Chapter 318: Ceasing Conflict vs. Leading the Offense

Chapter 318: Stopping the Spear Against the Rong Chief

The post road stretched through the vast snowfield under a blizzard.

The explosive gunshot echoed like a thunderous drum at the front of a battlefield, the mechanical hum igniting the boiling blood.

No clichéd greetings, no cheap threats.

Two figures stood in distant standoff, neither willing to speak, only eyes like swords, only killing intent rising to the heavens!

A narrow path meeting naturally required no words.

The loser lay dead on the spot!

The winner’s path led to the sky!

A distant, ancient horn’s sound erupted from the black armor, surging into the clouds, stirring the swirling snowflakes like a storm.

Li Juen’s muscles and bones surged beneath the war song of the Horse King, his power surging wildly, even in the Dragon Tiger State, he pushed further—beyond a hundred paces!

At the climax of this musical crescendo, Li Juen moved!

The mighty figure vanished, snowflakes swirling in the gale, his body crashing forward with a terrifying tiger-leopard roar!

So-called "Ri Que" meant thunder and lightning.

In less than a breath, Li Juen had closed the hundred-zhang distance, his massive Spring Blade, imbued with unimaginable force, hurtling toward the opponent’s forehead.

Before the Rejection Horse Formation, Dangshi Xiahu stood with his head down, his face hidden beneath the helmet, his expression unreadable.

He thrust his foot into the long spear’s end, the shaft twisting in his palm, then thrust the blade backward into the gap of the counter-rejection horse formation.

"Go!"

A low command, and the massive counter-rejection horse formation behind him was hurled skyward, crashing directly at Li Juen.

Li Juen, still charging, did not slow. As he neared the steel horse, he suddenly dropped, his upper body flipping backward, sliding on his knees.

The Spring Blade, thick and broad, pressed against his nose, clashing with the spear’s edge, sparks flying.

The spear missed, and Li Juen’s body, like a taut bowstring, leapt skyward, slashing down with the blade.

Clang!

The blade and spear collided, sending a gale of invisible force crashing into the snow, scattering it.

Dangshi Xiahu raised his palm, holding the tiger-headed spear, flicking the blade off the spear’s tip, then twisting his wrist, his palm now covering, striking Li Juen’s shoulder from above.

Li Juen darted, evading the spear’s strike in a split second. The Spring Blade, now in his hand, pressed against his elbow, slicing toward the opponent’s throat.

The blade trembled, clanging loudly.

The Eight Extremes Fist’s power was already coiled at the blade’s edge!

Dangshi Xiahu’s expression darkened, gripping the spear’s tail to block the Spring Blade’s strike.

Bang! The Spring Blade struck the steel spear, erupting in a deafening roar.

The unyielding power of the Eight Extremes and the bone-splitting technique surged along the impact, but instead of shattering his grip as Li Juen expected, it vanished like a ghost.

Suddenly, Li Juen’s pupils constricted. A thought flashed in his mind!

This man was at least a martial artist of the fifth level!

Beyond that, Li Juen didn’t believe even a peak martial artist of the sixth level could so easily withstand the force of this strike. Even a top-tier sixth-level might not manage it!

The only possibility was that the opponent had already advanced to the fifth level, his internal energy and physical strength so formidable they could nullify Li Juen’s force.

Now, they faced each other. Li Juen’s eyes reflected shock, which Dangshi Xiahu clearly saw.

He laughed savagely, his left hand forming a fist at his waist, slamming it into the spear’s shaft.

Bang!

The spear’s shaft, made of at least seven-grade material, was forced open by Li Juen’s fist.

A terrifying force surged along the blade, tearing Li Juen’s tiger-skin armor and flesh, sending him flying three zhang away.

Moreover, the music that had erupted from the red eye of the Horse King was also abruptly silenced.

Dang! Dang! Dang!

Crimson blood flowed from the grotesque wound, soaking the protective armor, spreading along the blade, dripping slowly, carving small pits in the snow.

Clang!

"Wild martial artist, martial artist Rong Shou."

Dangshi Xiahu single-handedly lifted the spear embedded in the ground, his lips curling into a mocking smile.

"Seems you’re not so formidable after all."

Faced with provocation, the Horse King had never shown weakness. He opened his mouth to curse, "What kind of trash are you?"

"Dangshi Xiahu, Huang Tianmen’s martial artist fifth, Rong Shou."

Rong Shou, the warlike one.

Stopping the Spear against the Rong Chief—two lineages of the same origin but opposing paths, yet in the shadows, a sense of clashing rivalry lingered.

"Apparently, you’re just a wild dog from the Huang Tianmen, the future of martial arts?"

The Horse King seemed to despise the words "Huang Tianmen" intensely, his tone filled with rage.

"Some say you, a masterless brute, are the future of martial arts, while we are the discarded remnants of genes."

Dangshi Xiahu looked at Li Juen with disdain, his eyes fixed on him.

"With five against six, I’m curious—how long could you hold out if I fought seriously?"

Hiss!

Li Juen slashed his blade, 'Ember Bind' spreading along the edge.

The heat wave engulfed the snow, turning it white, red light illuminating a fearless pair of eyes.

"Try it then!"

As he spoke, two towering figures, far beyond human scale, collided and surged forward, closing the distance in an instant.

The tiger-headed spear seemed like a dragon emerging from the depths, its shaft twisting with phantom images, lightning-fast toward Li Juen’s brow.

Huang Tian Spear Technique, Shattered Skull!

Faced with Dangshi Xiahu’s relentless strike, the Spring Blade met it head-on.

The collision dispersed the Eight Extremes Fist’s 'explosion' and the Bone-Splitting Hand’s 'tear' in an unstoppable force, nearly sending the Spring Blade flying from Li Juen’s grip.

Li Juen pressed his left hand against his weak right, forcing the blade with both hands to push through Dangshi Xiahu’s defense.

An inch strong, an inch long; an inch weak, an inch dangerous.

As a martial artist, Dangshi Xiahu would not let Li Juen have that chance. He twisted the spear’s shaft, using a force stronger than Li Juen’s armored state to sweep forward.

While forcing Li Juen back, the spear gained momentum, suddenly slashing diagonally, aiming for his throat.

A thunderous roar like tigers and leopards erupted from between Li Jun's legs; a hair's breadth before impact, he dipped his head to dodge, his long saber slashing upward at a slant.

His eyes tracked the blade's flash, but the moment he looked up, he was horrified to find a dark shadow already bearing down upon him from above.

Clang!

Li Jun's right arm armor bent in an instant, flesh and blood tearing apart, as the heavy blade of the Xiu Chun Dao crashed brutally down onto his shoulder.

"It seems you won't last much longer either."

Xia Hu of the Desolate Age bore a tyrannical mien; the muscles in his hands gripping the spear shaft knotted tight inch by inch, grinding down with relentless force.

Thud!

"Do you know what a Rong Shou is? Because our rite must be completed in a war pushed to the very limits of bloodshed."

Li Jun braced the saber on his shoulder, a single knee crashing to the ground, a mouthful of blood choking up from his throat.

The armor plates at his shoulder let out piercing metallic shrieks, cracking and shattering without cease.

"Wu Liu Zhi Ge—can you truly halt my weapons of war?!"