Chapter 1070: Self-Inflicted Carnage

He had only been knocked unconscious by Zhang Xuan's palm strike. As a Battle Master, with profound true qi and robust physical strength, he recovered in a short time.

Not yet fully conscious, he heard the words "Heaven-Recognized Master Teacher" in his daze. Believing he had returned to a safe zone with no dangers, he couldn't help but ask aloud.

"Just in time for you to wake up..." Seeing him wake, Stoneleaf King sighed in relief. Just as he was about to grab the other party and extract some useful information to ease the current situation, he saw Violetleaf King, who was not far away, suddenly kick forward.

The kick landed squarely on Feng Xun's head. The fellow hadn't even reacted when his body twitched violently, and he fainted again.

"Huh?" Stoneleaf King froze on the spot.

"Didn't you say you two had a good relationship? How come it feels like... it's no different from kicking an animal?"

"Kill me? With just you two?" Ignoring the unconscious Feng Xun, Jadeleaf King looked coldly at Zhang Xuan.

"Yes, precisely us! Once his identity is confirmed, your continued existence holds no meaning!" Ignoring his anger, Zhang Xuan waved his hand. "If you continue to live, you'll surely leak the news and steal our credit. So, Stoneleaf King and I have discussed it. As long as you behave, swear a blood oath not to reveal this information, and don't compete with us for credit, we'll spare your life..."

"Very well..." Seeing this guy become more and more arrogant, completely disregarding him, Jadeleaf King's killing intent grew stronger. "Since you want me dead, I'll make sure you die first!" *Boom!* With that, he flipped his palm and attacked Stoneleaf King.

In his eyes, Violetleaf King was insignificant; the truly formidable one was the fourth-ranked individual.

"Listen to me..." Seeing that the person in front of him was utterly enraged, Stoneleaf King hastily spoke. He had only spoken half a sentence when he heard Violetleaf King from the side shout, "Old Shi, hurry and act according to the plan, or we'll all die here!"

Stoneleaf King was so enraged he almost went mad. A plan? There was no plan at all, was there? All I said was that if Jadeleaf King really intended to attack us, we'd then consider counterattacking. He didn't say anything, and you kept provoking him... Who could stand that?! And besides, 'Old Shi'... My name isn't Shi at all!

However, he also knew this was not the time for hesitation. Once Jadeleaf King made a move, he was definitely set on killing; if he didn't resist, he would surely die. Gritting his teeth, he said no more. He suddenly twisted the Thunder Essence Orb in his hand, and a thick bolt of lightning immediately struck down from the sky. *Boom!* It collided with Jadeleaf King's palm strike, both vanishing into thin air. A large section of the entire mansion's buildings collapsed under the violent tremors.

"No wonder you dared to challenge me; so you refined the Thunder Essence Orb and controlled this Thunder Formation... But to think you can kill me like this, dream on!" Seeing his own attack shattered by the opponent's lightning, Jadeleaf King roared as a long saber appeared in his palm, swishing through the air as it descended.

With one swing of the saber, heaven and earth seemed to be torn apart. The lightning that had been continuously striking down seemed to be instantly cut off; although powerful, it couldn't penetrate for a short while.

Although Stoneleaf King had refined the Thunder Essence Orb, he only controlled a portion of the power of the thunderous ocean. Limited by his strength, he couldn't unleash its full power. Dealing with weaker opponents was effortless, but facing a Half-Step Leaving Aperture Realm expert like Jadeleaf King, he was somewhat outmatched.

"Indeed, I wasn't your match before, but now, it's uncertain who will win or lose..." Seeing the opponent's strike cut through lightning, Stoneleaf King once again activated the Thunder Essence Orb in his hand. *Crackle!* The lightning in the sky became even more terrifying, wildly striking at the saber glow. In the blink of an eye, it shattered the glow and descended once more onto Jadeleaf King's head.

Jadeleaf King did not dodge; his body moved, and an illusory shadow appeared at his glabella. Having reached Half-Step Leaving Aperture, though the primordial spirit still couldn't fully leave the physical body, it could leap out of the spirit aperture to form a Dharma Idol or similar manifestation, greatly boosting one's strength.

Indeed, the moment the illusory shadow appeared, the surrounding space seemed to transform into a cage. The berserk lightning could no longer enter, as if it had been sealed off. "Die!" After doing this, Jadeleaf King raised his eyebrows and brought his long saber down.

Knowing that without the Thunder Formation's enhancement, there was still a certain gap in strength between him and his opponent, Stoneleaf King's face was filled with anxiety. With his other hand, he took out a long spear to block, simultaneously shouting, "He's using his primordial spirit to seal space; it can only last for a few breaths, and it greatly harms his primordial spirit. Hurry and act..."

It was indeed difficult for him to fight Jadeleaf King alone, but if Violetleaf King attacked now, a pincer attack would make it difficult for Jadeleaf King to defend himself. While sealing space with one's primordial spirit was powerful, it was also extremely draining. Especially with lightning all around, even if the opponent was powerful, he definitely couldn't last long.

Barely blocking the opponent's saber glow, and seeing that Violetleaf King hadn't made a move yet, he couldn't help but turn his head to look. Upon seeing, he almost spat blood on the spot. He saw the fellow standing there, arms crossed, watching from the sidelines, with no intention of helping whatsoever.

