This Is Spatial Power, Not an Illusion!
"These two guys really left me here." Xiao Yan kicked at the pebbles at his feet, muttering to himself in frustration. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an empty water bottle on the ground and kicked it viciously.
Whoosh!
The water bottle traced an eerie arc and landed squarely on his forehead with a "thud."
"Ouch—what bad luck!" Xiao Yan rubbed his forehead, wincing in pain.
"And there's more bad luck to come!" A deep voice sounded behind him without warning.
"Who?!" Xiao Yan's hair stood on end. He instantly became alert, instinctively activating his Dou Qi, and his sharp eyes scanned his surroundings like those of a hawk.
Snap!
A warm, smooth hand silently gripped his left shoulder. Xiao Yan was shocked and tried to break free, but the scene before him changed instantly.
The bustling streets vanished without a trace, leaving only the somewhat desolate outskirts of the Jia Ma Imperial City.
"What the heck—" The moment the scene changed, Xiao Yan's wariness vanished like a receding tide, replaced by a bored expression. "So it's you, Huo Yuhao! Making such a big fuss, who are you trying to scare?"
Huo Yuhao's figure seemed to materialize from thin air, a hint of surprise on his face. "How did you find out?"
Xiao Yan rolled his eyes, giving him a "Are you stupid?" look. "Nonsense! In the entire Jia Ma Empire, who else could make someone fall into an illusion without them even realizing it?"
Huo Yuhao: "----"
This is the power of space, not an illusion! Looking at Xiao Yan's smug expression, Huo Yuhao clenched his fists.
"Hehe, perfect!" Xiao Yan cracked his knuckles, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit. "It's been a long time since we've sparred. Let me show you my current strength!"
Before he finished speaking, a powerful aura of a Dou Wang suddenly erupted! Dark red flames surged from his back, condensing into a pair of magnificent fiery wings.
"Drink!" Xiao Yan flapped his wings, his figure transforming into a dark red streak of light, carrying a scorching wave of energy, as he swooped down towards Huo Yuhao! His fist was condensed with flames that had been rotated and compressed to the extreme—it was the Whirlwind Fire Fist!
"Today, your brother is going to turn the tables!"
"Heh." Seeing Xiao Yan's carelessness and direct attack, Huo Yuhao's lips curled into a slight smile.
He neither dodged nor evaded, but simply raised his right arm, clenched his fist, and a thin layer of ice crystals instantly covered it. He then unleashed a seemingly ordinary punch to meet Xiao Yan's Whirlwind Fire Fist, which was powerful enough to split mountains!
BOOM!!!
A deep, chilling explosion rang out! The expected evenly matched contest did not materialize.
Xiao Yan felt an overwhelming, icy force surge into his fist! His downward momentum came to an abrupt halt, and he was thrown backward as if he had been hit head-on by an iceberg, traveling at an even faster speed than he had come!
Rumble!!!
Xiao Yan's body slammed heavily into the side of a hill hundreds of meters high in the distance! The enormous impact created a clear human-shaped hole in the mountain.
Huo Yuhao's movements didn't falter at all. Just as Xiao Yan crashed into the mountainside, he raised his palm like a knife and slashed horizontally towards the human-shaped cave!
Laugh--!
A deep blue blade of energy, several tens of feet long, appeared out of thin air, emitting a piercing shriek, and slashed towards the location where Xiao Yan was on the hill with lightning speed!
Judging from the precise landing point, if Xiao Yan hadn't managed to escape in time, he might have truly been cut in half at the waist!
Boom-!!!
Almost the instant the blade's energy struck, a massive, dark red pillar of fire shot skyward from the top of the hill!
The violent fire energy instantly blasted a huge hole in the mountaintop!
A figure enveloped in blazing flames shot out of the cave, narrowly avoiding the deadly blade.
Xiao Yan hovered in mid-air, the flames surrounding him even more powerful than the Nine Separation Phoenix Flame in Huo Yuhao's memory. The flames were dark red in color, and the high temperature they emitted caused the surrounding air to distort violently.
"Is this the fused Heavenly Flames?" Huo Yuhao looked at Xiao Yan's body with a hint of curiosity on his face.
What level is the Flame Mantra at now?
"Earth Grade Rank!" Xiao Yan gasped for breath, wiping a speck of dust from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were filled with frustration as he looked at Huo Yuhao: "What is your actual strength now? How come you still seem so much stronger than me? This doesn't make sense!"
Huo Yuhao revealed a slightly smug smile and shook his fist, "Guess what? Don't struggle, your brother will always be your brother!"
Before Huo Yuhao could finish speaking, Xiao Yan's true form had already appeared behind Huo Yuhao, leaving only a slowly dissipating afterimage in his original position.
A dark red net of fire descended upon Huo Yuhao.
At the same time, Xiao Yan clasped his hands together, and several incredibly thick fire tornadoes appeared out of thin air around Huo Yuhao, sealing off all of Huo Yuhao's escape routes.
Faced with this combination of attacks, Huo Yuhao remained standing still, neither dodging nor avoiding, but instead condensed a layer of diamond ice crystals on his body surface for defense.
Whoosh--!
The fire net descended first, completely enveloping Huo Yuhao. Immediately afterwards, the several raging fire tornadoes, as if drawn by a powerful force, surged towards Huo Yuhao in the center, tearing him apart!
Rumble!!!
A deafening explosion resounded all around! A raging inferno instantly engulfed the area, scorching the ground into a vast, blackened patch!
Xiao Yan predicted that Huo Yuhao's abilities would make it easy for him to dodge or withstand the attack.
Therefore, the instant he finished unleashing this set of skills, he had already taken out the Profound Heavy Ruler and was frantically absorbing the Heaven and Earth Origin Qi.
A dark Heavenly Flames burned fiercely on the ruler's body, and a terrifying energy fluctuation was rapidly brewing—it was the Flame Devouring Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler!
However, when the flames and smoke from the explosion dissipated slightly, revealing the scene inside, Xiao Yan's expression froze instantly, replaced by immense fear!
The diamond-like ice crystals on Huo Yuhao's body had completely melted away! His robes were charred and torn in many places, and the exposed skin showed large, shocking burn marks, with wisps of smoke still rising from them!
"What happened?" Xiao Yan was so frightened that his Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler, which he had only half-charged, immediately stopped, and he casually threw away the Profound Heavy Ruler like trash.
He flapped his wings wildly and rushed towards Huo Yuhao at top speed, frantically pulling out several bottles of healing pills.
"Xiao Yan's strength has indeed improved quite a bit," Huo Yuhao nodded in satisfaction. "Just in terms of the destructive power of this one move, it's enough to threaten some low-level Dou Emperor who aren't very strong."
Taking advantage of Xiao Yan's momentary panic, a vast and boundless surge of Heaven and Earth Origin Qi) instantly converged, transforming into a gigantic ice-blue hand that, with the precision of squeezing a chick, grabbed Xiao Yan in mid-air!
The immense force left him utterly defenseless; he was yanked from the air and slammed hard onto the ground!
At the same time, Huo Yuhao casually gestured with his other hand, and the bottles of healing pills that had flown out and the Profound Heavy Ruler that Xiao Yan had thrown away landed steadily in his hand.
Looking at Huo Yuhao himself, a flash of pale golden light appeared around him, and those shocking burn marks and charred robes instantly disappeared without a trace. He was full of energy, and not even a single tear was found on his clothes.
"Damn it!!! Huo Yuhao! Are you a dog?!" Xiao Yan was dazed and confused after being thrown to the ground. He had just gotten up when he saw this scene and his face instantly turned red.