Before Absolute Attack, Defense Was Only Futile

The true power of that move did not lie in the surface-level explosion, but in the tiny silver-gray needles that burst forth amid the blast.

Each tiny needle contained a trace of a peculiar power of time and space. Countless needles erupted together, their combined force...

That was clearly the Spacetime Law.

If Zhilin and Meng Shenji had not been behind him, joining forces with him to block it...

He would likely have already been affected by that power of spacetime and erased within the river of time.

Time and space—just as the name implied, it contained the powers of both time and space. Even being touched by the slightest trace of it was absolutely fatal.

That was why Bai Baoshan had begun to consider retreating. He no longer dared attack recklessly, afraid that the boy before him would trade his life for theirs and drag all of them down with him.

"We've fought to this point already. Even if we have to wear him down, we'll wear him to death."

Meng Shenji looked at the unfamiliar man before them, whose soul power had reached its peak and was still rising. Although he too did not wish to face such a powerful opponent, he gritted his teeth and persisted.

"This state of his shouldn't last long. Once his soul power is gradually depleted, he'll naturally be finished."

With only seven rings, he had already made them feel the threat of death. If he were given another twenty or thirty years to cultivate until he became a Title Douluo...

When he returned stronger, the ones finished would be them.

"I admit that you are strong, but you are still far from qualified to take me down."

"Spacetime Domain!"

Before the three of them, Duan Yu spoke softly and took a step forward. Centered on his body, everything around him suddenly became strange.

Beneath his feet, it seemed as though two forces were faintly supporting him, while everything around him became illusory.

It was as if this entire space contained only Duan Yu and no one else.

Holding Heaven's Secret, Duan Yu appeared before the three of them in an instant. Without hesitation, he slashed his sword at them, not caring in the slightest whether they were chairmen of his academy.

As a defense-type Battle Soul Master, Bai Baoshan was the most sensitive to danger. The moment Duan Yu appeared before him, he raised the Celestial Star Furnace and blocked the attack once more.

But as soon as they clashed head-on, Bai Baoshan realized something was wrong. Although the Celestial Star Furnace had blocked the sword as usual...

Specks of silver light gathered upon the furnace body. Wherever the lights concentrated was stained with a layer of stone-like marks. Those silver specks were actually wearing away at his martial soul?!

Bai Baoshan was shocked. He no longer dared take the attack head-on, recalling the Celestial Star Furnace and striking out with his left palm to forcibly receive the sword.

Palm and sword collided, their aftershock rippling outward. Bai Baoshan's left arm went numb, and he fell into a disadvantage.

"Sixth Soul Skill, Celestial Star Divine Force!"

Driven to the limit, Bai Baoshan's sixth soul ring lit up. A powerful aura immediately rose from his body, allowing him to block another attack.

"Before absolute attack, defense is only futile!"

With Heaven's Secret, Duan Yu merged into the void once more and swung another sword at Bai Baoshan.

This sword contained the Law. Bai Baoshan absolutely could not evade it.

At that moment, Black Demon and Evergreen Vine, who had been suppressed by the Spacetime Domain all along, finally broke free of its restrictions. They swiftly joined the battle and joined Bai Baoshan in resisting.

"Bang!"

After that strike, smoke and dust filled the air. Neither side gained much of an advantage.

However, neither side attacked first this time. Meng Shenji and the others feared that Duan Yu would erupt again, while Duan Yu's soul power had already been completely exhausted, leaving him unable to exchange more than a few moves with them.

But he could not retreat. If he showed any intention of backing down first, those three bastards would surely realize he was at the end of his strength and pursue him relentlessly.

Just as both sides remained deadlocked.

At the edge of the night, a powerful aura clad in black robes was rushing over from afar.

"Soul Saint Flander? He actually came too."

Duan Yu was surprised. If this dragged on any longer, he truly might not be able to leave.

With that thought, Duan Yu swung Heaven's Secret into the sky.

In an instant, dazzling silver light illuminated the entire sky, dyeing it silver. Everything within a hundred miles was enveloped by that glow.

Even though it was already night, the moon's radiance seemed to have been covered by the silver light, or perhaps had merged with it.

It was clear to see Heaven's Secret transform into an enormous phantom in the sky, swaying gracefully. Yet the aura it released made the entire plane of heaven and earth tremble.

"This is?!"

Meng Shenji and the other two stared at the scene in utter disbelief. Could the person before them really still have the strength to continue fighting?

"I will not kill Zhao Wuji. Leave now, and this matter ends here." Duan Yu's imposing voice rang through the void.

Meng Shenji and the others looked at Duan Yu, whose aura continued to rise, then exchanged glances.

Meng Shenji's eyes flickered. "Junior, if I'm not mistaken, your soul power should already be exhausted. You no longer have the ability to fight, do you?"

Duan Yu sneered. "Old bastard, if you think my soul power is exhausted and I'm at the end of my strength, then come forward and exchange a few moves with me. Wouldn't that tell you?"

"But..."

Duan Yu looked at Bai Baoshan beside Meng Shenji. "Without that white steamed bun's defense, I wonder how many of my swords you can withstand?"

Meng Shenji simply stared at Duan Yu without speaking, trying to find some flaw in him.

Just as the two remained locked in a standoff, neither willing to yield, a voice sounded and broke the silence first.

"Go, go, go. Let's leave already. Old Meng, you're so old already—why are you still fussing with a junior?"

Bai Baoshan spoke first. He hauled Zhao Wuji, who was still lying on the ground, up and slung him over his shoulder.

The Soul Emperors surrounding the area stared in stunned disbelief. One Soul Emperor recovered first and hurriedly stopped Bai Baoshan, asking in confusion, "Chairman, are you letting him go now?"

"?"

Bai Baoshan looked at the dissatisfied expressions of the Soul Emperors, took a deep breath, and said, "This powerful man has committed no crime. The Empire has no deep-seated grudge against him. It cannot be called letting him go."

"But he is clearly the murderer who killed Prince Xue Beng."

"Who said that?"

Bai Baoshan countered, "There is no evidence proving that he was the murderer who killed Prince Xue Beng, is there?"

The leading Soul Emperor froze. "But didn't Zhao Wuji say..."

"Zhao Wuji's word alone proves nothing."

Before he could finish, Bai Baoshan interrupted him directly. "For all we know, he may have conspired with someone else to murder Prince Xue Beng."

"Now, all Soul Masters, listen to me. Leave this place immediately."

With Bai Baoshan and the other two chairmen taking the lead, the crowd stopped questioning them.

Only then did Bai Baoshan breathe a sigh of relief. If they kept fighting that freak, they probably would not gain anything themselves. Losing their lives over Zhao Wuji and Xue Beng...

No matter how he thought about it, it did not seem worth it.