Ding! Ding! Ding! Above the heavens, the vibrant swordlight wove intricately with the serpentine lightning chains, erupting in a thunderous, crisp clash that sent brilliant sparks scattering. Medusa stepped back slightly, her face growing serious. After absorbing several soul forms, the iron protector's strength had clearly intensified. This relentless, near-frenzied assault had even left her hands numb. Standing motionless in the sky, the iron protector fixed Medusa with a venomous gaze, emitting a chilling, murderous laugh. Without granting her a single moment to catch her breath, he moved his arm—sending the black, dragon-like chains roaring forward with a powerful gust of pressure, sweeping across the sky before finally hurling them with fierce force straight at Medusa. Faced with the iron protector's suddenly intensified assault, Medusa's eyes flashed with cold brilliance. Her internal qi surged to its peak, radiating a dazzling spectrum of seven colors that enveloped her, making her appear like a living tapestry of vibrant light. With each stroke of her long sword, a massive blade aura—spanning over a dozen paces—was launched, exploding with thunderous energy every time it struck the serpentine chains, producing a truly formidable display befitting a clash between two Douzong-level warriors. As Medusa and the iron protector entered the height of their combat, Xiang Yan, standing outside the battlefield, grew increasingly pale. Yet, as his complexion grew paler, a powerful energy—so intense that it caused violent ripples throughout the surrounding space—began to slowly coalesce within his rapidly flowing hand seals. Ziyan, standing by, observed Xiao Yan's expression and felt just as anxious. She knew well that some powerful combat techniques, if they failed upon execution, carried a risk of counter-effect—ranging from serious injuries to immediate death. Yet, though anxious, she dared not interrupt, nor could she do more than offer steadfast protection. At such a moment, any disturbance would be a fatal blow to Xiao Yan. As she remained poised and vigilant, the intense energy coalesced from Xiao Yan's hand seals suddenly grew disordered, and a low, muffled groan escaped his throat. Upon hearing the groan, Ziyan immediately tensed. Turning her head, she saw Xiao Yan's furrowed brows and the serious expression on his face—clearly, the powerful technique was proving extremely taxing for him. The minimum requirement for Hai Yin's Flip Sea Seal is a Battle皇-level strength, and Xiao Yan's current strength has just reached this threshold. Generally speaking, unless it were for his unique qualities that set him apart from ordinary Battle皇-level warriors, he would likely have no qualification at all to perform the Flip Sea Seal with his present capabilities, as the amount of ki required by this powerful technique is exceptionally demanding, and the precision needed in controlling that ki is equally rigorous. And at this very moment, Xiao Yan was indeed facing considerable difficulties. Though he had practiced in the small valley for some time, when it came to actual combat, he still faced significant risks in freely expressing his techniques—such as this very instance. Feeling the powerful qi rushing haphazardly throughout his body, Xiao Yan had to desperately divide his mental focus, constantly blocking and regulating it, then guiding the qi to race swiftly along specific meridians. This process naturally demanded an immense mental expenditure. At the same time, the external hand seals had to be maintained in perfect synchronization with the flow of qi. Such precise coordination, even for Xiao Yan at this moment, left him somewhat disoriented and hurried. Had it not been for his unusually strong spiritual power, he would have already failed due to insufficient control. Nevertheless, even after stubbornly maintaining for a while, the coordination between Xiao Yan's hand seal and qi gradually began to show signs of disorder. Some uncontrolled qi surged haphazardly, colliding with one another, and despite the strength of Xiao Yan's meridians, he constantly felt sharp pains radiating through his body. "Damn it, this time I can't afford any mishaps..." gritting his teeth, Xiao Yan pressed hard against the growing fatigue within his mind, striving to maintain the seamless synchronization between his hand seals and qi flow. Under such mounting pressure and anxiety, the situation only worsened, until eventually, the qi within him began to surge wildly and erratically. As he sensed the growing chaos within, Xiao Yan's expression grew concerned. If this continued, not only would he be unable to fully execute the Fan Hai Seal, but he himself might suffer serious injuries from the counter-effects. Just as a flicker