Zuoqiu Hongyuan's eyes narrowed as he mentally cursed at his predicament.

He instantly realized that he was caught within Ou Yangming's Simulated Spiritual Fist. His expression turned grim, and confusion began to well up within his heart.

Although he was no Supreme Great Ancestor, he possessed extraordinary talent, and as a result, he had already cultivated his spiritual will and flesh into one. In a sense, Zuoqiu Hongyuan could ascend into Extreme Grade anytime he wanted.

However, his greed had stopped him from doing so.

Although becoming a Supreme Great Ancestor was the greatest desire of many martial artists, that was not the case for Zuoqiu Hongyuan.

As such, he suppressed his cultivation base to the peak of Yang Grade and continued to hone his body to its absolute limits. Only after he had achieved this goal would he finally step into Extreme Grade.

It was also for this reason that Zuoqiu Hongyuan had abstained from supporting Ou Yangming during the Myriad Treasure Meet.

He had absolute confidence in his own abilities, and at the same time, he doubted that he would fall prey to Ou Yangming's Simulated Spiritual Fist.

Moreover, he had also proven his doubts earlier when Ou Yangming had attempted the Simulated Spiritual Fist on him. Not only did Ou Yangming fail to change his perception of his surroundings, but he had also failed to faze Zuoqiu Hongyuan's spiritual will at all.

As such, Zuoqiu Hongyuan had not expected Ou Yangming to use the same skill again. Worse still, his second attempt was much stronger than before, and Zuoqiu Hongyuan had felled prey to it immediately without even putting up a fight.

Zuoqiu Hongyuan's swaying motion had come to a halt, and as far as he was concerned, nowhere was safe. Even a moment's loss of focus would result in his situation taking a turn for the worst.

That was the strength of the Simulated Spiritual Fist, so long as it had ensnared its target's spiritual will, it could unleash unlimited possibilities.

The huge multicolored tiger strode towards Zuoqiu Hongyuan from a distance. It moved slowly as if it had all the time in the world, and in response, Zuoqiu Hongyuan began to sweat profusely.

Had this been the actual multicolored tiger, Zuoqiu Hongyuan would likely not have panicked as much as he did.

However, the multicolored tiger before him was not the original. For every step the multicolored tiger took, an indescribable sense of cuteness could be felt. Zuoqiu Hongyuan could not muster a single ounce of excitement to face it, as in his eyes, the multicolored tiger had looked no different from a little kitten.

Caught in an impasse, Zuoqiu Hongyuan's aura suddenly thickened, and he clenched his teeth while hesitating on his next move.

Meanwhile, Ou Yangming had chosen not to attack aggressively with the tiger, as doing so would exhaust his mental power at a greater rate. Moreover, he was also curious as to what kind of interesting results he would obtain if he were to make the tiger move slowly.

The closer the multicolored tiger had gotten to Zuoqiu Hongyuan, the sharper its glare became, and due to this, its intimidation had become even more potent.

Ou Yangming's eyes gleamed with excitement and relief as he observed the immobile Zuoqiu Hongyuan from afar.

The seemingly endless sandstorm that besieged him earlier had worried him deeply. Nevertheless, once he had successfully activated his Simulated Spiritual Fist, he could feel the pressure vanishing in an instant.

For the time being, Ou Yangming had kept a close watch on his opponent. So long as he could land a solid hit onto Zuoqiu Hongyuan with his multicolored tiger, victory would be his for the taking.

Time trickled slowly, and the longer Ou Yangming observed, the greater his confidence was. In the end, Ou Yangming was certain that victory was in his grasp.

The multicolored tiger had finally reached Zuoqiu Hongyuan's side. Nevertheless, it did not open its maw, and instead, it had closed the gap between them even further. While drawing Zuoqiu Hongyuan's attention with its enchanting eyes, the multicolored tiger lifted its tail and dropped a snake in Zuoqiu Hongyuan's blind spot. The snake then widened its mouth and pounced directly towards Zuoqiu Hongyuan's neck.

Nevertheless, right before the snake had managed to sink its fangs into Zuoqiu Hongyuan, an earth-shattering chime erupted from its body.

Ou Yangming shuddered at the sound, and he felt as if his internal organs had been crushed by a stone. Unable to maintain his Spiritual Fist in that state, the constructs within his sea of consciousness began to fall apart.

The sound continued to play out, and it had invaded Ou Yangming's sea of consciousness, threatening to obliterate his mental scape completely.

Suddenly, an unparalleled power was triggered within Ou Yangming.

Deep within Ou Yangming's sea of consciousness, the purple Military Fire flared up. As if it had sensed Ou Yangming's danger, the Military Fire had chosen to unleash its full power.

The chime continuously rang out within Ou Yangming's sea of consciousness, and it felt as if it had an unlimited source of energy. Nevertheless, once the purple flames were ignited and spread out, the chime instantly vanished, and Ou Yangming's sea of consciousness had returned to a blank state, as if nothing had transpired.

Ou Yangming was rattled by Zuoqiu Hongyuan's move. The threat it posed was no laughing matter.

