Wen Yan continued his assault on the cyan-robed man.
The two figures rapidly exchanged blows in the sky.
Relying on the countless powerful Dou Techniques available to him because of his extraordinary background, the cyan-robed man was surprisingly able to hold his own against Wen Yan.
However, there was an important reason for that.
Wen Yan had not used his full strength.
He hadn't even used a single Dou Technique.
After all, he already knew the other party's identity.
His purpose was merely to teach them a lesson, not to kill them.
Besides, the cultivators of the Heaven Punishing Divine Palace were all accustomed to entering the Trial Tower to temper their combat skills.
They could be described as battle-hardened warriors.
Even cultivators with higher cultivation levels would have difficulty gaining an advantage against them through ordinary combat experience.
The enormous disturbance in the sky naturally attracted the attention of the people throughout Tianbei City.
One by one, they raised their heads and stared at the spectacular battle taking place high above them.
The terrifying energy fluctuations caused many people's expressions to change.
"If that kind of attack hit me, I'd probably scream once at most."
A man standing among the crowd crossed his arms and spoke with an unusually serious expression.
"If I made a second sound, I'd already be dead."
His companion stared at him in surprise.
"Tiedan, when did you become so tough?"
"Those two are at least Dou Zuns, aren't they?"
"Of course!"
Tiedan nodded solemnly.
"After the first attack hit me, I'd already be reduced to ashes."
"How could I possibly have the chance to scream a second time?"
"..."
The people surrounding them were speechless.
A moment ago, they had genuinely thought that this man was some hidden expert.
His companion quietly moved several steps away from him.
He had no desire to become collateral damage if someone became annoyed and decided to beat Tiedan up.
...
"What are all of you doing?"
"Why is it so noisy?"
Just as everyone was becoming exhausted from the fighting, the teleportation gate suddenly lit up.
A voice came from within the passage.
A slender figure slowly walked out.
The moment Xiao Tian stepped through the teleportation gate, she looked around at the chaotic scene.
People were lying everywhere.
Some were groaning in pain.
Others were swollen beyond recognition.
Xiao Tian secretly suppressed her laughter before putting on an expression of surprise.
"Has someone told me what happened here?"
She looked around.
"And who are these fat-headed, big-eared fellows?"
The cultivators of the Heaven Punishing Divine Palace looked down at the people they had just beaten.
They silently nodded to themselves.
The Palace Master is right.
They really are fat-headed and big-eared now.
Their faces were so swollen that their original features were almost impossible to recognize.
Hai Bodong immediately stepped forward.
"Reporting to the Palace Master."
"These people forcibly entered an important area of our Heaven Punishing Divine Palace."
"We politely questioned them about their identities, but they not only refused to cooperate, they also spoke disrespectfully and behaved extremely arrogantly."
He then described the entire incident in detail.
Of course, Xiao Tian had been watching everything from the sidelines from the very beginning.
She had also secretly suppressed the Dou Qi within the intruders.
Otherwise, if one of them suddenly activated a powerful bloodline ability or unleashed some hidden trump card, the situation would become much less entertaining.
At that moment, Ling Quan suddenly heard a voice he could never forget.
A voice he both feared and hated.
His eyes immediately widened.
He raised his head and glared furiously at Xiao Tian.
One of the elders of the Heaven Punishing Divine Palace noticed Ling Quan's hostile gaze toward their Palace Master.
His body immediately shifted backward.
His foot then landed—
Accidentally.
—directly on Ling Quan's finger.
"Ugh! Ugh, ugh, ugh!"
A sharp burst of pain shot through Ling Quan.
He immediately let out a series of muffled cries.
He turned his head and glared at the elder standing on his hand.
The elder looked down at him in confusion.
"Why are you looking at me?"
"Isn't it all right for me to stand here?"
"Or do you want me to hold you down and beat you again?"
He tilted his head.
"Are you addicted to being beaten?"
Ling Quan's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
Xiao Tian silently gave the elder a thumbs-up.
Excellent.
I'll definitely give him a raise later.
And it'll be a big one.
"Ahem."
Xiao Tian cleared her throat.
"Elder Pan, you've stepped on his finger."
Elder Pan looked down.
"Ah?"
"Oh!"
He immediately lifted his foot.
"My apologies. I didn't notice."
He looked at Ling Quan with an apologetic smile.
"I thought you were telling me to continue."
"I must have misunderstood."
He chuckled awkwardly.
"I'm truly sorry."
Then he glanced at the ground.
"I was wondering why the ground felt so uneven."
He looked back at Ling Quan.
"Speaking of which..."
"Why did you put your hand under my foot, kid?"
"..."
