This was the saber technique Xiao Xie made his name with, a supreme saber technique of the Severing Saber Manor. It was rumored to be a top-tier saint technique, and as the young manor master, he was the only one allowed to cultivate it. Other ordinary members could not learn it.

The slash not only greatly amplified his strength but also contained a boundless saber intent. He had reached the second stage of the saber intent, and the black saber he wielded was one that he had nurtured since young. It had long become one with him. The man and saber was one, and they were endlessly powerful.

The disciples in the surroundings quickly retreated when they saw Xiao Xie using the technique, afraid that they would be caught up in the shockwaves. None of them were confident they could survive the attack or even a shockwave. After all, the attack displayed the might of a second-stage Soul Foundation Realm cultivator.

Even a regular Sovereign would have a hard time withstanding this pressure. And only someone with such strength was fit to be called a freak.

Xiang Shaoyun could sense the incoming attack's dreadfulness. The Overlord Skyslaying Saber appeared in his hand, and lightning wrapped around his body as his aura surged. Silver lightning bolts shot down from the sky as a purple and silver saber energy with lightning swirling around it tore across the sky to meet the incoming slash.

River of Corpses!

It was an endlessly destructive slash powered by a second-stage saber intent and a massive amount of lightning—an attack capable of shaking the heavens. Saber energies clashed repeatedly, and shockwaves rippled everywhere. Sounds of explosions rumbled on as though an unstoppable disaster was upon the world.

After a series of intense collisions, the black saber energy gained the upper hand and shattered the lightning saber energy before heading straight for Xiang Shaoyun's head.

Xiao Xie had thought that he could defeat Xiang Shaoyun with his attack, but his slash struck nothing, leaving only a deep split in the ground. Meanwhile, Xiang Shaoyun was standing to the side and was completely unharmed.

"With the power of a single star, it is hard to defeat the power mustered by multiple stars," said Xiang Shaoyun with a self-mocking laugh.

"Be that as it may, stopping me with only one star when I'm using 90 percent of my strength is extremely impressive. The remaining 10 percent I'm holding back won't change a thing," said Xiao Xie bitterly. He had never imagined that Xiang Shaoyun would be so terrifyingly strong even when using only one star.

"One last move. Bring it on," said Xiang Shaoyun, who did not wish to waste more time.

"Alright. This time, I will attack together with my brother, Darkstorm. Prepare yourself," said Xiao Xie.

Next, both he and the black qilin released a powerful burst of dark energy. The energy fused, as though the two had become one. The combination of their strength achieved a multiplicative, not additive, effect in strength, and it released a power much stronger than the joint sum of their prowess.

Human mount unity, Qilin Kill!

Xiao Xie and the black qilin transformed into a black streak that shot toward Xiang Shaoyun at an unimaginable speed. A dark domain formed around them, locking in Xiang Shaoyun. Qilin roars rang in the air, and saber energies soared to the sky. The attack was far beyond the previous attack, causing the area around them to darken.

The attack gave Xiang Shaoyun a sense of familiarity. Back at the Devil Domain, Yu Caidie once fused with her phoenix as well. At that time, she unleashed a terrifying killing technique that had allowed her to slay an Emperor as a King. 

And now, Xiao Xie and his black qilin were doing the same. They went beyond the strength of a second-stage Sovereign, nearly reaching the level of a regular fourth-stage Sovereign. It was a terrifying leap of strength and put him at a similar level to the top five freaks.

As Xiao Xie had always maintained a low profile among the disciples, his ranking was rather low. Perhaps today was the first time he had displayed his true strength. Facing the attack, Xiang Shaoyun did not opt to use the Cosmos Dao Destroying Fist. Instead, he used his newly gained Lightning Calamity Fiery Star, a technique no weaker than the Cosmos Dao Destroying Fist.

The lightning star within him bloomed with power, and his lightning bone shook. At the same time, his flame star erupted like a volcano as Yun Flame burned furiously. The powers of the two stars converged and compressed within him, becoming a power of flame and lightning that abruptly erupted from his body.

Lightning bolts raged like dragons and wrecked their surroundings as if a lightning tribulation descending upon the world. The air around them burned, forming astral flame that streaked across the air like a rain of meteors on a mission to destroy the world.

This was a dreadful might capable of destroying nature itself, and the nearby disciples paled from fright.

"What technique is this? Why is it so scary?" someone exclaimed in alarm.

The two techniques clashed. It was akin to a collision of stars. A massive shockwave erupted from the point of collision, and ripples of energy spread everywhere. The ground beneath them cracked while the nearby stones turned into powder. The ear-splitting rumble that came next was unbearable.

The two attacks contended with each other for a while before the explosions weakened. The lightning tribulation receded, the flames extinguished, the saber energies vanished, the qilin wailed, and the darkness dissipated. The third exchange had come to an end.

Xiang Shaoyun and Xiao Xie separated from each other, and Xiao Xie had also separated from the black qilin. All of them looked unharmed, and the onlookers could see who the victor was.

"Goodbye," said Xiang Shaoyun calmly before resuming his journey to the Castle of Darkness.

Staring at Xiang Shaoyun's departing figure, Xiao Xie sighed, "I lost."

That's right. Xiao Xie had lost the fight. He looked unharmed, but he had attacked with his black qilin under the human mount unity state. Even then, he had been forced to separate from his mount. 

That proved that Xiang Shaoyun had been holding back. If he had concentrated on attacking instead of separating, they wouldn't have been able to stop him at all. Thus, they had lost.

More importantly, Xiao Xie still sensed that Xiang Shaoyun was withholding his power. That was why he had wholeheartedly accepted his defeat. The surrounding disciples sighed when they heard Xiao Xie's admission of defeat.

"That Xiang Shaoyun is truly a freak. He is still so young yet so strong. He is most certainly going to enter the Heaven Battling Realm in the future."

"Xiao Xie and the black qilin have the same cultivation level, and their fusion is capable of easily killing Sovereigns. However, Xiang Shaoyun had broken that very technique. Xiang Shaoyun really is stunningly talented in combat."

"He was using the powers of flame and lightning, right? Has he reached a point where he can freely mix and match his different powers? If that is the case, he is even more terrifying than we'd thought." 

"If he continues growing, he will reach the level of Baili Yixiao before long. What a pity that he has been expelled."