Qian Jin’s battle-hammer, just thrown while saving Fen Tu Kuang Ge, could not evade the punch aimed at him now, for Duan Feng Bu Er’s back was directly behind him!

A massive, black elemental battle soul rose up from behind Qiao Ka, burning with the same dark flames, smashing a fist down toward Qian Jin’s head. Attacking simultaneously from above and below, it offered Qian Jin absolutely no space or path to dodge.

“Ultra-Void Soul!”

Qian Jin’s three battle-hearts spun instantly. The Ultra-Void Soul Seal, recently copied back into his third heart, shattered instantly. That demon-like shape, still writhing as if about to form a true body, almost in the state of a Void Battle Soul, slammed a fist fiercely into Qiao Ka’s elemental battle soul. A burst of flame, mixed from the Heart of Earthly Fire and the frost-flame battle qi, shot out as well.

Crash... The battle qi and battle soul collided. The flames of Qiao Ka’s elemental battle soul suddenly weakened in intensity, as if the fire on its arm had been instantly frozen.

Battle Soul Merger! Qiao Ka’s chest felt struck by a heavy hammer. The punch he threw shook slightly, transforming again into a straight, piercing spear aimed directly at Qian Jin’s forehead, the black flames seeming capable of devouring the heavens and earth.

This was an opponent at the Battle Soul level, utilizing bloodline power! Even with three battle-hearts engaged, he couldn't gain a true advantage, only countering by shattering his battle skills! Qian Jin sighed inwardly again, lamenting the terrifying gap this major realm difference created. The battle skill, Golden Body Protection, enveloped his right hand, carrying the Frost Descent of the frost-flame battle qi within it, meeting the incoming punch without yielding an inch.

Crash... Clang...

Fists met, ringing out with a metallic impact. Qiao Ka felt as if his fist might shatter. The surprise he felt was far greater than that of the demons fighting chaotically around them. He was a Bloodline Demon Warrior of the Four Elements, and the Gold Element alone should make his palm feel like solid steel; direct confrontation had always given him the upper hand.

More importantly! His flames couldn't harm the opponent at all! Instead, there was a tendency for them to be extinguished by the other side.

How was this possible? I am a Battle Soul level master! And a fifth-level Battle Soul at that!

Even though both were fifth-level battle souls, the fifth-level battle soul derived from the ultimate bloodline was far more powerful. Qiao Ka exchanged dozens of punches with Qian Jin in an instant, growing more astonished with every clash.

Initially, this opponent should have been similar to him, experiencing the same pain, the same injuries! But as time passed, it seemed that with every collision, this opponent could recover a certain degree of damage, gradually gaining a slight edge.

Can he recover injuries so quickly in battle? Qiao Ka couldn't help letting out an unbelieving gasp. A momentary lapse in concentration, and Qian Jin’s punch nearly grazed his cheek. The icy frost made half his face feel numb, and the hair on his head ignited.

The Frost Descent of the frost-flame battle qi remained a burning, cold flame, maintaining the natural combustive ability of fire.

Faced with this sudden disadvantage, Qiao Ka was truly enraged. Who was he? A bloodline Demon Warrior of the old generation of Elemental Kings! He had been hiding in the dirt, planning a successful sneak attack, only to find this opponent was entirely unaffected. His disguise seemed to have been seen through, and now, in the direct confrontation, he appeared to be losing ground.

Ah! Another Demon Warrior screamed shrilly. Qiao Ka’s focus didn't waver, yet he knew the fallen demon was on his side.

This cannot go on! A flash of decisiveness crossed Qiao Ka's pupils. A battle seal contained within his battle soul suddenly exploded! The tyrannical might of the battle skill, Order of Battle, descended like the power of a star from the sky. The burning black flames surged like a wildfire doused in oil, instantly erupting with terrifying firepower. The very air let out a sizzling sound as it burned.

“Burning Star! Burn for me!”

Qiao Ka realized that this half-breed demon grew stronger the longer they fought, seemingly able to enhance his strength mid-battle. If this continued, no one knew what might happen. The magic device on his chest—the device that could instantly boost the power of Demon Warriors and Warriors—offered an immediate spike in combat strength upon use, but the drain was fearsome.

It could only sustain for a short time; if the fight dragged on, an irreversible exhaustion would set in.

Sixth-level Battle Soul! Qiao Ka resorted to the life-saving measure he used against enemies stronger than himself. In an instant, Qian Jin felt the pressure of the surrounding air dramatically increase!

That wasn't gravity, but sheer momentum! Qiao Ka was fighting desperately!

Dodge? He couldn't! Duan Feng Bu Er was behind him. Qian Jin squatted deeply, sucking a breath into his lungs. His eyes narrowed into fine slits, an unyielding, cold battle intent flashing repeatedly in his pupils. He shattered the frost seal of the Heart of Earthly Fire regardless of the cost. A surge of powerful frost-flame energy erupted from his pores. The palm he struck out with, powered by a shoulder shake, struck like a star. Wherever the frost descent, formed of frost-flame battle qi, passed, the moisture in the air visibly condensed into white frost.

