"You!"
Zheng Zhan felt a surge of exasperation! But he understood the meaning of those four words, and realized there was absolutely no flaw in that logic. Thus, he could only roar, "Since you've decided to slaughter every soldier in my Dongyang City, then let's see if you actually have what it takes to kill me right now and claim my life!"
It was truly the first time he had ever heard such a request.
"Since that is your wish, then I shall grant it."
As Chen Junting spoke, a hint of icy coldness revealed itself in his eyes. The next second, both he and the sword in his hand moved.
An icy and solemn killing intent condensed around Chen Junting, then surged entirely toward the blade of the Seven Kill Sword. This caused the Seven Kill Sword, which originally flickered with a metallic luster, to intertwine in red and white at this very moment. On the surface of the razor-sharp blade, one could clearly see halos circulating, finally settling on the edge. Then, a terrifying scene unfolded...
Instantly, as the Seven Kill Sword was raised high, a thousand-meter-long sword aura abruptly manifested, piercing straight into the firmament. The sky was immediately torn open by a massive gash. Sunlight, like shattered gold, filtered through the clouds and cascaded down upon the thousand-meter sword aura, causing the originally murderous sword to seem almost divine at this moment.
Immediately after, the Seven Kill Sword descended like a world-splitting cleave, chopping directly down upon Zheng Zhan's head without the slightest flourish.
With one sword strike, the heavens and earth quaked, and the winds and clouds surged!
The thousand-meter giant sword truly ripped through the vast sky. The deep, ferocious spatial fissures it left behind generated an immense suction force. At this moment, even Zheng Zhan was forcibly pulled forward, only managing to barely stabilize his figure by hastily circulating his soul power.
At this moment, the oppressive might exclusive to this single strike radiated across the entirety of Dongyang City, instilling panic in the surviving soldiers of the army. Even the Old Heavenly Dragon, Wu Yan, and Tai Yu, hovering in the air outside the city, were utterly astounded by Chen Junting's sword!
"This kid..."
Wu Yan widened his eyes while simultaneously shredding the defenses of that Class 9 Soul Engineer with a single claw, ending his life entirely. However, he paid little mind to the Soul Engineer's death.
"It hasn't even been that long, and his strength has actually reached such a level. This strike is probably even superior to Second Brother's, isn't it?"
"Just about."
Beside him, Tai Yu voiced his agreement. "If kid Junting went all out, he might even directly surpass Second Brother. Who knows, he might even be able to clash with Eldest Brother for a bit."
Whoosh—
Just as those words fell, a fierce wind howled past. The Old Heavenly Dragon, having already dispatched the remaining Class 9 Soul Engineer, transformed back into his dragon body, coiling up beside the two. At this moment, a hint of envy flashed through his eyes.
"Your Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has a worthy successor."
"Hahaha—"
The admiration from one's own family naturally couldn't compare to the recognition from an outsider. Hearing the tone in the Old Heavenly Dragon's words, Wu Yan and Tai Yu instantly let out smug, hearty laughter. However, after their bout of proud laughter, they also expressed their praise for the Heavenly Dragon Sect's younger generation. This was called knowing the ways of the world.
"Old Heavenly Dragon, there's no need for you to be envious."
Wu Yan released his Martial Soul True Body, crossed his arms over his chest, and spoke up, "That grandson of yours, Yu Tianlong, is a genius too. Moreover, your grandson's talent is far superior to yours."
"That he is. I'm pinning my hopes on my grandson becoming the first Limit Douluo in the history of my Heavenly Dragon Sect, bringing glory to our sect."
At the mention of his grandson, a trace of pride couldn't help but rise in the Old Heavenly Dragon's heart. Although he always wore a stern face toward everyone in the sect, in private, he doted on his grandson immensely; he just couldn't show it due to his dignity. But in front of Wu Yan and the others, there was no need for that facade.
At this moment, the three Super Douluos were in the mood for idle chatter, their mindsets exceptionally relaxed. Clearly, they had immense faith in Chen Junting's strength. In stark contrast, Zheng Zhan's complexion had grown incomparably ashen.
As the opponent facing Chen Junting head-on, his perception was far more acute. Having just been nearly sucked in and barely managing to stabilize his figure had already made him look pathetic. But what about now?
The terrifying pressure from that thousand-meter sword aura was so immense that even with his cultivation, he found it unbearable. The Unbreakable Divine Shield propped up before him was constantly fluctuating just to dissolve this overwhelming pressure.
'How could this brat's strength possibly grow so fast!? It had only been a few years since the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament! Yet he had already reached such a level!'
The feeling Chen Junting was giving Zheng Zhan right now was in no way inferior to the clash between Elder Kong and Star Sword Douluo Ye Xuanji that he had experienced on the Tian Hun Empire's battlefield back then.
With his level of strength, it was difficult for him to compare the disparity between the two. Because to him, they were pretty much the same!
"No! I can't just keep defending like this!"
