It was night.
All sounds had fallen silent; the moon shone bright, and the stars were sparse.
Ji Hongchen walked down the street with Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu, the three of them chatting and laughing.
Suddenly.
Ji Hongchen stopped, his brows drawing into a slight frown.
Killing intent!
Just a moment ago, his Jinghong Sword had sensed a trace of killing intent. Though well concealed, it had nowhere to hide before the Jinghong Sword.
"Third Soul Skill, Star Luo Formation!"
A fierce shout rang out. The next instant, Lu Qibin released his Star Luo Chess martial soul. His third soul ring lit up, instantly enveloping Ji Hongchen.
Ji Hongchen's expression changed.
All three swords emerged at once!
Yet he felt no panic, for he sensed that Sword Douluo and Poison Douluo were still watching nearby. They would not stand idly by.
"Since you're here, all of you can come out!"
Ji Hongchen shouted coldly, and the three swords around him let out a ringing cry.
These people would serve perfectly well to hone his swords!
Holding the Jinghong Sword, he narrowed his eyes and watched the four figures appearing nearby warily, a cold smile curling his lips.
"Junior, cut off both your arms, and I might consider sparing your life."
Flender spoke in a sinister tone. His gaze swept over the sword in Ji Hongchen's hand and the three soul rings around him-one yellow and two purple-and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
A genius at such a young age.
If he could not join their Shrek Academy, they had to snuff him out, or the trouble he brought later would be endless.
"Old dog, do you lot think my precious sword has lost its edge?"
Ji Hongchen drew his sword in an instant.
"Arrogant!"
Zhao Wuji roared, his soul rings lighting up. Clearly, he intended to slap this junior, Ji Hongchen, straight to his death.
"Second Soul Skill, Great Strength Vajra Palm!"
The enormous bear paw tore through the air. Crushing gravitational pressure descended on Ji Hongchen, shaking the earth and making it hard to breathe.
Ji Hongchen drew his sword.
He moved.
"Rongrong, support me!"
As his words fell.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in Ning Rongrong's hand lit up, and two soul rings rose, one yellow and one purple.
"First Soul Skill, Nine Treasures Turn Into Glazed Glass, Nine Treasures Have Names, first: strength!"
"Second: amplification!"
"Soul Bone Skill: Radiant Blessing!"
With her clear cry, Ji Hongchen's attributes rose dramatically.
When Flender saw the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, his expression changed drastically, and an ominous feeling welled up within him.
The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect!
And it was even a Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Only three or four days had passed since the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect changed its name.
Naturally, they had learned of it.
One glance was enough to tell that the person before them belonged to the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. With the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda as her martial soul, her standing was far beyond theirs.
But they had already offended her.
"Kill them! Leave no survivors!"
The brute Zhao Wuji instantly let raw strength take the place of thought and attacked first. His sixth soul ring lit up. "Sixth Soul Skill, Great Strength Vajra Charge!"
Ji Hongchen drew a deep breath.
He opened his eyes.
The next instant, his True Body Armor lit up!
"True Body Armor, activate!"
"Sword Dao Soul Core, awaken!"
"Peerless Domain, activate!"
"Three swords unleashed, slash!"
In an instant, Ji Hongchen's power climbed steadily. With the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's amplification, his strength now rivaled that of a high-ranking Soul Saint.
The three swords radiated dazzling sword light that swept across all of Suotuo City. Trails of lingering sword qi crisscrossed and intertwined, forming an enormous sword formation.
"Second Sword Form: Ten Thousand Weapons!"
Whoosh!
Ji Hongchen stood alone at the center of the sword formation. Waves of sword qi surged around him, and phantom longswords gathered into a sea of swords that roared outward.
At this moment.
He had someone to catch him if he fell.
Ji Hongchen held almost nothing back.
He used his strongest move outright, displaying his true talent in the process.
Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect!
Phantom longswords tore through the vast sky one after another, converging in the air.
"Slash!"
Ji Hongchen shouted, raised the Jinghong Sword in his hand, and brought it down in one fluid stroke.
Its supreme sharpness revealed its edge.
Before this sword, any defense would crumble at a single blow.
Below him.
Zhao Wuji and the others wore grave expressions, a trace of dread already surfacing in their eyes.
Was this really a three-ring Soul Elder?
Judging by the power of this move alone, calling him a Soul Douluo would hardly be an exaggeration.
The next instant.
Sword light poured down.
Like a river of stars cascading from the heavens, it descended with overwhelming grandeur. This strike carried the sword intent Ji Hongchen had nurtured for years, now released without reservation.
Squelch!
A sword slashed down.
Lu Qibin, positioned at the very front to control their opponent, bore the brunt of it. Before he could even defend himself, the sword light cleaved him in two.
Dead!
Lu Qibin's eyes widened.
His lingering consciousness let him see the two halves of his body drifting apart. Even in death, he could not understand how a three-ring Soul Elder had killed him.
Swish!
Another sword slashed down.
The second strike fell upon Zhao Wuji, who was already charging toward him.
"Paltry tricks!"
Zhao Wuji snorted coldly, his figure swelling even larger.
"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar!"
With a furious roar, Zhao Wuji's body expanded instantly. An enormous bear silhouette appeared behind him, and the mounting gravitational compression shattered the ground.
Ji Hongchen's eyes held a trace of divine compassion for all living things. He swept his hand, and the sea of swords boiled as a concentrated streak of sword qi shot forth.
"All of it is futile."
Squelch.
A cloud of blood burst apart. Zhao Wuji's arrogance turned to horror as his arm was severed outright, the crisscrossing sword qi shredding his ruined flesh into a bloody mist.
"Aaaaah!!!"
Zhao Wuji screamed and slammed into the ground. Ji Hongchen had shredded his entire right arm into a mist of blood, leaving no hope of restoring it.
Three sword strikes had been unleashed.
Ji Hongchen's face was somewhat pale. The soul power within him had nearly been drained dry, and he swayed on the verge of collapse, barely managing to land back on the ground.
Even with Ning Rongrong reducing his soul power consumption.
The enormous cost of unleashing ten thousand swords had only allowed him to deliver three strikes. After those three, his strength was completely exhausted.
"Brother Hongchen!" ×2
Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu hurried forward and supported Ji Hongchen from either side. Seeing his pale face, their eyes filled with heartache.
Damn Shrek Academy.
They actually dared to ambush their Brother Hongchen. They had all but signed their own death warrants!
"He's finished! Hurry and kill him!"
Flender spoke darkly. He no longer had time to worry about Zhao Wuji. Ji Hongchen had caused too great a commotion; they had to finish this quickly.
Otherwise, once his protectors arrived, they would be in trouble.
"Third Soul Skill, Eagle Strikes the Sky!"
Just then.
A streak of sword light sliced through the sky, instantly dispersing Flender's soul skill and severing the arm he had used to unleash it.
"Aaaaah!!!"
Flender screamed.
The next second, a slap sent him flying.
"Hmph. Bullying the young at your age-have you no shame?"
Sword Douluo stood upon his flying sword, looking down at Flender from above, a trace of killing intent surfacing in his eyes.
Dugu Bo stepped in front of Ji Hongchen, his emerald-green serpentine eyes fixed firmly on Flender nearby.
Flender broke into a cold sweat. Ignoring his pain, he scrambled up from the ground.
Two Titled Douluos!
His throat went dry. He hurriedly pulled a token bearing a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon from his robes. "The martial souls are all mine. We're from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. We're willing to compensate for every loss."
Yu Xiaogang had given him this token back then. It signified the status of a direct heir of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. He could only hope that the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect still valued the bond between the Upper Three Sects, branches joined to the same root.
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