Star Martial Soaring Cloud

Wang Xiao stood at the edge of the pit, looking down at An Sheng Ichiro's corpse.

Seven stone pillars pierced his body, pinning him to the ground, and the blood stopped flowing—it had long since dried up.

On that pale face, fear and resentment were frozen into eternity.

He turned around, not towards the crowd, but facing northwest with a solemn expression.

Wang Xiao shows no mercy to his enemies.

Being kind to the enemy is cruel to yourself.

This applies to the Hua family, to the Tianyi Sect, and even more so to foreign tribes with whom they share a deep-seated national and familial hatred.

In fact, he was not a bloodthirsty person; under normal circumstances, he would not kill.

Even in the dire circumstances of the Lishan Trial, he never indiscriminately killed innocent people.

But when faced with a mortal enemy, he will only make one choice.

Upon entering the Dragon Gate Divine Realm, he was reborn.

He felt an unprecedented power—his body was like iron, his strength like the sea, and his speed like the wind.

After a few rounds, he killed An Shengyilang, who was also in the Dragon Gate Divine Realm.

To possess such combat power so soon after entering the Dragon Gate is undoubtedly astonishing and commendable.

The value of practical application lies not only in demonstrating one's strengths, but also in discovering one's weaknesses.

After his encounter with An Shengyilang, Wang Xiao gained a lot and finally understood that the Dragon Gate Divine Realm was not omnipotent.

He finally understood why the legendary immortals all had mounts or magical travel tools.

Some immortals ride on somersault clouds, covering 108,000 li in a single somersault; others ride on wind-fire wheels, traveling a thousand li in an instant; still others ride cranes or dragons, leisurely and carefree.

When he first heard these rumors, he thought they were for show, a symbol of status and prestige.

But after experiencing it firsthand, he understood the real reason behind it.

High-speed flight is extremely taxing.

He was able to intercept Ansei Ichiro in an instant because of his extreme speed, but that instant of extreme speed made him momentarily disoriented.

For example, a person can walk 30 kilometers a day, but if they run at high speed, they may be able to run further in a short time, but they will definitely not be able to run 30 kilometers in a day.

The difference in energy expenditure and physical condition upon reaching 100 meters between walking 100 meters and sprinting 100 meters is self-evident.

After a long period of high-speed flight, by the time they reach their destination, their combat strength will likely be almost depleted.

The inexhaustible primordial energy of heaven and earth does not mean that there is no consumption or wear and tear; nor does it mean that the cultivator, as the "conduit" that receives the primordial energy of heaven and earth, will not get hot and eventually have to stop working.

A pipe is ultimately just a pipe; it cannot be integrated with the universe. It has its limits, requires maintenance, and needs repair.

Given Wang Xiao's current condition, if he were to fly at high speed for half a day, he would be completely exhausted, and his combat strength would be reduced to at most 20%.

Even if a cultivator's body can withstand it, what about their divine sense? This consciousness that controls the primordial energy of heaven and earth will also tire and reach its limit.

The word "degree" is accurate in all directions.

Therefore, both cultivators and mortals are searching for things that move perpetually and exploring the principles of perpetual motion.

But as the years have passed, it remains just a distant dream.

Wang Xiao snapped out of his thoughts and fixed his gaze on the northwest.

Of the Five Ninja of Fusang, only one has been killed, and their crisis is far from over.

An Shengyilang was swiftly and directly killed by him, and in everyone's eyes, he was like a true god descending.

But only he himself knows the enormous drain on him – if there are a few more major battles like this, he probably won't be able to hold on.

What gave him the upper hand in his fight against Ansei Ichiro was not strength, but "momentum".

His unconventional and unorthodox fighting style exceeded his opponent's expectations, instilling fear in Ansei Ichiro.

In a close encounter, the brave will prevail, while those who harbor fear will undoubtedly be defeated.

But the enemies that followed would never give him such an opportunity again.

"Wang Xiao!" Lin Yueyao cheered and ran up to Wang Xiao, who was winning a great victory in the arena.

She had just taken a step when Su Qinhe grabbed her arm.

