He stared at Li Changâan for a long time before bursting into laughter. "Good. Very good. In that case, let me see what youâre really made of, that you dare to boast so shamelessly!"
Before his voice had faded, the white-robed old man flicked his sleeve. The originally normal-sized sleeve instantly expanded, becoming as vast as the sky itself and enveloping Li Changâan.
Li Changâan turned to flee.
But the sleeve was so immense that no matter how fast he was, he couldnât possibly escape it.
Since he couldnât escape, he stopped trying.
Li Changâan once again drew the Longsword from Emperor Wu of Zhouâs waist and slashed violently at the sleeve-robe.
The blade struck the massive canopy formed by the sleeve, yet it produced a piercing screech of metal grinding against metal.
The white-robed old manâs sleeve, which should have been made of ordinary silk, remained completely unscathed. The sharp blade had only managed to scrape a shower of flickering sparks from its surface!
Li Changâan was slightly astonished. This was just an incarnation, after all, with likely less than one-third of the main bodyâs combat power.
He never imagined it would be this powerful in a fight.
âAn old monster whoâs managed to survive in the Cultivation Realm for thousands, maybe tens of thousands of years, really isnât so easy to deal with!â
Li Changâan tossed aside the Longsword, grabbed the tightening sleeve, and pushed the Martial Scripture to its absolute limit. Dozens, even hundreds, of his already-refined acupoints began to spin madly within his body!
RRRIP!
The muscles in his arms swelled, and with his bare hands, he forcibly tore a gap in the very sleeve that the Longsword couldnât even cut.
During this process, Li Changâan did not use his Soul Fire to burn it.
Because his opponent was merely an incarnation, using such a trump card might attract the main bodyâs attention and vigilance.
He believed in striking only when it mattered, and with the force of a thunderbolt.
If he drew his opponentâs attention now, then the next time he faced the main body, his Soul Fire might lose the element of surprise that made it a killing-blow trump card!
With Li Changâanâs veteran combat experience, he would never make such a low-level mistake during a fight.
Seeing that Li Changâan had actually torn through his Universe-in-a-Sleeve technique with brute force, the old manâs expression changed completely. Although this was just an incarnation with less than one-fifth of his main bodyâs power, he was still a genuine Late-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator. Even at one-fifth strength, his Technique shouldnât have been torn apart by a mere Martial Artist from the Lower Realm!
The sleeve was torn, and Li Changâan scrambled out.
The white-robed old man snorted coldly. His five withered fingers grasped at the air, pulling a crimson flame out of the Void itself and hurling it at Li Changâan!
The crimson flame grew larger as it flew through the air, finally transforming into a massive Fire Dragon dozens of meters long!
The Fire Dragon roared at Li Changâan. Its scorching flames gave him the same horrifying sensation heâd felt when he first faced the Soul Fire.
After narrowly dodging the Fire Dragonâs attack, Li Changâan glanced back at the white-robed old man, who still stood with his hands behind his back, then turned his head to look at the sacrificial altar not far away.
Upon discovering that the altar was still continuously draining the childrenâs blood and Life Essence to replenish his opponentâs power, Li Changâan shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring. He ran to the base of the altar, then launched himself dozens of meters into the air with a powerful push from his feet, landing on top of it.
The Fire Dragon was still in hot pursuit behind him.
Li Changâan raised his foot and stomped down hard, shattering the complex Array Patterns on the altarâs surface to pieces.
With the Array Patterns destroyed, the altarâs glow dimmed considerably. The flow of vitality and Life Essence to the old man was cut off.
The old man snorted coldly and said flatly, "You think you can win just like that? Youâre dreaming! Even if I have no source of Energy, killing a little mouse like you is a trivial matter!"
As his voice fell, the white-robed old man also stamped his foot.
Immediately, an Earth Dragon burst forth from the ground!
As the Earth Dragon shot up from the ground, the entire Great Zhou Ancestral Temple trembled. The Royal Clan Relatives who were still nimble on their feet had already scattered and fled, vanishing without a trace.
Only a group whose legs had turned to jelly from fear and a few others remained.
Li Changâan shot a look at Li Shiran and Li Yuanqing below the altar, signaling for them to take care of the children, before charging back into the fray.
The Earth Dragon and Fire Dragon were both basic Techniques that only High-tier Cultivators could master. In a sense, they were advanced versions of the Fireball Skill that Li Changâan often used.
However, just because they were basic Techniques didnât mean they were simple. On the contrary, in the Cultivation World, the more common a Technique, the more useful it was.
Compared to the ordinary Fireball Skill, the creatures summoned by these High Tier elemental summoning Techniques even possessed a degree of Spirituality, allowing them to track and fight enemies on their own.
Therefore, the Spiritual Power required to cast them was naturally quite considerable, and the threshold to learn them was also very high.
At the very least, one had to be a Cultivator at the Nascent Soul Realm to master them.
In other words, the white-robed old manâs true strength was that of a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator, and he was very likely one of the elites among them.
Back in the later stages of his previous life, at the peak of his power, Li Changâan could have barely managed to fight a Nascent Soul Cultivator.
But now, Li Changâan wasnât even twenty years old. He was naturally no match for a true Nascent Soul Cultivator.
Fortunately, however, his opponent was not at full strength. Furthermore, Li Changâan had the title of "Fated Rival," which allowed him to deal 200% damage in battles against Cultivators!
The Fire Dragon and Earth Dragon gave Li Changâan a terrible time, leaving him battered and bruised, but they just couldnât kill him.