Green Lotus Domain, Incense Burns Out

Ling Feng and Ye Fan stumbled apart, their battle armors caked in mud and their breathing ragged.

The force of that last collision had drained what little soul power they had left.

Qian Renxue's gaze drifted past them, landing on Li Taibai, who stood over ten zhang away. Her golden eyes arched slightly. "Are you not joining them?"

Li Taibai took a deep breath. "Everyone else is pushing their limits. If I keep hiding my strength, I'm afraid I won't even get the scraps later."

Li Taibai stepped forward, each stride carrying the rhythmic cadence of Green Lotus Sword Qi, and soon he entered the overlapping domains of Ling Feng and Ye Fan.

"Green Lotus Domain."

With his soft murmur, the power of the domain erupted.

The mud beneath their feet churned, and a vast amount of clear water seeped upward, gathering on the Martial Arts Platform to form a shallow pool.

"The lotus heart blooms to break the dust and smoke, standing proud in the clear pool with unwavering intent."

"The blossoming beauty conceals sharp shadows, as ten thousand blades roar toward the clouds."

As the poem concluded, emerald-green lotuses bloomed silently upon the water—one, two... in the blink of an eye, hundreds of lotuses stood tall, their petals unfurling.

At the center of every lotus, a longsword silently coalesced, the blades shimmering with a cold light that merged seamlessly with the aura of the Green Lotus.

Ling Feng and Ye Fan exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in the other's eyes—this guy actually had a domain too? This bastard had been hiding it deeper than anyone!

"Grand Elder, so your disciple also possesses a domain. Did you know?" Bibi Dong looked toward Qian Daoliu, her voice laced with mockery.

Qian Daoliu swept a glance over Bibi Dong and chuckled. "Of course. Taibai is a sensible and obedient child; he showed me the domain he realized three years ago. Unlike your disciple, Ling Feng, who has kept it hidden until now."

Bibi Dong's face darkened, her grip tightening on her scepter—Qian Daoliu was slapping her face in broad daylight!

But she could only suppress her fury and turn her gaze back to the arena.

"Sword, come!"

At Li Taibai's light shout, hundreds of lotuses exploded, and hundreds of longswords rose from the petals. They swirled around him like a swarm of bees, the sound of their humming coalescing into a tidal wave that pierced the eardrums.

"Go!"

With a wave of his arm, the hundreds of flying swords tore through the air with a sharp whistle, sweeping toward Qian Renxue like a cyan torrent.

Each blade contained the full power of a Soul Elder's strike; with hundreds attacking at once, even a Soul Saint would have to avoid their edge.

Qian Renxue drew a translucent white longsword from her spatial ring, the blade shimmering with a faint golden light.

With a flick of her wrist, the sword traced a smooth arc. It looked slow, yet it struck the leading flying swords with pinpoint precision.

Clang, clang, clang—

The crisp sound of collisions was incessant. The flying swords shattered one after another as if hitting an impenetrable barrier, dissolving into specks of cyan light.

Qian Renxue stepped lightly on the water, moving with the ease of a stroll. Each step perfectly avoided the trajectory of the flying swords, and whenever she swung her blade, a cluster of them shattered in response.

Eighty percent of the swords were knocked into the water before they could get within three feet of her, sending ripples spreading across the surface.

"What are you two staring at? Attack!" Sweat beaded on Li Taibai's forehead as his soul power drained like a waterfall. "I can't hold this attack for long!"

Ling Feng and Ye Fan exchanged a look and hesitated no longer. Ling Feng flickered, circling to Qian Renxue's left, his fists wreathed in the power of Yin-Yang Duality as he slammed them toward her flank with black and white energy.

Ye Fan lunged from the right, his Qilin Claw flashing with golden sharpness as he swiped at her sword-wielding wrist.

Qian Renxue remained unhurried. She parried with her longsword, the spine of the blade striking Ling Feng's fist with a sharp clack that left his hand numb.

Simultaneously, she kicked out with her left foot, a burst of focused force striking Ye Fan's abdomen. Ye Fan was forced to retract his claw to defend, but the clever momentum left him momentarily stalled.

Sword light flickered as Qian Renxue's blade grazed their armor, leaving behind a trail of deep scratches and a teeth-grinding screech of metal on metal.

She dodged Ling Feng's heavy punches and swerved to avoid Ye Fan's claw strikes, all while occasionally swinging her sword to swat down the stray flying swords.

Facing the siege of three, she remained entirely at ease, the water and lotuses beneath her feet rising and falling in rhythm with her movements.

Ling Feng missed a punch, used the momentum to spin, and swept his leg, the wind of the strike carrying the power of Yin-Yang toward Qian Renxue's lower body.

Qian Renxue tapped the water with her toes and vaulted into the air. While dodging the strike, she thrust her sword diagonally, forcing Ye Fan to retreat repeatedly.

