Gu Shen drew his great bow to its full extent and released the string.

A blaze of incandescent light shot forth from the darkness—

In the distant sky, a shower of fire, stained with blood, erupted!

The enormous divine bird roared and wailed in anguish, vanishing into the horizon with the Vermillion Bird.

Gu Shen did not pursue. He abandoned the second arrow…

Never press a desperate foe too hard!

He was currently located outside the northern boundary of the E0 district, still relatively safe. If he were to pursue the Vermillion Bird, he might encounter other “Divine Envoys.” This one arrow was sufficient. A flurry of scarlet fire-rain fell from the sky, all of it the Vermillion Bird's blood!

Stowing his great bow, Gu Shen concealed his aura and retreated into the depths of the mountains.

He vanished completely into the mountains.

“Little Sleeve, I’m finished here.”

Gu Shen transmitted his voice.

After waiting for a moment.

Gu Shen spoke again, “How is it on your end?”

“Zzzzz…”

The mental channel seemed to be experiencing interference. Bai Xiu did not respond.

An ominous premonition vaguely arose in Gu Shen's heart.

…

…

On the outskirts of Tanyao, countless black birds soared across the firmament, their wings creating the sound of wind being torn. These free birds, soaring above, willingly crashed into the mouths of active volcanoes, shattering into pieces in the intense heat of the earth.

No one knew why they were doing this.

Ending their lives, casting themselves into the volcanic ash and mist.

They were never heard from again.

“Rumble rumble rumble—”

On a long night of thunder and lightning, Bai Xiu and Xiao Man, gazing up at the flock of black birds, stood silently in the rain.

The trembling of the ground grew stronger and stronger.

The [Thunder Realm Walker], seated upon the clouds, conveyed a wisp of thought to its master.

“…Someone is coming.”

Bai Xiu extended a hand and handed the basket to Xiao Man.

Xiao Man hurriedly reached out with both hands to hold it.

She was somewhat bewildered. Just as she was about to say something, Bai Xiu stood in front of her. “If a fight breaks out, run away as far as you can.”

In the distant storm, countless streaks of scarlet lightning streaked toward them.

The gale and torrential rain gradually coalesced into a human form.

“…Okay.”

Xiao Man swallowed hard. An overwhelming sense of oppression surged from the distant red lightning.

A tall youth draped in a scarlet cloak emerged from the lightning. Those countless strands of crimson thunder faintly transformed into a coiled dragon, lurking upon his shoulder.

A Dragon Coiled on the Shoulder.

The Red Dragon stopped before Mount Tanyao. He looked at the girl holding the basket, then at Bai Xiu.

“You shouldn’t have found me so quickly.”

Bai Xiu said, “From the southern border of the E0 district to Tanyao…it took you only fifteen minutes.”

“Because I came straight to Tanyao.”

The Red Dragon smiled slightly and said, “Bai Xiu, this is our first meeting…right?”

“If you had already locked onto my position, then you should have brought more people.”

Bai Xiu said calmly, “You should have summoned the other three Divine Envoys as well.”

“…That’s what I originally intended.”

The Red Dragon sighed softly, “Unfortunately, they were unwilling to leave the city with me. So, I had to come alone today.”

The [Thunder Realm Walker] dissipated in the high sky.

When it reappeared, it was gathered above Bai Xiu's head.

“So, this is the strongest ‘S-class’ of this generation in the Eastern Continent…”

The Red Dragon looked at the towering thunderous shadow, a hint of emotion in his expression. “It is indeed astonishing power, but I just killed an ‘S-class’ two years ago…”

“S-class and S-class…are not the same.”

Bai Xiu said softly, “You can try.”

“Crack.”

The Red Dragon smiled.

He had two swords, one long and one short, at his waist.

As he placed his hand on the hilt of the long sword, a great wind suddenly swept across the wilderness at the foot of Mount Tanyao. Countless wild grasses rose with the wind, flying between the two men—

The Red Dragon instantly crouched down.

