Xiao Yan's expression violently distorted after hearing Yao Jun's declaration, Yuri chuckling lightly at the sheer audacity Yao Jun showed by speaking them out loud. Just how many people had the gall to completely denounce someone carrying a fragment from a Supreme Law, especially one that had already reached the Earthly Deity realm? Xiao Yan's chest heave violently, the fire burning within it threatening to fully swallow his mind as he tightly clenched his bow to remain somewhat calm.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, to judge and denounce me like that? What the fuck do you think gives you the right to do that?"

Yao Jun didn't bother responding to Xiao Yan's questions, a faint thumping from his God Gate resounding in his ears. He had interacted with his God Gate before, he had even felt it show desire when he discovered the remnant energy that belonged to the first God Gate. But at no point in time had the God Gate ever showed its emotions as clearly as it was doing right now. He could feel it cry out for Xiao Yan's fragment, like a father reaching out for his lost son, begging for him to come home. The God Gate was desperate, it wanted to become whole again.

Xiao Yan's expression twitched when he saw that Yao Jun was completely ignoring him, but he swiftly took a deep breath to force his mind to stay calm. He was just about to sneer and open his mouth again when he suddenly saw that the thick dark spikes that Yao Jun had summoned from the shadows started to move. All of them suddenly coiled around each other, forming a single thick spike that shot toward Xiao Yan like a furious bolt of lightning.

Yao Jun's attack became the signal that started the battle again, everyone unleashing their attacks against the people around them. Xiao Yan clicked his tongue in the face of the attack, flicking his index finger and causing a thick crystalline wall to rise up from the ground in front of him. The wall was slightly tilted to the side, the spike sliding along the wall and being redirected directly into the valley wall, leaving a deep cave in it.

Xiao Yan jumped back right after flicking his finger, a faint light beneath his feet causing his speed to become so fast that others were barely able to see a flash. Yao Jun landed in the spot where Xiao Yan had just stood right after he vanished, having ridden the spike and jumped over the crystal wall. His sword stabbed into the ground, leaving a small hole that continued deep into the earth.

Yao Jun let go of his sword and leaned backward with bent knees right after his sword stabbed into the ground, leaning so far back that his head almost touched the ground. An arrow so fast it only looked like a thin line flashed just above his chest right after he leaned back, a low screeching sound barely audible as it cut through the air. The arrow suddenly split up as it passed over his chest, turning into several smaller lines of light that aimed for Yao Jun's chest.

Yao Jun tried to duck into the shadow beneath him, but the lines of light dispelled his shadows the moment he tried to do so. This could only mean that the source of this law that Xiao Yan was using, likely the law of light, was of a higher level than the source of Yao Jun's law of darkness. He might have absorbed a Divine beast, or at least something very close to it, that had the law of light, an exceedingly rare law.

Yao Jun could probably teleport through space to dodge, but he didn't want to do so, at least not yet, so he decided on a different course of action. Several small drops of water and ice spawned into existence around him, the lines of light piercing through them and getting distorted and weakened in the process. Yao Jun took this chance to fully lay down on the ground, using his left leg to kick his own sword high into the air and his right leg to kick off the ground, pushing his body into the crystal wall. His head unleashed an intense heat as he touched the wall, melting the crystal and allowing him to slide through it, dodging the lines of light.

Yao Jun raised his legs and rolled backward the moment he passed through the wall, kicking off the ground the moment his feet touched the ground. A heavy blast of wind aided his jump, launching him into the air and allowing him to grab onto the hilt of the sword he had just kicked into the air. Yao Jun immediately threw the sword with all his might, a thunderous shockwave erupting from it as it tore through the air and headed directly for Xiao Yan, who unleashed several smaller arrows in response.

A few of the arrows imploded in on themselves, leaving behind small orbs of concentrated gravity that tore at the sword, forcing it to change direction and fall towards the ground in front of Xiao Yan. The other arrows came directly for Yao Jun, gathering the wind around them to drastically increase their piercing power.

