Wind Scar Slash? Severing Fox Tails

Wind Scar Slash? Severing Fox Tails

The air over the Star Dou Arena seemed to solidify. Blackish-purple Soul Power suddenly erupted from Hu Liena's limbs, which were bound by the Azure Water Sword threads. Veins bulged at the roots of her formerly supple fox tails, and her nine tails, like giant pythons injected with venom, instantly broke free of the sword threads' restraint and fanned out behind her. The tips of every tail glowed with dense black light, within which tiny particles of Soul Devouring Spider Poison could vaguely be seen churning—this was the strongest soul skill she could wield after fusing the black mist with her own Soul Power: her fourth soul skill, Fox Tail Heavenly Burial.

"Lin Che, did you think binding me would be enough to win?" Hu Liena's voice was vicious through gritted teeth. The fox mark at her brow twisted as her Soul Power ran rampant. "Today, I'll let you experience what it feels like to be torn apart by fox tails!" She waved her hand sharply, and all nine fox tails lashed toward Lin Che at once. The black light let out a piercing shriek as it tore through the air. Where it passed, even the lingering pale-pink Charm mist was shredded apart. Deep ravines were gouged into the obsidian floor, and wherever the black light landed within them, the stone began to corrode slowly.

"Cauldron Suppression! Full Power defense!" Lin Che's pupils contracted. He could clearly sense that every fox tail carried force comparable to a Soul Ancestor's full-power strike. Even more terrifying was the Soul Devouring Spider Poison within that black light—once struck, the poison would instantly invade his meridians, and even Jiang Zhu's Poison and Heal Dual Ability might not purify it in time. Without the slightest hesitation, he poured all seventy percent of his remaining Soul Power into the Universe Cauldron above his head. The cauldron expanded to thirty feet in height, and a pale-golden Soul Power field completely enveloped him and Ning Rongrong behind him like a golden bell shield.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The nine fox tails struck the golden barrier of Cauldron Suppression in rapid succession. Every impact made the golden light tremble violently, sending ripples like water across the barrier's surface. Lin Che's feet carved two half-foot-deep tracks across the ground. Blood and Qi surged in his chest, and a metallic sweetness rose in his throat—even with Cauldron Suppression protecting him, the Impact Force transmitted through the fox tails still made his meridians ache faintly. Worse still, the black light at the tails' tips was slowly seeping through the golden barrier. Tiny black spots had already appeared across its surface as the Soul Devouring Spider Poison corroded Cauldron Suppression's Soul Power structure.

"Captain, hold on!" Ning Rongrong's voice trembled. She could see the cold sweat on Lin Che's forehead and the tense line of his jaw, and she knew Cauldron Suppression would not hold much longer. She raised the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda over her head. Its dim body suddenly erupted with dazzling light. The halo of its fourth layer, Armor Break Amplification, was no longer a diffuse pale purple, but condensed into fine threads of light that precisely wound around the Azure Water Sword in Lin Che's hand. "Armor Break Amplification at full power! It can temporarily weaken the defense of her fox tails—counterattack now!"

The instant Armor Break Amplification flowed into it, the Azure Sword Qi around the Azure Water Sword became sharply more lethal. Amid the faint gleam of the Sword-Tassel Glazed Bead, a trace of pale-purple armor-breaking patterns appeared. Lin Che could distinctly feel the sword blade's Soul Power conduction efficiency increase by thirty percent—this was Ning Rongrong's Precision Amplification, activated by exerting her last reserves of Soul Power. Rather than covering his entire body, she concentrated every effect on the sword, solely to create an opening for Lin Che's counterattack.

"Hu Liena, your fox tails should be severed!" Lin Che's voice pierced through the clamorous whipping of the tails. He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the surging Blood and Qi inside him, and shrank Cauldron Suppression's defensive range to nine feet, protecting only his vital points while freeing more Soul Power to pour into the Azure Water Sword. The Azure Sword Qi was no longer scattered as before, but condensed into a sword arc thirty feet long. Pale-purple armor-breaking patterns glimmered along its edge. It was the combined technique: Wind Scar Slash + Armor Break.