Ling Quan's face instantly turned pale.
A mouthful of fresh blood suddenly sprayed from his mouth.
Pfft!
His body collapsed weakly to the ground.
This time, he genuinely felt like dying.
Or at least, pretending to be dead was probably the safest option.
The teleportation gate lit up once again.
Three figures emerged from within.
Xun'er.
Gu Qing.
Gu Feng.
"Xiao Tian Gege."
Xun'er quickly walked over to Xiao Tian.
Then she looked around.
Her beautiful eyes widened slightly.
"Oh?"
"Why are there so many strangely shaped people lying around?"
Ling Quan, who had been pretending to be unconscious, immediately recognized Xun'er's voice.
His body stiffened.
He quietly lowered his head even further.
Please don't recognize me.
Please don't recognize me.
He desperately tried to make himself look like a completely different person.
Hai Bodong glanced at Xun'er.
Then he glanced at Xiao Tian.
Then back at Xun'er.
He couldn't help thinking to himself:
As expected, they're family.
Even their acting is almost identical.
Hai Bodong immediately stepped forward.
With a serious expression, he once again recounted everything that had happened.
This time, however, he deliberately added even more detail.
After all, Gu Qing and Gu Feng were standing behind Xun'er.
They needed to understand exactly what had happened.
Gu Qing and Gu Feng listened quietly.
Then they looked toward the people lying on the ground.
They hadn't expected anyone to be bold enough to forcibly intrude into another force's important territory and cause trouble.
It was already extremely merciful that these people hadn't been beaten to death.
Xun'er glanced at the injured men.
Then she looked at Gu Qing and Gu Feng.
"Do the two of you feel that their clothes look familiar?"
The two elders carefully examined the black-and-purple robes.
Gu Qing's expression gradually became strange.
"Old Feng..."
"Don't you think their clothing looks very similar to the special robes worn by the Black Annihilation Army?"
Gu Feng's expression changed slightly.
He carefully looked again.
"It really does."
"Bang!"
At that moment, a loud impact came from the entrance of the main palace.
Everyone turned their heads.
A blue-robed figure walked inside.
It was Wen Yan.
He was carrying a blood-covered figure in one hand.
Wen Yan casually threw the injured man onto the ground.
"This fellow was hiding in the void."
"He's a Dou Zun."
"It seems someone intended to secretly spy on the Heaven Punishing Divine Palace."
Wen Yan's expression remained calm.
He then glanced at the unconscious man.
"And although this one's cultivation isn't particularly impressive, he possesses quite a few valuable treasures."
"His background is clearly not ordinary."
Wen Yan's expression was calm, but his words immediately placed another layer of suspicion on the group.
Gu Qing stared at the unconscious cyan-robed man.
His eyes suddenly widened.
"Isn't that..."
"The Third Commander of the Black Annihilation Army—Yang Hao?"
The unconscious man's face was still recognizable despite his injuries.
Gu Qing was stunned.
"It really is him."
"But why would the Third Commander of the Black Annihilation Army be here as well?"
Gu Feng's expression became solemn.
"What other reason could there be?"
He paused.
"It's nothing more than..."
He didn't finish.
But Gu Qing immediately understood what he meant.
Xun'er turned her eyes toward Xiao Tian.
Their gazes met.
Xiao Tian immediately understood.
She gave Xun'er a slight nod.
Xun'er then turned toward Gu Qing and Gu Feng.
"You two handle this."
The moment they heard her words, the two elders immediately stepped forward.
They approached Ling Quan first and fed him a healing pill.
After all, aside from Third Commander Yang Hao, the other members of the Black Annihilation Army had suffered relatively minor injuries.
None of them had received fatal wounds.
Once Ling Quan swallowed the pill, the injuries on his body gradually began to recover.
However, he still remained motionless.
Xun'er narrowed her eyes.
"Since he likes pretending to be dead so much..."
She glanced at Gu Qing.
"Elder Qing, why don't you make it real?"
Ling Quan's heart nearly stopped.
He immediately sensed Gu Qing's Dou Qi beginning to gather.
Damn it!
She saw through me!
He couldn't pretend any longer.
Ling Quan hurriedly opened his eyes and sat upright.
He deliberately rubbed his head as though he had only just awakened.
"Where... where am I?"
Gu Qing calmly withdrew his Dou Qi.
Ling Quan stood up.
His eyes quickly swept across the surroundings.
Fear flashed through his eyes.
Then his gaze landed on the unconscious figure lying not far away.
His pupils suddenly contracted.
"Third Commander... Yang Hao?"
Ling Quan's expression changed completely.
At this moment, he finally realized that this mission had become far more serious than he had imagined.