Thunderclap Canyon

Thunderclap Canyon, as its name implied, was a canyon ravaged by lightning year-round.

The mountainside rocks were constantly shattered by lightning strikes, forming a chaotic expanse of rubble. Within the canyon, peals of thunder rose and fell one after another, deafening to the ears.

The sky above the canyon was blanketed in thunderclouds. Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and it seemed to be filled with inexhaustible power.

Seeing this scene at the entrance, Ning Tianchen could not help but marvel at nature's breathtaking craftsmanship.

"Are you people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?" A disciple of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan stationed there stepped forward to ask upon seeing them.

As the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's private territory, Thunderclap Canyon prohibited all forms of poaching.

Ning Tianchen's group included both old and young people, and they clearly did not look like poachers. That was why the disciple had asked.

Chen Xin casually tossed him a token bearing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's insignia.

After inspecting it, the disciple respectfully returned the token and opened the passage into Thunderclap Canyon.

"Honored guests of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Sect Master has already given his instructions. Please enter directly."

The environment inside Thunderclap Canyon was worlds apart from that outside.

As the group of four entered, they found the place damp everywhere, while the air was unbearably hot and humid.

To ensure Ning Rongrong's safety, Ning Fengzhi had specifically dispatched a Soul Douluo elder from the sect.

His name was Ke Jie. His control-type Martial Soul was the Sky Chessboard, and his Soul Power Level had reached as high as eighty-eight.

Upon learning his name, Ning Tianchen was startled. It resembled that of a chess player from his previous life, and the man's Martial Soul was even a chessboard. It was truly strange.

Before they had gone far, everyone except Chen Xin was drenched in sweat.

The hot, humid air made their sweat unable to drip away, leaving it clinging tightly to their skin.

After only a few more steps, Ning Rongrong's body was the first to give out.

"Young Miss, how about this old man takes you out?" Ke Jie could not help saying.

They had not gone far into Thunderclap Canyon, so leaving now would not delay Ning Tianchen's soul hunt.

However, Ning Rongrong seemed determined to witness Ning Tianchen break through to Soul Elder herself. Panting heavily, she still insisted on continuing.

"Since Rongrong wants to stay, leave it to Sword Grandfather."

A fond smile appeared at the corner of Chen Xin's lips. He doted on Ning Rongrong immensely.

The next instant, the Seven Kill Sword Spirit appeared in his hand. With a single slash, he actually dispersed the hot, humid air around them.

The air that rushed back in was not only much drier, but also carried waves of coolness.

What exquisite swordsmanship. Ning Tianchen could not help but marvel inwardly.

The path of sword cultivation was long and arduous.

Along the way, Chen Xin explained much about the situation within Thunderclap Canyon to Ning Tianchen and Ning Rongrong.

This canyon had two entrances and exits, one at the front and one at the rear.

Apart from the entrance through which they had come, another entrance was located within the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's grounds and was only available to their clan disciples.

Anyone else wishing to hunt soul beasts here could only enter through the entrance they had used. Furthermore, many Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan enforcers patrolled the area. Anyone caught poaching would be used as feed for soul beasts.

However, in recent years, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had been declining, with no one among the younger generation capable of succeeding Yu Yuanzhen. Thus, the entire clan had adopted a strategy of contraction.

Their patrols of Thunderclap Canyon had consequently weakened considerably. Quite a few bold soul masters had come here to poach.

"The decline of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is already inevitable," Ning Tianchen added. "Sword Offering, I think the current Blue Lightning Twin Stars cannot compare to the Clear Sky Twin Stars of old at all."

Even without Spirit Hall's Soul Hunting Operation, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would head toward destruction on its own within thirty years.

Chen Xin nodded without denying it. "Most of the soul beasts here were captured by experts of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Tianchen, the Third Spirit Ring I have chosen for you belongs to a Sword Winged Dragon soul beast."

"The Seven Kill Sword's Third Spirit Ability is a flight-type spirit ability. Having this kind of ability will be extremely helpful to you in battle."

Of course, it was not merely capable of flight. It could also be used for long-range attacks through Sword Flight.

In short, this was one of the most important spirit abilities for the Seven Kill Sword Spirit in its early stages, so the choice of soul ring had to be made with utmost care.

Dragon-type soul beasts naturally possessed the ability to fly, but very few were a perfect match for the Seven Kill Sword.

Ning Tianchen nodded slightly, imagining himself soaring through the skies with Sword Flight.

However, with the strength of a Soul Elder, using the Third Spirit Ability consumed a great deal of power. Even if he could achieve Sword Flight, he would not be able to maintain it for long.

The Sword Winged Dragon's territory was not deep within Thunderclap Canyon, but the outer region covered an enormous area.

There were no shortage of all kinds of little bugs in this hot, humid Thunderclap Canyon. Every extra minute spent there was an ordeal.

After two consecutive days without finding the Sword Winged Dragon, everyone could not help but grow irritated.

"Where the hell is that damned thing hiding?" Ning Rongrong said impatiently.

Even with Chen Xin clearing the way, her clothes were still covered in grime after two days.

"Rongrong, you cannot be too impatient when searching for soul beasts. Once we make a mistake, we could very well enter the territory of a powerful soul beast and cause unnecessary trouble."

When he had hunted for his Second Spirit Ring, he had wandered through Sunset Forest for more than a month before finding anything.

Two short days truly amounted to nothing.

Of course, Ning Rongrong could not be blamed for this. The sources of soul rings for the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Spirit were fixed. Before Ning Rongrong was about to break through, Ning Fengzhi had already sent people to determine the soul beast's location.

Therefore, whenever she went out to hunt soul beasts, she could almost always find a suitable one within half a day.

This was the first time she had gone two days in a row without any results.

"Rongrong, Thunderclap Canyon is not our territory. We do not know how the soul beasts are distributed here either. Treat this soul hunt as training," Chen Xin said leisurely.

"Sword Offering, rest here for a while first. This old man will search nearby. If I find anything, I will notify you immediately." After saying that, Ke Jie stood up and began searching the surrounding area.

The Sword Winged Dragon was a flying-type soul beast, but in an environment like Thunderclap Canyon, and since it was not lightning-attributed itself, flying high into the air would make it highly likely to be struck by lightning.

Flight was its nature, so it could only be flying at low altitudes.

To find it, they could only search along the rock walls on both sides of the canyon.

Since Ke Jie had volunteered to help search, Chen Xin was in no hurry to set out with Ning Tianchen and Ning Rongrong. He simply had them rest where they were.

About two hours later, an enormous chessboard suddenly appeared within Ning Tianchen's field of vision.

Sensing something was wrong, Chen Xin stood and looked in the chessboard's direction.

"That is his Martial Soul Avatar. For Ke Jie to handle it like this, he must have encountered a high-age soul beast."

Chen Xin raised a brow. "Tianchen, Rongrong, come with this old man. But do not join the battle. Once this old man takes over the battlefield, Ke Jie will come protect you immediately."