Invincible

There was no flashy opening move, nor any unnecessary motion.

He merely raised the ten-meter-long giant blade.

A sneering laugh rang out through the air.

The voice blended the tones of Yan, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena.

It was steeped in haughty arrogance and disdain.

The giant blade swung down from above, casual and unhurried.

In that moment, every sound between heaven and earth vanished.

All that remained was a dark red blade of flame that swept across the entire arena.

The blade of light stretched dozens of yards wide.

Wherever it passed, the air ignited instantly, leaving a pitch-black spatial rift in its wake.

This was no mere physical slash.

It was a killing strike that perfectly fused mental assault, Ultimate Fire, and an edge that could cleave through anything.

Before the blade even arrived, its destructive pressure had already descended.

Tang San's proud Blue Silver Grass defensive net.

The instant it touched the edge of the blade, it turned to ash, unable to hold it back for even a moment.

Tang San drew a deep breath, and his eyes turned purple-gold.

Black light surged from his left hand.

The greatest weapon-type Martial Soul under heaven, which he had kept hidden all this time.

The Clear Sky Hammer appeared in his palm.

It swelled in the wind, growing as large as a small mountain.

Tang San's legs drove him forward, and he pushed Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer to its limit.

One strike, two strikes, three strikes...

Heavy whooshes rang out one after another as the force stacked in an instant to terrifying levels.

He endured the heat that could nearly roast him alive and swung fiercely at the blade of light.

"Boom!"

Two utterly different forces collided with a thunderous crash.

A ring of visible, violent shock waves spread outward.

The hard arena floor cracked inch by inch beneath the impact.

Countless chunks of stone were swept into the air, then burned into molten rock.

The sleeves on both of Tang San's arms turned to ash in an instant.

His skin split into countless fine, bloody cuts, and the flesh around his thumbs was mangled.

Before the blood could drip, it sizzled into a bloody mist.

The recoil from the Clear Sky Hammer surged into Tang San like an avalanche.

His internal organs throbbed as if they had been displaced.

His meridians swelled with pain, as though they were about to tear apart.

"Pfft!"

Tang San threw his head back and spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of his organs.

He was sent flying backward as if struck by a meteorite.

The light of the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand dimmed, and it was forcibly driven back into his body.

His trump card, the one he had always been so proud of, was utterly helpless before that blade of light.

Even Tang San, wielder of the greatest weapon-type Martial Soul under heaven, couldn't stop it in the slightest.

The dark red blade of light had only dimmed a little.

It continued onward with unstoppable force, slashing toward the Hell White Tiger behind him.

The Hell White Tiger controlled by Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing let out a furious roar.

Its enormous tiger claws gathered all its strength.

Geng Metal Qi condensed wildly at the tips, giving off a blinding white light.

It swiped fiercely at the blade, trying to rip it apart by force.

The instant the tiger claw met the blade of light.

A grating sound of tearing metal rang across the arena.

There was no evenly matched struggle, only a crushing rout.

The tiger claw, strong enough to tear through steel, was as fragile as a sheet of paper before the blade.

Dark red flames spread from the claw across the Hell White Tiger's entire body in an instant.

Its proud defenses were incinerated.

The blade cut through the White Tiger's defenses without hindrance, then slashed viciously into its massive body.

"Aaagh—"

The Hell White Tiger let out a sorrowful cry.

Its entire body twisted violently in midair.

Then came a muffled explosion.

The Martial Soul Fusion Skill was forcibly interrupted.

The enormous White Tiger phantom shattered in an instant, scattering into countless points of light.

Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing were like kites with severed strings.

Their bodies charred black as they fell from the sky.

They crashed heavily onto the lava-covered arena, their lives hanging in the balance.

Ning Rongrong's amplification links were forcibly severed.

The terrifying backlash surged back through the Soul Power channels.

The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in her hand let out a mournful cry, and a clear crack appeared across its surface.

Her delicate body shuddered violently.

A mouthful of blood burst from her lips.

Her normally rosy face turned deathly pale.

Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed limply to the ground.

Oscar threw himself in front of Ning Rongrong, trying to shield her from the shock waves with his body.

But the scorching gale stirred up by the blade sent him flying.

He tumbled across the ground more than a dozen times before crashing into a stone pillar at the edge of the arena and coming to a stop.

Who knew how many bones in his body had broken.

Xiao Wu stood beside the spot where Tang San had fallen.

Her petite frame trembled uncontrollably, her eyes filled with terror and despair.

