"Yun Xiao, I didn’t expect you to actually show up. Why are you no longer hiding like a turtle?"

Just as Yun Xiao was observing the distant battle in the sky, Wu Zhukong could no longer hold back, feeling somewhat angered by being ignored by the young man.

You, a mere boy at the peak of the Floating Life Realm, are actually calm enough to observe another battle in front of me, your enemy at the peak of the Lingyun Realm. It’s as if you don’t take me seriously at all.

Hearing Wu Zhukong speak up, Yun Xiao finally shifted his gaze from the battle in the sky. He undoubtedly couldn’t be of much help in the battle at the Heavenly Realm.

However, in the hearts of the spectators, after a brief shock, they finally compared the strengths of both sides. People like Nie Xiaosheng sighed and shook their heads.

"Even if he broke through to the peak of the Floating Life Realm, today’s situation is still a dead end!"

Nie Xiaosheng bowed his head with some emotion. Nowadays, he already considers himself Yun Xiao’s friend, but today’s situation at Lianyun Mountain is still a dead end.

If in ordinary times, someone learned that Yun Xiao broke through two realms of the Floating Life Realm in just over a month, their eyes might pop out in shock.

But now, facing Wu Zhukong, the third-ranked super expert on the continent’s Heavenly List, a genuine peak Lingyun Realm expert, even breakthrough Yun Xiao is far from being his match.

The difference between them is a full great rank. Didn’t you see the seven great experts being defeated one by one by Wu Zhukong? And among them was even Qingmu Wu, a true Lingyun Realm expert.

For Yun Xiao’s combat power, the geniuses of the Shenxiao Sect, like Nie Xiaosheng, naturally knew it well, but they also knew that there’s a limit to fighting across ranks.

Even if Yun Xiao activated his Ancestor Vein Power, it was unlikely he could break through to a true Lingyun Realm, and even if he did, there’d still be a gap of three small realms against Wu Zhukong.

So no matter how highly Nie Xiaosheng and others regard Yun Xiao, they believe that today’s situation leaves him with no means to change the outcome, at most only to see if he can escape from Wu Zhukong alive.

With Yun Xiao’s talent, if he does escape today, he might have the opportunity for revenge someday, and then it’d be Wuyan Palace’s turn to be troubled.

Almost everyone thought Yun Xiao planned to find an opportunity to escape, but the next moment, the young man’s face showed a strange smile.

"Wu Zhukong, who exactly gave you the courage to cause trouble on my Lianyun Mountain?"

Yun Xiao seemed completely unaware that he was facing a peak Lingyun Realm expert, and his words shocked everyone. Is this kid crazy, daring to speak like this in front of such a powerful person?

Even Ye Ku and Si Mo, who always had confidence in Yun Xiao, were full of disbelief at this moment, but those words indeed felt satisfying to hear.

However, some of the more prudent individuals shook their heads, thinking that with such an absolute power gap, empty words would probably have no effect at all.

"Hahaha, Yun Xiao, I also want to ask, who exactly gave you the courage to speak to this Palace Master like that?"

As the person involved, Wu Zhukong was nearly driven mad by Yun Xiao’s words. He laughed instead of getting angry and asked the same question back.

But in the hearts of the spectators, perhaps Wu Zhukong was the one more qualified to ask this question. They also wanted to know where Yun Xiao’s confidence came from.

"Since that’s the case, I’m sorry to inform you that from today, Wuyan Palace will have one less capable Palace Master!"

Yun Xiao seemed completely unaware of his arrogance and went further, speaking coldly again. These words even caused some spectators who previously had a good impression of him to show displeasure.

This verbal skill needs to match one’s own strength. If there’s too much of a disparity, empty words eventually lead to being defeated with a single strike.

For instance, Wu Zhukong was confident he was much stronger than Yun Xiao, but his eloquence was the opposite of his meridian Qi cultivation. He knew that even ten of him combined couldn’t match that boy’s sharp tongue.

"I will smash those sharp teeth of yours and see if you can still be so sharp-tongued!"

With thoughts turning in his mind, Wu Zhukong just let out a cold voice, and a powerful peak Lingyun Realm meridian Qi surged from him. It seemed he intended to crush with meridian Qi.

"This old guy is indeed powerful!"

Feeling the oppressive force that made him a bit breathless, Yun Xiao’s expression turned somewhat grim, but at this moment, he didn’t activate his Ancestor Vein Power at all.

"It seems that the heaven-defying technique I just acquired will have to be wasted on this old fellow!"

A peculiar glint flickered in the depths of Yun Xiao’s eyes. While his hands formed seals, he had already employed that unrivaled shadow clone technique, attempting to withstand Wu Zhukong’s formidable first strike.

"Kid, don’t embarrass yourself by showing off these outdated insignificant tricks."

