"It's about time," replied the one called Old Niu. This large man seemed to be the designated Hero, and the combination of the Subject and the Hero pairing startled Xingchen quite a bit.
It was clear that this Old Niu, much like the White Ram female Daoist who served as the guardian hero for the White Ram Daoist, had his personality system activated; otherwise, he wouldn't be displaying such human-like behavior.
In an instant, a bizarre thought flashed through Xingchen's mind: what might the Moon Shadow have been like if her personality system had also been activated?
Of course, this notion was nothing more than a fleeting spark in his mind!
Weipeng and Old Niu pressed forward together. Their pace wasn't fast, but every inch they covered dragged a heavy, oppressive aura with it, like a massive mountain slowly shifting its position.
"You two are being utterly shameless," Xingchen said, carefully backing away while not missing a chance to jab with his words. "I'm alone, and you're ganging up on me. Don't you find that embarrassing?"
"Apologies," Weipeng hissed menacingly. "We are not those two fools, White Ram and his wife."
"Achieving our goal by any means necessary—that's our style," Old Niu added with a smug air. "That's what we call cool."
"Two rascals," Xingchen realized further talk was pointless. He gathered his focus, preparing to meet the challenge with his full might!
Clouds surged, sword qi hissed murderously, and wild desert sands churned up. The entire sky and earth seemed, in a single moment, to be stripped of all vitality and sunlight, leaving only three figures standing silently suspended in mid-air.
Weipeng and Old Niu showed no haste, merely observing and appraising Xingchen. This feeling was awful; it seemed as if their entire being was exposed to the opponents' sensing auras. They could read every surge of energy within him, perhaps even see through his every intention.
A powerful opponent isn't terrifying; what's truly frightening is an enemy who possesses considerable strength yet maintains absolute rationality and composure, because such foes never make mistakes. This meant the exploitable flaws grew fewer and fewer, perhaps to none at all.
No matter the opponent, Xingchen’s method was always to fight with his utmost strength, striking down the enemy with his full power. He was like an excellent hunter who, even when facing a mere rabbit, must bring the same lethal intensity he would use against a lion or tiger. This was Xingchen’s established way of operating, and clearly, the two before him seemed to share the same philosophy. This was evident in their intense gazes, their steady demeanor, and their unhurried, calm, and collected presence.
Xingchen couldn't help but sigh inwardly; it seemed impossible to rely on trickery now. At this moment, there was no second choice but to fight to the death.
"Come then, let me see just how capable this so-called Crouching Dragon Famous General truly is." His voice was calm, lacking even the slightest ripple of emotion.
This wasn't the first time Xingchen had faced masters whose strength far surpassed his own. Yet, each time, he had managed to create miracles of defeating the strong while weak. This was attributable not only to his wondrous luck but also to his unyielding will and cool head.
In fact, the deeper he plunged into a desperate situation, the more his latent abilities were ignited.
At this point, he finally stopped his slow retreat and assumed a stance. It was a subtle distance, a vague pattern Xingchen had vaguely discerned through his recent string of grueling battles. Whether advancing or retreating, this distance allowed Xingchen to unleash his full burst potential instantaneously. In aerial combat, strict footwork was obsolete; it relied far more on controlling the Phoenix Heaven Wings and mastering movement techniques. Relying on his superior combat talent, Xingchen quickly adapted to this unique fighting style.
Likewise, Weipeng and Old Niu halted. Their shadowed eyes flickered with a chilling severity. "He truly has some skill. No wonder White Ram and the others fell to you."
"I'll go first," Old Niu barked coldly. The Phoenix Heaven Wings on his back suddenly flapped once.
The man practically vanished from his original spot, but the dull aura instantly exploded into savage madness. It was as if a fierce fire had suddenly ignited in a cold chamber; the life-force aura, seeming to contain immense heat, pierced through the entire space in an instant. The distance of over thirty meters seemed to have lost its restraint.
When the golden afterimage flashed again, a great golden broadsword materialized before Xingchen’s chest, less than two inches away.
It was a blindingly fast strike, yet it was insufficient to evade Xingchen's Moon Shadow. His icy eyes narrowed slightly!
It wasn't clear how he moved, but his purple form merely swayed slightly, and he drifted a meter aside as lightly as a willow catkin. In this vast expanse of sky, this minute movement was almost imperceptible, as if Xingchen hadn't moved at all.
Yet, Old Niu's incredibly swift sword thrust missed its mark. Even more terrifyingly, as Old Niu’s attack went wide, a faint whistling sound of air being cut pierced the air from his left side—it was the sword strike Xingchen had unleashed in the act of evading.
