[Divine Eye of the Void's 1st stage, Shift!]
Whoosh!
Zhuo Fan appeared a hundred meters away just as Huangpu Tianyuan chomped down with another resounding snap.
The tail swept in tandem, cutting the air with such force, a shockwave flew at a lonely hill a kilometer away.
Whipping it out of existence.
The people tensed up at the overbearing display of power. [The slightest twitch from that tail will have any one of us gone from this world, just like that hill!]
Zhuo Fan's eyes were fixed on the ghastly creature, rejoicing at his timely escape.
He had Divine Eye of the Void to thank for the lucky break.
Alert as he was against Nine Dragons Diamond Body, facing it was still deadly. The earlier display was enough to make his skin crawl.
[That's what got him so confident that he can handle me and Gu Santong once he got the Bodhi Root.]
Zhuo Fan settled his frantic heart with a long breath.
Crack~
Turning his head, Huangpu Tianyuan's neck let out snapping sounds, mocking, "Ah, almost forgot you have that as well. You're fast, sure, but are you faster than me?"
Huangpu Tianyuan flicked his tail and was on Zhuo Fan in a blink.
Zhuo Fan saw two claws going for his head and the steel tail coming at him again.
Zhuo Fan's eye flashed golden again and he was gone. But just as he appeared, Huangpu Tianyuan flicked his tail to be in his face moments later.
While Zhuo Fan was popping all over, Huangpu Tianyuan was with him every step of the way, leaving no room to even breathe.
Everyone was a bundle of nerves watching them go. It was a first to see the ever cocky Zhuo Fan being on the run, taking with him the confidence they had in winning this war.
With Zhuo Fan on the run, who else was left to deal with Huangpu Tianyuan?
Zhuo Fan was overwhelmed as well. No matter where he went, the guy was there to welcome him, putting the squeeze on him more and more.
It worked to show that his Divine Eye of the Void had room for improvement, his training lacking.
You Wanshan and the others were overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear.
Hu~
Two blue wings sprouted from Zhuo Fan's back, Sea Phantom Wings.
Their bluish glow spread and Huangpu Tianyuan felt his mind slowing down, his view becoming hazy.
But as he had trained in Nine Dragons Diamond Body, he was a peak Radiant Stage expert and had the soul to fight back the illusion.
But It proved to be a delay enough for experts of Zhuo Fan's caliber.
"He-he-he, this is my chance." Zhuo Fan used this gap to use his red right arm to punch.
Bam!
Huangpu Tianyuan was blown away.
Zhuo Fan's mouth curled up, but then his face froze and trembled, "N-no way! The mighty Qilin arm actually…"
Rumble!
Huangpu Tianyuan tumbled in the air a few times before getting upright again. He looked at his chest and grinned.
There was a faint imprint there, but nothing he couldn't handle.
"Hi-hi-hi, Zhuo Fan, is that all you could muster after finally catching me open? Humph, that barely even tickled!" Huangpu Tianyuan cackled, with his allies tooting their horns in tandem.
Drifting Flowers Edifices and the rest were only getting glum.
Huangpu Tianyuan was like an unbreakable monster, robbing them of any chance at victory, even if they got lucky enough to take a shot at him.
Since besides luck, one had to target his weakness, scoring them the win. But Huangpu Tianyuan didn't have any weaknesses.
Zhuo Fan's side was in the pits of despair…
Shadow King, Sima Hui and Fang Qiubai, the innocent bystanders close by, were speechless.
"We all sensed Huangpu Tianyuan was reborn, but never imagined he'd train in Nine Dragons Diamond Body. Zhuo Fan can't do anything." Shadow King sighed, "If this keeps up, it'll be Regent Estate's victory. And…"
"And Huangpu Tianyuan becomes our greatest threat!" Sima Hui sighed, "We would've lent the Luo clan a hand earlier if we had known. But now Huangpu Tianyuan has an overwhelming position and this will only make dealing with him harder."
The others nodded and Fang Qiubai said, "Gu Santong may be the only one who can fight him. But ever since he went after Zhuo Fan, the bugger has gone missing."
"Maybe… Zhuo Fan finished him off." Shadow King snorted, "The kid is tough, but a child at heart. With Zhuo Fan's schemes, even being weaker he'd have supreme advantage. It'd be simple to kill him in some way or another."
"Without Gu Santong, how are we supposed to deal with Huangpu Tianyuan? We were supposed to work with Huangpu Tianyuan to nab Zhuo Fan, and then get him later. But now… even if we team up with Zhuo Fan, the Nine Dragons Diamond Body isn't easy to surmount. All we can do is watch. His Majesty's plan already has deviations."
Sima Hui sighed.
Shadow King nodded, "Don't be so sure. We still have two more people!"
"Who?" Sima Hui asked.
Shadow King's eyes flashed in anger, "His Majesty's five Divine Dragons are real and he does have two experts back in the imperial capital. They were tasked to constrict Gu Santong, but by the looks of things, they'll be going against Nine Dragons Diamond Body!"
"What?!" The two cried.
These two Divine Dragons were in the dark about this, while Shadow King knew them quite well judging by his tone.
Shadow King smiled at their bewilderment and recalled out loud, "They're old friends of mine, in a way, and more than worthy to be called Divine Dragons. It's natural to not know about them since you came later. Wouldn't you have been quicker to leave His Majesty's side otherwise, knowing he'd be defenseless?"
The two exclaimed.
[It's all part of His Majesty's plan.] But they've been by his side for so many years yet the emperor not once let it slip about the extra two Divine Dragons. It went to show how uneasy he felt about them.
The two sighed, souring inside…
Back to Zhuo Fan, he glared at his enemy, plans running wild in that head of his. His right arm shone brighter.
"He-he-he, still won't give up? Stop wasting time, I am invincible. You can struggle all you want but your destiny is to lie dead at my feet. Zhuo Fan, there's no getting out of this one!" Huangpu Tianyuan's eyes flashed with savagery.
Zhuo Fan snickered, flicking his shining red arm, "Who can tell? Since my punch does nothing, I'll just have to stomp ya!"
"Stomp?" Huangpu Tianyuan glanced at his legs in derision, "You only have powerful arms. You think your puny legs can do what your arms can't?"
"We won't know until we try, humph…" Zhuo Fan's twisted smile came.
Huangpu Tianyuan's common sense was tingling, but seeing how Zhuo Fan's latest tricks were for naught, he had stopped paying it any attention.
No matter how sly and slippery Zhuo Fan was, in the face of true power, it was all moot.
Huangpu Tianyuan swished his tail and shot for Zhuo Fan. The latter used Shift to pop a hundred meters above.
Huangpu Tianyuan flicked his tail to go after him, just as Zhuo Fan's mouth curled into a creepy smile, his red right arm smashing down at him.
Huangpu Tianyuan scoffed, using an Earth Dragon Claw to block.
On contact, the red fist exploded in size, changing its shape from a fist into a spiritual beast's hoof.
In the face of the rippling winds, the ridiculous power and boundless might, Huangpu Tianyuan knew he had fallen for it good.
With Zhuo Fan coming from above and him from below, it was far too late to dodge. The red hoof even brought along a sense of danger.
He hated himself for not keeping his guard up around this punk.
Zhuo Fan was laughing, "Huangpu Tianyuan, I'll trample those old bones of yours. Tangible Projection, Soaring Qilin Leg!"