Pu Tian'en couldn't help but let out a cold snort. Although he held a superior position, facing Zhang Yang, he never felt truly elevated. Zhang Yang’s gaze was fixed on the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast beneath him, and the 'dog' he spoke of killing was naturally that beast.

The Three-Eyed Beast was already similar in size to a large hound; without the third eye on its forehead, an ordinary person might mistake it for a common dog. Even having fallen into the ranks of demonic beasts, this one was a respectable fifth-layer spirit beast. To remain so arrogant under such extreme disadvantage suggested either truly heaven-defying ability or utter foolishness.

When Pu Tian'en arrogantly declared he would slay Zhang Yang here, Zhang Yang showed none of the fear he expected, nor did he retreat an inch. This sent a fresh wave of frustration through Pu Tian'en, leading him to view Zhang Yang as a complete simpleton. Did Zhang Yang truly believe someone would arrive to rescue him?

"Roar..."

The Three-Eyed Demonic Beast couldn't comprehend Zhang Yang's words, but it knew those countless streaks of sword light striking its body originated from the young man before it. Enraged, it roared incessantly at Zhang Yang, baring its enormous, sharp fangs in a clear warning.

Without direction from Pu Tian'en, despite its fury, it held back from directly attacking Zhang Yang.

Watching Zhang Yang gasp for breath, desperately trying to recover his spiritual energy, Pu Tian'en’s gaze swept over the Silent Shadow, Lightning Flash, and Wind Chaser spirit beasts. He then lifted his eyes, glanced far into the distance, and sneered, "You want to kill my dog and then kill me? What confidence do you possess? Is it these three useless wastes, or that other piece of trash currently rushing over from afar?"

Zhang Yang frowned. While Pu Tian'en spoke, he too sensed a Great Perfection expert rapidly approaching from the distance. Simultaneously, he felt the two parrots within the Savage Man Mountain urgently demanding he hurry up the slopes.

"I'd like to see who kills whom first—me, or you killing me and my spirit beasts right here!"

In his anger, Pu Tian'en flipped off the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast. Though he appeared elderly, his movements were agile and nimble, surpassing that of a vigorous young man.

"Watch me kill your spirit beasts first!"

Pu Tian'en raised the narrow blade in his hand, slashing towards the Silent Shadow, Lightning Flash, and Wind Chaser. Having the three spirit beasts gathered together presented him with the perfect opportunity for a decisive strike!

Immense heaven and earth energy condensed upon the narrow blade. The three spirit beasts watched helplessly as the blade descended upon them, finding themselves utterly fixed in place, unable to move an inch.

This strike was unadorned; Pu Tian'en’s actual strength was quite average, nothing spectacular. Every move and stance he utilized was exceedingly simple, lacking the complexity found in techniques like the Heaven-Shattering Sword that could gather greater heaven and earth energy for maximum destructive power.

However, this was more than enough against the Silent Shadow and the others. The suppression due to their disparity in rank was an insurmountable chasm the three spirit beasts could not cross. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been helpless earlier when trapped between the flank attack of Zhang Yang’s Three-Eyed Demonic Beast and Pu Tian'en.

Chiss, chiss!

Several streaks of sword light arrived in an instant. Naturally, Zhang Yang could not allow Pu Tian'en to kill the Silent Shadow trio!

However, these sword lights only managed to slow the momentum of Pu Tian'en's blade; they could not stop it entirely.

Bong!

The object that finally blocked Pu Tian'en’s narrow blade was a slender sword of ice. After utilizing the second form of the Heaven-Shattering Sword earlier, the ice sword Zhang Yang could condense was significantly smaller now, barely qualifying as a mere rapier.

Seeing the delicate sword blocking his narrow blade, the smile on Pu Tian'en’s face widened. Zhang Yang’s ragged breathing and the increasingly slender ice sword—all these details indicated that Zhang Yang was nearing his breaking point.

Indeed, Zhang Yang could not hold out much longer. He was on the verge of total exhaustion, which meant he had to eliminate the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast and Pu Tian'en within this limited window.

The only viable path lay in exploiting the low intelligence of the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast.

After deflecting Pu Tian'en’s strike and forcing him away from the three spirit beasts, Zhang Yang positioned himself in front of them, then subtly retreated one step, drawing closer to his own trio.

Without a command from Pu Tian'en, the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast watched Zhang Yang move past it to intercept Pu Tian'en’s attack on the Silent Shadow trio, remaining completely inert. Pu Tian'en, forced away from Zhang Yang, shot the beast a fierce glare, causing its roar to diminish noticeably.

Pu Tian'en dared not close the distance with Zhang Yang; the youth’s innate talent was terrifying. Even severely weakened after enduring the ninth layer of the heavenly tribulation, Zhang Yang managed to hold his own against both Pu Tian'en and the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast for so long. This forced Pu Tian'en to worry if Zhang Yang possessed other hidden capabilities.

"Silent Shadow, Lightning Flash, Wind Chaser, you three engage the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast. Remember, space yourselves far apart in three different directions. Do not confront it head-on, and absolutely do not engage it physically. Distract it individually. Even if you can only hold it for one minute, that will be enough time for me to slay this Korean cultivator!"

