The dark shade on Xiang Shaoyun's face quickly receded. That was only something he had created by channeling some devilish energy to his face. As for the wound on his body, it had indeed been caused by the bewildering shell devil. However, it wasn't as bad as he made it seem. He had done all that to test Huo Xudong.

Huo Xudong had been cautious, but he had still ultimately exposed himself. Even so, he was in no rush to flee. Rather, he looked at Xiang Shaoyun calmly, showing no fear.

"You are a good actor. I hate backstabbers the most. Therefore, you need to die," said Xiang Shaoyun murderously.

His entire body was radiating strength as the apparitions of a roaring dragon and a roaring tiger appeared around him. At this moment, he did not seem any weaker than a peak King. His aura was locked on to Huo Xudong, and he was confident Huo Xudong would not be able to flee.

Abruptly, he moved. He had fully mastered the moving like the wind stage and could enter the shrinking space stage at any time. When he attacked, he arrived before Huo Xudong instantly, and his fist appeared out of nowhere before Huo Xudong's heart. This was a fatal attack. He had zero intention of sparing Huo Xudong.

Bang!

When Xiang Shaoyun's fist struck Huo Xudong, an indescribable power suddenly surged out, unloading the power of the punch as Huo Xudong lightly drifted backward like a piece of leaf.

"What?" Xiang Shaoyun was shocked.

He had not summoned any lightning bolts for that attack, but the punch was still as powerful as the attack of a peak King. It was supposed to be more than enough to inflict Huo Xudong with a heavy injury. And yet Huo Xudong was able to so easily dissolve the power of his punch. That greatly shocked him.

"Hehe, you won't be able to kill me so easily," said Huo Xudong with a sneer before transforming into eight bodies. Each held a dagger in hand as they charged Xiang Shaoyun.

Phantom Assassination!

Those who knew the Rat Assassins well would be able to recognize this technique. This was a technique exclusive to them, a technique extremely suitable for assassination. One would not be able to easily distinguish which was the real body when under this technique's assault. This technique made Huo Xudong's identity clear. He was an assassin from the Rat Assassins. In fact, he was a high-level assassin in the organization.

"What a worthless trick," said Xiang Shaoyun. With his Nether Soul Domain, he instantly found Huo Xudong's actual body and threw out a Lightning Bolt Fist.

Powered by silver lightning energy, the punch unleashed a might beyond the King Realm without even summoning any lightning bolts from the sky. Strands of silver electrical currents danced around the fist as a 100-meter-long horned lightning snake shot out of the fist, its mouth opened wide, its fangs bared.

Huo Xudong raised his brow. He had not expected that Xiang Shaoyun would be able to find his real body immediately. Left with no choice, he was forced to meet Xiang Shaoyun's attack head on. The two fists collided, and Huo Xudong borrowed the impact of the clash to withdraw a great distance.

"Goodbye, Brother Xiang. Let us determine a victor the next time we meet," said Huo Xudong as he fled on his mount.

Xiang Shaoyun wanted to give chase, but the bewildering shell devil suddenly appeared from under the ground again. A massive wave of soil and stones rose and crashed down on him. At the same time, a heavy gravity field formed around him, slowing down his movements.

"What a crafty person," Xiang Shaoyun sighed.

When Huo Xudong fled, he had taken into consideration the direction in which the bewildering shell devil would appear from. The timing he had chosen to attack had been perfect as well. Xiang Shaoyun was given no chance to give chase. He felt a chill creeping up his spine at the realization of how calculative that Huo Xudong was. This was the person he once saw as a friend. He quickly tossed the thought out of his mind and focused on dealing with the bewildering shell devil.

The bewildering shell devil had extreme strength, but it was obviously lacking in terms of speed. It also had powerful defenses, and it would serve as a great target practice for Xiang Shaoyun. He had advanced several stages in a row to reach the seventh-stage. He needed a proper target practice to consolidate his newly gained cultivation level.

Lightning Bolt Fist!

Xiang Shaoyun attacked the bewildering shell devil head on, channeling a boundless silver lightning energy out of his lightning bone and lightning star as he punched, unleashing a might surpassing what he was capable of even after summoning lightning bolts while he was a fourth-stage King.

Rumble! Rumble!

The powers of lightning and earth clashed, creating a series of explosions as the shockwaves of the attack spread everywhere. When the explosions settled, the bewildering shell devil's massive body continued charging out of the cloud of dust toward Xiang Shaoyun.

Six Goldplate Manual!

Instead of dodging, Xiang Shaoyun used the Six Goldplate Manual and instantly surrounded himself with two and a half layers of golden defensive walls. After he reached the seventh-stage, his Six Goldplate Manual had naturally grown as well. He was starting to build his third wall and was slowly approaching the second stage of the Six Goldplate Manual.

Bang!

The massive devil clashed against Xiang Shaoyun like a mountain, sending him flying as the walls around him crumbled apart. He was only able to stabilize his footing after flying over 100 meters away. A trail of blood dripped down from the corner of his lips, yet no fear could be seen on his face.

Instead, he smiled. "Bring it on, you beast. You are nothing special after all. Come on, use more strength. Can you tackle this young master to death?"

Xiang Shaoyun beckoned at the bewildering shell devil with a provocative look on his face, looking at this first-stage Devil Emperor with incomparable disdain. The bewildering shell devil felt provoked, and it screeched as it charged forth again. As its massive body moved, the ground started shaking.

Xiang Shaoyun stood firm as if both his legs were nailed to the ground. The golden radiance around him grew more and more radiant as his third wall started extending, reaching 60 percent completion, further increasing his defensive prowess.

Bang!

With yet another world-shaking collision, Xiang Shaoyun was sent flying while coughing blood. He quickly got back on his feet and provoked the bewildering shell devil yet again. And once again, the bewildering shell devil tackled him.

One time, two times, three times...after the same scene repeated itself for over 10 times, Xiang Shaoyun finally completed his third wall, with his fourth wall at around 50 percent completion.

This signified that he had reached the second stage of the Six Goldplate Manual, the Copper Wall stage. After completing his fourth wall, he would be able to form a bastion that no Emperor could penetrate.

The only reason Xiang Shaoyun had clashed with the bewildering shell devil repeatedly was so that he could temper and improve his Six Goldplate Manual. The bewildering shell devil tackled him yet again, but this time, he was only sent flying without sustaining any sort of injury. Not even a crack had appeared on his golden walls.

"Alright. Thank you for the sparring session. As a reward, I will grant you a quick death," said Xiang Shaoyun with a faint smile on his face.