"Merely a transaction of mutual benefit, Old Su." The gold-robed elder's chuckle was light, almost casual. "I advise you to surrender the Heavenly Flame obediently. If we fight, you will gain no advantage."
The silver-robed elder beside him smiled as well. "Old Su. You wouldn't want your academy to be reduced to ruins, would you?"
Su Qian's eyes narrowed.
"Is that so?" His voice was cold. "Then let me witness for myself the famed strength of the Gold and Silver Elders—men rumored to contend with Dou Zongs despite their own cultivation."
Han Feng's patience had evaporated.
"Su Qian. I will ask you one final time."
His voice was absolute.
"Will you surrender the Heavenly Flame, or not?"
His gaze swept across the academy grounds.
"Your academy's current strength cannot withstand the forces gathered here. Our Dou Huangs outnumber yours. Do not bring calamity upon yourself."
A pause.
"I have come fully prepared this time."
"If you wish to seize the Heavenly Flame," Su Qian said, settling into a combat stance, "you will have to cross my corpse first."
His voice carried across the battlefield.
"Otherwise—forget it. "
With the students watching, the First Elder of the Inner Academy cannot afford to lose face.
How else will I teach them in the future?
He struck.
A surge of Dou Qi shot directly toward Han Feng.
The Gold and Silver Elders intercepted.
Pale green Dou Qi flickered in their palms. Su Qian's attack shattered against their combined defense.
Then they moved—together, in perfect synchronization—and engaged Su Qian directly.
Su Qian met their assault. His voice carried back to Xiao Jietian.
"The rest is up to you. Avoid casualties where possible."
A pause.
"I am counting on you."
The three became entangled—a storm of clashing energies, blurring forms, absolute focus.
Xiao Jietian had not yet moved.
He was waiting.
[Xiao Jietian.] Little Fairy Doctor's voice reached him. [I have located him. The space around him is already sealed. We may capture him directly.]
A satisfied smile curved his lips.
"Xian'er. If he attempts to flee or makes any sudden move—use the Heavenly Flame to subdue him immediately. Be cautious. Those from the Soul Hall inevitably harbor hidden tricks."
[Understood. I will listen to you.]
Han Feng, seeing Su Qian occupied, issued rapid orders to the Black-Corner Region forces around him.
"The other elders are your responsibility. Merely hold them at bay."
His gaze fixed on the sealed cave.
"I will break the seal. Once the Heavenly Flame is secured, all promised compensation will be delivered."
Without waiting for acknowledgment, he launched himself toward the seal.
"Stop him! "
Hu Gan's massive hand swept forward. He and the elders behind him surged toward Han Feng.
They moved three paces.
The Black-Corner Region forces intercepted.
Xiao Jietian observed.
Now.
"Our turn."
His voice was calm. Absolute.
"Old Shui. You take Han Feng."
The three beside him nodded.
Even Medusa, despite her lingering resentment, obeyed without hesitation.
Old Shui stepped into the void.
One step—and he was before Han Feng.
Han Feng's maniacal laughter had barely begun.
"Haha—Heavenly Flame, I am coming for you! You are—!"
His expression shifted.
A sense of mortal crisis surged through him.
An aged hand extended toward him.
Han Feng's pretence shattered.
Half-Step Dou Zong—his true cultivation—erupted from his body. The Sea Heart Flame surged to envelop him in desperate defense.
Against an Eight-Star Dou Zong, it was paper.
The flame shattered, scattering in all directions.
The palm struck his chest.
Han Feng's body became a kite with severed strings—a cannonball, a meteor—crashing toward the distant ground.
BOOM—
Dust erupted.
A crater formed.
Xiao Jietian moved.
He appeared before Old Eagle Claw, who was still entangled with nearly ten Dou King elders.
His halberd swept forward.
"Void Breaker!"
Old Eagle Claw sensed death approaching.
In the midst of his struggle with the encircling elders, his instincts screamed.
Danger. Fatal.
He erupted.
"Ice Shattering Claw!"
His body vibrated violently, forcing back the besieging elders. White Dou Qi blazed around his hand, condensing into a long, razor-sharp claw.
This technique had claimed the lives of several Dou Huangs.
It met Xiao Jietian's four-coloured crescent.
BOOM—
The collision was cataclysmic. Blinding light. Deafening thunder.
The shockwave hurled the nearby elders backward.
Crack.
A sound of something breaking echoed from the explosion's heart.
Then—a figure plummeted from the sky.
CRASH.
The ground caved. Cracks spiderwebbed outward from the fallen form.
Medusa appeared before Old Ban.
The Seven-Star Dou Huang stared at the woman standing in the void before him.
Cold sweat streamed down his face.
"How… how does Jia Nan Academy possess a Dou Zong?!"
Impossible. This is impossible.
He sensed Xiao Jietian's battle concluding behind him.
He's already finished his opponent.
I cannot be slower than him.
Medusa attacked.
"Milady! Spare me! I surrender!" Old Ban's voice cracked. "Spare my life, and all the treasures of the Earth Flame Gate are yours! Everything!"
If they were not in the air, he would have kowtowed.
A Seven-Star Dou Huang against a Dou Zong?
Impossible. Hopeless. Surrender is the only option.
Medusa ignored him.
Her palm descended—wreathed in seven-coloured light, radiating absolute, merciless power.
Old Ban had no choice.
"Earth-Shaking Blazing Flame Hand!"
He poured every drop of his Dou Qi into the technique.
Medusa's palm twisted.
His attack was batted aside—casually, contemptuously.
Her palm struck his head.
His body stiffened.
His mouth opened, as if to speak.
Blood gushed forth in a torrent, drowning his words.
The Dou Qi wings behind him dissipated.
He fell.
Hai Bodong faced Yuan Yi.
The Two-Star Dou Huang studied the man before him—and the aura he exuded.
Dou Huang. Peak.
This is not a fight I can win.
Doubt flickered across his face.