Several magical defenses shattered instantly, and the formidable hand continued its descent! Tearing through the whirlwind barrier sent rolling thunder booming through the air.
Die! In an instant, Qian Wutian's mind flashed through every event of his life—a peculiar sensation surged in his heart: Breakthrough!
Qian Wutian had never been so close to death. Even his specialized training had never brought him this near to the abyss. In the span of a thousandth of a second, every fragment of his life surfaced, strangely coalescing into a nascent sign of breakthrough.
Alas! Qian Wutian sighed inwardly at the same time. This realization for a breakthrough had come too late! To capitalize on this insight and achieve the breakthrough required time. To calm his heart and immerse himself in careful contemplation for several days might bring about the true breakthrough.
Breaking through amidst battle? That existed only in legendary tales, perhaps achievable only through the awakening of one's bloodline power. Such life-and-death realization needed time to digest.
But this time... Qian Wutian's eyes flickered with unwillingness—there was no time!
"Qian Jin!"
A chilling, killing intent suddenly erupted from behind Qian Wutian! A ferocious surge of power, like a high-speed impact from an electric carriage, was already upon him!
Surging Dou Qi, a biting killing intent, the power of the Nine Demon Slaying Battles! In a single instant, like a massive wave crashing, it exploded entirely from Qian Chenyu, who had suddenly rushed out from behind Qian Wutian.
Kill Qian Jin! Even if it meant facing family sanctions, even execution by the clan—he had to kill Qian Jin! Qian Chenyu's eyes were fixed only on Qian Jin; he struck with savage suddenness, without any warning!
The transparent air surrounding Qian Jin instantly exhibited a slight, visible distortion! The refraction of sunlight made Qian Jin appear slightly warped for a moment, and the dust motes floating in the air—
They all plummeted to the ground like stones, rather than drifting slowly down.
Gravity! Pan Hongji’s heart stirred. This was the true face of the Kūn Dou Technique, the supreme secret art of the Qian family, which was never taught outside the lineage! Anyone possessing the Elven King bloodline, even without activating their dormant power, could manifest a mere trace of it! But those who had awakened the Elven King bloodline power could unleash its full might!
Five times gravity! The moment Qian Chenyu attacked, he unleashed the peak level of the Kūn Dou Technique he could manage. The gravity surrounding Qian Jin abruptly intensified fivefold.
Chhh, chhh, chhh, chhh... Under five times the gravity, Qian Jin’s high-speed movement created friction with the air that seemed intent on ripping his clothes apart. The ankles and toes planted on the ground began to vibrate violently!
Myriad Shadows! A simplified version of Myriad Shadows!
The pressure Qian Wutian had just felt lessen suddenly swelled once more. A faint, almost imperceptible black shadow streaked across the ground at high speed!
“Suffer this!”
Qian Jin’s palm landed squarely on Qian Wutian’s chest just before Qian Chenyu’s attack arrived. Surging Dou Qi erupted immediately, shattering the protection of the Second-Tier Stone Skin magic barrier in an instant, and then piercing through several protective spells Qian Wutian had hastily erected moments before.
Kacha! Kacha! Qian Wutian’s sternum could no longer withstand the pressure of Qian Jin’s palm. Blood spewed repeatedly from his mouth, and the pores on his muscles burst open, spraying a mist of blood. This blood mist mixed with Qian Jin's Dou Qi in a desperate attempt to mitigate the extent of his body’s damage.
“You want me dead? You won't get off easy either! Dou Heart! Explode for me!”
Qian Wutian’s eyes burst, blood pouring freely. His Dou Heart throbbed and expanded, channeling all his Dou Qi toward the area where Qian Jin’s hand rested. A surge of Dou Qi, more potent than any he had managed before, violently pushed back against Qian Jin’s palm, shoving Qian Wutian sideways, forcing him out of the direct line of attack to prevent that palm strike from landing fatally!