They had thought that, with their teamwork and trump cards, they could avenge Zhao Wuji.

They had thought they could trample the dignity of Spirit Hall underfoot.

But now.

It had taken just one move, just one blade of light.

The Shrek Seven Devils had been utterly wiped out.

This power was completely beyond anything they could comprehend.

The Flame Demon God did not launch a second attack.

There was no need.

After a violent surge of Soul Power, the enormous phantom slowly faded away.

Yan, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena reappeared on the arena.

Though their breathing was somewhat heavy.

The pride in their eyes burned brighter than before.

They had proven through action who the true geniuses were.

They had shown who stood at the pinnacle of the Golden Generation on this continent.

The vast central plaza was dead silent.

Tens of thousands of spectators didn't dare so much as breathe.

The visual impact of such an overwhelming victory was simply too shocking.

Many people were still leaning forward, staring blankly at the arena, now reduced to ruins.

After a brief silence.

A deafening roar of cheers erupted.

"Long live Spirit Hall!"

"The Golden Generation is invincible!"

The waves of cheering rose higher and higher, nearly overturning the heavens.

Even the factions that had once been hostile toward Spirit Hall now wore faces ashen with despair.

Amid the deafening cheers.

Gu Qing calmly descended from the high platform.

One step, two steps.

His pace remained steady, without the slightest hint of haste.

His white robe fluttered gently in the breeze.

The Dark Gold Token that symbolized absolute authority gleamed in the sunlight with a chilling luster.

Wherever he passed, the knights of Spirit Hall dropped to one knee.

Their long spears struck the ground with a heavy thud.

They opened a broad path for their inscrutable new Holy Son.

Gu Qing's gaze swept over the fervent knights lining either side, but his brow didn't so much as twitch.

He walked up the steps and onto the arena, now riddled with damage.

He passed Dai Mubai, who lay on the ground, groaning.

He stepped over the unconscious Ning Rongrong.

Then he walked straight toward Tang San, who was struggling amid the rubble.

Tang San was in a wretched state.

His once-neat school uniform had been reduced to a few charred rags.

Wounds of all sizes covered his body.

Blood and dust smeared his handsome face until it was unrecognizable.

His hands had been deformed from using the Clear Sky Hammer to block the blade.

Some of his finger bones had even pierced through his skin, exposed to the air.

Every breath sent a tearing pain through his chest.

Lying on the ground, Tang San's vision swam with darkness.

It felt as though a lump of burning charcoal had been shoved into his chest.

He struggled to raise his head.

His bloodshot eyes fixed on Gu Qing as he approached.

His nails dug deep into the mangled flesh of his palms.

His whole body trembled uncontrollably from the force he was exerting.

"Why..."

Tang San's voice rasped like a broken bellows.

Each word seemed to be squeezed out through clenched teeth.

"How could this happen..."

He gritted his teeth so hard that the corners of his eyes split and bled.

He couldn't accept this cruel reality.

Ever since he was young, he had relied on the confidence of possessing Twin Martial Souls and taken pride in the Tang Sect Secret Arts.

At this moment, it had all been shattered.

He had thought that as long as he endured, as long as he trained, he could overcome any obstacle.

He could make Spirit Hall pay for its blood debt.

But just moments ago, he had been utterly defeated, unable to block even one move. The memory had become a nightmare he couldn't escape.

Even in this state.

His right hand still trembled as it reached toward the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges at his waist.

He still had one final Yama's Invitation there.

It was his last trump card, and the last ember of his unyielding will.

His fingers had only just touched the metal surface.

A golden boot came down mercilessly on his wrist.

Gu Qing pressed down slightly with his foot.

With a crisp crack of breaking bone, Tang San let out a pained groan.

The poison-coated Yama's Invitation rolled helplessly into the lava nearby.

It instantly turned into a wisp of black smoke.

The Tang Sect's peerless Hidden Weapon was destroyed without ever getting the chance to be revealed.

The rest of Shrek's group had likewise fallen into utter despair.

Dai Mubai stared blankly at the sky.

The White Tiger Vajra Transformation he had always been so proud of was nothing but a joke before this power.

It was an overwhelming force that left not even the slightest room to fight back.

It had shattered the Star Luo Prince's pride.

Xiao Wu sank down beside Tang San, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.

Seeing Tang San covered in wounds, her heart ached until she could hardly breathe.

Yet she didn't even have the strength to reach out and help him up.

Ma Hongjun lay sprawled on the ground, blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs continually spilling from his mouth.

