Xiao Chen's hands never ceased forming seals, each gesture conjuring a mysterious array of life-and-death symbols. Flecks of light flickered into being, growing ever brighter until they shone like scattered stars. With a final sweep of his arms, a brilliant constellation surged upward, a net of celestial light that seemed to drape the very heavens over the forest clearing.
Kai'o, plunging downward, sensed the threat of imminent death. With a savage roar, a blaze of cyan and yellow light erupted from his body. Vague forms took shape beside him—a massive wolf and a ferocious tiger—and their combined roar crashed through the woods, forcing every beast within hearing to tremble and whimper.
The two phantom beasts, elusive yet exuding a primeval ferocity, opened their colossal jaws and devoured the mysterious starry pattern whole.
Xiao Chen was startled. The legends were true: some barbarian warriors had ancient beast souls sealed within their flesh, granting them terrifying potential.
Three meters tall, Kai'o landed heavily among the trees, his muddy yellow hair spilling over his shoulders. His eyes held a bestial gleam; he was like a king among beasts, radiating a killing aura that crushed the air.
"I didn't expect you to be this strong," Kai'o growled, his voice thick with primal menace. "I've been underestimating you. And I suspect Yan Qingcheng, Lande, and the others have too." A low, guttural roar escaped his throat. "Men like you are dangerous. Best if I kill you here and now."
In that moment, he was neither man nor beast—something between the two, a fusion of fury and cunning. He charged at Xiao Chen, roaring.
If forbearance reached its limit, there was no need to endure further.
Xiao Chen's aura surged to its peak. He left an afterimage in place as he shot forward, a tidal wave of overwhelming force meeting the barbarian warrior head-on. There was no artifice, no trickery—only a direct collision with a man whose race was famed for raw power.
A thunderous explosion ripped through the forest. Vast, blinding light flooded outward like a towering wave, smashing against the spectral wolf and tiger that sprang from Kai'o's body. An immense force detonated, sending dazzling radiance rolling in all directions, leveling everything in its path.
With a booming roar, swaths of trees shattered, dead leaves spinning wildly in the air. Far off, more ancient trunks toppled. It was as though primeval beasts were locked in combat, reducing the forest to a small wasteland.
Kai'o, the barbarian youth famed for his unmatched power, was blasted backward, unable to control his own body. The three-meter giant, wreathed in cyan-and-yellow light, smashed through row after row of massive trees. He had been hurled back by pure energy.
Xiao Chen seemed wreathed in blazing flames. In that instant, he looked more like a barbarian than Kai'o. Wild light blazed in his eyes, and his long black hair danced without wind. He strode forward, each step shaking the mountain slopes. He moved like a giant, emitting a suffocating pressure that made every heart tremble.
The forest fell into an unnatural silence. All the beasts ceased their roaring. The only sound was the earth-shaking footfall of the wild Xiao Chen.
Hidden in the distant undergrowth, seven or eight cultivators watched in shock. None knew better than they how terrifying Kai'o could be. They had seen him tear one cultivator after another apart, like an invincible monster.
Yet now, a single youth was suppressing him with raw strength alone, blasting him away. It was almost impossible to believe. The barbarian race's greatest strength—their ferocious power—was being used against them.
In that moment, the onlookers burned Xiao Chen's image—his wild, dominating form—deep into their minds. A youth both savage and formidable, radiating terror.
Kai'o let out an enraged roar, the sound of a wounded beast. He finally managed to halt his flight and land. What had just happened was an insult beyond bearing. He had been beaten at his own game.
A murderous aura erupted from him as he charged again at the enemy youth. Cyan-and-yellow light blazed, sweeping away all obstacles. The huge wolf and tiger grew more distinct, flanking him as they surged forward together. A ghastly, oppressive killing pressure flooded the surroundings.
Then Xiao Chen gave a low roar of his own. His tall, straight body looked as if it had been cast from molten steel, exuding an invincible power. His black hair whipped wildly.
His hands traced arcs of dazzling light, and terrifying energy raged like a furious sea.
This time, the two young experts moved like lightning, leaving streaks of afterimages through the woods. A cataclysmic storm of power shattered grove after grove. It was as if a violent thunderstorm had struck, shredding branches and leaves into a blinding whirl of debris.
Shockwaves rolled and churned. The spectators paled. Such intense combat—they knew they could never match it.
A roar tore from Kai'o's throat. In the chaos of battle, he swung his iron-hard leg in a horizontal sweep aimed at Xiao Chen's torso. But Xiao Chen's hands caught it with crushing force.
Xiao Chen locked onto Kai'o's leg and refused to let go. He swung the three-meter barbarian as if he were a straw dummy, lifting him off the ground and smashing him sideways into a towering ancient tree. The trunk cracked with a sharp, splintering sound.
Then, as if possessed, Xiao Chen swung Kai'o like a human club, slamming him again and again into the forest. Trees fell, trunks shattered—Xiao Chen used Kai'o as a living weapon.
It was a scene of primal brutality. The cultivators watching from afar could scarcely believe their eyes. In that moment, they labeled Xiao Chen as even more dangerous than Kai'o. A beast. Savage and ferocious, beyond all measure.
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