Chapter 525: Three Great Strongmen

"Well timed! That's more like it! Flat‑fur beast, let me show you what… the Ape God Open Heaven is!"

He didn't dodge at all, even withdrew the sky‑filled green‑bamboo shadows, grasped the middle of the Ruyi Green Bamboo with both hands, and held it upright before him.

Behind him, the Three Heads Six Arms Ape God True Form extended its six arms in a phantom‑grip, as if jointly holding an invisible Open Heaven axe!

Dou Tianxiong's aura changed, no longer merely ferocious and warlike, but now carried an ancient, vast sense born from the opening of Chaos, where force separates clear from turbid.

His entire body, together with the Ruyi Green Bamboo in his hand, seemed to become the primordial point of power that existed before the universe opened.

"Slash!"

Jin Lieyu's eyes wept blood, activating the golden divine sword that had cost him his very life, turning it into a golden filament like Open Heaven and Split Earth, slashing toward Dou Tianxiong!

Where it passed, Space was left with black cracks that would not heal for a long time.

"Open!" Dou Tianxiong roared, and the upright Ruyi Green Bamboo, though appearing slow, actually struck forward at ultimate speed!

There was no sound.

Or rather, the sound was extinguished the instant it erupted by a more fundamental power.

Only an extreme destructive field of blinding white and golden light, centered on the two, burst outward, instantly engulfing the entire arena, even the protective light shield melted silently like ice under a scorching sun!

"Retreat quickly!"

"Activate maximum protection!"

"Initiate the city‑wide formation!"

Throughout Emperor Beast City, urgent alarms and shouts rang, and several grander, older formation lights rose from the city's foundations, barely containing the destructive wave within a limited area, yet some flimsy structures at the edges still collapsed and vaporized like sandcastles.

All spectators, regardless of cultivation level, now focused all their sight, staring intently at the center of the fading destructive light sphere, hearts pounding like drums.

The light dissipated.

The scene manifested.

Dou Tianxiong still held the bamboo in a downward slash stance, the Thousand Zhang Silver Ape true body standing firm, yet a terrifying wound deep enough to see bone, cutting almost half of his left shoulder near the neck, had appeared!

The wound did not bleed silver blood but emitted a faint golden glow, the lingering slaying power of the Nine Heavens God‑Slaying Sword continuously corroding it, preventing healing.

Fresh blood surged like silver lava, staining half his body red, his aura plummeting, clearly suffering a severe Dao injury.

Opposite, Jin Lieyu's condition was even more dire!

He could no longer sustain his full Jin Peng true form, reduced to a humanoid Dao body, a youth clad in a golden robe, with a defiant yet paper‑pale face, and a huge transparent cavity spanning front to back in his chest.

That cavity was caused by the Ruyi Green Bamboo piercing him, its edges still lingering with a bluish Purification light, continuously eroding his vitality and Dao Foundation.

He staggered backward, coughing up large streams of pale golden Primordial blood with each step, his aura waning to the extreme, his gaze scattered, clearly having lost all combat ability.

The outcome is decided! Dou Tianxiong, a grim victory!

"Cough… cough cough…"

Dou Tianxiong spat out a few mouthfuls of Silver Blood, yet the battle fire in his eyes remained, he forced his body upright, ignoring the searing pain in his shoulder and the Dao‑force erosion, raised the Ruyi Green Bamboo again, pointing far at the crumpled Jin Lieyu, his killing intent as cold as a Beiji blizzard, biting: "Arch‑rival… it's over! Your Peng soul, I claim it!"

He took heavy yet resolute steps, the ground trembling with each footfall, marching toward the defenseless Jin Lieyu to deliver the final killing blow!

Jin Lieyu lay sprawled on the ground, feeling his life force draining rapidly and Dou Tianxiong's unabashed killing intent, boundless terror finally overwhelming his pride and anger.

The instinct to survive overpowered everything!

"No! I cannot die here! I am the noble Golden‑Winged Great Peng! A being destined to roam the Nine Heavens! How could I die at the hands of this scum??!"

He screamed wildly in his heart, the remaining strength strained to surge, an illusory Golden‑Winged Peng wing shadow materialized behind him, about to unleash the legendary speed of the Golden‑Winged Peng clan, even if it meant burning the Primordial, he would flee first!

Just as his twin wing shadows violently quivered, about to transform into golden light and vanish—

"Buzz!"

"Zila!"

"Boom!"

Three auras, no weaker than the terrifying presence he and Dou Tianxiong wielded at their peak, fell like three meteors, suddenly descending in front of the direction Jin Lieyu intended to flee!

The overwhelming aura directly disrupted the Law of Space in that area, causing Jin Lieyu's evasion technique to stall.

The light faded, and three figures appeared, precisely blocking between Jin Lieyu and Dou Tianxiong, cutting off Jin Lieyu's escape route.

On the left stood a tall, slender figure, clad in a tight combat suit swirling with fine blue electric arcs, a cold visage, vertically slit pupils that occasionally flickered with electric sparks.

His arms hung naturally, yet his fingertips were surrounded by deep‑blue lightning arcs that made the Void warp slightly.

He slightly lifted his head, his gaze disdainful, exuding innate arrogance and contempt for slower beings.

On the right was a humanoid being, bearing a crane‑like head covered with fine blue scales, standing on a single leg, surrounded by a faint blue flame.

The flame was not hot; instead it gave an eerie sense of cold decay, as if it could burn the soul and fate.

He lightly tapped the Void with his single foot, the blue flame spreading beneath him, his gaze at Dou Tianxiong filled with brutal, unabashed killing intent, as if staring at a worm about to be crushed.

Standing between them, the most radiant aura like a sun's core belonged to a youth dressed in embroidered robes bearing a Golden Crow celestial‑patrol totem, crowned with a crimson‑gold crown.

His face was handsome to the point of uncanny, skin a pale gold, pupils seeming to contain two miniature suns burning, his glance naturally exuding a sovereign bearing that could scorch the eight corners of the world, proclaiming his sole supremacy.

He merely stood there, and the surrounding temperature rose sharply, the Void shimmering as if scorched.

With the three's appearance, the scene that had been silent from the ultimate showdown erupted into a roar once more!

And this time the uproar carried even deeper dread and astonishment!