Xiao Hongchen was confident that with this furious strike of his, no one among his peers could withstand it—not across the entire Sun Moon Empire, and not even among the monsters trained by Shrek Academy.
This was the absolute confidence of the most talented heir in the Hongchen Family's generations of successors!
Unfortunately, fantasies were beautiful, but reality was cruel.
The strike he believed to be invincible was first stopped in its tracks by scorching flames that appeared out of nowhere.
Then, as Xu Tianming's Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring flashed and the Night Soul Domain unfolded, Xu Tianming's Soul Power surged by more than twenty percent in Xiao Hongchen's perception!
One of the Night Soul Transfers came from Ye Guyi. As for the other...
Xu Tianming had only tentatively invited Meng Hongchen, but to his surprise, she had accepted without hesitation...
"Fake! This has to be fake!"
After shouting those words again to numb himself, Xiao Hongchen drove his Soul Power to its limits.
This time, the enormous metal sword he had formed wasn't instantly melted. Instead, it gradually pushed forward against the flames.
Seeing this, Xiao Hongchen immediately thought victory was in his grasp. As long as the flames couldn't stop his metal sword, the final victory would surely belong to him!
But to Xu Tianming, Xiao Hongchen's efforts looked as laughable as an ant trying to shake a tree.
With a thought, "Judgment" appeared in Xu Tianming's hand.
The moment Xuan Ziwen saw this great Soul Tool Sword, his eyes widened.
With just one glance, he recognized it as one of the works he had forged as a student.
Yet if he remembered correctly, his teacher had collected this great Soul Tool Sword. There was no way an ordinary person could get their hands on it...
Could this young man also be a disciple his teacher had taken in?
If so, everything made sense.
No wonder the young man had called him senior brother the moment they met.
No wonder the young man could spot his mistakes and suggest improvements to the forging process for Soul Tool Swords.
Anyone accepted as his teacher's disciple ought to have such terrifying talent.
Xu Tianming had taken out "Judgment" because he planned to end this farce with "Sun-Shattering Strike."
But just as he was about to make his move, Columbina issued another warning:
"Someone quite powerful just appeared to the southwest. Judging by his aura, he seems to be the grandfather of the person you're fighting. Strangely, though, he hasn't made a move."
Jing Hongchen had arrived!
At Columbina's warning, Xu Tianming instinctively looked southwest and spotted a tall, straight-backed man with an aged face, standing quietly there.
His face looked somewhat familiar to Xu Tianming.
After thinking for a moment, Xu Tianming suddenly remembered.
Among the court officials who had congratulated him at yesterday's Martial Soul Awakening ceremony, this man had been standing near the front.
It really was Jing Hongchen!
Xiao Hongchen's grandfather had arrived. By rights, Xu Tianming should have stopped.
But after Jing Hongchen met his gaze, the man remained rooted to the spot, as if what was happening before him had nothing to do with him.
At that, Xu Tianming understood.
It seemed the old geezer knew his grandson had been acting a bit too arrogantly lately. That was why he wanted to use Xu Tianming to teach him a lesson and make him understand that there was always someone stronger, and a sky beyond the sky.
Being used didn't feel great, but at this point, none of that mattered.
For Xu Tianming, giving Xiao Hongchen a thorough beating was what mattered most.
Since that old geezer Jing Hongchen had decided to watch, Xu Tianming figured he no longer needed to hold back.
There was no way the old geezer would stand by and watch his own grandson die here. At the critical moment, he would definitely step in to protect him!
Having figured that out, Xu Tianming leaped into the air and hovered briefly:
"Let's settle this with one strike! If you can withstand this move, I'll admit defeat!"
When Xu Tianming had turned his head, Xiao Hongchen had also felt something and looked southwest. That was when he spotted his grandfather.
He instinctively wanted to ask his grandfather for help, but after seeing his indifferent gaze, he immediately abandoned the idea and understood what his grandfather meant.
Grandfather wouldn't interfere in how the fight had started, but he had to win. He absolutely could not lose!
With his grandfather watching over the fight, Xiao Hongchen became even more certain that he could not lose. So when he heard Xu Tianming's words, he immediately shot back in outrage:
"Arrogant! You think you can defeat me with one move? Keep dreaming!"
Although Xu Tianming's current aura made Xiao Hongchen tremble, his grandfather was right there, for one thing, and he was wearing a Level 4 Defensive Soul Tool Array, for another. No matter how strong his opponent was, he was still only a two-ring Soul Master. Surely he couldn't break through a Level 4 Defensive Soul Tool Array!
With that in mind, Xiao Hongchen angrily retorted but made no attempt to defend himself. He quickly pulled out a level-two Soul Tool, a "Milk Bottle," to replenish his Soul Power, then continued directing his metal greatsword to attack.
Seeing that Xiao Hongchen wasn't afraid of him in the least and actually intended to meet him head-on, Xu Tianming smiled faintly. Then his First Soul Ring blazed brightly:
"First Soul Skill, Battle Intent Burst!"
Xu Tianming chose not to let Mavuika possess him this time. His opponent was only someone of the same generation with about as much Soul Power as him, making this the perfect opportunity to practice "Sun-Shattering Strike" in a real fight.
After being possessed by Mavuika twice before, and with their souls having mingled last night, Xu Tianming had mastered the basic movements and force behind this move.
Feeling scorching, searing Soul Power fill his body in an instant, Xu Tianming immediately gathered it all into "Judgment," just as he remembered.
As he finished building up power, Xiao Hongchen's metal greatsword was on the verge of breaking through the flames. Seeing his attack about to hit Xu Tianming, Xiao Hongchen—convinced that victory was within his grasp—laughed without restraint:
"That's it? You think you can beat me with one move? You should be thinking about how to survive my attack!"
But all Xu Tianming said in reply was:
"Heh... behold the Roar of the Sun!"
The instant his voice rang out, an incredibly dense force of flame erupted as Xu Tianming swung with all his might.
The two forces clashed, but after less than two seconds, the metal greatsword was smashed to pieces by the raging flames. The flames had lost little of their power.
Seeing his attack crushed head-on, Xiao Hongchen's first reaction was disbelief. By the time he realized the fight wasn't over, Xu Tianming's greatsword was already right in front of him.
If he took that blow, he would surely die.
"No! Don't!"
As terror filled Xiao Hongchen, the Level 4 Defensive Soul Tool Array he carried activated automatically, just in time to block the fatal strike.
By now, cold sweat had soaked him through, and he remained frozen for a long time.
He had lost, right in front of his grandfather.
And he had lost in such an ugly fashion.
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