Shen Zhao slowly rolled up his sleeve, then suddenly lunged at Xuan Hao Hongye.
"Ridiculous."
Facing Xuan Hao Hongye, who was now exposed and vulnerable, Shen Zhao immediately raised his hand to swat him away.
But...
*Slap!*
A resounding slap landed squarely on Xuan Hao Hongye's left cheek.
Xuan Hao Hongye was completely caught off guard by this sudden turn of events. Even Song Yanran, standing behind him, froze in shock.
"How dare you..."
"Retreat."
Shen Zhao raised his hand again, ready for another slap. Xuan Hao Hongye instinctively shielded his face.
But instead of a slap, there was a *thud* as Shen Zhao transformed his palm into a fist and delivered an uppercut to his jaw.
Xuan Hao Hongye's mind went blank.
Before he could react, Shen Zhao sprang up and drove his elbow down.
*Crash!*
A sharp impact rang out as Shen Zhao's elbow struck the crown of Xuan Hao Hongye's head. His legs buckled, and he collapsed to his knees.
Using the momentum, Shen Zhao lifted his leg and delivered a *crack* as he kicked Xuan Hao Hongye's skull. The man somersaulted one and a half times through the air, landing back in his kneeling position.
*Pfft!*
Under the barrage of blows, Xuan Hao Hongye immediately spat out a mouthful of blood. As he tried to gather his strength to counterattack, Shen Zhao leaped into the air and locked him in a deadly scissor leg hold around his neck.
In an instant, Xuan Hao Hongye felt a suffocating pressure fill his mind, his heart screaming, "Oh, I can't breathe!"
But alas, Shen Zhao couldn't read minds. With a single flip, he slammed Xuan Hao Hongye to the ground with a resounding *clang*.
The Xiongnu King was furious. His royal dignity had been challenged, and he had to regain his honor.
With a roar, he performed a carp flip to rise to his feet, his aura surging.
"This king will make you..."
Before he could finish, Shen Zhao lunged forward, wrapped his arms around the king's waist, and before the king could react, executed a hip toss that slammed him back to the ground.
Before Xuan Hao Hongye could recover, Shen Zhao flung him aside, sending him crashing to the ground a second time.
Completely bewildered, the king stared blankly.
"What are these moves? They're not in the manuals!"
"The Eighteen Sticky-Cloth Falls—thrilling, isn't it, Xiongnu King?"
As he pondered, he heard Shen Zhao's footsteps approaching again.
The Xiongnu King startled, scrambling backward to evade three rapid punches. Just as he prepared to dodge the fourth, he felt an irresistible force pull him toward Shen Zhao.
"Dragon-Seizing Technique."
With another *clang*, Xuan Hao Hongye's vision turned crimson. Before he could react, his body went limp as Shen Zhao hoisted him over his shoulder and slammed him to the ground, grinding him against the earth.
Just as Xuan Hao Hongye was about to rise, Shen Zhao hoisted him up and slammed him down again with a sickening *thud*, completely draining his remaining strength.
"Get up!"
Unwilling to let up, Shen Zhao grabbed Xuan Hao Hongye from the ground, pinned him in place, and unleashed a barrage of left and right hooks.
A perfectly executed Eight Extremes Iron Mountain Lean sent Xuan Hao Hongye spewing three liters of blood, his body sent careening to the edge of the formation.
Song Yanran, who had been watching the battle with wide eyes, gasped. She had never seen such a brutal, close-quarters fighting style.
With his body nearly shattered, Xuan Hao Hongye forced himself to straighten up, glaring at Shen Zhao with burning hatred.
Shen Zhao, meanwhile, bounced lightly on his feet, darting left and right, completely ignoring his opponent.
"What kind of technique is this? Why is it so bizarre? And why are you unaffected by the Mandala Formation?"
"Haven't you noticed? I haven't used a shred of spiritual energy since the beginning. How could the Mandala Formation possibly affect me?"
Faced with the king's question, Shen Zhao merely sneered.
"I told you, even if you could devise a method to counter my techniques and skills, you could never counter me, Shen Zhao. Techniques and skills are rigid, but people are fluid.
Xuan Hao Hongye, I gave you a chance. I warned you not to enter Yanhuang City, but you refused, insisting on coming here to court death."
"It's all because your ambition was too great, so great that it blinded you."
Xuan Hao Hongye suddenly realized, "So, you're Chu Liuxiang?"
"You only figured that out now? Unfortunately, you know too late."
