Xu Qing closed in. The oppressive clouds hung overhead like a gargantuan beast, imparting a sense of impending dread to anyone who could see them.

As Crown Prince Brightsouth strode forth, the clouds churned, like the ocean when huge waves rolled across its surface. Lightning bolts pierced through the sky like silver snakes, linking together to form ancient magical symbols. Intense rumbling sounds filled the sky, like the roars of an awakening beast!

A massive tempest sprang up, connecting earth to sky around Crown Prince Brightsouth. Wild gusts of wind sliced like blades through the sky, cutting apart the clouds and causing sprays of lava to fill the air. Even the dragon chariot was rocking back and forth because of the intense wind. The human cultivators, meanwhile, were like leaves tossed up and down in chaotic fashion.

Xu Qing was heading right toward that tempest, causing a disdainful grin to appear on the face of Crown Prince Brightsouth. Without hesitation, he sent the tempest right toward Xu Qing. Heaven and earth became like a fiendish devil that could crush anything in its path as it prepared to devour Xu Qing.

In his fourth-level god state, Xu Qing met the tempest head-on, slamming into it with such force that Grand Prince and his subordinates were all visibly astonished. They had fought Crown Prince Brightsouth, and knew how terrifying he was. And though Xu Qing’s aura wasn’t weak, he seemed very tiny as the tempest swept over him.

Within the tempest, rain fell in buckets, causing the world to turn into a blur. The wind was also so strong that the lands below were cleared, revealing nothing but a massive empty basin. Anyone caught within the area of this tempest would be completely insignificant.

With the exception of Xu Qing.

An instant later, a deafening boom rang out from the windstorm that was trying to devour him. Another mysterious power just as strong as the storm had erupted.

It was a saber as high as the sky itself. It was cold and white, which made a perfect contrast with the black color of the sky. It appeared within the tempest, then swept outward like a destructive wave.

RUUUUUUUMMMMBLE!

Blade light shone, illuminating heaven and earth as it sliced right through the tempest. There was a psychic element to it that could cut through all bonds, slash through all natural laws, and crush all fetters. The sky trembled as countless clouds were ripped apart, creating a huge, 500-kilometer mark. It looked extremely ghastly.

The tempest almost seemed to solidify before it shattered, sending both rain and fire showering down everywhere. The lands shook violently as a gully opened up. If a mortal had been able to stand at the edge and look down, they would see nothing but a bottomless pit.

Void Returning battle prowess… was fully on display.

As the tempest was destroyed by the heavenly saber, Xu Qing was revealed, like a fiendish god. He burst out from inside with astonishing momentum. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Crown Prince Brightsouth.

Crown Prince Brightsouth’s eyes turned a shade more serious as he unleashed a fist strike. Thunderous booms rang out.

The two of them clashed, moving at such blinding speed that, in the shortest of moments, they exchanged thousands of blows. During that time, Crown Prince Brightsouth could be heard inhaling seventeen times. Each time he inhaled, he expanded. He was directly inhaling all of the surrounding energy of heaven and earth. As that happened, his fleshly body power visibly improved.

Xu Qing had seen other Firemoon Darkheavens do something like this before. Whether it was the Captain’s explanation or things said by Master Gravesparrow about Crown Prince Brightsouth, Xu Qing knew exactly what it was.

This was the Firemoon Darkheavens’ imperial-class technique, known as Thirty-Six Immortal Constellations. In reality, the name of the technique was supposed to convey the fact that it was a combination of thirty-six imperial-class techniques, put together into the ultimate art. One of them was called Nine Breaths Submission. 1

There wasn’t actually a limit of nine breaths, though. Different cultivators would ultimately come to different understandings of how to use it. And thus, Crown Prince Brightsouth took seventeen breaths, each of which pushed his fleshly body battle prowess to a more terrifying level.

But Xu Qing still fought back with everything he had. The psychic power in the slashing heavenly blade grew more intense and clear. Every single clash between them grew more deafening, and because it was happening in such a short time, the sounds combined into something that could end the heavens and crush the earth.

The dragon chariot finally couldn’t take any more, and was sent spinning off to the side. Countless craters opened up on the ground. The clouds in the sky continued to collapse, until they were driven away, revealing the full dome of heaven. It was night, and the stars twinkled. Also visible was the broken face of the god!

Beneath that broken face, Xu Qing and Crown Prince Brightsouth fought back and forth. Shockwaves spread out from them in concentric rings, each of which contained terrifying power.

The Captain and Grand Prince were both watching from a distance, and both were astonished. freewёbnoνel.com

That saber contains psychic power…. Little Ah Qing has finally formed an embryonic dao! It’s a dao that can cut through all bonds, slash through all natural laws, crush all things, and smash all conventions!