Oscar clutched the unconscious Ning Rongrong tightly, his eyes full of fear and confusion.

Was this the difference in strength?

Was this an insurmountable chasm?

The talent and teamwork the Shrek Seven Devils had once been so proud of—

before the Martial Soul Fusion Skill Gu Qing had unleashed with a casual gesture—

had seemed utterly laughable.

Gu Qing stopped half a meter in front of Tang San.

His tall, slender figure cast a shadow over Tang San.

He looked down at this so-called chosen son of fate of the Douluo Continent.

The noise around them seemed to fade away at that moment.

Tang San's ragged breathing sounded especially harsh in the stillness.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Gu Qing quietly admired Tang San's shattered expression.

"No matter how much more you train,"

"you'll still be trash."

Five full days had passed since the High-Level Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament across the continent had ended.

The fervor in Spirit City had yet to die down.

The streets and alleys were still abuzz with tales of that crushing victory.

The peerless sight of Gu Qing stamping out Tang San's last trump card had been etched deep into the heart of every Soul Master in Spirit Hall.

As the newly appointed Holy Son, Gu Qing's prestige within Spirit Hall had reached unprecedented heights.

For the past few days, the doors to the Holy Son's residence had remained shut.

Gu Qing had been busy sorting through documents on the various factions and had not appeared in public.

But this busy spell had left Qian Renxue, in another palace of the Elder Palace, to suffer.

Sunlight streamed through the crystal windows, falling across the spacious, bright bedroom.

Qian Renxue sat before the vanity, holding an exquisite jade comb.

Her golden hair fell like a waterfall over her snowy-white back.

Her gaze rested on the bronze mirror, but she wasn't looking at the flawless beauty reflected in it at all.

Her thoughts had long since drifted to the Holy Son's residence, its doors firmly shut.

"Five whole days."

Qian Renxue's red lips parted as her grip on the jade comb tightened.

Ever since Gu Qing had displayed that air of superiority over all others at the tournament,

his figure had filled Qian Renxue's thoughts.

The expression on Gu Qing's face as he spoke, the look in his eyes as he gazed down at Tang San, even the silhouette of his white robes fluttering as he walked—

all were etched into her mind, impossible to dispel.

After spending years in hiding within the Heaven Dou Empire, Qian Renxue had always considered her will as unyielding as iron.

There was no man in the world who could catch the eye of the Martial Soul Hall Young Master.

Even the princes of the Heaven Dou Empire seemed like a pack of good-for-nothings to her.

And yet Gu Qing was the one exception.

Gu Qing not only had talent enough to inspire despair, but also the means to see through everything.

His strength had made Qian Renxue develop a deep sense of dependence without even realizing it.

But these five days of silence and neglect had filled her with an indescribable ache.

She set down the jade comb and cupped her slightly flushed cheeks in both hands.

"Could it be..."

"Could I really have fallen for Gu Qing?"

The moment the thought occurred to her, even Qian Renxue was startled.

Her heart raced, like a fawn bounding wildly in her chest.

Her cheeks grew hotter and hotter, until even the tips of her ears had turned red.

She sprang to her feet and paced back and forth across the room.

Her golden high heels thudded dully against the expensive carpet.

"Absolutely not."

"How could I, the Young Master, fall so easily?"

"Gu Qing hasn't even bothered to come see me. There's no place for me in his heart!"

The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt.

The pride and reserve she had always carefully maintained crumbled to pieces in the face of Gu Qing's neglect over the past few days.

Her eyes reddened slightly as she walked to the window and looked toward the Holy Son's residence.

Her chest tightened again and again, as if something were lodged in her throat.

She could neither swallow it nor spit it out.

This feeling of uncertainty and anxious longing was tormenting her.

Just then, steady footsteps sounded from the far end of the corridor.

Qian Renxue stiffened, her ears instantly perking up.

That rhythm was far too familiar.

Aside from Gu Qing, no one in Spirit Hall strolled down the corridors with such unhurried ease.

Her heart leaped into her throat.

She glanced around in a panic, then hurried to the vanity and hastily straightened her clothes.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her heaving chest.

She was just about to turn and open the door

when that trace of grievance and resentment surged up inside her.

"Why do you think you can come and go as you please?"

"You left me waiting all these days, and only now did you remember me?"

Pouting, she turned away and sat down on the edge of the bed.

She folded her arms across her chest and turned her head aside, refusing to look toward the door.

The footsteps stopped outside her door.