Surrounded Again

The Soul Saint of Martial Soul Hall watched helplessly as Yan's arm fell from the stone mountain, while Ling Chen's Green Steel Sword slashed toward Yan once more.

Enduring the agony, Yan leaped down, dodging Ling Chen's attack while catching his severed arm, simultaneously shouting orders to the Soul Saints.

"I'll hold him off; you focus on the target!"

Upon receiving the order, the Soul Saints unleashed their True Martial Soul avatars, pooling their power to bear down on Tang San. Tang San released his Blue Silver Grass and Eight Spider Soul Bone, wrapping himself and Xiao Wu in layers of protection.

A faint curve tugged at the corner of Ling Chen's mouth. If a single clone could force Yan off the mountain, how would he dodge an attack while in mid-air?

Ling Chen's main body stood at the base of the stone mountain as Yan, still in the air, forcibly jammed his arm back into place and gritted his teeth, binding it with strips of cloth.

"Ruthless!"

Ling Chen silently gave Yan a mental thumbs-up; that was a real man!

"Too bad you ran into me!"

Ling Chen assumed a stance and began to charge his power. The moment Yan landed, Ling Chen would swing his sword and cut him in half at the waist.

"Fifth Soul Skill—Flying Sand Wild Flame!"

A pillar of magma erupted from the earth. Relying on the full-attribute boost of his Peerless Domain, Ling Chen immediately put some distance between them.

The pillar of fire soared into the sky, instantly swallowing Yan.

Ling Chen's clone on the stone mountain used the phantom images to retreat, while half of the stone mountain was shattered by the magma and collapsed.

After pulling back, Ling Chen noticed that the Green Steel Sword in his hand was glowing with a faint red light. It was the residual soul power drawn from Yan, which the Green Steel Sword had absorbed.

The pillar of fire gradually subsided, revealing Yan's body once more. The arm he had just severed was now restored to its original state.

However, recovering from such an injury must have consumed a massive amount of his soul power.

"You're quite durable! But I like it! Hahahaha!"

Yan clutched his slowly healing wound, his face full of killing intent. But seeing the strange smile on this brat Ling Chen's face and hearing his nonsensical words, his expression darkened even further.

In direct combat, he had never suffered such a heavy loss as he had today. It was always he who shattered others' bones; few had ever been able to break through his defenses. As a member of the Golden Generation, his strength was already formidable among his peers, but now...

To be disarmed by a small child and then mocked—this was a supreme humiliation.

Hiding in Tang San's arms, Xiao Wu also saw Yan's disheveled state. They had already crossed paths during the Elite Soul Master Tournament, so she knew Yan's strength well. Being able to remain unscathed under the joint assault of Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, his combat power was nothing short of terrifying.

Yet, the scene that had just unfolded made Xiao Wu change her opinion of this little fellow named Li Tianyi.

"Brat, you've successfully angered me! None of you lot from Slaughter City are any good! Daring to obstruct Martial Soul Hall's business—you're courting death!"

Yan roared, a wave of scorching heat radiating from the soles of his feet.

It was Yan's fourth soul skill—Magma Surging, capable of forming a ten-meter-diameter magma domain where flaming hands would emerge to trap enemies and burn them continuously.

Ling Chen was not afraid in the least. He might not be able to use killing intent to enhance his domain right now, but sword intent could! The boost might not be as terrifying as killing intent, but it was enough to keep him from falling behind in battle.

Ling Chen steadied his breath, resonating with the Green Steel Sword in his hand. Sword intent, manifest!

The Peerless Domain, boosted by 44%, expanded once more: 46%, 47%... 50%. The boost stopped at 50%, and the range of the Peerless Domain expanded by another 60 meters or so.

"Damn it! What did you do?"

Feeling his soul power consumption accelerate, Yan stared at Ling Chen through gritted teeth. He didn't have much soul power left, and with the high cost of releasing soul skills, he was reaching his limit.

Ling Chen remained silent. Although Magma Surging was an area-of-effect skill, it couldn't match the distance he could cover by swapping places with his Hundred Demon Shadow Clones.

In the blink of an eye, Ling Chen vanished from before Yan's eyes and reappeared beside the collapsed stone mountain.

Tang San was quickly being pressed down, unable to lift his head. Fortunately, thanks to Ling Chen's domain, he wasn't suffering too badly. He had already exhausted his soul power, whereas some of the Soul Saints were already breaking into a sweat.

"Crack, snap!"

Tang San's resilient Blue Silver Grass ultimately failed to hold, beginning to shatter. Tang San gritted his teeth and persisted; even as his Eight Spider Soul Bone groaned and cracked, he kept Xiao Wu tightly shielded in his arms.

"Damn it, this is going too far!"

Ling Chen couldn't watch anymore. He had once been besieged by the scum of Slaughter City, but Tang San had also saved him from dire straits.

He had been holding back some strength, intending to be taken to Martial Soul Hall to get closer to Qian Daoliu.

But the face Martial Soul Hall was showing now was no different from the scum of Slaughter City. Ling Chen was determined to slaughter these wretches.

"Disperse!"

Ling Chen's shadow clones suddenly split into a hundred, with a thousand phantoms flickering among the Soul Saints. Such a sight truly shocked the Soul Saints of Martial Soul Hall.

"Not good!"

Ling Chen's clones maneuvered nimbly. Within the Peerless Domain infused with sword intent, he could kill a Soul Saint with a single strike at any moment.

They were forced to shift their target to Ling Chen's clones, as these sub-clones had already become a threat to them.

"Destroy them!"

The Soul Saints increased their soul power output, and the pressure released by their True Martial Soul avatars instantly wiped out all of Ling Chen's clones.

Tang San manifested his Clear Sky Hammer, bracing it against the ground, holding on for dear life. The immense pressure forced him to break through to level 60.

"Eh!"

Ling Chen pointed his small hand toward the sky. If he had known, he would have gone to stand next to Tang San to take some of the pressure; maybe he would have reached level 20 too.

However, after a brief moment of contemplation, Ling Chen abandoned this thought. With his current small stature, he would likely be crushed into a pulp.

"Can you still hold on?"

Ling Chen approached Tang San with his sword in hand; a fierce battle was about to ensue. Tang San was clearly prepared to fight to the death this time, determined to risk his life against those from Martial Soul Hall.

Tang San gasped for air, the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth dripping onto the blooming spider lilies on the ground.

Ling Chen could not change the outcome of this battle, but he could alter the fate of a few Soul Saints. He needed to prepare himself and begin looting the corpses.

Ling Chen lunged forward with his sword, his speed so great that it left afterimages in his wake. Under Ling Chen's domain, all beings were equal, save for himself.

Those Soul Saints had already expended a significant amount of energy, and as they fought within Ling Chen's domain, the gap between their combat capabilities would only continue to narrow.

"Take down Li Tianyi first! His domain is too disgusting!"

One Soul Saint couldn't help but complain; he had never thought of any other word to describe Ling Chen's domain, as there simply wasn't a substitute.

The Soul Saints swarmed him, and although Ling Chen was fast, he was still surrounded by them.

"Aside from surrounding me, do you lot not know any other moves?"

Ling Chen watched the circle tighten, his face filled with helplessness. Could they not use some novel way to deal with him? Did they really have to force him to learn a flying soul skill?