The moment he drew his sword.

He had already appeared before Bai Xiu.

Xiao Man, who had run far away, glanced back, her face horrified. A blood-colored blade light nearly filled her entire vision. Thousands of pieces of grass were sliced apart, and the target of this blade was that slender white figure!

“Shhhl—”

The sound of tearing metal and shattering iron rang out.

Bai Xiu’s clothes were instantly torn, but no blood spilled from his body.

The [Thunder Realm Walker] instantly plunged downward, seating itself within his body. This slender physique instantly possessed “transcendental power.” The scarlet blade light slashed across his skin, Bai Xiu's black hair turning snow-white, and so did his blood vessels…

His entire body had now transformed into pure “Thunder”!

The Thunder Realm Walker merged with him!

The Red Dragon narrowed his eyes.

The two nearly collided. He drew his sword and slashed past Bai Xiu’s body, as if he had cut through a waterfall. Bai Xiu, who had already unified with the [Thunder Realm Walker], casually aimed at the Red Dragon's heart and pressed down hard with his palm!

“Swish!”

The Red Dragon reacted instantly, his movements ethereal and agile to the extreme.

He flipped his body, slapping the hilt of his short sword with one hand.

The short sword remained sheathed.

He merely used the hilt to prop up his body, perpendicular to the ground.

The Red Dragon spun rapidly, perpendicular to the ground, his whole body rotating. He flipped his wrist and smeared his long sword across, but this time, the blade light did not part the water like before. It did not cause Bai Xiu's palm to spread out—

“Clang clang clang!”

The sound of intense collisions halted the long sword's advance.

Bai Xiu grasped the Red Dragon’s long sword with his thunderous hand. Due to the rotation of his body, the palm that had originally struck the back of his heart became a blow to the chest.

Perfect.

Little Sleeve poured all his strength into it and pressed down hard!

The Red Dragon was pressed directly into the ground. The [Thunder Realm Walker]’s majestic thunder shattered the ground, and shards of rock exploded outward from the two as the epicenter, ten meters, twenty meters, fifty meters—

Xiao Man, who was running frantically, stumbled and fell heavily to the ground. She did not stop. Using her hands and feet, she quickly got up, hugged the basket, and continued to run. A gust of wind pushed her, and the little girl fell a second time. This time, the wind subsided, and the intense pushing sensation from behind also dissipated. Her face pale, she propped herself up on the ground, looking at the hundred-meter-deep pit in front of her!

…

…

Inside the pit.

Two figures stood tall and firm.

Bai Xiu's palm was pressed against the Red Dragon Divine Envoy's chest.

This palm directly shattered the Red Dragon's divine robe!

The earth cracked, forming a giant spider web!

“Cough…”

Crimson blood slowly trickled from the corner of the Red Dragon's lips.

He clenched the unsheathed long sword in one hand, pressing it against his chest, using the blade to hold up Bai Xiu's downward-pressing palm.

He pressed down on the hilt of the short sword with the other hand, supporting himself.

He laughed in a hoarse voice. “As expected of Bai Xiu…you really are very different from the ‘S-class’ I killed…”

Bai Xiu was expressionless.

He raised his other hand, pressing down with both palms stacked together!

Boom!

Once again, shards of rock flew!

The Red Dragon's back was directly pressed into the ground. He coughed up a large mouthful of blood. Just as Bai Xiu was about to press down a third time, the short sword was unsheathed—

The hilt of this short sword was always facing upward.

The moment the Red Dragon was pressed into the ground by the [Thunder Realm Walker]’s immense power, he completely abandoned the stalemate.

An exchange of injuries!

He drew his short sword and slashed horizontally at Bai Xiu's forearm—

Still “elementalization”!

But this time…

A spray of blood shot out from the smoke and dust!

Bai Xiu looked bewildered. He looked at his forearm, which was stained with crimson. His flesh and blood had already been enveloped by the [Thunder Realm Walker]. Logically speaking, it should have transformed into a pure elemental body.

