Sparks erupted.
The collision was deafening. Sparks of crimson scattered like falling stars.
Ren Xuan staggered back half a step, his sword arm trembling. The fire aura burned against his martial soul like acid eating through steel.
He looked at her with a mixture of astonishment and grudging admiration.
"A self-made Soul Skill?" Ren Xuan asked
However the answer he met was of silence, Ren Xuan tilted his head slightly, his smirk widening as he studied the woman before him.
"Well… are you Qian Renxue's grandmother?" he asked mockingly. His tone was laced with amusement of solving a mystery, but his eyes gleamed with curiosity.
There was no record, not even in the original story, of Qian Xunji's mother. For all his omniscience for knowing the original storyline, this gap irritated him.
He concluded only Qian Xunji's mother and Qian Daoliu's wife was capable of reaching the same heights and was the hidden trump card of Elder's hall.
(Author Notes: After reaching the realm of Titled Douluo a youthful face can be kept)
So seeing a face same sa Qian Renxue, Ren Xuan had concluded that the opponent before him was Qian Renxue's Grandmother.
He licked his lips unconsciously, a predator savoring the thrill of a worthy hunt.
"It seems," he murmured, voice low and dangerous, "I'll have to spend some time on you…"
With that, his killing intent exploded outward.
"Sixth Soul Skill: Sword Booster!"
A crimson glow enveloped the Xuan Yuan Sword, its surface humming violently as it absorbed his surging soul power. The air split with a piercing whistle. His sword trembled, then screamed like a dragon freed from its chains.
"Second Soul Skill: Sword Strike!"
"Fourth Soul Skill: Thousand Wind Slash!"
The enhanced strike came down like the judgment of heaven, fast, direct, absolute.
But Qian Renxue didn't move to evade. Instead, her eyes burned as if by burning flames
Her flaming sword rose to meet his descending blade.
A storm of golden fire erupted from her strike, spiraling outward like a tempest. Wind and flame clashed, the violent gusts rose from it.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two blades met in a blur.
Each collision sent shockwaves rippling across the plains and the nearby forest was reduced to ash. The tavern's ruins vanished completely, vaporized by the sheer pressure of their battle.
Their silhouettes danced amid fire and steel—gold and crimson intertwining in a chaotic waltz.
To any observer, it would look as though two gods were dueling, each stroke a hymn of destruction and creation.
Ren Xuan's laughter echoed through the blazing wind. "Good! Very good!"
He was using the sword style 'Dugu Nine swords' which he had received by the system once due to one special achievement and this sword style had even managed to overwhelm Tang Chen once.
Every swing of his sword was heavier than the last. The ground beneath his feet fractured like glass, unable to bear the strain of his aura.
Qian Renxue, however, remained calm—too calm. Each movement of hers was precise, deliberate, her eyes cold even as flames scorched the air around her. But her body could not deceive the truth—her breathing was growing ragged.
In just half an hour, she had already changed her sword four times.
Each one had shattered under the pressure of Ren Xuan's strength, exploding into molten shards that vanished in her flame aura.
Finally, the fourth sword cracked down the center, leaving only the hilt in her hand.
Ren Xuan, by contrast, stood tall—his breathing steady, his aura unbroken.
He wiped a smear of soot from his cheek and grinned. "You're slowing down," he taunted. "It won't take much longer now."
But despite his confident words, his eyes betrayed a flicker of unease.
Moments ago, just a flicker earlier, her surprise spatial attack had nearly severed his arm. Even with the system's predictive warnings, he'd only barely dodged in time.
'That attack… is not a normal soul skill. It was pure tearing of space,' he thought grimly. 'If I hadn't reacted instantly, my sword arm would be gone.'
He exhaled slowly, adjusting his grip on his sword.
'As long as I keep my focus on that spatial attack, I can wear her down. Her stamina's running out, while I still have reserves left.'
Across the battlefield, Qian Renxue's chest rose and fell rhythmically. Her aura flickered slightly—partly due to fatigue, partly to hide the smile tugging at her lips.
'He thinks I'm exhausted,' she mused, her spiritual perception brushing faintly against the cracks forming on his sword's hilt.
However soon, Qian Renxue's breathing slowly evened out, her chest rising and falling in a calm rhythm—as if her earlier exhaustion had been nothing more than an illusion crafted to deceive him.
Her purple eyes regained their clarity, the radiance within them sharp, like a blade of light cutting through illusion.
'So this is it?' she mused internally, the corners of her lips twitching upward ever so slightly.
'I thought this man might be like another Yun Ming of Douluo Dalu 3… someone whose power alone could suppress the entire continent.'
Her gaze turned cold and assessing.
'But he's not. He's inflated, bloated by borrowed strength, by whatever the parasite of a system props him up. Without it, he's just a stronger-than-average Ultimate Douluo. Perhaps slightly stronger than Grandfather due to his higher cultivation.'
Her spirit power stirred, a soft, golden luminescence rippling across her body. The feathers of her six radiant wings unfolded fully, glowing with the brilliance of dawn.
'I wonder how long your little system can protect you, Ren Xuan.'
Her smirk deepened. 'Still… fighting you was useful. I've gotten a clearer picture of my strength as a Soul Master.'
Qian Renxue lifted her sword slowly, her every movement carrying the quiet confidence of someone who knew the tides of battle had shifted irreversibly.
Then she smiled—a faint, dangerous smile that made every nerve in Ren Xuan's body scream in alarm.
"Now," she said softly, her voice echoing like a decree, "the warm-up is over."