Seeing this, Leo Hunter's expression grew a bit more serious. That cowardly Yellowhide might lack backbone, but he was definitely the sharpest of the lot—if he’d surrendered to that early Soul-Split kid, he must have noticed something the rest of them hadn’t.
"Leo, what should we do?" Whitney White sent a voice transmission.
"Let me test him first!" Leo replied, then fixed his gaze on Ian Song, asking in a deep voice, "How should I address you?"
"Ian Song," Ian answered calmly.
"In our demon race, the strong rule. I have a suggestion—let’s have a duel. If you win, we’ll submit to you. If you lose, you and your people submit to us. Do you dare?"
"Master, Leo’s strength may not match the Bear King’s, but he’s the strongest among us!" Lana Blue reminded him through a mind transmission.
Hearing this, Ian’s expression grew thoughtful. He’d been at early Soul-Split for a while now, and though he’d fought many battles, most were won with arrays or schemes—he’d never really faced a Fusion expert head-on.
A head-on fight with a Fusion expert would be a huge benefit for his cultivation.
"Alright, I accept!"
Next moment, both sides spread out, clearing a space for Ian and Leo to use as a battlefield.
"Careful now!"
Leo called out lightly, stepped forward, and closed the distance to within three meters of Ian, then threw a punch.
His punch was so heavy that, even before it landed, Ian felt a suffocating pressure.
Swoosh!
Ian drew his spirit sword, slashing at Leo’s fist before it could hit his chest.
Bang!
A huge crash sounded as Ian’s whole body trembled, knocked backward repeatedly by the force of Leo’s punch.
Leo was surprised to see Ian wielding a spirit sword, thinking to himself that this kid actually managed to bring a spirit sword into the Demon Prison—impressive!
While he was still distracted, Leo stepped forward to chase Ian, throwing another punch.
This punch was even stronger, collapsing the entire void in front of him, with Ian standing at the center of the collapse.
Looking at Leo's fist, Ian noticed a thin wound and a drop of golden blood dripping from it.
Rex marveled, "I never expected Master to be not only a formation genius, but also so monstrous in battle. To injure Leo at early Soul-Split—it's unreal!"
Gavin Black's face darkened at the sight. Leo was stronger than him, yet still wounded by that brat. If Gavin had fought, he probably wouldn't have stood a chance. A shadow crept over his heart.
The next moment, Leo's fist flashed with light, but even after the glow faded, the thin wound still hadn't healed!
"What?"
Leo was shocked. Even with his Fusion-stage true essence, he couldn't heal a tiny wound. What he didn't realize was that he'd been injured by the Heavenbreaker Sword Canon, an Immortal-grade sword art. Not just Fusion experts—even Tribulation experts would struggle to recover quickly from its wounds.
"Kill!"
Ian attacked proactively, sword in hand, charging at Leo!
"Hmph!"
Leo snorted coldly, ignoring the wound on his fist, and swung his fists in response.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The two collided again and again—each time Ian was knocked flying, yet each time he came charging back, like an undying war god!
With every clash, Ian was wounded and bleeding, but he ignored it. Meanwhile, Leo's body was marked by several wounds that refused to heal.
Still, those wounds, though hard to heal, didn't affect Leo much.
"Kid, if this is all you've got, then you're doomed to lose today!" Leo said, his voice low. He swung his arms, and a fierce aura surged from within him.
Thud! Thud!
Two consecutive blows smashed toward Ian.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Ian spat several mouthfuls of blood as he was blasted away!
The Radiance of Life lit up, and his injuries rapidly healed.
Roar!
Leo roared again, charging in and refusing to give Ian a moment to breathe.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After several more collisions, Ian spat blood and was sent flying. Old Freak Zhou, Black Widow, Lana Blue, and Rex looked on anxiously, wondering, 'Is Master really going to lose?'
Die!
Leo shouted inwardly, his eyes flashing with killing intent like arrows. His fists flared with dazzling radiance.
Kill!
