Ji Juechen vs. Chen Xin! Demon Sword: Thousand Blades! The Continent's Greatest Swordsman!

"Inside is the method for curing your family's poison. I'm leaving. Protect the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. I still have a use for it later."

With that, Li Chen

walked away without looking back.

Dugu Bo hurriedly opened the manual.

"There are two methods. The first uses Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot to temper a Golden Body and purge every trace of poison. The price is losing all your poison-based attacks."

Dugu Bo shook his head. "No, no. That would cripple my fighting strength. I'd rather die from the poison."

He immediately turned to the second method.

"The second method is to channel all the poison in your body into a Soul Bone. When using poison attacks, you draw it from there instead of sending it through your meridians, so it can no longer poison you."

Dugu Bo's eyes widened.

The manual explained in detail how to transfer the poison. Tucked between its pages was even a Soul Tool storage bracelet.

"The bracelet contains medicinal ingredients to help regulate the poison in your body, along with a gift from the Sun Moon Sect. Old Poison, here's to a good partnership."

Dugu Bo's eyes widened further.

He picked up the bracelet and fed a little Soul Power into it.

Hum!

The storage bracelet activated, and a huge pile of things appeared.

There were pills for recovery, heaps of nourishing supplements, and a thin suit of green armor folded neatly among them.

"So this is the gift Li Chen mentioned?"

Dugu Bo picked up the armor, puzzled. "How do I use this thing?"

The moment he spoke,

the green armor burst into green light, then dissolved into a stream of light that entered his body.

"What?!"

Dugu Bo jumped and hurriedly checked himself.

Then, with a stir of his Soul Power, the vanished green armor covered his entire body, fitting him perfectly.

As Dugu Bo stared in shock, a voice came through the communicator in his hand:

"That's Martial Soul Avatar Armor. It can cover you automatically in battle and should increase your fighting strength by thirty percent."

"Thirty percent?! Doesn't that mean I can hold my own against a level ninety-five Super Douluo?!"

Dugu Bo was delighted.

At the Titled Douluo stage, the gap in Soul Power between levels was greater than ever.

Before level ninety-five, tactics, movement techniques, Soul Bone Skills, or Martial Soul talent could make up the difference.

Dugu Bo, for example, could use his poison to briefly hold his own against someone around level ninety-three or ninety-four.

Now, with the Martial Soul Avatar Armor, if Li Chen was right about the thirty-percent increase, Dugu Bo was confident he could truly stand against a level ninety-five Super Douluo!

Beyond level ninety-five, of course, things would be much harder.

After level ninety-five, every level was separated by a chasm.

Even so, Dugu Bo was astonished.

"The Sun Moon Sect's Soul Tool Technology really does go far beyond what they've shown. They actually have weapons that can change the course of a battle between Titled Douluo!"

Dugu Bo quickly gathered the supplies from the ground, barely able to contain his excitement.

He had a vague feeling that the Dugu Family might have hitched itself to a powerful force this time.

Dugu Bo immediately set up a poison formation, sat cross-legged, and began testing the method for curing his poison.

Li Chen smiled and put away his Soul Guide Communicator.

He opened his storage ring and released two Low-Altitude Automatic Detectors, which swiftly began searching the surrounding area.

Before long,

they found a peculiar Blue Silver Grass deep inside a cave.

Golden patterns ran across its leaves, and it grew so far inside the cave that it would have been extremely hard to find.

It was Ah Yin!

Li Chen entered the cave and swept her into his Storage Soul Tool.

"Heh. Tang Hao, Tang San, once I finish working with the Heaven Dou Empire, it'll be time to settle accounts with you."

Li Chen left the cave.

A display appeared over his right eye, showing two red dots moving rapidly.

To Li Chen's surprise, Tang San and Tang Hao had survived being captured by Spirit Hall and had even made it out of Spirit City. He had not expected that.

But it hardly mattered.

Once the Heaven Dou Empire delivered the metal materials, he would personally craft Soul Tool Cannon shells and send the two of them sky-high.

Li Chen returned to Heaven Dou City,

only to find crowds of people rushing toward the same place.

"What's going on?"

Li Chen stopped a passerby to ask.

"Two Titled Douluo are about to fight! A sword-crazed man blocked Sword Douluo Chen Xin at the city gate and insists on fighting him before he'll let him leave."

Li Chen had a sinking suspicion. Don't tell me it's that lunatic Ji Juechen.

He headed straight for the city gate.

Sure enough,

Sword Douluo Chen Xin stood at the gate, his brows knitted tightly.

Ji Juechen stood in his way, a sword held against his chest.

Li Chen soon spotted Huo Yuhao and the others in the crowd.

Huo Yuhao gave him an awkward smile.

"Li Chen, you're back? The moment that lunatic Ji Juechen arrived, he went looking for Sword Douluo Chen Xin. We couldn't stop him."

Meng Hongchen said, "Why the hell would we? I want to see whether Sword Douluo can beat him."

