"Father?"
Hun Xiu looked at Hun Tiandi in surprise, momentarily bewildered by his statement.
With his father's intelligence, he would never say something so ridiculous unless there was a deeper meaning behind it.
Everyone present was left pondering Hun Tiandi's intent. Even Hun Xiu couldn't figure out why his father would say something like that unless he had a hidden motive.
Just as everyone was silently speculating, the little girl in Hun Xiu's arms—Gu Xun'er—suddenly grew displeased.
To her, her big brother Hun Xiu was the best, and there was no way he would brag or lie.
Standing proudly in his arms with her hands on her waist, she objected loudly:
"My Hun Xiu gege would never brag! He didn't lie!"
Her voice immediately drew everyone's attention—even Hun Xiu looked at the little girl in surprise.
Was this her way of trying to melt his heart?
"Hahaha…"
Hun Tiandi burst into laughter upon hearing Gu Xun'er's declaration.
"Did you hear that?" he turned to Gu Yuan, chuckling. "She's already standing by Hun Xiu's side, and she hasn't even married into our family yet."
"Looks like raising her was a waste of your effort."
"No!"
Gu Xun'er retorted sharply, puffing out her cheeks. "My father didn't raise me for nothing!"
Her expression and tone were so adorably stubborn that the elders on the high platform couldn't help but be charmed.
"Hahaha…"
Gu Yuan chuckled and ruffled her head. "Your Uncle Hun was just teasing you."
"Oh…"
Xun'er nodded her little head solemnly, then immediately shook it: "No, he wasn't!"
"Father, don't change the subject. My Hun Xiu gege isn't bragging."
"Of course not," Gu Yuan said warmly, gazing affectionately at her. "He's absolutely not bragging."
Looking at such a sweet daughter, he couldn't help but feel reluctant at the idea of giving her away to that brat Hun Xiu.
Hun Xiu gently added,
"Your Uncle Hun was just joking with me. He knows I'm not bragging."
"Oh! So that's how it is!"
Gu Xun'er's confusion finally lifted, and she nodded understandingly.
Hun Tiandi turned to Hun Xiu with a serious expression:
"Since that's the case, I won't hide it anymore. If you can defeat Hun Yu or Hun Feng in a single move, I'll agree to what you asked of me earlier."
Then his tone shifted slightly:
"And I'll even give you a surprise."
"Thank you, Father," Hun Xiu replied calmly, showing no particular emotion.
This confused him even more. Why was Hun Tiandi so certain that he couldn't defeat Hun Yu or Hun Feng in a single move?
Nobody else here dared to say he was bragging—yet his father was so resolute. That made Hun Xiu smell a hidden scheme.
A conspiracy.
Others nearby were also intrigued—what secret agreement existed between father and son?
"Do your best," Hun Tiandi said, then added softly,
"Don't worry, I won't interfere in the affairs of your generation. You are my son, Hun Xiu, and I want you to win. I believe in you."
With that, he turned away to look at the battle still raging in mid-air.
"Mm. I'll do my best," Hun Xiu replied.
Though he didn't know what his father was plotting, getting his approval was undeniably a good thing.
The conversation left the onlookers confused.
They had no idea what the two were talking about.
Their dialogue felt like something from a different era—completely detached from the current moment.
Meanwhile, the fight in the sky was reaching its climax.
BOOM!
Hun Feng felt the timing was perfect.
Hun Yu had clearly reached his limit—his Dou Qi was nearly depleted.
Hun Feng seized the opportunity and launched a devastating kick from the sky, striking Hun Yu and sending him crashing down to the martial arena below.
CRACK…
The impact left fractures in the stage as Hun Yu landed hard.
He struggled to his feet, visibly battered and bruised.
SPLURT…
A wave of pain surged through his chest as he coughed up blood. His face was pale as snow.
Looking up at Hun Feng, he asked hoarsely:
"How do you still have Dou Qi left?"
From his perspective, both of them should've been equally exhausted.
Hun Feng, still floating in mid-air, chuckled:
"Hun Yu, I'm not the only one who broke through recently. So did you. But I reached the Six-Star Douhuang realm."
Suddenly, he unleashed the full pressure of his aura—no longer concealing his strength.
"Six-Star Douhuang… You've been hiding this the whole time," Hun Yu muttered, his eyes narrowing.
He had assumed that by reaching the Five-Star Douhuang level, he could contend with Hun Feng for second place.
But he hadn't expected that Hun Feng had advanced even further.
Though only a single star apart, the gap between Five-Star and Six-Star Douhuang—given Hun Feng's deeper foundations—felt like an unbridgeable chasm.
"You're not wrong," Hun Feng admitted.
"If I hadn't broken through, today's match could've gone either way."
"Hun Yu, will you admit defeat? Or do you still want to continue?"
He looked down on Hun Yu with a superior air, fully embracing the posture of a victor.
"Admit defeat?"
Hun Yu shook his head, smiling bitterly.
"Hun Feng, you know… you should've ended it when you had the chance. Completely crushed me."
"But now—you've lost that chance."
Hun Feng's eyes narrowed. Something about Hun Yu felt different—unfamiliar and dangerous.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm saying… if I can't have it, then neither can you."
A ferocious smile twisted Hun Yu's face.
"Heaven-Crushing Finger!"
Using the last of his Dou Qi—amplified by his Divine-Grade bloodline—Hun Yu unleashed his strongest technique.
In the sky, a colossal phantom finger materialized.
The oppressive force made some of the weaker spectators tremble in fear.
"Shit…"
Hun Feng's face darkened.
"You're insane! Do you know the price of using that technique?"
"You'll be bedridden for at least a year!"
Even so, Hun Feng didn't hesitate—he immediately formed his own seals.
"Sky-Seizing Palm!"
A massive handprint formed in the air with incredible speed, rushing toward the descending phantom finger.
Hun Yu laughed madly.
"I told you—if I can't have it, you can't either!"
"You and I… we're the only ones in our clan with Divine-Grade bloodlines—excluding Hun Xiu."
"I've always been just a little behind you. I can't compare to Hun Xiu, who has a Transcendent bloodline."
"But you? You're different."
"So today, let it be known—Hun Yu is not weaker than you, Hun Feng. Not by even a fraction."
Hun Feng fell silent.