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--- Chapter 232 ---
Han Yuan snapped his fingers, summoning the Ten Thousand Beast Flame into reality. The fiery cat appeared before Hai Bodong's eyes, giving him a little bit of a shock.
Although Hai Bodong has learned about Heavenly Flame, seeing it himself is a different experience. The feeling of facing the force of nature made him not only uncomfortable but also dreadful.
People called Hai Bodong the 'Ice Emperor,' but his ice prowess is nothing before this heat. He felt like his ice would melt instantly.
Of course, this was mainly because Han Yuan's Heavenly Flame is odd in the literal sense.
Ten Thousand Beast Flame is one of the low-ranked ones in the Heavenly Flame List. Yet, due to Han Yuan's direct influence to awaken its spiritual intelligence and potential, it has gained the name "Enma" and become stronger.
Not to mention, Enma will gradually grow even stronger as he feeds it his own Dou Qi, Energy of the Heaven and Earth, and possibly the power of the Douluo Plane.
In fact, Enma might turn into a Divine Flame in the future.
Han Yuan's right fingers were cloaked with crimson orbs as he stared at Hai Bodong and said, "The curse is on your back, so please take off your robe, Old Man."
"O-Old Man..." Hai Bodong's expression darkened. He could clearly tell that Han Yuan didn't have the slightest respect for him.
Even then, Hai Bodong still pulled his robe off, revealing his scrawny body and wrinkled back to Han Yuan.
"Oh, this is..." Yafei narrowed her eyes, seeing a hideous scar, or curve, on Hai Bodong's back. Unlike the rest of his skin tone, this scar is jet-black with two crimson dots that seemed to be a serpent's eyes.
Han Yuan glanced at Yafei and said with a smirk, "Watch this closely, Yafei."
"Hmm?" Yafei tilted his head.
Han Yuan stood behind Hai Bodong and unexpectedly smacked his hand on the middle-aged man's back, causing him to scream in pain as black blood spewed out like a fountain from his mouth.
"Fuck! What did you-! Argh!" Hai Bodong roared at the top of his lungs.
"..." Yafei's eyes widened in disbelief.
Han Yuan watched Hai Bodong rolling on the dirty floor like a worm as the Crimson Flame wrapped him like a cocoon. The cursed mark on his back gradually became lighter as the Heavenly Flame burned it away.
The sealing force vanished a few minutes later, and Hai Bodong emitted a chilling aura.
BOOM!
Han Yuan remained calm as the chilling aura couldn't affect him, and Yafei also used her Fairy Queen's Winged Down to protect herself.
"Hahaha..." Cold mist covered the Ancient Map Shop as excited laughter echoed.
"Hahaha, I am back, baby!"
"The Ice Emperor is back!"
Han Yuan rolled his eyes at Hai Bodong in the mist, "Okay, calm down, Old Man. The curse is gone, and so is your cultivation, but decades of erosion still affect your body."
"Your body is barely in the top condition, and from my observation, you barely have 50% of your former physical strength."
Hai Bodong froze awkwardly as the mist vanished, revealing his still thin body. He glanced at Han Yuan and snorted, "Hmph, I know that much, too."
"I am just celebrating my freedom."
"Kids these days don't know about celebration at all."
'Wow, aren't you a little embarrassed? Your face is so thick that you can probably take Dou God head-on without losing.' Han Yuan gave Hai Bodong a weird look.
Hai Bodong put his robe back and rubbed his neck, "Even then, kid, you are so ruthless. You could have warned me..."
"If I warned you, your body wouldn't be as relaxed as it was." Han Yuan retorted calmly, completely bullshitting his way. He could have given Hai Bodong a 'gentle' treatment, but why would he?
Han Yuan knew Hai Bodong was a prideful man. If he didn't shake him a little, he wouldn't have approved of him.
"Um, Grand Uncle, you're going to join Martial Union, right?" asked Yafei, wanting to redirect the conversation.
Hai Bodong glanced at Han Yuan and then Yafei, "Fine, I am indebted to this brat anyway."
"However..."
"I'd like to see the future of this so-called Martial Union."
"You've shown me how capable you are, considering you can break the curse of that fearsome Queen Medusa."
"So, let's fight!" He grinned at Han Yuan.
'So, you're holding a grudge and want to beat me up immediately?' Han Yuan sighed helplessly.
'Indebted my ass.'
Sure enough, he couldn't be gentle with this type of person.
Yafei's mouth twitched slightly, 'The old records didn't lie. Grand Uncle is definitely an eccentric person.'
'Still, Grand Uncle is going to suffer facing Xiao Yuan...' A confident feeling surged in her heart. If there is a person that Yafei has a blind trust in, then it must be Han Yuan.
With that, they moved to the vast desert.
...
...
Yafei was suspended in the sky, watching two figures on the cold desert facing each other.
She eyed Hai Bodong and felt his Dou Emperor aura as well as his chilling aura that even freezes the air. On the other hand, Han Yuan barely had an aura, and he could even be mistaken for an ordinary person instead of a Dou Fighter, but she knew he was nothing but ordinary.
"Are you ready, kid?" Hai Bodong raised his hands, condensing ice Dou Qi into existence.
Han Yuan calmly stared at Hai Bodong, "Go on, Old Man."
Hai Bodong smirked wickedly under the moonlight as he waved his hand at Han Yuan, sending a wave of ice Dou Qi in the shape of a giant eastern dragon.
"Mysterious Ice Dragon!"
Swoosh!
BOOM! ROAR!
Han Yuan faced the fearsome ice dragon with a calm look, as this creation of ice wasn't a simple high-level Dou Technique. It is modified to suit Hai Bodong. It is not only a high mastery of Shape Transformation, but also Nature Transformation in a sense.