"Sever my fox tails? Wishful thinking!" Madness flashed through Hu Liena's eyes. She increased her Soul Power output. Rather than attacking separately, the nine fox tails gathered into one bundle, their black light surging like a massive black whip as they lashed at Lin Che's sword arc—she intended to use the tails' sheer number and power to smash Lin Che's attack apart.

"Now!" Lin Che's gaze sharpened. Instead of meeting it head-on, he used the brief opening after Cauldron Suppression blocked the fox tails' first wave of impact to suddenly sweep his sword arc sideways. The Azure Sword Qi sliced past the roots of the fox tails. At that moment, Armor Break Amplification erupted completely. The black-light defense covering the tails' surface tore apart like paper, and the sword arc cut straight into the Soul Power cores of the tails without obstruction.

Riiip!

Three crisp snapping sounds rang out at once. The three foremost fox tails were cleanly severed by the sword arc. Blackish-purple blood gushed from the stumps and landed on the ground with sizzling corrosion. The severed tails twitched a few times on the floor before turning into blackish-purple mist and dispersing, clearly having been completely eroded by the Soul Devouring Spider Poison.

"Ah—!" Hu Liena released a miserable scream. Her fox tails were connected to her Soul Power, and the instant three of them were cut off, her Soul Power fell into violent disarray. The rampaging power within her surged chaotically like a burst dam. The fox mark at her brow instantly dimmed, and the lingering Charm mist around her dispersed completely as well—without the Soul Power support of her fox tails, her Charm Domain could no longer be sustained. The Soul Masters in the spectator stands who had been affected by the domain regained their clarity and began booing furiously in Hu Liena's direction.

"Great! The Charm Domain is gone!" Tang San's delighted voice came from the eastern array eye. Seizing the moment Hu Liena's Soul Power was in turmoil, he slapped his last Array Breaking Talisman onto the black clay jar at the eastern array eye. At the same time, he activated the Sun Flame Grass energy stored in the Blue Silver Grass. "Oscar, give me a Power Sausage! I'm going to detonate the array eye!"

Oscar had already thrown over the golden sausage he had prepared. The instant Tang San caught it, his Soul Power surged. Forming seals with both hands, he wrapped the Blue Silver Grass around the clay jar. The Sun Flame Grass energy rapidly spread along the blades of grass and ignited the Soul Devouring Spider Eggs inside the jar. "Eastern array eye, detonate!"

Boom!

Golden flames erupted from the clay jar at the eastern array eye like a small volcanic eruption. The fire rapidly spread along the path where the black mist had previously extended. Where it passed, the black mist retreated as though ice and snow were melting. The Soul Devouring Spider threads around the array eye burned to ash, and the corrosion marks at the eastern array eye slowly began to fade—this was the first array eye destroyed by the Cauldron Sword Team.

"The southern array eye is almost done too!" Ma Hongjun's roar followed immediately. Carrying the not-yet-fully-recovered Jiang Zhu on his back, he condensed the evolved Sun Flame True Fire into an enormous fireball. The Golden Patterns on the fireball's surface resonated with the array patterns of the southern array eye. "Yan, your Nether Ghost Fire is a joke now! Watch me burn down your black-mist nest!"

Yan's face was as pale as paper. He had first been suppressed by Dai Mubai's White Tiger True Body, then lost Hu Liena's Charm support. At this point, even maintaining his Nether Ghost Fire had become difficult. Seeing the Sun Flame True Fire fireball in Ma Hongjun's hands grow ever larger, he tried to rush over and stop him, but Dai Mubai's White Tiger Light Splitting Wave forced him back. He could only watch helplessly as the fireball smashed toward the clay jar at the southern array eye. "No—!"

"Southern array eye, incinerate!" Ma Hongjun hurled out the fireball. The moment the golden fireball struck the clay jar, it did not explode immediately. Instead, it transformed into a thin golden membrane of flame that wrapped around the entire jar and slowly incinerated the Soul Devouring Spider Eggs inside. This method was more thorough than detonating the eastern array eye. Even the black mist lingering within the jar's cracks was purified by the flames. The black mist at the southern array eye dispersed at a visible rate, revealing the clean rock floor beneath it.

