"What did you say?!"
Flender flew into a rage. The phantom of his Cat Owl Spirit suddenly appeared behind him, and the pressure of his seventy-fifth-level Soul Power surged forth like a rising tide.
"I said Yu Xiaogang is a good-for-nothing."
Qian Anci's expression didn't change. His plain white robe remained perfectly still amid the Soul Power storm.
He slowly raised his right hand. The Scythe of Death took shape in his palm, and pale gray Death Qi swirled around him like a thin mist, silently tearing apart the pressure of the Soul Saint.
"Back then, he was only a twenty-ninth-level Soul Grandmaster. If not for his status in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and his relationship with the Pope..."
He paused, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
"What is he, anyway? What right does he have to talk about theory?"
"You...!"
Flender trembled with rage, but didn't dare actually attack.
Two Titled Douluo stood right behind him. He was only a Soul Saint—not even close to being a match for them.
"That's enough."
Qian Anci suddenly spoke, his voice not loud.
He looked at Qin Ming, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"If we keep arguing like this, it still won't change the fact that Yu Xiaogang is a good-for-nothing... How about this?"
"Let me fight this young man."
"If I win, the Red Fire Flood Python is mine. If I lose..."
He paused.
"I'll give up the Soul Beast and personally apologize to Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang..."
"Anci!" Worry filled Qian Renxue's golden eyes. "Have you lost your mind? He's a fortieth-level Soul Ancestor!"
"Sister, trust me."
Qian Anci glanced back at her. The calm in his eyes left Qian Renxue momentarily speechless.
Qin Ming took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Little brother, I'm more than ten years older than you, and my Soul Power is stronger. This fight..."
"Do you dare to accept?"
Qian Anci's voice suddenly turned cold. Death Qi surged, and the Scythe of Death let out a low hum.
Qin Ming looked at him—the six-year-old child who dared to challenge a four-ring Soul Master with only one ring.
Those eyes were calm, without a ripple.
It was as if, in his eyes, Soul Power Level had never been the measure of victory or defeat.
"...All right."
Qin Ming slowly nodded, Soul Power surging around him.
"Blazing Wolf, Possess!"
In an instant, scorching flames burst from his body, taking the form of a crimson wolf phantom. It threw its head back and howled!
Three Soul Rings rose slowly, two yellow and one purple, circling the wolf phantom.
"If you win, Shrek Academy will turn around and leave."
The wind fell silent in the valley.
Qian Anci and Qin Ming stood facing each other: one was a twenty-level Soul Master with one ring, the other a fortieth-level Soul Ancestor with three rings. The gap between them was so vast it was suffocating.
Yet for some reason, as Flender watched the white-robed youth holding the scythe, a foreboding feeling rose in his heart.
"Begin,"
Qian Anci said softly.
The next moment, Qin Ming moved!
He shot forward like lightning. His third Soul Ring flashed, and the Blazing Wolf phantom suddenly opened its jaws, spewing a torrent of scorching flames straight at Qian Anci's face!
"Third Soul Skill, Wolf Howling at the Moon!"
This was his strongest attack. Facing a child with only eleven levels of Soul Power, he held nothing back!
Because he sensed danger.
The Death Qi on that scythe made even his soul tremble!
Qian Anci didn't retreat.
He didn't even move.
He only slowly raised the Scythe of Death. Pale gray Death Qi gathered along its blade, forming a thin line.
"First Soul Skill—"
"Guidance of the Underworld Path."
The blade swept through the air.
There was no earth-shattering spectacle, only a thin line, pale gray shot through with dark red, soundlessly cutting toward the torrent of flames.
In an instant, the flames froze.
The blazing wolf formed from Soul Power went rigid in midair the moment it touched the line, as if its soul had been ripped away.
Pale gray Death Qi spread like a tide, swallowing the scorching flames until nothing remained.
The thin line kept going, slashing straight toward Qin Ming!
Qin Ming's expression changed drastically. His second Soul Ring lit up at once as flames gathered around him, forming a crimson suit of armor.
"Second Soul Skill, Flame Wolf Armor!"
But—
"Crack."
