Chapter 195: The Last Card

Under the gaze of countless eyes filled with varied emotions, the black-robed elder beside Xiao Yan suddenly unleashed his cultivation method in wild frenzy, his hand seals abruptly shifting—then a similarly vast and formidable energy surged violently into the sky!

"Mountain Splitting Seal!"

As Ling Ying let out a low roar in his heart, a massive energy palm imprint, several zhang wide, suddenly materialized!

At the very moment this energy palm imprint appeared, the space of the entire Yun Lan Sect—and even the whole Yun Lan Mountain—rippled violently like water.

The surrounding heavenly energy shot straight into the heavens!

This terrifying energy fluctuation shocked everyone to the core!

"Drawing upon heavenly energy! Earth-rank? No!"

"Such terrifying heavenly energy is certainly not just a simple Earth-Rank Low-Level Dou Technique!!" Jia Xingtian and other Dou Huangs widened their eyes in fear.

As veteran Dou Huangs—even Peak Dou Huangs—they had all practiced or at least seen Earth-Rank Low-Level Dou Techniques, but they had never seen Earth-Rank Mid-Level or Advanced Grade techniques!

Generally, newly arrived Dou Huangs struggle to possess Earth-Rank techniques; only old-generation Dou Huangs, even Peak Dou Huangs, might possibly learn Earth-Rank Low-Level techniques.

Earth-Rank Mid-Level and Advanced Grade techniques are almost exclusively the domain of Dou Zongs—even a Nine-Star Dou Zong treats Earth-Rank Advanced Grade techniques as their ultimate trump cards, their most powerful moves!

Unless one belongs to a major faction, one simply cannot access Earth-Rank Mid-Level or higher techniques!

Xiao Yan stared in astonishment at Ling Ying, his gaze sharpening—he was closest to Ling Ying and sensed it most clearly; Xiao Yan could swear with absolute certainty this was an Earth-Rank Advanced Grade Dou Technique!

After all, Xiao Yan himself practiced an Earth-Rank Low-Level cultivation method and Flame-Splitting Wave Ruler, and even possessed an Earth-Rank Advanced Grade Dou Technique in his storage ring—though it was unsuitable for his cultivation.

No wonder even Hun Xu Zi feared the power behind Xun Er; Ling Ying, a Peak Dou Huang, had already mastered an Earth-Rank Advanced Grade Dou Technique! This faction was far deeper and more mysterious than Xiao Yan had imagined!

Boom! In the blink of an eye, Ling Ying slammed his palm into the ground—suddenly, the heavenly energy of the entire Yun Lan Mountain seemed to follow his attack, simultaneously crashing down upon the whole mountain!

With a deafening boom, in an instant, the earth shook and mountains trembled; the entire Yun Lan Mountain appeared as if crushed by a collision—rocks rolled, sand flew, the mountain cracked and split apart.

"What's happening?!" The sudden mountain collapse startled many below Yun Lan Mountain—especially those climbing the Heavenly Ladder, or shopping and strolling in Yunlan City—who were thrown to the ground, staring dumbfounded at the Yun Lan Sect atop the mountain!

"What on earth is going on?! An earthquake?!"

Just like Ling Ying's Dou Technique—the Mountain Splitting Seal! One palm can split a mountain!

Of course, a Peak Dou Huang like Ling Ying might easily shatter an ordinary high mountain—but Yun Lan Mountain was protected by a protective sect array!

Yet Ling Ying had no intention of destroying Yun Lan Mountain—he aimed only to break the protective sect array!

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle! The protective array covering the entire Yun Lan Sect was simultaneously struck at every core node!

Puff! Gu He, the strongest among them and standing right on the Duel Plaza, took the full brunt—he spat out a mouthful of blood, violently counterattacked by the array's backlash!

"Master!" Liu Ling rushed to support the wounded Gu He.

"I'm fine—just a minor backlash from the array being broken." Gu He immediately swallowed a Five-Grade Elixir to heal his injuries.

He looked at Ling Ying, clad in black robes, with surprise—and his gaze grew wary as it shifted toward Xiao Yan's soft sedan chair.

"No wonder his pill alchemy improved so rapidly." Gu He now firmly believed Xiao Yan was backed by a major faction!

