From Five Animal Exercises to being hailed as a saint and ancestor

"Li Han, you are very good."

Yao Mengkang's icy voice broke the frozen atmosphere.

As Li Han felt the increasing power of the stars within his body, his anxiety was somewhat lessened by his sense of triumph.

He sheathed his dagger, and facing Yao Mengkang's intimidating gaze, forced himself to remain calm, and said in a seemingly matter-of-fact tone:

"Senior Brother Yao, what do you mean by that? In the trials of the secret realm, everyone relies on their own abilities."

"The battlefield is ever-changing, and opportunities are fleeting. My ability to deliver a fatal blow to this Star Beast at the last moment is a testament to my skill."

He paused, then turned his gaze to Zhou Tiancan, who was trembling with rage and whose eyes were bloodshot. His tone was filled with undisguised contempt:

"As for Senior Brother Zhou, he couldn't protect his prey. He can only blame his own incompetence and slow reaction. He has no one else to blame but himself."

"Am I supposed to just hand over the opportunity I've already got?"

These words were sharp and sarcastic, especially the word "incompetent," which was like a sharp knife that stabbed Zhou Tiancan in the heart.

Zhou Tiancan is not good at speaking and is even somewhat shy and socially awkward.

At this moment, being interrupted and slandered by Li Han, he felt a surge of hot blood rush to his head and his chest feel tight and suffocated.

He wanted to refute, but due to extreme anger and inarticulateness, he opened his mouth and only managed to utter a few "you...you..." after a long time.

His face turned bright red, not from exhaustion after the fierce battle with the Star Beast, but purely from anger at Li Han!

Seeing Zhou Tiancan suffer such a great humiliation, Yao Mengkang's eyes flashed even colder.

He stepped forward, blocking Zhou Tiancan's path, his imposing aura surging as he faced Li Han directly. His voice remained calm, yet carried an undeniable power:

"Li Han, stop with your sophistry. If this were a battlefield, and we were adversaries, I, Yao Mengkang, would have no objections."

Yao Mengkang paused for a moment: "Because I will kill you."

Li Han felt the aura emanating from Yao Mengkang, and his expression changed drastically. A fatal sense of crisis surged in his heart. He realized that his stealth skills could no longer be relied upon.

"But you hide to the side and wait for Junior Brother Zhou to exhaust his strength and severely injure the Star Beast until it is on the verge of death."

"If you suddenly strike again, committing this despicable act of robbery, and then have the audacity to justify it? This isn't skill, it's shamelessness!"

Yao Mengkang's words were like daggers to the heart, causing Li Han's expression to change slightly.

Before Li Han could refute, Yao Mengkang continued:

"You're saying that Junior Brother Zhou's inability to protect his prey is due to incompetence? Fine, then I'll give you a chance to prove that you're not 'incompetent,' but 'capable.'"

His gaze swept over the two of them, and he slowly offered his suggestion:

"Since the dispute arose because of this Star Beast, let's resolve it in the most direct way. You and Junior Brother Zhou, have a spar here."

"A friendly spar?" Li Han raised an eyebrow and looked at Zhou Tiancan, whose aura was somewhat depleted from the fierce battle just now, though he was still angry. A calculating glint flashed in his eyes.

"That's right," Yao Mengkang said calmly.

"The rules are simple. Once you two are back to your peak condition, you will have a fair fight here."

"If you win, we will let bygones be bygones regarding today's robbery."

"If Junior Brother Zhou wins, you, Li Han, must sincerely apologize to him and owe him a favor. He can ask you to do one thing unconditionally."

This proposal seems to offer an opportunity to both sides.

If Li Han wins, he will not only avoid any consequences, but also severely suppress Zhou Tiancan's arrogance.

If Zhou Tiancan wins, he can avenge his previous defeat.

After a moment's thought, Li Han felt that his chances of winning were extremely high.

He excels at assassination and hit-and-run tactics, making him the best counter to opponents like Zhou Tiancan, who are strong but lack agility.

Moreover, Zhou Tian had just participated in the fierce battle with the Star Beasts, which had taken a toll on him. Even if he recovered, it would be difficult for him to reach his perfect state in a short period of time.

"Okay! I agree!"

Fearing that Yao Mengkang might change his mind, Li Hansheng immediately agreed, a sinister smile playing on his lips as he looked at Zhou Tiancan.

"Senior Brother Zhou, do you dare to fight?"

"Fight!!" Zhou Tiancan spat out the word through gritted teeth, his eyes burning with fury.

All he wanted to do at that moment was to use those two bronze hammers to smash Li Han's disgusting face to pieces!

Yao Mengkang said no more, took out two pills to restore his vital energy, gave them to Zhou Tiancan, and then stepped aside to quietly regulate his breathing, thus protecting Zhou Tiancan.

Li Han also found a place to recover on his own.

About half an hour later, both of them were in good condition.

On the open ground, Zhou Tian and Li Han stood facing each other, the atmosphere tense and ready to fight.

"Let's begin," Yao Mengkang announced calmly, acting as a witness.

Li Han chuckled sinisterly, his figure swaying as if he had merged into the surrounding light and shadow, his aura becoming almost imperceptible – this was the Shadow Concealment Technique that made him famous!

Zhou Tiancan's pupils contracted, he gripped his two hammers tightly, his whole body tensed, and he vigilantly sensed his surroundings.

He knew how difficult Li Han was to deal with, so he dared not be careless in the slightest.

"laugh!"

A faint whooshing sound came from behind! Li Han appeared like a ghost, his dagger aimed straight at Zhou Tiancan's vital point in the back of his heart!

