Watching the rapidly descending figure kick up ring after ring of shockwaves, Tuoba Lie suddenly burst into laughter, his expression one of extreme excitement. He gripped the Ornate Patterned Giant Axe with both hands, his biceps bulging as visible Blood Qi steamed off his body like a crimson mist.

"Bring it on!"

As the Thunderfire Qilin Hammer, wreathed in red electrical arcs, smashed down, Tuoba Lie’s skin turned a faint shade of crimson. Through his reddened flesh, one could clearly see his blood vessels, which seemed to flow with molten lava.

The moment his axe blade swept up to meet the blow, seven blood-red patterns erupted from his spine, and his knotted muscles bulged, expanding by two full measures.

The Profound Steel Hammer Head and the Ornate Patterned Axe Blade collided, erupting in a thirty-foot ring of fire. Within a hundred-foot radius, the loose stones were pulverized into dust by the shockwave, and a thirty-foot section of the ground collapsed.

With the full force of the aerial strike, the hammer smashed Tuoba Lie deep into the earth.

The Profound Steel Hundred-Forged Body offset the recoil, and the Red Flood Dragon Mountain Coiling Strength channeled this force, unleashing it through the first form of the Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique: Star Falling into the Celestial River.

The power it unleashed was far beyond what an ordinary Flesh Refining Realm cultivator could imagine.

When Xu Yunfan’s Profound Steel Battle Boots shattered the rock layer, the entire rift valley echoed with the boom of a great bell. The powerful blast of air forced the combatants on both sides to halt their fighting.

The Rangers took the opportunity to call out to the crowd, ushering them toward a safe area.

At this very moment, he was clad in Profound Steel Meteorite Armor. Its Cold Cyan Armor Surface bore a faint Dragon Scale pattern, and the Taotie Shoulder Armor at his joints pulsed with crimson Qi Force.

The seven Dragon Blood Crystal Slots on his Heart Protection Mirror glowed like molten rock, and his Waist and Abdomen Linked Armor clanked with the sound of Meteorite Iron Chains as he moved.

Twelve air vents were faintly visible on his Tiger Head Bracelets. Wherever the steel spikes of his boots crushed the ground, shattered rock and blood splattered into a fine mist.

This suit of Armor was originally a commission he had been crafting for the Great Zhou Military Department, but now, he was the one wearing it.

"Junior Brother!?"

Blown away by the shockwave, Fu Jin coughed up mouthfuls of blood, his expression one of utter shock as he stared at Xu Yunfan, who had appeared before him.

Xu Yunfan glanced over at Fu Jin. Although he was still coughing up blood, his voice was strong and full of energy, indicating his life was not in danger.

"Senior Brother, you don’t seem to be in the best shape."

Fu Jin gave a bitter smile. Just as he was about to speak, a sudden movement came from the bottom of the large crater created by the Heavy Hammer.

From the depths of the pit came a heartbeat like the pounding of war drums. Each dull thud sent pebbles skittering and rolling down the sides.

Xu Yunfan’s expression tightened slightly. The steel spikes of his boots crushed the rock at his feet as Red Flood Dragon Qi flowed once more through the seams of his Profound Armor. He reached out and gripped the Thunderfire Qilin Hammer.

Xu Yunfan took half a step back and raised his hammer to block, only to see Tuoba Lie’s figure burst from the earth in a storm of gravel and charge violently toward him.

Xu Yunfan showed no sign of panic.

Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique, Cloud Gate Locking Mountain.

The muscles on Xu Yunfan’s right arm, which looked as if forged from Profound Steel, rippled and coiled. The Red Flood Dragon Mountain Coiling Strength erupted up his spine, joint by joint.

The hammer’s afterimage multiplied into nine phantoms, crashing down with the roar of thunder. Each phantom strike that landed tore open bloody gashes on Tuoba Lie’s body.

With his True Blood boiling to its peak, Tuoba Lie’s eyes were now bloodshot. He threw caution to the wind and swung a punch. The fist’s edge whipped up shockwaves, and in an instant, a sharp whistle of tearing air rang out.

BOOM!

The Heavy Hammer struck Tuoba Lie’s body squarely, while Tuoba Lie’s fist, like a cannonball, smashed into Xu Yunfan’s cheek.

A visible ripple of air suddenly spread out. As if hit by a mountain, Tuoba Lie was sent flying and tumbling for dozens of meters. He broke countless large trees before finally slamming into a stone cliff, which cracked in a spiderweb pattern that spread in all directions.

