The snow-white blade cut through the air and instantly arrived before Xiang Pangyun, his face twisted in a fierce expression.
"Is that all you've got?" Dongbo Xueying's spear suddenly thrust upward, and with a whoosh, the spearhead, like a rising dragon, collided head-on with the snow-white blade that was chopping down with a downward momentum.
Peng!
A loud explosion resounded, producing a visible shockwave that spread in all directions. However, under the protective dome of the power of heaven and earth, it gradually weakened and disappeared.
This collision caused Dongbo Xueying's feet to sink into the ground up to his knees. But with just a powerful push from his legs, the earth and gravel flew apart. Xiang Pangyun, on the other hand, landed using the force of the rebound.
"You've got some strength!" Xiang Pangyun grinned, but suddenly a blood-red dart appeared in his left hand.
Whoosh!
The dart streaked through the air, heading directly toward Dongbo Qingshi, who was nervously watching from the main tower of the castle.
"Sssssss~" The dart, originally as fast as lightning, was constantly blocked by the protective dome of the power of heaven and earth that Dongbo Xueying maintained to protect his brother, Uncle Zong, Uncle Tong, and the others. The strength of a title-level expert varies, but the power of heaven and earth that Dongbo Xueying and Xiang Pangyun could utilize was the same, and neither could suppress the other.
If one was determined to protect an area, the other could not break through it.
Sssssss~ The dart, once released, was constantly obstructed by the power of heaven and earth, causing its speed to decrease. Moreover, the power of heaven and earth continuously 'pushed' from the side, altering the dart's trajectory. Dongbo Xueying clearly felt the entire flight path of the dart bending.
Peng!
The dart struck the wall of the main tower of the castle, more than three meters away from Dongbo Qingshi and Zong Ling.
"They say you, Xiang Pangyun, are the first-rate expert of our Qinghe County. I didn't expect you to try to influence me by using my brother," Dongbo Xueying said with a cold laugh. "I really look down on you."
"Tsk tsk tsk, still so arrogant. I'll make you die with no regrets," Xiang Pangyun said as he once again drew his blade in a lightning-fast motion.
The blade was extremely fast.
But Dongbo Xueying's spear technique was equally fast.
"Clang clang clang."
Both sides instantly transformed into blurs, engaging in combat. Their steps changed, and Xiang Pangyun continuously attacked, advancing to get closer to Dongbo Xueying.
Retreat, retreat, retreat. Dongbo Xueying, however, kept retreating!
An inch longer, an inch stronger. Using a long weapon like a spear... one needs to maintain sufficient distance from the opponent to better leverage the spear's advantages. If they engaged in close combat, Xiang Pangyun, who used a blade, would gain a significant advantage. Xiang Pangyun kept advancing, trying to get close to Dongbo Xueying, while Dongbo Xueying kept retreating to maintain the distance.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!
How fast were both sides?
One continuously advanced, the other continuously retreated.
After a few brief exchanges, they even fought on the castle walls, then left the castle, moving outside.
"Quick, quick, we must follow them," Qingshi said, somewhat nervous and anxious.
"We can't go," Tong San said hurriedly.
"Qingshi, let's just watch from here," Zong Ling said. "The vantage point is high enough to barely see the distant battle. And if things go badly, we can retreat into the main tower and escape through the underground passage! If we get too close to the battlefield, at the level of your brother and Xiang Pangyun... even an accidental injury could kill a Silver Moon level expert."
"Okay," Qingshi clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white. At this moment, he suddenly hated himself for not practicing hard enough in the past, now unable to help at all!
When his brother told him to practice hard so he could save their parents in the future, he had gritted his teeth and tried hard for a short while, but soon lost his resolve. To be honest... his parents represented a very special meaning, and he knew they were important, but he had no real memories of them. He couldn't persist and quickly became lazy.
But at this moment,
He felt an unprecedented tension, because his brother was in danger!
"My brother is very strong, he will definitely win, he will definitely win," Qingshi stood by the railing, looking at the two high-speed moving figures outside the castle walls. He couldn't see the figures clearly, only a series of afterimages.
...
