The "battle" remained fierce. Xiao Yan's curses had gradually dwindled from his initial furious outpouring into feeble mutters. Clearly, chasing and striking for so long had drained much of his stamina.
Seeing this, Xiao Yi knew things had reached just the right point. If they carried on, Xiao Zhan might truly lose patience and step in to "help."
A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes. With a deft sidestep, he widened the distance between himself and Xiao Yan again, then abruptly pointed the Peachwood Sword skyward and shouted in an operatic tone:
"Heaven and earth are boundless, lend me the power of the cosmos! Begone, evil spirits, return this soul to its rightful body! By my command!"
Suddenly, those otherwise unremarkable yellow talismans seemed to catch fire from an invisible flame. Starting at the sword's tip, they burned rapidly with soft crackles.
Then Xiao Yi did something that astonished everyone even more. He actually reached out with his free hand, grabbed at the burning talismans, and swiftly dragged his hand downward! The flames instantly spread to the layers of cloth wrapped around his hand.
The cloth had been soaked in water beforehand, then coated with oil on its outermost layer. Ignited by the talisman flames, it erupted with a whoosh into roaring orange-red fire that engulfed his entire fist, looking utterly terrifying.
When had the Xiao Clan members ever witnessed such "divine powers"? They stared dumbfounded at Xiao Yi's flame-wreathed fist, forgetting even to breathe.
Xiao Yi clenched his fist hard, bent his knees slightly, and leaned back into a peculiar stance. Then, facing Xiao Yan, who was still "struggling in agony" nearby, he mustered every ounce of strength and unleashed a deafening roar:
"Ha-dou-ken!!!"
With that incomprehensible yet imposing shout, Xiao Yi drove his burning fist savagely toward