Equipped in a crimson armor and wielding the Blazing Saber in his hand, Huo Linfei stood before Xiang Shaoyun and blocked his path. He was surrounded by a raging column of flame that seemed to reach the heavens, looking like a god of flame.
"Hehe, you really don't know what's good for you," said Xiang Shaoyun.
"Come. You had injured the men of the Lightning Alliance. Today is the day we settle the grudge," said Huo Linfei before lifting his saber and slashing at Xiang Shaoyun.
Raging Skyburner!
Huo Linfei used all his strength from the very start. An odd flame raged around his saber as his saber energy shot out and transformed into a fiery tsunami that crashed down at Xiang Shaoyun.
One ought to admit that Huo Linfei indeed had incredible combat prowess. He wouldn't have been able to become the vice alliance leader of the Lightning Alliance otherwise. With the combat prowess he was displaying, he was comparable to even War Kings.
"Playing with fire in front of me? You think too highly of yourself," said Xiang Shaoyun with a sneer before countering with his Seven Scorching Sun Claws.
With the pair of gloves he wore, he did not need to fear touching the Blazing Saber. His claws moved in an unpredictable manner, instantly ripping Huo Linfei's saber energy apart before reaching toward Huo Linfei's chest. He hit Huo Linfei only to find that his attack had landed on an afterimage.
"You fell for it!" Huo Linfei's voice rang out as he appeared beside Xiang Shaoyun, sending forth an even more overbearing saber energy.
The saber energy raged forth like a torrential flame with a fearsome might. Instantly, Xiang Shaoyun was completely surrounded by the wave of flame. That technique had indeed caught Xiang Shaoyun by surprise, but he was still able to pull out from the wave at the last second like an unpredictable phantom.
That was the prowess of the Overlord's Nine Nether Steps—capable of crossing worlds with a single step. Xiang Shaoyun had spent the past two years slowly tempering himself and learning more about the Overlord's Nine Nether Steps through the numerous battles he had undergone. He had slowly come to comprehend the essence of the Overlord's Nine Nether Steps.
After escaping the attack, Xiang Shaoyun no longer held back. He appeared behind Huo Linfei and started clawing madly with his Seven Scorching Sun Claws. Huo Linfei had not expected that Xiang Shaoyun would actually be able to escape his attack and counterattack so quickly. He quickly turned around and started resisting the incoming attacks with his saber.
However, Xiang Shaoyun's claws seemed to be everywhere. No matter what he tried, Huo Linfei failed to block the claws. Numerous claw wounds were left on his body, and if it wasn't for the armor he was wearing, he would have been completely dyed red in blood by now.
Huo Linfei was forced into a repeated retreat, and he finally witnessed Xiang Shaoyun's prowess in combat. Even so, he couldn't just concede defeat. Thus, he shouted in panic, "Blue Lion Flame, full activation!"
Instantly, the apparition of a blue lion appeared behind him. A column of blue flame surged out, increasing his combat prowess to a brand new level. This new blue flame was much more powerful than the flame he had been using earlier. Even Xiang Shaoyun was forced to retreat, and Huo Linfei took the chance to press on by swinging his Blazing Saber at Xiang Shaoyun.
Blue Lion Annihilation!
Four blue lions appeared out of nowhere and surrounded Xiang Shaoyun. Their aura was boundless and fearsome, their prowess creating a massive cloud of dust in the area, leaving destruction everywhere in their immediate surroundings. The people nearby cried out in alarm at the sight of that.
"Who are these people? Both of them are War Kings! This is too scary!"
"The person in the crimson armor is Huo Linfei from Cloud Margin Pavilion. His strength is second only to the Lightning Kid."
"Both of them are giants among men, but that young man in white seems to be only an eighth-stage Transformation Realm cultivator. He is actually able to stand his ground against a peak Transformation Realm cultivator. He definitely has insane potential."
"Who cares? We still need to get on the Moon Gazing Platform."
...
Huo Linfei's attack was extremely powerful, capable of giving even regular Skysoar Realm experts a hard time. Xiang Shaoyun, the target of the attack, had a first hand experience at how powerful it was. An intense sea of blue flame surrounded him, tempting Yun Flame within him to come out and devour all the blue flame in the area. Sensing Yun Flame's desire, Xiang Shaoyun let it release a massive pulling force and devour the flame Huo Linfei was throwing his way.
Whoosh!
Instantly, Yun Flame devoured the blue flame, stripping Huo Linfei's saber energy from the blue flame energy, leaving only a pure saber energy behind. It greatly weakened the offensive might of the saber energy to the point Xiang Shaoyun was able to easily block it.
"What?" Huo Linfei turned pale from fright.
He could not understand why his beast flame had suddenly vanished. On top of that, he could sense an incorporeal devouring force surrounding him, causing the beast flame in his stars to withdraw in fear.
Taking advantage of this distraction, Xiang Shaoyun pressed on and clawed at Huo Linfei. His attack was further powered by Yun Flame, allowing him to tear Huo Linfei's armor apart.
"AHHHH!"
Finally, the attack reached Huo Linfei's flesh, causing him to wail in pain. Even worse for Huo Linfei was the fact that Yun Flame was starting to burn inside his body. The power of Yun Flame was incredibly intense, and Huo Linfei was completely incapable of suppressing it.
At the same time, Huo Linfei also sensed that the beast flame within him seemed to have encountered an apex predator. It did not even dare to resist and was instead fleeing everywhere in a disorderly manner.
"Refine!" Huo Linfei was still a cultivator of the power of flame. While Yun Flame burned his body and suppressed his beast flame, he started relying on himself to refine the invading flame.
But how would Xiang Shaoyun give him a chance to do so?
"You nearly killed me at the volcano. Today, it's my turn to send you off from this world," Xiang Shaoyun said and gripped Huo Linfei's neck.
A look of panic covered Huo Linfei's face. "You...you are..."
He finally knew who Xiang Shaoyun was. But it was too late.
Crack!
His neck was directly snapped. After Huo Linfei died, Yun Flame continued burning and reduced Huo Linfei into a pile of ash. The beast flame was forced to escape, but it was unable to flee from Yun Flame.
Just like that, the high-tier beast flame was turned into Yun Flame's food, further increasing Yun Flame's might. When Yun Flame returned to Xiang Shaoyun's body, he could sense that his own strength had grown considerably, reaching late eighth-stage Transformation Realm. But he did not have the luxury to focus on that. A few other people were attacking him.
"You dare kill our vice alliance leader? The Lightning Alliance will not let you off!" shouted one of the attackers.
These people were Lightning Alliance members, and they were Huo Linfei's loyal followers. They attacked together, sending a massive bombardment toward Xiang Shaoyun.