Chapter 656: A Fated Duel?? (Two-in-One)

Watching Yin Tianhuang's high-spirited display, Ning An felt a pang of bitterness.

They were all supposed to be in the same echelon, but the moment they engaged in a group activity, he realized this person had held back, and that person had held back too.

And with Yin Tianhuang's appearance, hiding a trump card became hiding an entire arsenal.

Just like that, he went from sharing their echelon to coming in dead last.

"If Lin Mo loses, wouldn't that..."

He looked at Zheng Youlan.

Zheng Youlan shook her head.

"Wait for an opportunity."

"If Lin Mo can't even injure Yin Tianhuang before the battle ends, the two of us joining in won't change a thing."

As they conversed, the battle in mid-air erupted once more.

With one eye squeezed shut and blood streaming down his face, Lin Mo raised his battle-axe high.

Blood flowed along the sculpted muscles of his arm and into his weapon. Streaks of bloody light surged from the base of the battle-axe to the cold tip of its blade, emitting a faint scarlet glow.

Hummm—

Blinding rays of light burst forth, illuminating heaven and earth.

Lin Mo's tightly shut eye suddenly snapped open.

The eyeball beneath the lid was necrotic and withered. A pitch-black pupil rolled wildly in its socket, looking as though it might fall out entirely.

But the explosive hostility radiating from him was entirely genuine.

Terrifying pressure exploded in mid-air, ripping through the cloud layer before condensing into a horrifying phantom.

The figure wore heavy armor and rode a warhorse, wielding a weapon even more exaggerated than the battle-axe in Lin Mo's hands.

The two figures merged into one. As Lin Mo swung his battle-axe, the phantom swung its own in perfect unison, leveling the weapon squarely at Yin Tianhuang.

As the battle-axe chopped down, vicious, aura-laced rifts tore open around Yin Tianhuang, sealing off his escape routes.

He tried to cross through space to evade, but the moment he took a half step, he grimaced and pulled his foot back with a low growl.

The leg he had just extended was already a bloody mess. Scars rapidly spread across the skin, tearing open into gaping wounds that leaked a virulent, baleful aura. Mingling with his blood, the corrosive energy continuously washed over his body.

"Lin Mo is using his trump card!"

Ning An's spirits lifted.

He knew Yin Tianhuang had trump cards of his own, but Lin Mo had seized the initiative.

If Yin Tianhuang tried to counter now, it would likely be too late.

"Yin Tianhuang will be heavily injured by this strike at the very least."

Ning An muttered, "With this exact strike, Lin Mo once cut down two Divine Envoys of the same Tier. Just one strike..."

Within the Bone Mirror, a look of sheer panic had broken out across Yin Tianhuang's face.

Yet the very instant Lin Mo brought the battle-axe down, the panic on Yin Tianhuang's face vanished without a trace.

The corners of his mouth curled up. At his shoulder blades, a brilliant golden light erupted.

"This is exactly the strike I was waiting for!"

He burst into wild laughter. From the golden light upon his shoulder, the silhouette of a colossal beast materialized.

The behemoth bore the body of a goat and the face of a man, with a gaping maw sitting right below its neck. Its eyes were located beneath its armpits, and it sported tiger's teeth and human claws. Covered entirely in cyan fur, it let out a savage roar—yet the sound that echoed out was exactly like a crying infant.

Embedded within patches of the beast's fur were multicolored Crystals. They were packed together densely, numbering at least in the hundreds.

The Crystals ranged in color from yellow and purple to red.

But... only three of those Crystals were silver.

In that moment, one of the silver Crystals flashed.

A massive mirror materialized directly in front of Yin Tianhuang.

The surface of the mirror was completely blank, looking no different from a pool of still water.

But as the battle-axe chopped down, an identical battle-axe rushed out from the watery surface.

The weapons clashed.

Blade met blade.

In the next instant, the mirror shattered. Yin Tianhuang was sent flying backward, but Lin Mo, still gripping his battle-axe, didn't fare much better. His body trembled violently as deep, aura-laced fissures tore open across his own skin.

Squelch, squelch, squelch—

Vicious aura erupted alongside geysers of blood. Lin Mo deflated, his body spasming as his imposing aura vanished in an instant.

Bang!

A second later, Yin Tianhuang's blood-soaked figure shot back out from the distance. He reached out and clamped his hand squarely around Lin Mo's throat.

Crack—

Lin Mo's eyes bulged. His already weakened body completely gave out, his muscles going slack as he dangled in Yin Tianhuang's grip like a dead dog.

"Hahaha!"

Yin Tianhuang threw his head back and laughed at the sky.

Though his body was riddled with gruesome wounds, his spirit seemed unaffected, and his vitality remained fully robust.

He looked at Lin Mo with a vicious smile.

