Li Xuan Dies! Gao Hu Dies!

"I... I..."

Gao Hu was sweating profusely, but couldn't think of any reason to refute Li Xuan. In terms of cultivation, background, and potential, he was indeed inferior to his opponent in every way!

[Whom should I help?] The iron sheet was also quickly calculating, [Li Xuan is indeed better off, but Gao Hu is, after all, the first host, and I know him well. If I gamble wrong and help the weaker side, I'll suffer a huge loss...]

For a moment, an eerie three-way standoff formed in the dense forest. Li Xuan was confident of victory, Gao Hu was fearful and uneasy, while the real "referee"—Tie Pian—was secretly weighing his own interests.

Just as the atmosphere froze to its freezing point, a calm voice, like a clear spring, broke the suffocating silence.

"It's so lively!"

Gao Hu and Li Xuan froze simultaneously, then abruptly turned their heads!

Not far away, a figure wearing a straw hat had silently appeared on a treetop, looking down at them.

"Dongfang Yueming?!" Gao Hu exclaimed in shock, his eyes filled with disbelief.

How did he get here?!

A strong sense of crisis instantly welled up in my heart!

Li Xuan's pupils also contracted sharply. He stared intently at Dongfang Yueming, his heart also churning with turbulent emotions!

[It's him! The guy who punched me so badly! What's he doing here?!]

[etc...]

Li Xuan and Gao Hu, almost simultaneously, sensed something was amiss from each other's reactions.

They discovered that the other person's gaze towards Dongfang Yueming was filled with the same deep-seated hatred as their own!

[So, he also had a grudge against Dongfang Yueming?!]

This realization instantly made the standoff between the two more delicate.

[I can't discern his cultivation level...] Gao Hu's mind raced. [Could it be that he also has some incredible opportunity? No, this person is too strange; I absolutely cannot let him live! I must strike first! If I can absorb his power, perhaps I'll have the strength to fight Li Xuan!]

At this thought, a fierce glint flashed in Gao Hu's eyes!

"Dongfang Yueming! Die!"

He ignored Li Xuan and instead unleashed all his killing intent on Dongfang Yueming. His figure transformed into a black shadow, becoming one with his blade, and he charged straight at him!

Seeing this, Li Xuan reacted instantly. He realized that this was a golden opportunity!

[When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman profits! Let them fight first! Ideally, they should both be severely injured!]

He sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he pretended to join forces with Gao Hu, and also activated his true energy to attack Dongfang Yueming from another direction!

Two powerful and malevolent Inner Force energies, coming from two directions, pressed down on that seemingly frail figure like Mount Tai crashing down!

However, despite the combined attack from the two, Dongfang Yueming remained standing firmly on the treetop.

He simply raised his head slowly.

The next moment, an indescribable, vast and profound aura of Grandmaster erupted from his body!

That's not Inner Force, nor is it true qi; it's a higher level of "intention" that resonates with heaven and earth!

"Boom--!"

Gao Hu and Li Xuan felt as if they had crashed into an invisible, ancient divine mountain. Their fierce attacks were as fragile as paper in the face of this aura, and were instantly shattered into pieces!

Both men let out a muffled groan, as if struck by a heavy blow, their bodies flying uncontrollably backward and crashing heavily to the ground, their eyes filled with endless horror and fear!

"Grandmaster... Grandmaster?!"

They never dreamed that their greatest enemy had actually... reached the level of martial arts grandmaster that they had always longed for!

Dongfang Yueming gracefully descended from the treetop, her gaze first falling on Gao Hu.

[Internal Force Realm... something's not right.] He realized, [The Great Xia Dynasty couldn't possibly support such a rapid breakthrough. Could it be that Gao Hu was behind the recent disappearances and draining of the life force of those martial artists?]

His gaze then turned to Li Xuan.

[As for you, whatever your reason for coming to Great Xia, the debt from the Battle of the Python Gate must be repaid.]

Li Xuan, as expected of the Earth Spirit Sect's prodigy, was the first to react after a brief moment of shock. A resolute glint flashed in his eyes, and without the slightest hesitation, he turned into a streak of light and fled frantically!

"Want to leave?"

Dongfang Yueming shook his head.

He snapped his fingers.

A burst of highly concentrated energy, launched later but arriving faster, instantly caught up with Li Xuan and pierced through his back.

Li Xuan's body stiffened in mid-air, his face filled with resentment and disbelief, before he crashed heavily to the ground, Vitality extinguished.

Seeing this, Gao Hu was terrified. He lost all his previous arrogance and ruthlessness and immediately knelt down, frantically kowtowing and begging for mercy.

"Dongfang... no! Senior! Senior, spare my life! Our feud has long been settled!"

"Is it over?" Dongfang Yueming walked step by step to him, her voice calm. "Then why did you try to attack me just now?"

"It's a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!" Gao Hu cried, tears streaming down his face.

Dongfang Yueming shook his head.

He pointed it out.

Gao Hu's pleas for mercy abruptly stopped.

[Unexpectedly, I've managed to eliminate both of my enemies at once.] Dongfang Yueming thought to himself. [But this isn't over yet. The Earth Spirit Sect... I'll be back soon.]

Just then, something unexpected happened!

From Li Xuan's corpse, a broken piece of iron slowly flew out. Immediately afterwards, from Gao Hu's corpse, the iron piece that served as the core also flew out.

The two fragments met in mid-air and instantly merged together, forming a more complete and even more sinister... blood-red cone tip!

[I never imagined that a genius like you would have the last laugh.]

That ancient and hoarse voice rang out once more.

Dongfang Yueming's gaze sharpened.

[It seems that Gao Hu was indeed behind the events in Great Xia. However... this fragment...]

"[Boy, do you want to gain greater power?]" The crimson cone tip hovered in the air, emitting an alluring light.

"Can you give it to me?" Dongfang Yueming asked with great interest.

[Of course! Your vision is too narrow! There's a much wider world beyond Great Xia! Those two people just now achieved such success entirely thanks to me!]

But they're all dead.

[...] The crimson cone tip seemed to choke, then angrily retorted, "[They're trash! You're different!]"

It decided to stop wasting words and forcefully unleash its power!

An incredibly evil aura, filled with tyranny and destructive intent, instantly locked onto Dongfang Yueming!

You cannot resist! Become my host!

However, faced with this evil force, Dongfang Yueming simply shook his head.

He slowly raised his hand.

"Sizzle--!"

A dazzling bolt of lightning danced in his palm!

Lightning Prison Star-Shattering Hammer! The Perfection Realm!

The supremely powerful and masculine force of thunder is the natural nemesis of this evil power!

The crimson cone tip seemed to have encountered its natural enemy, letting out a terrified scream: [Thunder... the True Intent of Lightning?! No! Stop!]

It struggled frantically, trying to escape.

But Dongfang Yueming gave it no chance. He clenched his fist, and the violent power of thunder instantly engulfed it!

[Spare me... spare me...]

Amidst the piercing pleas for mercy, the ancient consciousness within the crimson cone was completely purified and erased by the power of thunder!

In the end, only a strange cone tip, dark red in color and emitting a faint blood-red glow, remained, quietly floating in Dongfang Yueming's palm.

Dongfang Yueming could sense that the material of the cone tip was extraordinary, and it seemed to contain some kind of extremely pure energy.