Within the Space

In the afternoon Ten Thousand Beasts Space, although the blazing sun in the sky was artificial, the heat was no different.

Though powerful Dou Qi practitioners had long ceased to fear cold or heat, the scorching sunlight still illuminated the Ten Thousand Beasts Space with exceptional brightness.

Within a valley, Xiao Yan stood bare-chested, gripping the Heavy Profound Ruler and swinging it down again and again. Opposite him stood a gray hound over two meters long—a seventh-tier magical beast, a Black Thunder Hound.

Due to the peculiar nature of the Ten Thousand Beasts Space, even magical beasts that had reached the seventh tier still possessed no intelligence and could not speak.

Although their strength differed somewhat from that of magical beasts outside, it was still a seventh-tier beast, and its power remained terrifying.

As Xiao Yan continuously swung the Heavy Profound Ruler, he dodged streaks of black lightning spewed from the Black Thunder Hound's mouth. This black lightning was the Black Thunder Hound's innate ability. The Bone-Eroding Black Thunder could directly invade the body, and once struck, dealing with it would be extremely troublesome.

Fortunately, faint thunder rumbled continuously around Xiao Yan during the fight. He turned into a series of afterimages and successfully evaded every bolt of the Black Thunder Hound's lightning. In contrast, every strike from Xiao Yan's ruler inflicted a measure of damage upon the Black Thunder Hound. Though not fatal, enough small changes could lead to a qualitative one.

"Why is this guy fighting so sluggishly?" A voice suddenly came from beside the cliff wall above the gorge.

Ordinary people would likely notice nothing unusual here. Only those with sufficient strength could detect the oddity: people were hiding upon this small cliff wall, and there was more than one of them. Clearly, there were experts among them exceptionally skilled at concealment.

"Stop complaining. This man comes from Heavenly Snake Mansion and can even contend against a Dou Zong. If possible, I truly don't want to make an enemy of him." A steady voice spoke.

"Hehe, but none of you want to remain obscure in this Ten Thousand Beasts Assembly, do you?" A somewhat lazy voice sounded.

Clearly, those words struck at the hearts of the previous two. No one wanted to become someone else's stepping stone at the Ten Thousand Beasts Assembly. Everyone hoped to earn a Ten Thousand Beasts Token through their own performance, then turn their sect into a regional powerhouse.

"Wait. Wait until the Black Thunder Hound makes its final desperate counterattack. I'll hold this man back then. You kill the Black Thunder Hound, and once you have the herbs, we run immediately. He won't have much Dou Qi left after that battle."

The steady voice directly finalized their battle plan.

The battle between Xiao Yan and the Black Thunder Hound had also reached its end. Xiao Yan swung the Heavy Profound Ruler, and the Dou Qi within him surged like boiling vapor before pouring entirely into the ruler. The enormous black heavy ruler turned blood-red. Xiao Yan raised it over his head with both hands and hacked down fiercely.

"Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler!"

A ruler light several zhang long shot toward the Black Thunder Hound. Its explosive speed even caused the surrounding space to crack. The Black Thunder Hound sensed the threat and gathered its Dou Qi without restraint, forming black lightning that coiled around its body.

Just as Xiao Yan's attack left his hand, the people concealed above the valley sprang into action at the same time.

Using the height to dive down, Xiao Yan looked up and saw one one-star Dou Emperor and three Dou Kings. It was quite a formidable lineup.

"Ice Condensing Profound Palm!"

"Gale Wind Finger!"

"Blazing Sun Red Hand!"

"Netherworld Strike!"

The four long-prepared attacks descended in unison, their momentum terrifying. The Dou Emperor's attack targeted Xiao Yan, while the other three attacks joined together and charged at the Black Thunder Hound.

Seeing Xiao Yan standing motionless and the Black Thunder Hound still caught in the center of the energy storm, the Dou Emperor rejoiced inwardly. It worked!

But in the next instant, the Dou Emperor felt as though his heart had skipped a beat.

