Fire Fairy also turned to look at Shen Luo.
A trace of tenderness flickered across her icy face.
Though Shen Luo was no weakling, his opponents were all figures on the level of an Emperor Clan's young patriarch, each with a few trump cards up their sleeve.
The firelight in her long, narrow phoenix eyes dimmed slightly. Her lips parted, and a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum yet perfectly clear reached Shen Luo's ears. "If you cannot win, surrender willingly. Do not push yourself just to save face."
Shen Luo nodded slightly, warmth welling up in his heart.
Clearly, his flame still cared a great deal about him.
So far, he had issued only two commands through Fire Control: first, Fire Fairy could not attack him at will; second, she had to obey everything he said, filling in any unreasonable details herself.
Up to now, he had given her no additional commands.
In other words, the concern and affection Fire Fairy showed him now came entirely from her heart.
"Don't worry, Aunt Ling. I won't disappoint you."
Shen Luo rolled his neck, his bones crackling like a string of muffled thunderclaps.
He stamped hard against the ground, sprang into the air, and came to a steady halt above the square.
Purple Dou Qi flowed slowly around him, threaded with a faint golden sheen that looked especially subdued beneath the sunlight.
Since his own flame had said as much, he could not disappoint her, no matter what.
An iron-tower-like brute slowly emerged from the Stone Clan's ranks.
At a hundred and eighty centimeters, Shen Luo was already tall, yet this man stood two heads taller than him.
His shoulders were as broad as door panels, his arms as thick as an ordinary person's waist. His exposed skin was a rocky gray-brown, covered in fine patterns that resembled naturally formed armor.
With every step he took, the stone slabs beneath his feet groaned under the unbearable weight.
"Shi Hao, two-star Dou Zong."
The burly man cupped his hands, his deep, resonant voice like a boulder tumbling into a valley.
His gaze settled on Shen Luo with the indifference of a predator sizing up its prey.
"Shen Luo, one-star Dou Zong."
Shen Luo studied the giant opposite him with interest. Among the ancient Emperor Clans, the Stone Clan excelled most at physical strength; their imperial bloodline was intimately tied to their bodies.
But which was stronger-the physique granted by a Dou Di bloodline, or his heavenly tyrant body?
After exchanging introductions, neither wasted another word. Both vanished from their spots at the same instant.
Bang!
At the center of the square, their fists collided. A blast of air erupted, shaking space into rippling waves.
Shi Hao and Shen Luo each retreated three steps.
"Hm?" Surprise flashed through Shi Hao's eyes before turning into mockery. "A one-star Dou Zong dares clash head-on with me? You've got courage, I'll give you that. Too bad your brain doesn't work so well."
Below, Gu Dao's expression jolted. He turned toward Fire Fairy. "Fire Spirit, this boy shows no trace of a Dou Di bloodline. Is his bloodline crippled? Or is he not a member of your Yan Clan at all?"
Hun Yan also opened his eyes. A trace of scrutiny surfaced on his withered face as black flames flickered eerily within his sunken sockets, studying Shen Luo in the arena.
A moment later, he closed his eyes dismissively, the corners of his mouth even curling into a contemptuous smirk.
A piece of trash without a Dou Di bloodline dares contend with the descendants of a Dou Di!
Throughout the history of the Dou Qi Continent, how many dazzling prodigies had ultimately fallen beneath the absolute supremacy of a Dou Di bloodline?
The Pure Lotus Demon Saint, the founder of the Pill Tower, the Yellow Springs Demon Saint, the Burning Flame Ancestor-how many of them had lived to this day?
Yet the Emperor Clans' many low-star Dou Sheng were still alive and kicking, doing perfectly well!
"Shen Luo is a disciple taken in by an elder of our Yan Clan. In the future, he will also become a son-in-law of our clan. Naturally, he counts as one of us."
Fire Fairy's expression remained cool. Her voice was not loud, yet it reached the ears of everyone present with perfect clarity.
Those words were meant for Gu Dao, but also for every Emperor Clan seated there.
Before all those Emperor Clans, she had vouched for Shen Luo.
Gu Dao nodded slightly and said no more.
Given Fire Fairy's strength and standing, her declaration was practically equivalent to the Yan Clan's patriarch speaking in person.
