Battle with Zhou Fan

A blazing sun fell into the mortal world, and in an instant, heaven and earth lost their color as all things burned to ash.

Zhou Fan watched everything without the slightest change in expression. His hands slowly clenched as golden spiritual energy swept out from his body like a storm. The spiritual energy he cultivated carried a sharpness akin to a blade.

"Spirit Severing Wave!"

With one foot planted on the ground, Zhou Fan shot into the sky, heading directly toward the blazing sun.

Cracks spread across the ground Zhou Fan had stepped on, forcing the spectators who had been watching nearby to hurriedly retreat several hundred meters before they could steady themselves.

Li Jing, Guo Xiong, and the others watched Zhou Fan soar into the sky. When they saw his blade-like palm split the blazing sun in the sky cleanly in two, their faces filled with shock.

"Is Zhou Fan's strength really this terrifying?"

Though neither of them had been King-Sealed, they had still been among the finest of the second tier on the Spirit Road. They had always been somewhat unconvinced by those who had managed to become King-Sealed.

Unless it was someone like Li Xuantong, Crane Demon, or Su Xuan, whose absolute talent and strength could make them sincerely submit, Zhou Fan clearly did not seem to possess such ability...

Yet now that they saw him today, Zhou Fan was also this terrifying. It seemed they had underestimated the people of the world in the past.

While the two wore shocked expressions, Su Xuan softly said, "Don't think of him as too frightening. Zhou Fan's talent can only be considered slightly above Middle among the many King-Sealed Prodigies. The reason he seems so powerful is because he has broken through to the Heaven Fusion Realm..."

"Even at the initial stage of the Heaven Fusion Realm, one can mobilize the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within several hundred meters for one's own use. Combined with his attacks, it is not strange for him to achieve this."

"Besides, although Liu Bai's move is powerful, his cultivation is too low for him to fully unleash the might of the Great Sun Sea Burning Palm. If he could break through to the Three Heavens Realm, the instant that blazing sun appeared, this entire Ice Valley would likely melt away. Would Zhou Fan still dare to act so arrogantly then?"

The strength of a Spirit-grade High-tier spiritual art lay in its ability to allow its wielder to draw upon more spiritual energy from heaven and earth to enhance its power. This also meant that cultivators below the Three Heavens Realm simply could not unleash its complete strength...

This was one of the reasons Liu Bai had not been in a hurry to improve the two Spirit-grade High-tier spiritual arts he had mastered.

Even so, after Liu Bai had spent a great deal of experience to raise the Great Sun Sea Burning Palm to Great Accomplishment, he had gained the confidence to face a Heaven Fusion Realm expert in battle.

Boom!

The blazing sun burned through the heavens!

The blazing sun that Zhou Fan had split apart with a Spirit Severing Wave exploded with a thunderous roar. Terrifying flames spread across a hundred-meter radius. Even the thousand-year ice around them melted beneath the blast, only to turn into water vapor and evaporate.

Zhou Fan spun and landed on the ground, but a closer look revealed that the attack had still left quite a few burn marks on his body.

Liu Bai's figure was likewise swallowed by the flames from the explosion. Yet to everyone's surprise, just as Zhou Fan had steadied himself, a figure had already appeared at his side.

The newcomer clenched his hand into a fist, and three Black Light Seals flashed one after another above it.

A trace of surprise flashed through Zhou Fan's eyes.

In his vision, Liu Bai's body, which had supposedly been blasted away, slowly faded... At some unknown point, what remained there had only been an afterimage!

Blazing Step, Fire Illusion Body!

At the same time, the three Senluo Death Seals erupted with black light and transformed into a streak of black radiance that shot straight ahead. Tyrannical spiritual energy rippled outward, warping even the air.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The three Senluo Death Seals abruptly exploded just as they were about to strike Zhou Fan. Layers of black ripples spread outward like overlapping waves.

With the tyrannical power of the Senluo Death Seal, it produced an incredibly terrifying effect whether used in close combat or for a sneak attack. Combined with Liu Bai's perfect-level Blazing Step, it was truly unstoppable!

Feeling the terrifying force of the explosions at his side, Zhou Fan was startled. The spiritual energy within his body erupted at once, and after a terrifying beastly roar, his entire body shot backward nearly a hundred meters.

Although he looked somewhat disheveled, he had completely evaded Liu Bai's sudden strike without suffering even the slightest injury.

"Was that... the Spirit Beast Core Zhou Fan fused with?" Liu Bai recalled the beastly roar that had sounded beside his ear in that instant. At that moment, he had seemed to feel as if a fierce tiger were staring at him.

