Strongest State

Gulp—

A continuous chorus of swallowing echoed across the square. Everyone stared blankly at that dazzling purple, that blinding purple.

There was no time to question the suppression Su Chen's strange martial soul exerted over Soul Power. At this moment, all anyone could see was the purple halo gleaming around the young man.

"Y-you've got to be kidding."

"Th-this is fake, right? How could a Soul Master, a Soul Master possibly—"

"Even the Great Enshrined Elder back then—"

"H-Heavens, I must be seeing things."

The elders and high-ranking members muttered as if in a dream. Some shook their heads fiercely and rubbed their eyes, suspecting there was something wrong with their vision.

Yet no matter how they looked, no matter how many times they looked, that deep purple remained.

Once they had fully confirmed it, they all sucked in a sharp breath.

A Thousand-Year Soul Ring!

It was actually a first Soul Ring that was a thousand years old!

"N-no, impossible! This is impossible!"

Guang Ling Douluo's pupils constricted sharply. The teacup in his hand shattered instantly under his grip as he stared fixedly at Su Chen. Veins bulged on his forehead, while ice crystals rapidly slid from his eye.

This completely overturned everything he knew!

"It really is a Thousand-Year Soul Ring?"

Bibi Dong's beautiful eyes lost focus for a moment. Though she had made guesses and prepared herself mentally, when she truly saw this scene, the shock still sent her emotions surging wildly, even bringing a faint flush to her lovely face.

She gripped her scepter tightly, restraining the tumult in her heart.

As a genius—a genius who could be called one of the continent's finest—no one understood better than her what this meant.

This was an existence that overturned common sense, that overturned every theory of Soul Masters!!

Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo exchanged bitter smiles as they watched the crowd staring as though they had seen a ghost.

Now do you understand how we felt back then?

The two of us felt like our entire worldview had collapsed too!

"Th-this, you, th-this—"

Wu Da trembled all over as he stared at the purple Soul Ring, his eyes filled with disbelief. His lips quivered, but he could not utter a single word. His feet even unconsciously retreated.

His already limited ability to think had completely shut down at this moment.

After a long while, he shook his head and looked helplessly toward Guang Ling Douluo outside the arena.

Even though Wu Da did not know much, he understood what kind of existence someone with a thousand-year first ring was.

He also knew the consequences of killing such a person.

Those were consequences he absolutely could not bear.

Perhaps Wu Da's expression was simply too obvious, but Guang Ling Douluo finally came back to his senses. Then his expression changed drastically.

This brat was only six and already had a fucking thousand-year first ring. What about his second ring? Ten thousand years?

And his third ring?

He did not dare think any further.

In less than twenty years, this brat's strength would probably be close to his own!!

And now, he had thoroughly offended this brat beyond reconciliation.

If he allowed this brat to grow, Su Chen would certainly never spare him!

Uncertain light flickered in Guang Ling Douluo's single eye. After a moment, a mad thought surfaced in his mind.

As long as this brat dies, even the Great Enshrined Elder won't make things too difficult for me over a dead man, will he?

"Wu Da, do it! Don't forget your family!!"

After weighing it for a moment, Guang Ling Douluo gritted his teeth and roared. At the same time, he summoned his martial soul.

A longbow glittering with ice crystals appeared in his hand. The surrounding temperature plummeted, icy snowflakes drifting down to form a translucent barrier in front of Bibi Dong.

His Holiness the Pope froze for a moment. Before she could recover from her excitement, she instantly understood Guang Ling Douluo's intentions, and her stunning face turned incomparably cold.

"You're courting death!!"

Almost at the same instant, a massive spider phantom rose from the ground. Its sharp, clawed legs carried a violent aura of death as they viciously stabbed toward Guang Ling Douluo!

"Too late, hahahaha—pfft!!"

Guang Ling Douluo forcibly endured the blow and spat out a mouthful of black blood, yet a miserable, crazed smile appeared on his face!

