Staring at the blue-haired youth before him—
Li Zhexian's heart rippled.
Because this person's appearance meant—
The timeline of Douluo Continent had already been pushed off its destined path.
Huo Yuhao was not supposed to exist anymore.
"Inside this Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea… that seems to be Skydream Ice Worm?"
"Therefore..."
"He and I are not in the upper and lower reaches of the same river of time."
"It's more like two parallel rivers of time, where the power of the white hole drew two droplets of water to converge here."
"Or perhaps…"
"A collapsed timeline projected a future that should have existed—but was changed by me—temporarily into this place."
Countless thoughts flashed through Li Zhexian's mind.
He sighed inwardly:
"Time truly is one of the most unfathomable forces in this world."
...
"Friend." Huo Yuhao glanced around and asked, "Do you know where this place is?"
Li Zhexian's lips curved slightly.
"A strange place formed by accident, allowing you and me—separated by ten thousand years—to meet for a brief moment."
Huo Yuhao frowned deeply.
The words of this mysterious youth sounded utterly unbelievable.
"Hmph, regardless of what this place is—!"
Just then, a spiritual fluctuation erupted from between Li Zhexian's eyebrows, condensing into a giant, ice-crystal silkworm in spirit form beside him.
The Skydream Ice Worm looked at Huo Yuhao and shouted sternly:
"Kid! Tell that fake in your body to get out and face me!"
Huo Yuhao's blue eyes widened, disbelief filling his handsome face.
"Brother Tian Meng! How are you—"
"Yuhao, don't be fooled! That one isn't me!"
Another spiritual fluctuation erupted from Huo Yuhao's brows, forming an identical crystal silkworm.
"You imposter! How dare you slander me first?!"
"I am the one and only Brother Tian Men!"
With a thunderous boom,
Inside the white, dimensionless space—
The two Skydream Ice Worms were the first to clash.
A vast spiritual force swept outward, distorting the surrounding space.
"Two Brother Tian Mengs?! How is this possible?!"
Huo Yuhao, being a master of spiritual power—already equal to a Titled Douluo in that aspect—
could clearly see that both Skydreams were real.
Today's bizarre encounter made him feel as though he'd stepped into a dream.
"So according to Brother Zhexian, you're another version of me from a different timeline? Or a reflection of a future that shouldn't exist?"
Skydream snorted coldly:
"But I am me! When I get serious, I even beat myself!"
"This crossroads of time and space may happen only once—
I must decide which of us is stronger!"
"Take this!"
Boom—Boom—
Boom—Boom—
Two spiritual forces crashed violently, turning the boundless white world into a raging sea of twisting spiritual energy.
The two Skydream Ice Worms faced each other across the storm, their crystalline antennae firing wave after wave of spiritual attacks, making the sea even more chaotic.
Their earlier declaration—
"Since time and space intersect only once, I must determine who is stronger"—
echoed endlessly through the white emptiness.
Li Zhexian and Huo Yuhao instinctively locked eyes.
"Level 75, Assault-type Battle Spirit Saint—Li Zhexian."
"Level 75, Control-type Battle Spirit Saint—Huo Yuhao."
No further words were needed.
Both attacked at the same time.
Huo Yuhao's eyes burst with radiant light—
Twin beams carrying terrifying spiritual force shot toward Li Zhexian.
Li Zhexian lifted his hand sharply—
The Qinglian Sword, still sheathed, slashed upward to meet the beams.
Zzz—BOOM!
A pale-golden glazed sword-light, carrying annihilating sharpness,
cut the beams apart as though they were tangible.
"What?!"
Huo Yuhao's pupils tightened; he dodged desperately as the sword light sliced past his cheek.
"Ultimate Gold?!"
"No— even Ultimate Gold shouldn't be able to cut through my eye ight!"
"Yuhao!"
Amid battle, Skydream shouted gravely:
"That's the absolute pinnacle of sharpness—no!
It's a special attribute beyond the pinnacle!"
