Thick Night.
On the long street, countless black-clad figures trailed two silhouettes, cowering, none daring to approach.
The pursued figure stumbled, blood dripping from their black robe, tracing a vivid crimson line on the road. The pursuer strolled leisurely, as if window-shopping, keeping a steady, unhurried pace.
"Are we just gonna watch?" a black-clad man whispered to a familiar companion, observing the scene from the sidelines.
"Shh, keep it down! You trying to die?" The other glanced warily at the black-robed figure on the street, pulling his friend back. "You're new, so you don't know. Earlier, the head guard confronted that guy and got a casual punch—went right through him!"
He shuddered, the memory chilling him.
Gulp. The first man swallowed hard, eyes wide with horror. "One punch? Wasn't the head guard a peak Dou Ling?"
"Exactly! You see any city guards stepping up now?" He patted his friend's shoulder, advising, "Your life's your own. Just go through the motions with the rest. That measly monthly pay isn't worth dying for. Let the big shots handle it!"
Meanwhile, the "big shot" they spoke of stood atop the auction house's highest point, his face dark as he watched the street.
"Door Master, Young Master Bu doesn't look like he'll last much longer," Hu, the steward, said cautiously, glancing at the bear-like middle-aged man.
"Useless! Causing such a ruckus—there's no hiding this now!" The man slammed his palm on the windowsill, splintering wood, and roared.
Watching the two figures—one fleeing, one pursuing—nearing the auction house entrance, he sneered, "So brazen, chasing him down the street. Does he think Eight Gates is empty?"
His eyes flashed with lethal intent. After years in the Black Horn Region, no one was a coward. Since the plan was exposed, he'd settle it swiftly.
Xiao Bai, strolling as if toying with his prey, seemed to sense the killing intent. He glanced at the distant, burly silhouette and smiled faintly, continuing to trail the battered figure ahead.
Moments later, a grand structure loomed, its "Black Seal" characters glinting coldly under dim lights.
"Haha, honored guest! Yuan has failed to welcome you properly!" A bold laugh echoed from the auction house entrance.
"Heh, Door Master Yuan, I hope you don't mind my unannounced visit," Xiao Bai replied, his clear voice ringing out as he stepped leisurely from the dark street, hands clasped behind his back.
"Haha, not at all!" Yuan Yi smiled broadly, though his eyes held no warmth, only icy chill. "I wonder how my son offended you, young master, to provoke such thunderous wrath!"
Xiao Bai teased, "Door Master Yuan doesn't know?"
"I don't!" Yuan Yi shook his head faintly. "Today, Eight Gates lost a precious treasure. I've been tearing my hair out to find the thief!"
"Adoptive Father, the treasure's on him—he's the thief!" a weak, raspy voice interjected.
"Silence!" Yuan Yi snapped. "This young master is a dragon among men, noble and refined. How could he be a thief?"
His tone shifted, teeth gritted. "Surely, this young master slew the despicable thief and recovered our treasure! Please return it, and Eight Gates will be eternally grateful!"
"Tch, how amusing!" Xiao Bai clapped, laughing at the crowd's dawning realization.
Yuan Yi was cunning, claiming moral high ground while eyeing both fame and profit. Even in the chaotic Black Horn Region, reputation mattered—everyone, no matter how vile, preferred dealing with those of good repute.
Yuan Yi seemed certain Xiao Bai, alive, was his ticket to profit, and that he wouldn't reveal the dragon. If Xiao Bai exposed Little Golden Dragon, word would spread, foiling Yuan Yi's plan but plunging Xiao Bai into endless trouble.
Quite the schemer.
"I do have something that could be called a treasure," Xiao Bai said, a playful glint in his eyes. "Why don't you describe it, Door Master Yuan, so I can confirm?"
"You dare force me to say it?" Yuan Yi's face darkened.
He hadn't expected the youth to be so reckless, ready to reveal the golden dragon publicly.
"Say it!" Xiao Bai's smile faded, his eyes sharp, radiating dominance. "Eight Gates' treasure? Look in a puddle—you're not worthy!"
"You—" Yuan Yi's anger surged. In years since founding Eight Gates, no one had dared point and curse him like this.
His Dou Qi erupted, his pressure suffocating the crowd, who gasped and retreated frantically.
"What 'you'? A mere three-star Dou Huang. If I weren't injured, I'd kill you in two punches—a wretch like you dares covet my possessions?" Xiao Bai's robe fluttered under the pressure's gusts, but he stood like a mountain, unshaken.
"Haha!" Yuan Yi laughed in fury, his aura intensifying, his tone mocking and enraged. "What a pity, then, that you're gravely injured, your aura unsteady. Let's see how you manage two punches!"
"Arrogant brat, die!"
With that, Yuan Yi's hand clawed out, pulsing with violent energy. His body blurred into afterimages, closing in instantly, aiming for Xiao Bai's heart.
As the claw's gusts hit, lifting his black hair, Xiao Bai clenched his fist and swung without hesitation, the sonic boom warping space.
Claw and fist collided midair.
Bang!
A massive explosion echoed through the silent street, dizzying onlookers who covered their ears. Visible air ripples spread, shaking houses and sending roof tiles clattering down.
As the crowd watched tensely, the dust settled, revealing both figures had retreated a few steps.
"What a formidable physique!" Yuan Yi, hands behind his back, hid his shock and wariness. He sensed no energy fluctuations from Xiao Bai—pure physical strength.
Pain stabbed his hand; the arm that had clawed was fractured.
Cough, cough. Xiao Bai coughed, discreetly wiping blood from his lips. His newly healing meridians ached with tearing pain.