Kong Deming was there too, standing atop the city wall and watching the scene below with a smile.

Li Chen looked up. Kong Deming nodded to him, signaling that Gui Mei had remained by his side and had not gone after Li Chen.

Li Chen turned his attention to the two swordsmen facing each other at the gate.

Ji Juechen held his sword in both arms. A dark band bound his long black hair above his aged face, scruffy beard, and dry, peeling lips, which were pressed into a thin line.

His whole body stood there like a crooked stick of firewood,

but his eyes shone fiercely, as if a fire burned inside them.

Across from him,

Chen Xin wore a white robe, his long silver hair falling behind him. His brows were drawn together. His face was so fair and smooth that he looked more like a young man than someone of his true age.

Bone Douluo and Ning Fengzhi stood behind him.

Ning Fengzhi smiled.

"Friend from the Sun Moon Sect, we have matters to discuss with your sect. How about I ask Uncle Chen to spar with you another day?"

Ji Juechen replied in a muffled voice, "That's fine. Go discuss them. I only want to fight him, not you."

Ning Fengzhi was dumbfounded. Where did this man come from? What kind of stubborn temperament is that?

Bone Douluo grinned. "Chen Xin, he wants a fight so badly. Why not indulge him? You're not afraid, are you?"

Sword Douluo Chen Xin's mouth twitched. "What do you mean, afraid? He isn't even a Titled Douluo. What would beating him prove?"

Disdain flashed in Chen Xin's eyes.

The Chen Clan's inherited Seven Kill Sword was the Martial Soul with the greatest offensive power on the continent. Did every nobody think he could challenge it?

Ji Juechen bristled at that.

"Sword Douluo, I came to compare swordsmanship. What does rank have to do with it? Draw your sword!"

Ji Juechen suddenly straightened, his right hand settling on his sword hilt.

"I am Ji Juechen, a swordsman. I've come to learn from you!"

Chen Xin's chest rose and fell. His fingers brushed the hilt of his Seven Kill Sword, and his gaze wavered.

As a swordsman, he would naturally relish a contest of blades. But he was not merely a swordsman now; he was also an elder of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

And this was not some remote corner of the martial world. This was Heaven Dou City.

It was the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial capital. If he fought at its gate, Chen Xin worried about what Xue Ye might think of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Ji Juechen, however, had no such concerns. All he felt was anticipation and excitement at facing a powerful opponent.

When Chen Xin still made no move,

Li Chen suddenly shouted from the crowd, "Draw your sword! Draw your sword!"

At his call, the onlookers eagerly joined in.

"Draw your sword! Draw your sword! Draw your sword!"

The crowd's roar swelled around them.

Chen Xin turned in surprise and saw Li Chen wearing a teasing smile amid the crowd.

Chen Xin glared. The eager citizens of Heaven Dou City had backed him into a corner. With so many waiting for him to accept, how could Sword Douluo hold his head high afterward if he refused?

Chen Xin let out a breath.

"Very well! If you want a fight that badly, I'll give you one! I'll suppress my Soul Power Level to eighty-nine, so don't say I bullied you!"

Ji Juechen's lips curved upward. With a hum, he drew his sword.

Chen Xin's pupils contracted. "What kind of sword is that?"

Ji Juechen's blade was covered in cracks. It looked as though it had been assembled from countless fragments and would shatter at a touch.

"Demon Sword: Thousand Blades."

Ji Juechen's voice was calm.

His entire presence changed. From his gaunt frame, fighting spirit erupted like a raging fire!

"Let's begin!"

Ji Juechen shot forward and thrust straight at Chen Xin's forehead!

Boom!

Ji Juechen moved so fast that he reached Chen Xin before the gust of wind behind him caught up.

He had broken the sound barrier in an instant!

So fast!

Startled, Chen Xin hurriedly tilted his head aside.

But Ji Juechen did not falter when his thrust missed. He turned his blade and slashed at Chen Xin.

Chen Xin snorted, bent backward to evade it, and drove his Seven Kill Sword toward Ji Juechen's abdomen.

But

to Chen Xin's horror, Ji Juechen did not dodge. He brought his sword down in a reverse strike, intent on trading wounds!

"Lunatic!"

Chen Xin cursed, stamped the ground, and flew back more than ten meters to escape.

"You're insane! Is that even swordsmanship?!"

Chen Xin shouted.

Ji Juechen looked at him solemnly. "I aimed for your head. You aimed for my chest. If we trade wounds, I win. How is that not swordsmanship?"

Chen Xin was taken aback.

Before he could answer, Ji Juechen attacked again. He abandoned defense entirely, every strike aimed at Chen Xin's head.

Chen Xin tried to copy his opponent's tactic of trading wounds,

only to discover, to his shock,

that Ji Juechen struck faster every time, always reaching a vital point first.

With no other choice,

Chen Xin kept dodging. For a moment, Ji Juechen was actually driving him back.

The surrounding crowd stared in disbelief.

"Holy crap, he's got Sword Douluo on the run!"

