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"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The ice blades slammed against the shield repeatedly, producing dull thuds.
Shi Nian's shield quickly developed cracks under Xue Tianxing's attacks.
After only a few moves, Xue Tianxing shattered the shield with a single sword strike, and the ice sword once again slashed Shi Nian's arm, leaving a deep wound that exposed the bone, which instantly froze into ice.
Shi Nian's breath grew weaker and weaker, his face turned as pale as paper, and his eyes began to glaze over.
He knew he was no match for Xue Tianxing, and a strong will to survive surged within him, making him want to escape again.
But as soon as he turned around, Xue Tianxing saw through his intentions, instantly appeared behind him, and thrust his ice sword into his back.
"Pfft—" This time, the ice sword pierced directly through Shi Nian's heart.
Shi Nian's body stiffened, and he slowly lowered his head, looking at the sword tip protruding from his chest, his eyes filled with resentment and despair.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but could only cough up a few mouthfuls of blood before his body went limp and he completely lost his life.
Xue Tianxing drew his ice sword, looked at Shi Nian's corpse on the ground, and breathed a long sigh of relief.
Although the battle just now seemed easy, it was actually extremely dangerous. If it weren't for a mysterious power suddenly emerging in his mind at the critical moment when he was being dragged into a nightmare, instantly breaking the shackles of Shi Nian's soul skill and pulling him back to reality, he would probably be unconscious like Shui Bing'er and the others, and have become a dead soul under Shi Nian's blade.
Xue Tianxing raised his hand and rubbed his temples, pondering to himself:
What exactly is that mysterious force?
Is it the Ice Goddess, Gu Yuena, or some other hidden power within myself?
Whatever it was, we were able to escape danger this time thanks to that force.
He turned to look at Shui Bing'er and the other six who were still unconscious, and quickly went over to them. He circulated his soul power and injected the gentle ice elemental energy into their bodies to help them dispel the lingering nightmare effects in their minds.
Not long after, Shui Bing'er opened her eyes first, her gaze still somewhat dazed. She gradually came to her senses only after seeing Xue Tianxing.
"Tianxing, what... what just happened to us? I think I had a really scary dream."
"We were dragged into a nightmare by Shi Nian's soul skill, but it's all over now. I've already taken care of Shi Nian."
Xue Tianxing spoke softly, continuing to help the others dispel the effects of the nightmare. As time passed, Dugu Yan, Cao Qing, and the others also woke up one after another.
When they learned that Shi Nian had been killed by Xue Tianxing, they all showed expressions of lingering fear.
"Great! That old bastard is finally dead! We don't have to worry about him ambushing us anymore!"
Dugu Yan breathed a sigh of relief, her tone tinged with a sense of relief.
Xue Tianxing nodded, but his gaze remained solemn:
"Now that Shi Nian is dead, we can finally rest easy."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Then, Xue Tianxing took out the soul bone from Shi Nian and led the others toward the hotel.
On the street, Shi Nian's body lay there quietly, and would soon be discovered by the guards of Tian Dou City, but all of this was no longer relevant to Xue Tianxing and his companions.
What they need to do now is to conserve their energy and prepare for any further crises that may arise.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Xue Tianxing's room door was gently pushed open, and Liu Tianfeng's figure quietly appeared inside.
At this moment, Xue Tianxing was sitting at the table polishing his ice sword. Upon seeing Liu Tianfeng, he stopped what he was doing, looked up, and asked:
"Grandpa Liu, how did the chase after that man in the blood-stained clothes go yesterday?"
Liu Tianfeng walked to the table and sat down, his face showing a hint of weariness, but he couldn't hide the coldness in his eyes:
"That old woman was indeed fast. I chased her all the way out of Tiandou City, until I finally stopped her in a mountain forest a hundred miles away."
That guy was tough; he'd rather die than surrender, and in the end, I killed him with a single sword stroke.
Liu Tianfeng paused, then changed the subject, asking with concern:
"By the way, nothing happened here after I left, right?"
Xue Tianxing put down his ice sword and said calmly:
"The blood-clad man you're chasing is a helper that Shi Nian specifically hired to lure the tiger away from the mountain."
You had just been lured away when Shi Nian appeared, trying to seize our soul bones.
Fortunately, we reacted quickly, and I managed to break free from his lingering illusion and kill him.
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Tianfeng's heart tightened, and his expression instantly turned serious. He then said:
"I actually fell for their trap! Thank goodness you're all alright. If anything had happened to you, even my death wouldn't have been enough to make up for it!"
Liu Tianfeng felt guilty. If he hadn't been careless and lured away, Shi Nian wouldn't have had the chance to attack Xue Tianxing and the others.
After a moment, the guilt in Liu Tianfeng's eyes was gradually replaced by a cold killing intent, and he said in a deep voice:
"Although Shi Nian is dead, he harmed countless people in his quest for the soul bone. Under his control, Canghui Academy probably committed many heinous acts as well. This debt cannot be left unpaid."
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Tianfeng's figure flashed and disappeared from the room like a ghost, obviously to deal with the follow-up matters of Canghui Academy.
Xue Tianxing looked in the direction where Liu Tianfeng disappeared and gently shook his head—he knew Liu Tianfeng's character; once he decided to take charge, he would never give up halfway. However, this was also a good thing, at least it could bring solace to those who had been persecuted by Shi Nian.
Composing himself, Xue Tian walked out of the room and summoned Shui Bing'er and the others to the Soul Arena for the day's competition.
After yesterday's battle, everyone's teamwork is better and they are more composed when facing their opponents.
In the following matches, Barak Academy continued their dominant performance, winning each game with an absolute advantage, which raised the audience's expectations for them higher and higher.
That day, Xue Tianxing and his friends had just finished a match and stepped off the Soul Arena when they heard a murmur of discussion around them, their voices filled with shock.
"Have you heard? Everyone from Canghui Academy is dead!"
"Really? What's going on?"
"It seems that last night, the entire Canghui Academy team and their supervising teacher were found dead under mysterious circumstances in their hotel room, leaving no clues at the scene!"
Upon hearing these discussions, Xue Tianxing understood immediately—it must have been Liu Tianfeng who did this.
Since Shi Nian is dead, Canghui Academy, as his faction, will naturally not escape being purged.
However, he didn't say much, and simply led his team members away from the arena in silence.
Some things don't need to be made public; as long as the outcome is just, that's enough.
In the following days, the All-Continent Soul Master Tournament entered a heated phase, with each strong team giving their all to compete for a spot in the top four.