"Chen Jianjun, you... your aura..."

Chen Fan's words thoroughly enraged Dai Renfeng.

Cold light erupted in his eyes, and without another word, he simply tilted his head and signaled Zhu Buchun beside him.

The two, possessing an extraordinary level of tacit understanding, needed no further communication.

Zhu Buchun immediately grasped his intent. Her figure flickered, transforming into a blurred afterimage as she lunged straight for Chen Fan!

As a level 95 agility-attack system Titled Douluo, her speed was far beyond what the naked eye could capture.

Xu Wensu and Chen Xin could not even react in time; they only felt a blur before their eyes, and Zhu Buchun had already bypassed them, closing in on Chen Fan like a ghost.

Chen Fan still maintained that same smile, not even having time to blink.

And then.

At the very instant Zhu Buchun's cat claws were about to touch Chen Fan's throat!

Her figure abruptly froze in place.

Immediately following, a white line appeared across Zhu Buchun's neck.

Her body hung frozen in mid-air; those cat claws, having completed their martial soul avatar, were a mere half-meter from Chen Fan's throat!

Yet, that distance felt like a chasm, impossible to bridge!

Those eyes, originally as sharp as a hawk's, suddenly lost focus, her pupils dilating rapidly.

She opened her mouth, emitting a "hissing" sound as if trying to speak, but only managed to spray a mouthful of blood.

The next second!

Her body slammed heavily onto the ground with a dull thud.

The sound was not loud, yet it struck every person present like a heavy hammer against their hearts.

"Thud--"

Zhu Buchun's head hit the floor tiles, her limbs twitched twice, and then she fell completely silent.

A thin trail of blood slowly seeped from the white line on her neck, but before it could spread, it was frozen by a thin layer of frost, preventing a single drop from leaking out.

Only then did the crowd notice.

The floor where Zhu Buchun lay was covered in a sheet of frost, with snowflake-like specks of light spreading silently from beneath her feet.

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

No one spoke.

Everyone present involuntarily held their breath, staring blankly at the corpse on the ground, their minds blank, as if the very ability to think had been drained from their brains.

Zhu Buchun!

A level 95 peak agility-attack system Titled Douluo!

How could she...

Die so suddenly?

And...

Judging by the scene, it looked like she had been killed by a single sword strike to the throat?

What was even more terrifying!

The strike was so clean and swift, as if slaughtering a chicken or a dog; she hadn't even had time to struggle or scream before she died?

"This..."

After an unknown amount of time, someone in the crowd uttered a syllable with a trembling tail, like a needle pricking a sealed balloon.

Immediately after, the entire Taihe Hall erupted!

"A Titled Douluo?! His Excellency Zhu Buchun... is dead?!"

"One... one strike?!"

"Who?! Who made the move?!"

Voices filled with horror rose one after another. The ministers of the Star Luo Empire widened their eyes until their eyeballs seemed ready to pop out, their mouths agape wide enough to fit a fist.

A few with weaker constitutions felt their legs go soft, collapsing directly to the floor, their trousers soaked.

Even Tang Wei stood up abruptly, his soul power surging as he scanned his surroundings like a man facing a great enemy, his back instantly drenched in cold sweat.

He had sensed a trace of sword intent just now.

Even he, a level 94 Titled Douluo, had only caught a vague afterimage!

If he were to face that strike...

Tang Wei dared not continue that thought, feeling his throat go dry as he subconsciously touched his own neck.

"What?"

Dai Renfeng's expression froze instantly.

He looked down at Zhu Buchun on the ground, his hands gripping the black cane, an expression of disbelief etched onto his face. "How is this possible!?"

Zhu Buchun was a level 95 agility-attack type Titled Douluo; how could he have been killed in an instant?

Just then.

A series of footsteps echoed from outside the hall.

The footsteps were steady and unhurried, as light as if treading on cotton, yet they felt as though they were stepping directly onto everyone's hearts, causing them to tighten involuntarily.

"This is?"

Dai Renfeng's pupils constricted violently.

He sensed an unprecedented, terrifying aura slowly pressing in from the direction of the footsteps.

It felt as if a peerless divine sword, hidden for countless years, was being slowly drawn from its sheath, inch by inch, revealing a soul-shaking edge.

Oppressive.

It was far too oppressive.

It wasn't just Dai Renfeng; every powerhouse present with a spirit power level above 70 felt that aura, their expressions changing drastically.

The pressure was so intense that even breathing became exceptionally difficult.

It was as if their souls were being pinned firmly to a chopping block, unable to move.

"This aura..."

Chen Xin was the first to recover.

He slowly sheathed the Seven Kill Sword, the muscles in his chest relaxing, and a look of relief appeared on his previously taut face.

Immediately.

He bowed respectfully toward the entrance of the hall, his tone filled with reverence and joy, "Father!"

The simple word exploded like a thunderclap within Taihe Hall, shaking the hearts of everyone present!

"Fa... Father?!"

Dai Li's eyes widened sharply, his lips trembling. "Chen Xin's... father?!"

