Fierce Battle

In an instant, Xiao Yan hurriedly brought his ruler back to block, stopping the Frostwind Sword as Jia Tianyu's figure appeared.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan immediately poured Dou Qi into the Black-Weight Ruler and swept it fiercely sideways. Jia Tianyu easily dodged, then charged in from another direction and slashed Xiao Yan hard across the back.

Xiao Yan staggered. Fortunately, he had activated the Flame Emperor Armor beforehand. Jia Tianyu's attack was fast, but its power was not particularly great. It would take several more strikes to break through his Flame Emperor Armor.

However, he could not keep passively taking hits like this. Though this was hardly the time, it was necessary to try improving his ability to deal with opponents who were fast and agile.

If Jia Tianyu had known Xiao Yan was thinking about such things, he would have coughed up blood in anger. But for Xiao Yan, who had never had a teacher, learning through battle had long become a habit etched into his bones.

Competing in speed was definitely not an option. His physical capabilities were already inferior, and he had no movement-type Dou Technique. Trying to match speed would only put him at a disadvantage, so he should compare soul power instead. Xiao Yan was not boasting; his soul power had always far surpassed experts of the same realm. Even Jia Tianyu, who was over half a major realm above him, should be inferior to him if Xiao Yan's senses were correct.

That said, it would be a grave mistake to think he could solve this just by closing his eyes and carefully sensing the disturbances around him like in novels. Jia Tianyu himself moved faster than the disturbances he created could spread! He needed to think of another method.

Although he was still thinking, the clashes between Xiao Yan and Jia Tianyu showed no sign of stopping.

In the arena, Xiao Yan's blue-red figure remained standing in place, while Jia Tianyu's green figure flashed rapidly around him from time to time—behind him one moment, at his side the next, then above him. Whenever Jia Tianyu appeared, Xiao Yan's massive ruler swung around at once to block his attack.

But Jia Tianyu's attacks were simply too fast, and their angles were extremely tricky. Even though Xiao Yan was giving it his all, he could not completely block them. At least a dozen sword strikes had slipped past the Black-Weight Ruler and landed directly on Xiao Yan. Though Xiao Yan himself had yet to be injured, the Flame Emperor Armor, after enduring repeated impacts, was already showing signs of collapsing!

Collapsing? A flash of inspiration suddenly crossed Xiao Yan's mind, and a savage smile appeared on his face.

Jia Tianyu, who had been watching Xiao Yan closely, naturally noticed the change immediately. An inexplicable chill rose within him, as though some wild beast had suddenly fixed its gaze upon him.

Although he sensed danger, Jia Tianyu circled around for quite some time without seeing Xiao Yan make any unusual move. If this continued, there would be no point in fighting. Quietly raising his guard, Jia Tianyu attacked again. To be safe, he deliberately kept a portion of Dou Qi in reserve so he could evade at any time.

Yet what puzzled him was that his sword was nearly upon Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan did not swing the Black-Weight Ruler back to defend himself as usual. Jia Tianyu naturally did not think Xiao Yan had suddenly frozen up, and the ominous feeling in his heart only grew stronger.

At that moment, Jia Tianyu suddenly saw Xiao Yan turn his face toward him and softly say, "Explode!"

In an instant, the Flame Emperor Armor that had been covering Xiao Yan for protection shone brilliantly. Fierce flames and a powerful blast wave swept outward, directly engulfing Jia Tianyu before he could evade.

The instant Jia Tianyu sensed the explosion coming, he immediately shifted his target and swung his sword straight into the blast wave and flames.

Although less than a third of the force erupting in every direction actually struck Jia Tianyu, its power still sent him flying. Fortunately, he had used the Frostwind Sword in time to weaken much of the fire's power, so he was not seriously injured.

Still, without the Flame Emperor Armor, he only needed to keep circling around and land a few more hits to secure victory. Just as Jia Tianyu was thinking this, an arm shrouded in flames suddenly extended from the lingering curtain of fire and grabbed the Frostwind Sword directly.

Immediately afterward, a massive black ruler came slashing down at him from above.

Jia Tianyu's expression changed drastically. In his panic, he tried to reactivate the tornado on the Frostwind Sword, but the flaming hand gripped it tightly. Only then did Jia Tianyu realize that the thing holding his Frostwind Sword was none other than Xiao Yan's left hand, still wrapped in the Flame Emperor Armor!

