Martial Soul Seal

Inside Big Dipper Academy.

"Hm?"

When Lu Xiao heard the contents of the reward, his ever-lazy expression finally changed.

He abruptly sat up from his rocking chair, his gaze sharp as lightning as he looked toward the Sky Screen overhead, a flicker of surprise and intense interest flashing through his eyes.

"The first seal of the Creation Divine Ring...?"

He muttered softly.

He had obtained this Martial Soul through a special sign-in a month ago. The moment he acquired it, he discovered that it was tightly bound by nine mysterious chain-like seals.

Even with his cultivation, he had found them impossible to shake in the slightest.

He had not expected the Sky Screen's reward to directly help him break the first one!

A Golden Light Pillar, far thicker and more solid than any previous reward beam, as though it had been formed from the purest laws, crashed down.

It poured precisely into Lu Xiao's body!

"Buzz!"

Behind Lu Xiao, a golden divine ring of indescribable splendor and complexity emerged from thin air.

The divine ring slowly rotated, emanating a hazy yet boundless aura of creation.

Most striking of all—

Nine tangible chains, seemingly condensed from the laws of order, coiled around the divine ring, firmly sealing its power.

At that moment, as the Golden Light Pillar poured in, one of the chains let out an overwhelmed crack.

Then, before the stunned eyes of Ning Rongrong and the others, it exploded into fragments, turning into specks of golden light that scattered away!

At the instant the first seal shattered—

"Rumble!!!"

Above Big Dipper Academy, the once-clear sky was suddenly swallowed by endless dark clouds.

Thunderbolts danced wildly through the heavens like silver serpents, intertwining into a Sea of Thunder filled with Destruction.

A terrifying heavenly might capable of making even a Titled Douluo lose their soul descended without warning!

The power contained within that Thunder seemed determined to utterly destroy this heaven-defying thing!

"Lightning Tribulation?!"

Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Dugu Yan had never seen such heavenly might before. Their faces immediately drained of color, their eyes filled with panic.

"Not good!"

Li Bai, who had been savoring wine, narrowed his eyes. The Green Lotus Divine Sword in his hand instantly left its sheath, and countless cyan Sword Qi shot into the sky, forming an enormous Lotus Sword Domain.

It enveloped the entire Core Area of Big Dipper Academy, cutting off that terrifying thunderous pressure.

"Everyone, fall back!"

Li Bai shouted, turning his gaze toward Lu Bu, Sikong Zhen, and the others.

Lu Bu slammed his Sky Halberd into the ground, his baleful aura soaring into the heavens.

Thunder flickered explosively around Sikong Zhen's body, faintly forming a confrontation with the Lightning Tribulation in the sky.

Lu Xiao stared solemnly at the Sea of Thunder overhead. He had not expected breaking a single seal to bring about a Heavenly Tribulation.

He instantly understood that every seal he broke in the future would likely require him to face a Lightning Tribulation.

This filled him with immense curiosity and a desire to investigate the origin of the Creation Divine Ring he had obtained through System Sign-in.

"Li Bai, just protect the academy."

Lu Xiao's voice had returned to calmness, yet it carried unquestionable authority.

"This Lightning Tribulation arose because of me. Naturally, I will be the one to end it."

Before his words had even faded, he took one step and arrived in midair.

His right hand clenched in the air, and the purplish-gold Extinguishing God-Slaying Sword, wrapped in the baleful aura of God Slaying and Immortal Slaughter, appeared in his grasp!

At the same time, nine Soul Rings emerged around Lu Xiao one after another.

Red, red, red, red, red, red, red, red, gold!

Eight red, one gold!

A Soul Ring Configuration that defied the heavens to the extreme!

Especially the final golden Soul Ring, which radiated nobility and antiquity, as though it stood above the laws of the world.

It left Ning Rongrong and the others below utterly dumbfounded, their minds completely blank.

A golden Soul Ring?

What age was that?

A Soul Ring beyond the Hundred Thousand Year level?

Lu Xiao ignored the shock below. His gaze locked onto the heart of the Sea of Thunder in the heavens, and the Extinguishing God-Slaying Sword in his hand let out an excited hum.

"Ninth Soul Skill—God Slaying!"

There was no earth-shaking display of power, only a dark-golden Sword Qi, pure to the extreme, silently extending from the sword tip. It seemed capable of severing the Laws of Heaven and Earth and sending everything back to the void as it soared against the heavens!

Wherever the Sword Qi passed, space silently vanished.

The violent Thunder filling the sky seemed to have encountered its nemesis.

Before that seemingly tiny Sword Qi, it disintegrated and shattered one after another.

In the end, it turned into the most primordial energy of Heaven and Earth and dissipated!

With one sword strike, the Lightning Tribulation vanished!

The dark clouds in the sky were wiped away as if by an invisible hand, and clarity returned in an instant.

Only Lu Xiao remained, bathed in faint golden light, holding the God Slaying Sword, with the Creation Divine Ring floating behind him, one of its seals broken. He looked like a Deity descended into the world!

"..."

The entirety of Big Dipper Academy fell into Dead Silence.

The Lightning Tribulation had appeared abruptly and disappeared just as suddenly.

That world-destroying aura had come quickly and left even faster, as if it had merely been an accidental tremor between Heaven and Earth.

Yet this brief but terrifying disturbance was like a massive boulder dropped into a tranquil lake.

Its ripples had already spread to every corner of the continent.

It had stirred the nerves of every peak powerhouse.

Inside Spirit Hall's Worship Hall.

Qian Daoliu's golden eyes were filled with unprecedented solemnity and surprise.

His gaze seemed to pierce through layers of Void as he looked toward Sunset Forest in the distance.

That aura of Destruction, powerful enough to make even him, a Level Ninety-nine Limit Douluo, feel Lingering Fear.

And that fleeting Sword Qi, so sharp it seemed capable of cutting through everything...

"Sunset Forest, again..."

Qian Daoliu's voice carried a trace of dryness that was difficult to detect.

"That thunderous might from just now was definitely no ordinary celestial phenomenon. The will of Destruction within it even surpassed the scope of a Lightning Tribulation."

"And that Sword Qi—who made the move? To think someone could erase it with a single sword strike?"

Golden Crocodile Douluo behind him wore an equally grave expression.

He had only just stabilized the cultivation he had gained from the reward, yet upon sensing those distant fluctuations, he still felt Lingering Fear.

"Brother, the appearance and disappearance of that Thunder were far too strange. And it happened right after the number one Martial Soul Ranking entry, the Creation Divine Ring, broke a seal."

"And the location was Sunset Forest."

Qian Daoliu slowly nodded, understanding flashing through his eyes alongside even deeper apprehension.

"Your guess matches mine exactly. Big Dipper Academy is most likely hidden deep within Sunset Forest."

"And that Thunder was likely the heavenly phenomenon Lu Xiao triggered when he broke the first seal of the Creation Divine Ring. As for the person who acted to erase the Lightning Tribulation..."

He paused, his tone carrying a conclusion that even he found difficult to fully believe.

"Other than Lu Xiao himself, I can think of no second possibility. Only someone wielding the Extinguishing God-Slaying Sword and capable of using it to such a realm could break the tribulation with such ease!"

"What?!"

Several worshippers turned pale in shock upon hearing this.

Although they had also made their own guesses, hearing Qian Daoliu state it aloud still left them utterly shaken.

Not only did Lu Xiao possess three heaven-defying Martial Souls.

His own strength had actually reached the level where he could effortlessly contend against such terrifying heavenly might?