In the surface space.
Xu Zhiye concluded that Ye An was a martial fanatic!
He had perfected his evasion skills to the realm of perfection.
Everything was exquisitely precise; his footwork had transcended mere technique to become an art form.
The eight blades he manipulated not only couldn't hit Ye An, but couldn't even disturb his balance.
And yet, Ye An had remained in a state of gathering power from start to finish.
Despite his intense movements, shakes, and changes in trajectory, the flow of martial intent within him continued unabated.
But he just didn't interrupt his power gathering.
"Why is this happening?"
Unconsciously, Xu Zhiye's pupils dilated.
And when he sensed the exponentially growing martial intent within Ye An, he began to sweat.
Unable to interrupt his power gathering.
He would definitely be defeated by his bizarre talent for unlimited power accumulation.
He had been gathering power for almost a minute now.
Xu Zhiye dared not imagine what state Ye An's fist intent would reach in a while.
He had to interrupt the opponent's power gathering!
He made his decision.
Just as Ye An was gathering power, he had also accumulated a considerable amount of chaotic blackness. Although it was not enough to cause a qualitative change, its energy intensity was absolutely high enough to force Ye An to unleash this punch!
With a sweep of his big hand, a focused gaze, and a loud shout, "Engulf!"
In the second realm.
The chaos blackness instantly became dense, rapidly expanding and swelling, transforming into a sea of darkness in just a few seconds!
With Xu Zhiye's spellcasting.
Dark tsunamis rose from all directions around Ye An.
Majestic oppressive forces descended from the sky, and Ye An's body swayed under the flickering flames!
At the same time, Xu Zhiye did not forget to wield his attacking blade!
Ye An continued to move, shake, dodge, but the surrounding waves had already surged!
His mind was like a person standing on a single foot on a log. As long as there was a slight imbalance, his mind would fall and plunge into the ocean, and his impending fist would involuntarily be forced out!
The key to this battle lies here!
Waves rushed in, instantly engulfing Ye An.
Ye An's fiery eyes suddenly froze.
Terracotta of Xuanwu!
Dark yellow soil covered his surface, forming rough and thick soil armor.
Although he had been submerged by the waves, he forcefully resisted with the terracotta of Xuanwu!
Moving within the sea of chaotic darkness, Ye An continued to evade the eight sharp blades!
The darkness oppressed him, corroding his terracotta of Xuanwu and even penetrating the soil directly onto his flesh.
Intense pain spread throughout Ye An's body.
To move, he had to overcome the weight of the terracotta of Xuanwu and the resistance of the chaotic sea.
He had to exert great effort to evade the eight sharp blades and keep his balance!
The little person standing on the log began to sway.
Ye An gritted his teeth, feeling a rush of air in his throat, but he held it back because it wasn't time yet!
To break through the second realm, the surface, and the central hub in one breath, he needed to gather for at least another ten seconds!
Extreme state activated!
The intensification of the battle fire, the weight of the terracotta of Xuanwu simultaneously increased, and the clash of the two caused Ye An's speed to remain unchanged, but his martial intent began to rise!
Standing on the surface, Xu Zhiye's pupils trembled slightly.
Because at this moment, Ye An made him have to acknowledge!
A swirling flame moved in the ocean, and he gritted his teeth, resisting the chaotic waves with his Xuanwu's step!
He seemed to be dancing on a sword, biting his teeth and not being distracted!
He saw Ye An not retreating but advancing, entering the extreme state, the battle fire rising, obviously taking a desperate gamble.
Xu Zhiye also decided to take a desperate gamble!
His hands quickly formed seals in the air.
He practiced this spell for a full three seconds.
"Disordered Black Sky Slash!"
This is an epic ultimate kill skill, taking the essence of the zenith blade and merging it with the chaos black, causing the slaughter disc to stain a deep black!
Ye An stood before the long knife that traversed heaven and earth.
The knife had not yet been drawn, but a sense of oppression like the collapse of heaven had already struck from within the long knife!
The area covered by this slash accounted for two-thirds of the realm. Ye An had nowhere to hide; he had to resist!