With the Iron Horned Mad Rhino's speed, as long as he held them back for an instant, he could split that brat into two!!

"You damned bastard!!"

Bibi Dong could no longer spare any attention for further attacks. She abruptly turned around, her lovely face instantly turning somewhat pale.

Wu Da's face was filled with pain, yet his four soul rings lit up one after another!

Strength Enhancement!

Strength Enhancement!

Strength Enhancement!!

I'm sorry, kid, but I can't let my family die before my eyes.

Wu Da let out a pained roar. His entire body was shrouded in a layer of black mist, while the black horn on his head grew even larger and more dazzling. A terrifyingly sharp aura bore down on Su Chen, locking the silver-haired youth in a faint aura of death.

"Destruction Charge, ahhh!!"

Crack!!

The hard stone tiles beneath Wu Da's feet shattered inch by inch. Like a speeding locomotive hauling hundreds of tons of cargo, he charged at Su Chen with all his might!!

"Stop!!"

Yue Guan's hysterical roar reached the youth's ears, but Su Chen had no time to analyze anything now.

The Single Tomoe Sharingan slowly spun. Wu Da's charging figure seemed to slow somewhat. The youth raised his hand to form the seal for the Substitution Technique, only to slowly lower it again.

"Perfect. I also want to see just how strong I am head-on now."

Su Chen took a deep breath, and his purple soul ring suddenly lit up.

"First Soul Skill, Lin Dragon's Armor!"

Buzz—!

Surging Chakra flooded through his limbs and bones. In an instant, the silver-haired youth felt both his strength and vitality soar tremendously!

Lin Dragon's Armor increased all attributes by 50%!

Yet the youth did not stop there. He reached out and pressed against his own acupoints.

"Eight Inner Gates Formation—the third gate, Gate of Life, open!"

Boom!!

An immensely powerful aura erupted from the youth's body, kicking up clouds of dust. Su Chen's silver hair stood on end, a faint crimson flush appeared on his skin, and green radiance coiled around his body.

Powerful!

Unparalleledly powerful!

Su Chen could feel that he could now kill the thousand-year wolf beast from before with a single punch.

"Thirty seconds? That's enough."

The youth silently sensed the rate at which Chakra was being consumed within his body and slowly clenched his fist.

Bang!!

The stone tiles beneath the youth's feet exploded instantly. Dense, spiderweb-like cracks spread three meters away as his entire body turned into a green meteor, charging head-on toward the rushing Iron Horned Mad Rhino!

"Hahahaha, heaven is truly helping me!!!"

Guang Ling Douluo, who had been struggling to fend off Bibi Dong, Yue Guan, and Gui Mei's attacks, burst into wild laughter at the sight. He simply withdrew his protective barrier altogether.

At this point, not even a Titled Douluo could possibly save him.

Boom!!!

A thunderous explosion rang out across the plaza. Rubble flew everywhere, dust scattered through the air, and even Bibi Dong stopped attacking as she stared intently into the square.

When the dust and smoke dispersed, revealing the scene within, even Bibi Dong, with her composure, could not help but freeze completely in place.

Seeing that Bibi Dong, Yue Guan, and Gui Mei had not continued attacking but were instead staring blankly at the scene, Guang Ling Douluo knew that it had worked.

"Your Holiness the Pope, I am deeply sorry about this. I suppose you may punish me now."

He wore an apologetic expression, though he was actually doing it deliberately to disgust Bibi Dong.

But after waiting for quite some time, he found that His Holiness the Pope ignored him completely. Even the elders who had been hesitating began turning their gazes toward the plaza, and Guang Ling Douluo gradually developed an ominous premonition.

When he turned around, he saw a sight he would never forget for the rest of his life.

That small figure was wrapped in green energy, yet he had forcibly stopped the enormous rhino phantom, several times larger than himself and carrying the momentum of Destruction Charge, right in the middle!