"Didn't expect this, did you? The second spear of the [Golden Halberd] is going to die right here? It's fine, don't be afraid. Once Advent Day begins, I'll immediately send that number-one ranked guy down to keep you company."

...

"No way..." Atop the Bone Bird, Ning An and Zheng Youlan watched the scene unfold, a cold chill running down their spines.

They never expected Yin Tianhuang to be hiding a trick like this. Even when Lin Mo played his absolute trump card, it had been completely useless. Yin Tianhuang had simply reversed the attack and crushed him.

"What do we do? Let's attack!"

Seeing the eerie behemoth on Yin Tianhuang's shoulder stretch open the massive maw beneath its neck, Ning An whipped his head toward Zheng Youlan in a panic.

Yin Tianhuang was already monstrously strong. If he was allowed to devour Lin Mo on top of that, it would be a disaster.

Zheng Youlan didn't answer, but her expression betrayed her inner turmoil; she was hesitating, struggling with the choice.

But before the two could reach a decision, the situation changed.

Suddenly, Lin Mo vanished from Yin Tianhuang's grip.

The behemoth on his shoulder, jaws already clamped wide open, snapped its mouth shut—and bit into nothing but empty air.

Whether from the pain of its own teeth slamming together or the sheer fury of being robbed of a meal, the beast let out a frenzied roar at the figure that had just appeared across from them.

Wearing a dark red trench coat, Yan Jing stood there, casually dangling Lin Mo from his hand. He had snatched him away before anyone even noticed.

Facing the Taotie's furious roar, he simply smiled.

"Sorry, but you don't get to eat this one."

With a wipe of his hands, the unconscious Lin Mo completely vanished in mid-air.

"Yaaah! Yaaah!"

Seeing its meal stolen, the Taotie let out another ear-piercing shriek, wailing like an infant as it roared furiously at Yan Jing.

"What an awful noise."

Yan Jing snapped his fingers, and something unbelievable happened.

The Taotie went completely silent.

It was only then that Yin Tianhuang finally processed what had happened. He turned his gaze toward Yan Jing, unadulterated fury boiling in his eyes.

"It's you!"

"It's me."

Yan Jing offered a faint smile.

"Long time no see, Mr. Yin."

"Though I suppose it hasn't actually been that long. Let me think..."

"Ah..."

A look of realization spread across Yan Jing's face.

"It seems we just saw each other a few weeks ago."

"We fought back then, and if I recall correctly, you lost."

"..."

Yin Tianhuang clenched his fists so hard his joints popped.

Just thinking about that encounter made his veins bulge. His bones ground together with an audible crunch.

"Where is Meng Die?!"

He realized something was wrong. He had sent his maid to take care of this man, yet here the man was, while his maid was nowhere to be found.

A very bad premonition washed over him.

Yan Jing's smile widened.

"She begged me to kill her, so I had to oblige."

"..."

Yin Tianhuang's blistering rage finally smoothed out into a chilling smile.

"I never would have guessed that after I left, a backwards place like Yueyin could prop up someone to reach the Summit. No, I should say, I'm amazed that place could nurture a Divine Envoy."

"I can't even imagine what kind of resources Liu Xiaoyue must have mobilized for you."

"Where is she, anyway? Why didn't she tag along? Since you're a Divine Envoy now, even if she isn't one yet, she should be close. Someone like her would never tolerate another person standing so far above her."

Yan Jing kept smiling.

"Domain lord Liu has already sacrificed herself for Yueyin. I am now Yueyin's new domain lord."

"Liu Xiaoyue is dead?" Yin Tianhuang stared blankly, the look in his eyes shifting as he re-evaluated Yan Jing.

"You've got some methods, I'll give you that. Tell me, who is backing you?"

Yan Jing chuckled.

"I don't know if you're just trapped in your own inertial thinking, Mr. Yin, assuming that someone must have backing to reach this stage."

"Since that was how you made it in the past, I can understand why you'd think that. But please believe that some people in this world simply have talent."

"..."

Yin Tianhuang's expression darkened completely.

In just a few verbal exchanges, he had been completely forced onto the back foot against Yan Jing.

"Just running your mouth, are you?"

Yin Tianhuang sneered, Weird Energy blooming in his palm.

"Let's see if you're still smiling in a minute."

In the next instant, numerous Space Rifts tore open around them. They crisscrossed, forming what looked like a crude gladiator's arena.

Yin Tianhuang then stretched his body. At some point, nearly half of the wounds covering him had already disappeared.

...

"Despicable!"

Atop the bird, Ning An gritted his teeth in fury.

"That bastard deliberately used the conversation as a cover to secretly set up his tricks!"

"Damn it, how can there be a heavenly prodigy like him?"

Zheng Youlan's face was grim, but she wasn't just watching Yin Tianhuang; she was looking more closely at Yan Jing.

