Twin Names, Chen Duling

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Above the arena, the dust had yet to settle, and the killing chill hung upside down like an iron curtain.

Just as predicted, where the cold light broke through, eight more figures suddenly appeared!

Numbers 7 through 14 still wore those signature village-girl buns and fixed, indifferent faces. Only in their eye sockets did eerie blue crystal light flow, as if two pieces of glaze dredged from the depths of a cold pool had been set there, reflecting an inorganic chill.

Wang Wei's hand, which was holding the wine pot, stopped in midair. A trace of surprise flashed through his murky eyes, and his throat worked. "They really came..."

"These iron lumps, in terms of combat power alone, are only around level 25 to 28 Soul Grand Masters. But with the mind-set of dead things that fear no death, paired with mechanisms full of devious calculations, once they start using Life-Risking Arts, even an ordinary Soul Elder may well come to grief..."

His gaze swept over the two youths in the arena who had already been forced to the edge of the platform. "Your boys may have the talent to fight above their level and outstanding sword hearts, but against this kind of formation, I'm afraid... it's looking bad!"

The situation in the arena changed in the blink of an eye.

Judging by their forms, the first two rounds had been divided into four categories:

Close-range agility type: Numbers 1 and 2 roamed at close quarters, concealing spring-loaded west-needle crossbows inside;

Close-combat Powerful Type: Numbers 3 and 4 had both arms covered in steel scales, their claw tips glinting with a dark gold chill, specializing in locking joints and seizing vital points;

Ground-crawling hooked-claw type: Number 5 darted close to the ground, its hooked claws like scorpion tails, focused on attacking the lower body;

Bomb-throwing type: Number 6 had every aperture across its body open at once, scattering explosive bombs and smoke bombs like a sudden storm.

Two more figures opened up long-range attacks:

At Number 13's wrists, cold light burst and flashed. Eight Chi chain blades turned into two strangling hurricanes, tearing through the air with metallic screams like ghosts wailing;

Number 14's arm span spread like a hawk's wings, its twin rope darts shaken taut and straight as spears. With a flick of the wrists, a straight-line whip technique pierced directly toward the face, even more vicious than a venomous snake flicking out its tongue!

This time, the eight Ruhua surrounded them from the far, middle, and near lines, seamless and airtight:

Numbers 7 to 10, close-combat agility attackers and assault types, resembled a torrent of dark iron, forging a killing wall that pinned the Chen Clan brothers down;

Numbers 11 and 12 controlled the mid-range, their hooked claws and explosive bombs moving like turning wheels, drawing every offensive into an encirclement;

Numbers 13 and 14 stood at the rear, rope whips twanging like startled bowstrings and chain blades splitting the air, trapping the two Seven Kill Swords inside an Asura Field of nine deaths and one slim chance of survival!

The killing intent was as biting as frost, sealing off every path of advance and retreat.

Chen Yunxiang's clone sword net was shredded by the chain blades. Chen Haoxuan's Seven Kill Sword was trapped amid a rain of bombs and a miasma of smoke. The two brothers' sleeves were scraped and stained with blood, their steps staggered, and even their powerful sword moves were all strangled by this flawless mechanical pincer assault!

Defeat had already shown itself. They were hanging by a thread!

"Glug—" Wang Wei's wine pot finally tilted down. A thin stream of slightly cloudy wine spilled over the rim, yet he seemed utterly unaware. His Adam's apple bobbed as he let out a low, muffled hum. "...Dongming, Yinyuan... those two boys holding the line should be going up now, right?"

Chen Xiaojun sat upright as before, the deathly still blades of light flashing through the arena reflected in his eyes, while a faint, unreadable smile hung at the corner of his lips. "Old Wang saw it just now too. I don't know about this arrangement either..."

However, to the eyes of experts, everything was clear as fire.

In the end, the direction of this killing game had not escaped Wang and Zhuang's predictions.

Amid the howling dust and sand, a clear sword cry suddenly rang out like a phoenix's call from the nine heavens, cutting through the frozen killing intent!

A figure swept past like a startled swan skimming the water, her slender waist willow-like. Among the dark shadows of countless mechanisms, she twisted and turned, her fair hand flipping from within her sleeve—Seven Kill in her left hand! Wind Luan in her right!

They were the very same style of paired swords Chen Xiaojun had used when he had dominated the youthful stage back then!

"Mm?" The smile in Chen Xiaojun's eyes suddenly froze, then immediately transformed into an even deeper approval.

He saw it clearly: the twin swords reflected each other in radiant brilliance.

