Injuring Zhao Wuji

Shen Lian coldly swept his gaze over everyone's reactions before finally fixing his eyes on Zhao Wuji, a mocking curve lifting at the corner of his lips:

"Wanted criminal, just wait to be injured."

Shen Lian slowly drew the Dragon-Slaying Blade. Its crimson blade reflected the light of his Spirit Rings, and a chilling killing intent radiated from it, as though it would freeze the surrounding air.

A breathtaking battle was about to erupt in a forest clearing within the Star Dou Forest.

Shen Lian's pupils shrank into icy stars beneath the glow of his Spirit Rings. Before the Dragon-Slaying Blade had even fully left its sheath, his second Spirit Ring blazed to life.

Countless Vermilion Bird phantoms suddenly rose amid the crimson blade patterns. Each one trailed burning tail feathers, weaving a net of destruction through the forest.

"Flame Sparrow Peerless!"

More than a hundred Vermilion Bird phantoms appeared before Shen Lian and pounced at Zhao Wuji like living creatures.

"Hmph!"

Zhao Wuji snorted coldly as his first Spirit Ring flashed with golden light.

The dark-gold scales of his Vajra Bear Martial Soul instantly thickened threefold, forming a tortoise-shell-like defensive layer. He could not even be bothered to raise his arms to block, allowing the fire sparrows to crash into his chest.

Yet the next second, strings of sparks exploded across the scales. Shen Lian's flaming feathers actually pierced his defense, burning honeycomb-like holes into his chest armor. Blackened flesh smoked beneath them. This was no ordinary flame, but fire containing the Heaven Burner power of the Vermilion Bird.

"How is that possible?!"

Zhao Wuji was both shocked and enraged. As he staggered back, he discovered a wound on his chest deep enough to expose bone.

Only then did Zhao Wuji realize that the Soul Emperor before him was no ordinary Soul Master. The power lurking within those black rings far exceeded his imagination.

In his fury, Zhao Wuji's fourth Spirit Ring suddenly erupted with black light:

"Position Tracking!"

Two enormous palms covered in metallic luster detached from his arms, shrieking sharply as they tore through the air and sealed off every route of escape on either side of Shen Lian.

Yet Shen Lian revealed a cold smile at that moment.

Just as the tracking palms were about to touch his clothes, the youth's figure drifted three feet sideways like a ghost, narrowly avoiding the fiercest center of the palm winds.

At the same time, Shen Lian's sixth Spirit Ring erupted with dazzling black light. The Dragon-Slaying Blade finally left its sheath completely, its blade transforming into a roaring red dragon. What spewed from its mouth was not flame, but liquid magma Soul Power.

"Sixth Soul Skill: Dragon Flame Heaven-Burning Slash!"

The red dragon slashed toward Zhao Wuji's right palm with overwhelming force.

Zhao Wuji's pupils contracted sharply. The aura of Destruction within that blade light made his scalp prickle. If he took it head-on, he feared this arm would be beyond saving!

Zhao Wuji violently twisted his body, attempting to withstand the strike with his shoulder while recalling the tracking palms to defend himself.

But Shen Lian's blade was unbelievably fast. The red dragon carved half an arc through the air and accurately struck the knuckles of Zhao Wuji's returning right palm.

"Pshht—"

The crisp crack of breaking bones mingled with the sound of flesh tearing.

Zhao Wuji let out a howl of pain. Four fingers flew into the sky amid sprays of blood, red flames burning upon every severed finger bone.

The instant the fingers hit the ground, they scorched four charred holes into the layer of rotting leaves.

Zhao Wuji clutched his blood-soaked right hand and staggered back repeatedly. His Vajra Bear Martial Soul fluctuated violently from the agony, and all seven Spirit Rings became somewhat unstable.

"You dare sever my fingers?!"

Zhao Wuji's voice twisted with pain, his eyes bloodshot.

