This feeling was extraordinarily profound, as if he were on the verge of comprehending a certain artistic realm.
Yet he was still just a sliver away.
As the last wisp of Soul Power was exhausted, Chen Xing also swung his final sword!
With one slash!
In Qian Renxue's eyes, purple-gold sword energy slowly expanded before her.
For some reason, it was as though she had been locked onto, and she actually felt like giving up resistance.
She Long, hidden in the shadows, was greatly alarmed. Seeing the sword light about to strike, he had already intended to intervene, but Chi Xue stopped him.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, the sense of danger from her god-grade Martial Soul instantly brought Qian Renxue back to her senses.
But the sword light was already right before her. If she did not use another Soul Skill, she would definitely be injured.
In her panic, she made an instinctive response.
[Fourth Soul Skill: Angel's Protection]
A golden barrier emerged from her body, absorbing all the damage in the instant before the sword light descended.
Yet the immense force still carried its momentum, knocking the stunned Qian Renxue off balance. Her feet stumbled backward again and again, and she nearly fell off the Soul Fighting Arena.
Qian Renxue was shocked, staring at the ground beneath her feet in disbelief!
She had actually nearly been slashed off the Soul Fighting Arena by a level 32 Soul Elder!
She looked up at the opposite side and saw that Chen Xing had already closed his eyes. He sat cross-legged in the center of the arena, his Purple Imperial Bamboo Martial Soul floating silently before him and giving off wisps of purple-gold Soul Power.
"Is this... an epiphany?"
When the spectators saw this scene, they all rose from their seats and looked toward the young man at the center of the Soul Fighting Arena.
What was going on? Why had he started cultivating in the middle of a fight?
Still, that brat's final sword strike had some substance to it. It did not look like a Soul Skill, yet it had actually knocked back a Soul Ancestor!
The discussions were noisy, but to Qian Renxue, it all became meaningless background noise.
"Chen Xing!"
"Who exactly are you?"
If Sword Douluo had been present, he would certainly have recognized Chen Xing's current state.
This was an "epiphany"!
And one unique to the Way of the Sword!
Even Sword Douluo's father had only learned of it through ancestral records.
On the continent, the sword path of sword wielders was divided into three realms.
Sword Momentum, Sword Intent, and Sword Heart.
Sword Douluo and his father had both reached the Sword Heart Realm. In this realm, man and sword became one, placing them at the pinnacle of this continent.
Beyond that was the level of gods.
Legend had it that once one broke through the Sword Heart Realm, one would transcend the mortal world and become a Deity.
And if someone attained an epiphany in the sword path, they would gain the qualification to become a Deity!
Throughout their lives, the highest realm of swordsmanship attained by every successor of the Seven Kill Sword lineage had been Sword Heart.
It was not because these people had not worked hard enough, nor because they lacked talent.
The fundamental reason was that no one could achieve an epiphany.
Yet Chen Xing had actually touched that realm.
Though this was his first epiphany and he had only comprehended the most basic Sword Momentum, the most important thing was that he had gained the qualification to become a god.
Qian Renxue was horrified. She immediately left the Soul Fighting Arena and changed into Xue Qinghe's identity in a secluded corner.
He ordered the manager to clear everyone from the area, and had She Long and Chi Xue erect a barrier of Soul Power to ensure that no outside factor would disturb Chen Xing.
Only then did he let out a breath of relief.
But immediately afterward, he summoned She Long.
"Elder She Long, depart at once and return to the Worship Hall as quickly as possible. Inform my grandfather about Chen Xing."
"Remember, tell him every single thing that happened today, word for word. Do not leave out anything."
"It would be best if the old man could come and see for himself."
Faced with such solemn instructions from his young master, She Long looked cautious and did not dare be careless in the slightest. He immediately vanished into the darkness.
Not to mention Qian Renxue—even he, a Title Douluo, had never seen such a genius.
An epiphany! That was something that had only been recorded in books for thousands of years.
No matter the field, it meant that person possessed the qualification to become a god.
Ye Mansion.
Ye Lanyi sat cross-legged in meditation.
Treating Chen Xing during the day had allowed her to glimpse the young man's secret.
Within his incomparably vigorous life force, there was actually an opportunity for her Martial Soul to evolve.
For many years, plagued by the curse, Ye Lanyi had searched through countless ancient texts and vaguely guessed the source of the Nine Heart Begonia lineage's curse.
It was the "gods"!
Its heaven-defying healing effects had already surpassed the rules of this continent. Under the treatment of Nine Heart Begonia Soul Masters, even regrowing severed limbs was merely a matter of time.
It could be said that as long as a Nine Heart Begonia Soul Master remained nearby and still had Soul Power, that person would never die.
Thus, the gods had imposed a curse.
Across the entire continent, only two Nine Heart Begonia Soul Masters could exist at once. Every time another Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul awakened, the one who had awakened first would die.
The ancestors of the Ye Clan had suffered under this curse for generations.
But Ye Lanyi refused to accept it. After years of research, she had truly discovered a method.
To break this curse, she simply needed to alter the quality of her Martial Soul.
However, the degenerated Nine Heart Begonia was not restricted by the curse, and since the Martial Soul had already awakened, the effects of its Soul Rings were fixed. Degeneration was simply impossible.
That left her with only one final path: Martial Soul Evolution!
Consume heavenly treasures and earthly rarities to promote the evolution of her Martial Soul.
The Ye Clan's ancient records had documented dozens of Immortal Herbs, all with heaven-defying effects. Unfortunately, in the past century, no Immortal Herb had appeared anywhere on the continent.
Just as she was losing all hope, Chen Xing appeared.
A full-force strike from a level 96 Strong Attack Title Douluo had actually failed to kill a six-year-old boy.
That wound appeared gruesome, but a mysterious force was slowly repairing it.
Ye Lanyi saw every bit of it.
The incomparable aura of life caused her Martial Soul to react. It was a feeling that compelled it to submit.
Ye Lanyi knew that this young man's Martial Soul had to be of a higher quality than the Nine Heart Begonia.
But what level could a Martial Soul that even made the Nine Heart Begonia submit possibly be?
Driven by greed, she recalled a secret technique she had encountered in her early years.
The secret technique recorded how a lower-ranked Martial Soul could Devour the bloodline of a higher-ranked Martial Soul, causing the Martial Soul to undergo transformation.
Thus, while treating Chen Xing, she had truly attempted it once.
Like a minister defying an emperor and stealing the other's bloodline, Ye Lanyi endured immense pressure throughout the process.
But the result was delightful—she had succeeded!
The secret technique truly worked. She had really stolen a faint trace of bloodline power.
This allowed her to see hope for Martial Soul Evolution once more.
Originally, as long as she imprisoned Chen Xing in Ye Mansion, she would completely inherit the bloodline within him in less than ten years.
Who would have thought that Xue Qinghe would appear midway...
Now, the tiny trace of bloodline power she had painstakingly stolen was slowly dissipating.
It was obvious that if Chen Xing was not nearby, then no matter how she cultivated or circulated her Soul Power, it would all be futile.
Before you continue