Qingping in her left hand! The sword momentum was light, nimble, and ethereal, like wind brushing weak willows, swaying with graceful poise as it drew a prison upon the ground;

Round Star in her right! The sword technique, however, had borrowed from his Round Star Flowing Colors of old. Cold stars dotted the air, Shou Zhong and Hidden Edge hidden within, with points, thrusts, brushes, and wipes—each move a dense counterattack that struck only after the enemy moved first!

The newcomer's movements flowed like drifting clouds and running water. Even more eye-catching was this—her soul rings shone brightly. A level thirty-one Soul Elder!

That deep soul power surged like rivers overturning. Wherever the sword light rose and fell, it precisely knocked aside Ruhua's storm-like combined assault, actually tearing open a breathing space by force within the sky-filling killing formation, allowing the endangered Chen Yunxiang and Chen Haoxuan to regain their footing.

The wine pot between Wang Wei's fingers remained suspended in midair. The wine he had poured out wound across the bluestone floor, still giving off a rich, strong aroma.

Yet he had no attention to spare for it. His tiger eyes were wide open, fixed firmly on that graceful, upright figure.

Zhuang Mochen's fingers, which had been slowly rubbing his thumb ring, also abruptly froze in midair, his wrinkled knuckles taut and pale.

In the depths of his weathered Pupils, towering waves were now surging. His voice carried a trembling trace of disbelief. "Xiao... Xiaojun?! What is going on?!"

Wang Wei's Adam's apple bobbed, and he forced out a few words with difficulty, his voice also buzzing and trembling. "Ji... Ji Tiantian?! She... has Twin Martial Souls?!"

Ji Tiantian!

How could they not know her?

Back then, because of her father Ji Xiang, and even more because her Innate Soul Power had reached above level eight, she had long since entered their notice.

Later, when she became Chen Hua's disciple, these two Old Foxes had also been present. After that, the attention they had paid her in secret had only increased, never decreased.

The faint smile at the corner of Chen Xiaojun's lips had not faded. At this moment, however, it carried the delight of a naughty child who had seen through a secret. He said leisurely, "It is Ji Tiantian, that's right... She is also called Chen Duling."

Zhuang Mochen's grizzled brows nearly twisted together. "What does that mean?"

Chen Xiaojun leaned forward slightly, smiling in that cheap-looking way of a hawk that had caught a chick, with both teasing and openness. "It means exactly what it says, Old Zhuang."

"This girl has two names by herself, both running side by side without contradiction. Isn't that interesting?"

Two names for one person? This truly was something unprecedented since the founding of the clan!

Otherwise, why would the Martial Soul Inheritance Agreement ever have appeared?

As for the young girl in the arena, why was she here during academy class hours?

Ji Tiantian had already requested leave from the academy and, together with her mother Xue Shiqiong, had secretly followed Xia Qingyun to Chen Lin Village.

After all matters concerning the Security Council had settled, Xia Qingyun returned to Chen Lin Village not only to visit Chen Yu, but also for a secret, important matter: to help this girl who carried the Chen Clan bloodline undergo Clan Recognition and return her soul to the clan genealogy!

Chen Xiaojun had considered the matter of changing her name thoroughly.

Mindful of Ji Xiang's meaning, Xue Shiqiong's wishes, and Tiantian's own feelings, and also to leave room for the future while keeping things hidden from others, he proposed a sly idea: the Ji Clan name would remain and continue to be used in daily life, while the Chen Clan would record another name for her in the genealogy—"Chen Duling."

The name, naturally, was chosen by Xue Shiqiong. It could be considered a name that had lingered in her heart for many years, carrying the meaning of "may all things go smoothly."

With both sides satisfied and her name entered into the genealogy, why cling to the formalities of the common world?

In any case, it was not like they had to register household records as they did in the Eastern Great Country.

This also accorded with Article Five of the Martial Soul Inheritance Agreement: special circumstances were to be discussed separately.

Thus, in the history of Douluo Continent, the rare sight of one person bearing two names at once was quietly born here.

As for that dazzling rank 31 Soul Power?

The reason for her leave was perfectly legitimate—hunting for a soul ring!

This was no excuse, but a genuine matter.

With the many Natural Treasures, spirit pills, and miraculous medicines gifted by her elders, she only had to take a little at random, and her Soul Power surged like a spring river at high tide, breaking through the rank 30 threshold with the current.

This trip was both for Clan Recognition and to make use of Five Mountains County's blessed, spirit-nurturing lands to find a suitable Plant System soul beast for her Wen Hua Brush martial soul.

Killing two birds with one stone—wasn't that wonderful?