The Fall of a Genius

"Tracking Missile?"

Zi Yao looked at the missile chasing him from behind. It was incredibly fast; escaping it through speed alone was nearly impossible.

At that moment, he suddenly turned around and charged toward Xiao Hongchen. At the same time, he pushed his second soul skill, Nirvana Blood Burn, to the sixth tier, gaining a one-hundred-and-eighty-percent boost in strength.

At the same time, he used the Blue Silver Emperor soul skill, Heavenly Thunder Spirit. Azure lightning wrapped around his entire body, and his speed surged severalfold.

"Rather than running away, you're actually taking the initiative to come closer?"

Xiao Hongchen chuckled and waved his hand. All the turrets shifted in one direction, and more than a hundred cannon barrels simultaneously aimed at Zi Yao and opened fire. The thunderous roar of cannon fire shook the heavens.

The firepower nearly intertwined into a tightly woven spider web, leaving him less and less room to evade.

This time, Zi Yao was clearly not having such an easy time either.

More than a hundred cannons suppressed him from the front, while a Tracking Missile followed him from behind at all times.

That Tracking Missile had terrifying explosive power. It was the strongest single-target shell Xiao Hongchen currently possessed, essentially a Rank 5 Fixed Soul Cannon Shell with its blast radius compressed. Even a defense-type Soul Emperor would not dare take it head-on.

Compared to the life-and-death battle between Xiao Hongchen and Zi Yao,

Meng Hongchen and Wang Dong's match was clearly much more harmonious.

Neither of them had much interest in the so-called number one genius, so naturally neither was particularly eager to fight. As they fought, they actually started chatting.

"Wang Dong, who do you think will win, Zi Yao or Brother?"

"Zi Yao."

Wang Dong answered without hesitation.

Meng Hongchen glanced at the battle beside them and asked curiously, "Why? My brother clearly has the advantage right now, doesn't he?"

She had great confidence in her brother.

Even if she fought Xiao Hongchen one-on-one, her chances of winning would be minuscule. The suppressive power of more than a hundred cannon barrels was terrifying.

Moreover, Xiao Hongchen's close-combat defense was not weak either. That was a Steel Fortress made of over a hundred Rank 5 Soul Tools. Even a Soul Emperor would not be able to break through it so easily.

Wang Dong said calmly, "That kid is crafty. If he agreed to the wager, that means he must be certain he can win."

Seeing the cheers from the stands and Zi Yao being pushed into a disadvantage, Xiao Hongchen grew even more excited.

"I am the strongest genius in the history of the Sun Moon Empire! I carry the hopes of the Hongchen Family and the Sun Moon Empire!"

"Let me end this battle! Golden Sacrifice!"

The Soul Power in his body rapidly burned away. At the same time, the effects of all his metal Soul Tools and soul skills greatly increased. The golden patterns on the Soul Tool Cannon barrels shone brilliantly, and the power and speed of their firepower rose across the board.

Faced with the oncoming barrage of cannon fire,

Zi Yao understood that he could no longer rely on speed to keep evading. It was time to determine the victor.

"A Lan?"

"I'm here, Master." A gentle mature woman's voice sounded from the soul ring.

"Use Emperor's Domain."

Zi Yao ordered.

In an instant, the entire Soul Fighting Arena was enveloped in blue Domain Power. Beautiful blue-gold patterns appeared across the ground, while specks of blue light flowed into his body, gradually restoring his stamina and Soul Power.

"Domain Power?"

Jing Hóngchén rose from his seat in the stands, his face full of shock.

This was Domain Power that even ordinary Titled Douluo might not possess. Yet a Soul Elder could release a domain that covered the entire Soul Fighting Arena with a radius of thirty meters.

Xiao Hongchen on the arena also sensed that something was wrong.

But things had already come to this point. He could only pour all his remaining Soul Power into enhancing his Soul Tools.

All at once,

dozens of thick Blue Silver Vine as wide as water barrels burst from the ground, sealing Xiao Hongchen's Steel Fortress so tightly that not even water could pass through.

