Ji Ye moved.
Within the domain, he was absurdly fast, his figure seeming to appear in three places at once.
One sword thrust in from the front left, another slashed down from the rear right, and a third came crashing down from above.
All three swords were real—or perhaps all three were fake.
The Demon Subduing Douluo couldn't tell.
He could only swing his staff on instinct to block, but the sword passed straight through it, leaving a gash on his arm.
The next second, the Demon Subduing Douluo's position changed.
He hadn't moved of his own accord. The spatial coordinates within the domain had been tampered with, forcibly shifting his entire body three feet sideways—right into the path of Ji Ye's sword.
The Demon Subduing Douluo cursed under his breath.
He took the strike head-on and slammed the Coiling Dragon Staff into the ground.
With a boom, a three-foot-deep crater burst open in the plaza, sending shattered stones flying.
He wanted to use the shockwave to blast Ji Ye away.
But once the shockwave entered the domain, its direction was twisted. Most of its force veered elsewhere, and the small portion that reached Ji Ye was nullified by the half-void state surrounding his body.
The Demon Subduing Douluo stopped attacking and stood at the edge of the domain, his face full of disbelief.
"Damage immunity?"
"Immunity to spatial fluctuation attacks," Ji Ye corrected him.
The Demon Subduing Douluo fell silent.
Now he finally understood why the Grand Pontiff had sent him in person to test the boy's Martial Soul.
It wasn't to give the boy a warning.
It was to find out just how outrageous the boy's Martial Soul really was.
Now he knew.
It was so outrageous that outrageous itself had opened the door for it—outrageous beyond belief.
"Again." The Demon Subduing Douluo drew a deep breath.
This time, he used the strength of a Titled Douluo.
He still wasn't going all out, but the might of his nine Soul Rings bore down, making the entire plaza tremble.
The guards and maids watching were driven back by the pressure. Several maids went pale, clutching their chests as they struggled to breathe.
Ji Ye was crushed by the pressure, too.
But he didn't retreat.
His fourth Soul Ring lit up.
The black ring spun violently, emanating a heart-pounding fluctuation.
The light on the Void Sword shifted from translucent to pure black.
"Fourth Soul Skill."
"Void—Annihilation Slash."
Ji Ye swung his sword.
A jet-black, crescent-shaped sword arc flew from the blade. Wherever it passed, the air split open into a long black fissure. Space fragments peeled away from the fissure's edges and fell to the ground like broken glass, ringing crisply.
The Demon Subduing Douluo's pupils contracted.
The sword arc gave even a Titled Douluo a sense of danger.
He gripped the Coiling Dragon Staff in both hands. All nine Soul Rings lit up, gathering into a golden energy shield in front of him.
He didn't dodge.
He wanted to experience firsthand just how powerful this strike was.
The jet-black sword arc crashed into the golden shield.
There was no sound.
A crack appeared in the shield.
Sensing danger, the Demon Subduing Douluo flashed away at once.
The next second, the black sword arc pierced through the shield and struck the ground.
A thunderous roar erupted.
The Demon Subduing Douluo lowered his head and stared at the huge crater in the ground, stunned for two seconds.
Then he looked up at Ji Ye.
How could this kid's fourth Soul Skill be so terrifying?
That strike had the power of a Soul Emperor.
And it ignored defense!
Ji Ye withdrew his sword and panted heavily, sweat covering his forehead.
The Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring took too much out of him. With his current Soul Power, he could use his third and fourth Soul Skills only once each.
At the edge of the plaza, every guard and maid stood dumbfounded.
A Four-Ring Soul Ancestor had actually forced back a Titled Douluo!
Even if the Demon Subduing Douluo clearly hadn't used his full strength—
Wasn't this just too outrageous?
"D-did I see that right?"
"Was the Demon Subduing Douluo injured?"
"Who is that guy? What an incredible genius!"
"Is he really a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor?"
"Genius? That's a monster!"
The maids were focused on something else.
"He looks so handsome when he swings his sword..."
"Did you see the sweat on his forehead? It's running down along that jawline..."
"I want to wipe it off for him."
The Demon Subduing Douluo's mouth twitched.
He decided to ignore that group of lovestruck girls.
"Kid, those Soul Skills of yours..."
He paused, unable to think of the right word.
Abnormal? A monster? Heaven-defying?
None of them quite seemed to fit.
"How have you managed to survive until now?" he finally asked.
Ji Ye wiped away his sweat.
"What do you mean?"
"You awakened such a powerful Martial Soul. You must have had Innate Full Soul Power. Why didn't the Spirit Hall receive any report about a genius awakening with Innate Full Soul Power?"
"Could you be the child of some great family?"
Ji Ye shook his head.
"I'm an orphan. As for why the Spirit Hall never received word that I awakened Twin Martial Souls and had Innate Full Soul Power, it was because of a man named Flender."
"He's the headmaster of Shrek Academy. After seeing the Martial Souls I awakened, he kept pestering me to join Shrek Academy."
"When I refused, he kept following me around and wouldn't let me out of his sight."
"On top of that, he bribed an officer of the Spirit Hall, so they wouldn't report my Innate Full Soul Power to the Spirit Hall."
As he spoke, Ji Ye's expression filled with grievance.
The Demon Subduing Douluo clenched his fist as he listened.
By the end, Ji Ye's voice had sunk lower.
"Six years."
"He kept me trapped for six years."
"He followed me everywhere. Even when I went to the bathroom, he'd wait outside the door. Every time I ran, he caught me. I ran, he caught me—again and again."
The Demon Subduing Douluo's fist clenched so tightly it crackled.
"Six years? He's kept you locked up since you awakened at six?"
"Yeah. If I hadn't found a chance to escape half a month ago, I'm afraid I..."
The Demon Subduing Douluo fell silent.
A six-year-old child had awakened Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power.
He should have been treated as a genius, given the best resources, and set on the brightest path.
Instead, a lunatic had latched onto him.
He hadn't taught him anything, wouldn't let him leave, and wouldn't let the Spirit Hall know.
He'd kept the boy at his side for six whole years.
The Demon Subduing Douluo unclenched his fist and reached out to pat Ji Ye on the shoulder.
"You've had a hard time these past six years."
Ji Ye shook his head.
"It was all right. At least I was lucky enough to survive."
He said it lightly, but the Demon Subduing Douluo heard the weight behind his words.
From the age of six to twelve, a child's six most important years—the years when he should have been nurtured—had been ruined.
No, that wasn't right.
They hadn't been ruined.
This child had relied on himself and forced his way to Four Rings, with two Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings.
He really was outrageously gifted.
What if someone had taught him?
What if he'd been given the best resources?
The Demon Subduing Douluo didn't dare imagine it.
"Where is that Flender now?"
Ji Ye glanced at him. "Senior, what are you planning to do?"
"I'm going to chop him to pieces."
"Senior, he may be a Seven-Ring Soul Sage, but..."
"So what if he's a Seven-Ring Soul Sage? I could chop him to death with one swing."
Ji Ye opened his mouth, then realized he couldn't argue.
A Titled Douluo chopping up a Soul Sage was no different from chopping firewood.
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