In the time it took for Tian Yang and Xue Yebai to converse before they battled, all those present had already retreated thousands of kilometers away, including Damien and his companions.
Because they all knew. The scale of the last fight wasn't going to be even close to comparable to this one. If they were careless and didn't retreat, they would die without even knowing how.
The instant the clash of their auras subsided, Xue Yebai immediately moved into action. Massive constructs of ice filled his vicinity, creating a scene far more majestic than the palace that once stood there.
"Our Xue Clan is at the pinnacle of ice techniques. Even if you're a spatial cultivator, your only advantage over me is speed. Allow me to take that away from you."
The air around his body froze. No, space itself was frozen and crystallized. Such a move was tantamount to crippling someone who used space as their main element.
But Tian Yang wasn't fazed by it. In fact, he scoffed at Xue Yebai's naive actions.
"Is this how people who have never faced a spatial cultivator think? Did you really think it'd be so easy?"
Tian Yang's figure flashed away, appearing behind Xue Yebai. The crystallized space around them shattered the instant Tian Yang's body reappeared.
"Space is far too profound for you who does not cultivate it to understand. Freeze space? This kind of superficial freezing means nothing in front of me."
Tian Yang flicked his finger. Following his motion, the space in front of him bent into a bullet and shot at Xue Yebai.
Xue Yebai casually dodged the attack. The ice pillars he formed previously circled around him, creating a sort of airtight defense.
"You can talk as much as you want, but only in battle will your abilities prove themselves. Tian Yang, stop spouting nonsense and come at me."
Xue Yebai's ice pillars opened like doors. From within, a large array of different weaponry appeared.
"Space might be profound, but the attack power of a spatial cultivator has always been their weak point. Even if you can defend against me, can you kill me?"
An ice sword flew into the air and bolted at Tian Yang with immense speed. It was to the point where Damien couldn't even follow it with his eyes.
But Tian Yang simply tapped the air again. In that instant, the ice sword vanished, reappearing behind Xue Yebai's head while carrying the same forward momentum.
Bang!
It heavily impacted the ice pillar that moved to protect Xue Yebai, shattering it in an instant. As for the man himself, Xue Yebai waved his arm and recollected all the shattered ice shards, recreating the ice pillar without difficulty.
At the same time, countless weapons followed the previous sword's movements. Thousands upon thousands of ice constructs charged at Tian Yang as if they had minds of their own.
They circled his body and attacked randomly. With their current pattern, there wasn't even a single area for Tian Yang to retreat to even if he wanted to.
Although Tian Yang was a spatial cultivator and could easily escape the encirclement by teleporting, he didn't do so.
After all, weren't his disciples watching him? If he was going to fight, he was going to do it like a badass.
Tian Yang's arms waved through the air as if he was conducting a symphony. With every movement he made, tens of ice constructs vanished from the air and reappeared around Xue Yebai, attacking him.
But if this was the entire show Tian Yang was planning to put on, he'd be disappointed in his own abilities.
As if on cue, every weapon around Tian Yang came to a halt at the same time.
No, rather than halting, it was more accurate to say that they were moving at an infinitesimally slow speed.
"Hahaha! How fun! I haven't had the chance to play around with my combat abilities in hundreds of years. Xue Yebai, I hope you can entertain me more than this!"
Boom!
There was no sudden pressure or any outside stimulation. The weapons around Tian Yang shattered into snowflakes seemingly on their own.
At the same time, Tian Yang teleported away. Appearing in front of Xue Yebai, he grinned in a way unbefitting of the sage-like image he usually gave off.
"Boom."
Space exploded. Without prior warning or any sort of fluctuation, space around Xue Yebai caved in, throwing him into the void.
Tian Yang followed him in without hesitation. He waved his hands through the air, sending countless spatial blades at Xue Yebai every second.
And while barraging him like so, he kept calling out.
"Boom."
The void itself exploded. Infinite blackness caved in on itself and created a heavy suppression that bore down on Xue Yebai's body.
Every movement he made was slowed by this pressure. But as if that wasn't enough, Tian Yang proceeded to cast the same ability he had on the weapons before.
Xue Yebai felt like he was moving through muddied water. No matter how many steps he took forward, he was unable to move an inch from his spot.
"Tian. YANG!"
He roared in frustration. Waves of icy mana emanated from his body, immediately repelling the spatial blades that were barraging him.
"BREAK!"
Space shattered with his words. Even though he wasn't a spatial cultivator, he was able to pull off such a move with sheer power.
Xue Yebai let out another roar. His mana raged, and an icy hell formed within the void. Behind Xue Yebai's back, a mirage of an Ice Palace slowly took shape.
"So you're finally taking this seriously, are you? Couldn't afford to hold back anymore? It's a shame that a mere spatial cultivator without much attacking capability was able to push you to this point."
Tian Yang's mocking words didn't end. While he spoke, he threw a heavy punch into thin air.
Bang!
Xue Yebai felt like his internal organs were rearranged with a single hit. The steel body he had trained so hard was no use against Tian Yang. His attacks ignored all barriers and physical defense to hit their desired target.
His face turned red with rage. The Ice Palace finally finished taking shape. With this, Xue Yebai was ready to make his counterattack.
***
Outside of the Empyrean Dragon Realm, thousands of kilometers away from the ongoing battle, the crowd attempted to watch in a stupor.
After all, one could easily gain life-changing insights from witnessing a clash between Laws at such a level.
Unfortunately, their clash had moved to a location where the common eye could never see. When they fought in the void, only the occasional sparks and collapsing space in the area remained as proof of their battle.
But Damien was different. Even without straining his eyes, he could clearly see into the void. Only, their movements were far too fast.
Nevertheless, he still kept his eyes trained on the figures of those two men. He didn't even dare to blink, remembering the words that Tian Yang told him before the fight began.
'Brat, watch closely. I'll show you how a true spatial practitioner fights.'
That sound transmission had obviously piqued Damien's interest. From the start, he could tell that Tian Yang's comprehension of Spatial Laws was unfathomable.
But seeing it in front of his eyes was completely different than just hearing or feeling it.
Redirecting attacks back to their sender, mere spatial blades with the same amount of attack power as Damien's most heavy-hitting moves, the strange ability to manipulate distance and ignore barriers, there was so much for Damien to learn that his brain felt like it was on the verge of exploding.
But at the same time, his insights on space principles skyrocketed at a blinding pace.
Even if Damien had to choose between witnessing the battle between Demigods in the 3000 Beast Mountain Range and this one, he'd choose this one without hesitation.
An admiration that he had never felt before rose in his heart as he continued to watch Tian Yang barrage Xue Yebai.
'Old man, your mouth is far dirtier than you let on. You're just like me for real.'
Such a thought…perhaps it led to Damien finally and truly recognizing Tian Yang as his master.
