High in the sky, Xiao Yan's eyes were filled with a violent glint, and his gaze turned cold as he looked down. Soon, he locked onto one person.
Xiao Yan's gaze swept across the group quickly, immediately locking onto a short, stout old man among the five. The latter was the weakest of the five at the moment, and also the one Xiao Yan could be sure of defeating the fastest.
Having locked onto his target, Xiao Yan immediately unleashed the Heavenly Severing Steps, arriving in front of the short, stout old man in the blink of an eye.
" Yellow Springs Palm!"
Xiao Yan Xiao Yan the giant ruler in his right hand, bent his left arm and raised it behind his ear, and surging Dou Qi burst forth from his palm, quickly condensing into a crystal palm that looked almost tangible.
The instant the crystal palm was fully formed, Xiao Yan unleashed a powerful palm strike at the approaching old man.
Faced with Xiao Yan, who launched the first attack, the old man naturally understood the reason behind it, but after all, he was Eight-Star Half-Emperor and was quite confident in his own strength.
Just as Xiao Yan's palm struck, the old man finally made a move.
The old man's forward-rushing figure suddenly stopped in mid-air. He clenched his fist in mid-air, and Dou Qi surged from his palm, quickly condensing into an axe-hammer in his hand.
The old man gripped the axe and hammer, and with a burst of strength in his arm, his solid muscles bulged high, bursting through his sleeves and exposing his thick arms to the air.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed slightly. He hadn't expected that the short, stout old man in front of him was actually a fellow with considerable physical cultivation.
Unfortunately, no matter how strong his physical cultivation was, he could not escape death today!
"You brat, prepare to die! Human Class Dou Technique, One Hammer Settles the Sound!"
As the shout fell, the old man swung his axe and hammer upwards, the square, heavy hammerhead directly meeting Xiao Yan's palm. The fierce wind constantly compressed the air, and ear-piercing sonic booms continued to emanate.
"Clang!"
The next instant, accompanied by a metallic clang like the tolling of a bell, the invisible void was instantly stirred up by waves of space, which swept rapidly in all directions from Xiao Yan and the short, fat old man as the center.
The deafening roar was like a bolt from the blue. Not long after the spatial waves swept across, an even more terrifying wave of Dou Qi swept across the entire sky. This time, even the boundless mountain range below was not spared from being caught in the crossfire. With just one strike, a huge crater appeared in the mountain range.
At the same time, as the energy storm swept out, the other four people around also changed their expressions and moved backward, staring solemnly at the center that was obscured by the energy storm, where two extremely powerful auras were still clashing fiercely.
"Click!"
Unfortunately, although Xiao Yan was quite strong, the short, stout old man was, after all, Eight-Star Half-Emperor. Moreover, the Dou Technique he was using was superior to Xiao Yan's Yellow Springs Palm. Therefore, Xiao Yan was temporarily defeated in this clash.
With a crisp cracking sound, a tiny crack appeared on Xiao Yan's Yellow Springs Palm.
"Bang!"
As the energy storm dissipated, two figures in the sky retreated rapidly.
Xiao Yan retreated a thousand feet, looking somewhat disheveled. He stomped his feet hard on the void, each step causing the mountains below to collapse. One could imagine the terrifying power Xiao Yan was enduring.
When Xiao Yan finally managed to stop himself, he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of bright red blood. His already pale face turned deathly white in an instant.
It has to be said that Eight-Star Half-Emperor is indeed Eight-Star Half-Emperor. Even though Xiao Yan is not weak, the difference in cultivation level still gave the latter a considerable advantage. However, in Xiao Yan's eyes, it was nothing more than that.
"Cough cough..."
After coughing twice, Xiao Yan finally raised his head and looked at the short, stout old man opposite him, whose expression remained unchanged.
Compared to Xiao Yan, the short, stout old man was much better off, so when he looked at Xiao Yan, he couldn't help but reveal a mocking smile.
"Hahahaha! Xiao Yan, it seems you can only rely on your words. Without your tricks, you have no chance against me!"
The short, stout old man laughed arrogantly, as if defeating Xiao Yan was something he was very proud of. However, when he mocked Xiao Yan, he seemed to have forgotten that for most people, defeating a Five-Star Half-Emperor like Xiao Yan with his Eight-Star Half-Emperor strength was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Heh, is that so? I remember telling you before that unwarranted arrogance comes at a price, but it seems you haven't remembered my words. In that case, let me show you with my actions!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. Only then did he suddenly swing his right hand, which had been gripping the Heavy Xuan Ruler, out with great force. As his Dou Qi spirit shot out, the pitch-black ruler was covered with dazzling Heavenly Flames.
The heavy ruler made a hissing sound as it cut through the air, and the strong wind pressure made it hard to breathe even from a distance.
" Sevenfold Heaven-Breaking Ruler, two feet!"
