Within the city lord's manor, Spiritual Qi surged, and the earth rumbled.
All one hundred and eight meridians in Ye Xuan's body were open. He was like an afterimage as he repeatedly flashed backward.
Zhu Pi pressed him at every step, his moves sweeping and forceful, each strike containing terrifying power.
"Brat, weren't you boasting about killing me? Why are you doing nothing but dodging now? Can you kill me like this?"
Zhu Pi wore a savage grin, but towering fury surged in his heart.
Under everyone's eyes, he had still failed to kill a mere junior at Essence Condensation First Layer. To him, this was undoubtedly a humiliation.
He thrust out another palm, and a Spiritual Qi palm print swiftly tore through the air toward Ye Xuan.
Ye Xuan retreated again.
With a thunderous crash, several halls behind him collapsed beneath the bombardment of that enormous Spiritual Qi palm print, reduced to rubble. Its power was astonishing.
"At this rate, the young hero will be in danger."
"Golden Core cultivators really are too powerful. They're simply unbeatable!"
"The young hero may have monstrous talent and astonishing combat strength, but killing a Golden Core cultivator while in the Essence Condensation Realm is still too difficult."
The spectators outside kept retreating at the sight.
Zhu Pi, a Golden Core Realm cultivator, was truly terrifying. Not only was the Spiritual Qi within him as vast as the sea, but every move also carried terrifying killing intent.
Even some of the Wheel Sea Realm cultivators watching felt an intense sense of danger.
Never mind fighting Zhu Pi head-on-even the shock waves made their scalps prickle.
"Let's see how long you can keep dodging! You're a mere Essence Condensation cultivator. Can you afford to compete with me in a battle of attrition?"
After several attacks missed, Zhu Pi could not help roaring repeatedly again.
This little Essence Condensation ant truly left him both furious and alarmed.
With his cultivation and strength, in all the time that had passed, he could have killed even an ordinary Wheel Sea Peak cultivator several times over, let alone a mere Essence Condensation cultivator.
Yet he still could not take Ye Xuan down.
He had also realized that Ye Xuan possessed tremendous explosive power, had opened many spiritual meridians, and had established an enormous dantian.
That was why Ye Xuan could be so powerful and last so long.
But if Ye Xuan thought he could rely on these things to defy the gap in their realms and kill him, Zhu Pi, he was dreaming.
Ye Xuan said nothing at all. He simply kept dodging while searching for an opportunity to strike.
He would either hold his hand or strike to astound!
Once he struck, he had to kill Zhu Pi, or at least severely wound him.
Only then could he eliminate this hidden danger completely.
Of course, this was easy to say, but looked very difficult to accomplish.
But Ye Xuan was in no hurry. He still had a trump card, and he had confidence and conviction.
At one point, Ye Xuan was indeed hindered by his cultivation. His movements slowed a fraction, exposing an obvious opening.
Seeing this, Zhu Pi immediately seized the opportunity, darting forward and throwing a killing punch.
"Die!"
He spat out that icy word, while the wind from his fist had already stirred up waves of killing intent as it blasted toward Ye Xuan's head.
At the sight, Ye Xuan's lowered eyes suddenly lit up.
The next second, he abruptly raised his head and opened his mouth wide.
"Roar-"
A dragon's cry suddenly burst from his mouth. The piercing sound waves seemed to turn into sharp arrows, stabbing straight into Zhu Pi's mind.
Azure Dragon Roar!
At that instant, Zhu Pi felt pain in his soul, and his consciousness briefly blurred.
At the same time, the power of his fierce fist wind abruptly dropped by eighty percent.
This was the moment-
This fleeting instant-
Ye Xuan raised his right index and middle fingers, pointing them forward, and slashed fiercely.
Hum!
The ringing of a sword suddenly resounded.
Using two fingers as a sword, he unleashed Deadly Sword Strike!
Zhu Pi was already affected by Azure Dragon Roar, his consciousness briefly dazed.
Now that Ye Xuan had swiftly unleashed Deadly Sword Strike through his two fingers, how could he possibly dodge?
Although he had been dazed for less than a second, that was already enough for Ye Xuan.
Throughout this long battle, Ye Xuan had never used Azure Dragon Roar, precisely so he could use it against Zhu Pi at the crucial moment.
When Zhu Pi regained his senses, he felt immense danger.
Without hesitation, he chose to retreat,
Retreating frantically!!!
But it was already too late.
Sword light shot out like lightning, vanishing in a flash.
Squelch!
A faint sound rang out. Zhu Pi's retreating body abruptly stopped, turning completely rigid,
Then, with a thud, he toppled to the ground.
Zhu Pi of the Golden Core Realm had fallen!
He had died at the hands of Ye Xuan, who was only at Essence Condensation First Layer!
Only then did the cultivators watching outside regain their senses.
They too had been affected by the sound waves of Azure Dragon Roar, their minds briefly dazed.
By the time they came back to themselves, Zhu Pi was already dead.
As they looked at the dead Zhu Pi, an eerie silence settled over the scene. A falling pin could have been heard.
It was as though time itself had stopped at this moment.
After a brief silence, one of the watching Wheel Sea cultivators finally reacted.
In an instant, excitement filled him, and tears streamed down his aged face.
"Zhu Pi is dead! That heaven-damned bastard is finally dead! Thank you, young hero! Thank you, young hero!"
His voice seemed to set off a chain reaction.
"That old villain Zhu Pi deserved to die! Good riddance! Thank you, young hero, for carrying out Heaven's justice and slaying that fiend."
"Ahhh! He's dead! That old villain Zhu Pi is finally dead! That bastard who deserved a thousand cuts should have died long ago! Thank you for saving our lives, young hero!"
"Young hero, you truly are my great benefactor! You've avenged my daughter! Thank you, young hero! Thank you, benefactor!"
For a time, all the cultivators in the city cupped their fists toward Ye Xuan in gratitude. Many even shed tears of excitement.
No one knew how they had endured all these years, much less what they had experienced.
Had they not already grown attached to this place, had their homes not been here, they would long since have left, unable to bear Zhu Pi's oppression.
"Phew-"
Ye Xuan took a deep breath, a smile appearing on his face as well.
He was dead.
Finally dead.
He had slain a Golden Core cultivator.
With his Essence Condensation First Layer cultivation, he had slain a Golden Core cultivator!
He, Ye Xuan, had done it!
Not far away, two of Zhu Pi's subordinates were still alive.
Both were at Wheel Sea Realm Seventh Layer, and both were Zhu Pi's trusted men.
Zhu Pi had three Wheel Sea Late Stage subordinates in total. Ye Xuan had killed one earlier, but these two had survived.
As they watched this scene, tempestuous waves surged in their hearts, and their expressions turned extremely ugly.
They had never expected that Zhu Pi, a Golden Core Realm cultivator, would die here, at the hands of Ye Xuan, who was only in the Essence Condensation Realm.
Looking at the excited crowd, then at Ye Xuan, who had already lowered his guard, the two exchanged a glance.
A sharp, cold gleam suddenly appeared in their eyes, their killing intent chilling.
The next second, with a whoosh, both lunged madly at Ye Xuan.
They moved as fast as lightning, stirring terrifying currents of air that sent sand and stones flying across the ground.
Fast!
Fast to the extreme!
This scene caught everyone by surprise!