Horizontal Sword Technique, Chrysanthemum Pass's Frustration

"How is this possible?" Chrysanthemum Pass cried out in shock.

This floor was made from special metal mixed with Deep Sea Silver and reinforced with Soul Tools. It was incomparably hard; even a Soul Emperor would find it difficult to damage.

Yet Qin Xuan had achieved this without using a Soul Skill.

Although he could do the same, one had to remember that Qin Xuan was only a Soul King, while he was a Level-Eighty-Nine Soul Douluo.

If Old Ghost had not warned him just now and he had failed to dodge, he would likely have been heavily injured in a single exchange.

He did not believe that his bare palm was much tougher than this floor.

Not just him and Gui Mei.

Even the seven great offerings before the Six-Winged Angel statue were stunned.

"Hey, big brother, that was sword aura just now, wasn't it?" Guangling Douluo spoke, narrowing his eyes slightly. The childish face no longer held its usual carefree expression, only surprise and gravity.

As far as he knew, among the known Soul Masters who used swords, aside from his eldest brother, the only one capable of unleashing sword aura without using a Soul Skill was Sword Douluo Chen Xin, the man named after the sword.

Not even the current Pope, Qian Xunji, could accomplish that.

"That's right." The gentle smile never left Qian Daoliu's face as he answered calmly. Yet despite his tone, the appreciation in his golden eyes was impossible to conceal.

It seemed Qin Xuan was even more outstanding than he had imagined.

Guangling Douluo did not question it. He then turned to Qian Jun and Jiang Mo, the two Douluos who held their Coiling Dragon Staffs without ever letting them leave their hands. "Sixth, Seventh, did you two teach that brat his swordsmanship?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Jun and Jiang Mo felt their old faces burn. They exchanged bitter smiles and shook their heads. "Xuan'er's swordsmanship was taught by several Red-Robed Cardinals with sword Martial Souls."

The implication was obvious.

Normally, they only gave Qin Xuan occasional pointers, teaching him how to make better use of his Soul Skills and helping him coordinate their Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

They were proficient in staff techniques and spear techniques. They could even teach the use of any long-weapon Martial Soul.

But when it came to swordsmanship and saber techniques, they simply could not teach him.

Though all paths ultimately led to the same destination, staff techniques and sword techniques were fundamentally two different things.

"Tsk, tsk. Then you two teachers really are quite the failures." Guangling Douluo resumed his usual frivolous demeanor, curling his lips as he clicked his tongue.

Even Fourth Worship Mighty Lion Douluo unusually did not reprimand him. Together with Second Worship Golden Crocodile Douluo and Third Offering Azure Luan Douluo, he nodded in deep agreement.

This made Qian Jun and Jiang Mo's old faces turn even redder. They wished they could crawl into a hole in the ground.

Damn it, this was far too embarrassing.

The battle between Qin Xuan and Chrysanthemum Pass continued.

Qin Xuan's sword momentum was fierce, his fiery gleam dazzling. Flames reflected in his eyes, making it seem as though fire danced within them, trailing two red streaks through the air. Every move and stance left savage sword marks across the ground, sending sand and stones flying.

Having learned his lesson, Chrysanthemum Pass no longer dared to underestimate him. His Level-Eighty-Nine Soul Power surged at full force as the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum transformed into a long whip and clashed with the Everbright Sword.

When the two collided, Qin Xuan relied on his freely controlled sword aura to fight Chrysanthemum Pass to a standstill despite their enormous gap in Soul Power. Neither could gain the upper hand.

But as the battle continued, the attribute suppression between their Martial Souls began to show.

Although the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum was an Immortal-Grade Immortal Herb of extremely high quality, it was ultimately still a plant.

Meanwhile, Qin Xuan's Everbright Sword was not only a sharp weapon, but also contained both lightning and fire attributes.

Fire restrained grass.

Without the added attributes of Soul Rings, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum was simply no match for the Everbright Sword.

Before long, Chrysanthemum Pass was steadily forced back.

"How preposterous!"

In all his life, Chrysanthemum Pass had never fought such a stifling battle. By now, he had truly begun to lose his temper and could not help roaring aloud.

If Qin Xuan had merely relied on powerful sword aura and unfathomable techniques, he would not have been the slightest bit unconvinced.

But the opponent had completely suppressed him through Martial Soul attributes.

That changed everything.

If not for that, he would never have been beaten into such a sorry state, with almost no ability to fight back.

Boom— Under the suppression of Martial Soul attributes, the plant whip in Chrysanthemum Pass's hand could no longer endure. The Everbright Sword's blade, carrying blazing fire, cleaved it in two. The fiery gleam did not slow in the slightest as it slammed viciously into Chrysanthemum Pass's chest.

His entire body flew backward like a cannonball and crashed into a stone pillar of Elder Hall, kicking up a massive cloud of dust that engulfed him completely.

"This kid is impressive." Seeing this, Guangling Douluo could not help giving a soft cry of surprise, undisguised admiration filling his eyes.

Most of the other offerings felt the same.

Even Second Worship Golden Crocodile Douluo, who had always been quiet and held himself in high esteem, unusually spoke up. "Indeed. The outcome has been decided. Yue Guan is no match for Qin Xuan. It seems this kid's request to enter Slaughter City for training was not made in a moment of reckless excitement."

"Cough, cough." Chrysanthemum Pass coughed violently from within the dust. Yue Guan had truly lost all face today.

A dignified Level-Eighty-Nine Soul Douluo, an existence at the Quasi-Titled Douluo level, had been beaten so badly by a Soul King that he could barely resist when neither side was allowed to use Soul Skills.

If word of this got out, people would laugh their teeth out.

"Damn it. Qin Xuan, I have to admit that you are formidable, but I still have one move: my Self-Created Soul Skill—Chrysanthemum-Breaking Spear."

Chrysanthemum Pass flicked the remaining half of the plant whip in his right hand.

The next instant, the other half that had been cut off and fallen to the ground seemed to answer some kind of summons. It rose into the air, swam toward Chrysanthemum Pass like a water snake, and crossed with the other half. The severed ends fused together before instantly straightening.

It transformed into a sharp plant javelin.

At this moment, Chrysanthemum Pass's form of address for Qin Xuan changed. He no longer called him Little Qin Xuan, but simply Qin Xuan, dropping the word "little."

This signified that he now regarded Qin Xuan as someone on the same level as himself.

Moreover, he had completely lost his earlier high spirits. His long golden hair was in disarray, and a gap had been cut into the golden armor over his chest. Within it, a wound roughly five centimeters long could vaguely be seen.

Although the wound was not deep, blood continuously seeped from it.

Chrysanthemum Pass covered his chest with his left hand and infused it with Soul Power, finally stopping the bleeding.

This had been cut by Qin Xuan's sword aura.

It was one of the two strongest moves in the Horizontal Sword Technique, called Four Directions Throughstrike.

Its power was second only to the strongest move, Eight Directions Throughstrike, and it served as the opening move for Eight Directions Throughstrike.

Though it appeared to be only a single strike, the instant it was unleashed, it produced four variations. Every variation was as fast as lightning and vanished in a flash.

Although Chrysanthemum Pass had used the plant whip to block the first variation and his powerful protective Soul Power to block two more, the fourth landed squarely on his chest.

It shattered his golden armor and inflicted physical damage upon him.