A Spar with a Dou Zun

With a slight movement of Ling Ying's fingertips, the two short darts swam around him like small fish.

The most amazing thing is that although they are clearly in sight, radiating a chilling aura, when sensed through energy fluctuations, these two short spikes seem to be non-existent.

If these two jet-black short thorns hadn't already recognized Ling Ying as their master, Ling Ying wouldn't have been able to detect them even at such close range.

"This feeling—" Ling Ying's eyes gleamed with surprise and admiration. "Such perfect concealment! And it also greatly enhances the power of my Dou Qi!"

He was already amazed by the first to fourth grade Spirit Artifact that Huo Yuhao had made before. But this set of Spirit Artifact could far surpass Huo Yuhao's previous works in terms of improving strength.

Huo Yuhao smiled calmly, "This is the Sixth Grade Spirit Artifact, the Black Empress Thorn. According to my calculations, Dou Huang expert possessing a Sixth Grade Spirit Artifact should have the ability to contend with or even fight against a low-level Dou Zong."

He turned his gaze to Ling Ying, "If Senior Ling Ying wishes to verify its power, why not have a friendly spar with our Inner Academy's Grand Elder?"

Having long wanted to test the power of these two Spirit Artifact, Ling Ying's fighting spirit ignited upon hearing this, and she readily agreed.

Buzz!

With a slight fluctuation in spatial power, Huo Yuhao and Ling Ying vanished from their original positions in an instant.

Behind the Outer Academy of the Jia Nan Academy, the crowd of congratulatory guests had not yet dispersed. Huo Yuhao and Ling Ying had just appeared when they heard two hearty and unrestrained laughs.

"Hahaha! Elder Huo! You've finally arrived!" Bai Lao, beaming, strode forward to greet him, "Our achievement of reaching the Dou Zun realm this time is entirely thanks to your guidance!"

"Old Bai is right, Elder Huo, we are deeply grateful!" Qian Lao echoed with a beaming smile.

Upon hearing this, the elders who had been offering their congratulations all turned their attention to Huo Yuhao: "It was Elder Huo's guidance?!"

Huo Yuhao bowed slightly, his tone humble. "You two elders are too kind. Even without me, with your accumulated experience, breaking through to the Dou Zun is just around the corner."

Upon hearing this, Bai Lao glanced at Huo Yuhao and exclaimed in surprise, "Hmm? It hasn't been that long! Elder Huo, you've already broken through to the Dou Emperor!"

Recalling Huo Yuhao's unbelievable strength beyond his level, he couldn't help but speculate, "With Elder Huo's abilities, you should now—at least have the combat strength of Mid-Rank Dou Zong, right?"

Upon hearing this, smiles appeared on the faces of the surrounding elders. Su Qian even said mischievously, "Bai Lao, why don't you—take another bold guess?"

Bai Lao was stunned, his eyes widening in shock. "Could it be... High-Rank Dou Zong?!"

He shook his head, finding it somewhat unbelievable. "Dou Emperor fighting High-Rank Dou Zong? This—"

Su Qian continued, "Some time ago, when Elder Huo was still at the Peak Dou Wang, he single-handedly captured seven Dou Zong! Among them was even the Earth Demon Old Ghost! Now Elder Huo has advanced to Dou Emperor— "

The smiles on the faces of the Bai Lao and the Qian Lao froze instantly, their mouths slightly agape, as if they had heard a fairy tale.

The two even subconsciously glanced at each other, both seeing the same absurdity in each other's eyes—could it be that we failed to break through to the Dou Zun? Was this just a dream before our deaths?

"Could it be—" Bai Lao said in disbelief, "Elder Huo now—has already possessed the combat power of Dou Zun?!"

Huo Yuhao remained calm, stepped forward, and cupped his hands in greeting to Bai Lao: "I am not yet clear about his exact strength. Since Bai Lao has already broken through to the Dou Zun, I wonder if you could offer some guidance?"

Bai Lao took a deep breath, suppressing the raging storm in his heart, his eyes blazing with intense curiosity and fighting spirit. "Fine! Today I'll see for myself just how far you've come! Let's go!"

Before he finished speaking, he blurred into a streak of light and shot towards a mountain range outside the academy.

At the summit of a towering mountain, the elders gathered to watch the battle, their eyes fixed intently on the two figures facing off in the distant sky.

An elder couldn't help but ask Su Qian in a low voice, "Elder, in your opinion—between the Chief Elder and the Bai Lao, who is more superior?"

Su Qian glanced at him and said irritably, "Are you trying to make things difficult for this old man!"

Above the mountain range, Bai Lao stood on thin air, his robes fluttering even without wind. He said in a deep voice, "Elder Huo, make your move!"

Let this old man see for himself!

Huo Yuhao didn't stand on ceremony. He raised his hands, and icy blue cold air instantly enveloped his fingers as he flicked his fingers in rapid succession!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

In an instant, countless deep blue ice cones condensed out of thin air, like a torrential downpour, carrying a biting chill and sharpness, and shot towards Bai Lao from all directions!

Each ice spike contains enough energy to make even a low-level Dou Zong's scalp tingle!

[Thousand Illusory Profound Ice Spikes]!

"Oh? It really is that Earth Demon Old Ghost's signature move!" A hint of surprise flashed in Bai Lao's eyes, then he shook his head and chuckled, casually waving out a palm.

A massive palm of Dou Qi aura, containing faint spatial fluctuations, appeared out of thin air and effortlessly shattered and annihilated all the ice spikes in the sky, as if swatting a fly.

"Elder Huo," Bai Lao withdrew his hand, his tone carrying a hint of guidance, "At the Dou Zun level, Earth Grade Dou Technique are no longer of much significance."

"Is that so?" Huo Yuhao nodded.

Within the spiritual world, Heavenly Fire Venerable, hovering beside the Ice Flame Phoenix and the Guardian Mirror, scoffed upon seeing this. "Tsk tsk, just broke through to Dou Zun and already showing off? Clearly, you've never seen High-grade Earth-tier Dou Technique before!"

Seeing that the Ice Flame Phoenix and the Guardian Mirror seemed to have their attention drawn by his words, he immediately perked up and began explaining animatedly, "Let me tell you, the vast majority of High-grade Earth-tier Dou Technique are aiming for the Heaven Grade threshold! Their power is a precipitous increase compared to mid-level Earth Grade techniques! They're not even in the same league!"

He looked at Huo Yuhao's figure outside, his voice full of smugness. "Brother Huo now has the Fallen Heart Flame and your Phoenix Heavenly Flames, a full two kinds of Heavenly Flames! Add a few more high-level Beast Flame to make up the numbers, and I'll unleash my Five-Ring Flame Separation Technique —hmph, that'll be enough to give this newly Dou Zun a good beating!"

The Heavenly Fire Venerable's face revealed a mixture of longing and pride. After all, even he, the creator, had never seen the Five-Ring Flame Separation Technique, which contained multiple Heavenly Flames.

Facing the powerful and imposing Dou Qi of Bai Lao, Huo Yuhao remained unfazed. He made a grasping motion with his right hand, and an ice blade radiating extreme cold instantly materialized.

With a slight flick of the wrist, the blade flashed like a waterfall!

[Dragon-Phoenix Guiding]!

In an instant, countless tiny blades of light, as if possessing a life of their own, precisely met the enormous Dou Qi palm and pierced through its energy nodes!

With a deafening roar, the seemingly incredibly powerful giant palm of Dou Qi was completely dismembered and scattered by countless fine blades of light!

Huo Yuhao stood with his sword in hand, his voice calm. "Bai Lao, it seems you are not entirely useless after all."

Bai Lao: