Whoosh!
A black figure blocked Zhuo Fan.
He was still staggered from the previous blow when another strike came out of the blue.
Squinting, Zhuo Fan blocked the strike with his hand.
Boom!
The immense power of the strike cracked earth under him, caving it for a hundred meters around. But it hardly mattered compared to the pain coming from his arm. It was on the verge of being broken!
Astonished, Zhuo Fan found himself face to face with a sinister looking Huangpu Qingtian, his eyes beaming with murderous intent.
"Zhuo Fan, I can't let you live!" Cackling, Huangpu Qingtian spun a kick into Zhuo Fan's waist, aiming to split him in two, "You're the first to ever rile my desire to kill!"
His brow shuddering, Zhuo Fan faced the sky splitting leg. Since he couldn't block, he had his right eye flash golden.
Instant movement!
Whoosh!
Huangpu Qingtian had cut Zhuo Fan in half, only to find it was his afterimage. While the man himself got some much needed distance between them, gasping for breath.
He didn't anticipate Huangpu Qingtian would ever resort to sucker punching him. What he did just now must've really pushed the guy's buttons and had now driven him mad with the sole purpose of slaughtering him.
The onlookers from farther away were astonished.
This was the third time Zhuo Fan and Huangpu Qingtian were at each other's throats. First in Dragon Cloud City, cut short by Dugu Zhantian's meddling. Second was pill stealing, though no one was there to witness exactly how it went down. And as the saying went, third time's the charm. They truly let loose in this round, no holds barred.
The result? Zhuo Fan's prospects at winning just hit rock bottom. He was on a total defensive. And if not for that mystical ability of his, he'd be a goner.
Huangpu Qingtian's overwhelming dominance crushed Zhuo Fan!
Not even Zhuo Fan could face this monster.
Gnashing his teeth, Xie Tianshang was tense. You Yushan, however, was cackling mad. Both side's leaders had monstrous talent, but when it came to measuring fists, Huangpu Qingtian won by a landslide. Zhuo Fan had no way to fight back!
The uninvited guest in the shadows nodded, "Huangpu Qingtian has the advantage in body, but Zhuo Fan is far more flexible and crafty. He is better by far. And this is when he isn't even in the Profound Heaven Stage. If the two were of equal cultivation, this fight would've ended a long time ago. "
Huangpu Qingtian drew the same conclusion, which only fueled his desire to kill to new heights.
Zhuo Fan presented himself as a real and tangible threat to him. He never got the same feeling from the other Six Dragons and One Phoenix, and only looked at them with disdain even when forced to deal with their cooperation.
On the other hand, Zhuo Fan was a great threat to him. Even more so now that he saw Zhuo Fan cower the Blood Croc horde and trampled all over his royal face.
It was a wake up call. That Zhuo Fan was the same as him, qualified to be king.
With a cold glint in his eye, Huangpu Qingtian barked, "Zhuo Fan, is your art only good at running away?"
"Yep!" Zhuo Fan was blunt as a birch stump, not forgetting his evil grin as he counted on his fingers, "Running, assassination, scouting, spying, and let's not forget my favorite, ring stealing. It has quite wonderful applications, don't you think?"
That only pissed Huangpu Qingtian off. He was looking to mock the man into attacking.
But Zhuo Fan was way too calm, ignoring the cheap taunt and making a kingly comeback. His desire to murder Zhuo Fan on the spot spiked again.
The shadow nodded. He knew how to appreciate talents.
Detached from everything and looking at things with cool and critical eyes were the makings of a great arriviste. At the same time, Huangpu Qingtian's image fell a notch in his eyes.
The shadow slowly began to be partial towards Zhuo Fan, finding him to be the better seed…
Taking a deep breath, Huangpu Qingtian found himself in distress. Zhuo Fan was unlike Chu Qingcheng and the like. He could come and go as he pleased, with no one to stop him. He was the biggest headache there ever was when made an enemy.
