Translator: Sparrow Translations  Editor: Sparrow Translations

Upon seeing Xiao Yan, the Marquis of Jinghuan frowned. "You again? Hold on! Don"t tell me you obtained your Nanming Primordial Fire from her?" The Marquis of Jinghuan"s cheeks twitched as though he clenched his teeth. "So, that"s what happened. I should have realized this sooner."

He snickered at Xiao Yan. "I originally intended to keep you alive until you grew nice and plump before killing you, but it looks like I should just get rid of you right here and now."

Xiao Yan sneered back. "Did you think that I don"t intend to kill you when I told you to scram? I"ll slay you again and again no matter how many times you die for even harbouring the thought of harming Zhener. I only told you to scram because this is just one of your avatars. If you were here yourself, I would have obliterated you instantly."

The Marquis of Jinghuan sized up Xiao Yan. "Did your confidence implode after eradicating the Yu Family? You look just like a parvenu. The Leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders must be ashamed to have his disciples behaving like this. You seem to have forgotten that if not for the help from your master"s Abhijina, the Xuanming Holy Man Yu Xintao would have crushed you with ease when you attacked the Yu Family"s ancestral grounds. Stopping you wouldn"t even require someone in the Immortal Soul stage like Yu Xintao. You wouldn"t even break through the Yu Family"s Xuanming Formation with your powers alone."

Xiao Yan replied coldly, "Cut the c.r.a.p. Since you"re not leaving, then don"t leave."

The Marquis of Jinghuan turned around and fixed his gaze on Yue Hongyan. He tutted and exclaimed in adulation after scanning her, "The Celestial Sect of Wonders truly produces great talent. It"s indeed rare to find someone so gifted being such an exceptional beauty as well. After seeing you, I suddenly don"t want to kill Xiao Yan anymore, but you"ll have to come with me."

Yue Hongyan gradually raised her sword-like eyebrows, her eyes flaring with fury. "Why should I bother? Everything will be settled if I just beat you to death right now."

She had only one reaction to the Marquis of Jinghuan"s proposal: kill him!

Without hesitation, terrifying Avīci Infernal Gales gushed up around her, morphing into boundless red light which cloaked her body as she charged towards the Marquis of Jinghuan with incredible speed.

The Marquis of Jinghuan extended his arms straight out and joined his palms, then sliced them forcefully outwards to each side. His immense physical power transformed into an attacking energy pulse which dissipated the Avīci Infernal Gales surrounding Yue Hongyan"s body, exposing the true capacity of her strength.

Yue Hongyan"s expression remained unchanged, but her gaze became a lot more serious. The Marquis of Jinghuan"s avatar might just be a plain clone but it was in no way weak, being already in the Middle Aurous Core stage. His avatar similarly specialized in the Martial Way, br.i.m.m.i.n.g with exuberant energy like that of a dragon. All the pores on his body vibrated incessantly, seemingly having taken on a life of their own.

This was the strongest opponent that Yue Hongyan has ever encountered since she began cultivation.

He possessed superb mastery in the Divine Martial Way of the Muscular Body. Having led his troops through countless battles over hundreds of years, he has acc.u.mulated an incomparably rich amount of combat experience, combined with unwavering determination and confidence. Just his imposing manner alone, formed from his blazing murderous intent along with his fort.i.tude a

nd fighting spirit, could immobilize hordes of Aurous Core cultivators and drain them of their will to fight before they even make a single move.

Yue Hongyan remained composed, not halting her attacks. She lifted her right hand then abruptly slammed it down!

The Marquis of Jinghuan made no attempt to dodge, and instead swung his arm, throwing his clenched fist forward like a huge cannon which flew straight towards the centre of Yue Hongyan"s palm!

A seemingly simple punch like this packed incredible power. Just this motion alone sent an ear-piercing shrill reverberating through the air, leaving a faint burnt odour in its wake. The iron fist ignited all the s.p.a.ce it chafed in its way.

Yue Hongyan immediately realized that she would suffer a greater disadvantage if she took the punch head-on. Her palm could be instantly punctured as though it was pierced by a spear.