He had lived for nearly fifty years and had never suffered such a devastating injury. His opponent was only a fifteen-year-old youth!

Shen Lian slowly sheathed his blade, the dragon-shaped patterns on its edge still spitting sparks.

Shen Lian glanced at the severed fingers still burning on the ground, his tone as cold as frost:

"I told you, you would die here."

At some point, Zhu Zhuqing had already come to his side. The ghostly gleam on her Nether Claws complemented the blade light on his sword.

The Shrek group stood frozen in place. Ning Rongrong palely clutched Oscar's arm, while Tang San's fingers around the Blue Silver Grass had turned white from exertion.

They now understood that Shen Lian was an insurmountable mountain on their path of cultivation.

The rotting leaves in the forest still trembled amid the dying embers of the severed fingers. Zhao Wuji clutched his profusely bleeding right hand, a low growl like that of a trapped beast issuing from his throat.

The excruciating pain gnawed at his nerves like venomous snakes, but what he found even harder to endure was the humiliation of having the dignity of a level seventy-six Soul Saint trampled beneath a youth's feet.

Zhao Wuji's bloodshot eyes locked onto Shen Lian. The veins bulging from his neck resembled twisted old vines.

"I want you dead!"

With a deafening roar, Zhao Wuji's seventh Spirit Ring burst with blinding black light, like thick ink instantly staining the entire sky.

"Martial Soul Avatar, Vajra Bear!"

Zhao Wuji's body swelled at a visible rate, his skin covered in heavy dark-gold scales. Behind him appeared the phantom of a giant bear nearly ten meters tall.

The Vajra Bear roared toward the sky, its sound waves shaking the surrounding trees violently as leaves rained down.

Yet Shen Lian merely crossed his arms, a disdainful curve at his lips and mockery filling his eyes.

Naturally, he understood the power of this Martial Soul Avatar. The Vajra Bear's solid defense and terrifying strength would not be easy to break through in a short time.

But Shen Lian had long prepared a countermeasure. His eyes narrowed slightly as he called out inwardly:

"Huang Tian, release some of your aura and intimidate Zhao Wuji."

In an instant, Huang Tian's vast will thunderously awakened within Shen Lian's Consciousness Sea.

An invisible pressure spread from Shen Lian's body. The air seemed to be viciously clenched by an unseen giant hand, becoming thick and heavy.

Zhao Wuji, who was fully driving his Martial Soul Avatar, suddenly felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar, his blood seeming about to freeze throughout his body.

To his horror, he discovered that he had been firmly locked onto by an aura several times more powerful than the one he had encountered from the hundred-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape.

This aura contained endless majesty and power, as though it came from an ancient god, making even his soul tremble.

The Vajra Bear phantom twisted violently, its previously solid body beginning to turn transparent and unstable.

Zhao Wuji's face instantly went pale, cold sweat pouring down his forehead like rain. He finally realized what kind of terrifying existence he had provoked.

"Run!"

Zhao Wuji nearly screamed himself hoarse. A massive bear paw swept Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the others into his arms before he turned to flee this place of trouble.

How could Shen Lian let him succeed so easily? A cold gleam flashed through his eyes as the Dragon-Slaying Blade left its sheath once more.

The purple-black blade erupted with dazzling violet light as the sixth Soul Skill, "Dragon Flame Heaven-Burning Slash," roared forth with an earth-shattering momentum.

The red dragon phantom bared its fangs and claws, the magma Soul Power spewing from its mouth tracing a brilliant arc through the air as it pursued Zhao Wuji's retreating figure.

"Boom!"

With a thunderous explosion, the dragon flame slash struck Zhao Wuji viciously across the back.

The Vajra Bear's defense was like thin paper before this terrifying attack, instantly torn apart.

A massive wound running across his entire back appeared abruptly. Blood gushed out like a fountain, staining Zhao Wuji's clothes red and dyeing the air behind him crimson.