Within the Star Luo Empire, Ironblood City—
At this moment, noble soul masters were leading their private armies in fierce combat.
In this war, the fighting capabilities of ordinary people were limited to logistical support. On the frontlines, commoners couldn't even participate; only well-trained armies could barely hold their own against low-level soul masters. As for high-level soul masters, even the slightest ripple of their battles could decimate elite troops.
Ordinary soul masters could still be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, but once they reached the rank of Soul Sage or higher, they became forces capable of rivaling thousands of soldiers. Ordinary armies might delay them for a while, but they could never defeat or capture a Soul Sage.
This was the nature of warfare in a world of extraordinary power.
Having experienced dozens of battles, Zhu Zhuqing watched everything with cold detachment. Her heart had long turned as hard as iron and stone.
"This slow pace of capturing cities is unacceptable. If I want to prove myself, I need results—and fast."
After breaking through to Title Douluo status, Zhu Zhuqing no longer needed to hide her identity. Her thoughts now raced with radical ideas.
Thinking was one thing; acting was another. As the strongest fighter here, Zhu Zhuqing feared no enemy. A pair of wings far more powerful than an angel's unfurled behind her back, and in an instant, she vanished from her original position.
Kill! Instant kill!
In the blink of an eye, two Soul Douluos loyal to the Star Luo imperial family fell to Zhu Zhuqing's hands. But she didn't stop there. With a chilling glint in her eyes, she charged toward other high-level soul masters nearby.
But at that moment—
Zhu Zhuqing, caught up in the heat of battle, suddenly felt a bone-chilling sensation deep within her soul!
When she broke through to Super Douluo status, Huo Yu'er had explained that every level beyond rank 95 required merging one's martial soul with their will to advance.
Tiger-type martial souls, especially Zhu Zhuqing's top-tier Sacred White Tiger martial soul, granted her immense combat bonuses after deep resonance. The most basic bonus was amplifying her strength, but more importantly, it gave her an incredibly sharp sense of battle awareness.
Right now, her sixth sense was screaming warnings at her!
Without hesitation, Zhu Zhuqing compressed her body into the smallest possible form and activated her sixth soul skill, the Sacred Invincible Barrier.
A surge of sacred energy instantly enveloped her in a protective cocoon.
At that exact moment, a blood-red blade struck the barrier with lightning speed.
Zhu Zhuqing locked eyes with her attacker—a filthy old man radiating a nauseating stench of blood.
In an instant, Zhu Zhuqing understood who he was.
This was a despicable fallen soul master, and his cultivation had reached the terrifying level of a Title Douluo!
Even though fallen soul masters were formidable fighters, only someone at the Title Douluo level could have caused her such a profound sense of crisis just now.
However, having narrowly avoided the fatal ambush, Zhu Zhuqing quickly regained her composure. Her eyes blazed with killing intent, and her aura surged with murderous energy rivaling that of the Blood Fiend. Before the barrier dissipated, her soul rings began to flicker rapidly.
At this moment, her claws were enveloped in an overwhelmingly dense sacred energy.
A lowly fallen soul master dared to ambush a sacred-attribute Title Douluo who naturally countered him—it was a blatant defiance of the natural order!
"—Ahh! AHHH!"
Before the Blood Fiend could even scream, five blades of pure sacred energy shattered his defenses and struck him directly, inflicting excruciating pain. He was sent flying backward, howling in agony.
But Zhu Zhuqing wasn't about to let him off so easily. Though her sacred attribute countered him, she knew that the previous attack wouldn't be enough to kill him.
She needed to increase the dosage!
With a powerful flap of her wings, Zhu Zhuqing surged forward to pursue him.
At that moment, two figures leaped into the air from the chaotic battlefield below. Their soul rings emerged one after another.
Both possessed the optimal soul ring configuration: two yellow, two purple, and five black rings—indicative of Title Douluos.
Almost instantly, Zhu Zhuqing noticed them. From their unmistakable Evil-Eyed features, she deduced they were undoubtedly members of the Star Luo imperial family.
Before Zhu Zhuqing could figure out where the Star Luo imperial family had found two additional Title Douluos, their ninth soul rings began to glow.
"Tyrant Tiger Roar Cannon!"
"Heavenly White Tiger Roar!"