However, just as Yun Xiao transferred his true body to another location, a cold voice suddenly rang in his ears, causing his heart to tense up.

It was evident that Wu Zhukong had long been on guard against Yun Xiao’s shadow clone meridian technique. After all, Yun Xiao, currently renowned on the Tenglong Continent, had an irreconcilable enmity with Wu Zhukong, the Palace Master of Wuyan Palace. Yun Xiao’s peculiar methods were hardly secrets anymore.

Among them, the Dragon Taming Sword and the shadow clone were considered Yun Xiao’s signature techniques. Wu Zhukong was quick-witted, knowing that under his powerful strike, the kid would most likely only be able to dodge it by using the shadow clone.

Therefore, Wu Zhukong used the situation to his advantage, pretending not to notice the opponent’s shadow clone. Yet, in that instant, he changed his move and appeared not far from Yun Xiao’s true body, catching him off guard. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Let’s see how you’ll dodge this time?"

Triumphant and full of self-assurance, Wu Zhukong, seeing the close distance, knew Yun Xiao couldn’t avoid this strike. With a cold voice, he threw a punch without hesitation, aiming straight at Yun Xiao’s back.

Clang!

This punch from Wu Zhukong indeed prevented Yun Xiao from dodging. However, at the moment of impact, Wu Zhukong felt a strong defensive force bouncing back, faintly realizing something was off.

Whoosh...

It’s undeniable that Wu Zhukong’s punch was astounding in power. Yun Xiao was sent flying dozens of meters away, stabilizing himself in the air with a flurry of his Thunder Wings, though his breath was somewhat chaotic.

Curiously, despite Yun Xiao’s disrupted breath, he didn’t seem to have suffered serious injuries. In this regard, he even appeared in better shape than Qingmu Wu, a Lingyun Realm early stage expert.

It turned out that at the crucial moment, Yun Xiao had activated his Earth Burst Stone Lotus Armor, placing it at his back, desperately defending against Wu Zhukong’s full-force attack.

The Earth Burst Stone Lotus Armor was undoubtedly a special, growth-capable defensive meridian technique. Since Yun Xiao had refined those special earth attribute spirit crystals on the Slaughter Spirit Battlefield and Impermanence Island, this defensive method had received significant enhancement.

With Yun Xiao’s current physical strength, it was probably not much inferior to some low-level golden grade heavenly spirits. The defense of the Earth Burst Stone Lotus Armor should be able to withstand an attack from an intermediate golden grade heavenly spirit without any problem.

Although Wu Zhukong had reached the peak of the Lingyun Realm, his physical strength was comparable to some intermediate golden grade heavenly spirits. To truly inflict serious harm on Yun Xiao with a single blow was clearly impossible.

This time Wu Zhukong’s overconfidence in his physical strength, attempting to kill Yun Xiao this way, only highlighted the disparity. The gap between both sides might not be as vast as the meridian qi cultivation.

This scene was witnessed by many, including the cultivators from Lianyun Mountain like Ye Ku and Si Mo. They were both astonished and delighted, as this was somewhat different from their expectations.

After all, Wu Zhukong’s power had been witnessed by everyone, as he seriously injured a coalition of seven heavenly rank experts, including the Lingyun Realm early stage Qingmu Wu.

So even though Yun Xiao had broken through to the peak of the Floating Life Realm, no one thought he could truly be Wu Zhukong’s match; even escaping might not have been possible.

Yet, with this first strike, everyone saw a different Yun Xiao. Though he might not defeat Wu Zhukong, at least he wasn’t immediately obliterated, giving Ye Ku and Si Mo, and others a glimmer of hope in their despair.

"Yun Xiao, show all the techniques you’ve got; I’m afraid you won’t have a chance to use them later!"

Sensing Yun Xiao’s condition from afar wasn’t severely injured, Wu Zhukong’s heart surged with anger, though he didn’t show it, maintaining an air of superiority in his words.

Having withstood a strike, Wu Zhukong didn’t feel discouraged. Given Yun Xiao’s reputation, if he could be settled with a casual attack, the young man wouldn’t have such a renowned name.

Wu Zhukong also knew Yun Xiao had several high-grade ancestor veins. Once those ancestor vein powers were activated, his strength could significantly rise, possibly reaching the half-step Lingyun Realm.

Of course, Wu Zhukong absolutely did not believe Yun Xiao could reach the true early stage of the Lingyun Realm by activating his ancestor vein powers, as that would at least require heavenly rank intermediate ancestor veins.

Such ancestor veins might only exist in the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud; at least, according to Wu Zhukong’s knowledge, even heavenly rank low-level ancestor veins were rare on the Tenglong Continent.

Despite urging Yun Xiao to use his techniques, Wu Zhukong’s aura suddenly shifted the next moment, with a blazing presence surrounding him, indicating he was about to execute a mighty technique first.