Everyone saw Xiang Shaoyun as a pioneer, and only he himself knew the hardships of his path. Sure, the nine-colored fog could display a formidable power, but the amount of nine-colored fog he had in the astral cosmos sea was finite. The amount was much lower than his nine astral energies, and he couldn't even replenish it quickly during battle.

In comparison, he could quickly replenish any used astral energy by refining some spirit crystals. The fog required a convergence of his nine astral energies in his astral cosmos sea. It was as if he had an additional procedure to go through in his path of power, and the same procedure made speedy recovery impossible.

Currently, Xiang Shaoyun did not have much nine-colored fog remaining. The two times he had activated the chakram recently had exhausted a large amount of nine-colored fog. After being forced to use some for his fight with Xiao Xie, he was near complete exhaustion. Upon complete exhaustion, he would become weak again.

More importantly, even after using the nine-colored fog, he could only achieve a tie with Xiao Xie, not defeat him. Xiao Xie's saber techniques were flawless. It was hard to find his weak point, and his comprehension in saber intent was no less than Xiang Shaoyun's, either. Thus, Xiang Shaoyun was unable to gain any advantage over him.

"Very good. Very strong. Fighting you is not disappointing at all. Come, take another move from me," said Xiao Xie as he roared with laughter and joined his palms to release an even stronger attack.

The joining of palms was akin to the fusion of two sabers. A several-hundred-meter-long saber formed and slashed down at Xiang Shaoyun.

Slash of Emptiness.

The slash seemed capable of splitting even the sky, and it emanated a terrifyingly overbearing aura. Furthermore, the dark energy powering the slash brought with it an intense corrosiveness. If the slash struck someone, one would not be able to get rid of the corrosion.

The disciples in their surroundings gasped in alarm before quickly distancing themselves from the battlefield. The Slash of Emptiness was too scary, entirely capable of frightening regular peak Emperors. That was how fearsome a freak disciple of the academy was.

Xiang Shaoyun's face turned incomparably solemn. He had stumbled upon a truly formidable opponent. If he used his Nether Soul Domain, it wouldn't be hard to block Xiao Xie's attack. However, he wanted to face the attack head on without resorting to tricks. He wished to prove that he was comparable to the top 10 disciples on the Dragon Phoenix List, and he also wanted to prove that he had the strength worthy of Yu Caidie.

"I'll go all out!" Xiang Shaoyun clenched his teeth and decided to throw all caution to the wind.

Cosmos Dao Destroying Fist!

Instantly, nine crude stars appeared around him. Next, his fist energy surged forth, destroying everything in its path. It exhibited dreadful prowess, as if a river of stars had arrived to crush his foe.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The massive black saber energy repeatedly clashed with the starry fist energy, creating numerous explosions in the air, spreading shockwaves around them. The observers of the battle were stunned.

A collision like that had completely surpassed their imagination. They couldn't even imagine going against such power. After a series of explosions, the energies finally dispersed as the two combatants separated from each other.

Xiang Shaoyun's clothes had been reduced to rags, revealing the broken armor he wore. A strand of his hair had been cut, drifting about in the air. Evidently, he would have been defeated if it wasn't for the broken armor.

Xiao Xie did not look any better. His clothes had also turned into rags, revealing a black armor. One of his eyes was swollen, evidently a newly inflicted wound. The two had actually fought to a draw.

"Haha, that was delightful. The strongest high-grade nine-star physique lives up to its reputation after all," said Xiao Xie, roaring with laughter. He then drew his weapon, preparing to end the battle and decide on a victor once and for all.

Xiang Shaoyun clenched his fists before the look in his eyes turned lax. He said, "For this battle, I concede."

His words stunned Xiao Xie, and the observers reacted similarly. They all believed that Xiang Shaoyun could contend with Xiao Xie with his nine stars, but why was he suddenly conceding?

Before any of them could react, Xiang Shaoyun turned and left. Everyone stared at Xiang Shaoyun's departing figure in a daze.

Xiao Xie was unwilling to accept the surrender. He chased after Xiang Shaoyun and said, "Why did you concede? I refuse to believe that was your limit."

He could sense the dense power within Xiang Shaoyun. Hence, his opponent should still be capable of combat. The admission of defeat gave him an impression that Xiang Shaoyun was still holding back, and it displeased him.

"A defeat is a defeat. Do you think I enjoy defeat?" Xiang Shaoyun said.

This was the very first defeat he had suffered among his peers. In terms of pure battle prowess, he had indeed been defeated. Without a way to continually use all nine of his powers, he wouldn't be able to maintain his combat prowess for long. And that made it hard for him to contend against these freaks.

It made him realize the imperfections of his path. More improvements were required.

Xiao Xie was left speechless. Geniuses like them were all arrogant individuals. None would easily admit defeat.

With Xiang Shaoyun admitting defeat before so many people, Xiao Xie had no reason to keep bothering him. Thus, he could only watch as Xiang Shaoyun left for the teleportation formation.

That kid is still hiding his trump cards, Xiao Xie thought to himself with an incomparable certainty.

He was supposed to be happy due to his victory, but he couldn't bring himself to feel any sort of joy. His entire mind was filled with the sight of Xiang Shaoyun being chased by the dark bats before they all mysteriously vanished. How had Xiang Shaoyun been defeated without even using an ability that powerful?

"No, I need to fight him again. But I'll wait until he catches up with me in terms of cultivation level," decided Xiao Xie. As for the other disciples, a huge commotion had arisen.

"Xiang Shaoyun has conceded! Is nine powers a joke?"

"The hell do you know? Xiang Shaoyun is only a second-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. Xiao Xie is at least a fifth-stage. The gap between them is too big. For him to have such a close fight, the defeat was glorious."

"That's right. If Xiang Shaoyun's cultivation level was a stage or two higher, this battle would probably have a different result. Moreover, Xiang Shaoyun is a few years younger than Xiao Xie. His potential is practically boundless."

"Looks like the Di Alliance is going to be in trouble. They had provoked the Overlord Legion, and now, their overlord has returned. I wonder if that Young Master Di from the Di Alliance can suppress Xiang Shaoyun."

"With this battle, Xiang Shaoyun is already qualified to enter the top 20 of the Dragon Phoenix List."