Zhu Zhuqing's expression changed abruptly. Her defensive soul skill had already been used earlier and was now on cooldown. The Heavenly White Tiger Roar's sound waves reached her faster than the Tyrant Tiger Roar Cannon's light.
"Damn it, this is a control-type soul skill!"
Zhu Zhuqing roared inwardly, but the air-distorting sonic waves forcibly froze her mid-air.
At the same time, the light from the Tyrant Tiger Roar Cannon surged toward her.
By now, Zhu Zhuqing had realized the truth. From the moment the Blood Fiend attacked, she had fallen into the Star Luo imperial family's trap. It no longer mattered where they had found three Title Douluos—it was irrelevant now.
Her gaze hardened as her seventh soul ring lit up.
Zhu Zhuqing's soul ring configuration was two yellow, one purple, four black, and two red—a combination that seemed absurd to ordinary soul masters.
But with Ye Wen's theory on soul ring absorption spreading, people now understood that the years associated with soul rings weren't fixed. Thus, no one paid much attention to unusual soul ring configurations. Still, Zhu Zhuqing's two hundred-thousand-year soul rings inspired awe and fear among countless soul masters.
According to Ye Wen's theory, absorbing soul rings was also a test of a soul master's limits. Only those with bodies strong enough to bear ten-thousand- or even hundred-thousand-year soul rings could compete with soul beasts of equivalent power.
Ordinary soul masters had a clear understanding: hundred-thousand-year soul beasts could rival Super Douluos. Zhu Zhuqing's eighth soul ring already possessed this caliber, and now that her cultivation had broken through to Super Douluo, her true strength far exceeded surface appearances. This was why the Star Luo nobility readily accepted her as their leader.
There was no helping it—Zhu Zhuqing's fists were simply too big.
Plus, with the backing of the Star Luo imperial family and the numerous Soul Douluos of the Zhu family, why would anyone refuse to join such a powerful faction?
Careful observers would notice that Zhu Zhuqing was far more complex than she appeared. The edges of her seventh soul ring emitted a faint red glow, indicating that it wasn't a mere fifty-thousand-year soul ring—it was likely close to breaking through to a hundred-thousand-year level.
"Seventh Soul Skill—Sacred White Tiger True Body!!!"
A dazzling golden light flashed, momentarily outshining the brilliance of the Tyrant Tiger Roar Cannon.
ROAR!!!
The majestic roar of a beast echoed across the battlefield. A massive white tiger, over twenty meters long, adorned with golden patterns and wings, now hovered in the air.
The effect of the Sacred White Tiger True Body: For half an hour, the usage time restrictions of the first six soul skills are lifted, and overall attributes are amplified by 1.99 times!
It was well known that all soul masters' seventh soul skills were variations of their martial soul's True Body, differing only in manifestation based on the type of martial soul. Additionally, the higher the soul ring's years, the stronger the True Body's effect.
The limit for ordinary soul masters' seventh soul rings was fifty thousand years, granting only a 1.5x boost. But Zhu Zhuqing's near-hundred-thousand-year soul ring was extraordinarily powerful.
Still, Zhu Zhuqing felt a tinge of shame. Her last three soul rings were obtained through divine-bestowed soul rings provided by Huo Yu'er. She had come so close—if only she had held on a little longer, her seventh soul ring could have been a hundred-thousand-year level. But alas, she hadn't persevered.
For a long time, Zhu Zhuqing felt too embarrassed to face Huo Yu'er. After receiving such a precious resource, her performance had been lackluster, making her doubt her worth.
Huo Yu'er, however, wasn't bothered. Before departing, she had instructed Zhu Zhuqing: "Show your worth fully in this chaotic era. Your future depends on you."
In her True Body state, Zhu Zhuqing recalled Huo Yu'er's words and her near-failure moments ago. Her eyes burned with fury at being outmaneuvered.
The Tyrant Tiger Roar Cannon undoubtedly struck Zhu Zhuqing.
Though it originated from a Title Douluo's ninth soul ring, Zhu Zhuqing's sixth soul skill, the Sacred Invincible Barrier, possessed an unmatched invincibility under god-level attacks and lasted longer. Combined with the removal of usage restrictions from the True Body, Zhu Zhuqing was now an unbreakable Immovable Vajra.
Her majestic tiger eyes glanced at the two Title Douluos but didn't attack them. Instead, she flapped her wings and continued pursuing the Blood Fiend.
