NABC 372. A Dangerous Clash
372. A Dangerous Clash
Qing Lin snorted coldly, turned around and stopped talking, but a chilling fighting spirit was gathering in his hand as he kept a watchful eye on the old man surnamed Yan.
After years of experience, she was no longer the naive little girl from the Mo Tie Mercenary Group. However, Xiao Yan's influence on her was too great; only when she was by Xiao Yan's side did she act like a little maid.
Above the sea of clouds, although Xiao Yan was engaged in a fierce battle of different flames with Ling Zhuo, he hadn't missed the verbal sparring in the spectator area. He had already sensed that Ling Zhuo's willingness to give away such a valuable item that could enhance soul power was too much like that of an ancient race. Now, in this contest, it seemed that Ling Zhuo not only had the advantage in strength, but the Ling Clan's clan-protecting profound technique must have given him unparalleled endurance. Furthermore, the ability to imbue Ling Zhuo with spirituality, as Tang Zhen had mentioned, was simply terrifying. It seemed he needed to find an opportunity to finish the battle quickly.
Xiao Yan was also extremely cautious at this moment, showing no sign of underestimating Ling Zhuo. He had just sensed Ling Zhuo's killing move using his soul power. Within what he considered a reasonable window of opportunity, relying on his rich experience in life-or-death battles, he activated the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire floating nearby to block Ling Zhuo's Strange Fire Dragon. However, the soul vortex bubbles hidden within the Strange Fire Dragon were as terrifying as a true scythe of death, nearly taking half his life. If it weren't for his cultivation of the Burning Technique, the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire would act like an organ within Xiao Yan, proactively protecting him and blocking Ling Zhuo's soul impact hidden within the Strange Fire the moment the threat approached. Even so, Xiao Yan felt the vast difference between himself and a so-called Spirit Realm soul from the soul impact released by Ling Zhuo. Even if he had reacted just now, without the aid of the Strange Fire, Ling Zhuo's attack would likely have succeeded! Moreover, he had to constantly guard against another sneak attack from the Strange Fire Dragon. Xiao Yan nervously managed his soul power.
At this moment, Ling Zhuo's expression was also uncertain, and he thought to himself, "Could it be that this kid has a strange fire spirit hidden within him? No, he's clearly still a mortal whose soul is still in the mortal realm. Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Or is this kid up to some kind of trick?"
"Xiao Yan, you do have some unusual skills, but that's far from enough!"
A myriad of thoughts flashed through his mind. Suppressing his complex emotions, Ling Zhuo drew a complex and profound trajectory with his left hand, formed a hand seal, and pushed towards Xiao Yan from afar. The earthen-yellow Strange Fire Dragon's body blazed with intense flames, charging fiercely towards Xiao Yan. The surge in temperature and sudden acceleration of the Strange Fire Dragon pushed the void, already scorched by two different Strange Fires, to the brink of collapse. Its dark, crystalline claws, creating wisps of black spatial rifts, lunged at the blood-red Strange Fire Lotus at several times its previous speed.
Xiao Yan's expression turned grave. A clash of soul power was far more dangerous than a physical battle of fighting spirit. Moreover, he was indeed at a disadvantage; his soul power was nearly half depleted, and Ling Zhuo's attack was clearly stronger than before! Without time to think, invisible soul power surged from Xiao Yan's sea of consciousness and entered the Red Lotus Karmic Flame. Empowered, the Red Lotus Karmic Flame rapidly writhed, and in the blink of an eye, the mere few miles in size released a temperature that almost covered the entire city. The dark red flames shone brightly, and the Red Lotus transformed into a blur, crashing fiercely into the attacking Strange Fire Dragon! Unexpectedly, the earthen-yellow Strange Fire Dragon was even more astonishing. It tilted its head, narrowly avoiding the Red Lotus, but with a loud bang and a painful roar, the Red Lotus struck the Strange Fire Dragon's belly. Sparks capable of igniting battle qi, along with the gradual peeling away of the yellowish-brown strange fire crystal layer, shot out at high speed from where the red lotus struck. The air above the auction house was instantly vaporized by the collision of the two strange fires and then quickly condensed by the low temperature at high altitude, forming large patches of white mist.
Standing in the void, the hunchback gazed at the earthen-yellow dragon of strange fire that appeared and disappeared amidst the billowing white smoke, stroked his long beard, and sighed, "The young people these days are truly remarkable! The talent of these two is extraordinary!"
A complex expression flashed across Tang Zhen's face. He wasn't particularly concerned about the outcome of the fight at the moment; his mind was preoccupied with someone else.
On the rooftop of the auction hall, Lin Xiuya, gazing at the white mist in mid-air, also felt a flicker of helplessness and discouragement. He hadn't expected that, despite both being graduates of Canaan Academy, Xiao Yan's every move could already trigger such a massive celestial phenomenon. Back when they parted ways at Canaan Academy, he had prided himself on his rapid progress, always harboring a sliver of hope: perhaps after a few years, he too would have a chance to compete with Xiao Yan? Now, it seemed the once insurmountable gap had not only failed to narrow but had widened considerably!
A deep, mournful roar, accompanied by an endless gale, dispersed the billowing white mist, and the earthen-yellow dragon of strange fire reappeared in everyone's sight. Its body had become even more ethereal, and the once rich earthen-yellow color of its belly had been replaced by charred black. Several small charred spots from splashes of strange fire also adorned its body. Clearly, Xiao Yan's Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire had gained the upper hand in the pure high-temperature clash, but the double barrier constructed by Ling Zhuo's vast soul power and the solid compression ability of Dou Qi unique to the Dou Zun level made the dragon's defense almost monstrous. Even being struck head-on in the belly by the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire did not cause any devastating damage.
Just as Xiao Yan was feeling troubled by the seemingly unharmed Strange Fire Dragon, extremely thin, almost transparent wisps of air suddenly appeared above the sea of clouds, which had been disturbed by the clash of Strange Fires. These wisps were deeply hidden, previously concealed by the dense energy of the two opposing Strange Fires. However, in the eyes of the four Dou Zun level super powerhouses watching from the sidelines, and even Xiao Yan himself, whose soul was innately powerful, they were caught the moment they passed through the area of the Strange Fire clash. In an instant, a phantom killing sword powerful enough to tear the sky apart condensed within the pale gray wisps of air and slashed towards Xiao Yan in mid-air.
Seeing that the Crimson Lotus Karmic Flame, which had just finished attacking the True Dragon of Strange Flames in mid-air, was completely powerless to defend itself, and that the scene of Xiao Yan being directly pierced by that earth-shattering sword did not appear in the next instant, but instead, a large amount of azure flames surged out of Xiao Yan's body swiftly and without warning, finally forming an azure fire wave, releasing a high temperature like magma suppressed underground for a long time. The azure fire wave rose higher and higher in the void, swallowing the illusory killing sword whole, and turning it into nothingness under the continuous scorching!
Ling Zhuo's face was also extremely ugly. His hidden killing move was easily blocked by Xiao Yan again, and the cyan flame, judging from the power it faintly emitted, seemed to be no weaker than his own Wind Fury Dragon Flame.
"How is this possible!"