But Yao Jun vanished just as the arrows were about to hit him, appearing out from the shadow that his falling sword was casting. He grabbed onto the hilt, lifting the sword into an upwards stab that aimed for Xiao Yan's chest, deep blue fire and azure lightning roaring around the tip of the sword. Xiao Yan's brows furrowed and he decided to take a step back to dodge the stab, but just as he wanted to step back, he saw that a thick layer of ice had surrounded his feet, preventing him from immediately moving away.

He quickly reacted, the earth beneath Yao Jun's feet turning into viscous mud that sucked his feet in and caused him to lose his balance. His sword just barely missed Xiao Yan's face, but a small arc of lightning still landed on his face, leaving a small cut on the bridge of his nose.

Xiao Yan quickly acted after breaking Yao Jun's balance, flicking his finger and causing thick roots to spread through the mud, aiming to pierce through Yao Jun's legs and lower body. At the same time, he summoned forth almost 20 Demonic beasts, each of them at the early or middle stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm.

Yao Jun didn't react one whit slower than Xiao Yan, his law of death spreading out from his legs and causing all the roots around him to wither and die. He swept his eyes over the Demonic beasts, using his poison and mental energy to invade their brains and turn them against Xiao Yan, all their attacks changing direction and heading for him.

Xiao Yan glanced at the attacks, his eyebrows twitching slightly, but otherwise not showing any emotions. He had completed his goal, which was to buy enough time to shatter the ice around his feet so that he could use his law of light to put some distance between the two of them again. He waved his hand and turned into a flash of light, dodging backward while also unleashing several searing rays of light that tore through the Demonic beasts he had just summoned. Once he finished putting some distance between them again, he looked at Yao Jun, his eyes narrowing as he spoke.

"You...just what are you? How can you utilize so many laws?"

This was the third time Xiao Yan had ever seen anyone else use that many laws in a battle against him. The first time was when he fought the Sixth Myriad King Tian Baiying, someone who had a fragment of the Supreme Law of Elements, and the second time was when he fought against the Second Demon Empress Rachel Helios, someone who carried two fragments of the Supreme Law of Demons.

But according to all of Xiao Yan's sources of information, all the fragment lords were still alive and accounted for, with Michelle Zathris being the one exception, having died before the start of the competition. But Michelle Zathris had a fragment of the Supreme Law of Attack, so Xiao Yan was certain Yao Jun didn't have her fragment. As such, he had been unable to refrain from voicing his confusion and curiosity.

Yao Jun would of course not answer Xiao Yan's question, he wasn't so dumb as to reveal his own secret just like that. His body suddenly vanished, Xiao Yan quickly bending his knees and ducking down, a sword slicing through the air above his head. Xiao Yan let go of his bow and placed both his hands on the ground, kicking out behind him with his right leg, his foot colliding with Yao Jun's chest, who was currently in the process of jumping out of Xiao Yan's shadow.

The sole of Xiao Yan's foot exploded with power, the law of piercing and the law of slicing invading Yao Jun's chest and leaving several bloody wounds on it, sending him soaring backward at the same time. Right after he sent Yao Jun flying with a kick, Xiao Yan furrowed his brows and jumped forward, just barely dodging a spike of ice that shot up from the ground beneath him.

But just as he dodged the spike, a blazing flame sparked into existence in the middle of the spike, quickly melting it as the flame expanded. The spike of ice turned into fire, water, and steam, all of which headed directly for Xiao Yan, who just thought he had dodged the spike. He tried to dodge again by using his law of light, but the three different elements had him completely surrounded.

He quickly chose to dash through the steam, choosing it to be the weaker of the three attacks. He crossed his arms in front of his face and jumped through the steam, a metallic sheen covering his entire body as a form of defense. The steam quickly gathered around him, the minuscule water droplets that formed it turning into razor-sharp knives that slashed at him. He was only in the mist for a single second, but the sheer amount of droplets that it was made up of resulted in several small cuts appearing on his body, blood quickly staining his robe. Had he not used metal to shield his body, he might have been sliced into tiny ribbons.

