His brilliant golden dragon horns had grown longer, gleaming with a metallic luster in the sunlight. His ten fingers had completely transformed into dragon claws, and a scorching glow curled around his fingertips. With every breath, faint golden light spilled from his nose and mouth.

But the most terrifying thing was his eyes.

Those vertical pupils, now entirely molten gold, seemed to have liquid light burning within them.

That was not a human gaze.

It was the gaze of an apex predator locking onto its prey.

Tang Wulin's pupils suddenly contracted.

He felt it.

The aura radiating from Zhong Shenxiu was denser, more violent, and more... dangerous than the dragon's might from before.

This was not a spar.

This was not practice.

This was a fight to the death.

Gu Yue's expression changed as well. As the Silver Dragon King, her sensitivity to dragon auras surpassed everyone else's. She could clearly sense the power awakening within Zhong Shenxiu—ancient, domineering, and filled with aggression.

That power was calling to her.

No, it was commanding her.

Submit.

Xie Xie's legs began to tremble again.

He did not know why he was shaking. He was an eighteenth-rank Soul Master, a genius with Twin Martial Souls, and the most outstanding descendant of his generation in the Xie family. He had seen countless powerhouses and had never truly feared anyone.

But now, looking at this peer covered in dragon scales, with golden eyes like molten lava, he experienced true fear for the first time.

It was not reverence for the strong.

It was the instinctive terror of prey before a predator.

"Continue."

Zhong Shenxiu spoke.

His voice had changed.

It no longer carried its usual detached calm. Instead, it had become low and metallic, each word seeming to be squeezed out from the depths of his chest, carrying the distinctive tremor of a dragon.

Tang Wulin clenched his teeth and forcefully suppressed the unease in his heart.

"Go!" he growled, charging out first.

Blue Silver Grass surged wildly from the ground. It did not Entangle this time, instead transforming into dozens of vine whips that lashed toward Zhong Shenxiu from every direction. Every vine was coated in a faint golden glow—the enhancement of the Golden Dragon King Bloodline.

Xie Xie took a deep breath and forcefully circulated his Soul Power as he followed. Twin daggers in hand, light and darkness intertwined as his entire body became an afterimage cutting in from the side. He knew he might not be able to defeat Zhong Shenxiu, but he knew even more that he could not retreat.

Gu Yue swept both hands through the air. Ice, fire, earth, and wind erupted at once. She no longer held back. Ice and fire fused, wind and earth intertwined, and the four attacks became a four-colored torrent that blasted toward Zhong Shenxiu from the front.

All three attacked at once without holding anything back.

This was the strongest strike they could unleash.

Everyone at the edge of the field held their breath.

Zhong Shenxiu watched the three attacks rushing toward him, and not a ripple stirred in his molten-gold vertical pupils.

Then, he smiled.

It was not a smile.

It was an extremely faint curve, almost imperceptible, hanging at the corner of his sharply defined lips.

There was no mockery or contempt in that expression, only a kind of...

Satisfaction.

As though a beast that had slumbered for far too long had finally found the chance to stretch its limbs to its heart's content.

The next moment, he moved.

He did not dodge or retreat. He charged head-on into the three attacks!

"What?!" Xie Xie cried out in alarm.

He had seen Zhong Shenxiu fight before and knew his style was calm, precise, and efficient. But the Zhong Shenxiu before him had completely changed.

That was not combat.

That was a charge.

A head-on charge that only death warriors and madmen would choose!

Tang Wulin's Blue Silver Grass whips struck first.

Zhong Shenxiu neither dodged nor defended, allowing dozens of vines to coil around his body. Enhanced by the Golden Dragon King Bloodline, those vines were as tough as steel cables, capable of grinding a massive boulder into dust.

But Zhong Shenxiu merely gave a light shake—

"Crack!"

All the vines snapped at once, bursting into fragments that filled the air.

Tang Wulin's pupils shrank. Before he could react, Zhong Shenxiu was already before him.

A fist.

A simple fist aimed directly at his face.

Tang Wulin had no time to think. He crossed his arms and took the punch head-on.

"Bang!"

Amid the dull impact, Tang Wulin felt as though he had been struck head-on by a charging Soul Beast. His entire body flew backward, flipping three times through the air before crashing heavily onto the ground ten meters away. He slid another five or six meters before finally stopping.

His arms throbbed with pain, the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers split open, and blood dripped from his fingertips.

Just one punch.

Only one punch.

Zhong Shenxiu did not pursue him. Instead, he turned and faced Xie Xie.

Xie Xie's daggers had already stabbed forward.

The Light Dragon Dagger targeted his throat, while the Dark Dragon Dagger targeted his heart. The angles were vicious, and the speed was incredible.

Zhong Shenxiu raised his left hand, spread his dragon claws, and caught the blade of the Light Dragon Dagger in one grip.

Xie Xie's pupils contracted sharply.

His Light Dragon Dagger had been condensed from his martial soul. Its sharpness rivaled that of a true divine weapon, yet it had been caught barehanded?

Zhong Shenxiu gave him no time to think.

He clenched his right hand into a fist and struck the side of the Dark Dragon Dagger.

"Clang!"

The deafening sound of metal clashing rang out. Xie Xie felt an immense force travel through the dagger, instantly numbing his entire arm. The Dark Dragon Dagger flew from his hand and dissolved into specks of light in midair.

He wanted to retreat, but Zhong Shenxiu's left hand had already seized his collar.

Then, he felt himself flying.

No, he had been thrown.

Like a rag doll, he was flung one-handed by Zhong Shenxiu toward Gu Yue.

Gu Yue was about to launch another wave of attacks when she saw Xie Xie flying toward her. She had no choice but to stop, raising both hands to catch him with the wind element.

But in that instant, Zhong Shenxiu had already arrived.

He was too fast—so fast that Gu Yue had no time to react at all.

That hand covered in dragon scales was already suspended before her throat.

The distance was less than an inch.

Gu Yue froze in place.

She could feel the scorching heat emanating from the dragon claw, and the terrifying power contained within the glow around its fingertips. If Zhong Shenxiu wished it, that claw could easily pierce through her throat.

The battle was over.