Xu Tianran: My "Legs" Are Crippled

With the launch of two Level Eight Fixed Soul Cannon Shells, a flash of intense light erupted, and two dazzling spheres of light expanded at an astonishing speed.

In the blink of an eye, they had swelled to dozens of meters across and were still rapidly expanding outward.

Faintly, black spatial rifts intermittently appeared at the heart of the explosions, striking terror into all who saw them. The terrifying energy shockwave swept through everything around it with devastating force.

The first to bear the brunt were the defensive Soul Tool barriers deployed by the guards.

Yet under the terrifying energy impact of the Level Eight Fixed Soul Cannon Shells, the few remaining Soul Tool defensive barriers were effortlessly ripped apart like thin sheets of paper.

Next came the many guards behind those barriers who had been trying to flee. They were blasted apart on the spot, leaving not even bones behind.

Facing the horrifying energy shockwave rushing toward him, Xu Tianran hurriedly activated his lifesaving trump card—the Ninth Level defensive Soul Tool, Heavenly Dragon's Defense—to protect himself.

Heavenly Dragon's Defense was a rechargeable defensive Ninth Level Soul Tool (similar to Red Dust Shleter). Its defensive power was extraordinarily formidable, capable of withstanding the full-force strike of a Titled Douluo-level expert.

Heavenly Dragon's Defense had two methods of use.

The first was to rely on a soul master's own formidable cultivation to activate Heavenly Dragon's Defense.

However, this method consumed an enormous amount of the soul master's Soul Power. Anyone below the level of a Titled Douluo simply could not bear the cost.

The second method was to charge Soul Power into Heavenly Dragon's Defense's Soul Power reserve area in advance.

When needed, one could activate the Soul Power within the reserve area to use Heavenly Dragon's Defense. However, the stored Soul Power was only enough to activate Heavenly Dragon's Defense once, and it had to be recharged afterward.

Heavenly Dragon's Defense appeared to be a small dragon-shaped seal. Once Xu Tianran activated it, the tiny seal instantly transformed into a five-meter-long purple dragon, which swallowed Xu Tianran in one gulp and protected him within.

Under the terrifying energy impact of the two Level Eight Fixed Soul Cannon Shells, the purple dragon formed by Heavenly Dragon's Defense let out a pained howl.

The purple dragon gradually dimmed, its color fading from purple to pale violet. Finally, cracks appeared across its enormous body before it shattered into pieces.

The short, fat Soul Douluo and the tall, thin Soul Douluo, who had only run a dozen meters or so, were likewise unable to escape the blast range of the two Level Eight Fixed Soul Cannon Shells.

The two of them used their Soul Tools to defend themselves with all their might, but they still could not hold back the blast.

After holding out for only a moment, the Level Eight defensive Soul Tools in their hands shattered like fragile glass into countless tiny fragments that scattered in every direction.

Without the protection of their Soul Tools, the frail bodies of the short, fat and tall, thin Soul Douluos were flung away by the explosion. Their bodies twisted and deformed in midair, blood spraying everywhere. Like discarded dolls, they died on the spot.

The two Level Eight Fixed Soul Cannon Shells were like greedy beasts, thirsting to devour every life around them.

At the same time, in the air thirty kilometers away.

Members of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion, one of the Sun and Moon Empire's Five Hands of National Protection, stood suspended in midair.

Xu Tianyuan, the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion Commander, held a Soul Power detector in his hand. Seeing the number displayed on it surge sharply, his expression changed in alarm. "Such a terrifying Soul Power reading... Could Ninth Level Soul Engineers be fighting?"

As the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion Commander, Xu Tianyuan held an extremely high status among the imperial clan. In terms of seniority, he was Xu Tianran's cousin, though he was far older than Xu Tianran.

The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion had always been responsible for the defense of Mingdu. Thus, when an enormous Soul Power fluctuation appeared outside Mingdu, the legion immediately mobilized.

Looking toward the exact direction indicated by the Soul Power detector, Xu Tianyuan immediately unfolded the Ninth Level Flying Soul Tool on his back and sped toward the site of the Soul Power eruption like lightning.

At the speed of a Ninth Level Flying Soul Tool, thirty kilometers took only a moment.

The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion members also unfolded their Flying Soul Tools and followed behind Xu Tianyuan.

On the other side.

Seeing the devastating explosion unleashed by the Level Eight Fixed Soul Cannon Shells, Wang Yan, Song Zhan, and the others hurriedly retreated, afraid of being caught in the blast.

After all, Level Eight Fixed Soul Cannon Shells had never distinguished between friend and foe.

Even as their users, they absolutely did not dare step within the blast range of a Level Eight Fixed Soul Cannon Shell.

Watching the terrifying explosion, Song Zhan cast a worried glance in Mingdu's direction and said, "Such a huge disturbance will probably draw Ninth Level Soul Engineers here before long. We need to withdraw quickly. If we don't leave now, it'll be too late."

Song Peng nodded in agreement. "Two Level Eight Fixed Soul Cannon Shells—even ordinary Ninth Level Soul Engineers might not be able to withstand them. Xu Tianran is only in his twenties. No matter how gifted he is, how strong could he possibly be? He's certainly dead!"

Wang Yan said, "We can't let our guard down. Once the explosion ends, we'll hurry over and check. If he's not dead, we'll finish him off."

Zhao Yuhang said, "I'll take care of the cleanup first, so the empire's experts who investigate afterward won't trace us."

Li Fei, the Agility Attack System Soul Douluo, nodded. "Brother Zhao, leave the cleanup to you. I'll make preparations as well. Once we confirm that Xu Tianran is dead, I'll immediately take you all away."

A short while later, the explosions subsided. Within a massive crater several hundred meters wide, Xu Tianran was covered in blood. Both his legs had been blown apart, and the flesh around the roots of his thighs was mangled and bloody. The remaining scraps of flesh from his legs were mixed with torn cloth, creating an exceptionally horrifying sight.

Although Xu Tianran had not died under the protection of the Ninth Level Soul Tool, he had still suffered grievous injuries.

Looking at where his legs had once been, Xu Tianran no longer possessed the high spirits he had shown as crown prince.

His eyes were vacant as he sank into overwhelming agony. Compared to the pain in his body, the pain in his mind was even greater.

He was crippled. He no longer had legs. More importantly, he could clearly feel that something vitally important between his legs had been ruined.

That terrifying explosion had directly destroyed the thing he needed to carry on his bloodline!

He was no longer a whole man. How was he supposed to ascend the throne in the future?

Xu Tianran's eyes turned bloodshot. The immense mental blow had pushed him to the brink of madness. He stared fixedly at the five assassins in the distance, wishing he could skin them alive and devour them whole, then slaughter every one of their relatives until not even chickens and dogs remained.

Not far from the crater, inside the shattered enormous carriage that resembled a small palace, several maidservants, along with the Female Soul Sage who had been involved with Xu Tianran, crawled out from the ruined carriage. They had sheltered inside the carriage and were some distance from the center of the explosion.

Moreover, Xu Tianran, the many guards, and the two Eighth-Level Soul Engineers had stood in front of them as shields. Thus, although they had been affected by the blast, they had not died.