C3 Blazing Sun Heavenly Dragon

"You're on the brink of death, yet you still possess such resolve," Lee Zhi said with a cold laugh.

He regarded Chu Yun with an amused gaze and remarked, "But you were supposed to die two months ago. By dragging it out until now, you've been nothing but a nuisance to us."

A spark of intensity flashed in Chu Yun's eyes as he retorted, "So, Lee Daoran has been after my life for two months?"

"Why waste your breath on him?"

Lee Yan, growing impatient, flashed a sinister grin and flicked three throwing knives with remarkable speed. The dark blades blended seamlessly with the night, making them nearly invisible to the naked eye.

Chu Yun, anticipating the move, swiftly dodged. He stepped onto a rock and propelled himself into the air. The knives whizzed beneath him, but his peril was far from over.

Simultaneously, Lee Zhi closed the distance and landed a punch on Chu Yun, who was still suspended midair.

"You're considered the top disciple among the young? I think you're overrated. You lack even the most basic combat sense; you're nothing but a complete waste!" Lee Zhi thought to himself with a sneer.

Martial artists must remain grounded during combat, leaping into the air only if their cultivation has reached the Mountain Sea Stage, allowing them to fly at will. Otherwise, they become easy targets, as gravity restricts their movement, and without a solid footing, they're vulnerable to ground attacks.

As Lee Zhi's fist connected, Chu Yun was on the verge of landing and had no way to evade. He braced himself to meet the punch's force head-on.

But in that split second, Chu Yun tapped the air beneath his foot, miraculously borrowing force as if stepping on clouds, and ascended once more.

Cloud Step!

This technique, akin to Gravel Palm, was a mere Mortal Rank martial skill. At the Initial Stage, practitioners could only use it to scale heights, but at the Great Perfection Stage, they could harness Cloud Step to gather a sphere of Qi under their feet.

Chu Yun stepped onto the Qi, and it was as though he ascended on a cloud. He harnessed the air to evade Lee Zhi's punch, simultaneously landing a kick on Lee Zhi's shoulder.

With a resounding boom, Lee Zhi staggered back several steps. Yet, the blood and Qi within him roiled uncontrollably.

Looking up, Lee Zhi's eyes widened in astonishment.

"Why? What kind of technique is that? How can he leap using the air as support?"

Chu Yun remained silent.

The battle was at a critical juncture, with a vast disparity in strength between the two sides.

Lee Zhi and Lee Yan, deacons of Chaoyang Peak, were both at the Critical Stage. Their grades might not have been high, but Chu Yun was merely a Ninth Grade warrior of the Physical Body Stage, creating a significant gap between them.

"It appears that even after losing your Martial Spirit, your grade hasn't fallen much. But regardless, your death is certain today!" Lee Yan declared coldly.

As he spoke, Soul Light enveloped him, manifesting as the silhouette of a black wolf with bloodthirsty eyes and menacing fangs. This was Lee Yan's third-grade Martial Spirit—the Life-Taking Black Wolf.

Lee Zhi, too, summoned his Martial Spirit, a third-grade Azure Wind Leopard. They were determined to use their full power to eliminate Chu Yun, who was without a Martial Spirit.

In martial combat, the Martial Spirit is a crucial element. It can amplify a warrior's strength in every aspect, and certain unique Martial Spirits can even bestow special innate abilities upon the warrior.

For example, Chu Yun's former Sixth Grade Martial Spirit, the Earthly Demon Ape, possessed a unique innate ability—doubling the warrior's strength whenever they stood upon the earth.

Though Lee Zhi and Lee Yan's third-grade Martial Spirits lacked innate abilities, they still enhanced their combat prowess.

"You think having Martial Spirits makes you superior?"

Chu Yun quirked an eyebrow.

"Apologies, but yes, having Martial Spirits does make us superior!" Lee Yan retorted with a cold sneer. "If you still had your Martial Spirit, we wouldn't dare to challenge you. But now, you're nothing but a warrior stripped of his Martial Spirit. Even if your realm hasn't declined, you stand no chance against us!"

"Out with the old, in with the new. Since my Earthly Demon Ape instills such fear in you, why not take a gander at my new Martial Spirit?"

Chu Yun spoke as Soul Light danced around him, and a scorching aura swelled into the night.

"What is that?"

Lee Zhi and Lee Yan exchanged a glance, terror evident in their eyes.

