As Gu Qiankun unleashed his trump card, a high-grade Heavenly Soldier, for dozens of miles around, the area was enveloped by terrifying blade intent and killing aura.
Li Xiaotian, the target, bore an unimaginable pressure.
Before the blade even struck, Li Xiaotian's golden body had already sustained cracks, and a bone-chilling cold permeated him, giving him the illusion of imminent death.
"A high-grade Heavenly Soldier!!"
At this moment, the numerous powerful figures from Manzhou in the vicinity were all shocked, their gazes fixed on Gu Qiankun's long saber.
No one had expected Gu Qiankun's trump card to be a high-grade Heavenly Soldier.
Heavenly Soldiers were difficult to forge; even during the peak of ancient martial arts, they were extremely rare, with higher grades being even more so.
In Manzhou, high-grade Heavenly Soldiers were few and far between.
A high-grade Heavenly Soldier was undoubtedly the ultimate trump card for any faction, its value comparable to a Heavenly-level expert.
Yet, here was Gu Qiankun, deploying a high-grade Heavenly Soldier to kill Li Xiaotian.
At this moment, the gazes directed at Gu Qiankun were filled with apprehension and a sense of dread.
Especially the leaders of the other three major factions—the Death Spirit Great Sorcerer, the leader of the Xing Tian Tribe, and the Empress—all felt uneasy.
If they hadn't allied with Gu Qiankun earlier, this high-grade Heavenly Saber might have been aimed at them.
Gu Qiankun now seemed to possess the aid of a Heavenly-level expert.
They instinctively looked at Li Xiaotian, their eyes flashing with a hint of pity and disdain.
Li Xiaotian was finished!
He was doomed to die!
A mere overlord could not possibly survive the attack of a high-grade Heavenly Saber!
However, an unexpected turn of events unfolded.
"Kill!!!"
Li Xiaotian roared, fully activating the Dragon King Hall within his body. It shot out from him in an instant.
"Boom!!!"
With a deafening roar, a mushroom cloud instantly bloomed in the sky, creating a vacuum between Li Xiaotian and Gu Qiankun.
Following this, Li Xiaotian was sent flying back like a kite with a broken string, spewing blood from his mouth.
"This is impossible!!!"
"Top-grade!! A top-grade Heavenly Soldier!!! A palace-type Heavenly Soldier!!"
"How is this possible?!! It blocked it?!"
Countless exclamations erupted. Although Li Xiaotian was heavily injured and sent flying, everyone present was incredibly shocked.
Even Gu Qiankun paused in disbelief, his eyes reflecting incredulity, forgetting to press his advantage.
No one had anticipated that Li Xiaotian could withstand Gu Qiankun's strike.
What shocked them even more was the small palace that had emerged from Li Xiaotian's body.
It was a top-grade palace-type Heavenly Soldier!!!
Heavy breaths gradually filled the air. At this moment, everyone present was consumed by envy.
Greed instantly replaced their thoughts; everyone's mind was now fixed on Li Xiaotian's Dragon King Hall.
Li Xiaotian let out a self-mocking laugh, a hint of bitterness flashing across his face. When he saw Gu Qiankun's high-grade Heavenly Saber, he knew that if he blocked this strike, it would inevitably lead to great trouble.
Normally, he didn't deploy the Dragon King Hall, nor did he use it in combat, so no one had realized it was a top-grade Heavenly Soldier.
But now, having blocked an attack from a high-grade Heavenly Soldier and emerging unharmed, any pretense was futile.
However, he was also somewhat shaken. Fortunately, he had not hesitated to deploy the Dragon King Hall; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to withstand Gu Qiankun's strike.
The Dragon King Hall had absorbed nearly eighty percent of the attack's force, leaving him to bear the remainder, which was enough to cause him serious injury.
Of course, if the Dragon King Hall could be fully activated by him, Gu Qiankun's strike would not have harmed him at all.
"Kill!!!"
"Attack!"
"Li Xiaotian, hand over that palace, and we'll spare your life!"
Instantly, several figures lunged at Li Xiaotian, with Gu Qiankun being the fastest.
They were blinded by greed!
A hint of madness flickered in Li Xiaotian's eyes. Having exposed the Dragon King Hall, escape was impossible.
Of course, he hadn't planned to escape anyway.
"Kill!"
Li Xiaotian roared and controlled the Dragon King Hall to charge at the crowd.
"Rumble!!!"
The Dragon King Hall, amplified by Li Xiaotian's power, expanded, pressing down on the crowd like dark clouds.
