Shao Shan remained silent, his understanding of the inner workings of that battle being all too clear.
The burly man grew fiercer with every exchange, the air around them trembling with each of their moves.
"Who do you think will win?" Fan Wei asked with keen interest.
Hu Guizhi shook his head. "Back then, Qin Muyu narrowly defeated Wu Tan by three moves. However, Wu Tan has been in secluded cultivation for five hundred years, so it's hard to say who will emerge victorious."
Qin Muyu gathered a ball of flame in his palm and hurled it towards the burly man. The fireballs rapidly split in the air.
The burly man cleaved through the incoming fireballs with his bare hands.
Qin Muyu's expression grew serious. This opponent was renowned for his strength; few could cleave through his flames with sheer brute force and remain unharmed.
After shattering all the fireballs, the burly man grinned, stomped on the ground, and charged at the man in ancient robes. Simultaneously, he opened his palm, condensing a ball of spiritual energy to strike.
Qin Muyu's eyes narrowed slightly, a terrifying aura pressing his clothes against his body.
Qin Muyu slightly lowered his stance, gathering his power, and raised his palm to meet the attack.
*Bang!!*
The energy waves generated by their clashing palms scattered outwards. Dust on the ground surged like ocean waves, and nearby trees swayed as if in an earthquake, their slender branches snapping under the force.
Fan Wei, watching from the side, exclaimed, "As expected of Wu Tan, famed for his strength. With a single palm strike like that, even a great demon of a thousand years would be gravely injured."
Hu Guizhi nodded in agreement. "Wu Tan's strength is likely unmatched in the demon realm."
Beside them, the ever-silent Shao Shan stared coldly at Qin Muyu, secretly gathering a ball of purple gas in his hand.
Qin Muyu's strength was too formidable. A direct confrontation offered no chance of victory; he could only seek an opportunity for a sneak attack.
Qin Muyu took the palm strike from Wu Tan and retreated a few steps, extending his index and middle fingers to condense a point of dazzling golden light.
Wu Tan's strength was astonishing. A head-on clash would yield him no advantage.
Seeing the light emanating from Qin Muyu's fingers, Wu Tan's expression drastically changed. He retreated several steps, pushing out a powerful stream of air that swirled in his hands.
*Rumble~ Rumble~ Rumble~ Rumble~*
The ground beneath Wu Tan's feet trembled violently, and chunks of rock began to gather, forming a massive stone shield.
The light between Qin Muyu's fingers grew larger, the surrounding air condensing as if to swallow everything.
"Here it comes, their ultimate moves," Fan Wei said, a look of tension appearing on his face, ready to flee at any moment.
*Whoosh!*
The golden light from Qin Muyu's fingers shot out like a laser, withering the grass and leaves in its path.
The golden beam collided with Wu Tan's stone shield, unleashing a terrifying wave of energy that swept outwards.
Seeing this, Fan Wei and the other two lightly tapped the ground and flew backward. These were the ultimate moves of two great demons; a single misstep could lead to them being caught in the crossfire.
The energy wave surged outwards, causing hundred-year-old trees to snap like saplings caught in an eight-magnitude typhoon.
*Boom!*
With an explosion, the energy waves from the two forces scattered, tearing apart everything around them.
Wu Tan and Qin Muyu both retreated a few steps to steady themselves.
Qin Muyu kept one hand behind his back, his expression grim. That last strike had consumed all his spiritual energy. Without his inner core within him, he could only utilize at most fifty percent of his full strength.
"What's this? After five hundred years, your strength hasn't grown, but has instead regressed," Wu Tan taunted.
If this had been five hundred years ago, he wouldn't have been able to block this attack so easily.
Qin Muyu stared intently at Wu Tan, realizing that he would have difficulty escaping today without a fight.
"Continue!" Wu Tan declared, charging at Qin Muyu once more.
Without hesitation, Qin Muyu lowered his stance and charged forward as well.
"Don't you think Qin Muyu's strength has declined significantly?"
Hu Guizhi looked at their previous ultimate moves with suspicion. Although neither had used their full power, it was clear that Wu Tan had easily blocked Qin Muyu's strike.
Fan Wei remained silent, his gaze fixed on Qin Muyu with a peculiar expression.
Meanwhile, Shao Shan wore a sinister smile. He had sensed something amiss with Qin Muyu during their previous exchange.
Another reason for Shao Shan's animosity towards Qin Muyu was his inner core.
Shao Shan's true form was a wild chicken. After cultivating for over three thousand years, he failed his tribulation to ascend, suffering severe injuries. He then recuperated, preparing for his next tribulation.
This time, his tribulation should have been a sure success, but unexpectedly, the path to ascension was severed just as he was ready, rendering all his efforts futile.
Shao Shan's talent was no less than Qin Muyu's, but his true form, a wild chicken, was the least gifted among flying creatures. Had he been a parrot, an eagle, or even a sparrow, he would already be a divine beast phoenix.
Their moves were fierce, but Qin Muyu was constantly retreating, at a disadvantage.
Wu Tan felt increasingly uneasy as the fight progressed. Although he had been in secluded cultivation for five hundred years, he shouldn't have such a significant lead over Qin Muyu.
"Something's wrong!"
Wu Tan suddenly realized what was happening. It wasn't that his strength had surged, but rather that Qin Muyu's strength had plummeted.