That magical art gave him an insurmountable advantage.
So Huangpu Qingtian pointed at his allies and barked, "What are you gawking at? Kill them already!"
The trio woke up with a start. Why had they stopped? [We gotta box them in.] Thus they gave the signal.
Luo Yunhai's echelon formation was still shaken from the Blood Croc horde and their momentum slacked. They were losing.
With the enemy surrounding them, the couple thousand army had sunk into despair against the ten thousand enemies. Few were of Chu Qingcheng's level to escape, while the rest would find their lives driven into the mud.
Panicking, Luo Yunhai commanded, "Three round formation!"
In an instant the three divisions became rotating barrels, blocking the enemy's onslaught. You Yushan wasn't worried though. This formation was a defensive one. They would just have to whittle them down with numbers.
Grinning, the three looked on coldly.
Zhuo Fan frowned a bit. As long as his friends were stuck here, he was going nowhere and would sooner or later end up just as dead.
You Yushan leading the ten thousand army not only entrapped Chu Qingcheng's group but also bogged down Zhuo Fan – two birds with one stone.
"Ha-ha-ha, Zhuo Fan, see how I trample them!" Huangpu Qingtian snickered.
He was forcing Zhuo Fan to face him.
Squinting, Zhuo Fan sported a cold smile, "You'd lower yourself to such an extent? Moreover, you'd have done it already if you wanted to."
"Ha-ha-ha, indeed. I despise them, but now that you're here, things have changed. I'll take great delight in tearing them apart before your very eyes."
Zhuo Fan tensed and secretly sighed. Just like he thought. Huangpu Qingtian left them alive, just so he could restrain him.
But the cold smile never changed, "Young master Huangpu, do you really think I'd let them drag me down?"
"Oh? But isn't your young master with them as well?" Huangpu Qingtian's eyes glinted, having seen through him. He charged for the armies.
It was also then when a wind whistled straight for him.
This was what he was waiting for. He blocked the kick with his hand, releasing a metallic sound.
Looking closer, he found Zhuo Fan eying him coldly.
"He-he-he, finally decided to attack." Huangpu Qingtian gave a crafty smile from having found Zhuo Fan's achilles' heel. He threw a devastating punch.
The blow had the power of a mountain behind it.
Zhuo Fan vanished, letting the punch pass him.
The earth caved in tens of meters over a kilometer as a result of the massive impact.
It kicked up a cloud of dust and shocked even the clashing armies from the immense power display.
What power could do this?
Zhuo Fan was sweating now. Blocking that would've earned him a quick trip down under.
He looked at his friends helplessly, forced to clash this monster head on.
Huangpu Qingtian cackled at the floating Zhuo Fan, filled with scorn, "I wonder for how long can you stop my advance!"
Zhuo Fan gnashed his teeth and charged.
The effect each time was minimal, barely stalling Huangpu Qingtian's progress. His teleports saved him from the worst, but there was no way to escape unscathed.
Huangpu Qingtian was inevitable. He royally took one step at a time towards his target as he unleashed his power.
The sight of Zhuo Fan being played around like a mouse left the others in despair. Not even their last hope could stop the mighty Heaven-shaking Dragon Lord.
But only Chu Qingcheng saw through it and said nervously, "It's for us. Huangpu Qingtian is forcing Zhuo Fan's hand. We have to get out of here!"
It dawned on them what a disgrace they were. They became Zhuo Fan's shackles.
"But how are we supposed to break out when we're outnumbered? What do we do?" Luo Yunhai sighed.
For even Luo Yunhai to come out empty, it showed how truly desperate a situation they were all in.
Chu Qingcheng turned to her two allies, "Have you brought your spiritual beasts?"
Their eyes lit up, reminded how their houses provided them with some high level spiritual beasts. They were pressed at every turn all this time that they'd completely forgotten.
The two nodded.
Chu Qingcheng smiled and spoke heavily, "Use our trump cards. Release the beasts and clear a path!"