Chapter 363: True Strength

At this moment, the Bone-Scattered Old Man’s expression became even more ferocious, his body covered in blood as he stood on the ground, panting heavily!
On the other side, Rod seemed to be in better condition. Wiping away a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, he smirked coldly before charging at the old man again, not giving him a chance to catch his breath! The intense battle between the two left everyone in awe!
Throughout the battlefield, everyone wisely stayed at a distance, creating a vast open space for the two to fight. Wherever they clashed, sand and stones flew, leaving behind a chaotic and ruined landscape that sent chills down everyone’s spine.
“How is it going?” Due to the intensity and speed of their fight, those with weaker abilities couldn’t see what was happening. Perhaps only warriors at the advanced divine level or above could barely make out the situation. Immediately, many people began to ask anxiously, as this battle was of utmost importance.
“There’s still no clear winner! But if this continues, Rod will gain the upper hand!” Taking a deep breath, Merk spoke in a low voice. His sharp eyes still allowed him to discern the situation of the fight.
At present, it seemed the two were locked in a stalemate, but it was obvious that Rod was gradually gaining the advantage! Just looking at their physical conditions—everyone had seen during previous clashes that Rod’s Shadow Sword had already inflicted injuries on the old man, while Rod himself was in much better shape! Moreover, the current dynamics clearly favored Rod.
As time passed, the old man’s injuries would worsen, and his stamina would decline significantly, giving Rod more opportunities. Rod’s greatest advantage was his youth—the greatest asset of all.
If this continued, the Bone-Scattered Old Man would only become more exhausted, and the outcome was predictable.
“Really?” Hearing Merk’s words, Lucy, Nightingale, and the others were overjoyed! They asked excitedly.
“There’s no doubt about it. Right now, they can only rely on themselves; no one else can help. Don’t worry, Rod will definitely win! Jiaohong and the others must be getting anxious now! It seems they’re doomed to fail this time. Once their greatest asset is taken out by Rod, I wonder what chaos the Mi Jiao clan can still stir up!” With a cold snort, Dolong spoke in a deep voice, his injuries gradually healing as he watched Jiaohong and his group anxiously on the other side, sneering.

As long as Rod wins, this battle will have no suspense—then the Black Phoenix clan will surely prevail. Today, we will make the Mi Jiao clan vanish into the Source of Darkness forever.
“Ancestor…” Jiao Hong cried out anxiously as he saw his ancestor forced back again.
From the beginning, the ancestor had gradually fallen at a disadvantage, with Rod’s advantage becoming increasingly evident. The ancestor no longer had the strength to counterattack and could only struggle to defend himself. Rod’s attacks were not only fierce but also extremely brutal!
Jiao Hong inwardly cursed—how could this damned guy be so strong? He could even overwhelm the ancestor. Was this really the strength expected of a warrior at the Yin Huang realm?
“Break through!” A furious roar echoed, followed by a loud crash. Rod swung his long sword through the air, as if bringing down the entire galaxy, aiming at the old man with the withered bones who was in firm defense.
Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the scene, afraid of missing even the slightest detail.
In an instant, a strong wind swept across the battlefield due to the immense force.
“Boom…” A deafening noise filled the air, and dust covered everything, obscuring everyone’s vision. Only a faint figure could be seen flashing by.
“Nine Dragon Slash!” A loud shout followed.
Then everything returned to silence. No one could see exactly what had happened in that instant, but everyone’s hearts were in suspense, especially Jiao Hong and the others, whose faces turned grim.
Everyone had witnessed what had happened earlier—their ancestor was at a disadvantage. If everything returned to calm now, did that mean he had failed? Could a warrior at the Yang Xuan realm really be killed by Rod like that?
It was unbelievable, but an inexplicable worry and ominous feeling spread among everyone.
The cold wind blew, and the dust gradually dispersed.
The scene in the arena finally became visible to everyone!
Silence, an eerie silence. All that could be heard was the howling of the wind.
Rod stood there with his sword in hand. In front of him, the old man with the withered bones stood miraculously, his arms hanging limply, his eyes lifeless. A horrifying wound appeared on his chest, blood dripping from it. Slowly, the old man collapsed weakly to the ground!
Then, everyone heard him say in a voice so weak it was almost inaudible, trembling: “You… you… you actually… reached the Yang Xuan realm! Why… why hide it…”

