Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding...!
A series of crisp, dense clangs, as if ten thousand fine swords were striking vajra all at once, suddenly erupted in the forest clearing!
The sound came from nowhere in particular. It burst forth from every direction—from every inch of air, every leaf, every speck of dust!
Tang Hao's pupils contracted!
He couldn't see the trajectory of any attack, but a Titled Douluo's instinctive sense of danger shrieked wildly!
He reflexively tried to summon his Soul Power, release his Martial Soul, even call upon the power of those Soul Bones...
But it was too late.
The instant the thought crossed his mind, the space around him seemed to be sliced through, pierced, and pulverized by countless invisible, razor-sharp threads!
A towering ancient tree beside him, so wide that two people could barely wrap their arms around it, silently turned into an even layer of fine wood powder and sifted to the ground.
Several hard, gray-brown boulders on the ground shattered in the same instant, becoming fine sand.
And his own body...
Terror froze in Tang Hao's eyes.
He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but no sound came out.
A breeze passed through the forest.
Whoosh—
Like delicate porcelain shattering, or a pile of blocks collapsing.
Tang Hao's body, along with his tattered black robe, instantly broke apart into countless evenly sized fragments, their cut surfaces smooth as mirrors. Mixed with warm blood, they pattered across the ground.
Six oddly shaped Soul Bones, radiating powerful energy and brilliant light, clattered down among the chunks of flesh, drawing the eye.
From the moment Zhao Linchuan struck to the instant the famed Clear Sky Douluo became a heap of mangled flesh, the entire process had taken less than a breath.
Zhao Linchuan didn't pause for even a moment. He grasped at the empty air with his left hand, and divine power surged. The six priceless Soul Bones belonging to the Clear Sky Douluo rose into the air and vanished into his system space.
Then he closed his eyes and focused. The Sword God's divine sense swept across the Douluo Continent like a flood of quicksilver, instantly locking onto a peculiar location brimming with extreme ice and fire energy.
Found it.
His eyes snapped open, silver light flaring brighter.
He transformed into a silver sword of light that pierced the heavens, tore through the clouds, and raced at astonishing speed toward the Heaven Dou Empire, toward a certain place in Sunset Forest!
[ Ding— ]
[ Quest "Kill Tang Hao" complete. ]
[ Reward "Tears of Remidios"... delivered to system space. ]
Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
In a valley embraced by mountains, two utterly opposite energies—one searing, the other freezing—circulated endlessly like a Taiji symbol, forming a wondrous realm of creation unlike any other in the world.
Countless exotic flowers and plants flourished here. Any one of them would have sparked a frenzied scramble among the Soul Master World if it had been found elsewhere.
But Zhao Linchuan didn't spare them a glance.
He leaped, silver swordlight enveloping his body. Like a fish slipping into water, he plunged straight into the unfathomably deep abyss beneath the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well!
The farther down he went, the more extreme the water grew: one side searing as molten rock, the other bitterly cold as dark ice. Even an ordinary Soul Douluo would likely have been unable to endure it.
But shielded by the Sword God's power, Zhao Linchuan's speed never faltered.
After who knew how deep a descent, he found himself surrounded by eternal darkness and silence, illuminated only by the light of the icy and fiery springs.
At last, the scene before him opened up—or rather, it was filled by two enormous skeletons beyond imagining!
They were the skeletons of two colossal dragons, each over a thousand zhang long!
Though they had died countless tens of thousands of years ago and now only their gleaming white bones remained, their skeletons still exuded an ancient draconic might that made the soul tremble. They lay coiled in silence at the bottom of the abyss.
One skeleton was wreathed in undying crimson flames, while the other radiated a deep blue chill that froze the soul.
At the very center of each dragon's remains, where the breastbone lay, was a bone unlike the others, dazzling even among the rest of the skeleton!
One was crimson, burning with illusory flames.
The other was ice blue, wreathed in dense, frigid mist.
Two illusory dragon souls, one blazing hot and the other icy cold, slowly circled their respective divine bones, radiating an incredibly pure spiritual force.
"The Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' Soul Bones... no, divine bones!" Zhao Linchuan's eyes flashed.
Without the slightest pause, he brought the fingers of his right hand together like a sword. Boundless sword energy gathered at his fingertips!
"Myriad Swords: Heaven-Splitting Slash!"
Deep in a quiet, deserted alley in Nuoding City.
Silver light flickered, and Zhao Linchuan's figure appeared.
He leaned against the wall and panted heavily a few times, fine beads of sweat gathering at his temples.
"Phew... I made it just in time."
Feeling the Soul Power drained from his body and the weakness in his limbs, he was left shaken.
The power of the experience card was immense, but it came with a heavy burden. If the Microglow Martial Soul hadn't been steadily improving his constitution, he might have collapsed from exhaustion by now.
Once his breathing had settled a little, he immediately checked his system space. Tang Hao's six Soul Bones, the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' two divine bones, and the drop called Tears of Remidios, glowing with a gentle light of life, were all lying there in silence.
"What a haul..." Excitement stirred in his heart, but then he remembered his original plan. "I've wasted so much time. I wonder if I can still 'stumble across' that rabbit... that Rogue Rabbit."
He quickly straightened his slightly rumpled clothes, making sure there was no blood or anything else out of the ordinary on him. Then he strode out of the alley and rejoined the flow of people on the street, heading for the general store he'd planned to visit earlier.
This time, he knew exactly what he wanted, and soon finished shopping: two brand-new, thick quilts.
One was a striking "tough-guy pink," vivid in color and impossible to misinterpret.
The other was a simple blue-gray, just in case.
After stowing both quilts, Zhao Linchuan headed toward Notting Junior Spirit Master Academy.
Notting Academy, Dorm Seven.
When Zhao Linchuan pushed the door open, the room was quite lively.
Several male work-study students, led by Wang Sheng, were gathered around a little girl standing in the center. She had a long scorpion braid and big, bright eyes, and they were all calling her "Sister Xiao Wu" at the top of their lungs.
The girl had her hands on her hips, her small face showing a hint of pride and novelty. She was clearly enjoying being the center of attention.
Zhao Linchuan swiftly scanned the dorm. Luggage had already been placed on several simple beds, but the deep blue figure he'd expected to see was nowhere in sight.
Tang San really isn't here... Yu Xiaogang must have coughed up a lot of blood. His 'good disciple' probably has to stay by his bedside and look after him.
Zhao Linchuan understood, but said nothing as he carried the quilts toward an empty bed.
"Hey! You're new, right? Don't you know the rules of Dorm Seven?"
A clear voice like a silver bell rang out, with a touch of affected maturity. It belonged to the scorpion-braided girl surrounded by the others—Xiao Wu.
She'd noticed Zhao Linchuan's unfamiliar face. What's more, after entering, he hadn't gone to pay his respects like everyone else. That made the newly crowned "Sister Xiao Wu" feel as though her authority had been challenged.
Almost at the same time, the familiar system notification sounded deep in Zhao Linchuan's mind.
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