Boundary Flames Also Have Differences

Chi Ting's pupils contracted sharply at the sight of the two objects, each the size of a ping-pong ball.

He immediately thought of the technique Xu Mu had used during the previous Martial Debate Championship. As a top-tier expert, he instinctively pushed his power to the absolute limit.

"Demon Iron Armor!"

Black light re-engulfed his head.

At the same time, Lao Jiexiang, Canlang Bao, and Shao Tian—all similarly trapped within the illusionary formation—also spotted Xu Mu nearby.

They all surged toward him. Wu Tu, Lao Jiexiang’s sworn brother, had been taken down by this very kid.

But as they drew close, they suddenly noticed Chi Ting retreating rapidly into the distance.

Before they could figure out why, the scene before them provided the answer.

The red-and-black orbs hadn’t even touched the ground before they began emitting light—light that devoured every other color around.

The world was reduced to just red and black.

The air solidified. All surrounding sounds were sucked away.

The light between heaven and earth was abruptly consumed. First, the interwoven red-and-black forces expanded a hundred meters, collapsing the surrounding mountain peaks.

Then came the explosion.

Everything around wasn’t shattered—it was melted by that power.

The earth rippled up like cloth, and every tangible object dissolved into dust in an instant.

For Chi Ting, it all happened too fast.

By the time he reacted, the two spheres of light were already right before him.

Realizing there was no escape, he quickly produced a Boundary Flame from his person.

Boom!

After the light blanketed everything around, the terrifying tremor followed.

Lao Jiexiang, Canlang Bao, and Shao Tian instantly elevated their powers to the maximum level.

They threw all their strength into defending against this attack.

But even so, they were immediately swallowed by the force.

Buzz!

Xu Mu swiftly activated a teleportation array and vanished from the blast radius.

"Brother Mu!"

Chen Xuan felt the token activate and found Xu Mu suddenly appearing before him.

As for the others nearby, none of them could see Xu Mu—their vision was filled with nothing but red-and-black light.

Xu Mu immediately shouted, "Hit the ground!"

Boom!

Everything around was consumed. Everyone present was deafened.

All they could hear was a ringing hum—nothing else.

When it all ended, Xu Mu was the first to poke his head out from the dust. The entire group had been completely buried.

Chen Xuan, Xianling Qi, and Pang Xun crawled out from the soil after him.

Then came Li Chenshuang and Xianling Nan.

Blood was trickling from Xianling Nan’s nose, but she didn’t even notice.

They all stared ahead, jaws dropped in shock.

Earlier, they had been hiding behind a slope, but now the mountain in front of them had simply vanished.

The group looked at Xu Mu in terror. What had this man just done?

How could he unleash such devastating power?

Was he even human?

Chen Xuan let out a sigh of admiration. "Brother Mu, I thought last time was your limit, but your destructive force has somehow grown even greater."

"That attack just now was equivalent to me self-destructing," Xu Mu said as he downed several qi-restoring pills and dashed off into the distance.

The others quickly followed.

When they reached the center of the blast zone, a crater nearly a thousand meters in diameter lay before them.

Every tree and rock within and around the crater had vanished, leaving only barren soil.

"Lao Jiexiang!"

Xianling Nan suddenly spotted him in the distance and rushed over.

Xianling Qi and Pang Xun followed on her heels.

When they arrived, they found Lao Jiexiang collapsed on the ground, his flesh mangled and blood stained black from drying.

A white blade materialized in Xianling Nan’s hand, and she moved to strike him down.

But Xianling Qi grabbed her shoulder. "Xiao Nan, wait."

He walked over to Lao Jiexiang and stood before him.

"Lao Jiexiang, do you know why you failed? Because you allied with the Eternal Research Institute."

Xianling Qi’s tone was calm. "It was your collaboration with them that drove Xu Mu to my side."

"Not only that—you sent people to cause trouble in the outside world. That was the real root of your downfall."

Xu Mu added from the side.

"Heh. The victor is king, the loser a bandit. What more is there to say?" Lao Jiexiang gave a faint, bitter smile.

"True words. The victor is king, the loser a bandit."

Xianling Nan drove her blade into Lao Jiexiang’s neck with force, then stripped the ring from his finger.

Xu Mu shook his head slightly. He had to admit—these White Stone Clan leaders carried a certain pride, unlike those who were born cowards.

Earlier, for instance, when facing two fifth-stage adversaries out in the open, Xianling Qi and Pang Xun hadn’t fled.

Xu Mu closed his eyes and extended his senses, searching for Chi Ting. He had been at the center of the explosion—should be even more badly injured.

Spreading his awareness, Xu Mu activated the Cloud Step and rushed toward the center of the crater.

Suddenly, his perception locked onto Chi Ting.

Chi Ting’s black armor was battered and torn, his body smeared with a mix of blood and dirt.

He was clutching a single Boundary Flame, hurrying toward the ruins’ exit.

In just two seconds, Chi Ting vanished from Xu Mu’s senses—already over a kilometer away.

"Dammit. Even that blast couldn’t kill him. The gap in our cultivation levels is just too wide."

Xu Mu turned and went back to the crater’s edge.

"Brother Mu, find the Nine Li clan guy?" Chen Xuan asked with a grin as Xu Mu returned.

"No. He got away."

Xu Mu paused, then looked at Xianling Qi. "One thing I’m curious about: why did Chi Ting pull out a Boundary Flame the second before the explosion? Was he afraid it would get blown away?"

"You mean he produced a Boundary Flame? Does that mean…"

"What? Is there some secret behind it?"

Xu Mu stared at Xianling Qi, puzzled.

"Maybe the Boundary Flame he had was one that had been nurtured," Xianling Qi explained. "I can’t say much more. I once heard the clan leader mention that Boundary Flames need to be nurtured—the more you nurture them, the stronger they become."

"I’ve heard something similar from my ancestor," Li Chenshuang added. "The true purpose of a Boundary Flame isn’t just crossing between two worlds."

"You’re saying a Boundary Flame has other, real uses?"

Xu Mu thought for a moment, then asked, "So it seems Boundary Flames also vary in strength."

He recalled an encounter with the Redemption group—they had seized Wang Hun’s Boundary Flame. At the time, Wang Hun was frantic, even offering two divine herbs to get it back.

Initially, Xu Mu assumed the thing was extremely rare. But now he realized many people had them.

They weren’t exactly common, but they were far from being as scarce as phoenix feathers or unicorn horns.

Considering Wang Hun’s ability, he could have simply taken another one from somewhere else. There was no need to trade two divine herbs for it.

Now Xu Mu understood: the Boundary Flame the Redemption group stole must have been different from the rest. That’s why Wang Hun panicked so much.

Xu Mu suddenly pointed in one direction. "There’s someone over there."