Recalling the crack on his Unbreakable Divine Shield, the heavily pressured Zheng Zhan made a resolute decision. As the nine soul rings on his body lit up, the seventh soul ring flashed with light. As his body ascended, he was gradually enveloped in a glazed, multicolored radiance. The next second...
"Roar—"
The next second, a gargantuan beast resembling a mobile fortress stood towering in the high altitude. Its body was covered in hexagonal diamond scales, refracting iridescent halos under the shattered-gold sunlight cast down by the sword aura. The spiraled crystal horn on its head pierced the firmament from its forehead, the fissures between its armor plates resembled interlocking chains, and its massive tail hammer looked just like a falling meteor.
And this, was Zheng Zhan's Martial Soul True Body—Diamond Armored Dragon.
This Martial Soul possessed both defense and strength. However, residing in the Sun Moon Empire, Zheng Zhan's cultivation in his Martial Soul obviously couldn't compare to his research in soul tools. Therefore, when it came to how to cultivate his Martial Soul, he never made any deliberate choices; he just muddled through, as long as the soul rings were suitable and allowed him to break through.
As a result, he never unearthed the true potential of his Martial Soul. From childhood to adulthood, his combat style seemed to neglect his Martial Soul, primarily relying on the use of soul tools. Yet, the innate excellence of his Martial Soul ultimately ensured that, in terms of Martial Soul proficiency, he was no inferior to an ordinary Titled Douluo powerhouse who majored in a Martial Soul that wasn't particularly strong.
"Ninth Soul Skill—War Trample!"
Accompanied by the dazzling of the final black soul ring, the Diamond Armored Dragon that Zheng Zhan had transformed into violently spun around. Its tail hammer was raised high before heavily smashing into the void.
Crack, crack—
The atmosphere ruptured, shattering like a mirror. The yellow ripples emitted from the smash against the void, centered on the tail hammer of the Diamond Armored Dragon True Body, aggressively spread outward, yet extremely abruptly came to a halt in less than a breath's time.
Suddenly, the yellow ripples condensed into a giant Armored Dragon, but in the very next second, it flew uncontrollably toward the spatial fissure torn open by Chen Junting's thousand-meter giant sword. Seeing this scene, Zheng Zhan could only grit his teeth, circulating all his soul power to forcefully push that giant Diamond Armored Dragon forward.
A sound akin to a massive earthquake constantly echoed. With a dragon's roar, the giant Diamond Armored Dragon carried a momentum as heavy as a mountain and as destructive as a splitting earth, crashing head-on into Chen Junting's thousand-meter sword aura.
Unfortunately, this imposing manner didn't last for long. When that terrifying thousand-meter sword aura cleaved through the air, the accompanying momentum was shattered. The giant Diamond Armored Dragon was torn to pieces almost instantaneously, swiftly devoured by the turbulent space.
As for the thousand-meter sword aura, its momentum remained wholly unchanged as it continued to slash down.
Zheng Zhan let out a furious roar. His Diamond Armored Dragon True Body lit up with strands of glazed radiance that constantly surged outward, pairing with soul tool light screens that shot out one after another, blocking the inevitable path of the sword aura. As it hacked down, they actually managed to forcefully block it.
However, blocking it was only a temporary measure.
The thousand-meter sword aura of the Seven Kill Sword was like a hot knife slicing through butter, shattering the soul tool light screens one after another. Seeing the thousand-meter sword aura now mere inches away, a flash of reluctance appeared in Zheng Zhan's eyes.
The Unbreakable Divine Shield abruptly enlarged, shielding him behind it. The sword aura landed upon the shield, emitting a teeth-gritting screech. Around the shield, beams of light screens emerged, the metallic clanging sounding like mournful wails as they attempted to resist that terrifying sword aura.
However, the Unbreakable Divine Shield was trembling violently. The original crack on its surface began to expand; even from the back, Zheng Zhan could clearly see fissures constantly appearing.
"Detonate—!"
Suddenly, Zheng Zhan let out a furious roar! The next second, the Unbreakable Divine Shield blazed with brilliant white light.
Boom—
Amidst the violent explosion, the thousand-meter sword aura was blasted into specks of golden light that scattered in the air, and the torn sky closed along with it.
But then, a streak of light cascaded downward. A figure plummeted from the sky; just as he was about to fall onto the city walls below, which had thoroughly devolved into a poisonous city, the streak of light forcefully arrested its descent.
Zheng Zhan had already been forced to deactivate his Martial Soul True Body. His burly body was covered in countless wounds; his flesh was mangled and rolled back, exposing pale bones in many places, making him look like a man of blood.
In order to withstand Chen Junting's sword strike just now, Zheng Zhan's final recourse was to self-detonate his soul tool. He detonated his Unbreakable Divine Shield, relying on the immense offensive power generated by the self-destruction of a Class 9 Soul Tool to dissipate the terrifying attack of the thousand-meter sword aura.
