Qian Xunji didn't spare the Clear Sky Sect another glance. His cold eyes, brimming with sacred majesty, slowly turned until they fixed firmly on the Star Luo Empire's ranks.
The blood still dripping from the Holy Sword in his hand, he pointed it from afar at the Star Luo Emperor, who stood clad in golden armor.
"Tang Zhen's taken care of. Dai Tianfeng, you're next. Come up and meet your death."
Dai Tianfeng's scalp prickled, and cold sweat poured down his body. Tang Zhen was a top-tier Titled Douluo, yet he'd been toyed with until he was a one-armed cripple. If an eighty-something-level Soul Douluo like him went up there, wouldn't he be chopped into minced meat?
But he was the emperor! The dignity of the Star Luo Empire could not be trampled!
"Your Majesty, I'll help you!"
At his side, the Star Luo Empress Zhu Wanying, with her alluring figure and breathtaking face, bit her red lips and joined hands with Dai Tianfeng without hesitation.
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill—Hell White Tiger!"
With a heaven-shaking tiger's roar, a colossal tiger dozens of meters long took shape atop the city wall. Though Dai Tianfeng and Zhu Wanying were only Soul Douluo, the Hell White Tiger's combat strength had undoubtedly reached the level of a Titled Douluo.
And that wasn't all. The elderly man who had been standing behind them finally moved. Nine Spirit Rings lit up—he was a ninety-third-level Titled Douluo.
A Hell White Tiger with the strength of a Titled Douluo, together with a genuine ninety-third-level veteran Douluo, charged at Qian Xunji in midair from either side, their killing intent resolute.
"Spirit Hall's Pope! You're far too arrogant!" the old man roared.
"Three against one? The Star Luo Imperial Family certainly knows how to put on a show."
Qian Xunji remained suspended where he was, making no move to dodge. He even put away the Holy Sword in his hand, a mocking smile curling his lips.
"Did you think I came out here without bringing anyone along?"
"Uncle Qian Jun, Uncle Demon Subduing, let's take him apart, bone by bone."
As soon as he spoke,
"By your command!"
Qian Jun and Demon Subduing Douluo, the two Super Douluo standing before the imperial carriage, abruptly opened their eyes.
The terrifying Soul Power of two peak ninety-seventh-level experts surged like primordial beasts awakening from slumber.
Two enormous staffs carved with coiling-dragon totems came crashing down from the sky, carrying the force of Thunderous Might!
The ninety-third-level old man had only just charged into the air. Before he could even scream, Qian Jun Douluo smashed through his protective energy with a single staff strike. Demon Subduing Douluo immediately swung his staff from the side, striking the old man squarely in the chest!
"Bang!"
A rain of blood exploded through the air! Under the combined assault of two ninety-seventh-level Super Douluo worshippers, a ninety-third-level Titled Douluo didn't last a second. He was smashed into a cloud of blood on the spot, leaving not even a whole corpse!
"What?"
Dai Tianfeng and Zhu Wanying, transformed into the Hell White Tiger, were stricken with terror. They had just started to turn around when Qian Xunji's figure, swift as a ghost, Teleported to the tiger's head.
"Get down!"
Qian Xunji brought his foot down hard on the Hell White Tiger's head, and his level-ninety-five peak Soul Power pressed down like a mountain.
"Boom!"
The Hell White Tiger let out a mournful cry, its massive body disintegrating in midair. Dai Tianfeng spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out on the spot, crashing onto the city wall like a discarded rag.
The Empress, Zhu Wanying, was also jolted out of the Martial Soul Fusion state, her delicate body falling helplessly from the sky.
Before she could react, Qian Xunji swept out an arm and domineeringly clasped the slender waist of the stunning Empress, pinning her in his embrace.
Smooth and effortless, all in one motion.
The Clear Sky Sect's sect master had lost an arm and fallen in rank, the Star Luo Guardian Douluo had died in battle, the emperor had passed out, and the Empress had been seized on the spot!