"Chen Jianjun!?"

"The Grand Sect Master of the Seven Kill Sect?!"

"Isn't he a level 96 peak Titled Douluo? How could he kill a level 95 Titled Douluo with a single strike?"

"Could he have broken through?"

"But even a level 97 Titled Douluo shouldn't be able to achieve such an instant kill, right?"

Dozens of suspicious and uncertain gazes turned in unison toward the hall entrance.

The next moment.

A figure walked slowly out of the night from outside the hall.

He was a man who looked to be in his early thirties, bearing an eighty-percent resemblance to Chen Xin, yet upon closer inspection, he seemed even younger than Chen Xin, appearing to be in his thirties.

But.

The most striking thing was the sword held in his right hand.

Looking closely, a single bead of crimson blood was sliding down the blade of the sword, dripping onto the floor tiles, where it was instantly frozen solid by the snowflakes.

He stood there like a farmer who had never awakened a spirit, with not a single trace of spirit power fluctuation detectable.

Yet...

Seeing the sword in his hand and the corpse of Zhu Buchun on the ground.

Many could not help but swallow hard, feeling a sense of hair-raising dread.

An instant kill of a level 95 Titled Douluo!

What kind of strength... was this?

"Chen... Chen Jianjun?!"

Dai Renfeng's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks, his voice trembling. "Your... your aura..."

Dai Renfeng clearly remembered.

Only a few days ago, Dai Li had reported that this Chen Jianjun was merely a level 97 Titled Douluo.

But this pressure right now...

Why did it feel somewhat like encountering that Adjudicator Elder from Spirit Hall?

No!

This was even more oppressive than that Adjudicator Elder from Spirit Hall!

Although the Six-Winged Angel was a power-attack type spirit, the holy aura it carried was more of a divine majesty.

In contrast, this Chen Jianjun was entirely like a sharp sword ready to be unsheathed, his edge fully exposed!

"Could it be..."

"He broke through to become a Peerless Douluo!?"

"But this... how is that possible!?"

"He, Chen Jianjun, is only a little over a hundred years old; how could he possibly..."

Chen Jianjun did not speak.

He did not even pay heed to Dai Li's shock.

He simply turned his head, his gaze landing on Chen Fan, his tone carrying a hint of reproach, "Fan'er, you were too reckless in your actions. Do not do this again next time."

"Uncle's reprimand is well-taken!"

Chen Fan had actually timed everything perfectly, which was why he had deliberately provoked Dai Renfeng. Otherwise, with only one life, he wouldn't have been so reckless.

Chen Jianjun did not speak further. He slightly raised his head, his gaze slowly sweeping across the entire hall.

Wherever his gaze passed, that person felt as if an invisible sharp sword were pressed against their throat. Their bodies stiffened, cold sweat poured down, and some even felt as if their legs had been filled with lead, unable to move even the slightest bit.

Finally.

Chen Jianjun's gaze landed on Dai Renfeng, "Was it you who wanted to touch my nephew?"

His tone was very calm, yet beneath this flat tone, Dai Renfeng keenly captured a tangible killing intent, which made his spine chill in an instant.

"A misunderstanding!"

Dai Renfeng forced a smile, his voice trembling, "That... Brother Chen, this, this is a misunderstanding!"

"A misunderstanding?"

Chen Jianjun chuckled, "Then why didn't you call it a misunderstanding when you attacked my nephew just now?"

Dai Renfeng opened his mouth, wanting to explain further.

But.

Chen Jianjun no longer intended to give him the chance to speak. "I don't want to waste any more breath."

"Because you are not worthy of listening!"

As the words fell.

Chen Jianjun was seen gripping his sword and flicking a strand of sword qi toward Dai Renfeng.

"Oh no!"

Dai Renfeng's expression changed drastically. Almost the moment Chen Jianjun raised his hand, his body had already reacted, violently dodging to the side.

At the same time.

The soul power within his body surged wildly. His hands instantly transformed into massive tiger paws, ten sharp steel claws unsheathed, and he crossed them in front of his chest to block!

"Roar!"

A deafening tiger roar exploded. Dai Renfeng's martial soul instantly possessed him, and among the nine soul rings behind him, the black soul ring positioned further back suddenly shone.

In an instant.

A thick layer of white light condensed in the air in front of him.

This was Dai Renfeng's eighth soul skill, the White Tiger Light Shield, derived from a seventy-thousand-year-old saber-toothed tiger.

In the past, when he was a Soul Douluo, he had relied on this soul skill to withstand the Avatar of a Title Douluo; its defensive power was truly terrifying.

"Whoosh!"

However!

Facing this sword beam from Chen Jianjun, which did not even utilize a soul skill.

The White Tiger Light Shield, along with Dai Renfeng's steel-like tiger paws, were sliced open instantly, as if they were nothing more than blocks of tofu!

"Boom!"

In a flash.

Dai Renfeng was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, slamming heavily into the wall of the Taihe Hall with a thunderous crash, leaving a human-shaped crater in the wall...