Dou Heart! Explode! Qian Wutian stared at Qian Jin with eyes glazed over in despair as his body crashed heavily onto the ground.
It carved a long bloody gouge into the earth.
In that single instant, to preserve his life, Qian Wutian forcibly detonated his painstakingly condensed Dou Heart—a self-destruction that could unleash several times its normal power.
The delay afforded by the magical defenses, the counterattack from the Dou Heart’s self-detonation, and Qian Chenyu’s interfering attack had finally managed to blunt the full force of Qian Jin’s strike.
Pity! None of the Dou Techniques ranked within his Dou Heart had been fully mastered! Otherwise, Qian Jin should have been injured! A fierce gleam crossed Qian Wutian’s eyes before he spat out another mouthful of blood and blacked out.
Kill! Kill Qian Jin! He must kill Qian Jin!
The instant Qian Chenyu attacked, only one thought remained in his mind: Kill Qian Jin! Even if it meant violating the duel rules, even if it meant tainting the Qian family’s reputation, even if it meant being executed by the enraged Family Head—he had to kill Qian Jin! This young man was too ferocious. If he wasn't eliminated now, Wuqing might never have the chance to kill Qian Jin, forced instead to live in perpetual humiliation.
Kill Qian Jin! He absolutely must kill Qian Jin! All of Qian Chenyu's thoughts transmuted into killing intent. His sudden strike caught Pan Hongji completely off guard, yet it brilliantly seized the advantage of Pan Hongji’s inability to intervene at that moment, allowing him to surge directly toward Qian Jin.
Nine Demon Slaying Battles! Dou Qi Ten Thousand Rotations! As Qian Chenyu’s murderous intent flared, he unleashed his full power without reservation. Dou Qi spun wildly through the Dou Apertures within his body, whipping up a tempest in his Dou Meridians. Hualala! Waves of circulating Dou Qi sounded like a massive river surging, or the roaring friction of a meteor tearing through the atmosphere as it plummeted toward the earth!
A meteor streaks across the sky, ripping the air apart! Its impact can shake the very ground!
When Qian Chenyu unleashed the full, unrestrained force of his Nine Demon Slaying Battles, the Dou Meridians within him emitted sounds like a passing meteor. His feet slammed repeatedly against the earth, creating the noise of meteors crashing down.
Dou Technique! [Meteor Shower]!
Qian Chenyu’s Meteor Shower erupted, faster! fiercer! more brutal! and more explosive than Qian Wuqing’s version! His fists and arms, wrapped in churning Dou Qi, resembled meteors trailing explosive energy, enveloping every vital point on Qian Jin’s body. Each punch was like a celestial body truly falling from the heavens to strike the earth. Visible white lines traced paths through the air—the result of the Meteor Shower tearing the atmosphere apart.
Ten Thousand Rotations! A full thirty thousand rotations faster than Qian Jin’s Dou Qi speed! Since his debut, this was the first time Qian Jin had encountered an opponent whose Dou Qi rotation speed surpassed his own by such a margin.
In that instant, Qian Jin’s primal instincts screamed of unprecedented danger. The fine hairs on his body felt as if scorched by electricity, standing erect and bristling. His bare arms, viewed from a distance, seemed covered in a dense pattern of tiny yellow bumps due to the bristling hairs. The skeletal structure of the muscles above his waist vibrated at a high frequency, making it appear as if he were trembling from fear.
Myriad Shadows! The storm of fists raised by Qian Chenyu’s arms slammed into the afterimage Qian Jin had left behind, and the ferocious boxing wind of Dou Qi shredded the phantom into fragments!
Qian Chenyu swung his elbows without turning his head; the cloud of meteors instantly enveloped the area around Qian Jin, who had not yet stabilized his footing! Countless life-or-death battles using the Nine Demon Slaying Battles had honed this veteran bloodline warrior to the point where he could use the subtle changes in the battlefield’s air currents to 'see' Qian Jin’s location instead of relying on his eyes.