Though he did not understand why the Flame Emperor Armor that had just exploded was still on Xiao Yan's hand, Jia Tianyu looked at the massive ruler about to fall and Xiao Yan's face gradually emerging from the curtain of fire. Gritting his teeth, he directly abandoned the Frostwind Sword, used the Dou Qi he had kept in reserve, and swiftly turned to escape by the narrowest margin.

Xiao Yan looked at the green longsword in his hand. Although he had taken his opponent's weapon, he had not seized the opportunity to render him unable to move, which left Xiao Yan somewhat regretful. He had not expected Jia Tianyu to have reserved Dou Qi for escape. Sure enough, people were far more cunning than magical beasts!

Not far away, Jia Tianyu had just escaped from beneath Xiao Yan's massive ruler. He was now gasping for breath, trying to calm the turmoil in his heart.

For some reason, he felt that Xiao Yan's fighting style had changed from how it was at the beginning. If the earlier Xiao Yan had felt like someone sparring with others in a training hall, the current Xiao Yan was fighting a life-and-death battle—every move lethal, trading injury for injury!

Come to think of it, what was that flaming arm? Jia Tianyu stared in shock at Xiao Yan's left hand, which was clearly out of place compared to the rest of his body.

Just as Jia Tianyu had thought, Xiao Yan's Flame Emperor Armor had vanished from his body due to the explosion, yet a portion of it remained on his left hand.

Was that even possible? Could a Dou Technique be used like that? Jia Tianyu stared at Xiao Yan in stunned disbelief, feeling as if his entire worldview had been severely shaken.

"Well, Senior Jia, are we still fighting?" Xiao Yan casually tossed the Frostwind Sword in his hand aside. It was not that he did not want to put it into his Storage Ring to prevent Jia Tianyu from retrieving it, but the sword had already developed spirituality. Unless he forcibly refined it on the spot, it could not be stored away.

"Hmph! Brat, do you think taking one of my swords means you can do anything? Let me tell you, a truly powerful Dou Fighter can fight just fine even without a weapon!" Jia Tianyu spoke toughly, though inwardly he was gritting his teeth. He truly had not expected a Great Dou Master under sixteen to force him into such a state.

Moreover, after Xiao Yan's recent combination attack, Jia Tianyu no longer dared to engage him in close combat. Though what he planned to do next was somewhat underhanded in a duel that was not to the death, he could not accept losing like this—not even a draw.

"Brat, you should be proud to have forced me this far!" Though he felt guilty about his underhanded plan, Jia Tianyu still spoke forcefully.

As soon as he finished speaking, wind-attributed green Dou Qi gathered in Jia Tianyu's hand once more, quickly forming a massive green bow. He drew the bow and pulled back the string, and a long green arrow formed entirely from wind-attributed Dou Qi appeared on it, aimed at Xiao Yan.

At the same time, Dou Qi began to swirl around Jia Tianyu's feet again. He was clearly preparing to use a movement technique.

"Brat, surrender. With my movement technique and bow, unless you can catch me, you can only take hits passively. You've already lost!" Jia Tianyu said confidently, looking toward Xiao Yan expectantly.

Yet he did not see disappointment or unwillingness on Xiao Yan's face. Instead, he saw a delighted expression.

"Oh, Senior Jia, you should have said you knew archery earlier! To be honest, I know it too!" Xiao Yan said excitedly. As he spoke, a flaming bow rapidly condensed in his hand just like Jia Tianyu's, and the flaming arrow upon it likewise aimed at Jia Tianyu. It was Xiao Yan's self-created Scarlet Flame Arrow!

What the hell? He even knows such a niche Dou Technique?! And it even looks pretty powerful? Jia Tianyu thought in surprise. But it's fine. I still have my movement technique. As long as he can't hit me while I can hit him, I'll still be the one who wins in the end!

Hm? Wait! What are those wings?

At that moment, as though Xiao Yan had guessed Jia Tianyu's thoughts, he summoned the Purple Cloud Wings that he had not used since the battle began.

With a light flap of the wings, each several yards long, Xiao Yan's body rose from the ground and hovered in the air, looking down at Jia Tianyu from above.

What the hell, a flying Dou Technique! Jia Tianyu thought in stunned disbelief.

"To be honest, I also think fighting like this in a duel is a bit like bullying you. But since you have archery and a movement technique too, it should be fine, right?" Xiao Yan said with a somewhat embarrassed but beaming smile.

No, no, no. How could my movement technique possibly compare to a flying Dou Technique? A trace of despair flashed through Jia Tianyu's eyes.