He relayed this via telepathic transmission. Although the three couldn't fight the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast in a straight contest, they could use hit-and-run tactics to draw its attention. If they could keep the beast occupied this way, without Pu Tian'en’s direction, the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast, no matter how powerful, would eventually be worn down by the trio's antics!

This entire strategy hinged on one prerequisite: Zhang Yang must be able to keep Pu Tian'en occupied, preventing him from paying any heed to the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast!

The earlier statement was also designed to give Pu Tian'en a false sense of security, making him think Zhang Yang intended to strike the beast first, thus relaxing his guard. Whether this tactic succeeded or not, Zhang Yang had to employ every possible means.

While this sort of psychological suggestion was simple, at their level of cultivation, even such elementary tactics could yield unpredictable results.

Zhang Yang let out a cold shout, condensing the last sliver of his spiritual energy into his entire being for one final gamble!

"Hmph!"

Pu Tian'en had no intention of engaging Zhang Yang directly. He shot a look at the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast, which responded with a roar and leaped into the air.

But Zhang Yang vanished from the front of his spirit beasts, and the Silent Shadow, Lightning Flash, and Wind Chaser immediately scattered, bolting away in three separate directions. The Three-Eyed Demonic Beast grew instantly confused. When Pu Tian'en gave the order, Zhang Yang and the three beasts were grouped together; who was he supposed to strike first?

Its dull intellect caused the beast to drop from the air. It looked at the three spirit beasts fleeing far apart in different directions, then at Zhang Yang rushing towards Pu Tian'en, utterly bewildered about the priority target.

"Damn—"

Pu Tian'en instantly grasped Zhang Yang's maneuver, but before he could utter a full word, a sphere of golden-yellow energy materialized before him.

Boom!

Energy Burst!

Zhang Yang gave Pu Tian'en no chance to command the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast; one hand held the sword while the other had already been condensing the Energy Burst!

Pu Tian'en had no time to issue an order; Zhang Yang unleashed his full strength. He had to focus entirely on countering Zhang Yang to prevent the youth from exploiting any opening.

Pu Tian'en cherished his life above all else. Even if Zhang Yang's full power held only a one percent chance of threatening him, he would not allow such a scenario to materialize and dedicated his focus to evading this powerful fifth-layer offensive measure.

Pu Tian'en knew his physical body was his sole weakness, whereas Zhang Yang’s body was incredibly robust, allowing him to exert one hundred percent of his strength without reservation.

However, Pu Tian'en remained ignorant of Zhang Yang's true power. The spiritual energy within Zhang Yang was recovering at an astonishing rate, far exceeding his calculations. Even the Twelve-Crowned Golden Python in Changbai Mountain could not possibly detect how fast Zhang Yang's spiritual energy was replenishing.

The sole reason Zhang Yang still appeared weak was the immense capacity of his body; the spiritual energy required to restore his full strength was astronomical. Against such a massive baseline, even rapid replenishment appeared insignificant.

Boom, boom! Bang, bang!

The energy spheres followed one after another. Zhang Yang completely disregarded the expenditure of spiritual energy; under these circumstances, he successfully forced Pu Tian'en into a state where he could not spare attention for the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast.

In the distance, the three spirit beasts successfully diverted the attention of the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast, ensuring it did not interfere with Zhang Yang’s confrontation with Pu Tian'en.

With a furious roar, the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast decided it would first crush these annoying falcons before tearing the young man apart!

The Silent Shadow, Lightning Flash, and Wind Chaser followed Zhang Yang’s plan precisely, alternately provoking the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast from three different directions. This successfully bought Zhang Yang the necessary time to engage Pu Tian'en with his full concentration!

Zhang Yang gasped, his spiritual energy draining rapidly, nearing exhaustion at any moment, yet the Energy Burst never ceased!

Perhaps since advancing to the fifth layer, Pu Tian'en had never experienced such a desperate situation. His own rage was now fully ignited, and at this point, he could no longer afford to worry about the Three-Eyed Demonic Beast.

"I will kill you with my own hands!"

In a fit of fury, Pu Tian'en leaped, abandoning the attack range of the Energy Burst.

"Perfect timing!"

Zhang Yang’s killing intent blazed, and the slender ice sword met the incoming blade head-on!

Blade and sword collided in a flash of light and fire!

Boom!

The earth shook and the mountains trembled!

A battle between fifth-layer experts was enough to draw the attention of every mighty practitioner across the Huaxia Continent. However, those of insufficient standing could only feel the tremendous energy fluctuations without discerning any detail of the conflict within.

On an island in the South Sea, at Mount Yinlong, and on Changbai Mountain.

Five layers of power converged. All true masters focused their senses here. Nothing between Zhang Yang and Pu Tian'en escaped their scrutiny; their duel became a benchmark test for assessing Zhang Yang.

Though they refrained from showing themselves at Savage Man Mountain for various reasons, they never diverted their attention even for a moment.

Outside Savage Man Mountain, a figure advanced rapidly, soaring toward it from the sky, appearing extremely anxious.

But possessing only Great Perfection strength, even at top speed, it could not match the speed of the fifth-layer Zhang Yang or the elder who had just advanced. It would take a significant amount of time to reach Savage Man Mountain. (To be continued.) No pop-up novel website

For more novels, visit storyread.net.