As the eastern and southern array eyes were destroyed one after another, the concentration of black mist in the center of the Star Dou Arena plummeted. The black mist that had once enveloped the entire arena was now reduced to a small patch around the northern array eye, and it was still being slowly compressed by the golden light of Cauldron Suppression and the golden flames from the two destroyed array eyes. The corrosion marks on the ground began to heal. The ozone stench in the air was replaced by the warmth of fire, and cheers rose once more from the spectator stands, more fervent than ever before.

"Two array eyes are down! The northern array eye won't hold out much longer!" Dai Mubai's voice was full of excitement. He had shaken off Xie Yue's entanglement. Although his White Tiger True Body had faded, his combat strength remained formidable. The golden light on his White Tiger Claw drove Xie Yue's twin blades back step by step. "Xie Yue, your black mist is gone. Let's see how you can keep acting arrogant now!"

Xie Yue's expression was so dark it seemed ready to drip water. Looking at the gradually dispersing black mist and then at Hu Liena, whose Soul Power was in turmoil and who had lost three fox tails, he knew Spirit Hall's advantage had completely vanished. He wanted to activate his final trump card, Full Moon True Body, but found that his Soul Power, depleted by the previous battle and the disappearance of the black mist, was no longer sufficient to support the skill. He could only grit his teeth and persist, barely blocking Dai Mubai's attacks with his twin blades. "Don't celebrate too soon! The match isn't over yet!"

"The match may not be over, but you've already lost." Lin Che's voice came from behind Xie Yue. He had already dealt with Hu Liena's threat. The Azure Water Sword pointed directly at Xie Yue's back, while the golden light of Cauldron Suppression continued suppressing the black mist at the northern array eye. "Surrender now, and you can still keep the last shred of your dignity. Keep resisting, and I'm afraid you may not even get the chance to walk off the Star Dou Arena."

Hu Liena had completely lost her ability to fight. She slumped on the ground, black blood still slowly flowing from the severed tails. The Soul Power inside her was tangled in chaos, and she no longer even had the strength to stand. Looking at the golden flames in the center of the Star Dou Arena and the sky gradually clearing overhead, despair flashed in her eyes—she had never imagined that Spirit Hall's Golden Generation would lose so miserably on the stage of the All-Continent finals.

In the VIP section, Bibi Dong's fingernails dug deeply into the armrest of her throne, leaving five deep marks in the wood. She looked at the Cauldron Sword Team steadily gaining the upper hand on the Star Dou Arena, then at the expressionless Ghost Douluo beside her. Her voice was icy without a trace of warmth. "Both array eyes have been destroyed. Is that all your Soul Erosion Array can do?"

Ghost Douluo's body trembled slightly. He could feel the killing intent in Bibi Dong's tone. "His Majesty the Pope, the Sun Flame Grass energy of the Cauldron Sword Team happens to counter the black mist, and their coordination exceeded expectations. This subordinate..."

"Enough!" Bibi Dong cut him off sharply, the killing intent in her eyes nearly overflowing. "No explanations! Once the match is over, I will deal with you personally. Now, think of something. Even if they can't win, make the Cauldron Sword Team pay the price! At the very least, cripple Lin Che's Universe Cauldron!"

Ghost Douluo did not dare argue further. He could only secretly gather Soul Power and prepare to launch a sneak attack the instant the match ended—he knew this was his last chance. If he failed to carry out Bibi Dong's order, only Spirit Hall's cruel punishment awaited him.

On the Star Dou Arena, the black mist at the northern array eye finally dispersed completely under the combined assault of the golden flames from the eastern and southern array eyes and the golden light of Cauldron Suppression. The last black clay jar was exposed beneath the sunlight. The Soul Devouring Spider Eggs on its surface had been burned to ash and could no longer produce black mist—to this point, the Soul Erosion Array carefully arranged by Spirit Hall had been completely dismantled by the Cauldron Sword Team.

"The Soul Erosion Array is broken! The Cauldron Sword Team has this in the bag!" The cheers from the spectator stands were deafening. Some people scattered the golden flower petals they had prepared in advance over the Star Dou Arena. The petals fell onto the seven members of the Cauldron Sword Team like crowns placed upon them. Emperor Xue Beng rose excitedly to his feet and ordered the guards beside him, "Quick! Prepare the champion's trophy! The moment the match ends, I will personally present the award to the Cauldron Sword Team!"