In the past, when the ancient Emperor Clans occasionally discovered promising seedlings with some talent, they would indeed bring them into their clans and nurture them a little.
However, once these prodigies without Dou Di bloodlines reached Dou Zun, their cultivation speed would plunge off a cliff.
Even if an exceptional few managed to break through to half-saint, or even one-star Dou Sheng, the time and resources they consumed would have been enough to raise several clansmen possessing Dou Di bloodlines.
Thus, as time passed, the ancient Emperor Clans gave up on the practice.
After all, illustrious figures like the Burning Flame Ancestor and the Pure Lotus Demon Saint were truly hard to find.
Inside the great hall, after several matches, the atmosphere gradually grew livelier.
The younger generations of the various clans began exchanging greetings, cultivation insights, and news from across the continent, paying no attention whatsoever to the two men locked in fierce combat.
Even the elder leading the Stone Clan's delegation showed no concern, sitting cross-legged in his seat with his eyes closed in repose.
The Emperor Clans' prodigies might differ in strength, but they were fundamentally beyond comparison with ordinary people.
In their eyes, the outcome of this match was already decided. How could an ordinary one-star Dou Zong possibly defeat a direct descendant of the Stone Clan who was a two-star Dou Zong and possessed a Dou Di bloodline?
Had the Emperor Clans grown too weak to lift their blades, or had this boy let things go to his head?
Below the arena, only Fire Fairy, Huo Zhi, and Huo Xuan watched the battle constantly.
Huo Zhi's crimson eyes stayed fixed on Shen Luo's figure, her delicate fists clenched tight.
Though she had met him only a few times, he had left a very distinct impression on her.
He showed none of the awe or eagerness to please that other clansmen displayed when they saw her.
The supreme elder had just said that Shen Luo would one day become a son-in-law of the Yan Clan. Those words had left her face flushed with bashfulness, like a flower poised to bloom.
Huo Xuan, meanwhile, remained calm. Others might not know, but his Brother Shen possessed... dragon-binding power in his hands.
In the square, Shi Hao activated his clan mark outright. Dark golden patterns surfaced across his gray-brown skin, like magma flowing through cracks in rock.
His aura surged, shooting straight from two-star Dou Zong to five-star Dou Zong. Dou Qi condensed around him, making him resemble a mountain.
"Forcing me to use my clan mark is enough for you to be proud of."
Shi Hao's voice boomed like a great bell. With his feet pounding the earth, he bore down on Shen Luo like a moving mountain.
He brought the advantages of his Dou Di bloodline into full play. Every punch and kick carried the power of heaven and earth. Wherever the wind from his fists passed, the air compressed into tangible ripples that exploded in every direction.
With his fists, he would tell everyone present that although the Stone Clan's bloodline had declined, they still stood exalted as an Emperor Clan.
"Stone Emperor Fist!" A high-level earth-rank Dou Technique unleashed in conjunction with a Dou Di bloodline possessed might far beyond other Dou Techniques of the same rank.
Shi Hao intended to settle the match with a single punch.
Shen Luo did not retreat.
His heavenly tyrant body was furious and ferocious, like a demonic god descending into the world.
He clenched his right fist. Dou Qi surged wildly, purple radiance flowing like silk across his knuckles.
He met Shi Hao's punch head-on, confronting the power of heaven and earth it carried.
Bang!
Their fists collided again. This time, Shen Luo did not retreat.
Shi Hao's pupils contracted, and his entire body hurtled backward.
Before he could react, Shen Luo had already closed in, unleashing punches and kicks like a torrential downpour.
Shen Luo's blood surged, his black hair danced wildly, and every punch carried an overbearing force that crushed everything in its path.
The heavenly tyrant body boasted high attack, high defense, and a massive health bar. With every swing of his fists, his stats were maxed out!
His left fist dealt high damage; his right fist dealt damage that was high.
Shi Hao groaned inwardly, but before so many people from the Emperor Clans, he could hardly admit defeat. He could only grit his teeth and hold on desperately, occasionally striking back at Shen Luo.
"Tyrant Fist!"
Feeling that the time was about right, Shen Luo immediately let out an enraged roar.
Boom!
Shi Hao, the Stone Clan's young patriarch, was blasted out of the square by a single punch and slammed against an enormous stone pillar, his chest caved in as he coughed up mouthfuls of blood!
The entire venue fell silent.
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