"Hmph! Seeking your own demise!"
Gu Qiankun and the others sneered as they saw this.
Deploying a top-grade Heavenly Soldier for combat meant that one would likely be exhausted before killing the enemy.
Especially since Li Xiaotian was using a palace, which was slow, and more importantly, it was a defensive Heavenly Soldier with very limited offensive capabilities.
The others dodged the charging Dragon King Hall, their eyes gleaming. Li Xiaotian's action only solidified their resolve to seize the Dragon King Hall.
However, Li Xiaotian's eyes flashed with a peculiar glint. The speeding Dragon King Hall suddenly opened its gates, and a stone tablet flew out, hurtling towards the closest person.
This was the Heavenly Tablet!!!
Although the Heavenly Tablet was not a weapon, its material was comparable to a top-grade Heavenly Soldier, perhaps even stronger.
"Boom!"
With a deafening roar, before anyone could react.
The stone tablet collided with one of the figures, whose body instantly exploded, resulting in immediate death.
A top overlord-level expert, killed outright!
"What?!"
"Huang Lie!!!"
"Damn it, what is that thing? Another top-grade Heavenly Soldier?!"
"This is impossible!!!"
Instantly, the heavens and earth fell silent, replaced only by gasps of disbelief.
No one had expected a top overlord to die like that. Although the deceased was the weakest among the eight top overlords present, he was still a top overlord nonetheless, inexplicably killed by a stone tablet.
Who could have foreseen this?
For a moment, all eyes were drawn to the Heavenly Tablet. Immediately, Gu Qiankun and Tian Xiang reacted, their eyes suddenly blazing with light.
"The Heavenly Tablet!!!"
They both exclaimed almost simultaneously, their voices filled with shock and delight.
"What? The Heavenly Tablet fought for by ancient top supreme experts? How is this possible?!"
"The Heavenly Tablet! It's the Heavenly Tablet!!"
At this moment, the rest of the crowd cried out, their eyes growing even more fervent.
Manzhou had not participated in the ancient competition for the Heavenly Tablet because any intervention by their experts would have resulted in them being targeted by the strong from other states.
However, precisely because of this, they knew of the Heavenly Tablet's existence and its immense value.
No one had expected Li Xiaotian to provide them with one surprise after another.
In terms of preciousness, the Heavenly Tablet was even superior to a top-grade Heavenly Soldier!
Meanwhile, unnoticed by anyone, Huo Tongzi, who was blocking the void on the periphery, had a cold smile and a fervent gleam in his eyes.
Li Xiaotian possessed the Heavenly Tablet; this was known to everyone in Yanzhou.
Yet, he had not informed Gu Qiankun and the others.
While he wanted to use the Manzhou powerhouses to kill Li Xiaotian, he also wanted to use Li Xiaotian to eliminate some of the Manzhou experts.
After all, both sides were considered enemies.
"Heh, what? Didn't you know I had these good things? In Yanzhou, my having the Heavenly Tablet and top-grade Heavenly Soldiers is no secret. Child playing with fire, you didn't tell them this?"
Li Xiaotian's voice rang out, carrying a tone of carefree abandon and madness.
Since the Dragon King Hall had been exposed, the Heavenly Tablet was no longer of concern. Even if all his trump cards were revealed today, it wouldn't matter.
As long as he survived, he cared not for anything else.
But if he died, his trump cards would belong to others, making continued concealment meaningless.
Upon hearing Li Xiaotian's words, Gu Qiankun and the others instantly turned their gazes towards the distant Huo Tongzi, their faces filled with anger.
Although Li Xiaotian's exposure of the top-grade Heavenly Soldier and the Heavenly Tablet brought them surprise and greed, they had lost one of their own.
They hadn't even obtained the treasures yet, and they had already lost an expert. Although the deceased was a lone wolf, how could such a disparity be accepted?
Furthermore, especially after hearing Li Xiaotian's words, they realized they could have avoided all this. If they had known Li Xiaotian possessed these treasures earlier, they would never have been so careless.
"When Li Xiaotian obtained the Heavenly Tablet, I was still asleep. After waking up, I never saw him use it, so I thought it was just a rumor," Huo Tongzi muttered inwardly, cursing Li Xiaotian. He hadn't expected the man to still hold a grudge and try to drag him down. He continued:
"As for his top-grade Heavenly Soldier, that palace, I had seen it, but he never fully activated it, nor had anyone tested it with a high-grade Heavenly Soldier. Therefore, I didn't know that palace was a top-grade Heavenly Soldier."