"Damn it, I fell for this guy's scheme..." His pupils contracted as he realized.

The other party probably had no intention of cooperating with him from the start. Instead, he deliberately misled him, instigating him and Jadeleaf King to fight each other to the death. The oath taken earlier only stated that they couldn't attack each other; if Jadeleaf King killed him, it wouldn't be a violation. Furthermore, no matter who died between the two of them, the survivor wouldn't dare to kill him, in order to ensure better control over the Heaven-Recognized Master Teacher... In other words, regardless of who won or lost, this guy would be the one to benefit.

What terrifying cunning.

"No, I can't let this guy succeed..." Understanding this, Stoneleaf King gritted his teeth, blocked the opponent's continuous attacks, and hastily sent a voice transmission. "Jadeleaf King, don't fall for this guy's divisive scheme; he wants us to fight each other to the death..."

"Fight each other?" "Exactly. The Heaven-Recognized Master Teacher is a huge merit; we can completely say that all three of us discovered him. There's no need to hurt our harmony over such a minor matter..." Seeing his attack somewhat ease, Stoneleaf King sighed in relief and quickly said.

"Hmm..." Hesitating for a moment, Jadeleaf King was about to speak when he suddenly felt a chill in his back. A sword glow had pierced through from behind at some unknown point, precisely aimed at a vulnerable spot on his body, making it hard to guard against. He hastily flashed, dodging the attack, but even so, his back was still grazed and bleeding profusely, leaving him heavily wounded.

Turning his head, he immediately saw Violetleaf King holding a treasured sword. After stabbing him, Violetleaf King had fled several tens of meters away, his eyes filled with excitement. He simultaneously shouted loudly, "Stoneleaf King, what you said was indeed true; his vital point is right here..."

"Damn it!" Jadeleaf King's scalp tingled. He had thought Stoneleaf King was telling him the truth, never expecting it was just a means to distract him, allowing the latter to launch a sneak attack. Enraged, he roared again, sending a palm strike towards Zhang Xuan, and at the same moment, brought his great saber down on Stoneleaf King again.

"I..." He couldn't believe that just as the opponent started to trust him, Violetleaf King pulled such a stunt. Stoneleaf King was driven mad. He had seen shameless people, but never anyone this shameless... "You cause trouble, and I have to take the blame... This isn't how you play!"

Looking up, he saw Violetleaf King had already escaped the opponent's attack range, once again standing with his arms crossed, an expression of one watching a show. So enraged he almost spat blood, Stoneleaf King knew further explanation was useless. Jadeleaf King no longer trusted him, so he gritted his teeth and fought back.

*Boom, boom, boom!* Although Jadeleaf King's strength surpassed Stoneleaf King's, the latter's defense was invincible, and he had refined the Thunder Essence Orb, controlling the Thunder Formation. He had also been wounded by the sneak attack, so victory wouldn't come so easily. The two fought tooth and nail, and the entire ancient city continuously collapsed under their violent attacks, turning into vast ruins.

"Impressive..." Seeing the scene of their battle, Zhang Xuan gave a thumbs-up, full of admiration. As expected of the top five among the Ten Kings, each of them was terrifyingly strong. His current combat strength allowed him to easily slay peak Saint 2-dan experts, but encountering such formidable experts, he would flee as far as he could. Forget fighting; he couldn't even withstand the aftermath of their battle.

As time passed, the battle grew more fierce. Logically, with Stoneleaf King's powerful defense and his mastery of a destructive offensive weapon like the Thunder Formation, the opponent should have been unable to withstand him. Yet, both sides fought an inseparable battle, with no clear victor. However, Stoneleaf King controlled the formation after all, and in the middle of the formation, the power he could unleash was even greater. Jadeleaf King suffered more and more severe injuries, clearly showing signs of physical exhaustion.

"Damn it... I'll take you all down with me..." Knowing that if he continued, he would surely be slain by his opponent, Jadeleaf King let out a roar as the power within him surged out. The illusory shadow behind him suddenly grew larger, as if tearing through some restraint and leaping out.

"It's... Spirit Leaving Body!" Zhang Xuan's pupils contracted. He had seen this situation before, on Waterleaf King. That guy, killed by him, had used a secret art in his rage, employing Spirit Leaving Body to attack him... but unfortunately, it failed! This Jadeleaf King was becoming more and more severely injured, seemingly knowing he would be killed sooner or later, so he also used that special secret art: his spirit leaving his body. Although doing so would leave him heavily injured and cause him to lose cultivation levels, even if he didn't die, his opponent in battle would certainly be slain.

"The primordial spirit is powerful; if Stoneleaf King is killed, I definitely won't be able to escape either... I'll find a place to hide first..." Knowing that this guy, having unleashed his ultimate move, was surely prepared to die, Zhang Xuan's eyebrows furrowed. He was just watching the tigers fight from the mountain; it would be terrible if this guy bit him before dying. Just as he was about to hide and avoid the battle, he saw a figure wobble to his feet, shaking his head as he rose.

It was Feng Xun; this fellow's physique was too strong. After being unconscious for a while, he actually woke up again.

"What's going on... Where am I?" he mumbled. Just as he opened his eyes, he saw a brick falling straight down, smashing hard onto his head. *Thud!* His eyelids fluttered, and Feng Xun fainted again, his face full of resentment.