Seeing the moment ripe, Chen Junting activated his sixth soul ring.
But this time, it wasn't Annihilation.
BOOM—!
Crimson light flooded the arena. Heaven and earth churned. Soul power surged from the ground like molten lava, coalescing into ten thousand Seven Kill Swords that spiraled skyward, forming a vortex around Chen Junting.
Next second, four colossal swords materialized from his soul power.
From the void, four massive arms emerged, manifesting a towering demon phantom behind Chen Junting—its height rivaling Long Aotian's Martial Soul True Form.
With a flick of Chen Junting's sword-finger, three domains erupted simultaneously:
- Slaughter Domain
- Snow Empress's left arm bone skill: "Empress Frost – Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice"
- Tyrant's right leg bone skill fused with the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum: "Tyrant Domain"
Slaughter, Absolute Freeze, Annihilation—three terrifying auras blanketed the arena.
"Seven Kill Thunder rises, one sword shatters the sky."
Slaughter. Absolute Freeze. Entanglement.
The three sword intents solidified, sheathing the demon's three swords in crimson, frost, and distortion. The fourth sword pulsed with Tyrant's raw destruction.
Hum—!
The blades hummed, their Ultimate Metal sharpness undeniable.
A faint "Attribute" glyph shimmered on Chen Junting's brow.
Under Ning Tian's monstrous amplification, even without activating his Martial Soul True Form, Chen Junting's attack had breached the Super Douluo threshold—unstoppable even for ordinary Title Douluos.
"Slash!"
His sword-finger descended. The four-armed demon swung its blades as if extensions of Chen Junting's will. Four crescent-shaped slashes tore through space itself.
This was the finishing blow for Long Aotian.
"Long Aotian, forfeit!" Vina shrieked, pupils contracting.
Even with utmost faith in Long Aotian, she knew—this strike would cripple him. Surviving meant severe injuries, likely sidelining him for the rest of the tournament.
A Soul Saint with this power…
This tournament is completely, utterly broken!
Her voice pierced the air—aimed squarely at Head Referee Zheng Zhan.
But Zheng Zhan reacted "slowly," deliberately letting the attack land. He wanted Long Aotian maimed.
'Damn it!' Vina cursed inwardly, abandoning resentment. Survival was all that mattered now.
"Aaah—!"
A piercing shriek tore from her throat. Her five rings—two yellow, two purple, one black—morphed into six pitch-black rings. Her fourth ring blazed.
Warping soundwaves radiated from her, centered on a silver-white brain-like phantom behind her.
Fourth Skill – Banshee's Wail.
An indiscriminate crowd-control attack. But Vina no longer cared—her teammates wore spirit-shielding soul tools; they'd only suffer temporary ear pain.
Instinctively, everyone covered their ears.
Except Long Aotian. Gritting through the agony, he unleashed Yan God's Claw again, channeling his Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear soul spirit and Unity with Heaven and Earth to meet the slashes.
Below, Huo Yuhao summoned Skydream Iceworm, erecting a Life Reflection Shield against the sonic assault.
Gu Tianchen simply vanished into a spatial gate, isolating himself entirely.
For Chen Junting, the attack was negligible.
But spotting Long Aotian's desperate counter—and Zheng Zhan's deliberate "delay"—Chen Junting smirked. He split the four slashes:
- Slaughter and Entanglement continued toward Long Aotian.
- Absolute Freeze and the destruction-laden slashes veered off—targeting Zheng Zhan.
"Old Gu."
At Chen Junting's call, Gu Tianchen reappeared. Spatial gates yawned before the redirected slashes.
The spatial backlash made Gu Tianchen grimace—a chaotic rift flickering between the colliding forces.
Chen Junting subtly suppressed the slashes' aura.
Onstage, Zheng Zhan's heart lurched. Danger screamed in his instincts.
Without hesitation, he raised a shield—Grade 9 defensive soul tool.
Just in time.
A spatial gate ripped open before him. The two unleashed slashes slammed into his shield.
CLANG—!
Metallic thunder shook the arena. A crack spiderwebbed across the shield.
Zheng Zhan's fury ignited. He locked eyes with Chen Junting—catching the fleeting regret on his face.
'You little bastard—this was intentional!'
Pity it failed.
Chen Junting sighed inwardly. He'd expected this. The feint was just to spite Zheng Zhan—payback for Sun Moon's repeated biased officiating.
Punishment?
Where's the evidence?
It was merely "pulling punches." And Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect wasn't some minor sect to be bullied.
Zheng Zhan strode to center stage, eyeing the exhausted teams. Long Aotian, reverted from True Form and drained, leaned on Vina.
He didn't confront Chen Junting—pointless, and humiliating.
"Long Aotian is out. Match continues."
As Zheng Zhan moved to escort Long Aotian away, Vina stopped him.
"We forfeit," she said bitterly, yet gratitude flashed in her eyes toward Chen Junting. She'd seen his restraint.
Winning was impossible.
With Long Aotian gone, their six couldn't withstand Chen Junting and Gu Tianchen's combined assault—not with five more waiting below.
Zheng Zhan announced: "Round-Robin Group One, Match One—Team Battle concluded. Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect wins! Combined with individual scores: 9–0. Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect defeats Snow Demon Sect!"
Thunderous applause erupted—even though both teams hailed from Tianhun Empire.
Post-match, Vina approached Chen Junting's group, supporting Long Aotian. "Thank you for your mercy."
Chen Junting chuckled, glancing at Zheng Zhan. "We'll be allies soon. No need to kill each other."
Snow Demon Sect understood. Vina shot Zheng Zhan a fake smile as he announced the next match. "When we face Sun Moon teams, we'll return the favor."
Sun Moon squads suddenly felt chills down their spines.
Long Aotian's battle lust burned brighter. "When I break through to Soul Douluo, we duel again." He nodded to Gu Tianchen. "Both of you."
Chen Junting smiled. "My pleasure."
Gu Tianchen bowed. "Anytime."
Three warriors, mutual respect unspoken.
Vina whispered to Ning Tian until they parted in the rest zone.
—
On the main stand, Crown Prince Xu Tianran's face was stormy. Even Jing Hongchen dared not breathe.
The gap was too vast.
Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and Body Sect's Soul Saints fought like Title Douluos—while his grandson was one-shot by a Soul Emperor.
"This match enlightened me," Xu Tianran mused, making hearts skip.
Only Zhongli Wu remained calm.
Jing Hongchen groveled: "Your Highness, their talents are unripe. You'll be Sun Moon's great sovereign—unifying the continent. They'll kneel before you."
Flattery hit its mark.
Xu Tianran waved it off. "I care not for 'great sovereign.' But you're right—I'll conquer this land, stand atop the world, and crush Douluo Continent under my heel."
"For His Highness!" Jing Hongchen intoned.
"For His Highness!" the court echoed.
Xu Tianran turned to Zhongli Wu. "State Preceptor, ensure the Holy Spirit Cult gives me satisfactory results. These prodigies have two choices: submit or die. And they'll submit only to Sun Moon—to me."
Zhongli Wu feigned ignorance. "After the top eight, we'll field three Soul Saints. None will rival us—except Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, of course."
Jing Hongchen's face darkened. Is our academy a charity?
Some officials frowned—but Xu Tianran merely nodded. "Good."
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