It was light and nimble, like a gentle breeze.
But the murderous intent contained within it made Old Niu’s expression shift slightly. The speed was not slow; it was even a fraction faster than his or Weipeng’s.
The Moon Shadow was inherently a speed-focused melee combat unit. At this moment, both its strength and combat data were perfectly merged with Xingchen, maximizing the Moon Shadow's speed talent to its limit.
However, Old Niu’s reaction was also exceptionally fast. Upon missing, he immediately swept his greatsword to the left.
Clang! Xingchen's strike, like a breeze passing through the forest, met Old Niu's golden broadsword squarely.
The Dragon Shadow Sword, flashing with crimson light, was jarred back once more!
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Xingchen and Old Niu met force with force, exchanging one blow before sidestepping past each other!
Neither gained the slightest advantage!
From the previous exchange, Old Niu’s position had shifted. He was no longer standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Weipeng but had moved behind Xingchen, attempting to form a pincer attack with Weipeng.
But Xingchen would naturally not allow this. He deployed his movement technique, continuing to fall back, floating out over ten meters while maintaining that exquisitely precise distance!
This set the three combatants up in a strange equilateral triangle formation again.
Though troublesome, the figures of Weipeng and Gold Ox remained within Xingchen’s line of sight.
"Looks like a tough nut to crack," Weipeng frowned slightly, clearly recognizing Xingchen’s extensive experience in adapting mid-battle.
But this was hardly surprising. Since Xingchen began his ventures across the continent, he had endured countless battles.
To describe him as battle-hardened would be an understatement. His combat experience was naturally vast, especially in skirmishes and melees, where winning against multiple, stronger opponents was an everyday occurrence.
In this initial clash, the general contours of their capabilities had been mapped!
Undoubtedly, Gold Ox relied on sheer power, his strength clearly a notch higher. However, Xingchen excelled in lightness, agility, and speed, which held the edge.
Of course, this was merely the opening probe; neither side had displayed their full strength!
It seemed the Golden Bull constellation pairing specialized in power, Xingchen quickly analyzed the situation. Dealing with one of them was already difficult; facing both together meant he truly had no chance of victory.
As Old Niu's offense momentarily paused, Xingchen, having made his decision, resolved to fully exploit his speed advantage and seize absolute initiative!
Thus, he gave Old Niu no chance to breathe! His Phoenix Heaven Wings flapped violently, and his entire body instantly exploded in a strange, seven-colored stream of light—the unique aura fluctuation specific to activating the King Realm Fist!
Then, the purple afterimage flickered slightly and darted toward Old Niu like a bolt of lightning!
Life Field surged, Battle Qi intensity reaching forty thousand points!
The biological radars in both Weipeng and Old Niu’s minds simultaneously screamed warnings!
The explosive surge in Battle Qi intensity brought with it a corresponding maximum spike in speed.
At this moment, even the air became resistance. The astonishing blast energy vibrated the air itself into successive, muffled roars! Accompanied by a killing intent like a surging tidal wave, it swept out wildly!
"Finally showing your true skills?" Weipeng was unsurprised by Xingchen’s Battle Qi instantly soaring to forty thousand points. In fact, video footage of the fight between the White Ram female Daoist and Xingchen had already circulated within the Crouching Dragon Manor!
Everyone knew this mysterious intruder possessed a technique capable of vastly boosting combat power in an instant!
Based on the data recorded during the White Ram female Daoist's battle with Xingchen, Xingchen’s maximum Battle Qi intensity reached one hundred and sixty thousand points!
And all indications suggested that one hundred and sixty thousand might not even be his peak limit! It could be said that at this moment, Xingchen possessed the strength to challenge a Gold Warrior—though only to challenge him.
One hundred and sixty thousand was indeed an astonishing figure, and this Xingchen had reached such a cultivation level without even donning enhanced Phoenix Heaven gear.
If he were wearing any of the twelve Zodiac enhanced Phoenix Heaven Demon Armors, how much higher would his combat power soar? Perhaps it wouldn't be inferior to his current self.
Of course, it was undeniable that Xingchen was strong, but he still possessed one unbridgeable weakness.
That was his loss of his own Guardian Hero, and his equipment was at an absolute disadvantage.
The gap between standard Phoenix Heaven gear and enhanced Phoenix Heaven gear was an absolute chasm—the definitive difference imposed by equipment tier.
These two factors combined predetermined that no matter how hard Xingchen tried, his fighting power could never surpass that of a Gold Warrior.
As for the failure of the White Ram Daoist and the White Ram female Daoist, it was entirely an accident.
Had the Great White Tiger not died under mysterious circumstances, Xingchen absolutely could not have defeated the White Ram female Daoist.
