On the surface, Xu Luo remained impassive, but inwardly he was shocked. 'A Sacred Artifact? Is that a treasure more powerful than a Spirit--Connected Magical Artifact?'
Just then, the Phecda Star Soul's cold voice suddenly echoed in Xu Luo's mind. "This is a great treasure. You must obtain it! It can awaken the Merak Star Soul!"
Xu Luo didn't react much to the first sentence, but the second one sent his mind reeling. He almost cried out loud.
'What? This thingā¦ can awaken the Merak Star Soul?' Xu Luo couldn't help but exclaim inwardly.
He was truly stunned. After all, awakening the Tianquan and Phecda Star Souls had consumed an entire Giant Star Ore Vein that could have been mined for centuries!
And as for the higher-level Merak Star Soul, one could only imagine the energy required to awaken it.
'And now this tiny Blood-Colored Sealā¦ can actually awaken the Merak Star Soul?'
Gazing at the small seal in the purple-haired young man's hand, Xu Luo's heart began to burn with desire.
"That's right. These humans don't know its true value. You must get it!" the Phecda Star Soul said.
This was the first time the Phecda Star Soul had shown such obvious emotion since it had awakened.
"Have you made up your mind? We fight. If you win, this Sacred Artifact is yours!" The purple-haired young man, Young Master Hui, seemed unhurried as he watched Xu Luo, waiting for his decision.
'Since the Blood-Colored Seal in his hand is such a great treasure, why would he offer to trade it?' The question suddenly popped into Xu Luo's mind. He immediately thought of two possibilities. 'First, the purple-haired man doesn't know the true value of the seal. Second, he knows the seal is valuable, but the ring I took from the golden-haired man might containā¦ an even more important treasure!'
He thought back to what the young girl had just shoutedā¦
'"You took Li Ye's thing, now we can't go backā¦ Weā¦ can't go back?"' Xu Luo frowned slightly. A bold conjecture suddenly formed in his mind, and it electrified him!
'Go back!'
'Go back where?'
'These people are clearly not from the Southern Celestial Divine Continent. That means they're either from the Sect Continentā¦ or the Ancient Race!'
'In any case, they can't be from the Central Plains Star Continent.'
'But whether they're from the Sect Continent or the Ancient Race, they're millions of miles from here!'
'Unlike the Ancient Race Continent and the Central Plains Star Continent, which are connected by land, the Southern Celestial Divine Continent is an isolated landmass, surrounded on all sides by the ocean!'
'No matter where they came from, they had to have crossed a vast ocean to get here.'
'I only managed to get here from the Central Plains Star Continent because my five Star Souls worked together to tear through space and time.'
'So how did these peopleā¦ get here?'
Xu Luo considered a certain possibility and grew excited. 'If they really have a treasure that allows them to traverse the vast space between continents, and it was on the golden-haired man, then nowā¦ doesn't that mean I can go home?'
At that thought, Xu Luo's heart couldn't help but start pounding in his chest!
'Mine! It's all mine!' Xu Luo screamed internally. Then, he smiled faintly and said, "Since you're so generously offering me a treasure, it would be rude of me to refuse!"
With that, he assumed a fighting stance and smiled at the purple-haired young man. "Make your move!"
A flash of arrogance crossed the purple-haired young man's eyes. "I never strike firstā¦"
WHOOSH!
Like a great roc, Xu Luo's figure blurred, and in an instant, he was before Young Master Hui, his fist already flying!
Tyrant Technique!
A world-conquering aura erupted from Xu Luo's body.
As a hegemonic offensive art from the Ancient Era, the Tyrant Technique was undoubtedly one of the most powerful Cultivation Techniques of its time!
Once unleashed, it seemed to stir heaven and earth, filling the entire area with its domineering presence.
An unusual glint flashed in the purple-haired young man's eyes. He snorted coldly, his hands forming a seal to block Xu Luo's fist, his gaze brimming with invincible confidence!
Xu Luo couldn't help but be inwardly impressed. 'This is a true young expertāsomeone with an invincible heart, who believes he can defeat any opponent he faces.'
BANG!
Xu Luo's fist slammed hard against the hand seal formed by the purple-haired young man, creating a dull thud. Both of them stumbled back three or four steps.
The purple-haired young man said with some surprise, "Not badā¦ but if your skill is limited to this kind of brute force, then todayā¦ you will undoubtedly lose!"
Xu Luo flashed a toothy grin. "Just keep my little seal safe for me. I'll be taking it back soon!"
"If you have what it takes, then come and get it!" the purple-haired young man sneered.
The two then clashed in a furious battle, fighting from the ground into the sky, and then across the heavens to the distant horizon. Verdant mountain peaks collapsed one after another under the shockwaves of their colliding auras!
The purple-haired young man's power was immense. He had challenged countless young experts on the Sect Continent and had never known defeat!
Eventually, across the entire Sect Continent, he came to be recognized as number one among his generation!
He was a true young powerhouse!