The Captain’s eyes shone brightly.

Grand Prince lacked the experience of the Captain, so he wasn’t able to assess the situation with such finesse. But he was equally moved, if not shaken, by the psychic power in the blade. He couldn’t express it with words, but was feeling the same thing as the Captain. It was as if he had actually longed for this type of dao. As a result, his scalp tingled, not because of fear, but because of understanding!

As the two of them felt shock deep within them, intense booms rang out in the canopy of heaven. Xu Qing and Crown Prince Brightsouth clashed again and again before backing away from each other by about 300 meters.

Xu Qing was in his god state, his gaze cold as he pulsed with boundless energy. However, if you looked closely, you would see that his god state’s body was covered with innumerable wounds. Thankfully, soul threads wriggled within the wounds as they stitched together.

Crown Prince Brightsouth no longer looked casual and confident. His expression was serious, and that serious tone filled him from head to toe. He was also wounded, although the wounds were being healed by flickering white light.

“You stood up to my Nine Breaths Submission…. That god state magic of yours is very interesting, human. But the real question is whether or not you can stand up to my—”

Before he could finish speaking, his expression flickered, and he shot backward. The instant he did, the spot he had just occupied collapsed.

An iron skewer that glittered with gruish light shot through the shattered air, then curved around and returned to Xu Qing.

“You…” Crown Prince Brightsouth said, his face grimmer than ever.

“Pipe down,” Xu Qing said calmly. Then he shot forward like a lightning bolt, heading straight toward Crown Prince Brightsouth. Along the way, he waved his right hand in front of him, causing the cry of the golden crow to fill the sky.

Black flames erupted all around Xu Qing, becoming a golden crow behind him that inhaled and exhaled a sea of flames. The surface of the golden crow rapidly peeled away, revealing a black spear underneath. Xu Qing grabbed it, then hurled it viciously toward Crown Prince Brightsouth. Countless black lightning bolts surrounded the skewer as it also shot forward.

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Killing intent flickered in Crown Prince Brightsouth’s eyes. He knew what his weakness was; as his father had often reminded him, he was too arrogant. Because of his status and the strength that came to members of his species, he might seem like the kind of person who had done a lot of fighting through the years. But the reality was that wherever he went, very few cultivators would ever dare to truly fight him with deadly force. He had lived a smooth life full of glory and honor, and yet, that also led to him having some big flaws. That was one reason why he had joined the Great Hunt. He knew that it would include tough training, which was just what he needed. Only by experiencing some truly life-threatening fights could he turn his advantages into a truly great dao.

Now, he was getting the feeling that the destined opportunity he had been waiting for was right in front of him. Thus, the grim look in his eye turned into surging killing intent. And as Xu Qing got close, he lifted his hand into the sky, opened the fingers wide, and then snapped them shut into a fist.

Any remaining clouds in the sky were swept clean away as if by a huge hand. And the incoming spear and skewer lurched to a halt as if they had run into an impassable barrier.

The starry sky was now clearly visible overhead. There, nine incomparably bright stars glittered prominently; given their visibility, it was clear that they formed the shape of a finger.

Crown Prince Brightsouth then dropped his hand. Ignoring the spear, he pointed at Xu Qing. The starlight from the nine glittering stars surpassed everything, turning into a finger that pointed to the east of Xu Qing.

“The Big Dipper’s handle points east; all under heaven becomes spring.”

The gigantic finger emanated profound majesty; to Xu Qing, it felt like he was facing the entire starry sky, with himself being miniscule in comparison. Power surrounded him, restraining him and slowing him down.

“The Big Dipper’s handle points south; all under heaven becomes summer.”

Shivering inwardly, Xu Qing tried to break free, but before he could, a second finger appeared, pointing south. The power of restraint then grew dramatically stronger! Next came the third finger!

“The Big Dipper’s handle points west; all under heaven becomes autumn.

“The Big Dipper’s handle points north; all under heaven becomes winter.”

As Crown Prince Brightsouth’s voice echoed out, a fourth finger appeared, pointing to the north of Xu Qing.

From a distance, it was possible to see four fingers, each as high as heaven itself, pulsing with terrifying might in all of the directions surrounding Xu Qing. This was the star displacement combat technique from the Thirty-Six Immortal Constellations imperial-class technique belonging to the Firemoon Darkheaven people. It was called Dao of the Nine Stars Killing Suppression.

“East, south, west, and north; spring, summer, autumn, and winter; the Big Dipper handle points; no living being can possibly flee!”

As the words echoed out, the four starry fingers dropped toward Xu Qing!

1. Nine Breaths Submission was originally introduced in chapter 819. ☜