As for Xu Yunfan, the punch shattered the Face Armor on his helmet. The immense force made his eyeballs vibrate up and down several times.

The muscles all over his body trembled as he retreated seven steps. With each step back, his foot sank deep into the ground, causing the earth and stone around it to crack like a spiderweb. But on the final step, his foot landed as if he were taking a normal stroll, making only a heavy thud.

"Force Dissipation!?"

Fu Jin looked on, shaken. Even he would have found it difficult to use the force-negating method of the Profound Steel Hundred-Forged Body with such exquisite skill.

"You’ve reached the Flesh Refining Realm?"

"I had a moment of inspiration yesterday and accidentally broke through."

’Accidentally broke through...’

Fu Jin was both shocked and delighted, but he didn’t believe a word of it. Cultivation wasn’t like eating and drinking. Each Realm required gradual progress. Even with rapid advancement, crossing into a new major Realm required a considerable amount of time for adaptation and adjustment.

This was especially true for the leap from the Outer Three Harmonies to the Flesh Refining Realm, where one begins to manifest Strength.

It was nothing like what Xu Yunfan was displaying. He clearly looked like he had been immersed in the Flesh Refining Realm for a long time; he even used the Red Flood Dragon Mountain Coiling Strength more skillfully than Fu Jin himself.

The stone cliff exploded. Tuoba Lie, with steam-like mist rising from his body, emerged as if completely unharmed. With a backhand motion, he pulled his Ornate Patterned Giant Axe from where it was embedded in the rock.

Xu Yunfan’s gaze flickered.

’This guy... His Life Force is simply astonishing.’

Fu Jin said, "The Daqian Empire prioritizes bloodlines. All of their Cultivation revolves around developing one’s bloodline in pursuit of atavistic regression to achieve the body of a Human Immortal. This man possesses True Blood. His physique is astounding, his strength is incredible, and his power is absolutely comparable to someone in the Blood Exchange Realm. You..."

Fu Jin suddenly stopped talking.

He realized that even though Xu Yunfan was in the Flesh Refining Realm, he had been completely dominating his opponent ever since he appeared.

"You... are good. Very good. To think you could actually injure me to this extent."

Tuoba Lie grinned, revealing a mouth full of bloody teeth.

A dark glint appeared on the axe blade, which pulverized all the loose stones in its path into dust.

Xu Yunfan’s pupils constricted. The trajectory of the Profound Iron Heavy Axe, which was as large as a millstone, shockingly left behind twelve blood-red afterimages.

"Mountain Splitter!"

Tuoba Lie stomped, creating a crater in the ground, and his Giant Axe, wreathed in a blood-red vortex, came chopping down.

Xu Yunfan’s expression remained unchanged. The instant he spun and swung his hammer, the Red Flood Dragon Mountain Coiling Strength coursed through the fibers of his muscles like a dragon, and the Profound Steel Hammer Head struck the axe blade dead-on.

CLANG—!

All the plants within a hundred-foot radius were flattened.

Fu Jin watched, stunned, as the collision of their weapons sent out a shower of intermingling blue and red sparks. When those sparks hit the ground, they exploded, creating bowl-sized craters.

Even more terrifying were the spiderweb cracks spreading out from under Xu Yunfan’s feet, channeling the full force of the Giant Axe’s strike into the Earth Veins.

Both of them fought head-on, giving no ground. Hammer and axe crossed, and every direct clash produced a piercing shriek of metal on metal that echoed throughout the valley.

The old, the weak, women, and children had long since been led to a safe distance by Fu Jin, who had struggled back to his feet, and the other surviving Rangers.

The Luo Net agents from Daqian didn’t dare take a single step forward. A moment ago, one of them had tried to charge into the crowd of non-combatants with his saber drawn. But Xu Yunfan noticed, and his Thunderfire Qilin Hammer instantly transformed into a Chain Hammer that flew out and smashed the man into a puddle of gore.

With the unique force Dissipation of the Profound Steel Hundred-Forged Body, Xu Yunfan naturally didn’t take the blows head-on. With every exchange, the earth and stone beneath his feet seemed to be compressed by immense force, shattering and flying outwards.

The material of Tuoba Lie’s Ornate Patterned Giant Axe was clearly inferior to Xu Yunfan’s heavy weapon. Nicks and chips of all sizes had already appeared on its blade.

Tuoba Lie’s one eye was bloodshot. Nine hidden blades suddenly shot out from the axe’s handle.

Each swing of the axe concealed a triple-layered force. Nine such layers, superimposed, actually carved dents into Xu Yunfan’s Profound Armor deep enough to see his body beneath.