Suddenly, Xiao Yan let out a thunderous roar, and the giant ruler in his hand swept across the void in front of him. The terrifying ruler light swept towards the short, fat old man like a raging wave on the sea, with overwhelming momentum.
However, the short, stout old man couldn't help but sneer. If Xiao Yan had attacked before he could react, he might not have been able to withstand it. But unfortunately, Xiao Yan didn't do that. Instead, he faced Xiao Yan head-on and clashed with him directly. In this way, Xiao Yan had no room for worry.
"Haha, Xiao Yan, you'd better surrender obediently. Your attack can't possibly hurt me!"
The short, stout old man sneered, then swung his massive axe again, the blade facing upwards. The sharp aura caused invisible ripples to spread through the surrounding void.
"Try this move of mine, Human Class Intermediate Level Dou Technique: Split Mountains and Sever Seas!"
As the short, stout old man's shout fell, he swung his axe hammer upwards with a fierce motion. Instantly, a deafening sonic boom resounded. The invisible void seemed to be split in two by this axe, and the air in its path was blocked, leaving only a vacuum of Void Space.
With the enhancement of Dou Qi, the sharpness of the axe blade became even more terrifying, and an aura of righteous power spread out from it, making people tremble at the mere mention of it. The power of this axe strike was probably something that even a strong person of the same level would not dare to easily take, let alone Xiao Yan.
When Xiao Yan sensed the terrifying aura emanating from the axe, his expression changed slightly. The axe's strength far exceeded his expectations. However, even so, it did not change Xiao Yan's determination to kill both of them.
"Hahaha, fine, you treat me with respect, I'll repay you tenfold!"
The next moment, Xiao Yan, who had been looking solemn, suddenly let out a wild laugh full of arrogance. Then, he swung the giant ruler in his hand again, swinging it three feet at a time, and then four feet at a time, making it even more powerful. Even the four people outside the battle circle couldn't help but show a solemn expression on their faces when they saw this.
Even for them, the power of such a bombardment is not to be underestimated.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the magnificent ruler-shaped beam of light and the equally menacing giant axe rapidly approached each other, and then, in the next moment, they clashed fiercely.
"Boom!"
The result of a clash between two equally matched Dou Technique was mutual destruction.
The next moment, an energy storm that blotted out the sky swept outwards like a giant wave, and the clear blue sky suddenly changed color, obscured by a misty energy storm.
At this moment, even the four Half-Emperor on the outer perimeter couldn't help but change their expressions drastically. They twisted their bodies and ran wildly into the distance as if fleeing. When they gazed at this terrifying energy storm from afar, their eyes were filled with nothing but endless terror.
Wave after wave of energy storms roared for more than ten minutes. During this time, the world was ravaged. The four Half-Emperor had no choice but to use their Dou Qi to temporarily seal off the space within the range of the energy storms.
After a long time, just as the terrifying energy storm was about to dissipate, another terrifying storm of Heavenly Flames, no less powerful than the former, swept out once again from the center of the battle circle.
Within the space that had been sealed off by the four Half-Emperor, rings of fiery lotus petals gradually rose into the air, growing larger in the wind.
When the layers of fiery lotus petals were completely pieced together to form a giant Fire Lotus, the Dou Qi shield condensed by the four Eight-Star Half-Emperor was forcibly blasted apart uncontrollably.
"Bang!"
The Heavenly Flames storm utterly destroyed the Dou Qi shield formed by the combined efforts of the four Half-Emperor. Then, the energy dissipated, transforming into waves of heat that swept in all directions across the sky.
Feeling the terrifying heat from the heatwave, the four Half-Emperor couldn't help but turn red in the face, their hearts filled with horror.
The power of the Heavenly Flames was truly terrifying; its eruption was so powerful that even they felt a sense of unease.
They couldn't even imagine what would have happened to them if they had been in the very center of that storm of Heavenly Flames.
When the storm finally subsided, the group looked up with lingering fear. All they could see was an endless, pitch-black Endless Void. Under the storm of Heavenly Flames, this entire void was destined to collapse.
After the four men's gazes swept across the entire void, they were filled with horror to discover that the short, stout old man was nowhere to be seen.
This result can only mean one thing: the short, stout old man has already died!
It's even highly possible that not even a body was left behind!
"Dead... dead?!"
The four Half-Emperor' expressions froze slightly, then they all couldn't help but exclaim in shock. It was unimaginable that an Eight-Star Half-Emperor, who had been so imposing just a moment ago, saying he would take down Xiao Yan, had become his dead body in just a short while...
Only at this moment did the four of them recall the words Xiao Yan had said when they first met him.
"Including you, the number of Eight-Star Half-Emperor who have died by my hand should be on your fingers."
Therefore, this statement is not entirely unfounded.
Unfounded arrogance can really cost them dearly, to the point that it can even cost them their lives.