"It seems Zhou Fan encountered another opportunity and obtained a Spirit Beast more suitable for him. That must be why he was able to break through to the Heaven Fusion Realm before the others."

It seemed Liu Bai's arrival had also had a considerable influence on this generation of the Northern Azure Spirit Academy. At the very least, An Ran, who had obtained the Northern Nether Golden Patterned Eagle ahead of time, and Zhou Fan, who had encountered this opportunity, would likely follow paths different from those in the original story.

At the very least, the former definitely would not have to wait another three years before breaking through to the Heaven Fusion Realm...

After confirming that Zhou Fan still had stronger hidden power, Liu Bai no longer hesitated. He slightly closed his eyes, raised a hand, and sent streams of Spirit Seals flying out.

In the blink of an eye, three Spirit Arrays had completely taken shape. The hissing of snakes, the howling of wolves, and the rumble of thunder echoed throughout Ice Valley. Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought the place was under siege by Spirit Beasts.

"Spirit Arrays?"

Zhou Fan sneered coldly.

He knew Liu Bai was a Spirit Array Master, so he had long been on guard. He simply had not expected Liu Bai to rapidly set up only three First-Grade Spirit Arrays...

Are you trying to stop me with these, just to buy yourself more time to set up arrays?

How naive!

Watching the wolf spirits and Fire Serpents flying through the sky amid the rumble of nine-heaven thunder, a layer of golden scales seemed to cover Zhou Fan's right palm. Then, he threw a punch toward the three Spirit Arrays.

Roar!

Amid a murderous roar that shot into the heavens, a Qilin-like ferocious beast clad entirely in golden armor roared forth. Opening its mouth, it unleashed a golden beam of light that swept across the skies, wiping out the three Spirit Arrays in one stroke!

"That is... the Heavenly Profound Golden Scale Beast!" Su Xuan cried out as she stared at the golden-armored Qilin-shaped Spirit Beast.

The Heavenly Profound Golden Scale Beast was ranked sixtieth on the Earth Ranking of the Myriad Beast Record. A fully mature one could reach Half-Step Heaven Transformation Realm strength. Though it could not compare to Su Xuan's own Sea Spirit Merman, she knew very well that she had mainly benefited from her family's resources. How else could she have obtained such a Spirit Beast Core on her own?

But Zhou Fan was different. He had obtained this item through his own luck and strength when he entered the Northern Cang Realm.

Whether or not he had simply stumbled into outrageous luck, this was still a display of strength.

She simply did not know how a ranked Spirit Beast like this could still exist within the Northern Cang Realm...

After all, barring certain special circumstances, even someone like Li Xuantong would struggle to escape unscathed if he encountered a Heavenly Profound Golden Scale Beast!

Su Xuan's guess was not wrong. The Northern Azure Spirit Academy certainly would not place a living Heavenly Profound Golden Scale Beast inside the Northern Cang Realm. But this was an ancient small world that had existed for countless years, and there were inevitably undiscovered treasures hidden within. If someone found one by chance, it could indeed give them an opportunity to soar into the heavens.

And over the past hundred-odd years, Zhou Fan had become that sole fortunate one...

Boom!

With an explosion, the three Spirit Arrays Liu Bai had set up were shattered by a single strike.

Cold light flickered in Zhou Fan's eyes. As he controlled the Golden Scale to continue attacking, he coldly said, "Are these scraps all you have? Where is the Spirit Array you used atop that snowy mountain? Why don't you dare bring it out?"

"As you wish!"

Liu Bai's eyes suddenly opened. The Spirit Seals he had prepared long ago flew from his hand and swiftly traced out a massive golden array in midair.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Amid intense humming, five enormous golden wheels flew out of the Spirit Array. Carrying mottled serrated flames, they spun as they sliced toward the Golden Scale.

Whoosh!

The five golden wheels were incredibly fast. Most people could only see a flash of golden light pass through their vision, along with faint torn marks left in the sky.

Many members of the Zhou Gang still felt lingering fear when they saw this scene. Back on that snowy mountain, quite a few of them had been sent away by this Second-Grade Spirit Array. Even a single golden wheel would likely have been difficult for an early Divine Soul Realm cultivator to withstand.

Now that all five wheels were attacking Zhou Fan at once, they could not help worrying for their boss.

However, Liu Bai's attack did not end there.

Though the Five Wheel Sky Splitting Array was powerful, it was not enough to threaten a Heaven Fusion Realm expert, even one who had only recently broken through...

