161: Lü Bu

The exchange meeting reached its midpoint, and the atmosphere gradually heated up. The displays of many Evolvers were dazzling. Lü Yan was becoming somewhat restless. He rubbed his broad palms against his knees, his eyes flickering with a burning fighting spirit, like a tiger ready to pounce.

"Brother Zhang Lei, look..." Lü Yan leaned over, his voice carrying an irrepressible excitement. "Shall the two of us go up and exchange pointers?"

He rubbed his hands together, his knuckles letting out a series of crisp "crackles" like popping beans from the force. Though his tone was consultative, his burning gaze and eager posture had already laid bare his urgency.

Hearing this, the corners of Zhang Lei's mouth slowly curled into a sharp arc, and a blazing fire was instantly ignited in his eyes as well. He laughed loudly, his voice like a great bell, filled with frankness and heroism. "Hahaha! Brother Lü Yan is indeed a straightforward man! To tell you the truth, I have long been itching for a fight, but out of courtesy, I haven't brought it up. Since Brother Lü Yan has such an interest, let the two of us go up and stretch our limbs. We shall stop when the point is made, how about it?" Before his voice had even faded, he had already stood up. As he rose, the air around him seemed to vibrate slightly, causing his combat suit to flutter even without wind.

"Haha! Good! Splendid! Exactly what I wanted! We'll stop when the point is made, but Brother Zhang Lei—you must absolutely give it your all. Do not disappoint me!" Lü Yan laughed heroically, his voice shaking the roof tiles, while a sharp glint like the edge of a Sky Piercer Halberd flashed in his eyes. He waved his large hand, making a "please" gesture with a wild and uninhibited posture.

The two smiled at each other and then strode side-by-side toward the center of the Training Ground. Wherever they passed, the Evolvers along the way felt a heart-palpitating sense of pressure, parting like a tide to both sides and automatically clearing a wide path. Everyone's gaze was focused on these two powerhouses, the ceiling of China's combat strength, their eyes filled with immense anticipation and excitement. Everyone understood that this upcoming duel would surely become the climax of tonight and the entire exchange meeting!

In the center of the Training Ground, the two stood thirty meters apart, like two mountains about to collide.

Lü Yan took a deep breath, the sound of it as if he could suck the surrounding air dry! In the next second, the aura around him erupted like a dormant volcano, climbing step by step!

"Come! Let me see the style of Lujiang's number one!"

"Lü Bu—!" Lü Yan suddenly let out a violent roar, sounding like a thunderclap!

The space behind him suddenly warped and vibrated! A towering, mountain-like phantom, eight meters tall, suddenly tore through the void and appeared proudly! The phantom wore a Triple-Pronged Purple-Gold Crown, its top inlaid with two dragons fighting for a treasure and a pearl the size of a pigeon's egg. Behind its head, vibrant pheasant tails fluttered in the wind, displaying unparalleled nobility and world-shaking heroic spirit!

It wore a Xichuan Red Silk Hundred-Flower Battle Robe with gold-threaded borders and brilliant floral patterns. Over it was a set of ferocious Beast-Face Swallow-Head Interlocking Armor, the plates tightly packed and reflecting a cold, hard metallic glint under the intense light! Around its waist was a Lion-Headed Belt adorned with pearls and rare treasures. In its hand, a Sky Piercer Halberd pointed diagonally toward the sky, a sword hung at its waist, and a golden bow was slung across its back! The moment this phantom solidified, a tragic murderous intent and battlefield baleful aura, as if tempered in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood and crossing through the ages, swept out like a storm! It caused many weaker Evolvers to stop breathing for a moment, their faces turning pale!

At the same time, Lü Yan's physical body underwent an amazing transformation! A set of armor identical to the phantom's instantly covered his body. He wore the golden crown and held a physical Sky Piercer Halberd! His entire temperament changed drastically; his gaze was disdainful, wild, and uninhibited, as if the ancient Tiger of Men and Flying General had returned to the world, intending to sweep through the land with his halberd!

"Good timing!!" An incredible brilliance erupted in Zhang Lei's eyes, and he likewise stopped holding back!

"Open—!"

Behind him, a massive Taiji Diagram over 10 meters in diameter unfolded with a boom! But it wasn't black and white; instead, one half was a deep, ice-blue polar ocean of extreme cold, while the other half was a boiling golden-red sea of lava that seemed capable of incinerating all things! The two diametrically opposed energies flowed and rotated at an unprecedented speed! In an instant, the temperature of the entire Training Ground became extremely bizarre. With Zhang Lei as the boundary, the left side was sweltering with rolling heatwaves and distorted air, while the right side was bone-chillingly cold, with frost even forming on the ground!

On the surface of his body, countless ice crystals and flames intertwined and rapidly transformed into a magnificent and majestic Ice-Fire God Armor! The armor's lines were smooth, with red and blue patterns crisscrossing like living things, emitting heart-pounding waves of majestic energy!

Before the two had even officially clashed, the mere collision of their auras and the manifestation of their Superpowers had already caused the heavens and earth to lose color and energy to surge! The spectating Evolvers all held their breath, not daring to make a sound. Some weaker low-level Evolvers were so intimidated by this terrifying pressure that their faces turned pale, and they couldn't help but retreat repeatedly, only feeling slightly better once they reached the edge of the field.

"fire qilin spear!" Zhang Lei was the first to strike, letting out an angry shout!

The sea of fire within the Two-Powers Diagram suddenly churned, and a majestic Qilin roar shook the surroundings! A Fire Qilin, its entire body burning with golden divine flames as if cast from red gold, stepped out from the fire. It was extraordinarily handsome, with auspicious clouds naturally forming beneath its four hooves! After appearing, it didn't pause at all, instantly turning into a streak of red-gold light that tore through space and plunged into Zhang Lei's hand—as the light faded, an ancient and overbearing long spear with Qilin patterns moving along its shaft and extremely high-temperature flames jumping at its tip was already in his hand!

The atmosphere in the arena was so heavy it seemed to have become tangible!

"Red Hare!" Lü Yan, not to be outdone, also let out a shout!

"Hiii-in!" A horse's neigh, like the sound of splitting clouds and stones, seemed to come from the high heavens! A divine steed stepped through the void! Its fur was like the purest flames, without a single stray color. Its build was robust and tall, far exceeding ordinary warhorses. As its four hooves galloped, it stepped on red air currents, as if walking on fire! Lü Yan leaped up, his movement smooth as lightning, and landed steadily on the horse's back—man and horse as one!

He reached back and drew the golden bow from his back. The massive Lü Bu phantom behind him moved in synchronization. A majestic energy gathered, condensing into a solid energy arrow that shone with a dangerous light!

"Swish! Swish!"

Almost at the same time, two ear-piercing sharp sounds tore through the air! Lü Yan's physical body and the Lü Bu phantom behind him fired an arrow simultaneously! One arrow was physical and the other ethereal, yet both dragged long, light-distorting energy trails. They surged like a rainbow, the air letting out explosive pops as it was torn apart wherever they passed, heading straight for Zhang Lei with an invincible momentum!