Subduing Ji Juechen

Surging Soul Power began to accumulate continuously within Ji Juechen's sword.

One could see the air around his Meteorite Longsword beginning to distort.

Lin Yuan's strength also steadily retracted, as he savored the memory of the strike he had unleashed underground moments ago.

With the experience of that strike, the path ahead began to grow clear before Lin Yuan's eyes.

"The lotus bud has just revealed its pointed tip..."

Accompanying the recitation of the poem, countless sword shadows began to proliferate in Lin Yuan's hands.

They actually formed countless green blade-auras around Lin Yuan's body, fluttering about like dragonflies.

The overflowing sword shadows sliced the surrounding ground to pieces; even a defensive-type Soul Ancestor would have a hard time enduring such an onslaught.

Ji Juechen leaped high into the air, wrapped in peerless sword intent, the wake of his sword-wind carrying the dust from the ground up into the sky.

His expression was filled with incomparable excitement and fanaticism as he gripped the hilt with both hands and slashed down toward Lin Yuan.

"...and already a dragonfly stands upon it."

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Ji Juechen's sword shattered Lin Yuan's sword shadows with unstoppable momentum, pressing down upon him with a ferocious grin.

"Stand!"

Beads of cold sweat broke out on Lin Yuan's forehead, while Ji Juechen had been carved into a bloody mess by the scattered sword shadows.

His clothes were reduced to rags, and apart from his vital areas, there was not a single part of him left unscathed.

This battle was a bloody affair bordering on a deathmatch, a sensation that even Huo Yuhao—who would eventually reign supreme in the original story—could not provide for Ji Juechen.

A flash of sword light even streaked across, and one of Ji Juechen's eyes was slashed by Lin Yuan.

"Rise!"

All of Lin Yuan's sword shadows vanished in an instant, and Ji Juechen's blade was already inches from his face.

"So, does that mean Juechen won?" Jing Ziyan asked, her voice trembling.

Even Cao Xin, standing to the side, was so nervous he almost forgot to intervene.

If it were possible, he truly wanted to just watch the battle between these two sword geniuses.

To intervene himself would be a grave humiliation to both Ji Juechen and Lin Yuan.

"Head!"

Lin Yuan's tightly shut eyes snapped open, revealing a piercing brilliance that soared to the heavens.

The green Jade Dragon-Slayer struck out like a roaming dragon, lunging toward Ji Juechen.

Clang!

A massive ringing sound erupted from the swords, accompanied by a gale of sword energy.

It forced the three girls, excluding Cao Xin, to cover their ears and squeeze their eyes shut.

Not until the scene fell completely silent did Jing Ziyan, the one with the highest cultivation, open her eyes to look at the battlefield.

"I apologize for not letting you have your fill, Brother Ji."

As he finished speaking, a wound opened from Lin Yuan's shoulder down to his lower abdomen.

Scarlet blood gushed out, and Lin Yuan knelt on one knee, bracing himself with the Jade Dragon-Slayer.

Ji Juechen smiled faintly. "You were clearly the one who won; why say such things?"

Having said that, Ji Juechen's figure swayed, and he fell straight backward.

Just as Jing Ziyan was struggling to understand the situation, a large chunk of iron fell from the sky.

It landed right in front of her, embedding itself into the ground.

Jing Ziyan saw it clearly: it was the tip of Ji Juechen's Meteorite Longsword.

Seeing this, she looked up in a panic toward where Ji Juechen lay.

The dust kicked up by their clash had previously obscured her vision.

It turned out that Ji Juechen's Meteorite Longsword had long since snapped, the cross-section perfectly smooth.

"If you had a good sword, the outcome would have been uncertain."

After saying this, Ju Zi, who had arrived at Lin Yuan's side, stuffed an orange into his mouth.

The orange hadn't even been peeled; Lin Yuan knew this was Ju Zi's way of complaining about his recklessness.

Thus, Lin Yuan began to chew, struggling to swallow it, peel and all.

