"But if you don't use that move, brother, can you really defeat Qian Renxue?"
Shui Bing'er still looked somewhat hesitant. Clearly, Qian Renxue's performance yesterday had left a deep impression in her heart.
Hearing this, Shui Wuhen let out a sigh. "Tomorrow's match—winning it may not necessarily be a good thing."
For Shui Wuhen, defeating Qian Renxue was not the hardest part. Even if Qian Renxue was a Soul Saint, if he and Articuno attacked together and went all out, there was still a considerable chance of defeating her.
What was truly difficult was what came after defeating her.
Although Spirit Hall had a formidable reputation, and for the sake of its image it would most likely not break its promise, within such a massive force, thoughts among its members were inevitably complex and intertwined. If the Soul Bones were internally absorbed by Spirit Hall, that would be fine—but if they were obtained by an outsider like him, it would inevitably attract unwanted attention.
This was also why Shui Wuhen was willing to expose his trump cards but still chose to keep that hidden killer move between him and Shui Bing'er. With his rate of progress, the trump cards he revealed would soon be replaced by new ones.
But if that hidden killer move was never exposed, then others would always misjudge them.
The next day, the plaza in front of the Papal Palace.
When Shui Wuhen and Shui Bing'er arrived at the square, they were surprised to find that only Qian Renxue had come from Spirit Hall.
As if sensing Shui Wuhen's arrival, Qian Renxue opened her eyes. A phantom of a Six-Winged Angel appeared behind her, and a golden longsword condensed in her hand as she pointed it at Shui Wuhen. "Shui Wuhen, fight me! I've been waiting for this day for a long time."
Qian Renxue had never expected that, as the owner of a god-tier martial soul and someone born with full innate twenty-level talent, she would one day lose to a man younger than herself.
This had caused her a tremendous shock. Because of this, she abandoned her infiltration mission in the Heaven Dou Empire and returned to Spirit Hall to begin brutal training.
During this period, Qian Renxue's level rose rapidly, far surpassing even the so-called Golden Generation that Bibi Dong valued. She had already reached the realm of Soul Saint a year ago.
And now, it was time to verify the results of all her training.
Seeing that Shui Wuhen still showed no reaction—
"Alright, I accept your challenge!"
Hearing this, Shui Wuhen released his martial soul. A faint icy-blue glow spread across his body as he summoned Articuno.
"Woo~~~"
Articuno expanded with the wind, quickly transforming into a beautiful ice-blue divine bird soaring above the Papal Palace square.
With Articuno's appearance, everyone watching suddenly felt the surrounding air turn cold. Moments later, they saw snowflakes drifting down from the sky.
Within just a few breaths, the entire square and its surroundings were covered in a layer of frost, leaving everyone stunned.
"A domain—it's a domain!"
At that moment, someone shouted, causing everyone present to realize it instantly.
Yes, a domain. Only a domain could explain what was happening.
All eyes immediately focused on Shui Wuhen.
His brilliance had originally been overshadowed by Qian Renxue's arrival. After all, a Six-Winged Angel martial soul, a domain, and Soul Saint cultivation—each of these achievements alone was enough to put other geniuses to shame.
But now they suddenly realized—Qian Renxue might be strong, but Shui Wuhen was by no means weaker.
At only sixteen years old, he had already crushed countless geniuses in their twenties, leaving them far behind.
Even team-level figures were not worth his attention. The Golden Generation of Spirit Hall could not even see his back, and even the equally monstrous Feng Xiaotian had been defeated by him.
Qian Renxue was indeed a monster, but considering Shui Wuhen's age, it was still uncertain who truly deserved the title of the strongest genius of the era.
The only certainty was that if Shui Wuhen continued at his current growth speed, he would likely become the youngest Soul Saint in history—possibly breaking through before the age of twenty.
While everyone was lost in thought, Shui Wuhen had already arrived at the center of the square, facing Qian Renxue.
Spirit Hall's efficiency was extremely high. In just one night, the damage caused to the square from the previous battle with Tang Hao had already been repaired.
"Very good. Your domain has indeed become stronger," Qian Renxue said with a faint smile after seeing Shui Wuhen's condition. Only a Shui Wuhen like this was worthy of her defeat.
Then she said confidently, "You don't need to worry about the Elite Tournament. The others coming up are meaningless—they would only restrain themselves. The result of this battle will decide the final outcome of the finals."
"And the reward?" Shui Wuhen asked calmly.
Hearing this, Qian Renxue raised an eyebrow. "You want those three ten-thousand-year Soul Bones? If you can defeat me, they will naturally be yours. Three ten-thousand-year Soul Bones are indeed precious, but not enough for Spirit Hall to break its oath."
"Moreover…"
She swung her longsword, and two yellow, two purple, and three black Soul Rings appeared around her—seven in total. "Are you really sure that you, merely a Soul Emperor, can defeat me?"
Compared to their previous battle, although there was also a large gap in strength, it had not crossed a major realm.
But now, not only was there a major realm difference, it was also the enormous gap between Soul Emperor and Soul Saint—one of the stages with the greatest increase in power.
No matter how strong Shui Wuhen's combat techniques were, or how powerful his self-created soul skills might be, Qian Renxue did not believe he could defeat her while she possessed her Martial Soul True Body.
"Whether I can or not—try and find out."
With that, Shui Wuhen flapped his wings and condensed an icy-blue longsword in his hand, disappearing instantly from where he stood.
In the next moment, he reappeared right in front of Qian Renxue. Twelve brilliant streaks of blade light erupted simultaneously.
This was Shui Wuhen's strongest burst skill at the moment—Frost Ice Slash: Twelve Consecutive Slashes.
Back then, with just nine consecutive slashes at full power, he had nearly killed a level 79 Fallen Spirit Master. Now that it had evolved into twelve slashes, its power had increased even further.
The stacked power of the twelve blades was enough to instantly kill some early Soul Douluo with weak defense.
"Again with this move!"
Seeing this, Qian Renxue snorted coldly. She had suffered greatly from this technique before—how could she not be prepared now?
Her fifth Soul Ring lit up, and a massive golden shield appeared around her, protecting her completely.
"Zzz—!"
The twelve brilliant blade lights struck the golden shield, sending out bursts of golden sparks, but they were ultimately deflected.
This was a soul skill Qian Renxue had specifically obtained after her previous encounter with Shui Wuhen to counter his self-created techniques. Its effect was similar to Invincible Golden Body, though slightly weaker.