Leo stepped forward repeatedly, each step crushing the void beneath him. In a few strides, he caught up to Ian and punched out with a massive fist, clearly intending to obliterate Ian with one blow.
"Not good!"
Lana and Rex's faces changed dramatically. They shot forward, with Yellowhide following close behind, all trying to save Ian.
Hmph!
Whitney White and Gavin Black snorted coldly and shot forward, unleashing a barrage of attacks to intercept the three.
"All of you, fall back!"
Ian roared, his body suddenly expanding to over ten zhang tall. His spirit sword erupted with a multi-zhang sword beam.
Slash!
The enormous spirit sword swung down from his hand.
Boom!
A deafening crash echoed as a tide of force rolled outward.
"Wah!"
Ian's massive body was knocked over, and he spat blood. Leo was also blasted back hundreds of meters before barely regaining his footing.
Seeing Ian rise again, Leo's eyes flashed with caution. He hadn't expected Ian to survive his finishing move and even leave him lightly wounded.
Lana and the others cheered at the sight.
"Not bad!"
Leo growled, his body twisting. In the next instant, he revealed his true form—a massive spotted leopard, five or six zhang tall and seven or eight zhang long.
When demon cultivators reveal their true bodies, their strength rises by at least twenty or thirty percent. Seeing this, Ian wiped the blood from his mouth, activated the Radiance of Life, and unfurled a pair of blood-red wings behind him.
The Blood-God Wings were a treasure he'd bought in the future world for ten billion Fame Points.
Kill!
The two clashed again, even more brutally than before.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
The air grew thick with the smell of blood. After a while, the two separated.
Ian's body bore several savage wounds, while Leo's leopard form had two deep, bone-revealing gashes that kept bleeding.
"Again!"
Driven into a frenzy, Leo ignored his injuries and charged again.
Ian frowned. After this exchange, he'd clearly found his limit—he could beat ordinary early Fusion experts, but against a top-tier like Leo, he was still half a step behind.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two clashed again, even more savagely than before!
The next moment, Ian was sent tumbling, crashing heavily to the ground.
Die!
Leo seized the chance, lunging in with his massive leopard claws, cold light flashing as he aimed to pierce Ian's skull.
Space froze!
Suddenly, Ian uttered a soft shout.
In an instant, a frozen pocket of space formed.
Leo's claw stopped just above Ian's head—half an inch away from piercing his skull.
Suddenly, a series of cracking sounds echoed—it was the frozen space starting to shatter.
Ian didn't dare hesitate and slashed out repeatedly with his sword.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Leo finally broke free from the frozen space, but the sword-qi was already upon him. He roared, and his claws struck out in a flurry.
But Ian had already planned ahead. The moment Leo shattered or deflected the sword-qi, Ian unleashed the fourth move of the Heavenbreaker Sword Canon—Bloodstain.
Puff!
A blood-red sword beam pierced through Leo's body, leaving a massive bloody hole.
After unleashing Bloodstain, Ian's true essence was nearly drained. He couldn't maintain his giant form, so he shrank back to normal size. His Blood-God Wings flapped as he retreated a kilometer away—just in case Leo tried to strike back.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
Blood poured from Leo's wound. He glared fiercely at Ian, wanting to tear him apart, but in the end, he gave up, reverted to human form, and withdrew.
"I lost!"
He said to Ian.
Ian finally breathed a sigh of relief. If Leo had kept fighting, Ian would have had to rely on formations.
"Master, are you alright?"
Lana rushed over and supported Ian, who looked like he might collapse at any moment.
"I'm fine. Guard me!"
As he spoke, Ian broke free of Lana's support and sat down cross-legged. After such a fierce battle, he finally sensed the call of mid-stage Soul-Split—he had to break through immediately.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
A large number of supreme spirit crystals shattered, and streams of pure spiritual energy poured into Ian's body. Half an hour later, his cultivation had returned to its peak. Eyes flashing, he muttered, "It's time to break through!"