With his Dou Qi depleted from the Thunder Dragon Rift in the magma depths, he relied solely on his physique. Damn those salamanders! The underground pressure had left his meridians fragile, limiting his strength. Otherwise, that punch could've half-crippled Yuan Yi!
"You're strong, but with only physical power, you'll die here today," Yuan Yi said, his tone light despite his wary eyes, brimming with confidence. "Killing a prodigy like you… my heart's practically singing with anticipation!"
"Heh, trying to rattle me? You're not up to it," Xiao Bai scoffed, shaking his head. "Plenty in this world could kill me, but you're the most delusional."
"Haha, let's see!" Yuan Yi laughed, his burly frame moving. Yellow-glowing energy wings sprouted behind him. He drew a heavy ghost-head saber from his ring, its blade gleaming with menace.
Soaring upward, he hovered, channeling surging energy into the saber. It hummed, light flashing, until a ten-meter-long blade arc materialized.
Feeling the terrifying pressure from above, Xiao Bai's face grew solemn.
Does Yuan Yi think I'm a sitting duck?
"Void-Splitting Slash!"
The snowy blade arc, radiating chilling menace, cleaved toward Xiao Bai.
As it descended, Xiao Bai felt faint pain, like blades grazing his skin.
"Heavenly Frost Fist!"
His body blazed like a furnace, blood qi surging. Red mist swirled within a ten-meter radius. He swung his fist, meeting the overhead blade arc.
Crack!
The black stone ground shattered under the pressure, turning to dust. Xiao Bai's knees sank into the earth.
Boom!
A three-story building behind him, grazed by the blade's tip, split like tofu and collapsed under the energy's shock.
The crowd gaped at the hundred-meter-long gash before the auction house. Is this a Dou Huang's might?
"What a strike! He's dead, right?"
"Taking that head-on? Even if he's not dead, he's in bad shape!"
Amid their murmurs, the street's dust cleared.
A figure, half-buried in the ground, stood motionless. Did the Door Master really kill him with one strike?
Cough, cough. "You're dead," a voice, cold as ice, rang out.
Xiao Bai swallowed the blood in his mouth, his eyes flashing with anger at the inner armor fragments on the ground. A gift from Yun Yun, it had withstood the magma depths but shattered now due to his carelessness.
Pulling his legs from the earth, he stood, carefully collecting the fragments. With a flick of his sleeve, a golden light shot out. Before the crowd could react, he swallowed it.
The figure, once unsteady with no energy fluctuations, began to radiate a thickening aura. Faint thunder rumbled from within, and five-colored light glimmered, lightning arcs dancing like sprites across his body.
Yuan Yi, watching the youth's rising aura, felt a chill of dread, as if something unpredictable loomed.
Without hesitation, he raised his heavy saber, channeling energy into it. Strike first, kill him—his trump cards mean nothing if he's dead.
"Void-Shattering Earth Slash!"
As the blade light surged, the youth stretched out a hand, summoning a golden spear crackling with thunder.
"Thunder Dragon Rift!"
The spear's gleaming tip, reflecting cold menace, aimed at the descending blade arc.
"Is he mad? Just pointing a spear, doing nothing? He'd be better off using his fist like before!" a bystander scoffed.
"All that show for nothing!"
Yuan Yi's tension eased, puzzled by the youth's spear-pointing gesture.
As the crowd chattered, a faint dragon's roar sounded, accompanied by a thunderous, majestic aura.
An illusory dragon head, shimmering with five-colored lightning, emerged from the spear's tip.
Roar!
A sky-shaking cry, like thunder, sent shivers through the city, terrifying the timid. Struggling free, the dragon head leaped from the spear, as if breaking shackles.
Roar!
Another triumphant roar. The ten-meter-long, sinuous dragon coiled briefly, trailing five-colored light, and charged the blade arc.
A massive blade arc descended; a ten-meter five-colored thunder dragon soared. The onlookers gaped, awestruck.
As it neared, the dragon's robust claw, crackling with thunder, struck the blade arc.
Boom!
Amid flashing lightning, a deafening crash rang out. The blade arc halted, as if hitting a steel wall, unable to shake the dragon's claw.
With apparent intelligence, the dragon gripped the blade after stopping it, its five claw-fingers like curved blades. With a thunderous roar, cracks spread across the blade arc.
Under Yuan Yi's shocked gaze, it shattered into fragments.
Roar!
With another resounding cry, the dragon's tail flicked, trailing five-colored light, and appeared before the stunned Yuan Yi.
Before he could react, the dragon pierced his chest and vanished.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed. Yuan Yi stared, incredulous, at the gaping hole in his chest, as if skewered by a spear.
"Door Master!" Three Dou Wang auras emerged, crying out in disbelief as the burly figure fell like a broken-winged bird.
"Eight Gates is finished! The Black Horn Region's about to erupt!" Spies from other factions, watching from the shadows, shook their heads after a stunned pause.
"Without Yuan Yi, Black Seal City's a ripe prize for the taking!"
"Have you forgotten the one who killed him is still here? From his tone, if he wants Black Seal City, who in the Black Horn Region would dare challenge him?"
Xiao Bai stood before the auction house, slightly exhausted but upright, his commanding presence cowing the crowd.
"Haha…" A raspy, grating laugh broke out. The blood-robed youth struggled to his feet, limping to Yuan Yi's side, who lay dead, eyes unclosed.
"Father! He's dead, finally dead! Did you see?" he cackled.
Xiao Bai watched coldly. Behind him, shadows stirred, coalescing into a spectral figure that bowed. "Ling Ying, at your service, young master!"
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