"Young Master Huo, watch out!" Yang Zhao called out with a light chuckle, offering the warning in what seemed like good faith. Then he slowly raised one foot and slammed it down hard against the ground.
Several eerie lines suddenly bulged up from the earth's surface, as though enormous earthworms were undulating beneath. Threads of terrifying energy radiated upward from below, and Huo Xingchen's expression changed drastically.
Earth Serpent Art! A Heaven grade, upper-tier martial technique. The moment Yang Zhao made his move, he revealed just how extraordinary he truly was.
Each of these earth serpents was condensed from the souls of fifth-rank demon beasts, stored within Yang Zhao's body and deployed with fluid precision during battle. They could strike without warning, leaving opponents utterly unable to defend.
And Yang Zhao currently had a full seven earth serpents at his disposal! With this technique alone, he had defeated countless opponents in the Zhenyuan Realm without even needing to break a sweat.
Huo Xingchen's face grew grave as he retreated rapidly, employing a mysterious and intricate footwork technique. With every step he took, an energy manifestation of a blooming lotus appeared beneath his feet. These lotuses opened and closed in succession, blocking and devouring each earth serpent one after another.
Moon-Veil Lotus Steps! Another Heaven grade, upper-tier martial technique — a perfect match for Yang Zhao's Earth Serpent Art. It was like a meeting between worthy adversaries.
After seven full steps backward, Huo Xingchen finally came to a halt, looking thoroughly flustered. He raised his eyes toward Yang Zhao, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and chuckled: "Second Young Master, no need to be this ruthless, is there? After all, we share a bond — last time at the Tower of Spring Breeze, you even treated me to—"
"Shut up!" Yang Zhao couldn't help but roll his eyes, then snorted coldly: "You really have been playing the pig to eat the tiger!"
"Whatever the Second Young Master says, I don't quite understand. Hehe, if the Second Young Master wants to spar, this young master is happy to obligel" As he spoke, energy of two different attributes surged simultaneously from both of Huo Xingchen's hands.
Wind from one, thunder from the other.
The wind howled and thunder roared as lightning crackled between his palms. The two energies merged into one, converging into a colossal palm that hurtled toward Yang Zhao.
Wind-Thunder Convergence Grand Palm!
A Mysterious grade, lower-tier martial technique of the Huo Family. The fusion of wind and thunder amplified their power severalfold.
Yet Yang Zhao showed not a trace of alarm. If anything, his expression was utterly serene — he didn't even show the slightest intention of dodging. A calm, composed smile hung on his face.
"Bring him to me." Just as the Wind-Thunder Convergence Grand Palm bore down on him, Yang Zhao issued the order in a flat tone.
Huo Xingchen's face changed dramatically: "Second Young Master, that's a bit excessive, don't you think?"
Yang Zhao shrugged, still smiling lightly: "Wicked people are best dealt with by other wicked people."
While the two exchanged words, the Blood Attendant at Yang Zhao's side had already moved.
Blood Attendants were indeed bound by rules against initiating attacks. But now that Huo Xingchen had launched an assault on Yang Zhao, the Blood Attendant was fully justified in retaliating.
It was clear that Yang Zhao had planned from the very beginning to have his Blood Attendant capture Huo Xingchen — that was precisely why he hadn't bothered dodging the technique. A fair one-on-one duel had never been part of his thinking.
Earlier, Huo Xingchen had used shameless, rogue tactics to throw their entire formation into chaos. Now Yang Zhao was giving him a taste of his own medicine with what was essentially cheating — a fitting response to say the least.
The Blood Attendant merely waved a hand, and the combined force of wind and thunder dissipated into nothing.
Even though the Wind-Thunder Convergence Grand Palm was a Mysterious grade, lower-tier technique, when wielded by Huo Xingchen it couldn't so much as scratch a Blood Attendant.
After dispersing the attack, the Blood Attendant wasted no time. His hand shot out, grabbing toward Huo Xingchen.
The eldest young master of the Huo Family wore the expression of a man whose father had just died. He clearly hadn't expected Yang Zhao to be just as shameless as himself.
At that very moment, two figures in black emerged from seemingly nowhere, their faces concealed behind masks. One shielded Huo Xingchen and pulled him backward, while the other drifted forward with a casual palm strike to meet the Blood Attendant head-on.
The Blood Hall expert's face went cold, and the true yuan within his body surged wildly.
With a thunderous boom, the masked figure in black was sent staggering back several steps before finally steadying himself. The Blood Attendant, on the other hand, stood perfectly firm.
One exchange. The disparity in strength between the two was immediately apparent.
The Blood Attendant was unquestionably the stronger of the two, but these masked figures were no pushovers either.
"They have more helpers?" Yang Zhao's expression darkened. He had never imagined that Yang Kai's estate would be harboring so many elite experts.
Qu Gaoyi and Shadow Nine alone had pinned down the majority of the forces he and Yang Shen had brought. Just when Qu Gaoyi was on the verge of exhausting his true yuan and Divine Sense — victory within reach — two more powerhouses emerged at this critical juncture, their strength only marginally below that of a Blood Attendant.
Yang Kai's estate was effectively guarded by four Shenyou Realm, eighth-level experts!
On top of that, there were Qiu Yu Hall from the Qiu Family, the group from the Xiang Family, and the shameless Huo Xingchen.
Meanwhile, he and Yang Shen, though their overall strength was in no way inferior — in fact, it far surpassed the opposition — were hamstrung by the fact that the two Blood Attendants could not initiate combat. Swallowing this place whole had become completely impossible.
Where had the Ninth Brother found so many allies?
Yang Zhao was practically green with envy.
"Holy crap!" Huo Xingchen stared wide-eyed at the two masked figures in black, his eyeballs nearly popping out of his skull.
Yang Zhao didn't know who they were, but Huo Xinghen knew perfectly well.
These two had followed him for years. Even if Huo Xingchen were blind, he'd recognize them. These so-called shifty, rat-faced hidden figures were none other than the guardians who had been at his side all along.
For a moment, both Yang Zhao and Huo Xingchen stood frozen in disbelief.
Qiu Yimeng sat in the grand armchair, laughing softly — looking for all the world like she'd just won the grand prize, radiating pure delight.