"Monster! He's a monster! If you can't beat him, just surrender!"
"Beyond-ultimate sharpness…" Huo Yuhao's Spiritual eyes shimmered with dazzling light.
Everyone of his generation had long been left behind by him.
Never before had someone his age given him such suffocating pressure—
like this mysterious youth in white.
Buzz—
Buzz—
Huo Yuhao's spiritual eyes burst with radiant colors; even a foot-long trail of spiritual energy streamed from the corners of his eyes.
At his brow—
Golden lines slowly formed stroke by stroke, gradually outlining a profound vertical eye.
He stepped forward.
Seven Spirit Rings rose beneath his feet:
Gold, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Rose-Gold, Red!
The fearsome ring configuration surged his aura to its peak.
Terrifying spiritual tides roared above his head.
"Third Spirit Ability—Mass Enfeeblement!"
His third Spirit Ring flared.
A beam of weakening light shot from his eyes, fast enough to seem like it pierced through space, striking Li Zhexian's body.
But—
The next moment left Huo Yuhao completely stunned.
The mysterious white-robed youth's body gradually turned translucent like flawless glazed crystal, solemn like a sacred statue.
His Spirit Bbility—meant to weaken the combat power of its target—
had absolutely no effect.
"A body state of Purity and Impeccability?!"
"Is this kid a pure-blooded Dragon transforming into human form? Transcending ultimate sharpness and an impeccable body..."
Skydream Ice Worm shouted urgently:
"Yuhao, you can't beat this kid! He's a once-in-ten-thousand-years monster!"
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
Before Huo Yuhao could answer—
He saw seven Spirit Rings rise beneath Li Zhexian's feet as well:
Purple, Purple, Sword-Feather, Black-Red, White-Gold, Red, Gold!
A terrifying annihilating force washed over him, making his expression tighten.
He raised his arm to shield himself and was forced back several meters.
Li Zhexian stepped forward, and his third Spirit Ring flared.
"Third Spirit Ability—Qinglian Twelve Tribulations."
Twelve Qinglian Swords descended from above, trapping Huo Yuhao inside.
Nine of them were even infused with sword intent.
In an instant—
Sword qi filled the formation.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The clash of metal rang endlessly.
Two dazzling beams of light tore through the formation with twin explosions.
With a cry, Huo Yuhao—his blue robe stained with blood—shattered the sword formation.
"Fifth Spirit Ability—Duplication!"
He roared.
A deep black radiance spread across a hundred meters.
Within the surging darkness, twelve Qinglian Swords slowly took shape.
It was the ability of the nearly extinct Silver Shadow Beast of the Star Dou Forest—
a Spirit Ability that could copy one ability of the opponent.
A wave of annihilating force emanated from the imitated Qinglian Swords.
But—
A moment later—
Craaack—
A sound of unbearable strain echoed.
Before Huo Yuhao's expression could even fully change,
the twelve imitated Qinglian Swords began to crack all over—
then shattered completely with a metallic crash.
Even his fifth Spirit Ring dimmed by a third.
Huo Yuhao staggered back dozens of meters, a streak of crimson sliding from the corner of his lips.
"His Martial Soul is so domineering even copying is impossible?!"
Wiping away the blood—
His fighting spirit blazed even higher.
His seventh and sixth Spirit Rings lit up in succession.
"Seventh Spirit Ability—Eye of Asura!"
The vertical eye on his brow erupted with a storm of blood-red light.
Behind him, a hundred-meter-tall divine eye manifested, coldly gazing upon the youth in white.
With his Martial Soul True Body activated, his aura surged to its absolute peak.
"Sixth Spirit Ability—Soul Stripping!"
A rose-gold Spirit Ring shone brilliantly, dyeing half the white space in magnificent colors.
Huo Yuhao swept his sleeve.
The enormous eye behind him gathered terrifying energy.
A pillar-thick beam of destructive light burst forth,
rushing straight toward Li Zhexian with unstoppable momentum—