Mission Complete

Black Armor's real name was Chen Xuan. His Martial Soul was the Black Armor Rhinoceros, which excelled at both offense and defense.

At the host's signal, he immediately activated Martial Soul Possession.

After all this time, no one saw Lu Shiyuan as an ordinary Soul Elder anymore.

His record spoke for itself. Anyone facing Lu Shiyuan had to give it everything they had.

Those who had underestimated him had paid dearly for their foolishness.

Once his Martial Soul Possession was complete, five Soul Rings—two yellow, two purple, and one black—lit up in succession.

Chen Xuan's first and third Soul Skills were offensive, while the other three were defensive. Coupled with the formidable defense of the Black Armor Rhinoceros, they convinced almost everyone that Lu Shiyuan was in for a grueling fight.

Chen Xuan thought so too. He immediately activated three Soul Skills.

"Second Soul Skill: Black Armor Thousand Jun!"

"Fourth Soul Skill: Earth Vein Resonance!"

"Fifth Soul Skill: Myriad Manifestations Barrier!"

The host could not help crying out, "There it is—Black Armor's perfect defense! In past matches, many Soul Kings couldn't even break through it! How will Mo Ran Qianyuan, fighting as a Soul Elder, overcome Black Armor's perfect defense?"

Lu Shiyuan grinned. Sure enough, his opponent had used shield skills.

In that case, he would not hold back.

As the host announced the start of the match, space around Lu Shiyuan's left hand began to warp.

Streams of shimmering starlight wound around his left fist, throwing the surrounding air into turmoil.

Seeing this, Chen Xuan did not dare make a rash move.

He had already activated every enhancement he had. He refused to believe Lu Shiyuan could take him down in one blow now.

With his current defense, even a Soul Emperor would struggle to deal him serious damage.

Lu Shiyuan continued to gather power. Space around his left fist twisted ever more violently, and the starlight grew brighter.

Five seconds later, he looked at Chen Xuan and smiled.

"Black Armor, let's settle this with one punch."

Chen Xuan froze. A terrible premonition seized him.

By the time he tried to dodge, it was too late.

The force of the punch, charged for five seconds, tore across the arena and struck Chen Xuan's outermost shield head-on.

The six Black Armor Shields around him shattered like paper. The crystalline shield created by Earth Vein Resonance followed, failing to delay the blow for even half a second.

In a single second, the punch broke through two layers of defense. It had lost none of its force when it slammed into Chen Xuan.

The hardened armor formed by Black Armor Thousand Jun shattered on impact. Chen Xuan spat a mouthful of blood that arced through the air, and he flew out of the arena like a kite with its string cut.

It was as though someone had pressed pause on the arena. The vast venue fell deathly silent.

No one had imagined that a level-30 Quasi-Soul Elder could take down a level-57 Soul King in a single move.

Worse still, that Soul King had the Black Armor Rhinoceros Martial Soul, famed for its defense!

The host stood there stunned.

Damn it. The Great Soul Arena had specifically chosen Chen Xuan as Lu Shiyuan's fiftieth opponent to give the audience a spectacular, evenly matched fight.

From his previous matches, they had seen that Lu Shiyuan had plenty of tricks but lacked the crucial ability to break through strong defenses.

In his last match, for example, his opponent's defensive Soul Skill had given him no end of trouble. If that opponent had not made a mistake, Lu Shiyuan's winning streak might have ended right there.

That was why the Great Soul Arena had chosen Chen Xuan as Lu Shiyuan's fiftieth opponent.

And then Lu Shiyuan took him down in one move. What the hell was the point?

The Great Soul Arena had not been trying to make things harder for him. It wanted to make money from the betting.

The closer the fight, the harder it would be to predict the outcome.

The betting alone would have earned the Great Soul Arena a fortune.

Lu Shiyuan tipped his chin at the host, urging him to announce the result.

The host snapped out of it and stammered that Lu Shiyuan had won. None of his earlier enthusiasm remained.

As the announcement ended, a notification sounded from the system.

[Congratulations, Host. You have completed the mission. The third Soul Ring for the Void-Time Dragon Eyes has been delivered to the system storage. Please absorb it yourself.]

Phew. That mission was finally done.

Fortunately, he had raised the Celestial Rail Left Arm Bone to a hundred thousand years. Fortunately, his final opponent specialized in defense. And fortunately, that opponent had shield skills.

The Celestial Rail Left Arm Bone's second Soul Skill: Star-Shattering Fist.

After charging, Star-Shattering Fist released a punch of star energy that dealt 150% damage. Each second of charging increased its damage by 50%, up to a maximum of five seconds. If the enemy was protected by a shield, the attack would shatter it and double the damage again.

Chen Xuan had stood there like a turtle in its shell, waiting for Lu Shiyuan to attack. How could Lu Shiyuan disappoint him?

After five seconds of charging, the base damage of 150% had risen to 400%.

And because Chen Xuan had a shield, that 400% became 800%.

Eight times the damage, plus the ability to shatter his shields outright, had rendered Chen Xuan's defense useless. It was only natural that one move had been enough.

The audience was silent. Zhu Zhuqing, in particular, looked utterly incredulous.

Lu Shiyuan won?

With level-30 Soul Power, he took down a level-57 defensive Soul King in one move?

How... how could he be so strong?

Lu Shiyuan waved toward the girls. Without making a victory speech, he stepped off the fighting stage.

His tasks in Star Luo City were complete. It was time to return to Notting City.

Half an hour later, Lu Shiyuan and Zhu Zhuqing stood facing each other outside the Zhu Family estate.

"Zhuqing, let me ask one more time. Are you sure you won't come with us?"

Zhu Zhuqing bit her lip. After a long struggle, she said, "I'm sorry. I really can't go with you."

"You know I can protect you."

Zhu Zhuqing had never doubted it. Lu Shiyuan was only a little over seven and already a Quasi-Soul Elder. Xiao Wu was around the same age and had already reached level 36.

They also had two Titled Douluo with them. Anyone with any sense could tell that they belonged to an immensely powerful organization.

Not to mention that Lu Shiyuan had just defeated a level-57 Soul King in one move.

She knew everything Lu Shiyuan had said was true.

But she still could not leave.

Zhu Zhuqing gave a bleak smile. "I know. But if I leave, this engagement will simply fall on another daughter of the Zhu Family. I can't put someone else in danger just to save myself."

Lu Shiyuan had no answer. That was Zhu Zhuqing for you.

"Shiyuan, I'm sorry. I know you've been good to me and given me so much freedom, but there's something I have to do."

She bit her lip hard. A thin line of blood spread across it, staining it crimson. "Shiyuan, perhaps one day I'll come find you. If I do, it'll mean I'm ready to break free of this cage. When that day comes... will you help me?"

Lu Shiyuan smiled and gently wiped the blood from her lip.

"Anytime."