Chapter 152: Thousand Leaf Stream, Sword Drawing Style, Black Fall Slash

"Sword-Draw Style?" Yuan Tou sneered. The moment he saw Xu Xiaoshou grip the sword hilt, he already knew what the young man was about to do.

As one of the few who knew Xu Xiaoshou's true combat strength and had witnessed Zhao Shu's death firsthand, Yuan Tou had intentionally spent time meticulously studying the young man's various techniques.

This kid had learned a bizarre "Sword-Draw Style" from who-knows-where, and its power was astonishing. But even more terrifying was the speed of his sword! At that dreadful speed, few below the Grandmaster realm could react without prior preparation.

Unexpectedly, Xu Xiaoshou, holding "Hidden Suffering," spoke words that were not as concise as anticipated.

"Sword-Draw Style... Evolved!""Thousand Leaves Flow, Sword-Draw Style, Blackfall Slash!"

Yuan Tou was stunned. This name... tactically extended?

Then, he saw the young man lower his head, pat the sword sheath in his hand, and whisper, "Give me some face, cooperate with me..."

Yuan Tou was utterly flustered!

Is this kid messing with me?

His strongest long-range attack was currently the "Profound Heavy Domain," but this spiritual skill seemed to have little effect on Xu Xiaoshou's innate physical body. Only close combat remained... Yuan Tou had been waiting for this guy's single sword strike, but the fellow was procrastinating.

His Profound Nether Overlord Spear trembled, already impatient. Yuan Tou no longer hesitated. Even if Xu Xiaoshou were to attack suddenly, he had to get close.

From a hundred meters away, he lunged forward.

The Blackfall Scabbard in Xu Xiaoshou's hand vibrated, and Yuan Tou suddenly perceived the leaked sword energy. His heart pounded; as long as he blocked that single sword energy attack, he could seize the opportunity and finish him off instantly.

Seeing Xu Xiaoshou hastily make his move and reluctantly draw his sword, a sinister smile was about to spread across Yuan Tou's face, but it suddenly froze.

My heavens! How could there be so many streams of sword energy?

As far as the eye could see, Xu Xiaoshou drew his sword, and dense white sword energy, each stream stronger than the last, completely filled the space in front of him, above, below, left, and right!

"Holy crap!"

Yuan Tou was utterly terrified. The "Sword-Draw Style" from the intelligence reports wasn't like this at all! Is this really the Sword-Draw Style? This is more like artificial slicing!

Due to inertia, Yuan Tou could no longer turn back. He could only raise his Profound Nether Overlord Spear high and, seizing a gap, sweep it down.

"Mountain Weight Heavenly Balance!"

Empowered by immense force, the incoming white sword energy was as fragile as paper, instantly shattered in mid-air! Yuan Tou had no time to rejoice; his entire body stiffened for the second time. His pupils gradually dilated, reflecting... white sword energy behind the shattered layer of white sword energy?

How many layers are there?! There must be thousands of these sword energies!

A large number of seemingly innocuous white sword energies slashed past him, but a considerable amount still struck him. Yuan Tou barely managed to turn his heavy spear horizontally in front of him, but it blocked very little, and he was directly sent flying by the horizontal slash. The remaining ones, not a single one missed, all sliced through him.

"Shhh...shhh...shhh..."

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked. The moment he obtained the Blackfall Scabbard, the white sword energy from Blackfall Cliff gave him the idea to improve his "Sword-Draw Style." He hadn't expected that the scabbard, combined with his own sword intent, could produce such an effect.

Who could withstand this? One must know that this was sword energy powerful enough to directly blast away even his own Grandmaster-level body! With his own sword intent boosting it, the power was undeniably immense, only increasing, never decreasing!

"Too strong!"

Xu Xiaoshou's heart swelled with emotion as he looked at the Blackfall Scabbard, feeling like he had truly found a treasure. Among those sword energies just now, only one was actually unleashed by him; the rest were all the power of the scabbard.

"Cough, cough, poof!"

A sound of blood spitting came from afar. Xu Xiaoshou was surprised; he didn't die? Yuan Tou hadn't died, but he was severely crippled. If he hadn't habitually worn his "Dark Profound Heavy Armor" before the battle, he probably would have lost his life right there.

Looking at his armor, which had been sliced into fragments, Yuan Tou felt a pang of heartache. This was a Seventh-Rank Defensive Spiritual Armor! Its value could even rival a Grandmaster-level offensive spiritual artifact, and it was just... gone, cut to shreds.

He reached for his Profound Nether Overlord Spear, struggling to get up.

"Crack, crack!"

