30: Chapter 30 Slaying!
"Bring it on! Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
"Extreme Yang Great Hand Seal!"
Ning Yuan said coldly, charging forward without fear as the scorching firelight illuminated his face.
In an instant, a thirty-meter-tall great hand seal burning with Extreme Yang Fire slammed violently towards Tie Xiong.
"Asura Blood Spear!"
Faced with the great hand seal striking towards him, Tie Xiong didn't dodge at all. Instead, he brandished his long spear to meet it, transforming it into dozens of spear shadows, clearly intending to clash head-on with Ning Yuan.
Bang!
A deafening roar erupted as the great hand seal collided violently with the spear shadows. After only a few seconds, the great hand seal crushed the dozens of spear shadows like dry weeds.
The great hand seal continued its momentum toward Tie Xiong, leaving him utterly horrified as he hurriedly brandished his long spear to defend himself.
Bang!
But it was in vain. The great hand seal sent Tie Xiong flying, only stopping when he slammed into the wall, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Fortunately, the Treasure Pavilion was constructed from special Materials; otherwise, there was no telling how far Tie Xiong would have flown.
"How is this possible?"
Nangong Xi and Luo Yonghao, who were watching the battle from the side, were filled with shock, though the reasons for their shock differed.
Luo Yonghao hadn't expected Ning Yuan, a Sword Cultivator, to possess such terrifying methods. It seemed the previous battle hadn't shown his full strength, and only now was he truly unleashing it.
Even he dared not underestimate this move!
Nangong Xi recognized Ning Yuan's identity; she had seen him use it on the night they parted ways.
When they parted, Ning Yuan had only just achieved a Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, and his strength then was incomparable to what it was now.
Now that his cultivation had reached the Peak of Foundation Establishment, only one step away from Core Formation, his strength could even rival a Golden Core Cultivator.
"Hundred-Fold Asura Spear!"
Just then, a roar came from Tie Xiong's direction as the blood-colored long spear erupted with a brilliant crimson light.
Immediately, the long spear Tie Xiong brandished transformed into a hundred crimson spears of light, flying toward Ning Yuan like lightning.
Terrifying fluctuations emanated from every crimson spear; this Cultivation Technique was likely at least fourth-grade.
One could see from this move that Tie Xiong was using his trump card, hoping to defeat Ning Yuan in a single stroke.
"Ding! Ding! Ding!"
Under the watchful eyes of Nangong Xi and Luo Yonghao, Ning Yuan rapidly brandished the "sword name" in his hand, creating a series of afterimages that showed just how fast he was.
He swatted away the great spears one by one, sending wave after wave of strong wind sweeping through the area, forcing the two observers to cover their faces with their sleeves.
During the defense, cracks were forced into the crimson spears, showing how immense Ning Yuan's strength was.
The two were dazzled by such an intense battle of offense and defense, and they were both forced back by the shockwaves.
As the offensive continued, the cracks on the great spears gradually spread, with some even on the verge of collapsing.
Seeing this, a ruthless glint appeared in Tie Xiong's eyes. A powerful surge of spiritual energy suddenly erupted from his body, causing the cracks on all the spears to heal while their power significantly increased.
The increased power of the spears made it difficult for Ning Yuan to cope. His expression darkened; he couldn't let this continue, or he would surely die.
"Kid, weren't you acting all arrogant? Now, show me that arrogance again! Hahaha!"
Seeing Ning Yuan struggling to respond, Tie Xiong couldn't help but laugh triumphantly. He had been suppressed before, but now it was finally his turn.
"Then I'll give you a good look!"
"Pingtian Sword Art!"
Before he had even finished speaking, a brilliant sword light rose from the ground, shattering the great spears around Ning Yuan and gradually spreading outward.
Under the sweep of the sword light, all the great spears were shattered one after another, so fast that the eye could barely follow.
Using the cover of the sword light, Ning Yuan performed the Heaven Treading Steps and turned into a black shadow, approaching Tie Xiong at extreme speed.
"Vajra Fist!"
At the moment of approach, Ning Yuan's right fist shimmered with golden light, a sign that the Vajra Fist had been pushed to its limit.
Ning Yuan ruthlessly smashed this punch into Tie Xiong, striking his head and shattering it into pieces.
"Do you see it now?"
Ning Yuan's cold voice rang out, leaving Nangong Xi and Luo Yonghao staring blankly at the scene. They hadn't expected the Young Sect Master of the Iron Blood Sect to die here.
It was a pity only the two of them saw this; otherwise, all of Qingzhou would be in an uproar, and the Iron Blood Sect would not let the matter rest.
However, once things here were finished, these consequences would happen sooner or later.
"This... how is it possible?"
Nangong Xi quickly recovered and couldn't help but mutter to herself, her beautiful eyes fixed on the figure holding a long sword and enveloped in Sword Intent.
After only a few days apart, the huge gap that previously existed between Ning Yuan and Tie Xiong had been completely closed and even surpassed in just a few days.
Such a massive leap was truly shocking!
Luo Yonghao, standing not far away, also felt a hint of pressure, evident from his slightly clenched fists.
Although Tie Xiong's strength couldn't compare to his own, he was still among the few in the younger generation of Qingzhou who could match him.
Yet Ning Yuan was able to slay a Golden Core as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, something he himself couldn't have done at that stage. This showed that Ning Yuan's talent and potential far exceeded his own.
While various thoughts flashed through their minds, Ning Yuan looked indifferently at Tie Xiong's headless corpse, blood still dripping from his hands.
However, it wasn't Ning Yuan's blood, but Tie Xiong's, which had splattered onto him when he crushed the head.
Afterward, Ning Yuan picked up the crimson long spear from the ground, gave it a casual glance, and then put it away.
A fourth-grade Magic Treasure, the Asura Spear!
The spear is decent, but the person using it wasn't!
Now that it belonged to him, this spear was destined to gather dust, as he had no use for it.
He slipped the storage ring off Tie Xiong's hand and easily swept his Divine Sense inside to see its contents.
Inside were only hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, Talismans, and various miscellaneous items, along with the Cultivation Techniques Tie Xiong had practiced.
For example, "Asura Blood Spear," "Hundred-Fold Asura Spear"... and among them was a blood-burning secret art called the "Qianyuan Blood Burning Art," which allowed one to erupt with powerful combat strength by burning their essence blood.
Tie Xiong must have used the Qianyuan Blood Burning Art to suppress him earlier, but it surely came with side effects.
Afterward, one would fall into a state of weakness for a period. The recovery time depended on one's cultivation; the higher the cultivation, the faster the recovery, and vice-versa.
He also lacked a life-risking secret art, and he just happened to get one from Tie Xiong. Tie Xiong was a good man.
One might not use such a secret art, but one couldn't be without it. Otherwise, in a desperate situation, one wouldn't even be able to risk their life. Perhaps that one risk could carve out a slim chance of survival.
This battle let him know where his strength stood, and he also gained the Qianyuan Blood Burning Art and some other miscellaneous items.
At the same time, a doubt arose in Ning Yuan's mind: why didn't Tie Xiong have anything he had obtained from the Treasure Pavilion?
Could it be that the items in the Treasure Pavilion had all disappeared, or was there some other situation?
He was still hoping to make a fortune in the Treasure Pavilion!