As the person with the lowest cultivation level in the room, she did not notice anything unusual at first.

"Don't go." Su Qinhe's voice was soft, but it carried an undeniable tension.

Lin Yueyao was taken aback and followed Su Qinhe's gaze—Wang Xiao was facing northwest with his back to everyone, completely still.

His back was ramrod straight, like a drawn sword.

That was by no means the posture of a victor, but rather... the posture of being ready to face the enemy.

Even Li Yu and Zhang Lian stopped arguing, helped each other to their feet, and looked solemnly at the northwest sky.

Something is rapidly approaching from there.

Before long, two points of light appeared on the horizon, one blue and one red, like two shooting stars, trailing long tails of light, rushing toward the camp.

The speed was astonishing; one moment it was on the horizon, and the next it was right in front of you.

Wang Xiao's pupils contracted slightly.

The light suddenly stopped, and two figures, a man and a woman, were suspended in mid-air, both looking old.

After all, even the least senior of the Five Ninjas of Fusō, Ichiro Ansei, is over a hundred years old, so these two are probably even older.

The man was tall and burly, with broad shoulders and a thick waist. His square face was etched with deep lines by the years, and his skin was dark and rough, like scorched earth that had been repeatedly baked by a raging fire.

His hair was already gray, disheveled and hanging over his shoulders, but his eyes were surprisingly bright, surging with undisguised violence and rage.

He wore a dark red, wide robe, the hem of which fluttered in the wind. A faint crimson aura surrounded him, and even the surrounding air seemed to distort slightly from the heat.

Mabe no Kuramoto – the fourth of the Five Ninja of Fusang, known for his fire-based supernatural abilities.

The woman stood beside him, petite in stature, a stark contrast to the rugged man beside her.

Her hair was entirely silver, styled in a high bun adorned with several exquisite tortoiseshell combs, revealing her smooth forehead.

Her face... Wang Xiao's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, and an indescribable sense of strangeness welled up in his heart.

She has delicate features, fair and smooth skin, and is very well-maintained, looking no more than thirty or forty years old.

But her eyes, those cloudy, sunken, and lifeless eyes, looked like those of an old woman on her deathbed.

A youthful face paired with aged eyes—the two combined resemble a perfect human skin superimposed on a decaying skeleton.

Her lips curled slightly upward, forming a smile that was neither a smile nor a frown, but the smile did not reach her eyes; instead, there was only a chilling coldness.

Fukusen Sakura – the third of the Five Ninja of Fusang, known for her water-based supernatural abilities.

Among the five great families of Fusang, the Ansei family is known for its earth-based supernatural powers, the Mabe family is good at fire, the Fukusen family is fond of water, the Hatoda family is naturally skilled in wood magic, and the Koyama family is adept at metal-based cutting.

The Mabe and Fukusen clans often intermarried, and the two who came were husband and wife.

"Did you kill the fifth brother?" Mabe Kuramoto's voice rolled like muffled thunder, making the air tremble.

He didn't wait for Wang Xiao's reply. His cloudy eyes swept over the corpse impaled by the stone pillar in the deep pit, then over the blood and rubble scattered throughout the camp, before finally settling on Wang Xiao.

"It's been a long time since I've tasted the flesh of a cultivator from the Nine Provinces." He licked his chapped lips, a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes. "I'll savor it again today."

Before he finished speaking, he had already made his move.

There were no hand seals, no warnings, and no time for anyone to react.

He casually extended his right hand, palm down, and then clenched it tightly.

"Fireling Marsh."

The three words were spoken lightly, as if they were just casually uttered.

But the moment he finished speaking, the ground beneath Wang Xiao's feet suddenly changed color. The hard rocky ground instantly turned into a crimson swamp, and boiling magma gushed out from the cracks. A scorching wave of air shot into the sky, enveloping Wang Xiao completely!

Instant cast!

Mabekura Gen's supernatural powers require no hand seals or preparation; they can be unleashed with a single thought.

This single move is enough to prove that his strength far surpasses that of Ansei Ichiro.