Nevertheless, when Ou Yangming directed his gaze to Zuoqiu Hongyuan, he noticed that his opponent had worn the same rattled expression as well.

A moment later, Zuoqiu Hongyuan pulled out a necklace from his sleeves. It was an odd-looking necklace, and its main ornament was an archaic miniature bell that glowed slightly. At that moment, the bell's glow looked weak, and it felt as if it would extinguish at any moment.

After a bitter chuckle, Zuoqiu Hongyuan then asked, "You've improved your Simulated Spiritual Fist even further, huh, Brother Ou?"

Ou Yangming inhaled deeply. Once he had calmed down his internal organs that had been thrown into disarray, he then responded, "The amount of treasures you're carrying is astounding, Brother Zuoqiu!"

Zuoqiu Hongyuan chuckled once more before explaining, "It's only natural to possess some of one's family's treasures, no?"

A memory suddenly resurfaced in Ou Yangming's mind. It was a recollection of He Liangce, back when he had faced the multicolored tiger. Similar to Zuoqiu Hongyuan, He Liangce did not panic, and he had instead bided his time to unleash a powerful counterattack at the last moment.

A feeling of disgust welled up within Ou Yangming's heart. He cursed, 'All these young and talented powerhouses from major families disgust me!'

The two unanimously backed off a few steps to put some distance between each other.

Although there was no clear victor yet, both sides were equally wary of one another.

While it was indeed fun to cross fists, neither of them had wanted to concede defeat to the other.

Facing off with one's equal was undeniably a happy occasion, but at the same time, the sadness of losing the battle was also soul-crushing.

The two eyed one another from afar. At that moment, they were like two ferocious tigers fighting over a piece of land. Both sides constantly emitted a powerful aura, and they both took note of all their opponent's moves, such that if an opportunity were to present itself, they would immediately pounce at the chance.

The two were fraught with nervous energy. After experiencing two close calls, both sides had expanded their auras to their maximum output.

They were both planning to end the battle in the next strike.

However, right as both sides had expanded their auras to the max, the two young powerhouses' expressions wavered. A slight hesitance crept into their eyes, and as if it were planned, both sides suddenly retracted their auras. A mere instant later, both powerhouses had calmed down, and the tense atmosphere that surrounded them had vanished.

Zuoqiu Hongyuan looked long and hard at Ou Yangming. "You. You're strong. Very strong."

Ou Yangming laughed and asked, "Are you praising yourself?"

Zuoqiu Hongyuan flinched for a moment before laughing out loud as well. "Crossing hands with you is really fun! There's just one issue that I can't quite figure out. How did you achieve what you did in the end?"

Ou Yangming waved his right hand and told the truth. "I've created a special piece of equipment that amplifies the strength of my Spiritual Fist."

"Amplifies your Spiritual Fist?" Zuoqiu Hongyuan's eyes lit up as he continued, "I've never heard of such an item before! Where did you obtain it, Brother Ou?"

The corner of Ou Yangming's lips curled into a smile as he proudly declared, "I made it myself!"

Zuoqiu Hongyuan was well and truly impressed this time. After a moment of pause, he slowly asked, "Is… Is it a magic tool?"

"It is."

"I'm guessing that the phenomenon that occurred within the capital is of your doing?"

"You are wise indeed, Brother Zuoqiu." With a cheerful grin, Ou Yangming then asked Zuoqiu Hongyuan, "Is that old bell a magic tool as well?"

Although the bell's glow was dim, and its appearance was nothing special, the fact that it had broken through Ou Yangming's Charm Arm Guard and caused massive damage to him had proven that it was no ordinary piece of equipment.

Even if Zuoqiu Hongyuan were to deny Ou Yangming's suggestion, Ou Yangming would not have believed in him.

Zuoqiu Hongyuan sighed lightly. "This is a treasure that the Zuoqiu family obtained from the upper realm. Sadly, it only has limited uses, and if I were to face you again, Brother Ou, I doubt that it would function anymore."

Ou Yangming shook his head and unfurled his sleeves to reveal the Charm Arm Guard

In that instant, a terrifyingly large crack could be seen running across the arm guard.

"That treasure of yours is really amazing, Brother Zuoqiu. To think that it managed to break my equipment!" Ou Yangming then chuckled bitterly, "Had I not created this magic tool myself, I fear that I would be out for blood right now!"

After exchanging a glance at one another, the two laughed out heartily once more.

Sometime later, Zuoqiu Hongyuan withdrew his smile and looked in another direction. "Brother Ou, if you're truly capable of creating your own illusions, try not to make them so awkward in the future." With that, he then clasped his fists together and stated, "We shall meet again, Brother Ou."

Ou Yangming retracted his smile as well and met Zuoqiu Hongyuan's gaze head-on. "We shall meet again."

In a flash, Zuoqiu Hongyuan then leaped off the cliff.

However, as soon as he had jumped off, a blinding sword-light erupted from the ground and enshrouded its surroundings with its radiance.