The instant the line touched the armor, the fiery protection—which could withstand a full-force attack from a Soul Elder—shattered like thin paper!
Qin Ming's pupils contracted. He sprang backward, yet felt a deathly chill had already locked onto his soul.
The line seemed to pass through space. No matter how he dodged, it followed him like a shadow.
"What... what kind of Soul Skill is this?!"
Horror filled his heart as he watched the pale gray line close in on the space between his brows.
Just as it was about to touch him, the line suddenly vanished.
Qian Anci lowered the scythe and stood still as the Death Qi slowly withdrew, as if nothing had happened.
"You lost."
He spoke calmly.
Qin Ming stood frozen, his forehead already covered in cold sweat.
He knew that if his opponent hadn't held back at that last moment, he would already be a corpse.
The valley fell utterly silent.
Flender and Zhao Wuji stared in disbelief. Qian Renxue's golden eyes sparkled, while the two guardians exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in the other's eyes.
"Good... very good!"
Golden Crocodile Douluo burst into loud laughter. "To fight a three-ring opponent with only one ring— even Tang Hao couldn't manage a feat like that back in his day!"
Flender's face turned ashen, but he had nothing to say.
He had been outmatched. He'd lost the bet, and had to accept it.
"Let's go."
He gritted his teeth and turned to leave.
But at that very moment—
"Boom!!!"
An indescribably terrifying pressure suddenly descended from the heavens!
The plants in the valley withered instantly. Their abundant life force was completely suppressed by a power far more ancient and majestic.
The clouds churned overhead as if boiling. It was as though some colossal being that had existed since time immemorial were slowly opening its eyes.
"What is this...?"
Azure Luan Douluo's expression changed drastically. All nine of his Soul Rings appeared at once as he shielded Qian Renxue behind him.
Golden Crocodile Douluo was equally on guard, his massive frame tense as a drawn bow. "This aura... it surpasses that of a Titled Douluo!"
Flender and the other two were pressed flat against the ground by the pressure. They couldn't even lift their heads.
At the center of the valley, space rippled like the surface of water.
A black figure slowly stepped out of the void.
He wore a black robe and had a face as beautiful as a demon's. His golden dragon eyes held the weight and majesty of countless ages.
He merely stood there, yet the entire Star Dou Great Forest trembled.
"Th-this is... a Ferocious Beast!"
Azure Luan Douluo's voice trembled slightly.
"A Ferocious Beast from the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest... Why would he appear here?"
Di Tian didn't look at anyone else.
His gaze fell straight on Qian Anci.
A glint of curiosity flashed in his golden, slit-pupiled eyes.
"Human child."
He didn't speak aloud, yet Qian Anci heard his voice in his mind.
Only after quickly glancing at the expressions of those around him did Qian Anci realize that he was the only one who could hear it.
"Why do you carry that aura?"
Qian Anci's heart jolted.
He felt the Shadow of Pollux within him stirring. The Dragonfall Ring seemed to sense something, and pale gray Death Qi surged out of control.
Di Tian's golden, slit-pupiled eyes narrowed slightly.
"Resentment of the Dragon God..."
"You even have Dragon Clan blood?"
He reached out. Black Soul Power formed a giant hand that ignored the two guardians' attempts to stop it and reached straight for Qian Anci!
"Stop!"
Azure Luan Douluo and Golden Crocodile Douluo attacked at the same time. A blue-green gale and a golden crocodile phantom slammed into the giant hand, but the moment they touched it, they melted like snow, without stirring the slightest ripple.
The gap in their strength was absolute!
Qian Anci watched helplessly as the giant hand descended. In his heart, he frantically called out, "Castorice!"
"Don't be afraid."
A gentle voice rang out deep within his soul, edged with concern:
"He won't kill you... Besides, I'll be with you. If it comes to it, I'll cross the River Styx with you!"
The giant hand closed.
Qian Anci vanished from where he stood.
Di Tian didn't spare the others a glance. He turned and stepped into the void.
Space closed, and the pressure vanished.
Only the stunned crowd remained in the valley.
Qian Renxue stood frozen in place, tears glimmering in her golden eyes. Her slender fingers were still curled as if she were gripping Qian Anci.
"Anci..."
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