They couldn't pinpoint the source of their fear, but an unsettling chill crept over them. Their Life-Taking Black Wolves and Azure Wind Leopards were flickering violently, appearing unstable and on the brink of vanishing.

Suddenly, their minds were engulfed by a maelstrom of shock and awe!

What Martial Spirit could this be? Its mere presence, a faint whiff of its aura, was already making it a struggle for their Third Grade Martial Spirits to even exist!

"This is my new Martial Spirit: the Blazing Sun Heavenly Dragon," Chu Yun stated calmly. "Its first innate ability is known as Dragon's Might."

As he finished speaking, the sweltering air surged and magma churned, transforming into a golden-red dragon shadow. With majestic horns and a roar that pierced the heavens, its domineering presence enveloped the area.

In that instant, the Life-Taking Black Wolf and Azure Wind Leopard, both Third Grade Martial Spirits, were virtually paralyzed under the oppression of Dragon's Might. Their Soul Power drained away rapidly.

Lee Zhi and Lee Yan's eyes were wide with shock as they fixated on the formidable dragon shadow, nearly collapsing to the ground. The Dragon's Might didn't just pressure their Martial Spirits; it also bore down on them with such force that they felt an extreme tightness in their chests, struggling to catch their breath.

"What kind of Martial Spirit is that?"

Lee Zhi managed to utter through clenched teeth. As he watched the Azure Wind Leopard, now nearly incapable of enhancing his combat abilities, he couldn't shake the surreal feeling that he was trapped in a nightmare.

Dragon's Might? What was this ability that it could instill such dread? Its mere emergence had suppressed their Martial Spirits to such a degree!

Yet, Chu Yun was not entirely pleased.

He shook his head, murmuring to himself, "My current level of cultivation is too low to tap into the full potential of Dragon's Might. Otherwise, just by summoning the Blazing Sun Heavenly Dragon, any Martial Spirit below the Earthly Grade within a thousand miles would be obliterated."

The Blazing Sun Heavenly Dragon, as an Earthly Grade Martial Spirit, far surpassed any ninth-grade Martial Spirit. Its innate abilities extended beyond the formidable Dragon's Might.

Yet, to harness stronger innate abilities, one needs a more robust cultivation base. At present, Chu Yun could only wield the Dragon's Might, but that alone was sufficient to confront Lee Yan and another adversary.

"Kill him!" Lee Zhi bellowed, charging at Chu Yun with the Azure Wind Leopard by his side.

The longer they endured the Dragon's Might's oppressive force, the more their will to fight diminished. If this persisted, their demise was certain.

Lee Yan, teeth clenched, hurled several throwing knives at Chu Yun.

"You're on a path to your own demise," Chu Yun said, shaking his head. The Blazing Sun Heavenly Dragon wrapped around him, its golden-red Dragon Flame blazing intensely. With a mere strike, it obliterated the Azure Wind Leopard's soul body.

Lee Zhi, already injured from Chu Yun's earlier kick, was further weakened when his Martial Spirit shattered, causing him to spew blood and his energy to plummet.

Seizing the moment, Chu Yun advanced and delivered a straightforward Gravel Palm strike to Lee Zhi's chest. The impact shattered the organs beneath, killing Lee Zhi instantly.

Upon witnessing this, Lee Yan's rage surged. He launched a frenzied assault on Chu Yun, flinging knives and poison needles relentlessly.

Lee Yan excelled in the use of hidden weapons, engaging his foes at close quarters with his deadly black wolves while eliminating them from a distance with his arsenal.

However, his Life-Taking Black Wolf proved utterly ineffective against Chu Yun. The closer it got, the more overwhelming the Dragon's Might became, pushing it to the brink of collapse.

Against the might of an Earthly Grade Martial Spirit, the capabilities of a third-grade Martial Spirit paled in comparison.

Chu Yun destroyed the Life-Taking Black Wolf's soul body and then charged directly at Lee Yan. A barrage of hidden weapons flew at him like rain, but Chu Yun, with his nimble movements, evaded most. Those that were unavoidable struck him but failed to inflict any damage.

Chu Yun was clad in a flexible golden silk armor, which provided effective protection against the damage from hidden weapons.

"Die!"

Chu Yun swiftly closed the distance, approaching within three steps of Lee Yan before unleashing a palm strike.

In a state of panic, Lee Yan attempted to fend off the attack. However, his close-quarters combat skills proved to be even more inadequate than those of Lee Zhi. After a mere few exchanges, he was overwhelmed and ultimately met his demise.