Both Shun Long and Cui Guoliang were sent flying backwards from the impact of their collision.
Shun Long felt a sharp pain in his hand, as blood had already covered his entire fist.
This was the first time that Shun Long had bled after fighting someone, ever since he had started his body cultivation.
Turning his head to look at Cui Guoliang, he saw him staring at his own fist in disbelief.
A crack had appeared on his metal-like fist, as his blood was slowly dripping on the floor of the hall.
Looking at Shun Long, Cui Guoliang smiled, as he actually took the initiative to attack this time.
The crack in his left hand had quickly reformed itself, while a large halberd made of water had appeared in his hands.
Raising the 2m(6.6ft) long halberd in the air, the golden-haired Dao King swung it down aiming at Shun Long's head.
Shun Long's golden eyes flashed, as he clearly saw the trajectory of the halberd, and stepped to the side, easily dodging the attack.
Cui Guoliang smirked as he saw this, while the bright-blue halberd's attack met with the floor.
BOOOM
It was almost as if a powerful earthquake had just shaken the entire hall, as Shun Long's feet lost their contact with the ground.
Cui Guoliang's eyes flashed as he immediately swept the halberd sideways, towards the airborne Shun Long.
Seeing that he couldn't avoid the halberd, Shun Long crossed both of his arms in an X-shape in front of his chest as he attempted to block Cui Guoliang's strike.
The moment that the ice-blue halberd connected with his arms, Shun Long felt an overpowering force that sent him flying backwards, as his back finally crashed on the wall behind him.
Shun Long felt pain coursing all over his body, while even the ribs on his left side were actually fractured.
Withstanding the pain, he slowly stood up as he once again faced the golden-haired young man opposite to him.
Cui Guoliang was stunned when he saw Shun Long standing up.
He was certain, that his last strike was powerful enough, to even kill some peak rank 3 Heaven grade cultivators.
And yet Shun Long could somehow still stand up after taking a hit by his halberd head-on.
Laughing, he then said
''Brat! Not bad! You can actually still stand after taking a direct hit from my water halberd. Let's see how many more hits you can take then.
Holding his halberd with his right hand, Cui Guoliang kicked the ground as he rushed at Shun Long.
Shun Long's golden eyes once again lit up, as he immediately understood what Cui Guoliang wanted to do.
Once again, swinging his halberd down the same way as before, Cui Guoliang seemed as if he was going to hit the ground next to Shun Long once again.
Shun Long quickly dodged to the side, making the golden-haired Dao King smirk, as he mumbled to himself
''Really a newbie''
Just as the halberd was about to hit the ground, Cui Guoliang changed its trajectory, as he sent a strike towards Shun Long's right ribs.
However, Shun Long smiled as he took advantage of the moment that the halberd changed its trajectory, to immediately move behind Cui Guoliang.
Clenching his right hand, Shun Long sent a powerful punch at Cui Guoliang's ribs.
Cui Guoliang's eyes widened as he saw this, but since he didn't have enough time to dodge, he could only cover his left ribs with the Dao of Metal as he took Shun Long's blow directly.
Crackk!!
The moment that Shun Long's fist connected with his ribs, cracking sounds resounded throughout the hall, as a contorted expression appeared on the golden-haired Dao King's face.
The force from Shun Long's punch had sent him flying sideways, causing his body to tumble on the ground for a few dozen meters until it came to a stop.
Cui Guoliang grimaced in pain as he struggled to stand up before he allowed his halberd to fall on the ground, as it then turned into a small puddle of water.
The look on Cui Guoliang's face had now turned completely serious, as he faced Shun Long with a grim look in his eyes.
Suddenly, his feet started moving erratically, while his body left behind many afterimages.
Shun Long swiftly tilted his head to the side, as Cui Guoliang's fist grazed his cheek.
Seeing that his sneak attack had failed, the golden-haired young man was about to retreat when Shun Long sent a sweeping kick at his feet.
A small shield of water blocked Shun Long's kick, when Cui Guoliang once again vanished.
Shun Long's golden eyes scanned the area around him, as countless water droplets appeared in front of him.
Slowly, they converged together, creating a gigantic water python, more than 10m(33ft) tall and 50m(160ft) long.
At the heart of the python, Cui Guoliang was staring at Shun Long with a solemn look on his face.
This was the strongest move he could use while his qi cultivation was restricted at the peak of rank 3 in the Heaven grade.
The python opened his gigantic jaws as he quickly moved to bite Shun Long's waist.
Shun Long however, didn't retreat, but instead, he dove head-on inside the python's mouth, completely avoiding the terrifying bite.
Shun Long had thought that once he had entered inside, he would be able to get to Cui Guoliang without any hindrance, however, once he was actually inside the python's mouth, he understood how wrong he was.
The water that the python was created from, was Cui Guoliang's Dao of Water.
The pressure inside the python was so intense, that Shun Long could feel the water around him trying to crush him to death.
Cui Guoliang's eyes were glued on Shun Long's body, as he used his qi to make the water pressure even stronger.
Shun Long could feel, the water around him churning, as his body had finally started to break down. Blood had started flowing from the previous wound in his hand, while his already fractured ribs on his left side actually broke, as one question flashed through his mind
''Am I going to die here?''
His rapidly beating heart then started to slow down, as more and more wounds appeared on his body.
Crack
Crack
His bones had started to crack under the immense water pressure, as death approached closer and closer, while the look in his eyes had started to turn somewhat lethargic, looking as if they were about to close at any moment.
The expression in Cui Guoliang's face however, was extremely serious, without any intention to hold back or stop.
Just as Shun Long felt his thoughts getting muddled, he abruptly widened his eyes as he shouted inwardly
''NO! I will not die here! I can still stop this.
stop...
...
Stop..
...
I SAID STOP!''