At the pinnacle of the World Tree, a man in black and Li Xiaotian pursued each other, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Countless World Tree leaves were pulverized, and the terrifying fluctuations were so intense that some trial-takers who sensed the commotion dared not approach.
It had to be said that the man in black was powerful, but his origins were even more curious to Li Xiaotian. From the first stage to the present, he had a general impression of every trial-taker's appearance, except for this man in black.
Moreover, even if the other party had been hiding, such formidable strength should not have remained unknown.
More importantly, why had the man attacked him?
"Boom!"
Li Xiaotian once again slashed a sword at the man in black. The sword energy was vast, like a silver river from the ninth heaven, cutting forward with overwhelming momentum.
"Swish!"
Almost instantly, the man in black drew his bowstring to its limit and fired another arrow.
"Clang!"
The arrow light streaked across the sky and collided fiercely with the sword energy, erupting in a brilliant display of light, with terrifying fluctuations raging in all directions.
Subsequently, the sword energy was obliterated, the arrow dimmed, and finally dissipated completely.
However, Li Xiaotian seized the opportunity and accelerated sharply, arriving beside the man in black. He lifted his right foot and stomped down, causing the void to explode. Terrifying power poured out, suppressing the man in black.
"Heh heh."
The man in black sneered upon seeing this. Light flashed all over his body, and a powerful aura surged forth, not much weaker than Li Xiaotian's.
Li Xiaotian's eyes flickered with surprise. The man's archery had reached the pinnacle of perfection. He had initially thought the man's close combat was a weakness since he had been desperately avoiding him, but to his surprise, the man's close combat was not much weaker than his own.
"Boom!"
Li Xiaotian threw another punch, his powerful aura erupting, making the entire world seem to tremble.
"Bang!"
The man in black did not show weakness either, raising his hand to meet the attack. Terrifying power exploded, and both were pushed back.
"Swish!"
Before the man in black could stabilize himself, Li Xiaotian pressed forward again, his right leg like a whip, sweeping towards the man's neck with terrifying force.
"Bang!"
The man in black extended his left hand, blocking Li Xiaotian's kick, and quickly withdrew it. He then raised his hand again and struck towards Li Xiaotian's chest.
"Boom boom boom!!"
The two exchanged hundreds of blows in an instant, the surrounding space trembling violently. The aftermath of their clashes shattered the surrounding World Tree leaves.
"Boom!"
Li Xiaotian seized an opportunity, clenched his fists, and smashed them into the man in black's abdomen, sending him flying heavily into a World Tree branch.
"Who are you? The God Realm? Or one of the Twelve Supreme Worlds?"
Li Xiaotian spoke, pressing forward. At the same time, his brow furrowed. After fighting the man in black several times, he finally realized something was amiss.
The man's emotional fluctuations seemed to be very few. In all the exchanges, he had not shown a trace of emotion, and even when injured by Li Xiaotian, he remained calm.
"Heh heh, Li Xiaotian, you've been targeted by us. You can't escape."
Unexpectedly, the man in black spoke this time. He looked at Li Xiaotian with a strange smile.
"Playing tricks!"
Li Xiaotian's expression turned cold. He reached out to grab the man.
"Boom!"
Instantly, a giant palm traversed the sky, blotting out the sun and sealing off all of the man in black's escape routes.
Seeing this, the man in black let out a low roar. His aura suddenly surged, and a majestic figure vaguely appeared behind him, as if roaring to the heavens and punching towards Li Xiaotian's giant palm.
However, Li Xiaotian was no longer holding back. No matter how the man in black resisted, it was futile. The giant palm grasped firmly.
"Boom!"
In an instant, the man in black's body was crushed by him.
For a moment, black fragments scattered in the void, and Li Xiaotian's expression changed. He finally understood why he felt the man in black was peculiar.
After his body exploded, it did not produce flesh and blood, but countless black fragments of stone.
"Buzz!"
The next moment, with the power of devouring activated, Li Xiaotian gathered all the black fragments, his brow furrowed.
"Not a true living being, but a puppet!"
"A puppet forged from semi-divine artifact materials, or perhaps a clone!"
No wonder he had no emotional fluctuations, and his physique could contend with his own, Li Xiaotian murmured to himself. It wasn't that he was overconfident in his physique, but at his level, he could sense the difference in power with every exchange.
Li Xiaotian looked at the black fragments in his hand. Their material was very special, something he had never seen before, which deepened his doubts.
He thought of the strange words the man in black had spoken: he had been targeted?
By whom? From his words, it seemed the other party was not alone?
"You tricksters, if I ever meet you again, I'll kill you all!" Li Xiaotian cursed, detesting such mysterious entities.
He decided to remain at the World Tree's pinnacle, wanting to see what exactly had targeted him. Since they dared to attack him once, there would surely be a second time.
"I wonder if other trial-takers have encountered similar situations?"
Li Xiaotian sat cross-legged on a World Tree leaf. He first ruled out people from the God Realm, as if they wanted to deal with him, they would directly send powerful individuals instead of resorting to such covert means.
For several days, Li Xiaotian stayed at the World Tree's pinnacle.
During this time, he encountered a few trial-takers, but their strength was too weak to pique his interest.
"Hmph!"
Finally, one evening, Li Xiaotian suddenly felt a sense of being watched. He let out a cold snort.
"Whoosh!"
His body vanished instantly, and in a flash, he appeared on another World Tree leaf. At this moment, a transparent figure was rapidly taking shape on this leaf. Upon seeing Li Xiaotian's sudden appearance, it was clearly taken aback.
"Let me see what exactly you are!"
Li Xiaotian reached out to grab the transparent figure. Terrifying power erupted, and ripples spread out. His aura sealed the surroundings, preventing any possibility of the transparent figure escaping.
"How did you find me?"
The transparent figure transmitted a vague consciousness, seemingly filled with surprise and astonishment.
"Hmph!"
Li Xiaotian ignored it. He directly activated his devouring power. He was too lazy to interrogate; it was better to simply devour. Whatever he wanted to know, he could learn from the other party's memories later.
"Heh heh, Li Xiaotian, it's useless!"
But unexpectedly, the transparent figure offered no resistance, instead allowing Li Xiaotian to devour it.