Traitor

Qian Daoheng strode out of the darkness with confident steps, followed by six elders from the Elder Council.

"Your Holiness, I thought I'd have to wait longer for my chance. I didn't expect you to come out so soon." Qian Daoheng regarded Qian Xunji with icy eyes. "My dear nephew, I've heard about your exploits out there. You still can't use the Angel Set, can you?"

"Second Uncle, you certainly know how to pick your moment." Qian Xunji's voice was cold as a mountain. "You know what I'm like. I've never been a kind man. If you die, your grandson Qian Hongliu and granddaughter Qian Yiyi will die too. So will the six elders behind you and their families."

"Qian Xunji, you really do talk big. No one's going down together today. The only one who'll die is you," Qian Daoheng said firmly.

"Enough talk, Second Uncle. Since none of you will repent, you can all die." Qian Xunji released his Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul. Nine Soul Rings slowly rose beneath his feet, the most dazzling of them the ninth: a red Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.

"Form the array." Qian Daoheng released his Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul. The other six elders followed, releasing their Martial Souls: a Radiant Swan, a Radiant Tiger, a Sacred Horned Horse, a White-Scaled Snake, a Flash Leopard, and a White-Crowned Eagle. They swiftly took their positions, forming the Big Dipper Seven-Star Formation around Qian Xunji and Huang Tieyi.

"The Big Dipper Seven-Star Light Formation. Second Uncle, you must have put a great deal of work into preparing for this day!" Qian Xunji turned his cold gaze on the other six Titled Douluo. "It couldn't have been easy for you to find all six of them. After they became Titled Douluo, each additional level took them more than a decade. Their talent and abilities were barely enough to reach this rank in the first place."

"Qian Xunji, we devoted our lives to Spirit Hall. Now that we're old, you've cut our stipends and won't even let us take posts at local Spirit Hall Branches. You want to trap us here until we die. Today, we'll make sure you die—"

"Your Holiness, can you take on six of them?" Huang Tieyi asked softly. "In my Martial Soul Avatar state, I should be able to hold one back."

"Are you sure?" Qian Xunji was so struck by Huang Tieyi's words that he could not be bothered to answer the six elders' complaints.

"Your Holiness, with things as they are, I'll have to risk my life. If I do that, I can manage it," Huang Tieyi said with confidence.

"Good. Then there's no point wasting words on them." As Qian Xunji spoke, the Sword of Judgment appeared in his hand. He swung it and charged the Titled Douluo with the Radiant Swan Martial Soul. The man came from the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family. Xue Ye had long wanted him dead, but with Spirit Hall at his back, the emperor had found it difficult to act. Qian Xunji decided to kill him first and do Xue Ye a favor.

In the Big Dipper Seven-Star Light Formation, when one person moved, the other six moved with him, creating an array that united offense and defense. Sudden as Qian Xunji's attack was, it still gave them enough time to react. Just as they prepared to support the Radiant Swan Douluo, Huang Tieyi struck. His Martial Soul Avatar turned him into a Golden Giant over three meters tall, and he unleashed his third Soul Skill—Six Meridian Divine Sword.

The Thunder Ray from Huang Tieyi's Six Meridian Divine Sword pierced one of the Radiant Swan Douluo's legs before Qian Xunji reached him, slowing his shift into position. With the defensive formation still incomplete, he could only hastily summon a Light Shield before him.

The Sword of Judgment fell in a downward slash, shattering the Light Shield in an instant. Qian Xunji followed with a second strike, thrusting the Sword of Judgment with his ninth Soul Skill. The Radiant Swan Douluo stumbled several steps back and dodged the blade's thrust, but the lightning power carried by it still pierced his heart.

Qian Daoheng had never imagined that the Big Dipper Seven-Star Light Formation he took such pride in would be broken in a few breaths. He glared viciously at Huang Tieyi, the three-meter-tall Golden Giant. "Old bastard, don't look at me like that. I made a sneak attack and didn't fight fair. What are you going to do about it? Come hit me if you can. Hit me!"

Hearing Huang Tieyi's taunts, Qian Daoheng wanted nothing more than to take up the Sword of Judgment and cut him down, but Qian Xunji gave him no chance.

Qian Xunji used Angel Wings and appeared before him in an instant. As descendants of the Angel Clan, they knew each other's abilities intimately. Even the combat techniques their clan had developed were the same. Within a single exchange, the two were locked in battle.

Then Huang Tieyi moved. In the darkness, he used Lingbo Micro-Step, becoming a streak of light as he rushed toward the Sacred Horned Horse Douluo. Of the five who remained, the Sacred Horned Horse Douluo was the oldest and had the lowest cultivation.

Watching Huang Tieyi charge at him, the Sacred Horned Horse Douluo wore a mocking smile. "Boy, I knew you'd—" He immediately activated his Martial Soul Avatar and transformed into an enormous white horned horse. Raising both front hooves, he brought them down hard toward Huang Tieyi's leg as it came at him.

Huang Tieyi's savage kick collided with the Sacred Horned Horse Douluo's hooves as they came crashing down in Mount Tai Presses Down. Pfft! A gash opened across the Sacred Horned Horse's belly, and blood sprayed out.

Huang Tieyi took a step back, then used Lingbo Micro-Step to leap clear of the encirclement. "Five elders, you watched me grow up. You know what I can do. If any of you is absolutely confident you can take me down, then come at me. Otherwise, stay put and watch His Holiness and his second uncle fight like dragon and tiger. Don't even think about interfering."

The Sacred Horned Horse Douluo held his split belly as a pure white glow shone from his hand, healing the wound. He stared at Huang Tieyi with hatred, wishing he could rush forward and tear him apart. But as Huang Tieyi had said, he knew exactly what the young man could do. He truly had no way to take him down in a single move.

"Light Claw!" The Flash Leopard Douluo appeared behind Huang Tieyi, his razor-sharp claws striking at the young man's back. Pfft! His right hand pierced Huang Tieyi's body, but no blood flowed as he had expected.

"Big Ball Rasengan!" Huang Tieyi raised his hand and slammed a spinning ball of water the size of a basketball into the Flash Leopard Douluo, sending him flying.

Huang Tieyi released his Martial Soul Avatar and said with a mocking smile, "Getting old really does make you forgetful. Have you all gone senile? Haven't I told you enough about my Martial Soul Avatar? It doesn't just make my body bigger. It lets me control—"

"You little bastard, damn you! You're only a Soul Saint. When did you ever tell us—" The Radiant Tiger Douluo's voice rang out behind Huang Tieyi.