And this faction was far larger than the Yun Lan Sect.

Only Hai Bodong was not surprised by Xiao Yan's move—he had long known Xiao Yan was supported by a powerful faction.

So when Xiao Yan challenged the Yun Lan Sect, Hai Bodong stood calmly beside him.

One palm shattered the Yun Lan Sect's protective array—this shocked many disciples; when they regained their senses, the Yun Yan Fu Ri Formation above them had vanished, leaving only a white mist shielding Yun Shan.

Ling Ying looked up at Yun Shan, surrounded by Blue Lotus Earth Core Fire, and sneered: "I never thought the famed Yun Lan Sect of the Jia Ma Empire was this pitiful—over a thousand members, all ganging up on a boy barely twenty? You've utterly disgraced the reputation Yun Potian once earned for this sect across the continent!"

"Pity—the once-great Yun Lan Sect can now barely produce a single Dou Zong Yi Xing, and even that one is mediocre—nowhere near the strength Yun Potian once had."

Yun Shan waved his hand, and the condensed white energy erupted, breaking free from Mei Du Sha's Blue Lotus Earth Core Fire bindings.

Hovering midair, he stared at Ling Ying and said gravely: "You're a powerhouse from Zhong Zhou, aren't you? Which faction do you belong to? Though I've been in seclusion for a long time, I still know a thing or two about the factions on this continent."

"That's not something I can reveal," Ling Ying spread his hands, then his expression turned grave as he said sternly: "But let me warn you—don't think becoming a Dou Zong gives you license to act as you please. This young man—I advise you not to touch him, or you will surely regret it!"

"But judging by now, you seem unable to touch him anyway."

Behind Ling Ying, a pair of black Dou Qi wings unfolded, surrounding Yun Shan from front and back alongside Mei Du Sha.

Though Ling Ying was only a Peak Dou Huang, he had followed Xun Er for years and acquired powerful Dou Techniques and cultivation methods—his strength far surpassed Jia Xingtian's—and with Mei Du Sha controlling Blue Lotus Earth Core Fire, the odds were far from clear.

Even though Yun Shan was a Dou Zong, who would win remained uncertain.

Qing! Yun Shan drew his Qingfeng Sword—a weapon he forged himself, a powerful Sixth-Rank Peak weapon.

With a surge of aura, the next instant, all three struck simultaneously—Mei Du Sha's eyes hardened, and Blue Lotus Earth Core Fire instantly transformed into serpents of flame, surging at Yun Shan from all directions.

Ling Ying vanished from sight, ready to strike a fatal blow at any moment.

Sharp energy collisions erupted across the sky; even though Yun Shan was a Dou Zong Yi Xing, faced with Mei Du Sha's Infernal Fire and Ling Ying's ever-present ambush, the higher-cultivated Yun Shan struggled to keep up—and began falling into a disadvantage.

Xiao Yan lay on his soft sedan chair, propping his chin on his hand, watching the furious battle above. The battle's residual winds blew like gusts, making the sedan chair creak rhythmically—swaying gently, it almost lulled Xiao Yan to sleep!

"Looks like I don't need to move after all," Xiao Yan turned his head toward Nalan Yanran not far behind him—her beautiful eyes were also wide with astonishment at the battle above the clouds.

"Looks like there's really no need to move." Xiao Yan turned his head to look at Nalan Yanran, not far behind him. At this moment, Nalan Yanran's beautiful eyes were also watching the battle above the clouds in surprise.

"Hmm?" Nalan Yanran snapped back to awareness, wondering why Xiao Yan was calling her.

"Does the Yun Lan Sect have any other trump cards?"

??? Nalan Yanran was stunned—now you're causing chaos in the Yun Lan Sect, and you want me to give you intel?

She rolled her eyes and snapped back: "I don't know."

She genuinely didn't know—she'd only joined the Yun Lan Sect eight years ago, and had been Young Sect Master for barely a year or two; the strongest she knew was Yun Shan.

Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes, a sly smile forming as he watched Yun Shan taking blows—silently thinking: "Then Yun Shan must have only one final card left."

Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed, a strange smile appearing on his face as he watched Yun Shan being beaten, and he said inwardly: "Then it seems Yun Shan only has one last card left to play."

(End of chapter)