of panic emerged, it was immediately suppressed by Xiao Yan at the fastest possible speed. At such a moment, any slight hesitation would mean complete collapse. Now, he was no longer the naive youth of old; with rich combat experience, he clearly understood that precisely in such moments, calmness was essential. Taking several deep breaths, Xiao Yan gradually settled the agitation within him, tightening and focusing his mind. As for the turbulent ki swirling within his body, he chose not to intervene at all—merely observing it calmly, as if watching from the perspective of a detached third party—while simultaneously slowing the pace of his hand seals. As his mind grew increasingly focused, his inner composure reached a complete state of stillness. In this profound calm, he seemed to enter an unusual, almost transcendent state, and his senses became utterly serene. "Collect!" A low command suddenly erupted deep within his mind, followed by cascading bolts of lightning—thin as threads—spreading out in every direction, ultimately gathering all the turbulent ki without any outward overflow, flowing like streams from all sides and converging into a unified whole. Under such an exceptionally calm state, the distribution of his mind energy was flawless, with no wasted effort—each strand of mind energy operating at peak efficiency. As a result, the earlier chaos and disarray vanished entirely. As the turbulent ki within him was fully stabilized, the furrowed lines on Xiao Yan’s brows gradually smoothed out. The speed of his hand seals accelerated dramatically, his figures flickering in rapid succession. After a while, his hand seals abruptly stabilized into an unusual formation: his thumb and index finger pressed inward, the other ten fingers curled like two serpents partially entwined, with the index fingers meeting directly. The overall appearance was profoundly mysterious and intricate. The hand seal solidified, and at the same moment, Xiao Yan's tightly closed eyes snapped open, his piercing brilliance radiating like tangible substance, causing Zi Yan to feel her heart leap sharply. As the hand seal solidified, the powerful qi within Xiao Yan flowed to a sudden halt along his meridians, instantly bursting forth a brilliant emerald glow from his palm. As the glow spread, an unusual emerald crystalline layer began to extend from the hand seal, spreading across his palm—within mere moments, a hand-sized emerald crystal seal adhered firmly to his palm. The emergence of the crystal seal caused a sudden ripple in the space around Xiao Yan, and the overwhelming pressure radiating outwards pressed heavily on Zi Yan's chest. The sudden surge of formidable energy immediately drew the attention of the other powerful figures on both sides, who now cast wide-eyed, stunned glances toward Xiao Yan's hand seal, sensing the immense power concealed within the crystal. As they observed it, every single person's expression turned sharply alarmed. This terrifying energy even caused genuine awe and palpable unease among the Du Phong-level warriors! Naturally, the appearance of the Bi Jing hand seal caught the attention of Medusa and the Iron Protector, especially when they sensed a power so formidable that even Du Zong-level强者 dared not overlook it casually—both of them immediately frowned, their gaze instantly shifting toward the direction from which the energy emanated. When they saw the terrifying energy generated by Xiao Yan, they were all taken aback. Upon witnessing the jade light surging toward him, the iron protector was startled. Just as he prepared to retreat, he was amazed to realize that the jade light had already locked onto his aura. "Wait—what kind of technique is this? How could someone with only a Duke-level strength manifest such a power?" Fixing his gaze on the blazing crystal glow, feeling the overwhelming energy it carried, the iron protector's expression grew increasingly serious. He realized, throughout the entire encounter, he had underestimated this young man. A thick black mist surged forth from within the iron protector's body, its contained energy causing ripples in the surrounding space. The jade-green crystal glow swept across the sky, arriving before the black mist in an instant. Now, the iron protector could clearly discern what the glow truly was. "A crystal hand seal?" "Upon seeing this object, the Iron Protector furrowed his brows, then glanced at the posture of the hand seal, pausing momentarily with a look of sheer astonishment, exclaiming in surprise, 'It's the Imperial Seal Technique!' At a distance, Xiao Yan also heard the Protector's outburst, instantly feeling a surge of energy throughout his body, his gaze blazing with murderous intent. Had this man really recognized the Fanhai Seal?"