Radiant Tower, Radiant Sword

Yan Jingzhe watched the overwhelmingly surging aura and killing move, watched his teacher at the center of the pillar of light, and his expression remained unchanged.

He took something from his storage ring.

It was a palm-sized golden tower, its entire body carved from some kind of translucent crystal. The tower had nine levels, with a tiny Soul Guidance gemstone embedded beneath the eaves of each level. The moment it left the ring, it began expanding on its own. In the blink of an eye, it became roughly three feet tall, hovering above Yan Jingzhe's head as it slowly rotated.

A Level-Nine Soul Guidance Device—the Radiant Tower.

Yan Jingzhe had completed this Level-Nine Soul Guidance Device before entering seclusion. It was also one of the works he was proudest of. More than three hundred Soul Guidance cores had been embedded within the tower, and every level possessed an independent energy circuit. Once activated, the entire tower could form an absolute Radiant barrier around its user.

The Radiant Tower rose to a point thirty feet above Yan Jingzhe's head before stopping. The nine levels lit up with golden radiance at the same time. Light poured down from the top like a golden waterfall, enveloping Yan Jingzhe completely.

Then Yan Jingzhe took out something else.

It was a sword.

The blade was about four feet long and entirely silver-white, with a faint layer of golden light flowing along its edge. There were no elaborate decorations, and even the hilt was a plain silver-white. Only a thumb-sized golden crystal was embedded in the guard.

The Radiant Sword.

It too was a Level-Nine Soul Guidance Device, an offensive one personally forged by Yan Jingzhe. Twelve layered energy-gathering arrays were inscribed within the blade, capable of converting the user's soul power into razor-sharp Radiant sword energy with extremely high efficiency.

His left hand gripped the Radiant Sword's scabbard, while his right rested on its hilt as he slowly drew the blade. As it left its sheath, it gave off an exceedingly soft, drawn-out cry, like a slumbering beast awakening.

Then he raised his head and looked at the dark-blue pillar of lightning pressing down toward him.

Mu En's Sovereign Over All had already gathered momentum to its peak.

"Teacher," Yan Jingzhe's voice came from within the Radiant Tower's golden barrier, "your disciple will receive this punch."

Mu En said nothing. With himself at the center, an invisible Emperor Domain spread outward. His hands suddenly came together, grasping the enormous Radiant fist enveloping him, before he fiercely hurled it forward.

At that instant, the sky seemed to split open.

The golden giant fist tore through the air, tore through the light, tore through everything in its path, and blasted straight toward Yan Jingzhe.

Yan Jingzhe raised the Radiant Sword.

He used no soul skill. No Soul Rings lit up. He merely fused with the Radiant Phoenix Martial Soul, raised the circulation speed of the two Yin-Yang Complementary Twin Soul Cores in his dantian to ninety percent, poured Light Power into the blade, and met that lightning head-on.

Golden light flared brilliantly from the Radiant Sword.

The instant the sword met the giant fist, the skies over all of Shrek City darkened for a moment.

It was not because dark clouds had blocked out the sun, but because the intense light produced by the collision of two ultimate powers temporarily robbed everyone's eyes of the ability to perceive color. That white light surged across the heavens and earth, as though it had bleached the entire world into a single shade.

Then the sound arrived.

BOOM—!!!

The sound did not descend from the sky. It exploded from within every person's chest. The ground across the entire city shook, while the waters of Sea God Lake were heaved into waves dozens of feet high. The crests crashed against the stone steps along the shore, and the splashing water drenched several students who had been watching by the lake.

The white light lasted for roughly three breaths before it began to recede.

The sky gradually became clear again.

People saw that the enormous Radiant fist had dissipated. Mu En stood where he had been, his face slightly paler than before as he breathed faintly. His right hand hung at his side, and the vitality around him was uncontrollably declining. He had clearly exhausted his strength.

Yan Jingzhe stood on the other side. The Radiant Tower still hovered steadily above his head, its golden barrier completely unscathed. He still held the Radiant Sword in his hand. The golden glow on the blade gradually faded, but its edge remained as smooth as ever, without even a single notch.

He retreated a few steps.

Only a few steps. Moreover, he retreated steadily, without stumbling or losing balance. The way his feet stepped through the air was like taking a leisurely stroll on level ground.

The entire city fell deathly silent.

Before Sea God Pavilion, Elder Xuan remained silent for a long time before slowly letting out a breath. He said nothing, but the hand holding his chicken leg trembled faintly.

Elder Lin adjusted his glasses and said quietly, "He didn't use any soul skills. It was only Martial Soul fusion."

No one beside him responded, but everyone heard him clearly.

Yan Jingzhe had taken Mu En's nearly full-powered Sovereign Over All without using a single soul skill. There was no Soul Ring enhancement, no use of a Soul Bone—only pure Martial Soul fusion. It was simply unbelievable.

Using only two Level-Nine Soul Guidance Devices and the foundation of his own Martial Soul, he had forcibly withstood the signature technique of a Limit Douluo—and even had enough strength left to push back.

Everyone present understood what that meant.

In the sky, Mu En withdrew the last traces of lightning and raised a hand to wipe his forehead. The old man looked at the silver-haired young man across from him with a complicated gaze, though the corners of his mouth were curved upward.

"Good," Mu En said. "Your teacher has lost."

Yan Jingzhe sheathed the Radiant Sword, and the Radiant Tower slowly shrank before falling back into his palm. He gave Mu En a slight bow. "Teacher did not lose. This disciple merely had the advantage of Soul Guidance Devices."

Mu En waved a hand. "A loss is a loss. Why bother saying all that?" The old man paused and looked into Yan Jingzhe's eyes. "You did not only gain an advantage from Soul Guidance Devices. Your sword just now—I could feel that its power was at least four times that of a Rank Ninety-Eight. And the operating efficiency of Yin-Yang Complementary Twin Soul Cores truly surpasses even my Co-position Resonance by far."

Yan Jingzhe did not respond.

Mu En said nothing more either. He turned and descended toward Sea God Pavilion. He descended somewhat quickly, but landed steadily nonetheless, then entered the gates of Sea God Pavilion with his hands clasped behind his back.

Yan Jingzhe hovered in midair, watching his teacher's figure disappear through the doors. Then he slowly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the entirety of Shrek City below.

The people looking up at him were still watching. Some had their mouths open, some clenched their fists, and some were flushed red with excitement. Beside the freshmen's arena, Huo Yuhao looked up at his master in the sky, his eyes frighteningly bright. Wang Dong's hand rested on his shoulder, and the two figures pressed close together.

Before Sea God Pavilion, several elders stood where they were, gazing up at Yan Jingzhe in the sky. No one spoke, but everyone understood that from this day onward, the heavens over Shrek Academy had changed.

Yan Jingzhe lowered his head and glanced at his hand. In his palm, the body of the Radiant Tower was still faintly hot, as though it were alive.

He gently let out a breath, put the tower back into his storage ring, then turned and descended toward Sea God Lake.

Then he walked into Sea God Pavilion.