Thornmail Adorns the Body, Descending Like a War God, Kill!

Zhao Wuji's seventh soul ring suddenly surged, glowing with a blinding black light.

Without warning, he launched himself into the air. His Vajra Bear avatar manifested instantly, transforming him into a mountain-like giant bear. He swung his razor-sharp claws, smashing them down toward the head of Zhou Man, who was standing within arm's reach!

"The show begins."

Lin Feng curled his lips into a cold smirk. Four gold coins shot from his fingertips like arrows released from a bow, splitting into two streaks of light that darted toward Zhao Wuji and Flender!

At the same time, a yellow century-level soul ring rose up.

"Blue Sentinel Power!"

"Red Sentinel Power!"

The coins moved so fast they left only afterimages, vanishing into the bodies of the two men in the blink of an eye.

The amplified power of two Thornmails instantly swept through their bodies, causing their already formidable physiques to surge like a volcanic eruption.

A 90% power boost, 600% terrifying defense, and 140% increase to their maximum health acted like an indestructible suit of steel armor draped over the two Soul Saints.

Immediately following this, red and blue rings appeared around them, and their limbs and bones were flooded with an inexhaustible, surging soul power.

The entire sequence of movements was fluid and seamless, completed in less than half a breath.

Lin Feng did not linger for even a second; he turned and walked into the pre-prepared secret passage behind him, his figure disappearing into the darkness.

His task was complete; the rest was up to the two deans.

Zhou Man was, after all, a powerhouse at the Soul Douluo level. Even though most of his focus was on the wooden box, he sensed something was wrong the moment the wind from the punch struck.

But the distance was too close, and he had no time to activate a high-level soul skill. He could only manifest his martial soul instantly. The hideous phantom of a Three-Headed Blood Wolf roared into existence behind him, and he crossed his arms to protect his head, channeling his soul power with all his might to block the blow.

"Boom!"

The dull, thunderous impact shook the entire building. Zhou Man was sent flying backward instantly.

He smashed through brick walls and pillars, sending wood chips and masonry flying everywhere. His body crashed through the back wall, disappearing into a cloud of dust and debris.

Flender spread his gray-black wings and hovered in mid-air.

Feeling the continuous, surging soul power within him, his fourth soul ring flashed wildly at his feet.

"Air Blade!"

"Air Blade!"

"Vroom!"

Sharp, piercing sounds of air being torn apart erupted in succession as over a hundred wind blades blasted toward Chu Shao and the other three Soul Saints.

Each wind blade carried the full force of a fourth soul skill, dense and blotting out the sky. The air itself was sliced apart, emitting a shrill, buzzing whine.

Seeing the overwhelming barrage of wind blades, Chu Shao and his four companions felt their scalps go numb. They didn't dare to take the hits head-on and scrambled to dodge, unable to understand Flender's tactics.

Wasting so much soul power at once, and using a millennium-level soul skill at that.

"Rumble—"

Deafening sounds of collapse rang out one after another. Sturdy brick walls and solid wooden beams were easily sliced and shredded by the sharp wind blades as if they were tofu.

The entire Soul Recovery Pavilion was carved into a sky full of flying wood splinters and masonry, and a cloud of dust rose up to shroud the entire street.

Flender hovered in mid-air, frowning as he looked down at Zhao Wuji, who had plunged into the crowd of soul masters and begun a slaughter. He shouted, "Old Bear, what the hell are you doing? Don't get bogged down, let's go!"

Just then, a level 63 assault-type Soul Emperor in the crowd spotted an opening while Zhao Wuji's back was turned, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

The veins on his arm, which gripped a Beast Fire Blade, bulged, and his black soul ring suddenly lit up.

"Eagle Drop!"

Violent purple soul power surged wildly along the blade. In an instant, he transformed into a purple-fire afterimage, crossing a hundred meters to slash fiercely at Zhao Wuji's muscle-bound back.

"Clang—"

A piercing sound of metal striking metal exploded, and purple-red sparks burst within the dust.

The scene of being sliced in two that he had envisioned never happened. The Beast Fire Blade, infused with all his soul power, only left a shallow bloody scratch on the muscles of Zhao Wuji's back before being forcefully deflected.

The Soul Emperor's pupils shrank. He froze in place, his face full of disbelief, and looked down at the ground.

In the hundred-meter trench carved out by the shockwave of his blade, purple flames were still burning fiercely. This was a strike he had poured his entire strength into—and it had only broken the opponent's skin?

