To roam the void amidst the Gang Wind; to turn the world in the palm of a hand.

Two streaks of light chased each other across the sky. The one in front was a sharp Sword Rainbow, tearing through the Gang Wind as swift as lightning and fast as a meteor. The one behind was a raging inferno, burning furiously. Its Flying Escape radiated intense heat and scattered sparks in its wake. In the blink of an eye, the chase had already covered several miles.

"Brother Xu, we’re far from the Meteor Dojo now, and there’s no one around. Aren’t you going to stop?"

A few breaths later, the fiery light seemed to grow impatient. It suddenly projected its voice in a focused line, sending it straight into the ears of the person ahead.

The one using the Sword Escape was none other than Xuzhuang. Hearing the message, the corners of his mouth curved up slightly. He spurred his sword light, then abruptly wheeled around to a halt, hovering in midair. He laughed. "Oh? So you knew I was deliberately luring you out, and you still chased after me all alone?"

The one using Fire Escape was, of course, Yang Lian. Seeing Xuzhuang halt his streak of light, he rapidly closed the distance. Confident that Xuzhuang would not escape so easily this time, he quelled his Fire Escape and revealed his form. With a smirk, he said, "Shouldn’t I be the one saying that? Xuzhuang, how long has it been since you formed your Golden Core? And you dare lure me out here all alone..."

"Do you really think that just because you’ve also formed a Golden Core, you can contend with me?!"

Before the words were even out of his mouth, Yang Lian suddenly attacked, showing no intention of exchanging any more pleasantries. The firelight flared, raging flames intertwining to once again form a giant claw. Its five fingers flexed before it viciously swiped down at Xuzhuang.

"A petty trick, and you keep using it." Xuzhuang was already on guard. With a sharp cry, he summoned his Sword Qi, which tore through the Gang Wind as it slashed forward. It shattered the giant claw in a single strike, but this time, the outcome was completely different.

After being shattered, the giant flaming claw didn’t dissipate. Instead, it exploded outward into a dense swarm of fiery threads that wove themselves into a great net in the air, threatening to fall and ensnare Xuzhuang. Xuzhuang performed a Sword Technique, directing his Sword Qi to slash left and right. In the blink of an eye, he severed dozens of the fiery threads. However, their numbers didn’t decrease; instead, they doubled, and the net was about to envelop him.

Yang Lian burst out laughing. "Kid, I didn’t feel like tangling with you the other day. Did you really think I’m that easy to deal with? My Flaming Celestial Net was specifically forged to counter Swordsmanship. You might as well stop struggling."

"Such arrogance." Xuzhuang raised an eyebrow. His Sword Technique suddenly changed. He opened his mouth and spat out a glittering sword pellet. It transformed into a streak of cyan brilliance, several times faster than the Sword Qi he had just commanded. Pulsing rapidly, it danced around his body, and in a flash, it utterly annihilated all the fiery threads closing in on him.

The sword pellet: its form was a pellet, but its essence was a sword, blending hardness and softness in perfect harmony. It was sharp enough to slice through metal as if it were mud, yet supple enough to coil around a finger. Refining one was over a hundred times more difficult than forging an ordinary Magical Artifact, and it was so challenging to control that the average Sword Cultivator couldn’t hope to wield it. For this reason, they were exceedingly rare.

But in the hands of a powerful Sword Cultivator, it was like giving wings to a tiger.

A flicker of apprehension crossed Yang Lian’s eyes. He had assumed that since Xuzhuang had only recently reached the Golden Core realm, his techniques and Magical Artifacts would be underdeveloped. He never imagined his Swordsmanship would be so formidable, that he had mastered a technique like Sword Qi Thunder Sound, and now, he had even produced a sword pellet. Xuzhuang was already a major threat.

However, the stray thought only lingered in Yang Lian’s mind for an instant before he mentally cut it away. A cold glint flared in his eyes. ’Things have already come to this. I absolutely cannot let him escape.’

He immediately formed a magic formula with his hands. A stream of vermilion smoke drifted out from the crown of his head and hung in the air. Like a spark in a dry forest, it instantly erupted into a sky-scorching conflagration that dyed the heavens crimson.

Yang Lian pointed, directing the Magic Formula. The sea of fire surged as crimson light and True Flame coalesced into a colossal dragon’s head. It leaped out, trailing a long, serpentine body. The beast had antlers like a deer, whiskers like a tiger, a flowing mane, and distinct scales and claws, each one shimmering with the color of fire. He had unleashed the famous Divine Technique he was known for: the Five-Clawed Flame Dragon!

This Five-Clawed Flame Dragon wielded immense power in its every movement. Its entire body radiated the intense heat of boundless fiery power. A mere graze was enough to inflict serious injury. If a cultivator’s cultivation was insufficient to resist it, they would be incinerated from the inside out, reduced to nothing but ash.

"Go!" Getting serious now, Yang Lian wasted no more words. He directed the Five-Clawed Flame Dragon to charge at Xuzhuang. Simultaneously, his Flaming Celestial Net continuously wove new fiery threads from within the inferno, completely sealing off all of Xuzhuang’s escape routes.

"Bring it on!" Having just formed his Golden Core, Xuzhuang was eager to test his new abilities. Far from being alarmed, he was delighted. With a mere thought, his sword pellet shot up. It shimmered, splitting from one into two, then into four. After a brief pause, it shimmered again, and with a flash of sword light, divided into eight beams that shot forward. Their speed and power were completely undiminished from the original!

The eight sword beams split into two groups. Two of them slashed wantonly through the air, shredding the Flaming Celestial Net to ribbons. The other six shot straight toward the Five-Clawed Flame Dragon.

"Sword Light Division!" Yang Lian’s expression sank. He had never imagined that Xuzhuang not only possessed an Unparalleled Swordsmanship technique like Sword Qi Thunder Sound, but had also mastered this art of splitting light.

Yang Lian knew of Sword Light Division. He knew that the power and speed of each resulting beam of light were not the least bit diminished. Every additional beam multiplied the difficulty of dealing with the attack.

Yang Lian’s Five-Clawed Flame Dragon Divine Technique was formed around a core Divine Fire Talisman. This talisman could move freely throughout the dragon’s body. As long as his Magical Power held out and the flames did not cease, any damage the dragon took could be instantly repaired. This made it especially fearless against strikes from a Magical Treasure Flying Sword.

But if he let all six sword beams slash at it freely, there was no guarantee the Divine Fire Talisman wouldn’t get hit. He was forced to maneuver the Five-Clawed Flame Dragon to evade the Flying Sword strikes as best it could while looking for a chance to counter-attack. As a result, the dragon’s offensive power was greatly diminished.

The duel had reached this point, yet it seemed Xuzhuang had casually countered every move he made. Yang Lian was furious. He cursed inwardly, ’Damn you! So you really had the confidence to back up your challenge. But don’t you dare think these are the only Divine Techniques I have!’