Peng! Peng! Peng!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Whether it was a low, heavy impact or a clear, sharp impact, the different forces used, whether for defense or attack, produced different sounds. At the same time, the power of heaven and earth they manipulated, one an invisible dome, the other a blood-red wave, collided repeatedly.
Dongbo Xueying took several steps back, his expression serious.
"Hmm, we're already outside your castle?" Xiang Pangyun said with a smile, looking at the Snowstone Castle a mile away. "Tsk tsk tsk, you're really quite capable. You've been retreating the whole time... and actually led me out of the castle. Are you afraid our battle will harm your subordinates? Your friends and family?"
"Aren't you sad or angry that your subordinates died?" Dongbo Xueying suddenly asked.
The deaths of Fengmo and the other three assassins did not seem to affect Xiang Pangyun at all.
"Angry? What's there to be angry about? Choosing to be an assassin means accepting the possibility of death. Besides, what does their death have to do with me?" Xiang Pangyun said casually. "If I hadn't come, wouldn't they still have died? By coming, I can avenge them. They should thank me, their big brother, ha ha..."
"Revenge? You're quite confident," Dongbo Xueying said with a cold laugh. The brief exchange had allowed Dongbo Xueying to judge that Xiang Pangyun had only a slight advantage in their battle. Even if Xiang Pangyun had some powerful techniques, Dongbo Xueying had not yet unleashed his full strength.
Moreover, based on the descriptions of some of the stronger experts on the Longshan List,
Dongbo Xueying believed that he could have barely made the list before achieving harmony with heaven and earth, ranking around two to three thousand. Now, with the harmony with heaven and earth, his body absorbing the power of heaven and earth and becoming stronger, his overall strength had improved. He had also mastered the 'Blood Rain' spear technique... and should be able to enter the top thousand! The gap between him and Siliang Hong and Xiang Pangyun was already very small.
Winning might be difficult, but for the other party to kill him? The chances were low.
Of course, these were just external intelligence and data. To truly determine the outcome, they would have to see the actual battle.
"You're quite confident in front of me," Xiang Pangyun sneered. "It's true, achieving harmony with heaven and earth at the age of twenty-two, and mastering a spear technique with perfect strength! Tsk tsk tsk, achieving perfect strength so quickly. Did you achieve harmony with heaven and earth first, or perfect strength?"
"Guess," Dongbo Xueying asked.
Achieving perfect strength is very difficult.
Like that divine envoy, who had long achieved harmony with heaven and earth but had never reached perfect strength.
Harmony with heaven and earth... is a refinement of the mind!
Perfect strength... is the pinnacle of skill!
Many title-level experts first achieve harmony with heaven and earth, and then, as their mental strength grows, they become more attuned to their own bodies, gradually achieving perfect strength!
Dongbo Xueying, however, was different. He did not follow the path of refinement through life and death. Instead, he focused on building a solid foundation, continuously improving himself. His solid foundation and remarkable insight... allowed him to forcefully achieve perfect strength, his spear technique reaching a pinnacle in terms of technique.
High skill does not necessarily mean rich combat experience! So when Dongbo Xueying first entered the Destruction Mountains, he was initially constrained, but soon he no longer panicked, and his skills gradually came into play.
...
Skill approaching the Dao!
The pinnacle of skill, and beyond... is a higher level. At that level, spear techniques, blade techniques, etc., become even more extraordinary, generally only achievable by extraordinary beings.
"If you could achieve perfect strength before harmony with heaven and earth, you would be even more monstrous," Xiang Pangyun's blood-red eyes flashed with a cold light. "But no matter how monstrous you are, you will die tonight!"
Whoosh.
As he spoke, Xiang Pangyun, enveloped in a blood-red wave, attacked again.
Dongbo Xueying's spear instantly shot out, like a venomous snake emerging from its den, and in an instant, he delivered three consecutive thrusts, aiming at Xiang Pangyun's face, heart, and throat.
At this moment,
On the top of Snowstone Mountain, in the mage tower, a large group of people, including Mage Bai Yuanzhi, Kong Youyue, and others, all came out. The commotion inside Snowstone Castle had already made the people in the mage tower somewhat puzzled and surprised. As Dongbo Xueying and Xiang Pangyun's battle moved outside the castle, the commotion grew even louder, and everyone in the mage tower was watching intently.