Chapter 189: Celestial Steed Meteor—Dominant Spear Thrust

"On my Dragon Gate's territory, you have the audacity to behave so brazenly—just who gave you such courage?!" Xiao Xie cast a furious glance at the street, now razed to the ground, his voice roaring with rage as a murderous intent surged forth from his body.

This peaceful town, situated near the Jia Nan Academy, was an affiliated settlement under Dragon Gate's protection. Yet, due to the two attacks of the black-robed elder, most of it now lay in ruins. Worse still, thousands of inhabitants had perished alongside it. Among them were many who revered Xiao Xie, providing him with daily devotion points. Now that they were dead, Xiao Xie's daily income would shrink by several thousand points—a loss he could not forgive the mastermind standing before him!

Hu Qian and the others assumed that Xiao Xie's anger stemmed from the massacre of innocent people. None could have imagined that his true fury arose from the loss of those who could no longer supply him with devotion points.

"What a terrifying killing intent! You would kill me for the sake of these insects?" the black-robed elder chuckled sinisterly. To the powerful, ordinary folk were but ants, their deaths inconsequential. All the more so for a member of the Soul Clan, for whom killing and soul extraction were second nature.

"Worthless scum! How could you possibly grasp their importance to me? In my eyes, you are not even worth a strand of their hair!" Xiao Xie snapped, interrupting the elder. As an enemy, the black-robed elder could never grant him devotion points. Thus, in Xiao Xie's view, he truly meant less than the ordinary people who could.

A gentle warmth flickered in Xun'er's gaze as she murmured, "Cousin Xiao Xie is truly a kind soul."

Xun'er and the others, unaware of Xiao Xie's true motives, only heard his words and misunderstood, believing his wrath stemmed from the slaughter of innocents. Otherwise, they would never have thought so.

"Enough. Since matters have come to this, you'll have to pay for my losses with your life! Sky Phoenix!" Xiao Xie declared coldly. At his command, the Sky Phoenix beside him unfurled its wings, conjuring two colossal tornadoes, each a hundred meters high and ten meters wide. They swept forward, raising clouds of sand and stones—two black sand dragons surging straight for the black-robed elder.

"Foolish!" scoffed the elder. Though the tornadoes had grown more powerful by sweeping up debris, they had also become slower, diminishing their threat. Still, the force behind them was at the Dou Zun level.

Despite his disdainful expression, the black-robed elder remained cautious. He thrust both fists forward, launching two jets of black mist that formed into giant tigers, each dozens of meters long. The black tigers leaped forth like flashes of black lightning, colliding with the sand dragons.

The tigers and dragons clashed violently, locking in a fierce struggle. Yet, any discerning observer could see that the massive sand dragons were being outmatched by the slightly smaller black tigers. Each time the tigers struck, they tore away part of the dragons' forms, while the dragons, less agile, could only crash awkwardly toward the elder. At this rate, the sand dragons would likely be destroyed before they even reached the black-robed elder.

The elder watched Xiao Xie with a look of amusement. Xiao Xie's expression was grim. To the black-robed elder, Xiao Xie's strength was plain to see—merely a four-star Dou Zong. His only advantage was the skeletal bird at his side, but even that, judging by its earlier attack, was only a one-star Dou Zun—far inferior to the elder, who was a five-star Dou Zun.

The elder sneered, "You boasted so loudly, I thought you possessed some great skill. It seems this is all you have to offer. What a pity. Here I stand—try and kill me if you can!"

Xiao Xie lowered his head, his face dark. Yet, had anyone seen his eyes at that moment, they would have caught a glimmer of delight.

"Art is explosion!"

A thunderous boom rang out.

Just as the sand dragons drew within several dozen meters of the black-robed elder, about to collapse, they suddenly swelled and detonated in a cataclysmic blast. The two black tigers were obliterated in an instant, nothing but ash in the aftermath. In that same moment, a white figure crossed the distance in a flash, closing in on the elder.

Before the black-robed elder could react, Xiao Xie appeared before him.

"Pegasus Meteor—Dominating Spear Strike!" Xiao Xie's right arm became as a spear shaft, his index and middle fingers joined like a spearhead, radiating a dark metallic gleam. At a rate of several hundred strikes per second, he pierced the elder's body with hundreds of bloody holes—heart, throat, brow, limbs, all penetrated in a single instant.

The Pegasus Meteor—Dominating Spear Strike was Xiao Xie's own creation, a fusion of the Pegasus Meteor Fist, Spear Finger technique, and Armament Haki.

The Pegasus Meteor Fist could strike a hundred times per second, but that number increased with the user's strength. With Xiao Xie's current power, four hundred punches per second was effortless. He adapted the technique, transforming its blows into spear-finger attacks—far more penetrating and destructive than mere fists.

Xiao Xie's own body was already as tough as a mid-grade Earth-tier weapon. With Armament Haki layered on top, his strength rivaled that of a high-grade Earth-tier weapon. The black-robed elder's Dou Zun physique was at best equivalent to a low-grade Earth-tier weapon—no match for Xiao Xie's assault.

Originally, Xiao Xie could not have slain the elder so easily with a single move. The elder had been caught off guard, only managing to hastily form a superficial Dou Qi barrier. Otherwise, as a five-star Dou Zun, he would never have fallen so quickly.

The ease of Xiao Xie's victory owed much to subterfuge. The Sky Phoenix's earlier attack was a mere feint; the tornadoes, laden with debris, served to conceal Xiao Xie's movements. As the Sky Phoenix unleashed its twin tornadoes, Xiao Xie sent out a clone, then used Shunpo to slip into the eye of one tornado, hidden from view. With the sand and stones whirling about, none could see inside, nor could spiritual senses penetrate the turbulent Dou Qi energy. Xiao Xie even left a shadow clone by the Sky Phoenix's side to further mislead the elder, who never suspected the ambush.

Concealed in the tornado's calm center, Xiao Xie waited until the sand dragon drew close—only dozens of meters from the elder—before detonating the whirlwind. Thanks to his mastery over the Bomb-Bomb Fruit, Xiao Xie was unharmed by the blast. In the instant the tornado erupted, he used Shunpo again, appearing right before the black-robed elder and unleashing the Pegasus Meteor—Dominating Spear Strike to finish him off.

Unfortunately, Shunpo only allowed for short-range teleportation; otherwise, Xiao Xie would not have needed such elaborate tactics.

The black-robed elder's soul emerged from his body, staring in disbelief at the corpse riddled with hundreds of holes. Humiliated and furious, he saw two Xiao Xies and instantly realized he had been deceived. Though Dou Qi continent rarely saw clone techniques, they were not unheard of—Wind Lightning Pavilion's Three Thousand Thunder Movements, when perfected, could produce clones as well.

"Despicable scoundrel! Die!" bellowed the elder, a five-star Dou Zun brought so low by a mere four-star Dou Zong, forced into soul form—only blood could wash away such disgrace!

"Naive!" Xiao Xie scoffed, meeting the elder's shame-fueled wrath with icy disdain. "And even more naive to think you can act so brazenly as a soul in my presence!"