Chapter 1726: Single Combat with Jin Lingyun Tiger

"Discovered?"

Zhang Xuan's expression changed. His spatial concealment method had never been detected, even when he infiltrated the Spirit Tribe's main army camp. He never expected to be found here!

Could it be that their sense of smell was truly that acute?

As he wondered if they were bluffing, the Golden-Scaled Cloud Tiger in front of him sneered, "Since you won't come out, don't blame me for being impolite!"

With a long roar, its massive tiger body took a step forward, and a sword qi ripped through the air. This sword qi, imbued with the unyielding essence of the metal element, tore through the surrounding space even before reaching him.

Although Zhang Xuan had sealed off the surrounding space, he hadn't transcended it or escaped the five elements. The moment the sword qi appeared, he knew it was aimed directly at him, not anyone else. Helplessly, he disengaged from his sealed state and lightly shifted his feet.

Time seemed to accelerate as he narrowly dodged the sword qi, stopping in place. He scratched his head and looked at the beasts, "Um... what if I said... I was just passing by, not involved, and not with them... would you believe me?"

He truly wasn't allied with the humans... but his actual purpose was also to capture the Golden-Scaled Cloud Tiger, not just pass by. However, he couldn't say that now. Facing five Saint Beasts at the Immortal Realm Grand Perfection level, even with his recent power increase, he knew he needed to get as far away as possible.

"Passing by? Then stay here with them!"

Having been cornered by humans and almost captured, the Golden-Scaled Cloud Tiger was already furious. It was in no mood to listen to his nonsense. With a roar, it swiped towards him. Sword qi surged, forming a long, river-like dragon of sword energy.

"I don't want to stay, so I'm afraid I can't oblige..."

Seeing that they clearly didn't believe him, Zhang Xuan knew that talking was useless. He would have to rely on his strength. He immediately took a deep breath, flicked his wrist, and the Dragon Bone Divine Spear appeared in his palm.

"Break!"

His eyebrows rose, and he gave the long spear a shake.

Soul power, true qi, physical strength... all his power poured into the long spear. Instantly, the spear moved like a dragon, sweeping horizontally and vertically. When it collided with the sword qi, cracks appeared in the space, and the rolling energy waves shattered countless trees and rocks.

With a single clash, the previously dense forest was instantly cleared, leaving a circular clearing hundreds of meters in diameter.

"He... is he really just at the Golden Body Realm?"

Wu Changping and the others, who were trapped, were all startled. They had seen this person earlier, sneaking in behind them, only to be chased away... They had assumed he was just a minor figure at the Golden Body Realm, never dreaming he would be so powerful!

If they had known he possessed such strength and had brought him in, they might have captured the Golden-Scaled Cloud Tiger and escaped before the other four Saint Beasts could even react.

"We thought he was weak, but he's a top-tier expert..." Wu Changping shook his head with a bitter smile, knowing it was too late for regret. They had just been discussing whether to kill him. Luckily, they hadn't acted, otherwise... they would have been annihilated even without these Saint Beasts making a move.

"Not bad, he has some skill!" Clearly surprised that this Golden Body Realm youth, who had been hiding to the side, possessed such combat power, the Sky-Wood Azure Dragon paused, stroking its dragon whiskers with a hoof, and couldn't help but say.

"Hmph!"

Having just been captured, and now having someone emerge to fight it to a standstill, the Golden-Scaled Cloud Tiger was on the verge of exploding with rage. Its eyes widened, its front paws clawed the ground, and its entire body formed an "arc," its golden fur trembling continuously.

"Die..."

The 'bowstring' snapped open, and its tail, accelerated by immense power, lashed downwards. Space tore apart, like the blurry shadow of a staff wielded by a master, almost invisible to the naked eye.

"So fast..."

His pupils contracted. Zhang Xuan knew that with his current strength, he wouldn't be able to withstand a direct hit. He immediately focused his mind, and the Zhang Clan's pure bloodline within him instantly activated.

The opponent's speed immediately slowed down in his perception. With a light leap, he moved out of the attack's range. A large crater appeared on the ground.

Knowing that continuing this way would be dangerous, Zhang Xuan wiped cold sweat from his brow and looked around. "Don't be so quick to attack..."

"What, you want to beg for mercy? It's too late now!" Seeing him easily dodge its strongest attack and still have the leisure to speak, the Golden-Scaled Cloud Tiger, despite its anger, paused, curious to see what reliance this fellow had. In any case, with the five Saint Beasts surrounding them, and all escape routes on the ground and in the air sealed, he definitely couldn't escape.

"Since I'm going to be killed anyway, I'd like to propose a fair duel. Would that be acceptable?" Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow and cupped his fists.

"A fair duel?" The five Saint Beasts looked at each other, unsure what he meant.

"That's right. I'm only at the Golden Body Realm. I wish to fight the Golden-Scaled Cloud Tiger one-on-one, and I hope you all won't interfere. If I lose, I'll be killed. If I win, I hope you'll let me leave!" Zhang Xuan said.

"Heh heh!" Understanding dawned on them. This fellow was afraid of being ganged up on.

"Human, you underestimate us, the five kings! Not only do we far surpass your strength, but even if you were our equal, we wouldn't stoop to ganging up on you!" Seeing this Golden Body Realm fellow dare to challenge the Golden-Scaled Cloud Tiger, the Sky-Wood Azure Dragon said indifferently. Possessing the bloodline of ancient divine beasts and commanding countless Saint Beasts as kings of the forest, they naturally had their pride. Not to mention ganging up on someone weaker than themselves, even at the same level, they disdained acting together.

"I won't let them interfere either!" The Golden-Scaled Cloud Tiger gnashed its teeth. It had just been captured by a group of humans, and now this fellow wanted to challenge it to a one-on-one fight... After such a humiliating experience, if it couldn't even defeat someone two major realms below it, what face would it have to command other Saint Beasts in the future?

"That's good then..." He had only been testing the waters, planning to escape if it didn't work. To his surprise, it succeeded. Zhang Xuan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He raised his head and looked over, "By the way, as a cultivator, it's not against the rules to use a weapon I've refined myself, right?"

"Use whatever weapon you have!" the Golden-Scaled Cloud Tiger snorted coldly. He was just a mere Golden Body Realm youth; even with a powerful spear, it wouldn't significantly impact the battle.

"Um... I'm also a beast tamer. It should be fair if I use my tamed beasts to fight, right?" Zhang Xuan continued.

"Tamed beasts... Hmph, if you have any, just use them..." the Golden-Scaled Cloud Tiger said. There was nothing unusual about a beast tamer using tamed beasts.

"Then I'm relieved..." Breathing a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan nodded with satisfaction. He gestured forward with the Dragon Bone Divine Spear in his hand, "Let's begin!"

"Hmph!" Its eyes narrowed, the Golden-Scaled Cloud Tiger roared and lunged forward.

However, it had barely taken a step when it suddenly felt a needle-like pain in its soul. A powerful soul pressure instantly swept over it.

"Soul attack, damn it..."

Its pupils constricted. The Golden-Scaled Cloud Tiger paused, its massive body instantly rigid in place. Saint Beasts excel in physical body, defense, and strength, but their weakest point is their soul... This fellow used a soul attack right from the start, and it was so powerful that, caught completely off guard, it was instantly struck.