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**
"No problem. Since you, Hai Bodong, have brought it up, I have no reason to refuse! It just so happens that this match will serve as a little bonus before my apprenticeship ceremony! Hai Bodong, I hope you won't let me down!"
Facing Hai Bodong's challenge, Yun Shan agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Of course, he had the qualifications to say such words! After all, Hai Bodong was the challenger now.
This was also a promise Yun Shan had made to Hai Bodong back then.
Decades ago, Yun Shan had promised Hai Bodong that if the latter ever broke through to the Dou Huang realm, he could initiate a challenge against him at any time and place.
Today, that promise was finally being fulfilled.
However, just as Hai Bodong mentioned wanting to see the gap between himself and the strongest expert of the Jia Ma Empire, Yun Shan subconsciously glanced toward the direction where Xiao Lin was located.
Thinking back to the scenes that occurred during his recent meeting with Xiao Lin, Yun Shan couldn't help but feel a burst of awkwardness in his heart.
"The strongest expert of the Jia Ma Empire? Putting that title on me seems quite laughable now," Yun Shan thought silently to himself once more.
From Yun Shan's reaction, it wasn't hard to see that his meeting with Xiao Lin not long ago wasn't just about discussing a trade!
Clearly, Xiao Lin had revealed a few things.
After pulling back his stray thoughts, Yun Shan refocused his gaze on the battle-hungry Hai Bodong standing before him.
"Rest assured, I will give it my all!"
From start to finish, Hai Bodong's expression was exceptionally solemn.
In truth, in this life, Xiao Lin's contact with Hai Bodong hadn't been very frequent—it was even less than his contact with Yun Shan.
Regarding Hai Bodong, the "angel investor" of the Xiao Clan in the original story, Xiao Lin's initial impression of him was quite positive, unlike his view of Yun Shan.
It was just that, all this time, there hadn't been many opportunities to interact with him. Even though the Xiao Clan and the Mittel Clan had a partnership, Xiao Lin mostly dealt with Mittel Tengshan.
Although the current Hai Bodong still held the title of Clan Leader of the Mittel Clan, he had basically handed over his power. If nothing unexpected happened, he would likely step down within a few years to focus on improving his strength in peace.
The current Mittel Clan was becoming somewhat like the Jia Ma Empire's Imperial Family.
Hai Bodong only needed to serve as the Guardian, and the Mittel Clan could develop on its own. Mittel Tengshan, the Grand Elder, was more than capable of keeping the family's affairs in perfect order.
The actual situation was indeed thus. Hai Bodong had already planned that after challenging Yun Shan today, he would step down from the position of Clan Leader and travel abroad for a period of experience.
His tentatively decided first location for this journey was the Tagore Desert, which bordered the Jia Ma Empire...
If Xiao Lin knew about Hai Bodong's current plan, he could only offer him one word: Dangerous!
Back to the present: once Yun Shan accepted Hai Bodong's challenge, the two quickly left the main hall and arrived at a massive plaza outside.
Naturally, a battle between Dou Huang experts attracted everyone else out as well. As the two Dou Huangs departed, the rest of the guests followed in a swarming mass to the plaza outside. Soon, Yun Shan and Hai Bodong stood fixed roughly thirty meters apart.
Around the plaza, the guests had already crowded around, full of excitement.
"Hai Bodong, make your move!" Following Yun Shan's words, the battle officially commenced.
Hai Bodong had no intention of being polite and attacked immediately. After all, he knew there was still a gap between himself and Yun Shan. If he didn't choose to strike first, he feared he wouldn't even have the chance to move later!
"Nine-Layer Ice Blade!"
With a wave of Hai Bodong's hand, nine snow-white circular ice blades, each about half a zhang wide, suddenly condensed out of thin air in front of him. Rotating at high speeds and leaving a trail of afterimages, they pierced directly toward Yun Shan. Furthermore, these nine ice blades emitted a series of whistling sounds during their flight.
"Large Wind Handprint!"
Facing Hai Bodong's attack, Yun Shan did not treat it lightly. As his hands formed seals, an energy handprint nearly several zhang high slapped toward the Nine-Layer Ice Blades.
Crack!
Without any suspense, the Nine-Layer Ice Blades were shattered into countless shards of ice by the Large Wind Handprint.
Seeing this, Hai Bodong wasn't particularly surprised.
Following this, a pair of pure white Dou Qi Wings spread from Hai Bodong's back, and he soared straight into the sky. Seeing this, Yun Shan gave a light chuckle, his own back vibrating as a pair of green Dou Qi Wings unfurled, and he flew into mid-air.
On the ground, with so many onlookers around, it was difficult for them to truly unleash their power. But in the sky, they had no such concerns. It could be said that the clash just now was merely a probe.
The real battle was only just beginning!
Next, the people on the ground truly witnessed what it meant to have a battle between Dou Huang experts!
Hai Bodong was surrounded by freezing ice, while fierce winds howled around Yun Shan.
One Wind, one Ice—they engaged in the most intense collision!
However, the several Dou Huang experts present, as well as Xiao Lin, could all see that Yun Shan was clearly holding back in this fight. Every time Hai Bodong launched an attack, Yun Shan focused primarily on neutralizing it and rarely chose to take the offensive.
Of course, this was easy to understand.
After all, Yun Shan was a Nine-Star Dou Huang!
If he truly unleashed his full power to attack, Hai Bodong probably wouldn't last very long. It could be said that in this challenge initiated by Hai Bodong, Yun Shan was acting more as a senior, guiding the other party.
The poise of a grandmaster was displayed vividly by Yun Shan at this moment!
Yun Shan's restraint was naturally noticed by his opponent, Hai Bodong.
This made Hai Bodong feel a sense of anger, but also a sense of admiration toward Yun Shan.
The anger, naturally, was because Yun Shan wasn't using his full strength in their battle. The admiration was because of Yun Shan's guidance during the fight and his consideration for Hai Bodong's reputation.
In this manner, Hai Bodong essentially exhausted all his skills in this battle. However, while Yun Shan's neutralizing of the attacks wasn't exactly effortless, it wasn't overly difficult either.
It was clear that Hai Bodong still applied a bit of pressure to Yun Shan.
"Whew... Sect Leader Yun Shan, next will be my strongest strike. If you can take it, then this match counts as my loss."
Due to the influence of his own ice-attribute Dou Qi, every breath Hai Bodong took exhaled a mist of cold air.
Having fought until now, Hai Bodong was not someone who couldn't recognize a favor. With Yun Shan holding back at every turn, if he continued to be pushy, it would make him look quite ungraceful.
Therefore, after allowing the audience below to enjoy nearly the time it takes for an incense stick to burn of intense Dou Huang-level combat, Hai Bodong decided to settle the outcome with a single blow.
After all, this was just his challenge, not a life-and-death struggle!
Having competed this far, he had a fairly clear understanding of the gap between himself and Yun Shan.
**
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