"So you admit it?" Zhan Wuhen extended a finger, tapping it on the Dharma Avatar's forehead. The colossal Avatar, standing twenty zhang tall, instantly froze on the spot, unable to move.
Yang Kai gritted his teeth, staring at him. "It did indeed Cultivate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, but it has never used this technique to commit evil. Every person it has killed deserved death, and there are no innocent souls on its hands. Why must you condemn it simply for the Cultivation method it uses!"
Zhan Wuhen said, "If it were any other technique, perhaps I would let it slide. But the Heaven Devouring Battle Law..." He slowly shook his head, then spoke with deep gravity: "Yang Kai, have you forgotten what I once told you? I had a dear friend named Qing Lian, who perished at the hands of Wu Kuang in the Shattered Star Sea."
Yang Kai nodded. "This Junior naturally remembers."
Zhan Wuhen continued, "Then you should also remember that I said in this lifetime, I and Wu Kuang can never coexist under the same heaven!"
Yang Kai replied, "That matter happened tens of thousands of years ago. Why does Senior still dwell on it so?"
"It is not that I dwell on it, but that you simply do not understand the evil of this technique. Wu Kuang was also a dazzling genius. I admit I am not his equal, yet because of this technique, his nature was twisted. Although he achieved the status of Great Emperor, his name is cursed for eternity. You never experienced the terror when the entire Star Boundary was overshadowed by the name of the Heaven Devouring, nor did you witness the brutal battles of the Great Emperors in the Shattered Star Sea. Naturally, you underestimate the power of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. Now that I know of its use here, I cannot turn a blind eye, or it will be too late!"
Yang Kai's voice was low and stern. "Then what does Senior intend to do?"
Zhan Wuhen narrowed his eyes slightly, fixing his gaze on the Avatar. His tone was calm: "Destroy its technique, cripple its cultivation!"
"There is no other way?" Yang Kai's eyelids lowered, his voice deep. The strands of hair on his forehead cast a dense shadow, obscuring the light before him.
"It is imperative!" Zhan Wuhen turned to face him. "If you wish to blame me, I have nothing to say. But the Heaven Devouring Battle Law absolutely cannot be permitted to exist in this world!"
As he spoke, a milky-white glow suddenly blossomed from his fingertip. The light touched the Avatar's forehead, like a brilliant lamp seeking to dispel all the darkness in heaven and earth.
A dragon's roar shook the heavens. Yang Kai's body expanded rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed into a half-dragon form standing thirty-two zhang tall. Dragon might radiated outward, making the two hundred thousand soldiers of Tiger Roar City tremble in fear.
A dragon claw pierced through the void, reaching straight for Zhan Wuhen.
The perpetually nonchalant Zhan Wuhen's expression finally shifted slightly. He raised his other palm to meet the claw.
With a thunderous boom, the dragon claw shattered. Zhan Wuhen's figure swayed, but in that instant, a dragon tail swept out, carrying world-ending force as it lashed towards him. Where the tail passed, a pitch-black fissure tore through the void.
Zhan Wuhen snorted coldly, extending a finger to strike precisely at the tail.
However, he seemed to have underestimated the force of the sweep. He was sent blasting backwards over a dozen zhang. Seizing this opportunity, Yang Kai had already recalled the Avatar. The two colossal figures stood between heaven and earth, gazing down upon the multitude with expressions as cold as ice.
"Yang Kai, do not bring ruin upon yourself!" Zhan Wuhen regarded him calmly.
Yang Kai slowly shook his head. "Senior, please withdraw. There is still room to resolve today's matter."
Zhan Wuhen looked at him with pained disappointment. "Was my earlier speech nothing but words to a deaf ear?"
Yang Kai's face was resolute. "Please, Senior, spare it!"
Zhan Wuhen sighed deeply. "Why must you be so stubborn? You know full well you are no match for me. Opposing me will only bring you loss."
Yang Kai replied, "Whether I am your match or not is unimportant. What matters is the choice one makes." He glanced at the Avatar, then continued: "For you, Senior, it is condemned because it cultivates the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. But for me, it is the best of companions. No one shall be allowed to destroy it!"
Zhan Wuhen nodded slightly. "It seems our only recourse is to settle this with our fists."
Yang Kai took a deep breath. "Senior, do not force me."
Zhan Wuhen laughed heartily. "You bear the consequences of your own choices. Come then, let me test your mettle!" With that, he flashed forward.
Yang Kai's eyes narrowed. Without a word, he and the Avatar split apart, one left, one right. One wielded the secret arts of the Dragon Race, the other unleashed the Heaven Devouring Domain, pincer-attacking from both sides.
Two deafening booms sounded out. Without any discernible movement from Zhan Wuhen, both Yang Kai and the Avatar felt an overwhelming, irresistible force slam into them. Their two massive figures went flying, crashing through countless buildings in their path.
Zhan Wuhen used this chance to turn and lunge directly at the Avatar. His posture made it clear he was determined to destroy its technique and cripple its cultivation first.
How could Yang Kai permit this? As he retreated, he raised a hand and summoned the Mountain and River Bell. The ancient bell spun, expanding with the wind, and descended to envelop Zhan Wuhen.
Without even looking, Zhan Wuhen twisted in mid-air and delivered a kick to the bell. With a colossal clang that made the entire Tiger Roar City hum and shudder, sending hundreds of thousands of people clutching their heads in pain, the bell was kicked away. Zhan Wuhen, however, used the recoil to rapidly close in on the Avatar.