Wang Xiao stepped into the void, his body suddenly rising from the ground, barely avoiding the surging lava beneath his feet.

But the Flaming Swamp seemed to have a life of its own, transforming into countless crimson fire snakes that coiled around him from all directions!

Wherever the fire serpent passed, the air was scorched and distorted, and even visibility became blurred.

Wang Xiao threw a punch, and the force of the punch shattered several fire snakes, turning them into a sky full of sparks.

But more and more fire serpents surged from the magma, endless and ever tighter.

Just as Wang Xiao was entangled by the fire snake, Fukusen Sakura also moved.

"When people get old, seeing young and beautiful faces always makes them reminisce about their youth." Her voice was soft and melodious, as if she were talking to herself, or perhaps whispering to the female cultivators in the room.

Her gaze swept over Lin Yueyao, Su Qinhe, Yan Zixi, and Yun Qingyao, a strange greed flashing in her eyes.

The next second, her expression suddenly turned ferocious: "But I hate this feeling! For over a hundred years, I've been wearing this skin that doesn't belong to me, and today I finally have a fresh face!"

It's no wonder Wang Xiaofang found it strange that she was wearing someone else's skin.

She raised her hands, her ten fingers like hooks, drawing strange ripples in the air.

"Water Ghost Encircles - Thousand Faces Devour Souls".

As soon as she finished speaking, countless water bubbles appeared out of thin air around her.

The bubbles burst open with a bang, turning into pale human faces, all of them women. Each face was twisted and roaring, with gaping maws, lunging at the female cultivators in the arena!

Those faces were neither water vapor nor illusions, but... real human faces.

Fukusen Sakura's face was never her own; she barely maintained this false youth by peeling off the skin of countless young women.

Those souls whose skin she peeled off were trapped in her water-based supernatural powers, never to escape, and became her tools for killing.

Faces surged in like a tidal wave, moving at an astonishing speed.

They have no physical form, yet they carry a chilling aura, instantly freezing the ground wherever they go.

Yan Zixi's expression changed drastically. She held her short sword horizontally in front of her, but she didn't know how to defend against these intangible ghosts.

Su Qinhe waved her long sleeves, but the wind from her sleeves passed through people's faces as if passing through air, without stirring up the slightest ripple.

Yun Qingyao's light dance ribbon wrapped around a human face, but the face bit the ribbon, causing it to freeze instantly and its energy to dissipate.

Lin Yueyao held the short knife in front, but she didn't know how to start—could the knife cut through the water?

They had no way to resist.

Just as the faces were about to rush towards the crowd, a figure appeared out of thin air.

It was Wang Xiao.

His robes were still stained with Ansei Ichiro's blood, and several still-burning fire snakes were wrapped around his right arm.

He didn't even look at the fire snakes, but simply stretched out his left hand and flicked it lightly at the face in front of him.

"Pop".

With a soft thud, the face exploded instantly, turning into a puddle of water that landed on the ground.

Immediately afterwards, he turned around, faced the overwhelming sea of ​​faces, took a deep breath, and then took a sudden step forward.

"boom--!"

With one step, the earth trembled.

An invisible wave of energy swept outwards from him, like a whirlwind, shattering the surging human faces into a misty spray.

The fire serpent coiled around his right arm was also shattered inch by inch by the shockwave from this stomp, turning into sparks and disappearing without a trace.

Silence returned to the field.

Wang Xiao stood in front of the crowd, her robes fluttering and her long hair flying.

"Eh." Mabe Kuramoto let out a soft sigh, the violence in his eyes replaced by a hint of surprise.

He never expected that this newcomer to the Dragon Gate would be able to break free from his Flaming Swamp and simultaneously withstand Fukusen Sakura's attack.

Fukusen Sakura's face instantly darkened, and a sinister look, completely different from her appearance, appeared on her young face.

"You think you can take on both of us by yourself?" Asagi Kuramoto glanced at Fukui Sakura, and seeing her nod slightly, he immediately shouted, "Then die!"

Before the words were even finished, the two attacked simultaneously.