"Break them open!"

Xiao Hongchen hurriedly controlled the cannon barrels and blasted apart the tough Blue Silver Vine, reducing them to dust.

But during that brief opening,

Zi Yao had already flashed to within less than ten meters of him.

Xiao Hongchen frowned.

For a long-range Soul Engineer, that distance was already extremely dangerous.

But he controlled all the cannon barrels to link together even more tightly, making the entire Steel Fortress nearly airtight.

Zi Yao had long since made plans for this "Iron Turtle Shell."

The Soul Tool glove gripping the Blue Silver Overlord Spear lit up. With twice the impact force behind it, he thrust his spear forward.

Yet even such a powerful attack only barely pierced as deep as the entire spearhead. Instead, Xiao Hongchen used Golden Condensation to trap it firmly again.

All the cannon barrels then swung in unison toward Zi Yao, their thick muzzles gleaming with chilling light.

"At this distance, let's see how you dodge now!"

Xiao Hongchen said coldly.

Zi Yao's expression remained calm. He planted his left foot on the shaft of the spear with all his strength, bending the incomparably tough Blue Silver Overlord Spear.

Using the spear's rebound, he shot away at tremendous speed, with a Soul Tool Missile tracking behind him.

At such close range, the missile's acceleration made it difficult for it to turn in time.

"You want to use my Soul Tool Missile to break through my defense, using my spear against my shield? I admit you're somewhat interesting, but aren't you underestimating my Metal Control ability a little too much?"

"You're too careless, Zi Yao. You aren't a flying-type Soul Master, so you can't move as nimbly in the air as you can on land. You'll have nowhere to run!"

Xiao Hongchen thought.

Watching Zi Yao leap into the air, he seemed to see both an opening and the hope of victory. He raised a hand, preparing to control the Soul Tool Missile and make it sharply turn upward.

"Myriad Spirits!"

Just as the missile was about to fly upward,

Zi Yao poured all his Spiritual Power into the Rank 5 Soul Tool Cannon Shell. The shell wobbled slightly before coming under his control.

Myriad Spirits possessed the ability to control all things with Spiritual Power.

If it came down to controlling metal alone, Xiao Hongchen's Metal Control ability was undoubtedly superior.

At the very least, Zi Yao could not use Spiritual Power to control more than a hundred Soul Tool Cannon barrels at once. That was why he had deliberately saved it for the decisive moment, seeking to catch his opponent off guard.

What was happening?

Why had my Metal Control suddenly failed?

Xiao Hongchen raised his head in disbelief, the nearby missile reflected in his eyes.

In truth, he had created this Tracking Soul Tool Cannon Shell himself. If he had not greedily wanted to use it to defeat Zi Yao, he could have transformed it into liquid metal immediately.

But this was also the opening Zi Yao had deliberately exposed.

Other than flying-type Soul Masters or Titled Douluo, casually fighting in midair was never a wise choice. It was no different from a landlubber jumping into the water.

The rapidly flying Soul Tool Missile gave Xiao Hongchen no time to react. A violent explosion rang out, flames soared into the sky, and smoke billowed everywhere.

Even Zi Yao, more than ten meters in the air, was affected. He summoned a Blue Silver Vine from the ground to block part of the impact from the flames before landing steadily.

"Xiao'er!"

Jing Hóngchén could no longer remain seated. This was a Tracking Missile whose explosive power rivaled a Rank 5 Fixed Soul Cannon Shell, and he had personally taught Xiao Hongchen the Core Array for this Soul Tool.

He leaped down from the stands, preparing to inspect Xiao Hongchen's condition.

"Brother!"

Meng Hongchen in the Soul Fighting Arena could no longer be bothered to pretend to fight Wang Dong. Under an explosion of such power, Xiao Hongchen had to be seriously injured at the very least.

"Don't come over! I haven't lost yet!"

A stubborn voice came from within the smoke.