"How dare you toy with this king! Do you know the price you'll pay?"
Completely outwitted, the Xiongnu King's fury erupted. Without hesitation, he unleashed his full spiritual energy.
The winds howled, the skies darkened, and the Mandala Formation itself responded, emitting an eerie, malevolent glow.
The darkness spread like a tide, instantly plunging the day into night.
Song Yanran frowned and quickly warned, "Be careful! He's absorbing the formation's power. He wants to destroy everything, including himself!"
Now, the Xiongnu King's body was wreathed in evil energy, making his aged face appear even more withered.
At the Heaven-Shaking Hand, a crimson orb of Daoist energy condensed, ready to strike.
Shen Zhao stood with his hands behind his back, his face calm and unperturbed.
"You're forcibly enhancing your foundation using the Mandala Formation, but doing so will drastically reduce your lifespan. Xiongnu King, is it worth such an extreme measure? To go so far as to sacrifice your life in a mutual destruction?"
"I've spent my entire life striving for the future of the Xiongnu. If I fail now, all my efforts will be in vain. Better to burn away my remaining years in a final stand against Heaven than watch my people perish!"
"Against Heaven?"
Shen Zhao chuckled softly.
"Then let Heaven decide who emerges victorious today."
With those words, Shen Zhao's gaze turned razor-sharp, and the Dragon Scale Blade materialized in his hand.
***
Meanwhile, as the fluctuations in the Mandala Formation's power grew increasingly violent, Venerable Brightmoon and the surrounding Nine Nether conspirators found their spiritual energy rapidly draining.
"What's going on? What is Xuan Hao Hongye trying to do?"
Venerable Brightmoon was puzzled, but to stabilize the Mandala Formation, he had no choice but to expend even more spiritual energy to keep it operating.
Lin Feng, standing nearby, quietly observed the scene and suddenly felt a sense of unease.
"What's this feeling? Could it be..."
He keenly sensed impending danger. After a moment's thought, he quietly slipped away from the scene while Venerable Brightmoon and the others were distracted.
On the periphery, Ji Bingyan watched the dark clouds engulfing the sky, her heart filled with anxiety.
"Can Lord hold on? The Mandala Formation's barrier seems to be growing even stronger."
She glanced back at Jun Yutian.
He was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, meditating and undisturbed by the external chaos, diligently adjusting his mental state to its peak.
After a long while, as noon arrived, he slowly opened his eyes.
In the distance, amidst the dark, ominous clouds, a single point of cold light twinkled.
"Now is the time."
Without hesitation, Jun Yutian raised his sword and channeled his fully condensed Primordial Force into the blade.
The dawn's light pierced through the heavens, striking the darkness in the distance.
The moment the sword slashed across the sky, its blade transformed into ten thousand streaks of sword rain, crashing against the Nine Nether Barrier.
At this peak Quasi-Emperor cultivation, the strike carried the force to shatter mountains and split seas, directly breaching the seemingly impregnable barrier.
"Not good!"
Venerable Brightmoon, sensing the anomaly in the barrier, cried out in alarm. He rushed to reinforce it, but was half a step too late.
The intensely Yang and rigid sword energy pierced through the cold light, leaving behind a golden sword mark.
"Success."
With his strike successful, Jun Yutian sheathed his sword and immediately lunged toward Venerable Brightmoon's position.
*Pfft!*
The barrier shattered, and the backlash sent all the Nine Nether Apostles present flying.
Venerable Brightmoon spat a mouthful of black blood, his heart pounding as he surveyed the writhing figures scattered across the ground.
He collapsed to the ground, his face contorted with despair. "We've been tricked."
***
Within the Mandala Formation, Shen Zhao and Xuan Hao Hongye faced off for several moments.
Just as Xuan Hao Hongye was about to strike, Shen Zhao struck first with his blade.
"The ultimate technique of the Eight Desolations Manual: Desolate God's Annihilation."
The instant the blade neared, Xuan Hao Hongye unleashed his condensed yuan energy in a thunderous palm strike.
As the two men clashed, a deafening roar echoed, accompanied by the formation's collapse and dissipation.
The Dragon Scale Blade in Shen Zhao's hand shattered instantly.
The air froze in that moment, fallen leaves drifting silently through the stillness.
After a long pause, Xuan Hao Hongye's hoarse voice broke the silence.
"What... what technique was that?"
"The origin of the blade: Heaven's Severance."
As the words fell, a gushing torrent of hot blood erupted from Xuan Hao Hongye's chest...
-----------------------
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