Chapter 1051: Mutual Slaughter

He had only been knocked unconscious by Zhang Xuan's palm strike. As a war master, his true qi was abundant and his physique robust, so before long, he recovered.

Before fully waking, in a daze he heard the words 'Heaven-acknowledged Mentor' and thought he had returned to a safe area with no danger around, so he couldn't help asking.

'Awake at just the right time...'

Seeing him awake, Shiye Wang breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to seize the man and force some useful information from him to ease the current situation, he saw Ziye Wang not far away suddenly kick forward.

Bang!

The kick landed on Feng Xun's head. Before the guy could react, his body twitched and he fell unconscious again.

'Ah?'

Shiye Wang stood frozen on the spot.

Didn't you say you two were on good terms? How come... it feels no different from kicking an animal?

'Kill me? Just you?'

Ignoring the kicked-out Feng Xun, Yuye Wang coldly looked at Zhang Xuan.

'That's right, just us! Now that we've confirmed his identity, there's no point in you living!'

Ignoring his anger, Zhang Xuan waved his hand: 'If you keep living, you'll definitely pass on the news and steal our credit. So Shiye Wang and I have discussed it. If you obediently listen, swear a blood oath not to leak this information or compete with us for the credit, we'll spare your life...'

'Very well...'

Seeing this guy getting more and more arrogant, not taking him seriously at all, Yuye Wang's killing intent grew stronger: 'Since you want me dead, I'll make sure you die first!'

Boom!

With that, he flipped his palm and attacked Shiye Wang.

Ziye Wang, in his eyes, was insignificant; the truly fearsome one was this fourth-ranked opponent.

'Listen to me...'

Seeing that the man was thoroughly enraged, Shiye Wang hurriedly spoke, but before he could finish, he heard Ziye Wang shout from the side: 'Old Shi, act according to the plan quickly, or we'll all die here!'

Shiye Wang was so angry he nearly went mad.

Plan?

There was no plan at all, okay?

I only said earlier that if Yuye Wang really tried to harm us, we might consider counterattacking or something. He hadn't said anything yet, and you keep provoking him... No one could withstand that!

Besides, Old Shi... Shi your sister! My surname isn't Shi at all, okay...

But he knew this wasn't the time to dwell on that. Once Yuye Wang made a move, he was definitely set on killing. If he didn't fight back, he would surely die.

Gritting his teeth, he said no more. The Thunder Origin Pearl in his hand spun sharply, and a massive bolt of lightning immediately fell from the sky.

Boom!

It collided with Yuye Wang's palm strike, both dissipating in midair. Under the violent tremors, a large part of the mansion's buildings collapsed.

'No wonder you dared to challenge me—you've refined the Thunder Origin Pearl and control this Thunder Formation. But thinking this can kill me? Dream on!'

Seeing his attack shattered by the lightning, Yuye Wang roared. A long blade appeared in his palm, and with a swoosh, it sliced through the air and descended.

With one slash, it felt as if heaven and earth were torn apart. The continuously falling lightning seemed momentarily blocked, unable to penetrate despite its power.

Although Shiye Wang had refined the Thunder Origin Pearl, he only controlled a portion of the Thunder Ocean's power. Limited by his strength, he couldn't unleash its full might. Against weaker foes, it was effortless, but against a half-step Out-of-Body expert like Yuye Wang, he was somewhat outmatched.

'I might not have been your match before, but now it's uncertain who will win...'

Seeing his lightning severed by the opponent's slash, Shiye Wang once again raised the Thunder Origin Pearl.

Crackle!

The lightning in the sky became even more terrifying, wildly striking at the blade's radiance. In an instant, it shattered the blade and reached Yuye Wang's head.

Yuye Wang did not dodge. With a movement of his body, a phantom figure appeared at his brow.

Having reached half-step Out-of-Body, although his primordial spirit could not yet leave his physical body, he could already project it out of the primordial spirit acupoint, forming something like a dharma image that greatly enhanced his strength.

Indeed, as soon as the phantom appeared, the surrounding space seemed to become a cage, and the raging lightning could no longer strike in, as if sealed off.

'Die!'

With that, Yuye Wang raised his brows and brought his long blade down.

Knowing that without the Thunder Formation's support, he was still a certain distance from his opponent's strength, Shiye Wang, with a face full of anxiety, took out a long spear with his other hand to block, while shouting:

'He's using his primordial spirit to seal the space—it can only last a few breaths and does great damage to his spirit. Attack now...'

Alone, he could hardly withstand Yuye Wang, but if Ziye Wang attacked now, a pincer movement would make it hard for the latter to handle both.

Sealing space with the primordial spirit, though powerful, was extremely draining. Especially with lightning all around, even if the opponent was fierce, he couldn't hold out long.

Barely blocking the opponent's blade, he saw that Ziye Wang still hadn't acted, so he couldn't help turning to look.

One look nearly made him spit blood on the spot.

He saw that guy standing with arms crossed, watching from the sidelines, with no intention of helping.

