'Am I going to die?'
She watched as the Purple Blood Giant Bear Beastāthe one they had previously called the Armor Giant Bear Beast Kingāpounced toward her with its enormous body.
As its giant paw, the size of a small mountain, came crashing down.
Yang Ziling froze in an instant.
Only a single thought remained in her mind.
'Am I going to die?'
At that moment, she was so unwilling to let go.
Unwilling to leave this world.
It wasn't because she was afraid of death.
But because of one person.
That person.
The one who had made her rush here, heedless of everything.
The one who made her lose all reason.
But it was a pity.
Yang Ziling felt so useless.
She couldn't help him.
'But at least we had that one time. Otherwise, I would have even more regrets.'
Even at a time like this, that was the thought that flashed through her mind.
A blush crept onto her cheeks.
She closed her eyes and waited for death.
"You fool! Are you that eager to die?"
But just then, a furious voice roared in her ear.
Yang Ziling was stunned.
She felt a massive force bearing down.
But it didn't land on her.
It had been blocked.
She opened her eyes to see.
And what she saw was...
Yang Xiao, standing right in front of her.
He was using his own body to hold back the beast's massive frame, a body nearly the size of a small mountain.
His legs were strained to their absolute limit.
His entire body was trembling.
His aura surged chaotically.
But he held on with everything he had.
When he turned his head, there was blood at the corner of his mouth.
He was injured.
Yet, he was still glaring at her, urging her to flee!
This scene.
Left Yang Ziling completely stunned.
"Hurry up and go!"
He roared again.
Only then did Yang Ziling snap out of it.
She turned and ran.
She didn't want to leave.
But she also knew that if she stayed, she would only distract Yang Xiao further and put him in even greater danger.
'I'm so useless. Yang Xiao passed his Sword Dao on to me, so why am I so weak? I can't even defeat Zhang Mengfei. And now I've made Yang Xiao take such a huge risk for me and get injuredā¦ Iā¦ Iā¦'
This woman, who had once been so strong, was so fragile at this moment.
Tears streamed down her face as she ran.
She hated herself.
Why did she always need someone to protect her?
Why did she always bring danger to others?
Before, Yang Xiao had annihilated the Sword Casting Sect for her.
That later led to the Six Sects laying siege to him.
And now, because of her recklessness, he was forced to confront this giant beast head-on.
All of it.
Proved that she was a burden.
A liability.
'I don't want to be like this.'
Yang Ziling clenched her fists.
She gritted her teeth.
And stopped in her tracks.
She wanted to turn and look back.
Just then, a figure appeared before her.
It was Yang Tian.
"Are you all right?"
Yang Tian asked with concern.
But his gaze was fixed on Yang Xiao.
The Purple Blood Giant Bear Beast slammed down another paw.
Yang Xiao was sent flying.
This was the beast's final, desperate frenzy.
Even for Yang Xiao...
...it was becoming too much to handle.
But after being knocked away,
Yang Xiao didn't retreat. Instead, it only ignited his ferocity.
He got back to his feet.
And threw a punch.
Launching a direct assault.
A head-on confrontation.
Even Yang Tian's Heart Spirit trembled at the sight.
'What terrifying willpower.'
'What an unyielding Fist Technique.'
Watching this made Yang Tian's blood boil with excitement.
'I never thought Little Junior Brother had such a berserk side to him. He always used a sword before, which was terrifying in its own right with its overwhelming power, but compared to his current Fist Technique, it lacked this rigidity and had a bit more of a sinister edge.'
Yang Tian murmured to himself.
This Little Junior Brother had truly given him too many surprises.
The more time he spent with him, the more extraordinary he discovered him to be.
So, this time, although he could tell at a glance that Yang Xiao's Fist Technique was extraordinary, Yang Tian was no longer surprised.
He had been conditioned to it.
"Of course! Who's my boss? When it comes to Fist Techniques, I doubt you could find anyone in history with a more ferocious style than his."
Yang Lin walked over, a smug look on his face as he spoke.