No matter how thorough a plan was, accidents were inevitable, so those who made plans often built in some margin for error. The Dou Emperor was cautious by nature. In his view, even if Xiao Yan could withstand his sneak attack, he would be unable to protect the Black Thunder Hound. At that point, they could seize the herb guarded by the beast and flee immediately. He still did not dare kill someone from Heavenly Snake Mansion.

Even in the worst-case scenario, if the Black Thunder Hound were killed by Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan would certainly be delayed by their attacks. The four of them would have time to retreat calmly. There was someone in their group skilled at concealment, and even if Xiao Yan could not swallow this insult, it would be difficult for him to track all four of them.

Unfortunately, the plan did indeed go wrong. The first mistake was that Xiao Yan showed no panic whatsoever upon seeing the four attacks. Instead, he pushed out an energy hand seal with his right hand toward the Dou Emperor.

"Mountain Opening Seal!"

Meeting attack with attack, the Dou Emperor had not expected Xiao Yan to react so swiftly. Gritting his teeth, he crossed his arms as Dou Qi gathered around them. He was confident that Xiao Yan could not deprive him of his fighting strength with a single blow.

The seemingly weightless hand seal struck the Dou Emperor, and at the very first instant of contact, he heard the sound of bones cracking. Then he turned into a bloody mass and shot back into the air.

In midair, the Dou Emperor circulated his chaotic Dou Qi and forcibly changed direction after being sent flying by Xiao Yan's strike, returning to the valley above. There, he saw his second mistake. The Black Thunder Hound had not lost its fighting strength. Instead, it revealed its savage form amid the storm. Black Bone-Eroding Black Thunder flew wildly, and his three companions had instead been invaded by the Black Thunder Hound's lightning, collapsing straight to the ground.

At that moment, the Dou Emperor's heart was filled only with bitterness. No matter what, this was a man from Heavenly Snake Mansion. He had actually dared to underestimate the main force sent by one of the six great factions.

Just as he considered fleeing again, he heard the rumble of thunder. Xiao Yan stood behind him with a cheerful smile.

Xiao Yan shattered the Black Thunder Hound, which was barely clinging to life, into two streams of energy with a palm strike. The score in his hand rose again: "Five thousand five hundred and thirty-two." This was Xiao Yan's harvest over seven days. The Black Thunder Hound was the third Dou Zong-level magical beast he had defeated. A Dou Zong-level magical beast could add at least over a thousand points, but unfortunately, they were difficult to kill and equally difficult to encounter.

Xiao Yan's current score placed him third on the rankings.

Ahead of him were Wan Qing with just over six thousand points and Xu Yingwu with more than five thousand eight hundred. As for Lu Zhi, he had led throughout the first day, but began slowing down on the second. Now, he was only ranked seventh. Of course, Xiao Yan knew this was only the beginning. Lu Zhi would definitely be one of the greatest contenders for first place in the end.

Xiao Xun'er was eighth, with around four thousand points. Xiao Yan knew that girl definitely had not gone all out. She had only appeared on the rankings to tell him that she was safe.

Although Qing Lin and Yang Lingyan were not currently on the rankings, they had both appeared on them during the seven days. On the other hand, Zi Yan, from whom Xiao Yan had expected so much, had never appeared on the rankings. Though Xiao Yan was worried, there was truly nothing he could do for her in this place.

As for Xiao Yan, because of his agreement with Yang Yue, his hunting speed had never been slow. Combined with the soul abilities of an Alchemist, he had never fallen off the rankings.

Naturally, the current top three were all Alchemists, also because their soul perception was stronger. Wan Qing had been the second-ranked young Alchemist of the Northwest Region before Xiao Yan arrived.

Beyond his promise to Yang Yue, the herbs within the Ten Thousand Beasts Space were simply too enticing. In seven days, Xiao Yan had already gathered more than twenty rare medicinal herbs. Killing the Black Thunder Hound had just earned him a main ingredient for a seventh-tier medicinal pill. The Ten Thousand Beasts Space was simply an Alchemist's paradise!

After cleaning up the battlefield and taking the herbs, Xiao Yan looked at the four people sitting or lying on the ground, still not recovered from the previous battle, and smiled. "So, what do you four have to say?"