The whole thing hadn't even taken the time it took for one incense stick to burn.
The city wall at Jialing Pass fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Everyone trembled like ducks with their throats squeezed shut, staring at the man in midair as he held the Star Luo Empress in one arm, twelve radiant wings blazing behind him.
Qian Xunji glanced down at Zhu Wanying, who was still struggling desperately in his arms but held fast by his Soul Power, and chuckled. Then he slowly turned his head.
His deep eyes, gleaming with wicked amusement, landed precisely on Ning Zhen and Yu Yuanzhen at the back of the crowd, who were trying to squeeze themselves into a crack in the city wall.
Qian Xunji's lips spread into a smile so warm it could freeze a person to the bone.
"Why are you standing so far away, Sect Masters?"
"Come on, let's keep talking about withdrawing General Theory of Martial Souls."
Qian Xunji's kindly call sounded to Ning Zhen and Yu Yuanzhen more terrifying than a death warrant from the Grim Reaper.
Ning Zhen didn't dare hesitate for even a second.
Lifting the hem of his fine robe, he rushed toward Qian Xunji like his feet had been greased, stumbling and scrambling until he reached the ground beneath him. Then he dropped to one knee with a thump.
"His Holiness the Pope! This is a terrible misunderstanding!"
Ning Zhen contorted his old face into an expression of grief and grievance. Tears came at once, and he pointed straight at Tang Zhen, unconscious in the crater, as he cursed loudly:
"It was all the Clear Sky Sect! That old bastard Tang Zhen forced us into it! He used his status as the foremost sect under heaven to strong-arm our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect into signing the agreement!
"I, Ning Zhen, swear to the heavens that I revere Spirit Hall like the surging waters of a great river! I support the publication of General Theory of Martial Souls with both hands and both feet!"
Yu Yuanzhen, standing nearby, caught on as well. If he didn't find someone to blame right away, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would become the Blue Lightning Lizard Clan tomorrow!
"Exactly, Sect Master Ning is right!" Yu Yuanzhen rushed over and dropped to one knee too, his voice ringing with righteous indignation.
"His Holiness the Pope, please see the truth! I'm endlessly grateful for your guidance to Xiao Gang. How could I possibly oppose you? It was all those treacherous rebels from the Clear Sky Sect and the Star Luo Empire plotting behind the scenes! I, Yu Yuanzhen, will never stand with them!"
Pffft—!!!
As luck would have it, Tang Zhen had just been revived by one of his elders pinching his philtrum. The moment he opened his eyes, he heard his two former allies shamelessly shifting all the blame onto him.
He had already lost an arm, had his Spirit Bone stolen, and suffered a precipitous fall in rank. His vital energy was on the verge of collapse.
Now, enraged by those two old foxes, his eyes bulged. A fountain of black blood shot more than three feet into the air.
"You... you two shameless..."
A ragged, wheezing gasp escaped Tang Zhen's throat. His eyes rolled back, and amid the anguished cries of his two sons, he passed out again. This time, he probably wouldn't wake for ten days or half a month.
"Hahahaha..."
Watching them turn on each other like dogs fighting, Qian Xunji finally burst into loud laughter in midair.
"Enough, stop the act." Qian Xunji's smile faded. His icy gaze swept over the leaders of the various forces trembling on the city wall.
"I know exactly what you're thinking. You're unhappy that General Theory of Martial Souls has broken your monopoly? Fine!"
Qian Xunji spread his arms, radiating domineering authority. "If you don't like it, you can go back to your sects, print all the secret arts passed down by your ancestors, and sell them on the street! I won't stop you!"
The city wall fell utterly silent. Sell their own secret arts? Wasn't that just digging their own graves? Spirit Hall was the only force on the entire continent with the foundation and nerve to undertake this kind of continent-wide literacy campaign, and—
Before you continue