Li Taibai seized the chance to dive his flying swords from above, but Qian Renxue blocked them all with her scabbard, knocking them down one by one.

Ye Fan let out a roar, his Qilin Battle Armor erupting with five-colored light as he slammed his fist, imbued with the power of the Five Elements, toward Qian Renxue's back.

Qian Renxue seemed to sense it. Without turning, she used the power of her waist and abdomen to deliver a back-elbow strike, connecting squarely with Ye Fan's fist.

Ye Fan felt a devious force surge into his body and was forced to channel it into the ground. The clear water beneath his feet exploded instantly, turning into a sky full of droplets.

Ling Feng seized the opening, drawing a circle with his hands. A white and a black crescent-shaped energy condensed in his palms, slowly merging into a rotating Taiji pattern.

"Yin-Yang Duality." At his soft command, the Taiji pattern expanded rapidly. The black half spread like ink, enveloping Qian Renxue within it.

Ling Feng, Ye Fan, and Li Taibai were wrapped in the white half, completely isolated from Qian Renxue.

"Repel."

With Ling Feng's sharp shout, the black and white Yin-Yang Duality split apart, forcibly pushing the two sides several zhang apart.

Qian Renxue looked at the black zone imprisoning her, her fingertips tracing the air as she felt the Yin-Yang energy within. A smile curled her lips. "This is quite interesting. To think it could forcibly separate us."

"My soul power is almost gone." Ling Feng's face was pale, the veins on his forehead bulging. "The two of you, seize the chance!"

Ye Fan nodded, a look of determination flashing in his eyes. "My soul power is low too. One strike to decide it all! Fourth Soul Skill, Wrath of the Qilin!"

A massive phantom of the Five Elements Qilin emerged behind him, roaring with its mouth agape as five-colored light converged upon his right fist, his aura reaching an extreme state of violence.

Li Taibai gritted his teeth and declared, "Fourth Soul Skill, Ten Thousand Swords Piercing the Heart!"

Dozens of flying swords coalesced and hovered behind him, greedily absorbing the sword intent from the Green Lotus Domain, the light upon their blades blindingly bright.

The blood and qi within Qian Renxue's body boiled instantly.

The muscles throughout her entire body began to resonate at a bizarre frequency, causing even the surrounding space to ripple slightly.

"Inch Burst."

She let out a low shout, and the vibration frequency of her body surged, resonating with the frequency of the surrounding space.

The air above the Martial Arts Platform seemed to ignite, emitting a "humming" sound as invisible fluctuations rippled outward.

"Thump... thump... thump—"

The hearts of Ling Feng and the other two vibrated uncontrollably, echoing the chaotic spatial frequency around them, causing their blood and qi to churn and their auras to fall into instant disarray.

Ye Fan's Wrath of the Qilin suddenly collapsed, and Li Taibai's flying swords trembled violently before shattering completely.

With their soul skills forcibly interrupted, both men felt a sweetness in their throats as they suffered minor backlash.

"Break for me!"

The blood and qi within Qian Renxue's body erupted, transforming into a crimson torrent that slammed into the black zone imprisoning her.

With a crisp "crack," the black zone shattered upon impact, dissipating into specks of black mist.

"Blood Qi Manifestation, Slash!"

She gripped her translucent white sword and slashed out, the golden blood qi dividing into three crimson sword beams that shot toward Ling Feng, Ye Fan, and Li Taibai respectively.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

The three of them spat out blood simultaneously and were sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the ground.

The battle armor on Ling Feng and Ye Fan shattered inch by inch before dissipating.

Li Taibai's flying swords vanished into green light, and he curled up on the ground, blood continuously spilling from the corner of his mouth.

The three domains dissipated at the same time, and the surface of the Martial Arts Platform returned to its original state, though it was now a complete mess.

The center was pitted and scarred, the once-hard stone turned into soft soil and covered in dense, tiny holes—the marks left behind by Li Taibai's flying swords.

The incense stick on the stone pillar burned down to its final wisp, the ash drifting gently to the ground.

PS: Qian Renxue is undercover in Heaven Dou; a Soul Saint can fight a Titled Douluo. It's not excessive for the three prodigies at the Soul Ancestor realm to have combat power comparable to a Soul Saint when at full strength, right?

Ling Feng and Ye Fan possess God-tier Martial Souls that improve alongside their cultivation; since their current strength is too low, their Martial Souls can only be temporarily elevated to God-tier.

Li Taibai possesses the Green Lotus Sword, a Super Martial Soul. The Sword Immortal Wine Gourd is an auxiliary companion Martial Soul with no offensive capabilities, serving only to assist. The combination of the two is comparable to a God-tier Martial Soul, with endurance surpassing that of a single God-tier Martial Soul.