'Damn it, I've fallen for his scheme...'

His pupils contracted as realization dawned.

The other party probably never intended to cooperate with him from the start. Instead, he deliberately deceived him, leading him and Yuye Wang into mutual slaughter.

The oath just now only forbade attacking each other. If Yuye Wang killed him, it wouldn't violate the oath.

Moreover, no matter which of them died, the survivor, to ensure better control over that Heaven-acknowledged Mentor, wouldn't dare kill him... In other words, regardless of who won or lost, that guy would be the one to benefit.

What a terrifying scheme.

'No, I can't let him succeed...'

Understanding this, Shiye Wang gritted his teeth, blocked the opponent's series of attacks, and quickly sent a telepathic message.

'Yuye Wang, don't fall for his divisive scheme. He's making us kill each other...'

'Mutual slaughter?'

'Exactly. The credit for the Heaven-acknowledged Mentor is huge. It can be said that the three of us discovered him together. There's no need to harm our harmony over such a small matter...'

Seeing the attack ease a bit, Shiye Wang breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said.

'Hmm...'

Hesitating, Yuye Wang was about to speak when he suddenly felt a chill at his back. A sword light had stabbed from behind without warning.

The light was aimed precisely at a flaw in his body, making it hard to defend against.

Whoosh!

He dodged quickly, but even so, his back was cut, bleeding profusely, and he was severely injured.

Turning around, he saw Ziye Wang holding a sword. After stabbing him, the latter had fled dozens of meters away, eyes full of excitement, shouting loudly: 'Shiye Wang, you were right—his vital point is here...'

'Damn it!'

Yuye Wang's scalp tingled.

He had thought Shiye Wang was telling the truth, only to realize it was just to distract him so the latter could launch a sneak attack. Enraged, he roared again, slapping at Zhang Xuan while simultaneously bringing his blade down on Shiye Wang.

'I...'

Just as the other had started to believe him, Ziye Wang pulled this stunt. Shiye Wang was exasperated.

He had seen shameless people, but never one so shameless...

You stir up trouble, and I take the fall... That's not how it's done!

Looking up, he saw Ziye Wang had already fled out of attack range, again standing with arms crossed, looking like he was enjoying the show.

Furious to the point of vomiting blood, Shiye Wang knew further explanation was useless—Yuye Wang no longer believed him. So he had no choice but to grit his teeth and engage in battle.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Although Yuye Wang was stronger than Shiye Wang, the latter had impenetrable defenses and, having refined the Thunder Origin Pearl, controlled the Thunder Formation. Moreover, Yuye Wang had been injured by the sneak attack, making victory far from easy.

The two fought fiercely, locked in a stalemate. Under the violent attacks, the entire ancient city kept collapsing, turning into ruins.

'Impressive...'

Watching the battle, Zhang Xuan gave a thumbs up, full of admiration.

As expected of the top five kings among the ten—each one was terrifyingly powerful.

His current combat strength could easily kill a peak Saint Realm Two expert, but encountering such a strong opponent, he would flee as far as he could.

Let alone fighting—even the shockwaves of the battle were too much for him to withstand.

As time passed, the battle grew more intense.

Logically, with Shiye Wang's strong defenses and control of the Thunder Formation—a great offensive weapon—the opponent should have been unable to hold out. Yet the two were locked in a stalemate, evenly matched.

However, Shiye Wang, having mastered the formation, could draw greater power within it. Yuye Wang sustained more and more injuries, growing heavier, and was clearly running out of stamina.

'Damn it... I'll take you all down with me!'

Knowing that if this continued, he would surely be killed, Yuye Wang let out a roar. The power within him surged, and the phantom behind him suddenly expanded, as if tearing through some shackle and leaping out.

'It's... primordial spirit out-of-body!'

Zhang Xuan's pupils contracted.

He had seen this situation before with Shuiye Wang.

That guy, after being killed by him, used a secret technique in anger to send his primordial spirit out of his body to attack him... but it didn't succeed.

This Yuye Wang, with his injuries worsening, seemed to know he would be killed sooner or later, so he also used that special secret technique to separate his primordial spirit from his body.

Although doing so would leave him severely injured and downgraded even if he survived, the opponent he was fighting would certainly be killed.

'The primordial spirit is powerful. Once Shiye Wang is killed, I definitely won't escape either... I need to find a place to hide first.'

Knowing that this guy was unleashing his ultimate move with a determination to die, Zhang Xuan frowned.

He was just watching the fight from the sidelines; if that guy bit him before dying, it would be disastrous.

Just as he was about to hide and avoid the battle, he saw a figure stagger to his feet.

Shaking his head as he stood up.

It was Feng Xun. This guy's physique was too strong; after being unconscious for a while, he had actually woken up again.

'What's going on... Where am I?'

Muttering, he had just opened his eyes when a brick flew straight over and smacked him hard on the head.

Thud!

His eyelids rolled back, and Feng Xun fell unconscious again, his face full of resentment.