Xu Zhiye didn't believe that this slash couldn't force Ye An to punch!
His eyes hardened, and he shouted, "Slash!"
The black knife that traversed heaven and earth swept out horizontally, and the vast power of the chaotic black surged through the front heaven and earth.
Xu Zhiye's eyes suddenly condensed, staring firmly at Ye An. At that moment, Ye An suddenly seemed to be possessed by a ghost, not retreating but advancing, taking a step forward as if ascending a step!
The next moment, he was like a small boat in the sea, instantly knocked down by the black waves!
No way!
Did Ye An not punch?
In Xu Zhiye's imagination, Ye An's fist should have been delivered the moment before the disorderly black sky slash touched him!
But he didn't feel the breath of martial intent erupting!
Was he still gathering power?
Impossible!
Facing such a slash, Ye An must have held back his fist to resist it.
Right.
Remembering the moment when the blade light swept over Ye An, he chose to take a step forward, obviously intending to resist.
But how could he withstand it?
Is he insane?
Accumulating such majestic martial intent inside him, forcibly holding it back, if it were to erupt chaotically, Ye An would ruin himself!
The next moment.
Xu Zhiye raised his hand to recall all eight tentacles of chaotic black territory.
The scene of the second realm's earth was clearly visible.
Ye An lay on the ground, having lost his balance, and a huge crack appeared in his terracotta of Xuanwu.
Within the crack was a deep wound exposing bones, and fresh blood gushed madly from Ye An's abdomen.
But the battle fire on Ye An's body was still burning fiercely, and his martial intent hadn't diminished at all!
Xu Zhiye was momentarily stunned.
What's going on?
His slash was flawless, and Ye An was severely injured.
But it seems like... he's still gathering power?
Am I hallucinating?
Or is this the precursor to Ye An's chaotic explosion of martial intent?
Suddenly.
A hoarse but relaxed voice came from the ground.
"Three..."
"Two..."
"One."
Xu Zhiye was taken aback.
Countdown?
Countdown to what?
The next moment!
His pupils suddenly contracted.
Ye An's body suddenly straightened up, tilting his head and staring straight at him, a crazy smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Then!
Martial intent surged!
The heavens and the earth trembled!
The battle fire, which had been gathering for nearly a minute, illuminated the dark domain in the blink of an eye.
Ye An's figure soared into the air, passing through the sea of fire, straight towards Xu Zhiye in the sky.
Xu Zhiye lost his composure.
He angrily shouted, "Why?"
"Why didn't your power gathering break!?"
Even after I severely injured you with my slash, you're still gathering power?
Damn it!
Am I seeing things?
Suddenly.
In Xu Zhiye's mind, he recalled some questions he had pondered yesterday when he was bored.
"Why does Ye An climb the Vermilion Bird Steps every day? Is this training ground really that useful?"
Later, he found out.
"Ye An is unconsciously practicing rune skills for power gathering here."
Xu Zhiye was dumbfounded at the time.
"Unconsciously practicing rune skills for power gathering?"
"Does this mythical theory really have any practical application for Ye An?"
At this moment.
Looking at Ye An, who was engulfed in flames, soaring into the sky with an excited smile on his face, Xu Zhiye felt somewhat bewildered.
In his mind, those few words repeated endlessly.
Unconsciously practicing rune skills for power gathering.
Unconsciously practicing rune skills for power gathering...
Is he so happy because it's true?
Just now.
At the moment when the disorderly black sky slash struck, Ye An felt a strong impulse.
He wanted to ascend.
When will his unconscious power gathering rune show some signs of progress?
Maybe tomorrow.
Maybe in the future.
But maybe it's happening right now!
So he chose to ascend, with that step being exactly like every step he had taken on the Vermilion Bird Steps.
So far.
He had only practiced punching 150,000 times, far from the theoretical three million punches.
But often things don't happen overnight.
Ye An didn't possess a complete unconscious power gathering rune skill.
He had only obtained an ordinary-looking rune fragment.
The faint fluorescence shimmered on the fragment, allowing the heavily injured Ye An to gather strength for another ten seconds!
At that moment.
Fist out, battle fire soaring into the sky!