"BOOM-!!!"
Two supreme lightning arts collided in midair with a thunderous crash. The purple-black lightning pillar and the dark-gold Thunder Flood Dragon tangled together, tearing into each other and erupting in a blinding radiance that eclipsed the sun and moon. Space at the center of the collision shattered inch by inch like a mirror, and the terrifying shock wave flattened every mountain within a thousand-zhang radius. Lightning fire rained from the sky, each spark scorching a bottomless pit into the ground.
The smoke and dust cleared, and the lightning gradually died away.
Shi Yi's Thunder Flood Dragon Treasure Art had already dissipated, but Lei Shang's Wind-Thunder Leopard phantom still barely stood in the void. Its lightning had dimmed, however, and its runes lay shattered, as though it might disintegrate at any moment.
As expected of a Divine Fire Realm expert... Shi Yi's gaze darkened slightly as he sighed inwardly. Even with the might of Heavenly Thunder Valley's lightning, I can only barely hold my own against him. It looks like what comes next will be a vicious fight to the death.
His fingers slowly curled into a fist. Divine power surged through his body like mighty rivers, ready to erupt again at any moment.
Yet towering waves surged through Lei Shang's heart at that moment! "How is this possible..." He stared fixedly at Shi Yi, his eyes filled with disbelief.
During their last encounter, Shi Yi had needed a Treasure Art on the level of the Ten Fiends just to hold his own against him for a few dozen exchanges. Now, a mere ordinary Thunder Flood Dragon Treasure Art had actually managed to withstand his Treasure Art, however narrowly! Though Shi Yi had borrowed Heavenly Thunder Valley's lightning power, his rate of growth still made Lei Shang's hair stand on end.
How little time has passed... and his strength has already reached this level?! Lei Shang's fingers trembled slightly as an unprecedented sense of danger rose in his heart.
He knew full well that if a monstrous genius like Shi Yi was allowed to keep growing, he would one day bring annihilation upon their entire race!
Had we met earlier, perhaps we could have befriended each other... but now that we're enemies, there's no room left to turn back! Murderous intent surged in Lei Shang's eyes, and the lightning around him suddenly blazed brighter! Today, I must snuff him out here once and for all!
Blinding lightning suddenly burst from Lei Shang's eyes, as though two stars of thunder were burning within them. His aura climbed steadily as he unleashed the full pressure of the Divine Fire Realm, twisting and shaking the space within a thousand-zhang radius. The raging power of the lightning Dao condensed into tangible battle armor on his body, every line imbued with destructive might.
"Ant, you can be proud of yourself for forcing me to use my full strength!"
Facing this heaven-destroying, earth-shattering might, Shi Yi knew his chances of victory were slim, yet an even fiercer will to fight burned in his eyes. He drew a deep breath, and every bone in his body cracked explosively like a dragon's roar. In an instant, divine radiance blazed ten thousand zhang from his body.
"If you want to fight, then fight! Why waste words!"
Shi Yi let out a long cry that shook the nine heavens. His imposing aura forcibly carved out a domain beneath the pressure of Lei Shang's divine fire. The two supreme auras collided fiercely in midair, tearing open heart-chilling spatial cracks. The whole of Thunderclap Valley trembled, and countless bolts of lightning shot wildly out of control, turning the surrounding hundred li into a forbidden zone of lightning storms.
Heaven and earth suddenly burst apart!
The two figures collided like falling stars. The instant fist met palm, the entire expanse of space twisted. A violent storm of energy swept across the eight directions, instantly leveling every mountain within a thousand-zhang radius. Lightning and divine radiance intertwined, ripping countless savage fissures through the void, as though the sky itself would collapse at that very moment.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
In just three breaths, the two had clashed dozens of times. Every punch Shi Yi threw concentrated annihilating power to its utmost limit. Jet-black Dao patterns flowed across his fists, colliding violently with Lei Shang's lightning. Each exchange triggered an explosion that shook heaven and earth, its dazzling light illuminating all of Heavenly Thunder Valley.
"Cough..."
After another fierce clash, Shi Yi was driven back a hundred zhang, a thin trace of pale-gold blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. He raised a hand to wipe it away, but the fighting spirit in his eyes only burned hotter.
"Again! Let's see how much longer you can last, you ant!" Lei Shang laughed wildly and lunged at him again, lightning and fire weaving around his body like a thunder god descending into the world.
In that lightning-fast instant-"SHING!"
A clear ringing sound that tore through the void resounded across heaven and earth. Brilliant divine light suddenly burst from Shi Yi's eyes, and a jet-black halberd leaped out of them. Chaos energy coiled around its shaft. Wherever its blade passed, space shattered like a mirror, creating terrifying spatial turbulence.
Shi Yi swept the halberd across, unleashing a black crescent that spanned heaven and earth. Everything in its path returned to oblivion; even the lightning was forcibly cleaved out of existence! Lei Shang's expression changed drastically. He hastily formed a lightning shield to block it, only for the halberd strike to send him flying a thousand zhang.
The two figures crossed paths again and again between heaven and earth, fighting from beyond the clouds of the nine heavens down to the boundless land. Every collision unleashed an earth-shaking explosion. Towering mountains crumbled in the aftershocks, and bottomless ravines were torn into the ground. The black fissures left by the Void Halberd crisscrossed with lightning claw marks, turning the battlefield into a vision of the apocalypse.
"CLANG-!"
Amid the piercing clash of metal, Lei Shang's sharp claws, wreathed in destructive lightning, locked tightly around the Void Halberd's blade. Though Shi Yi had undergone several transformations that had remade him from the bones up, he still fell short in a contest of pure strength. The razor-sharp claw tips gleamed coldly, barely an inch from Shi Yi's throat, and the breath of death rushed into his face.
At that instant between life and death-"CRACK-BOOM!"
A lightning avatar suddenly formed beside Lei Shang, and Shi Yi's true body switched positions with it in a flash. An iron fist imbued with lightning power slammed squarely into Lei Shang's waist and abdomen. The savage force hurled him a thousand zhang away, embedding him deep inside a mountain. The entire peak shook violently, countless cracks spreading across it like a spiderweb.
"Cough... despicable!" A muffled roar of fury came from within the mountain. Suddenly, countless lightning serpents burst from the cracks in the rock. With a deafening explosion, the entire peak blew apart. Before the flying rubble could hit the ground, the raging lightning fire reduced it to dust.
Lei Shang's figure slowly emerged from the smoke. He looked utterly crazed now, every hair standing on end like a steel needle. His eyes were blood-red, and scorching white vapor streamed from his nostrils. The lightning coiling around him turned from purple to black, radiating heart-chilling waves of destruction.
"Ant of the Human Race!" Lei Shang's voice sounded like an evil ghost from the nine nether depths. "You dare steal our race's inherited Treasure Art! For this crime, you shall suffer ten thousand lightning bolts devouring your heart!"
Faced with this towering fury, Shi Yi remained composed. He gently brushed the dust from his sleeve, and a dangerous smile curved his lips. "That worthless junior of yours came looking for death. This Treasure Art was merely the price he paid."
As he spoke, he loosely cupped his right hand, and a bolt of lightning identical to Lei Shang's danced in his palm. "Speaking of which... this inherited Treasure Art of yours seems to have an interesting flaw."
Those words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Lei Shang's head. His savage expression suddenly froze, and fear appeared in his eyes for the first time. The fatal flaw in his inherited Treasure Art was now in his enemy's hands. That meant...