She let out a war-cry and maintained her posture, but the force of her palm erupted right before the two sides collided.

The s.p.a.ce seemingly detonated with a deafening blast. The resulting explosiveness and impact was so great that the Marquis of Jinghuan could not stand firmly on the ground after nearly being blown backwards. His relentless fist was instantly thrown off its original path slightly by the burst of power.

The Marquis of Jinghuan raised his eyebrows and persisted on his attack, unleas.h.i.+ng his fist fearlessly towards Yue Hongyan"s body!

Yue Hongyan was forced to change her strategy earlier than intended. Although she has lost several opportunities to retaliate, she remained calm nonetheless. She inhaled a deep breath and briefly withdrew her right palm before raising her left palm, attempting to clasp the middle of the Marquis of Jinghuan"s arm with both hands.

The Marquis of Jinghuan instantly determined that Yue Hongyan"s hands could break his arm into three before he could land a strike on Yue Hongyan"s body. Seemingly unmoved, the Marquis of Jinghuan snickered and lifted his charging fist up high to avoid Yue Hongyan"s hands, then forced it down towards Yue Hongyan"s forehead like a bowing phoenix. Simultaneously, he took another step forward and invaded Yue Hongyan"s line of defence, throwing out his other cannon-like arm and thrusting it towards Yue Hongyan"s belly like a venomous dragon bolting out from its lair.

A fine ray of light flashed across Yue Hongyan"s eyes. All the pores and cavities on her body vibrated violently, and her pent-up rage and energy all burst forth at once. Both her arms, lined horizontally before her chest, accurately seized the Marquis of Jinghuan"s fist, clutching it from above and below.

This was the first time the two sides collided head-on. The violent outburst of power shook them both so vigorously that they s.h.i.+vered in shock. Yue Hongyan m.u.f.fled a grunt, having suffered at a more severe blow, being only in the Beginner Aurous Core stage.

But Yue Hongyan only adopted one battle style: to never back down! Attack, attack, and attack again!

As she strenuously endured the pain of her bones and joints buckling and cracking from shock, she advanced a step forward and tilted her body to one side, lowered her shoulder, and bashed it into the Marquis of Jinghuan"s chest!

The Marquis of Jinghuan"s eyes flickered with admiration and followed suit, similarly sinking his shoulder and taking the blow straight on. How could Yue Hongyan be so easily overpowered by her opponent again right after she finally managed to clinch a tiny edge for herself?

She rode the force from the collision and with a twist of her body, she briefly widened the gap between her and the Marquis of Jinghuan. Using the momentum of her spin, she lifted her leg up and crashed it down towards his knee!

If her kick successfully lands on the centre of the Marquis of Jinghuan"s kneecap, his leg would definitely be broken into two regardless of his Middle Aurous Core mastery or his formidable physical prowess, without a doubt!

The Marquis of Jinghuan sneered and leapt into the air, nimbly dodging Yue Hongyan"s kick while somersaulting through the air, pulling the distance between them even wider and reorganizing himself for the second round.

Although Yue Hongyan"s attack gained her a brief advantage, this move was like a torrential gus.h.i.+ng river, raging out of control. Upon seeing the Marquis of Jinghuan still in mid-air, Yue Hongyan smirked. The Black Ember Poleaxe was already clutched in her hand, which morphed into a vortex of black flames and formed the Apocalyptic Spear Technique which fired mercilessly at the still-airborne Marquis.

The Marquis of Jinghuan laughed and made no attempt to dodge the incoming attack. He flipped out his palm, revealing his three-meter long Great Golden Poleaxe. He spun his body mid-air and drove his poleaxe towards the centre of Yue Hongyan"s Black Ember Poleaxe with lightning speed!

His Great Golden Poleaxe was undoubtedly a Nascent Soul stage magic item.

The Marquis of Jinghuan"s fighting spirit escalated to violent levels as his mana energy and hardened pa.s.sion for martial arts fused together, creating a gargantuan dark-gold dragon which let out a thunderous roar.

