Crushing Her Spirit

Su Cheng thrust out his sword, and the golden world before his eyes suddenly became somewhat blurry.

Superfluous matter and color were wiped away. In his vision, all that remained were specks of golden light, some dense, some faint.

It was like a vibrant, multicolored canvas being washed over and over until it became a rough ink painting with only patches of light and dark remaining.

The longsword in his hand continued thrusting forward, its path passing entirely through the darker portions of the canvas.

To onlookers, it looked as though a clumsy swordsman could not steady his blade, leaving a jagged and bizarre trail in the air.

Yet along this very trajectory, the once seamless Angel Domain was slowly torn open with a crack.

At either end of that narrow passage stood Su Cheng with a longsword in hand and Qian Renxue with her wings spread.

Qian Renxue's expression was solemn. Beads of sweat seeped across her pale forehead as she used her remaining Soul Power to desperately patch the gaps in her domain.

But with every move she made, the domain, which had not possessed many flaws to begin with, instead became increasingly discordant.

In Su Cheng's eyes, the faint golden light was being filled in, yet more and more darker areas were continuously exposed.

He advanced even faster, breaking through to Qian Renxue's side in only a few breaths—

"You lost."

Su Cheng's face was pale at this moment, his Soul Power utterly drained, but the hand gripping his sword remained as steady as a rock.

Looking at the cracked, battered sword resting against her neck, Qian Renxue's face was filled with disbelief.

When she looked back at Su Cheng, however, his gaze was calm, without the slightest trace of excitement or joy, as though this had been nothing more than an ordinary victory.

Qian Renxue lowered her head dejectedly and dismissed the Angel Domain.

Her will was far stronger than most; she was not someone who could not accept defeat. More importantly, she understood that Su Cheng had exhausted himself to this extent not because he had barely won after giving it everything he had.

In fact, with the methods Su Cheng had just displayed, there had been no need for him to force his way to this position.

He only needed to keep finding the domain's weak points and attack them, using brute force to completely shatter her domain. The cost would have been that she, as the domain's caster, would suffer severe backlash.

Inside the Worship Hall, the golden light in Qian Daoliu's eyes dimmed. "This child is indeed qualified to be Xiao Xue's teacher. He may even be more suited to guiding her than I am."

Golden Crocodile Douluo nodded, though his tone still carried some confusion. "This brat's swordplay is rather remarkable. He actually suppressed Xiao Xue throughout the entire fight."

"His Three-Style Sword Art is not simply a set of defensive and offensive moves. The three styles are closely linked together." As Qian Daoliu explained, he silently replayed the match in his mind.

Though his insight was exceptionally sharp and his strength formidable, he truly had never imagined Soul Skills could be used in such a way before witnessing it.

"The first sword neutralized Xiao Xue's frontal offensive and weakened her aura. Soul Skills like hers, which charge forward without hesitation, fear nothing more than being interrupted. If the two sides had clashed head-on without either gaining the upper hand, it would have been one thing. But this child's gradual, grinding defense was a natural counter to her. Moreover, while this sword blocked Qian Renxue's attack, it was also building his own sword momentum and using her strength against her.

"The slash of the second sword was another critical point. If that sword had failed to break Xiao Xue's defensive Soul Skill, he would have fallen into the same awkward situation Xiao Xue had faced earlier.

"As for the direct thrust of the third sword, that should have been the final killing move. It seemed to possess some ability to see through an enemy's flaws.

"But Xiao Xue's Angel Domain is still in its initial stage. It is incomplete, and its enhancements are not particularly great. Once she achieves her Martial Soul Avatar in the future, those flaws will naturally disappear. At that point, the only way to break it will be with a domain against a domain."

After hearing this analysis, Golden Crocodile Douluo could not help asking, "Then why didn't he accumulate more power at the start? That way, he could have won this battle without needing the third sword, right?"

Qian Daoliu glanced at his second brother helplessly. "Do not forget his Martial Soul and level. Whether it is Martial Soul strength, foundation, or the amount of Soul Power he possesses, this child is at an absolute disadvantage. Reaching that level just now was already his limit. If he had held on even a little longer, he likely would have been the first to collapse."

Golden Crocodile Douluo shook his head with a bitter smile. "I nearly forgot that brat is only a Two-Ring Great Spirit Master. I truly have no idea how that brain of his works."

On the Martial Arts Arena, Su Cheng and Qian Renxue stood facing one another, silently regulating their breathing to recover from the expenditure just now.

Qian Renxue was at a higher level and possessed a higher-quality Martial Soul, so she recovered to some extent first.

As she looked at the calm-faced Su Cheng across from her, her expression was extremely complicated.

Once he opened his eyes as well, Qian Renxue forced a smile. "Mr. Su, your strength has truly exceeded my expectations. The Seven Kill Sword is indeed worthy of being called the continent's foremost offensive Tool Martial Soul, and the Seven Kill Swordplay created from it is truly extraordinary."

"Huh?" Su Cheng could not help laughing when he heard that. "I never learned Seven Kill Swordplay."

"What?!" Qian Renxue shuddered, her smile freezing on her face.

"You couldn't even tell? What I used were merely three moves from the Basic Sword Technique." Su Cheng sneered. "Perhaps it is not that you failed to see it, but that you refuse to admit it? The dignified Six-Winged Angel, a super Martial Soul passed down through Spirit Hall's Qian Family, lost to ordinary sword techniques wielded through my low-grade Martial Soul. Doesn't that feel humiliating?"

Qian Renxue's eyes widened slightly, but she did not know how to refute him.

"You people are really interesting. You spend your entire lives endlessly practicing the few Soul Skills you obtain from your Martial Souls. No matter how much you practice, they are still the same moves. You will always live off your talent. Come to think of it, could you be the one the Pope mentioned who might become my disciple?" Su Cheng looked her over, curling his lip slightly. "A Soul Elder before the age of ten. Your aptitude is not bad. Unfortunately, your comprehension is mediocre, and your intelligence is average too."

Those words seemed to cut particularly deep. At least for the still-young Qian Renxue, they were somewhat difficult to bear.

Her tightly pressed lips trembled faintly, and she could only stare stubbornly at Su Cheng.

When had she ever suffered such contempt in all her life?

Her peerless talent of twenty levels of Innate Soul Power and becoming a Soul Elder before the age of ten were both unprecedented.

The top powerhouses of the Worship Hall had always doted on her. Qian Daoliu and Qian Xunji regarded her as the future Angel God, and all she had ever heard were flattering praises.

Even though Bibi Dong had always despised her, she had never denied her natural gifts.

"I..."

Qian Renxue opened her mouth, wanting to say something in defense of herself, but she soon lost heart.

What could she say?

She had a super Martial Soul, the Six-Winged Angel, cultivation at the thirty-second level as a Soul Elder, and had even used her Talent Domain, yet she had still failed to win. In the end, she ought to be grateful for her opponent's mercy that she had not been injured.

"You squander your talent and waste your time. You seem powerful on the surface, but in truth, you are unbearably fragile. Strip away the advantages you were born with, and heh..."

Su Cheng delivered his final assessment without the slightest restraint.

"You are nothing."

Reader Lords, please do not stockpile chapters during the new book period. Rest assured, there will be no filler, and the plot will move forward quickly.