The spear was also broken...

"Poof!"

A double critical blow struck, and Yuan Tou directly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Damn it..."

He looked at Xu Xiaoshou in the distance, unable to understand how this kid's strength could have grown so rapidly in just one day. Wasn't this guy in a life-or-death battle with Zhao Shu, barely breaking through only after being covered in blood? Why, when facing him... was it just one strike?

"Cursed, Passive Point, +1."

Xu Xiaoshou had recovered from his daze over the scabbard and looked at his opponent. To be honest, even after slaying Zhao Shu and severely wounding Luo Leilei, he still hadn't treated the person before him any differently. Because, in his view, all three were equally weak. Everyone below the Grandmaster realm is an ant! But he genuinely hadn't expected Yuan Tou to be this weak...

Within his sight, Yuan Tou, struggling in the deep pit, took out a small blood-red bottle from his person and poured out a drop of blood? Golden blood... Xu Xiaoshou was seeing it for the first time. Perhaps this was Yuan Tou's last resort? That made sense; he had witnessed Zhao Shu's death, so how could he dare to confront him without some preparation?

But Xu Xiaoshou didn't intervene. He craved a real fight, hoping someone could push him to his absolute limits, instead of every battle ending in a single strike. This made him feel lost.

Yuan Tou swallowed the golden blood, and a look of pain appeared on his face. Xu Xiaoshou watched him curiously, as if observing a lab rat.

Rumbling—

Muscles swelled, and hair grew. Yuan Tou's eyes turned crimson, and he grew more than half his original height on the spot, his shoulders broadening and waist thickening, transforming into a veritable giant! Xu Xiaoshou felt a chill. What was this thing? Hair was even growing out?

"Yuan Tou... Ape... Ancestral Regression?"

Yuan Tou rose from the deep pit, a full ten feet tall, radiating an imposing aura.

"Xu Xiaoshou..." His voice became rough and hoarse. "You have indeed grown stronger, but you will ultimately be buried by your arrogance!"

Yuan Tou was also surprised that Xu Xiaoshou hadn't stopped him from consuming the "Throne Essence Blood," but since he had swallowed it, Xu Xiaoshou... could go to hell and regret it!

Xu Xiaoshou gazed at him calmly, saying indifferently, "If this is all you amount to, you're not worth my arrogance."

"Cursed, Passive Point, +1."

Yuan Tou's seemingly clumsy figure appeared directly in front of Xu Xiaoshou. He swept a palm, sending the astonished Xu Xiaoshou flying! His hand snapped backward, and he was surprisingly also sent flying by the impact.

"Cough, cough... poof!" Xu Xiaoshou spat blood!

"What the! What was that, that speed..."

He wiped the blood from his lips, his face full of surprise. That golden blood was extraordinary; it actually boosted Yuan Tou to such an extent? He had thought that with such a bulky body, this guy's speed would be comparable to a snail's. He never expected to be unable to react to this fellow's single strike?

Xu Xiaoshou stood suspended in mid-air, looking at Yuan Tou. Although Yuan Tou's eyes were crimson and he was in a berserk state, he hadn't completely lost his reason. He was also stunned. Why was it that after striking him with a palm, and despite the kid clearly not reacting, he himself was also sent flying?

What was the principle behind this?!

Irritation flashed in his bloodshot eyes. Yuan Tou, impatient, vanished with a whoosh. When he reappeared, he was already in front of Xu Xiaoshou, unleashing a punch.

"Good!"

Facing a fist the size of a basin, Xu Xiaoshou surprisingly did not dodge or evade. He likewise tore through the air with a punch, not even boosting it with spiritual energy. Disdain filled Yuan Tou's eyes. He didn't even see Xu Xiaoshou's fist; in his crimson gaze, there was only this puny, pellet-sized figure!

All sound vanished from his ears. The two fists collided, and the air directly exploded, sending gusts of wind shooting skyward. Snow had been silently fluttering within a hundred-zhang radius, but silent ripples spread out, directly pushing it away.

A one-second vacuum!

"Boom!"

The next instant, an earth-shattering roar finally erupted from the point of impact, and both individuals were sent flying backward simultaneously.

One zhang, ten zhang, a hundred zhang... Xu Xiaoshou barely managed to stabilize himself.

One zhang, ten zhang, a hundred zhang... The giant Yuan Tou plummeted rapidly, then came to a halt.

An even match!

Horror surged in his bloodshot pupils; Yuan Tou was completely dumbfounded. This guy, with just his physical strength, was actually comparable to himself after consuming "Throne Essence Blood"? What the hell, he's a monster!