This leviathan looked starkly different from usual dragons. It wore a single giant horn on its head, six talons, and a pair of enormous wings like those of a ferocious raptor. Each of its four eyes shot out a sinister faint blue glow, exuding an intimidating and vicious aura.

The image of this peculiar golden dragon bounded and rolled in midair. All its energy has already merged as one with the Great Golden Poleaxe. The tip of the poleaxe resembled the lone horn on the dragon"s head, emanating an all-conquering quality as it penetrated towards the heart of the blazing black vortex.

The Nascent Soul stage magic item surged through the s.p.a.ce, as if traversing s.p.a.ce to perform an a.s.sa.s.sination. Its immense power ruptured the s.p.a.ce and was about to rip Yue Hongyan"s black vortex into shreds.

"Do you think I"m afraid of you?" Yue Hongyan grinned boldly as the top of her head glowed with a blinding white light. At the centre of the white light lay a glistening crown which projected two spectres - one majestic and holy, the other malicious and overbearing. Both images fused to create a violent wave of energy that would tear the s.p.a.ce apart at any moment.

This was the Nascent Soul stage magic item: The Golden Crown of Angels and Demons!

Using the boost from the crown"s spiritual energy, Yue Hongyan bore no fear for her opponent"s Great Golden Poleaxe and pushed her own strength to the limit. Red Avīci Infernal Gales and the black vortex swirled as one, speedily morphing into a huge ball.

This was the new Divine Martial Way of the Muscular Body that Yue Hongyan invented and derived from internalizing the Great Celestial Way of the Eight Trigrams after she advanced to the Aurous Core stage.

The Tri Avīci Slaughtering Spear Technique, rise!

To the Marquis of Jinghuan, it was as if he witnessed a dark crimson sun steadily rising from the horizon, like the first sight of the morning sun! But this sun did not bring warmth and life, instead bringing endless destruction and catastrophe. Its haunting red light rays had the power of draining the souls of people.

"Clang! Clang!"

The two great poleaxes collided violently in mid-air, creating a formidable blast impact that made even Xiao Yan and s.h.i.+ Tianhao cast a sidelong glance. The shattered light scattered in all directions, slicing the surrounding s.p.a.ce to pieces.

Amidst the light, the Black Ember Poleaxe in Yue Hongyan"s grip exploded to smithereens. On the other side, the Marquis of Jinghuan suffered a worse plight. The weapon he held in his right hand burst into a cloud of blood. The Great Golden Poleaxe was immediately blown off his hand!

Yue Hongyan forcefully suppressed his boiling blood and let out a low grunt. He instantly reached out to grab the Great Golden Poleaxe that flew out of his hand. The power of the Golden Crown of Angels and Demons was suppressed such that the Marquis of Jinghuan completely could not recover from the attack.

"Let go!" He bellowed as he charged forward.

Xiao Yan scoffed at one side. "Scram!"

With that, he volleyed a single punch towards the Marquis of Jinghuan. Layers upon layers of shock waves that collapse and obliterate everything to mere fragments - the Crash of the Eight Trigrams.

At this point, a glowing light flickered through the s.p.a.ce as the real Marquis of Jinghuan himself rushed to the scene. An extremely vigorous and overpowering force plummeted down unhesitatingly to block Xiao Yan"s Crash of the Eight Trigrams head-on.

s.h.i.+ Tianhao, who was standing behind Xiao Yan, chuckled softly. "Big Senior, you haven"t met Sister Zhener for such a long time. Now that you"ve reunited with her, every moment together counts. She is experiencing the Thunder Tribulations now, so go ahead and protect her. Leave this scoundrel to me."

With that, s.h.i.+ Tianhao took a step forward as his physical energy spiked to dangerous levels and shook the surrounding s.p.a.ce. His Heavenly Hammer of the Eight Trigrams clashed mercilessly against the real Marquis of Jinghuan.

The surrounding s.p.a.ce ruptured in a deafening blast and was seemingly blown to nothingness!