Bam!
It looked like a hunk of rock was coming down as the red Qilin leg impacted Huangpu Tianyuan's face, stomping down hard enough to crack something, going by those sounds.
Huangpu Tianyuan put up all four claws, but nothing had any damn use in stopping it.
He kissed the ground so hard the shock wave engulfed the battlefield. Many experts spat blood from it, taking some much needed safety distance.
The dust rose and covered both of them.
As the dust settled, light showed a horrifying scene.
Zhuo Fan's right arm had turned into a hundred meter tall blood red pillar. It stood upright and tall as it held up the sky.
Zhuo Fan was so tiny next to it, making the contrast sharper on how a human being could release such a pillar.
Shadow King's side was dumbstruck. Just when they thought they'd seen it all, Zhuo Fan had to get freakier with an even crazier move.
[That's what he meant by stomping. He has a third leg. But what kind of savage beast has such power?]
Staring at the 7th-level spiritual beast wings on Zhuo Fan's back and at the hoofed right arm, it got them wondering. [How many inhuman parts does he have?]
[Monster!]
They all thought of it, gulped and shook with fear.
Zhuo Fan was still within the limits of a human monster up till now, but he had gone beyond with this display.
No one there took this conclusion as a good thing.
Drifting Flowers Edifices, Veiled Dragon Pavilion and Sword Marquise Abode jumped in fright, albeit happy at the reversal. He finally had the upper hand against the Nine Dragons Diamond Body.
His advantage was directly proportionate with their odds at winning this war.
You Wanshan's side slumped, their hearts a mess. Just a minute ago, they were hollering that Huangpu Tianyuan had surpassed the freaky Zhuo Fan.
Only to find out that Zhuo Fan was in fact a human-faced monster. [How do you top that? You can go full earth dragon for all I care, you still can't take even one of his hits!]
You Wanshan's side found their earlier confidence maybe just a tiny bit premature.
[Every single move of Zhuo Fan is filled with mystery and tricks! You can't take him down so easily…]
Zhuo Fan had better things to do than to mind them, like smiling evilly. The Qilin leg stuck deeper into the ground, compressing hundreds of meters into a mere dozen.
You Wanshan and Regent Estate's Venerables felt like crying.
Unknown as was the fate of their Estate Lord under that hoof, but now they wondered if there'd even be a corpse left. [If you go on trampling any more, we won't even find a bone left. That's just barbaric.]
Zhuo Fan's belief was that true ruthlessness grasped certain victory.
Crack~
Zhuo Fan just kept on pushing, snapping the bedrock like twigs. Each sound only helped drive fear and dread into You Wanshan and allies.
Drifting Flowers Edifices' side was glad Zhuo Fan had made a comeback, but even they found it hard to see him still going at it.
[Dude, take it easy. Do you have to turn him into a bone meal?]
Zhuo Fan's capacity for cruelty was only in relation to Huangpu Tianyuan's danger. He wouldn't leave the enemy the slightest chance. He had to finish him off.
[This ought to do it.] Zhuo Fan's arm glowed red and returned to being an innocent arm.
Peering into the hole, he was speechless.
The bedrock was turned to powder under the Qilin leg's power.
And a man everyone knew rested in the middle of all the sand. Albeit cracked all over, with blood leaking, it was safe to say that he was barely breathing.
"He's still alive despite Qilin leg's full power?" Zhuo Fan gasped.
Everyone had witnessed the might of the Qilin leg, and now they bore testament to the tough Nine Dragons Diamond Body. [The guy's freakin' tough!]
"Cough~"
Blood spewed with every motion, from his nose and mouth, ears and eyes, but Huangpu Tianyuan got his feet under him, laughing, "Zhuo Fan, I definitely didn't see that one coming. But even with that killer move, you still can't take me down!"
"To hell with you and your body! You're now broken and wounded. Since I couldn't kill you with the Qilin leg the first time, the second attempt will finish you off. Humph, you're half dead!" Zhuo Fan's eyes flashed.
Huangpu Tianyuan only laughed harder, "Half alive is more like it. Did you forget already? My Nine Dragons Diamond Body has reached this step with the help of Bodhi Root. It's not just tough, but unbreakable!"
Huangpu Tianyuan made a sign and barked, "Nine Dragons Diamond Body, 8th dragon soul Transformation, Returning Dragon's Roar!"
Roar!
Under the shocked looks of everyone, a green dragon soul shot out of his body and roared as it circled above him.
Green lights fell upon him, healing him to perfection, not even leaving a scar as the scales knit back together.
When the dragon soul returned back inside, he was now the very picture of health.
Zhuo Fan's eyes trembled in shock.
The Ascending Dragon fused with the Bodhi Root, [And gets this bastard back to full health every time he's damaged!]
Adding that tough body into the mix and you'd have an indestructible killing machine.
Zhuo Fan frowned. Shadow King's side was keyed up.
Huangpu Tianyuan's outrageous power blew their minds. How were they going to beat that?
"Even if Gu Santong steps in, not even he can do anything. With this old monster healing back whenever, no one can beat him!" Fang Qiubai shook his head, "What about the other two Divine Dragons, can they do it?"
Shadow King said, "All I know is that they can handle Gu Santong, but cannot kill him. I reckon Huangpu Tianyuan falls in the same category."
"As long as there's a way, we'll just think about killing him later." Sima Hui muttered.
Huangpu Tianyuan stretched his limbs in taunt to Zhuo Fan above, yet the man was calm and cool.
Zhuo Fan's eyes flashed and he punched with his right arm again.
[Since I have no way to finish him off yet, I'll stall him. Torturing him is better than nothing. And who knows, maybe a way to kill him will come out of it.]
Classic delaying tactic.
First bind the enemy then get some time to think.
It was such an obvious choice that even Huangpu Tianyuan could see it. So he retaliated with a flick of his tail and jumped out.
Boom!
Zhuo Fan's leg smashed the ground, but not Huangpu Tianyuan.
Frowning, Zhuo Fan sighed inside. [And of course it never goes as planned.]
He only got Huangpu Tianyuan the first time because of how close they were and having the element of surprise.
But Huangpu Tianyuan was a fast learner. He had to keep some distance and that speed of his was enough to stay clear.
What was even worse was that Huangpu Tianyuan wasn't a cocky old coot like he acted, but was cautious instead.
The worst enemy was a cautious one.
Zhuo Fan sighed.
Coming out empty with the enemy on guard, left Zhuo Fan in truly dire straits!
Case in point, he didn't have the time to take back his Qilin leg as a bloody maw came from behind.
"Zhuo Fan, now it's my turn, ha-ha-ha…"