After he dashed through the mist, he jumped into the air, a yellow winged serpent Demonic beast appearing beneath his feet and bringing him into the air. The only way he could stop Yao Jun from appearing out his shadow was by using his law of light, but he couldn't keep it active at all times, so he chose a different tactic, limit the space from which Yao Jun could appear. By staying on his Demonic beast, he could drastically shrink the area from which Yao Jun could appear, making it easier to react in time. This particular Demonic beast was also only a single step away from the Earthly Deity realm, so it should be able to play a small part in the battle.

Yao Jun wiped some blood away from the corner of his mouth, looking up at Xiao Yan and his flying serpent, which had a small mane of brown feathers growing on its head. Yao Jun swept his gaze across the rest of the battlefield for a short second, observing the entire situation before deciding on his next move. After a short second, the wind around him grew ferocious, launching his body high into the air and chasing after Xiao Yan.

A faint smile appeared on Xiao Yan's face when he saw Yao Jun's actions, a blinding light suddenly radiating from his body, erasing all the shadows around him and his serpent. He flicked his finger, a nearly hundred-meter long ox that seemed to be made from solid metal appearing directly next to him. This ox had reached the early stage of the Earthly Deity realm, it was one of his strongest Demonic beasts.

The ox fell down a bit and then stomped down with its two hooves when it was right above Yao Jun, the hooves heading directly for him. Yao Jun looked at the hooves and raised his arms, crossing them in front of him and creating a three-layered shield of hardened air, ice, and flexible water. The hooves easily shattered the first two layers of the shield and bent the second layer, crashing into Yao Jun's arms and sending him plummeting to the ground, blood leaking out from the corner of his mouth.

Xiao Yan wanted to say a few gloating words, but his brows suddenly furrowed when he saw that Yao Jun's eyes carried traces of a smirk. Yao Jun plummeted towards the earth, if he continued to fall like this, he would crash into the earth directly behind Yuri, who was currently fighting the silver-haired woman that Luosho Li had summoned as reinforcements.

But then, just as he was only a single meter away from the ground, Yao Jun spun his body to the left, his left arm swinging out in a backward punch, ice gathering at the side. The side of his fist collided with something, a shattering sound resounding over the area as the rugged and brown-haired man that had followed the silver-haired woman became visible right behind Yuri. Blood bubbled forth from the man's mouth, a dagger of ice sticking out from his chest, pieces of his heart still sticking to the tip.

Yao Jun spun his body to the right the moment his fist made contact with the brown-haired man and his dagger pierced through his heart. The man had no choice but to follow along with Yao Jun's spinning motion, his body flung over Yao Jun's side and sent flying towards Luosho Li, who was currently fighting Baam and Mascheny alongside the orange-haired man, the last of her reinforcements. Yao Jun landed in a crouching position after he flung the man away, a low mutter from Yuri reaching his ears.

"And here I thought you had completely forgotten about what we came here for. But still, you gotta warn me before you pull shit like that, nearly gave me a heart attack just now."

Yao Jun didn't respond, his lips simply curling up slightly as he raised his head and looked at the body of the man he had just flung. He had been keeping a close eye on the rest of the battle even while fighting Xiao Yan, waiting for a chance, this was that chance.

Luosho Li was in the middle of defending against a lance made of light and lightning that Mascheny had launched at her, she didn't have a thought to spare for anything else. And it was at just this moment that the body of the brown-haired man crashed into the shield that Luosho Li had kept around her body this entire fight.

A black light exploded forth from the body of the man as a large black lotus bloomed into existence, the violent energy the lotus unleashed causing space itself to distort and shatter. Since this was the chance that he had waited for, how could Yao Jun not use his strongest attack? Baam and Mascheny looked at the attack with some surprise, rather amazed at the power it was able to unleash.