The storm of dozens of enveloping fists recreated a tornado-like momentum, once again covering every vital point on Qian Jin’s body.
Myriad Shadows! Qian Jin’s body muscles and Dou Qi skeleton vibrated rapidly once more. His feet struck the ground repeatedly in two distinct, almost simultaneous impacts, and he appeared behind Qian Chenyu. His right fist, hidden near his left waist, shot out in a high-speed spiral—a move of the Enemy-Breaking Slash, aiming directly for the thick nape of Qian Chenyu’s neck!
Qian Chenyu’s scalp tingled violently, and an icy chill shot up his spine straight to his brain. What kind of movement Dou Technique was this? It rivaled the Heaven-Stealing Step! What technique allowed a strike to carry the destructive force capable of tearing the very earth apart?
In a flash like lightning across the sky, Qian Chenyu’s ankle Dou Qi suddenly expanded. His ten fingers dug into the ground and erupted under the precise sequencing of his Dou Qi—Heaven-Stealing Step!
Whoosh! The Earth-Shattering Slash missed, leaving only a sharp trace of compressed Dou Qi in the air! Qian Chenyu used the Heaven-Stealing Step to shift laterally by half a meter just in time, spinning back with an elbow strike that transformed into a massive axe-like attack, slamming toward Qian Chenyu’s head.
Myriad Shadows! Qian Jin’s body muscles and Dou Qi skeleton vibrated rapidly again. His body shifted once more behind Qian Chenyu. The fist hidden near his left waist silently ‘bit’ toward Qian Chenyu’s nape.
What is that? A snake? Or a wild one? Qian Chenyu’s heart hammered. A layer of goosebumps rose on his back—it felt like walking in the wilderness and being targeted by a venomous snake, rather than the execution of a snake-like Dou Technique.
Heaven-Stealing Step! Myriad Shadows!
Almost simultaneously! Qian Jin moved like sticky plaster, clinging to Qian Chenyu’s back at high speed, even seeming to anticipate and position himself half a step ahead of where Qian Chenyu was about to emerge!
How is this possible? Qian Chenyu was internally alarmed. He could feel the air currents stirred up by Qian Jin’s incoming punch against his back. The attack was getting closer and closer; a few more shifts like this and he would certainly be struck! At this speed, even magic couldn't trap him or slow him down even for a moment.
Most terrifyingly, Qian Jin’s body was not only unaffected by the five times gravity, but his method of movement seemed to completely disregard it as well. Where did he learn such a bizarre Dou Technique?
What kind of movement technique is faster than my Heaven-Stealing Step? Qian Chenyu’s toes repeatedly gripped and dug into the ground. Abruptly abandoning his attack, he charged forward at full speed, leaving a blurred afterimage on the ground—a shadow most people couldn't even track—instantly creating a distance of over ten meters between himself and Qian Jin!
Indeed! Qian Chenyu planted his feet, turned, and inwardly rejoiced. Qian Jin’s method of movement truly couldn't sustain high-speed, long-distance travel! With only the Dou Qi capacity of the Eight Demon Subduing Battles, dragging the fight out would easily lead to Qian Jin’s death! It seemed his Dou Qi rotation speed wasn't higher than mine either. Regaining the initiative, I won't lose to him by relying on the Heaven-Stealing Step this time... Qian Jin wiped the cold sweat from his brow. The experts of the Nine Demon Slaying Battles were truly awe-inspiring. That burst of spinning Dou Qi just now must have been close to ten thousand rotations, right? The true power of the Meteor Shower was only displayed in his hands.
If it hadn't been for the Myriad Shadows, I might have actually died by his hand just now! Judging by his departing aura, he didn't look like someone who would simply back down either!
His thoughts completed in an instant. Qian Jin shook his body, like a fierce tiger shaking off its coat, or a Golden Roc spreading its wings!
One after another, his Dou Apertures emitted a whistling wind, one following the next, merging like gusts assembling into a massive tornado.