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**
Having secured the greatest treasures within the Imperial Palace of the Sky Serpent Empire, Xiao Lin had no intention of lingering out of greed. He immediately chose to rush back toward the location of the Heavenly Water Cold Pond.
He knew that once the battle at the pond concluded, anyone not present on the scene would naturally be suspected of being the one who infiltrated the palace.
Xiao Lin didn't want his "extra-curricular activities" to be discovered by anyone. Besides, obtaining ten Earth Grade Cultivation Techniques and Dou Techniques had already far exceeded his original expectations.
There was no need to risk exposure by searching for more treasure vaults within the palace. So, just as Xiao Lin had arrived silently, he departed just as quietly. Before long, he had returned to the vicinity of the Heavenly Water Cold Pond.
BOOM!
Xiao Lin had just arrived when he realized the battle here was nearing its end.
The collision of two Dou Techniques—both powerful enough that even the current Xiao Lin had to take them seriously—caught his gaze.
"It seems I made the right choice not to stay greedy," Xiao Lin thought silently as he scanned the battlefield.
In the area surrounding the Heavenly Water Cold Pond, the once-towering trees had long since vanished.
In their place were only deep craters and jagged ravines. These were the scars left by the aftershocks of the battle between the Emperor of the Sky Serpent Empire and the Old Mansion Master of the Sky Serpent Mansion.
One was a Dou Zun powerhouse, while the other was a Nine-Star Dou Zong expert of the Dao of the Sword.
It was only natural for their clash to result in such devastation.
After all, if Xiao Lin didn't utilize his Heaven Realm soul power and spiritual arrays, these were two people capable of threatening him!
At this moment, following Xiao Lin's quiet departure and return, he saw the two figures standing proudly in the void. They were locked in a silent standoff, each concentrating their will to its absolute peak.
"Are they preparing for the final strike?"
Witnessing this, as the only other Nine-Star Dou Zong on the scene, how could Xiao Lin fail to judge the situation?
Whether it was the Dou Zun Old Mansion Master or the Emperor who possessed the strength to challenge a Dou Zun, both had honed their spirit, energy, and Dou Qi to their optimal states.
This was clearly the prelude to a final, decisive blow.
As a spectator, Xiao Lin was filled with anticipation.
He wasn't the only one; the Dou Zong powerhouses from various other factions were all watching with wide, nervous eyes, terrified of missing this magnificent moment. In the Northwestern Region, a battle of this caliber was something most would only witness once in a lifetime.
Behind the Old Mansion Master, the void began to distort.
Even though the Old Mansion Master had been burdened by several "debuffs" before the fight started, a Dou Zun was still a Dou Zun. Their mastery over spatial power was simply incomparable to that of a Dou Zong.
For a Dou Zun, every utilization of spatial power was essentially equivalent to the strike of a Dou Technique. Had the Old Mansion Master not encountered the Emperor—a peerless sword cultivator—any ordinary Nine-Star Dou Zong would have been swatted to death long ago.
Don't be fooled by the fact that there is only a "one-star" difference between a One-Star Dou Zun and a Nine-Star Dou Zong; in reality, it is a massive chasm that is incredibly difficult to cross.
It was only because the Dao of the Sword possessed unparalleled offensive capabilities that the Emperor had the qualifications to fight the Old Mansion Master to such a near-stalemate.
Now, the Old Mansion Master's final move was clearly a combination of a Dou Technique and spatial power.
This was his strongest attack!
On the other side, the Emperor extended his right hand, pointing his sword toward the heavens.
Clang—
The hum of the sword echoed as the void around the Sky Son Sword seemed ready to be sliced apart. Simultaneously, a streak of green light began to flow across the surface of the blade. The Emperor was transforming his Dou Qi into Sword Qi!
If one looked closely, they would see that the Emperor was already surrounded by a dense, suffocating layer of Sword Qi. It was no exaggeration to say that if a Dou Huang were to approach him now, they would be instantly shredded into pieces!
This terrifying Sword Qi was the capital the Emperor relied on to contend with the Old Mansion Master. The two remained in a standoff for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Finally, just as Xiao Lin found himself holding his breath, both moved simultaneously.
The Old Mansion Master extended his right hand and suddenly clenched it toward the Emperor's direction.
"Spatial Boundary Vortex!"
As the Old Mansion Master's low shout fell, a storm of spatial energy rotated violently, grinding toward the Emperor. Seeing the spatial storm sweeping toward him, the Emperor showed no intention of retreating.
His gaze narrowed, and in the next second, he swung his sword!
Hum—
"Seventh Sword—Severing the Starry River!"
This was the Emperor's strongest strike, the seventh sword of the Nine Heavens Towering Swords!
The final three swords of this technique actually touched upon the level of Dou Zun power. Yet, the Emperor, relying on his Nine-Star Dou Zong cultivation, was forcibly unleashing power at the Dou Zun tier!
It was clear that when it came to the Dao of the Sword, the Emperor was indeed exceptionally gifted. As the seventh sword was unleashed, the terrifying Sword Qi transformed into a silver flash of light, slashing directly into the spatial storm.
When the two Dou Techniques collided, the sky itself seemed to be torn asunder. The faces of the watching Dou Zong experts changed instantly as they retreated further away—Xiao Lin included. He had no desire to be caught in the crossfire for no reason.
The two techniques began to cancel each other out.
As time passed, the spatial storm weakened, and the Sword Qi began to dissipate. To the eyes of Xiao Lin and the other experts, it looked as though both attacks would likely annihilate each other simultaneously.
However, at the final moment, an accident occurred.
Perhaps the Sword Qi unleashed by the Emperor was too powerful, or perhaps it was because he had forced the technique beyond his limits, but a crack suddenly appeared on his Sky Son Sword.
Upon noticing this, the Emperor's expression changed drastically. But at this point, there was no turning back. If he failed this clash, his fate was all too predictable.
Thinking of this, the Emperor gritted his teeth.
"I'll bet it all! Sky Son Sword, you must hold on!"
As the Emperor whispered, he poured every drop of his Dou Qi into the strike.
For him, this was a strike of "success or death." As the Emperor increased his power, the Sword Qi actually began to carve through the spatial storm. However, as the price, the cracks on the Sky Son Sword became increasingly obvious.
On the other side, the Old Mansion Master naturally felt the shift.
"You're mad!"
Seeing the Emperor's suicidal behavior, the Old Mansion Master was startled.
In truth, while this was meant to be their final strike, the Old Mansion Master only intended to determine a winner; he had no plan to fight to the death. After all, the Sky Serpent Mansion and the Imperial Family had once been a single entity.
He merely wanted to use this victory to decide who would be the ultimate authority in the empire. He even planned to spare the Emperor's life and use special means to control the Imperial Family afterward.
Both sides were, after all, parts of the Sky Serpent Empire!
There was no need to be so ruthless.
But how could he have expected the Emperor to go to such extremes? Driven by necessity, the Old Mansion Master also poured the last of his Dou Qi into the clash.
The collision between the two grew even more violent!
The consequence, however, was that the Sky Son Sword in the Emperor's hand could no longer endure.
Kacha—
In that instant, the Sky Son Sword snapped.
**
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