A battle at the pinnacle? Qian Daoliu meets Lu Xuan! The final choice!

The vast pressure blanketing the entire city naturally startled Lu Xuan, who was cultivating in his room.

He pushed open the door and looked up.

The sky had been dyed a dazzling, pure gold.

A majestic figure with six wings hovered silently above Heaven Dou City, like a god gazing down upon the mortal world.

Just as Lu Xuan felt a tremor of shock,

a gentle voice carrying absolute confidence sounded beside his ear. "Xiao Xuan, stay in the courtyard. Don't go anywhere."

Before the voice faded, a clear phoenix cry erupted from the courtyard!

Boom—!

A streak of intensely scorching crimson flame shot into the sky.

Like a sharp sword tearing through the heavens, it forcibly cleaved a massive opening in the golden light filling the sky.

Leng Yaozhu strode upward through the air, her red hair dancing wildly like blazing flames.

Without holding anything back, she unleashed the terrifying pressure of a demigod upon Qian Daoliu in midair!

This woman... is actually this powerful!

Confronted by that scorching aura, which surged with the force to topple mountains and overturn seas,

Qian Daoliu's once-calm eyes abruptly narrowed. Every muscle in his body tensed, and unprecedented wariness rose in his heart.

As one of the Three Peerless Douluo of this age, he had to acknowledge a fact that left him shaken.

The red-haired woman before him seemed to have already surpassed the limits of mortals!

The pressure she exerted on him

was exactly like what he felt when drawing upon angel divine power within Spirit City!

That meant that unless he was currently in Spirit City, borrowing angel divine power,

his cultivation alone would not allow him to fight Leng Yaozhu on equal footing!

She already had one foot in the realm of gods!

"What's this? You came onto my turf and unleashed your pressure, and now you want to run after provoking me?"

Leng Yaozhu stopped in midair and folded her arms across her chest.

Her eyes, which seemed to burn with flames, regarded Qian Daoliu coldly, and an imperious sneer curled her lips.

Qian Daoliu took a deep breath.

Suppressing his shock, he bowed slightly in a salute between equals. His voice was level but grave.

"Your Eminence Heavenly Phoenix, since you have reached this level as well, you naturally understand."

"At our level, once we truly fight, even three days and nights might not be enough to decide a victor. We would only plunge the living into misery."

"So?" Leng Yaozhu raised a slender brow, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes.

"So, please accommodate me, Your Eminence. Allow me to take my people away, and I will leave Heaven Dou City immediately."

"From then on, our well water will never mingle with your river water. We will not disturb you or your people," Qian Daoliu proposed gravely.

"Oh? You mean to take away that little angel hiding within the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, playing games of power?"

Leng Yaozhu chuckled, then her gaze abruptly turned cold.

"That won't do! I can't let her leave so easily!"

"After all... that girl and my little brother have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill!"

"What?! A Martial Soul Fusion Skill?!"

At last, undisguisable horror appeared on Qian Daoliu's previously unruffled face.

Yet he was given no chance to ask further questions.

Leng Yaozhu had already transformed into a stream of fire spanning heaven and earth and charged straight at him!

"Forgive me!"

Left with no choice, Qian Daoliu erupted with dazzling Angel Holy Light and swung his sword to meet her.

Rumble—!

Two peerless powerhouses standing at the very apex of the continent collided ten thousand meters above Heaven Dou City!

Ultimate flames and sacred light intertwined wildly, tearing at each other.

Every collision unleashed a terrifying roar, as though the end of the world had arrived.

Visible storms of soul power raged above Heaven Dou City.

Even from that immense distance, the spilling shock waves made the buildings below tremble violently.

The glazed tiles of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace shattered one after another, and enormous, horrifying cracks shook open across the sturdy city walls.

Every citizen outside in the city lay prostrate on the ground.

Those inside their homes bolted their doors tightly and trembled in fear.

Meanwhile, at the First Prince's residence.

The once heavily guarded residence was now deathly silent.

All the guards and hidden sentries had fainted beneath that sacred pressure moments earlier.

Only five people remained standing in the sprawling courtyard.

Having returned to her female appearance, Qian Renxue bit her red lip, her exquisite face filled with unwillingness.

Beside her stood Porcupinefish Douluo and Snake Lance Douluo, who were responsible for her personal protection.

There were also the newly arrived Sixth Enshrinement, Qian Jun, and Seventh Enshrinement, Jiang Mo.

"Grandpa Six, Grandpa Seven! I don't want to leave!"

"I've been undercover for so long! I'm about to fully take over Xue Qinghe's identity and carry out the mission!"

Qian Renxue clenched her fists, her voice trembling with stubborn defiance.

"Xiao Xue, you're being foolish!" Qian Jun Douluo earnestly tried to persuade her.

"These are your grandfather's absolute orders! An unknown ultimate powerhouse has appeared in Heaven Dou City, and the situation has spiraled completely out of control."

"To ensure you could withdraw safely, our eldest brother even came out in person to cover your retreat!"

Just then, blinding golden light erupted in the sky, and Qian Daoliu's majestic figure appeared.

Immediately afterward, the temperature throughout the city soared. A red light capable of burning the heavens and boiling the seas shot upward, confronting Qian Daoliu from afar!