"Which is the best sword in the world?" Ji Juechen asked Lin Yuan, supported by Jing Ziyan.

"Come with me, and I can find the best materials and the best craftsmen to forge one for you," Lin Yuan said, pointing at himself with his thumb.

Jing Ziyan finally realized that these people had come specifically to poach talent.

If they were from a faction within the Sun Moon Empire, they would never have approached Ji Juechen in such a roundabout way.

These people were definitely foreign agents; they were clearly here to entice Ji Juechen into treason!

Jing Ziyan pinched Ji Juechen discreetly, reminding him that these people were up to no good.

Ji Juechen's eyelids twitched; it was obvious that Jing Ziyan had pinched him hard.

"Dean Jing Hongchen showed me great favor by recognizing my talent. Please forgive me, but I cannot agree to your request," Ji Juechen refused.

Jing Ziyan breathed a sigh of relief and began to think about how they could escape from here.

Cao Xin was just about to move in to seize them when Lin Yuan, wearing a playful expression, raised a hand to stop him.

"A person like you actually cares about gratitude?"

"Dean Jing Hongchen is my dearest friend, my respected mentor, and my elder. Name your price and conditions, and continue fighting me." Ji Juechen's gaze was burning with a thirst for battle.

Lin Yuan revealed an "as I expected" expression and agreed, "Fine, I agree."

"Give me some time; I still need to repay Dean Jing Hongchen's kindness," Ji Juechen nodded at Lin Yuan.

"Certainly, anytime is fine," Lin Yuan agreed, then turned his head to look at Nana.

"Nana, I've finished handling things here. I can help you resolve the issue with your parents now."

Standing to the side, Nana looked dazed for a moment, then nodded at Lin Yuan with tears in her eyes.

He had happened to run into her when she was returning to Ming Capital with Ju Zi.

Since he had encountered her, there was no way he would let her go. Not to mention her own management talent, Lin Yuan had no intention of letting go of the Soul Engineers within the Evil Soul Master faction she was associated with.

Lin Yuan stood up, and after recovering some Soul Power, he activated the innate soul skill of the Jade Dragon-Slayer.

Everyone saw a flash of green light, and the wounds on Lin Yuan's body vanished without a trace.

Except for his face, which was somewhat pale from excessive consumption, he looked no different than usual.

"Come, Brother Ji. Let me help you recover." Lin Yuan held the Jade Dragon-Slayer, intending to use Life Force Sharing to help Ji Juechen heal.

Looking at the Jade Dragon-Slayer in his hand, Lin Yuan felt a sense of déjà vu, as if it were the Shennong Ruler.

If the Jade Dragon-Slayer didn't possess the offensive power of a sword martial soul, it really would be the Shennong Ruler.

"Wait." Ji Juechen also realized that Lin Yuan's martial soul had healing capabilities.

"Recovery is fine, but leave this here," Ji Juechen said, pointing to his wounded eye.

"Brother Ji, if I don't treat your eye injury, won't your field of vision be severely impaired?" Lin Yuan asked, troubled.

"Then I will put in enough effort to compensate for this gap and bridge this deficiency."

"I want to keep it as the motivation for me to continue moving forward," Ji Juechen smiled.

Lin Yuan nodded in agreement; that was fine too.

In the original story, it was because Ji Juechen lost his invincible heart that he couldn't advance further, and the reason was that Lao Huo had shattered his defenses.

He was, in fact, the best example to prove the saying, "There are no useless martial souls, only useless people."

"What about you?" Lin Yuan smiled as he looked at Jing Ziyan while continuing to treat Ji Juechen.

Jing Ziyan spread her hands helplessly and turned to look at Cao Xin.

"Senior, what is your cultivation level?"

"Title Douluo."

"You saw it yourself; I can't escape from a Title Douluo at all. So, I'm joining you." Jing Ziyan wore an expression of total indifference, like a dead pig that didn't fear boiling water.