Thousand Peaks Shaking Mountains, a Crushing Victory

A pincer attack from front and back, sealed off on both sides; lightning and poisonous mist intertwined overhead, while the Shi brothers' shield wall blocked the way below. This wave of attacks had nearly cut off all of Ning Chen's room to evade.

Yet Ning Chen remained calm.

He took a deep breath and stepped out with Voidstep once more. Within the cramped space, he darted left and right, sometimes as light and drifting as willow fluff, sometimes as slippery as a swimming fish.

Yu Tianheng's dragon claws missed again and again, Dugu Yan's poisonous mist always fell just short, and the Shi brothers' shield strikes repeatedly slammed into empty air.

Ning Chen's footwork seemed to possess a strange rhythm. Every step landed in the gaps between his opponents' attacks. It looked perilous, but in truth, he handled it with ease.

Meanwhile, under his control, the Starlight Bracer had become even more refined.

At times, it transformed into chains of starlight to restrain enemies from afar; at times, it condensed into a starlight shield to block attacks; at times, it scattered into specks of starlight to disrupt their vision.

In his hands, the star artifact seemed to have come alive. It switched seamlessly between offense and defense, leaving others utterly unable to guard against it.

That should be enough.

Ning Chen silently murmured to himself and suddenly stopped evading.

Seeing him stop, Yu Tianheng knew it might be a trap, but his fighting spirit was at its peak under Thunderous Fury. Without hesitation, he slammed down with a Thunderclap Dragon Claw.

Dugu Yan simultaneously unleashed Jade-Scale Purple Poison, sweeping in from the side.

Ning Chen neither dodged nor retreated.

The Starlight Bracer on his right wrist shone brilliantly with silver light. He drew forth the starlight power within it, and an dazzling silver beam blasted from the front of the bracer, colliding head-on with Yu Tianheng's Thunderclap Dragon Claw.

Starlight and lightning clashed violently in midair, erupting in a blinding flash.

After only two breaths of deadlock, Yu Tianheng was sent flying by the recoil.

Meanwhile, Jade-Scale Purple Poison had already reached him.

Ning Chen raised his left hand. A small star-shaped shield of light flashed across his palm—Stellar Shield!

The instant the purple poison struck the shield, it was caught by a gentle silver starlight, then swept back even faster. It dispersed on its own in midair, turning into harmless specks of starlight that scattered across the ground.

Yu Tianheng climbed up from the ground, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, and was about to charge again.

But just as he took a step forward, he saw Ning Chen slowly raise his right hand.

His five fingers spread open, then pressed downward.

Thousand Mountains Formula!

An indescribably heavy pressure descended from the sky.

The air throughout the training ground seemed to freeze. Everyone's shoulders suddenly sank, as though an invisible mountain had been placed upon them.

The phantom of a mountain slowly appeared behind Ning Chen.

It was a towering, majestic peak, pale blue in color. The rock patterns on its slopes were clearly visible, while the outlines of ancient pines and emerald cypresses looked lifelike.

The moment the phantom appeared, even the ground trembled faintly.

Ning Chen pressed his palm downward.

The mountain phantom descended with it.

Boom!

Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, Shi Mo, Shi Mo, and Yu Feng were all forced to the ground by an irresistible force. They could not move even a finger.

Ye Lingling stood at the very back. Ning Chen had deliberately avoided affecting her, but the Nine-Heart Begonia in her hand was trembling slightly, and her face had gone pale.

With a single move, all six had fallen.

The training ground fell quiet for a moment before the sound of Qin Ming clapping rang out. "All right, stop."

Ning Chen slowly withdrew his hand, and the mountain phantom behind him dissipated.

The suffocating pressure receded like a tide. Only then did Yu Tianheng and the others gasp for breath and climb back to their feet.

Ye Lingling hurriedly activated the group healing power of the Nine-Heart Begonia, bathing everyone in a warm healing glow.

At that moment, Qin Ming walked forward and asked Yu Tianheng and the others about their condition. After confirming that they were not seriously injured, he turned and came to Ning Chen's side.

His eyes were full of amazement. "Your Self-Created Soul Skill is truly imposing and unprecedented. Even its residual force made me feel pressure."

How could Qin Ming not be shocked?

He had already broken through to become a Soul Emperor at the beginning of the year. Cao Benqi was merely a Soul Ancestor, yet his Self-Created Soul Skill could actually make Qin Ming feel pressure!

Did this mean that, with this Self-Created Soul Skill called Thousand Peaks Shaking Mountains, Cao Benqi's strength had already reached the level of a Soul King?

Seventeen years old, a Soul Ancestor cultivation, but combat strength on par with a Soul King. Such talent might even surpass Spirit Hall's so-called Golden Generation!

Although intelligence on Spirit Hall's Golden Generation was scarce, Qin Ming, as a teacher highly valued by the three Education Committee members, naturally had the qualifications to know about them.

The moment he had obtained information about Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, Qin Ming had felt that their chances in this Continental Soul Master Tournament were probably just to make up the numbers again.

But Cao Benqi's performance allowed Qin Ming to see hope of challenging for the championship!

"It was just luck. I stumbled into it by accident."

Ning Chen smiled and immediately put on the act of being Mr. Lucky.

"If you call that luck, then the vast majority of Soul Masters on the continent are probably not worth mentioning."

Qin Ming smiled helplessly. "There is no need to be modest about your talent. You are the most gifted Soul Master I have seen in all my years. Your future achievements will surely surpass mine."

"Teacher Qin, aren't you afraid that saying that will make me arrogant?"

Ning Chen replied.

"I rather hope you would be a little more arrogant. Among them, you have the highest talent and train the hardest. At the same age, your cultivation will surely surpass Spirit Hall's Golden Generation!"

Qin Ming spoke sincerely. The talent Ning Chen had displayed was truly terrifying.

But Ning Chen did not think much of it. His true strength had long surpassed Spirit Hall's so-called Golden Generation.

A fourteen-year-old Soul Douluo—such an achievement was beyond even Qian Renxue, the most outstanding genius on the continent today.

"Teacher Qin is right."

By then, Yu Tianheng and the others had also recovered with Ye Lingling's assistance.

Yu Tianheng dusted himself off, his gaze toward Ning Chen filled with mixed emotions. "You really are... a monster."

Back then, Yu Tianheng had advised Ning Chen not to spend too much time practicing Self-Created Soul Skills. He had believed it was a waste of time.

If he had used that saved time to improve his cultivation, Cao Benqi might already have broken through to the Soul King realm.

Only today did Yu Tianheng realize how narrow-minded he had been.

This Self-Created Soul Skill called Thousand Peaks Shaking Mountains was merely the phantom of a single mountain, yet it had suppressed all six of them until they could barely move, instantly stripping them of any chance to resist.

With such power, perhaps even a Soul King would find it difficult to gain any advantage against Cao Benqi.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Ning Chen looked at Yu Tianheng as well.

With Ning Chen pushing Yu Tianheng onward, he had reached level thirty-nine even earlier than in the original story. Now, he was already on the verge of breaking through to level forty.

If nothing unexpected happened, Yu Tianheng would be the second among them to break through to the Soul Ancestor realm.

Dugu Yan walked over as well. "All right, it's not like this is the first time you've learned how abnormal Benqi is. Even my grandfather has praised Benqi more than once in front of me."

Dugu Yan's grandfather was naturally Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo. Having been praised by such a top powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of the continent, Ning Chen immediately put on a flattered expression.