"That's..."

Qian Renxue abruptly raised her head and stared fixedly at the red figure in midair, her pupils contracting sharply.

She recognized her!

Wasn't that the terrifying woman who had seen through her disguise a few days ago?!

Could she be the mysterious powerhouse everyone in Heaven Dou City had been talking about lately?!

"This is our chance! Xiao Xue, stop being stubborn. Let's go!" Qian Jun Douluo urged anxiously.

"No! I can't leave yet!" Qian Renxue fiercely shook off Qian Jun's hand, a strange light gleaming in her eyes.

"I found a young Soul Master here who can perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with me!"

"Even if you stop me from carrying out my mission, I still have a reason I must stay!"

At those words, the two Enshrinements, Qian Jun and Jiang Mo, looked at each other as though struck by lightning.

A Martial Soul Fusion Skill?!

Now this was a serious problem!

They had to take Xiao Xue away, but a genius capable of forming a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with the Six-Winged Angel was unquestionably a monster too!

A flash of insight struck both Enshrinements, and they instantly deduced a frightening possibility.

The reason that mysterious red-haired Limit Douluo was lying low in Heaven Dou City

was likely to protect the boy who shared a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Xiao Xue!

High in the sky, the battle had continued for an unknown length of time.

Boom—!

With one final violent collision, the golden light and sea of flames abruptly parted.

"Are you satisfied now, Your Excellency?"

Qian Daoliu panted slightly.

His previously immaculate golden hair had become somewhat disheveled.

Several scorched tears had appeared in his luxurious robe as well, leaving him looking rather bedraggled.

In contrast, aside from a slight fluctuation in her breathing, Leng Yaozhu opposite him

remained as neatly dressed as before, as though that battle that could destroy heaven and earth had been no more than a warm-up.

"Your strength is barely passable." Leng Yaozhu rested her cheek in one hand as she stood upon the air, regarding Qian Daoliu with a smile.

"Though I would dearly like to keep all of you here, your little girl and my boy do indeed share a Martial Soul Fusion Skill."

"Staying together can greatly increase the speed at which both of them cultivate their soul power."

"As her grandfather, surely you wouldn't want to slow your granddaughter's cultivation by forcibly taking her away?"

At her words, Qian Daoliu's gaze flickered several times. He asked gravely, "May I... meet your boy?"

"Of course." Leng Yaozhu nodded readily.

Whoosh—!

In the mere blink of an eye,

the two figures vanished from ten thousand meters in the sky.

They instantly appeared in the courtyard of Dugu Manor, standing before Lu Xuan.

Before Lu Xuan could even react, Qian Daoliu's broad palm had already settled on his shoulder.

At that instant, Lu Xuan felt a gentle current of soul power, vast as the sea, pour into his body.

It was as though he stood naked before the other man, with nowhere for any of his secrets to hide.

Yet the moment Qian Daoliu probed him, a sheen of cold sweat sprang up on his forehead!

"Bone age... six years and nine months... and his soul power is already rank thirty-six?!"

Even Qian Daoliu's voice trembled, but he forcibly swallowed the rest of what he was about to say.

For in the deepest reaches of his examination, he seemed to faintly perceive the aura of a god!

In other words, this seemingly harmless child before him

was very likely someone chosen by a deity!

Countless thoughts raced through Qian Daoliu's mind in an instant.

If that was the case, leaving Xiao Xue beside Lu Xuan was not a bad thing at all. On the contrary, it was a heaven-sent blessing!

In light of this discovery, he now strongly suspected that the unfathomable Leng Yaozhu before him,

just like himself and Bo Saixi of Sea God Island, was a deity's representative in the mortal world!

"I understand..."

Qian Daoliu slowly withdrew his hand from Lu Xuan's shoulder and let out a long breath, his gaze growing complicated and profound.

"If that is the case, leaving Xiao Xue here is not out of the question."

"At least you know what's good for you." Leng Yaozhu snorted coldly, her tone carrying the dominance of one who looked down upon the world.

"Very well. Since we've reached an understanding, we'll do this by the rules."

"If your arrangements afterward fail to satisfy me, I guarantee you will not leave Heaven Dou City today!"

To this point, she had never summoned her Four-Word Battle Armor in any of her battles.

She had absolute confidence that once she revealed all her trump cards,

even Qian Daoliu would meet his end here today!

Qian Daoliu gave Leng Yaozhu a long look without arguing, then turned into a streak of golden light and left the manor.

A short while later, he descended upon the First Prince's residence and appeared before Qian Renxue.

Looking at his stubborn granddaughter, affection and resolve flashed through Qian Daoliu's eyes as he said gravely,

"Xiao Xue, ten years!"

"I will give you ten years! During those ten years, you may stay beside that child who shares a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with you and cultivate."

"But after ten years, you must return to Spirit Hall and accept the destiny and duties that belong to you!"

Having said this, Qian Daoliu gave Qian Renxue no chance to argue. He swept his wide sleeve. "Sixth, Seventh, we're leaving!"

Golden light shot into the sky as Qian Daoliu took the two Enshrinements, Qian Jun and Jiang Mo, with him.

They became shooting stars and vanished from the skies above Heaven Dou City.

Only Qian Renxue remained standing where she was.