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The current predicament was dire. Lin Tian and his companions had been lured into a deadly ambush; besieged by two Soul Emperors and over ten Soul Kings, their lone Soul Emperor and three Soul Kings were utterly overwhelmed. They couldn't even manage to mount a breakthrough, let alone repel the assault.
However, the arrival of Su Wen and his reinforcements reignited a spark of hope in Lin Tian's chest. He thought that perhaps, by coordinating an attack from the inside and outside, they might finally have a chance to burst through the encirclement and escape Zhao Hai's lethal trap.
If Su Wen knew that Lin Tian was harboring such "spineless" thoughts, he would have looked upon him with pure disdain. I've brought the reinforcements personally, and your first thought is still running away?
Su Wen didn't hesitate, charging directly into the fray.
Floating above his head was the Heavenly Book, radiating a faint, golden sacred light. The book remained open as countless pages flew out from its binding, fluttering like an infinite stream that rapidly enveloped the entire canyon.
"A Domain!" Lin Tian exclaimed, his voice thick with shock.
He wasn't the only one; everyone present was stunned by the manifestation of Su Wen's World within the Pages. On the Sun Moon Continent, domain-type soul skills were exceedingly rare. Only those with true top-tier martial souls and immense luck could ever hope to obtain one. The only known exceptions were the two Holy Sons of the Sun Moon Divine Cult and the current Crown Prince, whose innate talents allowed their martial souls to awaken with corresponding domains naturally.
As the World within the Pages expanded, an inexplicable, crushing pressure settled over the battlefield.
The longer the domain remained active, the more pronounced the effect became. Zhao Hai's faction felt it most acutely; they watched in horror as their power was suppressed by a mysterious force. It felt as though a portion of their strength was being erased into thin air.
While suppression is a standard feature of most domains, Zhao Hai—who had encountered domain abilities before—sensed something fundamentally different here. Unlike a normal domain that merely hindered an enemy's output, Su Wen's suppression felt more absolute, more despair-inducing. it gave the victims the terrifying illusion that their lost power would never return.
In truth, it wasn't entirely an illusion.
Su Wen had spent a great deal of time analyzing and comprehending the Forbidden Law Domain from his Martial Soul Fusion transformation with Ning Rongrong. He had continuously integrated that profound intent into his own World within the Pages. Now, his domain possessed the ability to strip away an enemy's power over time.
Much like how enemies in his fusion domain were barred from using the same soul skill twice, his personal domain—while not quite as absolute as the Forbidden Law—carried a similar trait: the longer a target stayed inside, the steeper the decline in their strength.
It wasn't a simple physical suppression; it was a fundamental disintegration of their ability to execute power. Their soul power reserves remained the same, and the raw energy they tried to erupt was still there, but the resulting attacks were significantly weakened by the pale golden ripples of light. This weakening ratio only grew more severe as the seconds ticked by.
However, why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?
Su Wen had no intention of dragging out the clock until his enemies were too withered to move. He was fully capable of crushing them with overwhelming momentum right now.
And that is exactly what he did.
Within the domain, the fluttering pages transformed into streaks of golden light, weaving together to form massive golden chains that pierced through the space of the canyon.
BOOM!
The chains seemed to lock the very fabric of space itself. The air became so rigid that Zhao Hai and his men found themselves pinned in place, unable to move even a finger.
Su Wen walked calmly through this golden world. Pages drifted past him like wandering spirits, making it seem as if he were strolling through a succession of miniature universes. He eventually came to a halt beside Lin Tian and the three Vice-Branch Masters, looking down at the paralyzed Zhao Hai and his cohorts.
Zhao Hai's pupils had shrunk to the size of needlepoints. He couldn't wrap his mind around this level of control. Is such a powerful crowd-control skill even something a human Soul Master can possess?
Even Lin Tian, who was on the same side, looked like he had seen a ghost. He couldn't fathom how Su Wen could be this powerful.
Behind them, the Soul Ancestors who had come as reinforcements were practically petrified. Wang Lin hesitated for a moment before leaning toward Manager Qian and whispering, "Manager Qian... so, what exactly was the point of us coming?"
Technically, Zhao Hai and his men hadn't been "defeated" yet, but Su Wen had them completely immobilized. Judging by Su Wen's unhurried, composed demeanor, this lockdown could likely last for quite a while. The battle was over before it had even truly begun.
"Aren't captives more useful than corpses?" Su Wen's voice drifted over to them. "I recall the pavilion should have soul tools designed to suppress soul power, right? Lock them up in the Sun Moon Pavilion."
Killing all the high-ranking officials of the City Lord's Mansion abruptly could trigger a violent backlash from the city guard. Although they were a government organization, the internal politics were deeply entrenched. Among the captured Soul Kings, many likely had close relatives holding significant power within the guard. Direct execution could spark a desperate revolt.
By taking them alive, even if they were never intended to be released, the pavilion could use them as leverage to pacify the guard and eventually bring all of Ninghai City under their control.
Furthermore, there was another pressing issue: how had Lin Tian's secret mission been leaked? That was a question that needed to be squeezed out of Zhao Hai and the others.
After all, when the reinforcements arrived, they had seen that the "suspicious" Vice-Branch Master Li—along with the other two—had been fighting desperately alongside Lin Tian. There had been no backstabbing; in fact, they had been remarkably united in the face of the ambush.
"Healing Light!"
Within the golden domain, a soft, pale green life energy began to permeate the golden ripples. The light flowed into the bodies of Lin Tian and the three Vice-Branch Masters, mending their internal injuries.
This act shocked them yet again. Su Wen is a Healing-type Soul Master too?!
The healing was incredibly potent. In the blink of an eye, the critical wounds on Lin Tian and the others stabilized and began to close. Though it still bore the name "Healing Light," it was no longer just the skill derived from the 7,000-year Light Flower right arm bone; Su Wen had long since integrated various other healing principles into it, forging it into an entirely new, superior technique.
This... this... how is this possible?
Had the world of Soul Master ring-skill combinations reached a level they could no longer understand? No—even though they lived in Ninghai, a coastal city on the edge of the continent, they were not ignorant men. Su Wen's existence was simply an anomaly that defied all conventional logic.
Only Lin Tian remained silent, deep in thought, his eyes shimmering with an unreadable light as he looked at Su Wen.
(End of Chapter)