In the next instant, that condensed frost vapor was vaporized by the burning effect of the frost-flame battle qi into even finer steam. A sound echoed through the air, like thin ice suddenly being crushed by some immense weight.

In that instant between life and death, Qian Jin’s mental state reached its peak. The palm strike he unleashed resembled a setting sun's long river, or a vast, unstoppable current flowing east, submerging fertile fields, destroying villages, and breaching millennia-old embankments!

Ascending Peak Eighteen Hammers, Fourth Hammer! Complete! In that moment! Qian Jin felt this strike was smoother than any before. The Fourth Hammer of the Ascending Peak Eighteen Hammers, which he had never truly mastered, was perfected not in the Endless World, but here, on the ground of the Demon Race!

The strike, appearing like both a palm and a hammer, immediately skyrocketed in momentum. Qiao Ka suddenly felt a sense of losing grasp of his opponent's presence.

Bang! Black and white flame battle qi collided and scattered. Qiao Ka’s body trembled violently, his knees buckling as he barely managed to stand. His recoiling arm instinctively twisted to strike again, but he found Qian Jin's second blow—that palm-like hammer—already before him.

Faster than me? How is this possible? Qiao Ka had no time to think or be shocked; he met Qian Jin’s Fourth Hammer of the Ascending Peak Eighteen Hammers head-on once more.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...

The two palms clashed in rapid succession. The collision of the two extreme flame battle qi—at some point, three forces were involved—the aura of the Heart of Earthly Fire mixed with the frost-flame battle qi and sprayed out together.

One palm, two palms... three palms... five palms... ten palms...

The more Qian Jin struck, the more an ineffable sense of exhilaration grew within him. His arm throbbed with immense pain under the opponent’s ferocious impact. The might of the sixth-level battle soul had reached a terrifying level, yet his spirit felt an indescribable joy in this situation.

Relief, exhilaration!

In an instant, a profound, inexpressible insight settled upon Qian Jin. The four hammers of the Ascending Peak Eighteen Hammers perfectly merged, as if forming a single, true strike. His opponent no longer seemed like a rival, but merely a piece of raw iron destined to be hammered by him.

What... what is going on? Qiao Ka felt an inexplicable discomfort. His battle qi power clearly surpassed his opponent's, yet he constantly felt unable to unleash his full strength. Every time he reached sixty percent power and was about to erupt, he was suppressed by the opponent’s palms and hammers.

Clearly, this attack, which looked like both a palm and a hammer, lacked the speed to dazzle demonic eyes; in fact, its attack path was clearly visible. Yet, he couldn't find the time to counter and was instead being pushed increasingly onto the defensive by the opponent!

His sixty percent burst power was now being suppressed to barely five percent.

More terrifying than this palm-hammer attack was the sheer momentum... something that induced an unspeakable pressure on the demons, as if he were facing not a man, but a breached, surging river!

Endless, rolling, the Ascending Peak Eighteen Hammers followed one after another, relentlessly and accurately pressing down. This spirit of charging forward without ever retreating infected the surrounding crowd. In the blink of an eye, another scream sounded; Fen Tu Kuang Ge, taking a blow to the chest, snapped his opponent’s neck.

“Qiao Ka!” Lucifer Zhi Feng struggled to stabilize the rampaging magical elements while simultaneously propping up a magic shield. Having his vision pierced again by Chekfulit’s destructive demonic eye, he could only watch the battlefield and roar in fury: “Are you that afraid of death?”

“Afraid of death?”

Qiao Ka’s body trembled violently, and a deep, tragic resolution flared in his eyes. His erupted battle soul shattered instantly!

This was not a break that could be reassembled! It was truly shattered! Everyone could feel that this shattering was irreversible, just like a porcelain doll smashing on the ground into dust, impossible to piece back together.

The power of the broken battle soul did not dissipate; instead, it transformed into countless motes of dust that entered Qiao Ka’s body, and surges of intense power began to explode outward.

In the time it takes for a tenth of a lightning bolt to flash across the sky, half of the power derived from the shattered battle soul had entered Qiao Ka’s body, and the remaining half was rapidly fusing into him.

Not good! Lucifer Liu Shui’s heart leaped wildly. Qiao Ka was staking his entire future as a Demon Warrior on this! Battle Soul Burn!

Once a battle soul is burned, it is far more terrifying than shattering a battle seal within a battle heart! It meant shattering every single battle seal within the battle soul at once, and then completely incinerating the battle soul itself... even a Saint-level expert would avoid confronting this head-on.

This was a suicidal attack, betting life and everything for victory!

“Dodge quickly…”

Qiao Ka heard Lucifer Liu Shui’s shout, a cold, mocking smile curling his lips. Dodge now? It was too late! Wait... what is that... what is happening...?

“Nine-Headed Serpent Bloodline’s Devour! Devour for me!”

Duan Feng Bu Er repelled his opponent with a single strike and suddenly raised his palm high. In the center of his palm, a black void the size of an infant’s fist appeared. It was like a vortex in the ocean, madly consuming the remaining fifty percent of the battle soul dust power floating in the air!