The temperature around suddenly rose.
Hou Zhongyu wanted to evade, but it was already too late. The Qilin, which should have been firmly locked down, had somehow stood up behind him, opening its mouth wide. Li Guanyi swiftly seized Hou Zhongyu's hand.
Then, he leaped backward, drawing his knees up, and stomped down on Hou Zhongyu's chest with both feet.
He released his grip.
His legs kicked out violently.
Hou Zhongyu suddenly realized that even though he had used his techniques to temporarily elevate his strength and body to the level of a high-tier martial artist, he was ultimately a long-time sitting practitioner. His control over his own power and the release and transformation of his qi were completely foreign to him.
It was like a three-year-old child swinging a heavy hammer.
Li Guanyi's strike sent him stumbling back three steps.
The intensely blazing Qilin fire fell in the next moment, transforming into a pillar of fire that enveloped Hou Zhongyu. The high temperature crystallized the bluestone floor beneath him in an instant. Li Guanyi was forced back by the heatwave, his Golden Crow Guard armor nearly turning into an iron furnace.
But Li Guanyi soon discovered.
Hou Zhongyu was not dead.