"Unbelievable! Ji Juechen really doesn't care if he dies, but he looks so cool!"

Chen Xin heard them, and his expression turned cold.

He snorted, and his Seven Kill Sword blazed with light.

If he could not win with sword techniques, he would crush Ji Juechen with a Soul Skill!

Hum—

Nine Soul Rings appeared beneath Chen Xin.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black!

"Third Soul Skill: Sword Qi Like a Rainbow!"

Chen Xin raised his sword. Thousands of streams of Seven Kill Sword Qi split from the blade and swept toward Ji Juechen.

If close combat was not enough, he would simply blast Ji Juechen with sword qi!

He was a Super Douluo, after all. Even with his Soul Power suppressed, his Soul Skills far exceeded anything a Soul Douluo could produce.

A single stream of Seven Kill Sword Qi would seriously injure Ji Juechen if it struck him!

"Haa..."

Faced with the powerful attack,

Ji Juechen took a deep breath and gripped his sword with both hands. Light blazed in his eyes.

"Sword-Obsessed Domain: Silence!"

Hum!

A domain spread outward from Ji Juechen. Inside it, the incomparably sharp Seven Kill Sword Qi suddenly slowed.

Chen Xin felt his body grow sluggish and heavy. Even his sword intent was being suppressed!

And at that moment,

Ji Juechen moved.

His speed rose yet another notch. He nimbly dodged each streak of Seven Kill Sword Qi and broke through the blockade in an instant.

By the time Chen Xin reacted, Ji Juechen's sword tip was already thrusting toward his face!

"Damn it!"

Panicking, Chen Xin instantly enlarged the Seven Kill Sword!

"Seven Kill Sword Avatar!"

The Seven Kill Sword Avatar manifested in Chen Xin's hands, and he used the gigantic Seven Kill Sword to forcibly block the lethal strike.

"Have you had enough fun? This ends here!"

Having been on the losing end since the battle began, Chen Xin was both shocked and furious.

His opponent had forced him to use his Martial Soul Avatar through swordplay alone, proving that his swordsmanship far surpassed Chen Xin's.

Chen Xin could no longer worry about anything else. He only wanted to use the tremendous power boost from his Seven Kill Sword Avatar to crush his opponent and end this!

"Myriad Swords Return to the Origin!"

Chen Xin roared. Countless smaller Seven Kill Swords split off from the gigantic blade, forming a dense swarm that engulfed Ji Juechen!

This time, they were not sword qi. Every single one was a real Seven Kill Sword!

In the distant crowd, Huo Yuhao said worriedly,

"That old bastard can't take losing! How did a swordsmanship contest turn into him using his Martial Soul Avatar? Will Old Ji be all right?"

Li Chen smiled. "Don't worry. Old Ji lives for the sword. He either gains something or learns something. He should be delighted right now."

Sure enough,

as Seven Kill Swords filled the sky and bore down on him,

Ji Juechen threw back his head and laughed instead.

"Just what I wanted!"

The next moment,

Ji Juechen drew a deep breath.

The surrounding Soul Power trembled. Even the clouds in the sky were drawn downward and sucked into his mouth as he drank in the power of heaven and earth!

His eyes clear, Ji Juechen gripped his sword with both hands and slashed. He seemed to become one with the blade, breathing in rhythm with heaven and earth!

The Demon Sword: Thousand Blades suddenly lengthened, its countless fragments extending as he unleashed a slash with the force of rolling thunder!

The strike wielded immense power with effortless ease, as natural as heaven itself!

In Ji Juechen's eyes, the dense and dangerous Seven Kill Sword Formation vanished. The surrounding spectators vanished too, and even heaven and earth disappeared.

Only Chen Xin remained before him, his face stricken with terror.

Having unleashed that slash,

Ji Juechen sheathed his sword and turned to leave, not even looking back to see the result.

Boom!

Only after Ji Juechen had turned and taken several steps did that earth-shaking slash descend. Its terrifying might was like the sky collapsing, shredding Chen Xin's formation of countless Seven Kill Swords!

A fissure a hundred meters deep and over ten meters wide appeared.

His clothes torn to shreds, Chen Xin hovered above the fissure in a daze.

"Pfft!"

Chen Xin suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, terror filling his eyes.

He had lost.

One slash.

With a single slash, Ji Juechen had shattered his attack and forced him to draw on his Titled Douluo-level Soul Power just to block it.

And throughout the entire battle,

Ji Juechen had not used a single Soul Skill, relying on swordplay alone.

"Uncle Chen!"

Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo hurried forward to check on him.

Chen Xin waved them off, staring fixedly at Ji Juechen's retreating back.

At the city gates,

the countless people of Heaven Dou City also stared blankly at Ji Juechen, who had already sheathed his sword and walked back.

Before the sword's strike had landed, the swordsman had already returned.

Let the onlookers clap and laugh at his unbridled arrogance—what harm was there in being unbridled? What harm was there in being arrogant?