"Whoosh." "Whoosh."
Two figures burst out of the shattered space, their bodies radiating terrifying waves of Dou Qi, sending ripples throughout the heavens and earth. The very air trembled in their wake.
At this moment, Chen Xiaoming was shrouded in a mantle of silver light, vast torrents of Dou Qi surging within him. His eyes locked onto Gu Yuan on the other side, and the flames of battle ignited within his gaze.
"Whoosh!"
With a step, the void collapsed beneath him. Chen Xiaoming's figure vanished without a trace. A streak of silver light flashed across the sky, trailing behind it shimmering ripples.
A sudden sense of danger surged in Gu Yuan's heart. Energy surged behind him like a tidal wave. He struck with a palm beside himself, instantly tearing open a spatial rift. From within the darkness of the void, a cold silver spear light pierced forth.
"Boom!"
The massive energy palm clashed with the spear light. Terrifying energies twisted and collided, yet the spear light radiated blinding brilliance, piercing straight through the energy palm. In an instant, the massive energy was riddled with gaping holes.
"Perish."
Seeing the energy wave shattered, Gu Yuan flashed forward, appearing before the spear tip like a bolt of lightning. One finger extended, and in that moment, space within a hundred feet collapsed into nothingness. The finger pressed downward toward the spear.
"Buzz..."
The void quaked. A soft gray light emanated from Gu Yuan's fingertip, and in mere moments, the silver spear light was snuffed out.
"Hmm?"
His brows furrowed. A faint Dou Qi fluctuation stirred to his side—Chen Xiaoming had somehow already closed the distance. In his right hand, radiance condensed, and a thread of soul force coiled around his fist.
With a mighty punch, the void fractured with spreading cracks. Even the ancient, fortified realm of the Ancient World could no longer withstand Chen Xiaoming's assault.
Gu Yuan's expression changed. Soul force surged within him. He pointed again—aura of annihilation condensed into a streak of black light that blasted out like a shooting star.
The void was torn asunder. In the blink of an eye, the black beam clashed with the force of the punch.
"Bang!"
The black light shattered. A wave of deathly silence erupted, enveloping the skies. Gu Yuan pointed again and again, firing black beams in rapid succession. With a tap of his foot, his figure retreated backward.
"Tap."
A faint sound echoed. From within the deathly silence, Chen Xiaoming burst forth like a silver comet. His fists swung with thunderous force, and silver light shook the void, carving two pitch-black cracks across the heavens.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Blow after blow shattered the black light. Chen Xiaoming drew closer with every step. Gu Yuan's aura gathered like a storm within him, while the silver glow in Chen Xiaoming's body intensified.
"Whoosh!"
Gu Yuan's eyes narrowed. He moved in a flash. Behind him, an enormous energy tide roared downward, surging like a million crashing waves. Heaven and earth trembled violently. Cracks snaked across the void, spreading hundreds of feet in all directions.
Within that tide, the energy quickly solidified into a massive, translucent hand, suffused with Gu Yuan's soul power. A terrifying pressure burst outward from it.
Below, the gathered spectators felt as if Mount Tai was pressing down upon them. That oppressive aura weighed heavily on their hearts, making even breathing difficult.
Faced with the overwhelming pressure, Chen Xiaoming's heart tensed. From within him, a dragon's roar rang out—majestic and fierce, reverberating through the nine heavens. Nine golden Heavenly Dragons burst forth from his body, coiling around his arms.
Golden light shimmered within the silver aura. As the colors merged, Chen Xiaoming released his clenched fist. The gold and silver light transformed into two yin-yang fish, swirling and leaping through the air before coalescing into a silver long spear. Dragon patterns were engraved along its shaft, and its spear tip glinted with brilliant golden light.
The spear trembled slightly—space shattered in its wake. A soul-shaking aura swept forth, making the very heavens quake.
"Go."
Gu Yuan's expression hardened. He thrust his palm forward. The colossal translucent hand behind him surged with horrifying energy, engulfing the sky. Overhead, the Ancient World rippled with violent energy tides. For a moment, the world was cloaked in overwhelming pressure.
Chen Xiaoming felt the weight of space intensify around him. The silver radiance within his body erupted—Dou Qi fused with his Imperial Soul Realm force and surged skyward. A majestic pressure tore through the heavens.
Battle!
Within that aura, an indomitable fighting spirit swept across the entire Ancient World.
Countless inhabitants felt its surge—some were shaken to their cores, filled with dread, while others had their fighting spirits stirred to new heights.
Below, Xiao Xun'er and the others struggled to even take a step under the pressure of battle intent.
"Break!"
As the massive translucent hand descended, Chen Xiaoming exploded forward. Flames of battle burned in his eyes. In his hand, the silver spear radiated dazzling light, its devastating power tearing the Ancient World's space apart.
Where the spear passed, it left ink-black trails in the air—like brushstrokes painting a celestial canvas.
With a single thrust, the gold-and-silver spear light hurtled forward, colliding with the enormous hand.
"BOOM!"
An explosion of catastrophic energy rocked the heavens. The shockwave rippled outward violently. At the point of impact, space completely shattered—forming a gaping void of darkness. The fabric of the Ancient World was ripped asunder.
Cracks thousands of feet long zigzagged across the sky. The world looked like a shattered mirror—broken by the hands of Chen Xiaoming and Gu Yuan.
"Gulp… The Clan Leader isn't trying to destroy the Gu Realm… right?"
A grizzled elder, barely a Five-Star Dou Saint, struggled to withstand the residual waves of battle. Staring skyward at the apocalyptic scene, he was overwhelmed by the might of two Nine-Star Dou Saints.
Just the thought that they were fighting inside the Ancient World—ripping it apart—made him feel deeply uneasy.
If the duel dragged on for days without a victor, half of the realm might be obliterated.
Among the watching group, an elder at the Seven-Star Dou Saint level gave a bitter smile and shook his head. Now he understood why Gu Yuan had stopped him from intervening—the difference in strength was too great.
Though he was a proud Seven-Star Dou Saint, he couldn't even scratch the realm's space. Yet the two combatants shattered space with each clash. There was no comparison.
At this moment, Xiao Xun'er couldn't think of anything else. She simply worried for Chen Xiaoming and Gu Yuan. The fight had reached such extremes, and neither showed the slightest intent of stopping. She feared… something terrible might happen.
Meanwhile, high above the void—
"Whoosh."
Chen Xiaoming reappeared in the skies. Not far away, Gu Yuan's figure also took form once more.
The two stared at each other—and from within each other's eyes, they saw only one thing:
Battle intent.
"Come," Chen Xiaoming said coldly. "Show me your true power!"
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