"First Soul Skill—Sacred Dash!" Speed increased by 100%.
"Second Soul Skill—Sacred Sharp Strike!" Sacred attribute enhanced, limb attack power strengthened, all attributes boosted by 50%.
"Third Soul Skill—Sacred White Tiger Transformation!" All attributes increased by 100%.
Zhu Zhuqing unleashed all her augmentative soul skills, causing her sacred energy to surge explosively as she lunged toward the Blood Fiend.
Blood Fiend: !? I admit ambushing you was wrong, but what grudge do we have that makes you relentlessly pursue me? Didn't those two sneak attack you too!?
Seeing this, the two royal elders' faces paled. They hurriedly activated their True Bodies to aid the Blood Fiend. After all, he was one of their few high-level Title Douluos and a fallen soul master whose combat power rivaled a Super Douluo—he couldn't be allowed to fall in this battle.
But Zhu Zhuqing, enveloped in her Sacred White Tiger True Body, smirked sinisterly. This was exactly the situation she wanted.
Though Zhu Zhuqing cared little for the lives of the nobles, she didn't want to lose too many potential subordinates. That's why she hadn't retaliated against the two royal elders but instead lured them away from the main battlefield.
Now was the time to hunt!
"Fifth Soul Skill—Clone!" Zhu Zhuqing's fifth soul ring flared brightly as she unleashed a rare clone-type soul skill.
Instantly, her Sacred White Tiger split into three, each charging toward the two newly arrived Evil-Eyed White Tigers and the Blood Fiend, who was scrambling to his feet.
The Evil-Eyed White Tiger was inherently an inferior martial soul compared to Zhu Zhuqing's Sacred White Tiger. Coupled with her superior cultivation, even the diminished clones overwhelmed the two elders.
Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuqing finally discerned the Blood Fiend's martial soul.
Initially, she had assumed it was some kind of blade-type weapon soul. But in battle, she realized how wrong she had been.
The Blood Fiend's martial soul wasn't a weapon—it was his own blood.
If Zhu Zhuqing remembered correctly, this was a self-body martial soul like Huo Yu'er's. It was astonishing to see such a potent martial soul on a fallen soul master. The world truly held endless wonders.
Soon, however, Zhu Zhuqing revealed a self-satisfied sneer.
A normal self-body blood martial soul might have posed some difficulty, as they were the most compatible with soul masters and lacked clear hierarchical or attribute disadvantages compared to soul beasts unless there was a significant quality gap.
But the Blood Fiend's blood martial soul, cultivated with evil energy, was now perfectly countered by her sacred attribute. It was practically suicide!
As Zhu Zhuqing suspected, even a single roar from her Sacred White Tiger, imbued with sacred energy, was enough to make the Blood Fiend suffer immensely. Let alone facing her fully empowered True Body.
Even activating his True Body wasn't enough for the Blood Fiend to match Zhu Zhuqing.
Soon, the Blood Fiend's Blood Demon True Body was shattered in mere moments.
Now, the Blood Fiend was caught in the backlash of his shattered True Body, unable to use his martial soul for a short time.
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes gleamed with predatory amusement, but unlike a cat toying with a mouse, she knew this wasn't the time for games. She needed to eliminate these troublesome enemies quickly before they caused complications.
From the void, Huo Yu'er, observing the battle, sighed softly: "What a pity."
Beside her, Ye Wen nodded slightly.
When an ordinary soul master's True Body was shattered, they suffered backlash and couldn't use their martial soul temporarily. But why was the self-body martial soul considered the most compatible for soul masters?
Because it was an integral part of the soul master's human body, whereas other martial souls carried traces of foreign origins, leading to slight incompatibilities.
At this moment, the Blood Fiend revealed a sly grin.
From the start, he knew he couldn't defeat Zhu Zhuqing. So why had he activated his True Body and fought desperately?
Because everything was an illusion.
The Blood Fiend's eyes widened furiously.
"Secret Technique—Blood Escape!"
Using the thick blood mist created by his shattered True Body to obscure his presence, the Blood Fiend activated this secret technique. At the cost of half his blood, his speed skyrocketed to the extreme, akin to spatial teleportation.
When Zhu Zhuqing dispersed the blood mist, ready to deliver the final blow, she found her target had vanished. Stunned, she stood frozen in place.
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