"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? Little Junior Brother's Fist Technique is certainly impressive, but throughout all of history, when it comes to ferocious Fist Power, the Flame Emperor of the Ancient Era is still number one."
Yang Tian said, a look of reverence on his face.
"Back then, the Flame Emperor never truly achieved the rank of Great Emperor, but his power was in no way inferior to one. He walked a path of sheer ferocity and dominance. In all honesty, from Ancient Times to the Middle Ages, only a handful of people like the Northern Wilderness Sword God ever reached his level. If he hadn't vanished under mysterious circumstances, the world might have seen another Unparalleled Emperor."
"Heh heh."
Hearing this, Yang Lin just chuckled without saying anything.
As for Zhang Mengfei, he had even less to contribute to the conversation.
Like Yang Ziling, he was a native of the Celestial Cloud Region.
He knew very little about the outside world or the powerful figures of history.
Aside from the legends of the Five Human Emperors, which were known to all,
other powerful experts,
like the Flame Emperor who was just mentioned, were complete strangers to them.
Even though they were standing in the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion, if not for Yang Tian's explanation, they would have had no idea how incredible the master of this place was.
While they were making their enthusiastic commentary,
Yang Xiao was locked in a battle to the death.
But as the fight raged on,
he suddenly roared, "Exhilarating!"
It had been a long time since Yang Xiao had a fight this satisfying.
'Originally, I just wanted to use the smallest price to achieve the greatest success. Now, I realize a battle like this is actually pretty great too.'
There was blood at the corner of his mouth.
Forced out by the impact.
But there was a smile on his face.
Ever since his rebirth, Yang Xiao's heart had been shrouded in gloom.
Being betrayed.
Wandering the Void Dark Realm for a million years.
All of it had affected his disposition.
It had made Yang Xiao more composed, but also more calculating and somber, with less of his former impulsiveness.
Perhaps this was a good thing.
However, it did not align with the Dao he had forged in his first life.
The Dao of the Flame Emperor Divine Fist.
All this time, Yang Xiao hadn't realized this. He had only assumed that the power of his Flame Emperor Divine Fist was so weak because his cultivation was insufficient.
But at this moment,
he understood.
Because he had rediscovered that feeling from his first lifeāthe feeling of confronting a powerful opponent head-on.
That feeling.
Made Yang Xiao's entire body tremble with excitement.
And under the pressure of this powerful confrontation,
all of Yang Xiao's power,
began to coalesce.
His physical body, Spiritual Power, True Greater Yang Fire, Flame Emperor Divine Fist, Vajra Indestructible Divine Technique... all of it, every ounce of his power, was completely under his control. It was being drawn out bit by bit, condensing into a terrifying force.
An exceptionally powerful sensation.
Emerged in Yang Xiao's heart.
Just like in his first life.
Unrivaled dominance.
It also fully displayed the might of the Flame Emperor Divine Fist.
Punch after punch.
His power grew stronger and stronger.
The more he fought, the more explosive his attacks became.
It was as if his strength was increasing without end.
And his strikes would never cease.
He put a terrible pressure on his enemy, one of never-fading strength, of relentless attacks, of constantly growing power.
This was the true essence of the Flame Emperor Divine Fist.
At the same time, his Spiritual Power from the Void Observation Realm also amplified the might of his Vajra Indestructible Divine Technique, which was a key reason why Yang Xiao was able to hold his ground.
The Flame Emperor Divine Fist was for offense.
The Vajra Indestructible was for defense.
Combined with the properties of his True Greater Yang Fire,
after dozens of punches,
Yang Xiao had gained the complete upper hand.
The Purple Blood Giant Bear Beast could only take the hits passively.
It no longer had the strength to fight back.
Then, hundreds of punches.
Thousands of punches.
And after landing tens of thousands of punches at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye,
the terrifying giant beast,
which was already in its final frenzy as a Tier Six Beast King,
with a thunderous CRASH,
collapsed.
It had been beaten down by Yang Xiao's bare hands.
Defeated head-on.
It died on the spot.
Yang Xiao had won.