Chapter 263: Ah Jie's Palm

Is this an Xiantian?

This level of flame control was even stronger than that of a Zongshi in the Tianxiang Realm! And it wasn't just a little bit stronger!

*Ming!*

Accompanied by an extremely high-pitched and piercing shriek, the black energy bead vanished instantly from Xu Xiaoshou's lips. When it reappeared, it was already behind Li Qi's chest.

Li Qi:

???

Without any exaggerated motion or even a whisper of wind, it was as if the black energy bead had teleported, crossing the distance in an instant. His defenses and countermeasures completely failed in that moment! That speed was impossible for anyone to react to.

Li Qi looked down at his waist, where his only valuable defensive Ling Yu had been shattered without him even noticing! Did that mean he had just died once?

The freshly created "Great Fireball Technique" not only startled Li Qi but also left Xu Xiaoshou stunned. This speed...

He had improvised, using that guy's Qingfeng as a barrier layer and nesting the compressed fire seeds inside for the attack—was it really this powerful?

Yet, for all its strength, it had its flaws. Li Qi was just too weak; the black energy bead passed through him like air, without any resistance to trigger an explosion. Even the black silencing barrier didn't hinder it at all. After piercing through those two layers, the energy bead continued straight upward, showing no sign of curving into a parabola even as it left Xu Xiaoshou's perception range.

Xu Xiaoshou:

"Damn it."

He panicked. He had been thrilled to see Li Qi's silencing barrier, thinking someone was basically asking to die quietly... How considerate! But now, if he killed someone, he couldn't just let it explode loudly like this—it would give away his identity!

Both of them were completely fixated on the energy bead, that violent object brimming with destructive power. Once it escaped Xu Xiaoshou's control, all its energies merged chaotically.

*Boom—*

In an instant, the sky above the Duojin Merchant was plunged into darkness. A massive black cloud of destruction spread out like a blooming black lotus in the heavens, spanning thousands of feet and staining the nine skies black!

This explosion drew the attention of not just the people in the back alley of Hei Jie, but everyone in the Duojin Merchant and even half of Tian Sang City.

*Hiss!*

This...

Is that for real? Someone dared to make a move in Tian Sang County? Do they think the city lord's mansion and the four great families' experts are just for show?

They're jointly maintaining the peace here, and yet someone has the nerve to break it? They're asking for death!

Is that a Zongshi battle? Judging by the explosion's power, it has to be a Zongshi at their peak!

Regardless of whether they were Lingshi or not, everyone was shocked by this blast. Some were simply awed by the destructive force, but most marveled at the attacker's boldness and silently mourned what would happen to them next. Why pick a fight anywhere else? Why here in Tian Sang City? Even if you win, what good does it do? In the end, it's still death!

Neither of them knew what fallout this explosion would bring. But one thing was clear: this was no place to linger. Stay, and you'd die!

We have to end this quickly.

It wasn't just Xu Xiaoshou thinking that—Li Qi felt the same. The black energy bead's power was beyond imagination, but Xu Xiaoshou clearly couldn't control it perfectly yet! The pain from it piercing his body wasn't enough to kill, and the ghost fire that lingered on contact couldn't be shaken off, though his abundant Ling Yuan kept it at bay for now.

Li Qi:

"Good one, Yuan Ting Realm initial stage. I finally get why you're on the 'San Zhu Xiang' wanted list—a red-named dead apostle!"

Xu Xiaoshou gathered his breath, his voice low; that attack had drained a lot of his Ling Yuan. Nesting fire seeds like that consumed far more than summoning five unrelated ones at once! He smirked and taunted:

"You know, your silencing barrier isn't up to snuff. Cleaning up after a fight like this is going to be a real hassle."

Li Qi:

"Don't worry, you won't make a sound soon enough. And the trouble won't find you."

Xu Xiaoshou:

"No, no!"

He wagged his finger and laughed:

"What I mean is, your crappy barrier is a real hassle for me!"

Li Qi's eyes narrowed. What did that mean? Was he already thinking about what comes after killing me?

Ha...

Before his mocking laugh could fully form, Li Qi cut it short because the young man in front of him pulled out a black sword sheath! The black sword hidden inside radiated an unstoppable Jian Yi, and even the faint wisps escaping made him feel the breath of death!

Li Qi:

"What the hell is this? This guy's a Jian Xiu too?"

Li Qi was baffled. Someone who could unleash such pure fire-element Ling Yuan explosions wasn't just a proper Lingshi—he was also a swordsman? And from that aura, he had even comprehended Xiantian Jian Yi?

Li Qi:

"This is insane!"

He felt like the 50,000 Ling Jing bounty on this guy's head was way too low. You'd need at least 500,000 to make it worth it! The 'San Zhu Xiang' dead apostles with million rewards were listed fair and square, no depreciation!

But *gan kai* was just *gan kai*—Xiantian Jian Yi was still just Xiantian Jian Yi. He, Li Qi, was a Zongshi! And a rare Ling Zhen Zongshi at that! With his last array disk in hand, Li Qi's face turned ice-cold. Unlike the trapping array in Hei Jie, this silencing barrier here was a pure killing array. A peak creation from a Ling Zhen Zongshi—if you're just one person with Xiantian Jian Yi, even if you're a Jian Zong, you'd kneel on the spot!

Mama...

A sudden emotionless call by his ear made Li Qi's scalp tingle. Damn! He forgot about that other guy! The short one with the conical hat? He whipped his head around in high alert, his eyes widening to see the red, childlike face under the hat of the person in front.

He let out a breath.

Is it really just a kid?

That was his last fleeting thought in life, and his body relaxed so much that even his muscles went slack. But with one palm from Ar Jie, his head exploded in a spray of red and white. The fight was over! No silencing barrier to muffle the sound, no flashy explosions—sometimes, battles were that straightforward. One palm. Head blown apart!

Ar Jie:

"Mama...?"

He tilted his head, and the conical hat slipped off his smooth scalp. He turned toward Xu Xiaoshou, as if asking why this guy was so easily crushed. Back in the "Killing Corner," when he had pinned Xu Xiaoshou's head to the ground and ground it in, it hadn't felt this brittle, right? Not this crisp, at least?