However, Zheng Zhan himself was also severely injured as a result. After all, he had been right behind the Unbreakable Divine Shield just a moment ago, and the hasty detonation meant he had no time to deploy any other defensive measures; he could only endure the blow head-on with his Martial Soul True Body. Furthermore, after Zheng Zhan detonated the Unbreakable Divine Shield, the explosion from the soul tool's self-destruction didn't tear the sword aura apart immediately. Therefore, on top of enduring the shockwaves from the Unbreakable Divine Shield's explosion, Zheng Zhan was also struck and wounded by the residual sword aura.
"Ugh—"
A mouthful of blood uncontrollably spurted from Zheng Zhan's mouth. His originally robust physique swayed, nearly collapsing like a toppling mountain. Fortunately, he knew that once he fell, he would be reduced to a puddle of pus by the deadly poison with no chance of survival. Thus, it was through sheer willpower that he bore the weight of his injuries, and then...
Bang, bang, bang—
Taking three consecutive steps in midair, ripples of soul power radiating from his feet as their center, he finally managed to stabilize his figure.
Clearly, Chen Junting had no intention of stopping there. However, facing this dying yet respectable foe, Chen Junting chose to give him a grand funeral to send him off.
Gently raising his hand, suddenly, tens of thousands of sword qi erupted from within Chen Junting's body. The sky above the entirety of Dongyang City became distorted at this very moment. In the eyes of the onlookers, they only saw a sky full of floral rain cascading down, converging from the four directions—east, south, west, and north—toward a single center to form a sea of flowers. It was like a dream or an illusion, as if one were immersed in nature itself.
"So beautiful..."
Hidden in the shadows, Nan Qiuqiu unconsciously widened her eyes. Watching the sky full of floral rain cascading down, she found it breathtakingly magnificent.
However, this beauty was soon shattered. She heard a voice suppressing its excitement utter the words "So strong," which directly yanked Nan Qiuqiu's thoughts back from the illusionary sea of flowers.
Ji Juechen gazed at the scene of the sword qi transforming into floral rain, his face brimming with an eagerness to try it himself. "When I received this move back then, it was still in its rudimentary stages. Now, he has completely perfected it."
As if to verify Ji Juechen's words, the tranquil sea of flowers suddenly began to churn. The floral rain swirled as a silver-white Seven Kill Sword shot into the heavens. The magnificent patterns surrounding it reflected onto the sword's body under the sunlight. The floral rain converging from the four directions clanked incessantly, and then, as four distinct sword intents bloomed forth, Chen Junting and the Seven Kill Sword fused into a single entity.
"When supreme majesty descends, none can remain unrestrained; like a soaring dragon and dancing phoenix, the momentum is impossible to contain."
A soft chant resonated. His aura retracted for a moment, only to erupt instantly, an unmatched haughtiness bursting forth from within, akin to a sovereign reigning over the world. The rustling sword light transformed into a dragon and a phoenix, attaching themselves to the left and right sides of the sword's shadow. Yet, in the span of a single breath, they swiftly merged into one, forming a massive, formless phantom that soared behind Chen Junting. Strangely, the appearance of this phantom was completely identical to his own.
However, this transformation did not interrupt his soft chant.
"A hall of flowers intoxicates three thousand guests."
The dreamlike, illusionary scene materialized once again, enveloping Zheng Zhan. Even though it was a landscape brimming with murderous intent, it somehow intoxicated him.
Until...
"A single sword's frost chills fourteen provinces!"
Buzz—
Amidst the sword's cry, a sharp shout severed the sky!
"—Sword Dao: Junting!"
However, this time, facing Chen Junting's sword strike, Zheng Zhan no longer felt the slightest panic. Instead, he let out a hearty laugh, showing no intention of evading. He lit up his seventh soul ring once more, forcibly activating his Martial Soul True Body despite the backlash. His entire body radiated an intense glazed brilliance as he charged directly forward to meet the attack head-on.
It looked as though Zheng Zhan was about to be beheaded by Chen Junting's strike, yet he instantly swelled up. His entire Diamond Armored Dragon True Body puffed up into a sphere, and his whole body completely turned blood-red.
Boom—
Amidst a deafening roar, he unexpectedly detonated himself.
Yet, this explosion failed to produce any effect whatsoever. The giant sword dissipated, but the sword qi shifted its flow, encircling all the shockwaves caused by Zheng Zhan's self-detonation and dissipating them into nothingness.
At this moment, Chen Junting gazed at Dongyang City, now entirely devoid of life, as his figure slowly descended. Yet, just as he was about to step onto the city wall, the Ten-Headed Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor that Dugu Xin had transformed into propped up its upper body, offering one of its heads beneath Chen Junting's feet for him to step on.
Seeing the deadly poison within the city was on the verge of spreading outside...
"Xin, can you retract the poison?"
This question was met with a bout of silence.
"Hmm?"
Uttering a sound of doubt, Chen Junting tilted his head downward, meeting the gaze of the snake eyes on the massive head beneath his feet. Only then did he receive Dugu Xin's response, "I still can't do that completely right now. But we can first quarantine the entire city, such as by laying down a formation that isolates all toxins. Then, wait until I break through to Soul Douluo or Titled Douluo in the future, and I'll deal with it."
"That would be too late."
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