Zhou Tiancan reacted extremely quickly, listening to the wind and pinpointing the location, and turned around to sweep his hammer horizontally! However, Li Han retreated immediately after the attack, disappearing back into the shadows, and the copper hammer only struck a fleeting afterimage.

"Whoosh!" "Sizzle!"

Li Han launched attacks from various tricky angles, his dagger like a venomous snake, each time aiming at Zhou Tiancan's joints, waist, and other relatively weak points in his defense.

His movements were unpredictable and his speed was extremely fast. If he missed a strike, he would flee thousands of miles away and never linger in battle.

Despite his immense strength, Zhou Tiancan was like a bull stuck in mud. He swung his double hammers with impenetrable force, but he could never touch Li Han's clothes. Instead, his body was constantly being slashed by the dagger, leaving fine, bloody marks.

Although his strong physique meant these wounds were only superficial, the sheer number of them, coupled with Li Han's tendency to target areas of heightened pain, made him both anxious and furious, feeling utterly frustrated.

"Hahaha! Junior Brother Zhou, what's the use of your brute strength if you can't hit anyone? Just admit defeat!"

Li Han's mocking voice came from all directions, constantly stimulating Zhou Tiancan's nerves.

Zhou Tiancan roared repeatedly, wildly swinging his double hammers, smashing the surrounding ground into craters, but he still couldn't pinpoint Li Han's true form.

He felt his strength rapidly waning, and anger was burning away his reason.

Li Han moved through the shadows with ease, but a sense of unease lingered within him.

He discovered that although he could easily slash Zhou Tiancan, the opponent's defense was so abnormal that his dagger could hardly cause any real damage!

If this drags on, what if the other side seizes an opportunity, or Yao Mengkang gets impatient and intervenes...?

"We can't delay any longer!" A ruthless glint flashed in Li Han's eyes. "We have no choice but to use that one move!"

Although the cost was enormous, it was enough to secure the victory!

He quietly gathered his Yuan energy, and the dark light on the dagger began to recede, while an extremely subtle yet dangerous aura began to emanate.

Just then, Zhou Tiancan, who had been constantly teased and whose anger had reached its peak, missed his target once again.

Looking at the new wounds on his body and listening to Li Han's harsh laughter, an extreme sense of resentment and rage erupted in his chest like a volcano!

"ah--!!"

He let out a deafening roar and stopped blindly swinging the bronze hammer.

Instead, he forcefully crossed his two hammers in front of him to protect himself, and unleashed his full power in an unprecedented way, as if he had gone mad, to frantically attack the location of the spinal dragon!

He had only one thought in his mind: kill that damned rat!

"boom!!"

It felt as if something had exploded inside him! A scorching stream of air surged up from his tailbone along his spine, heading straight for the top of his head!

His bones crackled and popped, and his already tall body seemed to have swelled even more.

Beneath his bronze skin, the pale golden luster suddenly brightened, faintly forming a dragon-shaped phantom that coiled around his spine!

Dragon spine vein, open!

Yao Mengkang's lips curled slightly, thinking to himself, "Just as I expected, Zhou Tianshen has accumulated enough, only lacking an opportunity. However, it turns out that he opened up the Dragon Spine Meridian first."

Ten levels of meridian opening!

At this moment, extreme anger and resentment transformed into the key to breaking through the barriers! Zhou Tiancan was enlightened and stepped into a completely new realm!

He felt his blood and energy surging like a dragon, his strength increasing dramatically, and his senses becoming much sharper! The ghostly figure of Li Han, which had previously seemed like a phantom, appeared clearer in his eyes!

At that very moment, Li Han had just finished condensing his killing move—the mid-grade Xuan-level martial skill, "Shadow Devour"!

His figure moved like an arrow merging into the darkness, his dagger carrying an eerie light that devoured all other light, aimed straight for Zhou Tiancan's throat! He was determined to strike!

However, Zhou Tiancan, who has entered the tenth level of meridian opening and opened the dragon spine meridian, has a different aura!

He felt the surging power within his body and the dragon-shaped energy originating from his spine. Facing Li Han's deadly attack, he did not retreat an inch and let out an even more ferocious roar!

He poured the immense Yuan Power, which he had just broken through to and had not yet fully mastered, along with the Qi and Blood Power of the Dragon Spine Meridian, into his twin hammers without reservation!

A pair of octagonal copper hammers instantly burst forth with a dazzling earthy yellow light!

"Get out here!"

"Mountain Collapse! Earth Shatter! Slash!!"

Instead of aiming at a specific point, he raised his hammers high and then slammed them down on the ground in front of him like a meteor falling to earth!

"Boom—!!!"

A terrifying shockwave, visible to the naked eye, erupted violently forward in a fan shape from the point where the hammers struck! The ground churned and tore apart like waves!

Countless pebbles were shattered into dust! The violent force not only affected the ground but also stirred up the surrounding air and energy, creating a small-scale, indiscriminate energy storm!

Li Han's concealed figure could no longer be hidden under such a comprehensive and extremely violent attack!

"puff!"

He was struck as if by an invisible giant hammer, his entire body jolted out of the shadows, spitting out blood, and flying backward like a kite with a broken string, almost dropping the dagger from his hand.

His face was filled with shock and disbelief!

He never expected that Zhou Tiancan would break through in the midst of battle!

Even more unexpectedly, the opponent used such a barbaric and energy-consuming method to forcibly break his concealment!

Zhou Tiancan remained in the position of slamming to the ground, breathing slightly, his blood and qi surging like a dragon, revealing the aura of the tenth level of the Opening Meridian Realm.

He raised his head and looked at Li Han, who had landed in a sorry state and was exhausted in the distance. His anger had not subsided, but there was a newfound confidence and coldness in his eyes after his breakthrough.

"You lost."