It was then that they saw Luosho Li's expression distorting slightly, worry clearly apparent in her eyes. And then, under their shocked gazes, the shield around her body cracked and fell apart under the might of the lotus, leaving her practically defenseless for the first time since the battle started. Now the two of them understood why Luosho Li looked both annoyed and agitated when she first saw Yao Jun appeared. An unknown cultivator, one who had yet to even reach the early stage of the Earthly Deity realm, was able to shatter one of her shields. It was one of her weaker shields, one that could be kept active at all times, but it was still something that could be considered a grand feat.

The first one to react when Luosho Li's shield cracked was actually Xiao Yan, his entire body turning into a thin line of light that almost instantly arrived at Luosho Li's side. A short dagger appeared in his grasp, his hand moving faster than it had ever done before in his life. The dagger cut cleanly through Luosho Li's finger, separating both it and her interspatial ring from the rest of her hand. Without her shields to defend her, her body was only as strong as most other cultivators.

Xiao Yan quickly snatched the finger and the ring, dashing away as fast as he could. A three-meter long golden jaguar appeared in front of him, a single golden horn growing on its forehead, glowing crystals sprouting from its joints and the tip of its tails. Yao Jun could feel what this jaguar was the moment it appeared, it was a true Divine beast, and looking at the light it was casting, it was likely the one that gave Xiao Yan control over the law of light.

Xiao Yan jumped onto the jaguar, which immediately tried to flee as fast as it could. But it was not the only one here who could control the law of light, Mascheny also had control over the law of light. What's more, she had fused it with her law of lightning and her law of time, making her even faster than someone who only had the law of light. She vanished from her previous position, appearing directly in front of Xiao Yan and his beast, stretching out her hand to grab onto him.

Xiao Yan's expression distorted and he quickly swiped his interspatial ring, a wing-shaped token appearing in his grasp. Yao Jun could feel the token radiate a bit of the law of space, so he guessed that it was likely a type of teleportation token that would transport Xiao Yan away. Before the competition started, they were warned that using one such token would force them to forfeit the competition, but it seemed like Xiao Yan didn't care, he simply wanted to escape with the tower in his hands.

Xiao Yan shattered the token, space around him turning thick and viscous as the law of space started to teleport him away, a victorious smile on his face. Yao Jun's lips curled into a faint smile when he saw the scene, a barely audible snap resounding over the area as he snapped his fingers.

The moment Yao Jun snapped his fingers, the distorting space around Xiao Yan started to collapse and shatter. The token took control over and bent space so that it could teleport its wielder away, once space around the wielder shattered, there was no way for the token to control and bend it, rendering it useless, no more than a decoration.

It was for exactly something like this that Yao Jun had kept his law of space hidden for so long, he was waiting for a moment where his law of space would be able to instantly turn the tide of the battle. And here that moment was, now Xiao Yan had no way of escaping from Mascheny. This was also one of the reasons Yao Jun hadn't immediately gone for Luosho Li's interspatial ring the moment he shattered her shield. Whoever acquired that interspatial ring would instantly become everyone's enemy.

Xiao Yan was able to resist the pull of the spatial rifts that came about when space collapsed, but his entire face turned a pale white when the token failed to send him away. He first cast a glance at Baam, but knew that it hadn't been him that shattered space when he saw his surprised expression. His gaze then fell on Yao Jun, his faint smile burning itself into Xiao Yan's eyes and mind.

He wanted to shout out in rage, but Mascheny's hand reached him just as he opened his mouth. Her palm hit him square in the chest, blood spewing forth from his mouth as he was flung backward like a ragdoll, Luosho Li's interspatial ring flung high into the sky, everyone's eyes landing on it. As if they had planned it in advance, everyone charged out at the same time, heading directly for the ring, everyone except Yao Jun, who simply continued to observe everything with a faint smile.