But today, against Xu Luo, he encountered resistanceāand evenā¦ danger!
The purple-haired young man's fighting spirit was fully ignited, and he began unleashing all sorts of ultimate techniques.
It was also the first time Xu Luo had faced such a powerful opponent. The battle made his blood boil with excitement. The two had a tacit understanding not to use Dharma Heaven and Earth, battling only with their physical bodies!
BANG! BANG!
The speed of their fists and feet was unbelievable; in the blink of an eye, they had already exchanged more than a dozen blows.
Meanwhile, the golden-haired young man, Li Ye, had regained consciousness. As he watched Xu Luo battling the purple-haired man fiercely in the sky, his jaw nearly hit the floor.
He had been brooding over his own defeat, unwilling to accept it, believing his opponent had only won by a slight margin. But now he realized that when Xu Luo fought him, he hadn't even been trying his best!
Otherwise, killing him would have been child's play!
'What rotten luckā¦ Don't tell me I'm supposed to thank him for the mercy of not killing me?' Li Ye frowned. He suddenly thought of the ring that had been stolen from him, and his expression turned grim.
Losing the various divine materials and treasures in the ring would sting, but he wouldn't lose sleep over it. However, if *that* item was gone, it would be a true disaster!
Putting aside the issue of how they would even get home, even if they did manage to return, they would likely face endless reprimands from the family eldersā¦
As the terrible possibilities filled his mind, the face beneath Li Ye's dashing golden hair grew even paler. He could only mutter, "Young Master Huiā¦ you have to win!"
"The Masterā¦ will definitely win!" the burly young man, Er Gou, said with utter confidence. "Because the Master has never lost! The people on the Sect Continent are no match for him, and this guyā¦ won't be either!"
The enchanting, red-haired woman in a white dress, Erin, raised an eyebrow slightly but didn't echo Er Gou's words. She had her own assessment. In her opinion, Young Master Hui and the other young man were evenly matched. It was impossible to say who would win!
She knew that Young Master Hui still had trump cards he hadn't played, but who was to say the other man didn't have his own?
'It would be foolish to assume he doesn't have any aces up his sleeve. Who among those who've reached such a realm at this age could possibly be ordinary?'
The young girl, Xuan'Er, said worriedly, "Big Brother Hui has to win! He has to! Otherwise, what will we do if we can't get home?"
"Shut up!" Erin glared fiercely at Xuan'Er. Then, as the girl stared back in astonishment, Erin's expression suddenly shifted into a bewitching smile. "Little Xuan'Er, don't you have a very special talent? If we really can't get homeā¦ we'll all be counting on you!"
A look of terror instantly appeared on Xuan'Er's delicate little face. She instinctively recoiled. "Noā¦ it's too painful!"
"So, you'd better pray your Big Brother Hui wins," Erin said with a beaming smile, though deep in her eyes, a flicker of worry appeared. 'Young Master Hui's victory in this battleā¦ is far from certain!'
As one of the top figures of the Sect Continent's younger generation, Erin, though not quite as strong as Young Master Hui, wasn't far behind. She could naturally see that although the two were currently locked in a fierce, seemingly inextricable stalemate, in truth, Young Master Hui had already lost the air of invincible confidence he'd had at the start!
Although he still appeared to have that invincible conviction, Erin could sense itā¦ Young Master Hui was no longer so certain of himself!
Why was neither of them willing to be the first to use Dharma Heaven and Earth? Because for either of them, being the first to resort to it would be an admission of weakness!
Everyone knew that Dharma Heaven and Earth was their most powerful technique, and to use it meant the battle was nearing its end. Thus, they continued to fight with their powerful physical bodies alone, neither willing to be the first to escalate.
"Is my little seal ready for me yet?" Xu Luo flashed a toothy grin. His figure suddenly flickered and vanished, only to reappear abruptly right in front of Young Master Hui!
His speed was unbelievable!
'How can he use spatial teleportation?' Erin's eyes narrowed. Others might assume Xu Luo was just using a Body Technique and was simply incredibly fast, but she knew better!
"I can't believe itā¦ he's already grasped some of the laws of spaceā¦" Erin muttered under her breath.
"Noā¦ This person's knowledge of space isn't just strong," the girl Xuan'Er said, her face suddenly solemn as she stared unblinking at Xu Luo. "It's as if heā¦ controls time itself! What we just saw was an illusion!"
"An illusion?" Erin asked, confused.
"That's right. It wasn't that his speed increased, butā¦ Big Brother Hui's speedā¦ slowed down!" Xuan'Er said gravely. "To be precise, that young man over there has grasped a profound law of time. He altered the flow of time itself!"
If Xu Luo could have heard Xuan'Er's assessment, he would have been astonished. He would never have imagined that a sixteen-year-old girl could possess such a profound understanding of time and space.
At that moment, the purple-haired young man's face was deathly pale, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.
Because the sword in Xu Luo's hand was resting on his neck.