Zero: I blew up too

"Clang, clang, clang, clang..."

The dense clatter of metal striking metal rang out ceaselessly inside the Heaven and Earth Tower. In mere seconds, fine cracks had already spread across its surface.

Although the Heaven and Earth Tower martial soul excelled at both offense and defense, it had only two Soul Rings attached to it. Under the combined assault of Ci Jie's Soul Elder-level soul power and innate skill, it finally buckled, showing signs of collapse.

With the Heaven and Earth Tower damaged, Qin Chao was naturally the first to suffer.

"Pfft!"

Blood sprayed uncontrollably from his mouth, carrying a faintly foul, rancid odor.

"Damn it! Those spikes aren't just sharp and hard-they're poisoned too!"

Qin Chao cursed inwardly. The pain coming from deep within his martial soul nearly drove him to the breaking point.

Sensing the tremendous force inside the Heaven and Earth Tower, Xie Yue immediately abandoned his attack on Zero and raced toward Qin Chao instead. "Recall your martial soul, now!"

His voice arrived before he did.

A rare look of anxiety appeared on Xie Yue's usually calm face.

Hearing Xie Yue's warning, Qin Chao merely gave a bitter smile.

Of course he knew recalling his martial soul would ease his suffering, but what came afterward?

Xie Yue had yet to return, and Qin Chao was the only one with any defensive ability. If he recalled the Heaven and Earth Tower, nothing would remain to block Ci Jie's spikes, and they would strike him and Hu Liena directly.

Two was greater than one. Even a child understood that.

Light flashed from his Soul Tool, and the aromatic silk beauty appeared once more.

Qin Chao reached out with a trembling hand, roughly swiped it across the flower's center, then licked every trace of pollen from his hand into his mouth.

The potency of an immortal herb was truly terrifying. The instant the pollen reached his stomach, a warm current slowly flowed out from his abdomen, driving all the poison in his body into one place.

"Urgh!"

Qin Chao retched miserably, vomiting great mouthfuls of black, clotted blood.

With the aromatic silk beauty's help, the poison in his body was finally brought under temporary control. The damage to his martial soul, however, could not be repaired. Within mere seconds, the cracks across the Heaven and Earth Tower grew denser, faintly revealing the blood-red light within.

Seeing things take a turn for the worse, Bibi Dong hurried forward a step, ready to halt the assessment.

So what if she was playing favorites? She could hardly watch the disciples she treasured fall like this.

A tremendous force suddenly pressed against her scepter. That powerful, unyielding aura of pressure stirred a faint trace of fear in Bibi Dong's heart.

Because of her martial soul, the power of light was what she loathed most. Yet now...

Bibi Dong followed the scepter with her gaze and, sure enough, saw a fair, slender right hand. Its owner was none other than the Elder Hall's foremost Consecration, Qian Daoliu...

"That damned old bastard!" Bibi Dong cursed inwardly, nearly grinding her teeth to pieces.

"Casualties are inevitable on a battlefield. Why is Your Holiness so agitated? It seems you have lost that cold, stern bearing you once possessed..."

Qian Daoliu spoke slowly, a faint, gentle smile on his handsome face. Yet that smile never reached his eyes.

"I can decide for myself how to serve as Pope. There is no need for you to lecture me, Great Enshrined. After all, you were the one who pushed me into this position back then, weren't you?"

After she killed Qian Xunji all those years ago, Qian Daoliu could have slain her outright. Instead, for Spirit Hall's future, he spared her life and even single-handedly raised her to the papal throne.

But times had changed. As Spirit Hall developed, Bibi Dong's prominence and authority as Pope had begun to threaten to eclipse even the Elder Hall.

Qian Daoliu understood this woman. The madness within her was terrifying enough to destroy Spirit Hall, or even the entire continent.

Thus, he could never allow Bibi Dong to stand alone above all others. At least, not yet...

While the struggle on the raised platform remained deadlocked, a new change unfolded in the Training Ground.

Qin Chao held on desperately for several seconds before Xie Yue finally arrived. Seeing Xie Yue's second soul ring begin to flash, he at last relaxed and recalled his battered Heaven and Earth Tower martial soul into his body.

He had already suffered injuries during the previous day's assessment. Now that the Heaven and Earth Tower had been severely damaged as well, he could no longer hold himself up. His legs gave way, and he started to fall.

The pain he had expected never came. A pair of long arms gently caught Qin Chao and gathered him into an embrace. Warm, soft, and fragrant, it held the uniquely full softness of a young woman's body, easing his heart considerably.

While Qin Chao enjoyed Hu Liena's soft, fragrant embrace, Xie Yue stood firmly in front of them both.

"Second soul skill, Guard!"

Xie Yue roared. His two Moon Blades struck in alternation, swift as lightning, forming a blood-red barrier before the three of them and blocking every spike Ci Jie fired.

The clanging of metal rang out ceaselessly once more. Though Ci Jie had many spikes, he had already expended most of them inside the Heaven and Earth Tower. With the rest now firmly blocked by Xie Yue's soul skill, the Golden Generation's victory was all but nailed down. Excited shrieks had even begun rising from the spectators' seats...

Just as everyone thought the battle was decided, an unexpected change quietly arrived.

They had forgotten that this was a three-on-three battle...

As early as when Xie Yue turned back to defend, Zero had dragged his gravely wounded body into hiding. When he appeared again, he was already standing behind Qin Chao and the others.

"Heh, heh, heh! With you lot joining me in the grave, I won't be getting such a bad deal!"

Zero threw his head back in a crazed, eerie laugh. His crack-covered dagger blazed with intense green light.

"Explode!"

He let out one final furious roar, also his last lament before death. At this critical moment, Zero had chosen to detonate his own martial soul!

The green dagger shattered inch by inch, its fragments shooting toward the backs of Qin Chao and the other two with unstoppable force.

This was Zero's final trump card. A martial soul and its Soul Master were bound together, branches of the same tree. The instant his martial soul shattered, he lost all hope of survival.

In the moment before he fell, he looked toward the raised platform.

The man in the long robe stood there, his bearing as calm and serene as ever. Yet Zero seemed to see one blood-red soul after another behind him...

"Two... Six... Seven... I've come to atone..."

Zero closed his eyes as he had wished. Though he faced death, the most terrifying thing of all, his expression was calmer than anyone else's.

Attacked from both front and rear, Xie Yue swung his Moon Blades so swiftly that they left trails of afterimages. Even so, green fragments broke through his defenses, whistling sharply through the air toward Hu Liena...

With Qin Chao in her arms, Hu Liena's movements were somewhat restricted. The green fragments entered through her back and passed straight through her chest. The ferocious attack had pierced the young woman's body clean through...

The dagger fragments were so sharp that Hu Liena did not even feel any pain, only a slight tingling in her chest. Her lips curved into a smile. "It's all right. They didn't hit any bones..."

Hu Liena spoke lightly, but in the next second, her body slumped helplessly to the ground...