Old Niu on the other side had similar thoughts, but neither expected Xingchen to dare to launch an attack proactively when faced with a two-pronged assault from left and right.
This felt like provocation and insult, alongside supreme overconfidence.
However, all these complex thoughts were instantly discarded from their minds. Any personal bias detrimental to combat was subconsciously eliminated!
Therefore, they could always make the most rational judgments in battle.
Just like Old Niu right now! He reacted almost instinctively, boosting his combat power!
Inferno Burn activated, Level One! Battle Qi intensity enhanced to fifty thousand points. He unleashed his ultimate move—Skyward Inferno!
His golden broadsword danced lightly!
Sword qi infused with inferno fire spread across the sky, rolling towards Xingchen's head—a desperate posture focused purely on offense!
Indeed, Old Niu had the foundation for this desperation. His protective Battle Qi possessed an intensity of fifty thousand, enough to withstand Xingchen’s strongest current strike. Moreover, his body was shielded by the astonishingly strong enhanced Phoenix Heaven armor. In truth, Old Niu didn't even need to consider defense; even if he stood still, Xingchen couldn't hope to harm him.
Unless he increased his Battle Qi intensity again.
But doing so would never escape the biological radars of Old Niu and Weipeng, leaving them secure in their advantage.
So Old Niu unleashed that sword strike without reservation! But the sudden change occurred right then.
The lightning-fast Xingchen suddenly retreated, backing away in a bizarre manner that seemed to defy the laws of physics, rocketing upward at a speed more than twice as fast as his earlier approach!
This incomprehensible sequence of advancing and then instantly retreating created a visual shock that made Weipeng and Old Niu momentarily freeze!
During that hesitation, Xingchen’s body exploded in another ball of dazzling red light.
His aura then surged madly in an instant.
Alarm! Target Life Field spiking again—Battle Qi Intensity sixty thousand points!
Almost simultaneously with the burst of red light! Came a suffocating, chilling pressure! In just an instant, the entire world seemed enveloped and frozen by that strange luminescence!
Countless fragments of light paved the entire sky into a bizarre and brilliant world of light! What followed was a terrifying killing intent, capable of shattering heaven and earth, sweeping down!
The whole horizon seemed twisted into a bloody, hazy panorama of the netherworld by that terrifying killing intent!
"It's that move!" Old Niu's face actually shifted! The strange sword qi resembling a starry sky appearing mid-air was Xingchen’s signature ultimate technique: Nine Heavens Star River, First Form—Stars Fall From Nine Heavens!
Xingchen’s rapid retreat had not only dodged his Skyward Inferno but also allowed him to shoot high into the sky, unleashing that bizarre ultimate skill!
Although they didn't know the official name of the move, the White Ram female Daoist’s onboard computer had meticulously recorded every detail of their prior battle.
Thus, both Old Niu and Weipeng were fully aware of how formidable this technique was!
"Fine swordplay," but facing the strange sword technique, Old Niu’s fighting spirit flared, and his reaction was exceptionally swift and keen!
"Raising Fire to Burn the Heavens!" With a muffled roar, Gold Ox’s robust body suddenly halted its forward momentum with a powerful, rooted stop!
The sweeping sword strike seamlessly turned into a horizontal upward slash. The sword qi, resembling a raging fire dragon, maneuvered with supernatural skill, changing direction to become a surging, raging dragon piercing clouds and shattering the sun, crashing towards the falling Xingchen above!
The transition of the move was fluid, without the slightest pause, as if he had anticipated this move from Xingchen!
Whoosh! With a sharp whistling sound, the fire dragon that shot up instantly collided with the falling vortex of starlight above!
However, what followed next still startled Old Niu and Weipeng considerably.
The fiery sword qi, carrying the force of a forty-thousand-strength opponent, vanished without a sound upon striking the stellar vortex!
As if plunging into an invisible black hole!
And the falling star-cloud vortex bizarrely exploded once more with a burst of strange golden light!
Battle Qi surged again—intensity one hundred thousand points! The biological radar in their minds shrieked a terrifying number that jolted both Weipeng and Old Niu!
"Ah! How is this possible? The Battle Qi has merged!" Old Niu could hardly believe that his Raising Fire to Burn the Heavens move had not only failed to intercept Xingchen’s attack but that Xingchen’s bizarre star cloud vortex had absorbed and fused with it, massively increasing its power!
All of this transpired in the flicker of an eyelid!
By the time Old Niu reacted, that strange vortex of starlight was already crashing down upon him.
"Ah!" Old Niu’s face contorted in terror! He didn't even have time to evade!