How could this blade…possibly wound him?

He looked at the short sword and immediately understood.

Engraved on the Red Dragon’s blade was the signature insignia of “Chasik Town,” along with a line of ancient text.

Some extremely rare sealed objects possessed the trait of inflicting [True Damage]… Even against those “elementalized” or “spiritualized” non-real world spirit bodies, they could ignore “etherealization” and inflict severe damage in the real world!

Bai Xiu’s power, which had been steadily suppressing the Red Dragon, was interrupted for one second due to this strike.

A duel between top experts—

One second.

Was enough to change the tide of battle!

The Red Dragon's long and short swords instantly intertwined and lashed out. Bai Xiu retreated backward, and he took advantage of the momentum, stepping on the ground and once again colliding into the [Thunder Realm Walker]’s embrace. The Red Dragon's swordsmanship was like flowing water, seemingly soft but with hidden killing intent and extremely tricky. Each of his strikes was like a serving maiden at a night banquet, presenting dishes, allowing no refusal.

The long sword sliced through flesh and blood.

The short sword cut through elements.

The [Thunder Realm Walker] began to retreat steadily.

Bai Xiu's hands naturally slid downward, casually plucking two segments of thunderous light from the falling thunder of the heavens, using them as long and short knives to parry the Red Dragon. However, under the slash of that Chasik short sword, the casually intercepted elemental blades immediately shattered.

But it didn’t matter. At that moment, countless flashes of lightning streaked across the sky.

Bai Xiu raised his hand and plucked another one.

It was raining heavily, with lightning stretching endlessly!

Inexhaustible, inexhaustible!

The two domains clashed dozens, even hundreds of times in an instant, unable to determine a victor.

Bai Xiu received a message from Gu Shen in his mental sea, but he had no time to reply.

On the other side, the Red Dragon also received intelligence from Dongku…

His situation was even “worse” than Bai Xiu's.

The [Sky Domain] barrier had been broken, and then [Deep Sea] issued an A-level alert!

The transcendent beast tide was about to arrive. He had to withdraw and return to the E7 district to rebuild the [Sky Domain] with the three Divine Envoys!

“Clang! Clang! Clang!”

With three consecutive strikes, the Red Dragon shattered the [Thunder Realm Walker]’s elemental blades, forcing Bai Xiu to retreat.

He looked at the little girl who had hidden hundreds of meters away.

Bai Xiu instantly moved, blocking the Red Dragon's line of sight.

He knew what the Red Dragon was thinking.

The “Cloud Mirror” bestowed by the Sky God Seat seemed to be searching for young geniuses with high aptitude, but in reality, the “Cloud Mirror” was likely searching for the future master of the Fire of Wine!

“If you want to ignore the A-level alert…” Bai Xiu said, “I can fight you to the finish, to the death.”

“Is that so?”

The Red Dragon reached out and wiped the blood from the corner of his lips with the back of his hand.

He stared at the dried blood on the back of his hand.

The Red Dragon sheathed his long and short swords.

The wind in the wilderness suddenly stopped. Those wildly flying pieces of grass suddenly lost their momentum and became lazy, falling with the rain.

“Boom!”

A bolt of lightning tore the clouds apart.

The [Heavenly Eye] suspended above Mount Tanyao was destroyed, falling to the earth in flames, shattered into pieces.

“...?”

Bai Xiu frowned.

The Red Dragon said softly, “Perhaps my coming here wasn’t to snatch this girl away?”

Little Sleeve was a little confused. He couldn’t understand at first why the Red Dragon didn’t bring more people since he had locked onto him.

After the Red Dragon finished speaking, he actually turned around.

He had no intention of continuing the fight. Just before leaving, he said seriously, “Bai Xiu, you didn’t disappoint me… You are indeed stronger than I imagined, and your growth rate is fast enough. You are much stronger than that ‘S-class’ from two years ago. But, it’s still not enough.”

“You are not…quite there yet.”