"This... is this even human?!"

Before he could recover from the shock, a tearing pain suddenly erupted from his chest.

He hunched over violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His chest burned with an intense, stinging pain, as if scorched by invisible flames.

But he hadn't even been hit by a soul skill!

"Wh... why!?"

Zhao Wuji had long since sensed the petty move behind him, but with two Thornmails equipped, he couldn't be bothered to care.

He turned around, and with a casual slap of his fan-sized palm, which carried the force of ten thousand tons, he sent the Soul Emperor flying before the man could even scream. The Soul Emperor slammed into a broken wall and fell unconscious on the spot.

A mere Soul Emperor dared to play dirty behind his back? Did he really think his Soul Saint perception was just for show?

The harder the hits, the more vicious the recoil from the Thornmail, not to mention that a lower-realm cultivator attacking a higher-realm one was simply courting death.

Casually disposing of the lackey who tried to ambush him, Zhao Wuji glanced at the remaining two seconds of cooldown for his Thornmail [Thorn] skill. Instead of retreating and breaking through as Flender had suggested, he stomped his foot and charged straight toward Chu Shao and his four fellow Soul Saints.

"Treasures, treasures? Your granddaddy has a fistful of 'treasures' for you to eat!"

He roared, his spirit rings flashing wildly. With the Blue Buff backing him up, his spirit power recovery speed was absurdly fast; he didn't care about consumption at all, throwing out spirit skills as if they were free.

"Fourth Spirit Skill: Targeting Lock! Get over here, you bastards!"

"Second Spirit Skill: Vajra Palm! Palm! Palm!"

Heavy gusts of palm force chased the four men, striking one after another. Chu Shao and his group were forced into a chaotic scramble, feeling more stifled and terrified with every exchange.

The four of them were genuine Soul Saints; working together, even a Contra would have to avoid their edge. Yet, this Zhao Wuji before them was actually tanking their spirit skills head-on and charging forward without even knitting his brows.

Chu Shao put his full strength into swinging his Blood Axe, channeling a ten-thousand-year spirit skill into a strike that slammed heavily onto Zhao Wuji's shoulder.

The result was only three bloody gashes, while he himself was shaken so hard his web between thumb and forefinger split, and his entire arm went numb to the point of losing all sensation.

Even more bizarrely, as the fight dragged on, their bodies began to ache faintly, as if they were being repeatedly sliced by invisible blades. Even though they were the ones initiating every attack, they were always the ones getting hurt.

"Damn it, what the hell is this thing?"

Chu Shao watched as Zhao Wuji charged at him again, looking as if nothing had happened, and his scalp nearly exploded.

"With this defense and this absurd spirit power endurance, is he really just a Soul Saint?"

Sun Shi's black combat suit had long since been scorched into charred rags by those eerie flames, and a piercing, burning pain was drilling from his flesh into his bone marrow.

He couldn't endure these wicked flames any longer. Risking the aftermath of taking one of Zhao Wuji's palms, he staggered back a dozen meters, staring at the fire still burning on his body.

But just two seconds after he exited the fray, the strange flames that had clung to him for so long—which even his spirit power couldn't suppress—silently dissipated on their own!

Sun Shi's pupils constricted. He realized the truth in an instant and roared at Chu Shao and the other two, who were still holding their ground.

"Old Chu, this old bastard has something wrong with him! Don't engage him in close combat, stay away from him!"

Chu Shao and the others were already in a panic, their blood and qi surging. Hearing this, they immediately used the force of their clashing spirit power to retreat in unison, opening up a safe distance of over a dozen meters.

The four of them clutched their chests, gasping for air and coughing up blood foam. They looked at Zhao Wuji with eyes full of wariness; none of them dared to rush forward again.

"Old Chu, this old bastard is too wicked. As long as you fight him, a ball of fire suddenly ignites on your body, and your speed slows down."

"That's not all!"

Another Soul Saint's face turned pale, his hand gripping his martial soul trembling slightly.

"Didn't you guys feel it? The harder we hit him, the more we hurt ourselves. It's like... like we're hitting ourselves."

Sun Shi was stunned upon hearing this. He raised a hand to wipe the blood seeping from the corner of his eye, looking at the three of them in utter bewilderment.

"So it wasn't just me? Seeing you guys fighting so fiercely, I thought something was wrong with my own body, that it was just an illusion. Why the hell didn't you say something sooner?!"

"You didn't ask!"