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Chapter 66: Bai Chen vs. Ji Juechen (Part 1)
Sword Intent.
Bai Chen instantly understood the true nature of the pressure surrounding him.
This was not a soul skill.
It was something Ji Juechen had created through his own comprehension—a special force formed by blending soul power and spiritual power together, centered around his personal understanding of the sword.
As this sword intent continued to grow stronger, Ji Juechen would one day even evolve it into his own unique domain:
The Sword Maniac Domain.
Being able to create self-developed soul skills was already a mark of genius.
Creating a self-developed domain placed someone among the greatest prodigies.
Ji Juechen's martial soul might not have been exceptional, but his talent in the way of the sword was unquestionable.
Right now, his sword intent had not yet transformed into a domain.
But it was still powerful enough to influence anyone caught within its range.
Unfortunately for him—
His opponent was Bai Chen.
Bai Chen took a deep breath and stepped forward.
At the same time—
His aura skyrocketed.
A black-gold ring of light rose from beneath his feet.
Dominion Domain — activated.
If Ji Juechen's future Sword Maniac Domain represented the pinnacle of swordsmanship, then Bai Chen's innate domain represented the pinnacle of martial soul talent.
Ji Juechen was a genius.
But Bai Chen was one as well.
Their talents simply lay in different areas.
The Dominion Domain greatly amplified presence and momentum while completely nullifying spiritual and bloodline pressure.
It was practically the perfect counter to opponents like Ji Juechen.
Seeing his sword intent lose its effect, Ji Juechen frowned slightly and rotated the sword in his hand, preparing to move.
But—
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion shook the entire arena.
At the critical moment, Ji Juechen's battle instincts—honed through countless fights—saved him.
He instinctively raised his sword horizontally in front of his chest.
The next instant—
A golden claw slammed into his Meteoric Iron Sword.
Sparks exploded at the point of impact.
Then Ji Juechen was sent flying backward.
"…No way."
Below the arena, Jing Ziyan stared in disbelief.
As a talented soul engineer, she understood exactly what had happened.
Bai Chen's speed alone should not have been fast enough to overwhelm Ji Juechen's reaction.
The real reason came from the four glowing spheres behind Bai Chen's back.
Soul Tool Thrusters.
And judging from their structure, they were likely Level 4.
Soul tool thrusters were different from most soul tools.
They required relatively little soul power but placed extreme stress on the user's body.
A Level 4 thruster could theoretically be used by a one-ring soul master—
But doing so would normally cause their body to shatter instantly from the recoil force.
That was the theory.
Yet Bai Chen was using four at the same time.
Jing Ziyan swallowed hard.
"Is this guy even human…?"
Ji Juechen was asking himself the exact same question.
But his shock came from something different.
The moment his sword intent collided with Bai Chen's domain, a violent tremor of fear traveled back through the connection.
It was a fear that came from biological instinct.
As if he were not facing a six-year-old child—
But a terrifying ancient beast.
The feeling was incredibly—
Ji Juechen's lips twisted slightly.
A faint smile appeared.
Exciting.
His feet touched the ground again.
Ji Juechen tried to slow his backward momentum.
Normally he could stop instantly by stabbing his sword into the ground.
But he didn't dare do that.
Because the enemy glowing with black-gold light had already closed the distance again in an instant.
Facing the charging opponent—
Ji Juechen did not retreat.
The only thing he had ever relied on was his unyielding sword intent.
If he could not trust the sword in his hand, he had no right to continue walking this path.
So his response was simple.
A black arc sliced through the air.
The dark sword struck head-on against Bai Chen's Dark-Gold Terror Claws.
Clang!
A sharp metallic sound echoed.
Jing Ziyan below the arena held her breath, not daring to blink.
The result appeared in the next instant.
Ji Juechen—whose footing was not yet stable—was sent flying backward again.
But Bai Chen was also forced to stop.
His attack chain had been interrupted.
"Tsk… you're really troublesome."
Bai Chen grabbed his slightly trembling right hand and sighed internally.
His original plan had been to win through speed and surprise.
Now it seemed that had been too optimistic.
In terms of raw power, he had clearly won that exchange.
Ji Juechen being knocked away twice proved it.
But if someone asked who won that clash—
Bai Chen would say Ji Juechen did.
Ji Juechen's sword carried terrifying sword intent.
At the moment of contact, that intent surged into Bai Chen's body like a storm, attempting to tear him apart from within.
The Dominion Domain could negate spiritual pressure.
But it could not negate spiritual attacks.
So while Bai Chen could ignore the suppressive effect of the sword intent—
Taking it head-on still left him feeling deeply uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, Ji Juechen used that moment to stabilize himself.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and raised his sword toward Bai Chen again.
Both sides returned to the same standoff position as before.
On the surface, it seemed like nothing had changed.
But Bai Chen, Ji Juechen, and Jing Ziyan all knew—
Everything was now different.
They had seen Bai Chen's terrifying speed and strength.
No one would underestimate him anymore.
His advantage of surprise was gone.
"Looks like I'll have to do it this way."
After a brief moment of thought, Bai Chen made a decision.
He inhaled slowly and raised his right hand.
Dark-gold light gradually gathered around the five claws.
The moment that light appeared—
Ji Juechen froze.
A burning excitement slowly appeared in his eyes.
He said nothing.
But he tightened his grip on his sword.
The sword intent filling the arena grew even sharper.
The next moment—
As if responding to some silent signal—
Bai Chen and Ji Juechen,
Standing opposite each other across the arena,
Moved at the same time. ⚔️