Chapter 232: One Versus Seven
Ma Hongjun, eyes red, rushed madly to Flender's side. His teacher's body was mangled beyond recognition—features crushed together, trampled countless times, beaten so savagely it was impossible to tell he had once been human.
"Teacher! Teacher! Ye Lingling, hurry and treat my teacher!"
Ye Lingling's two yellow and two purple soul rings lit beneath her. She brought her palms together, then slowly opened them, a gentle white light emitting from her hands, accompanied by a faint floral fragrance. As the scent spread, a petal-shaped light descended from the sky, gently landing on Flender and merging into his body.
But just as the petals fused, Ye Lingling shook her head.
"What do you mean, shaking your head? What do you mean!?" Ma Hongjun shouted uncontrollably.
"Flender's bones and internal organs are completely shattered. He's already dead. Even Nine Heart Begonia can't bring the dead back to life."
Ma Hongjun's eyes widened. Overcome with grief, tears streamed from his eyes. "Teacher! Teacher!!"
Spirit City's enforcers arrived, expressions stern. They began apprehending some of the soul masters involved. But once they learned that the dead man had insulted His Holiness the Pope, they suddenly became indignant in support of the assailants—saying the man deserved it, and promptly released everyone they had caught.
A mere Soul Sage dared to offend the Pope? He had it coming. Even a Soul Douluo would deserve death for that.
Returning to their posts, the enforcers coldly told Ma Hongjun, who was sobbing over Flender's body, "Get that corpse out of here. Don't defile Spirit Hall's image."
Ma Hongjun's eyes filled with hatred. "What did you say? Isn't Spirit Hall supposed to be the holy land of soul masters? My teacher was killed here, and you just ignore it?!"
"To offend the Pope is a capital offense. You have one minute to remove that corpse. If we have to do it, there might not be anything left to carry away."
Ma Hongjun trembled with rage. His fists clenched. His Evil Fire Phoenix aura flickered with a trace of darkness. If he still had his former strength—not even as a Phoenix God, just as a level 99 Phoenix Douluo—he would storm Spirit Hall and slaughter everyone in Spirit City.
Meanwhile, back at the Pope's Plaza, the match continued.
Though Qingfeng had been pierced by the Blue Silver Overlord Spear, his spirit body had grown several times larger after spirit possession. The injury from the spear was greatly reduced in size and impact. After some treatment, he'd be fully recovered in a few hours.
Qian Renxue then faced Qianguliuyun and Yan. He defeated Qianguliuyun easily—his tool spirit was completely countered by ranged attacks. Qian Renxue's Blue Silver Blades rained down relentlessly and overwhelmed him.
Qianguliuyun was frustrated. Despite having a soul ring configuration similar to Qian Renxue's, he was soundly defeated. His soul bone skill, Medusa's Gaze, was dodged.
Yan gave Qian Renxue more trouble. His fourth and fifth soul skills—Molten Lava Surge and Scorching Flame Tempest—put some pressure on him. But Qian Renxue took to the skies with his Two-Winged Angel spirit and knocked Yan out of the ring.
Because he had consumed a great deal of soul power while returning from being blasted off Pope's Hill by Qingfeng, Qian Renxue fought both battles conserving power. Even so, he had less than 40% soul power remaining.
Still, every Spirit Hall soul master in the arena now gazed at Qian Renxue with awe and admiration. Their Holy Son had gone one versus seven during the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament semifinals—a match of the highest prestige—and prevailed. Other than Tang San, who was just a Soul Ancestor, the rest were all powerful Soul Kings.
Most people at the Soul King level wouldn't even dare dream of winning two matches in a row against such opponents.
Back at the Heaven Dou Second Team rest area, Gu Chen clenched his fists, his face filled with frustration. Although he had lost to Qian Renxue during the Heaven Dou promotion rounds, he believed their talent as twin spirit wielders was comparable. Now he realized Qian Renxue hadn't even used his full strength in their match. The gap between them was massive.
As Tianchen stepped up to the stage, Qian Renxue took a deep breath. This... this is the truly terrifying opponent. He had seen what the Golden Crocodile King spirit could do. Its offensive power rivaled even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. But what was even scarier was its defense. Its entire body was covered in armor-like scales, practically invincible—only the eyes could be considered a weak point.
If the Golden Crocodile King wanted the title, Bone Dragon might lose its claim as the continent's strongest defensive spirit.
Qian Renxue had already used about 60% of his soul power and over 70% of his mental energy. He was running on fumes. Even in peak condition, he wasn't sure he could beat Tianchen. His only chance was to exploit the crocodile's lack of speed and drag the fight into a battle of attrition.
"Holy Son, your one-versus-seven was amazing. Now it's my turn."
Tianchen's golden eyes gleamed as four purple and two black soul rings rose under his feet. His body quickly transformed, becoming a six-meter-long Golden Crocodile.
Qian Renxue chuckled. "Oh? Maybe I'll make it one versus eight."
"You're already spent. Even at full power, I don't see how you'd beat me."
"Maybe not elsewhere—but here, we're on the arena."
The match began. Four Blue Silver Vines appeared in front of Qian Renxue. This time, he didn't throw Blue Silver Blades by hand—he used the vines directly.
Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!
Several blades shot toward Tianchen's eyes—the crocodile's only soft spot.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Tianchen, highly aware, lashed his spiked, highly flexible tail. It deflected all the blades effortlessly.
Qian Renxue's fifth soul ring lit up again. The Blue Silver Overlord Spear returned to his hand. The earlier blade strikes had just been a feint.
"Fifth Soul Skill—Blue Silver Overlord Spear."
Golden light radiated from the spear. Since being blasted from Pope's Hill by Qingfeng, Qian Renxue had kept his Blue Silver Domain active, absorbing life energy from all the lush vegetation—especially rich because of Ah Yin's presence.
This time, the Overlord Spear was stronger than the one he used against Gu Chen in the promotion rounds.
He threw it.
The air itself twisted. The spear tore through space before anyone could react.
Tianchen's sixth soul ring activated. His tail gleamed with golden light, extending by two meters. The spikes thickened, and his already dense scales were reinforced with another layer of chitin. When the tail swept out, the air around it exploded with a thunderous boom.
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