Mabekura Gen opened his arms, and a crimson fireball condensed in each palm.

The fireball wasn't large, only about the size of a fist, but the temperature it contained was several times higher than that of the previous Flame Ridge Swamp.

On the surface of the fireball, there were faint golden patterns flowing, a color that only appears when the flame reaches its extreme temperature.

"Explosive Double Dragon Dance"

Two fireballs shot out of his hand, transforming into two fire dragons in the air, one on the left and one on the right, attacking Wang Xiao from both sides.

Wherever the fire dragon passed, the air was ignited, leaving a charred trail.

Fukusen Sakura also made her move at the same time.

She made a few strokes with her hands in front of her, and a light blue halo slowly appeared in her palms.

Within the halo, countless ice crystals rapidly condensed, transforming into sharp ice blades, each gleaming with a chilling light.

"Water Chill - Ice Blade Waterfall"

Ice blades rained down like a storm, intertwining with the two fire dragons.

Ice and fire are inherently antagonistic and should cancel each other out. However, thanks to the tacit cooperation between Fukusen Sakura and Asagi Kuramoto, the ice blades did not melt but instead adhered to the fire dragon, condensing into a layer of ice armor.

The fire dragon's temperature was sealed by the ice armor, preventing it from leaking out. However, beneath the ice armor, the temperature was accumulating rapidly—this was a true duality of ice and fire, cold on the outside and hot on the inside. Once it erupted, its power far exceeded that of simple flames or ice.

Wang Xiao's eyes narrowed, and he dared not be careless in the slightest.

He stepped into the void, his figure as fast as lightning, avoiding the head-on impact of the first fire dragon, and at the same time, he threw a punch, knocking the head of the second fire dragon off course.

The fire dragon grazed past his shoulder and crashed violently into the mountainside behind him, exploding with a deafening roar.

A huge hole was blasted into the mountainside, sending debris flying and dust billowing everywhere.

But the icy waterfall followed him like a shadow, stabbing at him from all directions.

No matter how fast Wang Xiao moved, it was difficult for him to completely avoid such a dense attack.

He used both hands simultaneously, alternating between fists and palms, to shatter the ice blades one by one.

But for every one halberd shattered, ten more would take its place, an endless cycle that left no chance to catch one's breath.

What's more troublesome is that the two fire dragons didn't dissipate after being knocked off course; they simply circled once before rushing towards him again.

Mabekura Gen and Fukusen Sakura stood at a distance, calmly controlling their supernatural powers. One used fire, the other water; one attacked, the other supported, their movements perfectly coordinated.

Wang Xiao was gradually suppressed.

What put him in an even more passive position was that he had no way to dodge and could only take the hit head-on—if he moved aside even slightly, the people behind him would instantly perish.

No matter how strong his physical body was, under such restrictive circumstances, he could only passively defend himself.

In the brief moment he shatters the ice blades, the fire dragon will seize the opportunity to pounce; the instant he repels the fire dragon, the ice blades will follow in quick succession.

He wanted to rush forward and fight in close combat, but Fukusen Sakura's water-based magical abilities bound him tightly like a muddy swamp, and every step forward required several times the amount of energy and strength.

The opponent clearly noticed Wang Xiao's predicament. While restraining him, they also used their remaining supernatural power to attack the people behind him, forcing Wang Xiao to take the remaining force with his bare body.

His robes were torn in several places by the ice blades, and his left arm was struck by the fire dragon's tail, leaving a charred burn.

Fresh blood seeped from the wound, but was quickly evaporated by the high temperature, eventually congealing into a dark red scab.

Seeing this, Asakura Genichiro's lips curled into a smug smile: "Little brat, where did your earlier bravado go? Keep it up!"

Fukusen Sakura didn't speak, but instead quickened the attack of her ice blades, a cruel smile appearing on her fake face.

Wang Xiao gritted her teeth and did her best to resist.

But he knew that he couldn't hold on for long if things continued like this.

Just then, a sudden voice rang out: "Two old geezers, almost in their graves, so shameless, don't they know anything about shame!"