"Let's try something new first..." Han Yuan mumbled while clenching his hand slightly.
The wind and lightning Dou Qi in his dantian burst out from his clenched hand, creating a flickering silverish-gray light. Then, he punched the ice dragon with his fist.
"Storm Fist!"
BOOM!
Once Han Yuan's fist made contact with the ice dragon, it exploded into a cold mist, leaving Hai Bodong speechless. However, it wasn't over yet, as a howling wind and thunderous shockwave followed, washing the desert with their destructive force.
Hai Bodong crossed his arms, bearing the impact. "Holy shit, what was that?"
"That wasn't normal... At all!"
"Kid, did you just combine wind and lightning Dou Qi into a new elemental power?"
Han Yuan smiled, "I called it Storm Dou Qi. It has both speed, sharpness, paralyzing, and the destructive power of wind and lightning."
"And before you're asking, no, I am not from Misty Cloud Sect."
"This technique is purely my creation."
The Dou Qi cultivation Han Yuan used isn't orthodox. It is a path he made for himself and his subordinates in this world, using the elements of other worlds. So, it is not as rigid as typical Dou Qi cultivation and has many flexible developments.
On the downside, this path also requires a high comprehension and creativity to advance further.
"Interesting, very interesting." Hai Bodong's eyes gleamed with the excitement of a child.
"The new generation really does replace the old, but..."
"Let's see if your so-called creation of Storm Dou Qi could contend against my ice."
Han Yuan didn't say anything and disappeared from the spot before appearing above Hai Bodong. His Storm Dou Qi wrapped his legs as he launched a fierce dropkick at him.
Hai Bodong raised his eyebrow, "Condensed Ice Mirror!"
BANG!
An ice mirror appeared above Hai Bodong, protecting him from the fierce dropkick. Then, a counterattack was triggered, sending a cold blast toward Han Yuan.
Han Yuan got blasted away, crashing several hundred meters away with ice crystals on his chest.
Hai Bodong waved his hands, "Hahaha, again, take this, kid."
"Mysterious Ice Dragon - Snowy Dance Break!"
Different from before, this time, five ice dragons appeared and rushed toward Han Yuan with heavy momentum.
Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!
A heavy ice storm hit the desert area as the five ice dragons moved in a complex pattern, not only sealing Han Yuan but also preventing him from attacking Hai Bodong like before.
Han Yuan's extreme speed. Hai Bodong was wary of it.
"A Dou Technique that can reflect attack, huh?" Han Yuan stood up lazily, patting dust off his clothes. Watching the five ice dragons' formation, he observed the surroundings before stomping his leg to the ground.
Everything within a 500-meter radius shook violently as Hai Bodong's eyes widened in disbelief.
Shockwaves collided with the ice dragons, and a sandstorm followed, drowning everything in earthly bounds.
Once the sandstorm cleared, Hai Bodong could see that his attacks had stopped. The ice dragons buried deep in the sands as Han Yuan's legs pressed them down.
Han Yuan stomped the ice dragons, crushing them to dust. "Is that the best you can do, Old Man?"
Hai Bodong's eyes twitched as he snorted, "Hmph, kids these days... are so monstrous."
Honestly, Hai Bodong was already satisfied with Han Yuan's strength, but he was curious about what his limit was. There is also a fact that he can't use his full power, so each of his moves wasn't as powerful as they used to be.
Yet, even a seasoned Dou Emperor would have a hard time facing his ice Dou Qi. Han Yuan took them all without covering his body or using Heavenly Flame.
Any other person would have gotten frozen.
There is no other explanation.
This boy is a monster!
However, it doesn't mean Hai Bodong is a pushover.
Hai Bodong created ice armor around his body and then rushed toward Han Yuan himself this time. A long sword made of Dou Qi appeared in his right hand as he swung it.
"Sky Frost Sword!"
Han Yuan similarly summoned a spear made of his Dou Qi, swinging at Hai Bodong. "Cleaving Storm!"
BANG!
Their Dou Qi collided mid-air. Their weapons didn't even touch, but the sheer intensity of their energy made the surrounding area lose its color.
"Hahaha, good, very good! Kid, you're the strongest youngster I have ever faced in the last few decades!" Hai Bodong laughed hard.
"Hmm, wait, what are you doing?"
Then, under Hai Bodong's shocked gaze, Han Yuan let go of his spear and appeared behind him.
Han Yuan locked his arms around Hai Bodong's waist, and he jumped back, slamming him to the ground heavily, "Storm Breaker."
"Oy, oy, oy, brat-!" Hai Bodong paled, wanting to give up for the sake of his old bone.
However, Han Yuan pretended to be deaf and suplexed Hai Bodong anyway.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Hai Bodong's ice armor was 'instantly' broken into pieces as his scrawny body received the heavy impact.
Cough!
"D-Damn it..." Hai Bodong coughed blood, holding his back as if it was one step away from breaking. He struggled to get up and pointed his trembling finger at Han Yuan. "You little shit!"
Han Yuan smiled nonchalantly, "So, what do you think, Old Man?"
"Do you think my Martial Union is good enough now?"
Hai Bodong was speechless, "Fuck!"
He really wanted to beat Han Yuan to a pulp.
Nevertheless, he realized that Han Yuan was unscathed the entire time while he was having his back nearly broken, and some of his internal organs were 'severely' shaken.
Han Yuan didn't even sweat!
That's how nonchalant he was.
He was never serious in the first place?
"Shit, just how strong are you?" Hai Bodong couldn't help but curse at Han Yuan.
Han Yuan gazed at the night sky and pretentiously said, "Sigh, not strong enough! I might be strong, but there are countless people stronger than me in this world..."
"..." Hai Bodong.