At that moment, Liu Bai's entire right arm had turned a dim grayish-white, like the toughest stone.

"Stone Dragon Break!"

Liu Bai threw a punch. Vast spiritual energy gushed forth, accompanied by a deep dragon's roar. Grayish-white spiritual energy condensed into a horned stone dragon with claws and fangs, shattering the air as it viciously charged at Zhou Fan.

Bang! Bang!

Even the air exploded beneath the force of that punch, forming arcs of air that intertwined before the charging stone dragon.

This was not any spiritual art Liu Bai cultivated. Rather, it was an offensive method he had gained after fusing with the Earth Spirit Stone Python. It bore a similar principle to the Heavenly Chosen Golden Scale Zhou Fan had unleashed earlier.

Judging from the shape formed by the spiritual energy, it was called a stone dragon, but it should really have been a stone flood dragon or stone python. However, neither of those sounded as imposing, so it was simply called a "stone dragon."

Watching the Golden Scale be shattered by the five golden wheels and the stone dragon, Zhou Fan did not grow angry. Instead, he laughed.

"Heh. It seems your strength ends here."

A gleam of pride flashed through Zhou Fan's eyes.

"You exhausted all your strength, yet you could only block one casual punch from me. What will you use to fight me next?!"

Liu Bai's expression remained calm, but he sneered inwardly.

You really have become carried away... Have you already forgotten how I snatched the Northern Nether Golden Patterned Eagle's Spirit Beast Core from the hands of several hundred Zhou Gang members?

The moment those words were spoken, boundless killing intent suddenly erupted from Zhou Fan's eyes. The chill radiating from his body was even colder than Ice Valley itself!

"Good, good. Carried away? Then let me show you what being carried away really means!"

Zhou Fan suddenly stomped the ground. Powerful spiritual energy surged explosively from his body, gathering behind him before transforming into a four-legged giant beast shimmering with golden light.

The enormous beast stood dozens of zhang tall. Its four claws were as sharp as Eagle Claws, dragon horns grew from its head, and its entire body was covered in gleaming golden scales. A fiery-red mane also ran down its back.

The instant the giant beast appeared, golden flames abruptly rose beneath its four feet. The surrounding temperature suddenly soared, and even the ice beneath its feet directly vaporized...

The Heavenly Profound Golden Scale Beast, ranked sixtieth on the Earth Ranking, fully erupted with its rightful might at that moment!

"It truly is terrifying..." Liu Bai murmured.

Among those present, perhaps only Su Xuan, who possessed the Sea Spirit Merman, could firmly overpower him.

"However, my array has also been completed..."

As his voice fell, a massive array suddenly enveloped everything within a hundred-zhang radius.

Looking at the mysterious patterns in the sky, even the Zhou Gang members standing outside the great array could feel its terrifying aura. Their faces were all filled with shock.

"This is... the Demon Vine Strangling Array? But this array diagram is incomplete. Could an incomplete Third-Grade Spirit Array really be this powerful?" Li Jing looked utterly bewildered.

When Liu Bai had used this array while hunting the Snow Demon Beast earlier, it had not seemed nearly as powerful as it was now.

Su Xuan merely smiled lightly at this. Under Li Jing and the others' puzzled gazes, she calmly said, "You do not truly think that the demon vines capable of suppressing a Snow Demon Beast could be summoned by a Second-Grade Spirit Array, do you?"

"Although I do not know how Liu Bai accomplished it, judging solely from its power, the array he set up is definitely a complete Third-Grade Spirit Array. Moreover, it combines a trapping array and killing array into one. Even among Third-Grade Spirit Arrays, it is an exceptional one."

"I'm afraid this is also his greatest trump card for daring to face Zhou Fan directly."

There was only one thing Su Xuan did not mention. After setting up three First-Grade Spirit Arrays and one Second-Grade Spirit Array, Liu Bai had still managed to easily set up a Third-Grade Spirit Array. He had even unleashed all sorts of powerful spiritual arts in between. Could his spiritual energy truly be inexhaustible?

Moreover, for someone at the Divine Soul Realm Late Stage not only to set up a Third-Grade Spirit Array, but to do so during such close-quarters combat without anyone noticing, this method was far beyond that of an ordinary Spirit Array Master.

There simply were no other Spirit Array Masters present, so no one understood Array Dao Realm concepts such as the Heart Array. Otherwise, they would definitely have recognized that Liu Bai's Array Dao Realm had advanced by leaps and bounds once more, reaching Heart Array Advanced!