She had originally expected an expert to have arrived. But listening to their conversation, the person in front of them was just a native Divine Envoy from this remote backwater.

What good would that do?

"This guy must have some tricks, right? There's no way he'd jump out right now if he didn't have any cards to play, right?"

Hearing Zheng Youlan's reasoning, Ning An couldn't help but ask.

He hoped Yan Jing could inflict some damage on Yin Tianhuang. He had already made up his mind to strike.

But Zheng Youlan just shook her head.

"You don't get it. The heavenly prodigies from rural Domains like this all share an inexplicable arrogance. They've seen too little and experienced too little, so they have absolutely no concept of what geniuses from the Central Region are capable of."

"Just watch. It's only a matter of time before he gets instantly killed. We should get ready to head back. Compared to hunting down that number one on the leaderboard, Yin Tianhuang is going to be a much bigger problem."

"He definitely won't let that number one off the hook. We need to hurry and bring the news back."

As she spoke, Yin Tianhuang moved.

He took a single step, his figure vanishing from the spot.

In the countless Space Rifts, identical figures appeared.

It looked as though multiple Yin Tianhuangs had surrounded Yan Jing in the center, all raising their hands toward him at the same time.

On his shoulder, one of the Crystals dangling from the behemoth flashed.

Mountain peaks manifested in the sky, their terrifying force seemingly bearing down from every direction.

They bore down to suppress Yan Jing.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

The terrifying mountain peaks directly crushed the surrounding space to pieces. Their sheer weight and width were immeasurable, and as they fell, they sent out violent shockwaves, whipping up a tsunami of air in the sky.

"Why isn't he moving?!"

Ning An practically stomped his feet in panic.

Anyone who understood Yin Tianhuang even a little knew this was his usual misdirection.

He hadn't actually conjured clones. He was simply traveling through space in an extremely short time, causing his figure to appear in multiple locations simultaneously, making it look as though he had become multiple people.

But there was only one true killing blow.

Atop the bird, Zheng Youlan let out a sigh.

She knew it would turn out like this.

"Let's go. Set off."

She urged Ning An, but he didn't answer.

"Let's go."

Thinking the commotion below was too loud and Ning An hadn't heard, she said it again.

But Ning An still didn't respond.

Confused, Zheng Youlan turned to look at Ning An, only to find him staring blankly at a certain spot.

She followed his line of sight.

Within the Bone Mirror, Yan Jing had simply raised his hand, effortlessly holding up the base of the mountain peak.

Holding up, not lifting.

The difference was this:

Yan Jing hadn't even touched that manifested mountain peak.

He had merely raised his hand, and the resulting gale caught and held up the colossal mountain peak that covered half the sky.

And he hadn't even furrowed his brow.

Then, Yan Jing gently tapped the bottom of the mountain.

Spurt—

High above, Yin Tianhuang was blasted backward as if struck by a massive warhammer. Spewing a line of blood, his body hurtled into the distance like a kite with a snapped string.

This scene utterly dumbfounded the two on the bird's back.

"What level of strength is this?"

Ning An swallowed hard.

The strength Yan Jing had displayed already exceeded his imagination. Even the Divine Envoys he had seen who walked a strength-related Pathway didn't possess such exaggerated destructive power.

Zheng Youlan frowned.

She had underestimated this rural man.

"It should be a strength-related Pathway. He's probably walked one's own path, and it looks like it's nearly complete."

She passed judgment, a slow smile creeping onto her face.

"Now we can actually consider a sneak attack. Guys who rely on pure strength generally don't have the best track records, since they're easy to kite to death with tricky methods, but it's still genuine combat power. It'll be more than enough to give Yin Tianhuang a hard time."

Before she finished speaking, the Bone Mirror showed Yin Tianhuang finally stabilizing himself in mid-air.

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he forced down the intense pain wracking his body and laughed.

"So you're just a brainless, brawny gorilla. That's exactly the type I'm best at dealing with."

In the next instant, he changed his strategy. Another one of the Crystal Stones around the behemoth lit up. With a flash of light, a long blade flickering with fire materialized in his hand.

Immediately after, he blinked directly in front of Yan Jing.

He thrust the blade out without any pause, blinking directly above Yan Jing.

This was originally his plan.

But just as he swung the blade, Yan Jing's voice suddenly came from behind him:

"Pretty fast, Mr. Yin."

When did he?!

Every hair on Yin Tianhuang's body stood on end. In the next second, Yan Jing's palm gently patted his shoulder.

Spurt!

Yin Tianhuang's body plummeted toward the ground like a meteor.

A second later, the entire land below trembled violently.

Plumes of dust and sand surged tens of thousands of meters into the air, spreading outward from the epicenter. Every plant, tree, and visible object was sent flying.

It was as if a nuclear bomb from a bygone era had struck directly, though the scale was dozens of times more exaggerated.

Everything was heading toward destruction.