A gratified smile also appeared on Ning Fengzhi's face as he looked at Chen Xin. "Old Sword Douluo, look. These young people haven't disappointed us. Not only did they win the match, they also broke Spirit Hall's sinister array. That matters more than any honor."

Chen Xin nodded slowly as the Sword Qi of the Seven Kill Sword gradually converged. "Their rate of growth has exceeded my expectations. Lin Che's Dual Martial Souls coordination, Tang San's tactical execution, Jiang Zhu's healing ability, as well as the cooperation of Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and Ning Rongrong—they have all reached the standard of a top-tier team. In the future, they may become a crucial force against Spirit Hall."

On the Star Dou Arena, Lin Che walked over to Hu Liena. The tip of the Azure Water Sword rested lightly against her throat. "Hu Liena, the Soul Erosion Array has been broken. Your Charm Domain can no longer be activated, and Xie Yue and Yan are both being suppressed by us. Do you still think you have a chance to win?"

Hu Liena raised her head, her eyes bloodshot. She looked into Lin Che's resolute gaze, then toward Xie Yue, who was being suppressed by Dai Mubai, and Yan, whom Ma Hongjun had forced into a corner. She knew resistance was meaningless. But her pride would not allow her to concede so easily. Gritting her teeth, she took a black soul bone from her Storage Soul Tool, attempting to merge its power into her body for one final struggle.

"Don't make pointless resistance." Tang San's voice rang out. His Blue Silver Grass had already quietly entwined Hu Liena's wrist. The moment she dared use the soul bone's power, the Blue Silver Grass would immediately tighten and prevent her Soul Power from operating. "The power of your soul bone is far weaker than it was at your peak. Using it now will only cause you to suffer Soul Power backlash. It isn't worth it."

Hu Liena's hand froze in midair. Looking at the Blue Silver Grass around her wrist and then at the resolute eyes of the Cauldron Sword Team members surrounding her, she finally abandoned her struggle completely. She put the soul bone back into her Storage Soul Tool and slowly closed her eyes. "Spirit Hall's Golden Generation concedes."

The moment her words fell, Xie Yue and Yan also stopped resisting. Xie Yue threw his twin blades to the ground, his face filled with unwillingness. Yan withdrew his Nether Ghost Fire and slumped to the floor—the Golden Generation of Spirit Hall had officially been defeated by the Cauldron Sword Team on the stage of the All-Continent finals.

The referee's excited voice spread across the entire venue through the Soul Gathering Array. "In the finals of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Competition, the Cauldron Sword Team has defeated Spirit Hall's Golden Generation and claimed the championship of this tournament!"

Cheers erupted again, more fervent than at any previous moment. Golden streamers and petals fell like snow across the Star Dou Arena. The seven members of the Cauldron Sword Team supported one another as they stood in the center of the arena. Though exhausted, each wore a brilliant smile. Dai Mubai's White Tiger Claw, Ma Hongjun's Sun Flame True Fire, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, Oscar's sausages, Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, Jiang Zhu's Seven-Colored Sacred Staff, and Lin Che's Azure Water Sword and Universe Cauldron intertwined, forming a dazzling curtain of light that illuminated the entire Star Dou Arena.

Lin Che looked at the companions beside him, then at the cheering audience and Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin in the VIP section. Warmth surged through his heart. From their difficult breakthrough in the preliminaries to their life-and-death reversal in the finals, they had faced too many challenges and crises, yet they had never abandoned one another. This championship was not merely recognition of their strength; it was the finest proof of their team's bond.

In the shadows of the Star Dou Arena, Ghost Douluo's eyes turned sinister. He did not launch the sneak attack Bibi Dong had ordered—the Cauldron Sword Team's momentum was at its height, and Chen Xin was stationed in the VIP section. A sneak attack would only bring humiliation upon himself. He could only turn away silently and vanish into the mist of Heaven Dou City, though the seed of vengeance had been planted in his heart—the grudge between Spirit Hall and the Cauldron Sword Team would never end here.

Sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell over the Cauldron Sword Team, coating them in a golden glow. The finals of this All-Continent Soul Master Competition finally came to an end amid the cheers of countless spectators. But Lin Che knew this was only the beginning of their legend. More challenges awaited them in the future, and under the name of the Cauldron Sword, they would continue forward.