Xiao Yan couldn't hide his shock—barely two months ago Brother Yang had still been a Dou Ling, so how had he become a Dou Huang in the blink of an eye?
"Roar!"
A sudden, furious lion's roar jerked Xiao Yan out of his daze.
Old Yao also poured more Soul Power into the shield; now it wasn't just about keeping Xiao Yan hidden, but about keeping him from being shredded by the aftershocks of three Dou Huang experts clashing.
"Human, you dare kill this king's beast—die!" The Amethyst Winged Lion King lifted its head toward Chen Yang, instantly abandoning Yun Yun. The majesty of the eastern Magical Beast Mountain Range could not be trampled; if it let this human kill its subordinate to its face and did nothing, how could it still rule these Peaks?
"Be careful!" Seeing the Amethyst Winged Lion King switch targets, Yun Yun didn't relax; she leveled her long sword and shouted a warning to Chen Yang.
"This woman… not bad at heart," Xiao Yan murmured to Old Yao below.
"She's afraid that if that boy Chen Yang loses, she's next," Old Yao, a seasoned veteran of the Jianghu, answered, far less naïve than Xiao Yan.
"Is that so?" Xiao Yan mused, offered no rebuttal, and looked up again.
On Chen Yang's side, he gave a slight nod at Yun Yun's warning.
Under the blazing sun the Amethyst Winged Lion King, confident its strength was at its Peak, opened with the Amethyst Seal.
"Dragon Battles in the Wild!"
Chen Yang silently invoked one move of the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms; a crimson dragon of fire-attribute Dou Qi coalesced above the Amethyst Winged Lion King.
"Not good!!!" The Amethyst Winged Lion King hadn't expected such a breach of martial etiquette—no trash talk, just instant action—and its Amethyst Seal needed a long cast time.
With the dragon about to swallow it, the lion could only repurpose the purple energy for defense, but how could it erect a solid barrier in a heartbeat? The energy only blunted part of the blow; the rest would have to be taken with its Physical Body.
"Boom!"
In a flash the fiery dragon slammed the Amethyst Winged Lion King into a ravine; the shockwave flattened ancient trees for kilometers, and the fire-attribute energy exploded on impact, a heart-rending roar rising from the crater.
"Earth Rank Dou Technique!"
The instant Chen Yang struck, Old Yao had dragged Xiao Yan several kilometers away, yet the blast still nearly flipped Xiao Yan head-over-heels.
Still reeling from a Dou Huang's might, Xiao Yan heard Old Yao's voice again.
"Brother Yang's casual palm is actually an Earth Rank Dou Technique?"
"So this is the terror of an Earth Rank Dou Technique!"
Xiao Yan sucked in a breath at the devastation around them.
"Hmph—an Earth Rank Dou Technique delivered by a Dou Huang expert and the same move from a tiny Dou Master like you are not even in the same league," Old Yao lectured.
"Heh-heh…" Xiao Yan chuckled, admiration in his eyes. "One day I'll be a Dou Huang—no, stronger than a Dou Huang."
Old Yao beamed, praised his ambition, and together they turned back toward the lion king… In the sky, even Chen Yang was startled: an Eight-Star Dou Huang plus an Earth Rank Dou Technique could wreak such havoc?
What would a legendary Heaven Rank Dou Skill look like?
But this was no time for awe; they had to see whether the Amethyst Winged Lion King had survived.
"Whoosh!"
With that thought, Chen Yang flapped his Dou Qi Transformation Wings and appeared above the crater; frowning at the thick dust, he prepared another strike.
Just then a swirl of Wind Affinity Dou Qi swept the dust aside, scattering it into the distance.
Chen Yang turned to see Yun Yun gliding to his side, long sword now in her left hand, right hand still directing the wind.
"Thanks," Chen Yang said, giving her a sincere smile.
"I should thank Your Excellency; had you not been here, one careless moment under that beast's Seal and I would have fallen in this mountain range," Yun Yun replied, her voice gentle, lacking any sect-master haughtiness, warm as a neighbor's big sister.
"Its Seal is indeed troublesome," Chen Yang agreed, noting her graceful figure in plain robes, Wind Affinity Dou Qi swirling around her, the pair of cyan wings completing her elegant bearing.
While Chen Yang studied Yun Yun, she studied him.
The first thing she sensed was his youth—barely eighteen or nineteen, only a little older than her own disciple—yet already a Dou Huang, and stronger than she was.
The Jia Ma Empire could never nurture such a prodigy.
"Roar!"
A weak roar sounded; Yun Yun shifted her sword to her right hand. "It's still alive!"
Chen Yang nodded, flashed above the lion, and pressed a palm to its head. "Submit—or die?"
"Human, dream on if you think this king will yield!" the Amethyst Winged Lion King roared, immobile but unbroken.
"Lion King, you don't want your cub to keep you company in the afterlife, do you?" Chen Yang smiled thinly.
"You—cunning human, damn you!" the lion raged, fury its only weapon.
"I may not have finished school, but I know an insult when I hear one," Chen Yang said, increasing the pressure; the lion shrieked in agony.
Chen Yang said nothing—he simply kept pressing.
"Human, this king yields—yields!"
At last, after two and a half minutes of screams, the Amethyst Winged Lion King submitted.
It wasn't that it didn't want to resist, but gravely wounded and facing two Peak Dou Huang—one far stronger than itself—it had no choice.
Besides, this human really would send its cub to accompany it in death.
"Hmm."
Chen Yang almost quipped that the sensible are heroes, but recalling Xiao Yan nearby, he simply withdrew his hand, took seven or eight fourth-grade healing Medicinal Pills from his storage ring, and tossed them into the lion's mouth.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King, gazing at Chen Yang hovering before it, finally lowered its proud head.
"Congratulations, Your Excellency," Yun Yun said, dropping to his level, sword reversed behind her back, smiling.
"This little lion has fair potential; my courtyard lacks a Demonic Beast for pill-testing. Take it back and raise it properly, and seventh tier is within reach," Chen Yang replied with a grin.
A Sixth-Tier Magical Beast fit only for testing pills—and from his tone he might even be an Alchemist.
Where in the world did someone like him come from?
Yun Yun looked at Chen Yang, curiosity swirling within…
(End of Chapter)
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