Wow… These words were spoken in a soft voice, yet they reached every ear clearly.
Rod was actually a powerhouse at the Yang Xuan realm! Why hadn’t they noticed before? Why did he deliberately hide his strength in such a battle?
When had he entered the Yang Xuan realm? How come he hadn’t sensed the arrival of the Yang Xuan Thunder Tribulation? It was impossible to reach this realm without any signs at all!
“Because I want to kill you!” were the only cold words Rod replied to the old man.
That’s right—he had indeed entered the Yang Xuan realm. Just yesterday, he broke free from his constraints and entered this realm.
As for the thunder tribulation of the Yang Xuan realm, it must be said that the Netherworld Peak was a truly magical place. While surrounded by the flames of the Netherhell, after his breakthrough, the Yang Xuan Thunder Tribulation did arrive—but it was a tribulation generated within the Netherworld Peak itself. Different from ordinary thunder tribulations, due to the location, those tribulations turned into bursts of flame, testing his soul! Yet it was precisely because of this that his soul was elevated once again.
As for hiding his strength, Rod also had difficult explanations. He had only entered this realm yesterday. Generally, it takes at least three days to stabilize one’s strength in this realm, and it takes months to fully master its power!
Only after entering the Yang Xuan realm did Rod realize just how powerful its strength really was.
However, the crisis of the Black Phoenix clan forced him to stabilize his strength first before rushing to help, leaving no time to adapt to all its powers. In other words, although Rod had entered this realm, he couldn’t fully utilize his strength at the moment.
That’s why, upon seeing the strength of the Bone-Old Man, Rod deliberately hid his own strength to make the other party underestimate him, giving himself an opportunity.
Otherwise, if the other party had sensed his strength from the start, it would have made them wary, making the battle far less easy—after all, the gap between them was still enormous.

Not bad. My plan succeeded. I struck at the opponent when they were careless, delivering a swift and devastating blow to gain the upper hand. Then I showed my best controlled strength, fighting on par with the old man. It was only at the critical moment that I unleashed my full power, demonstrating the strength of the Yang Xuan realm in my final strike! That’s how I was able to kill him in one blow!

“I see. I refuse to accept this. Why… why do you have the same strength as me, reached this realm later than me, yet still… If you’ve fully integrated your strength…” Hearing Rod’s words, the old man’s eyes showed resentment as he roared frantically, as if in a final burst of defiance. He had fully adapted to the strength of the Yang Xuan realm! But the opponent clearly hadn’t mastered all his strength yet—so how could he still be on par with him? To make matters worse, after unleashing his full strength, the opponent dealt him a fatal blow. He truly couldn’t accept it.

“External strength? How can that be true strength? It’s just overestimating oneself!” Rod sneered disdainfully. The old man at this point could at most be considered a martial artist at the quasi-Yang Xuan realm level—far from being a true Yang Xuan realm warrior. The strength gained from pills could never compare to the energy cultivated through one’s own efforts! That was the biggest difference.

“External strength… Hahaha… What a so-called external strength…” Roaring in frustration, blood sprayed everywhere. Eventually, the old man gradually lost his strength, collapsed to the ground, and his eyes grew dim as his vitality rapidly faded.

In the blink of an eye, his life was over! Another great warrior had fallen.

“It’s your turn now, the Mi Jiao clan!” Without even glancing at the dead old man on the ground, Rod turned to look at the members of the Mi Jiao clan behind him and murmured.

“Death Scythe Squad, join me in killing them!” With a fierce roar, he charged ahead toward the Mi Jiao clan’s camp.

“Kill!” Hearing Rod’s words, the members of Death Scythe Squad immediately became excited and roared loudly.

“Kill!” Moments later, Merk also roared with great enthusiasm.

The time for counterattack had finally arrived. With Merk’s command and the arrival of reinforcements, nearly a thousand members of the Black Phoenix clan charged back at the enemy.

Here, the blood of hundreds of valiant warriors from the Black Phoenix clan was shed; here, the souls of hundreds of Erlang warriors remained! The shame of the Black Phoenix clan would now be washed away, and the Mi Jiao clan would ultimately have to pay a heavy price for their actions. The battle erupted in an instant with fierce intensity. With Rod’s victory, the morale of the Black Phoenix clan soared, while the Mi Jiao clan and the demons began to retreat, filled with fear at the sight of the fierce members of the Black Phoenix clan.