Chapter 263: Ajie’s Palm Strike

Is this a Xiantian (Innate) realm practitioner? Such a degree of flame control is even stronger than mine, a Grandmaster of the Heavenly Image realm! And it's not just a little bit stronger!

Whizz! With an extremely high-pitched, piercing shriek, the black energy orb instantly vanished from Xu Xiaoshou's lips. When it reappeared, it was already behind Li Qi's chest.

Li Qi was utterly bewildered. Without any exaggerated movement, or even the slightest whisper of wind, the black energy orb instantly traversed the distance, as if teleporting.

His parrying ability, his defensive measures, had all completely failed at that moment! No one could possibly react to that speed!

Li Qi looked down at his waist. His only valuable defensive spirit jade had been shattered without him even realizing it! Did this mean he had already died once?

The newly unleashed "Great Fireball Technique" not only shocked Li Qi but also stunned Xu Xiaoshou. That speed... His spur-of-the-moment idea to use that guy's "Green Wind" as an inner layer, encasing two compressed fire seeds – was this attack method really that powerful?

However, despite its power, it wasn't without flaws. Li Qi was too weak; the black energy orb pierced through him as if it were piercing through air, without encountering the slightest resistance. How could such a thing detonate? Even the black silencing barrier had no obstructive effect.

After passing through these two layers of obstacles, the energy orb continued to ascend in a straight line. Even in the last inch before it flew out of Xu Xiaoshou's "perception" range, there was no sign of it forming a parabolic arc.

“Oh, crap,” Xu Xiaoshou panicked. He had originally been incredibly happy to see Li Qi's silencing barrier. After all, someone who was trying to die and also covering their own mouth... How considerate was that? But he just killed someone, and then he would have to loudly declare it. Wouldn't that expose his identity?

Both men were simultaneously captivated by the energy orb. That violent object, imbued with destructive power, finally fused all its energy after flying beyond Xu Xiaoshou's control range.

“Boom!” In an instant, the sky high above the Golden Merchant Guild turned completely black. A vast black cloud of destruction suddenly spread, like a dark, ominous lotus blooming in the sky, stretching ten thousand zhang and darkening the nine heavens.

At that moment, not only the people in Black Street behind the guild, but also the entire Golden Merchant Guild, and even half of Tiansang City, turned their gazes towards it.

“Hiss!”“This…”“No way, someone dares to make a move in Tiansang County? Do they really think the experts of the City Lord’s Mansion and the Four Great Clans are just for show?”“They jointly protect this peace, and yet someone dares to break it? They must be looking for death!”“Is it a Grandmaster battle? Judging by the power of this explosion, it must be at the peak of the Grandmaster realm!”

Regardless of whether they were Spirit Refiners or not, everyone was shaken by this explosion. Some were simply awed by the power of the blast, but more were silent in acknowledgement of the perpetrator's courage, and their eventual fate.

Why fight here of all places? Why start a battle in Tiansang City? Even if they win, what then? Won't they still die in the end?

Neither of them knew what consequences this explosion would bring. But it was clear that they shouldn't stay here any longer. To stay meant death!

“We need to finish this quickly.” This thought occurred not only to Xu Xiaoshou but also to Li Qi. The power of this black energy orb was beyond imagination, but it was clear that Xu Xiaoshou hadn't fully mastered it yet!

The pain from being pierced was clearly not enough to be fatal. Although the ghostly flames that clung to him after the touch couldn't be removed, his abundant spiritual energy could temporarily neutralize their effects.

“What an Initial Yuan Court realm practitioner! I finally understand why you're on the ‘Three Incense Sticks’ wanted list, and a red-named death row criminal at that!” Li Qi’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

Xu Xiaoshou also took a deep breath, gathering his spiritual energy. This single attack had drained a significant amount of it. Nesting fire seeds consumed much more energy than simultaneously manifesting five unrelated fire seeds!

He laughed mockingly and said, “Your silencing barrier isn’t very good. Won’t it be a lot of trouble to clean up after the fight?”

“Don’t worry, you won’t be making any noise soon. Trouble won’t find me!” Li Qi’s voice was cold.

“No, no, no!” Xu Xiaoshou wagged his finger, chuckling, “What I mean is, your trashy barrier is causing *me* a lot of trouble!”

Li Qi’s eyes narrowed. What did he mean? Was he already thinking about what would happen after killing him?

“Haha…” His mocking laughter had barely begun when Li Qi abruptly stopped, because the young man in front of him had pulled out a black sword scabbard! The previously seen black sword was hidden within it, and its terrifying sword intent couldn't be contained. Just a few wisps of sword intent spreading out made him feel the aura of death!

“What the hell? This guy is also a swordsman?” Li Qi was dumbfounded. The person who could unleash such a pure fire-elemental spiritual energy explosion wasn’t a true Spirit Refiner, but a swordsman? Judging by his aura, he might have even comprehended Innate Sword Intent?

“This is absolutely insane!” Li Qi felt that the fifty thousand spirit crystals for this bounty were far too little; this guy probably couldn’t be taken down for less than five hundred thousand! The million-crystal bounty for the 'Three Incense Sticks' death row criminal was absolutely spot on! It hadn’t depreciated one bit!

But lamentations were just lamentations, and Innate Sword Intent was still just Innate Sword Intent... He, Li Qi, was a Grandmaster! And an extremely rare Spirit Array Grandmaster at that!

With the last array disk in his hand rotating, Li Qi's expression turned completely cold. Unlike the trapping array in Black Street, or the silencing barrier here, the one in his hand was a pure killing array.

This peak killing move from a Spirit Array Grandmaster — let alone a practitioner of Innate Sword Intent, even if he were a Sword Sovereign, if he were alone, he would still kneel on the spot!

“Ma-ma…” A sudden, emotionless call by his ear made Li Qi's scalp tingle with fright.

Damn it! He'd forgotten about someone else? That short kid in the bamboo hat?

His eyes widened, his mind on high alert. He suddenly turned his head, only to see the tender, childlike face beneath the hat of the person in front of him.

“Phew,” he thought, “Is it really just a child?” As this last thought crossed his mind, Li Qi’s entire body relaxed, even his muscles slackening slightly.

However, with a single palm strike from A-Jie, red and white matter sprayed out, and the man’s head exploded. The battle was over! There was no sound-suppressing barrier, no flashy explosions. Sometimes, battle was just that simple. One palm. Headshot!

“Ma-ma…?” A-Jie tilted its head, and the bamboo hat slipped off its smooth scalp. It turned and looked in Xu Xiaoshou’s direction, as if asking why this guy was so easily defeated. When it had pressed Xu Xiaoshou’s head to the ground and rubbed it in the 'Slaughter Corner', the sensation seemed different! It wasn't as 'crisp' then, was it?