Before his words had faded, the King of Slaughter attacked.
His blood-red figure plunged from the air like lightning, his right claw wreathed in dense, baleful blood energy as it shot straight for Qian Daoliu's face.
Blinding speed. Overwhelming force.
Qian Daoliu sidestepped, golden soul power flowing over his body to keep the baleful blood energy at bay. His right hand darted out to seize the King of Slaughter's wrist.
The King of Slaughter twisted his wrist and swept a claw back at him. Qian Daoliu retreated half a step. The gust from the claw skimmed his chest, tearing a slit in his robes.
Qian Daoliu's expression shifted slightly. The power of that claw strike was no less than his own.
Tang Chen's cultivation had already been formidable. With the Nine-Headed Bat King inhabiting his body, that sinister blood energy had made him even stronger than before.
The King of Slaughter gave him no time to think. With a beat of his wings, he soared higher, traced a blood-red arc through the air, and wheeled around to pounce again.
Both enormous crimson claws slammed down toward Qian Daoliu's head, trailing dense baleful energy and a blood-reeking wind.
Qian Daoliu raised both arms, condensing his golden soul power into a shield of light.
Boom!
The blood-red claws struck the shield with a heavy crash.
The shield shattered piece by piece. Qian Daoliu was driven back a step, and the paving stones beneath his feet burst into a web of cracks.
The recoil hurled the King of Slaughter back into the air as well. His blood-red wings beat several times before he steadied himself.
Qian Daoliu's expression grew grave.
That clash had given him a rough measure of the King of Slaughter's strength.
As far as Qian Daoliu could tell, Tang Chen