"Be careful," Sword Douluo said. Gripping the Seven Kill Sword in his hand, he did not waste any more words. Vast soul power surged forth, pouring straight into the blade.
Whoosh!
Sword Douluo moved.
His entire body transformed into a blurred afterimage as he shot toward Xiao Se at terrifying speed. This was not some mysterious movement technique—rather, it was brute force, achieved purely through overwhelming soul power and cultivation.
In the blink of an eye, the distance between them shrank to less than five steps.
A distorted streak of white sword light slashed out without warning, dreamlike and nightmarish, making it impossible to tell where the true attack would land.
"Isn't Sword Uncle being a bit… too serious?" Ning Fengzhi's expression changed slightly. He could clearly tell that aside from not using soul skills or the Seven Kill Domain, Sword Douluo was already fighting at nearly full strength.
Clang!
Under the intense gazes of everyone present, Xiao Se finally moved.
He was not nearly as fast as Sword Douluo—but his movement was perfectly timed.
In terms of raw speed, without using the Mysterious Mist Step, Xiao Se simply could not compete. But when it came to perception and awareness, his soul strength completely crushed his opponent.
The demonic sword struck later—yet arrived first.
Ding!
With a crisp metallic chime, Sword Douluo's first strike was blocked head-on by Xiao Se.
Sword Douluo did not mind at all and was just about to follow up with a second attack when something unexpected happened.
Xiao Se's figure suddenly vanished from where he stood, dispersing like a wisp of light smoke. In the next instant, he had already closed the distance, launching a counterattack instead.
"Crossing the Four Directions."
The opening form of Crossing the Eight Directions, the strongest move of the Ghost Valley Vertical and Horizontal Sword Art.
When wielded by Wei Zhuang in the martial-arts world of Qin's Moon, its power might not seem overwhelming. But under Xiao Se's sword intent and Dou Qi, the technique finally revealed its true might.
A terrifying sword aura pierced through the void, slashing straight toward Sword Douluo's left chest.
Sword Douluo stepped back once, swinging his sword horizontally in response. A surge of sword qi burst forth from his blade as well, attempting to seize the initiative back.
Xiao Se's gaze sharpened.
With a flick of his wrist, Crossing the Eight Directions fully unfolded.
Boom!
Sword qi erupted.
One became two.
Two became four.
Four became eight.
Eight identical streams of terrifying sword qi shot forward in unison, screaming toward Sword Douluo. Wherever they passed, the marble ground was carved apart, leaving behind savage, horrifying sword scars.
"What is this?!"
The sudden appearance of eight devastating sword qi caught Sword Douluo completely off guard. He immediately abandoned all hesitation and shouted in a deep voice.
"My body is the sword!"
Raising his right hand, he formed a sword gesture and lifted it high above his head. A Seven Kill Sword condensed between his fingers, its blade pointed upward, hovering above his index and middle fingers.
In the next instant, nine soul rings erupted from beneath his feet—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—circling the Seven Kill Sword as they released overwhelming pressure.
The very next second, a massive ancient sword nearly two meters long and half a meter wide descended from the sky with unstoppable might, slamming point-first into the ground.
Boom!
A terrifying wave of pressure exploded outward.
The eight incoming sword qi were all blasted away in an instant.
In a flash, the marble courtyard was shredded apart, stone fragments flying everywhere. Even the hard granite boulders stacked to form artificial rockeries were cleanly severed.
One unlucky strand of sword qi rebounded toward Little Medical Fairy and Zhu Zhuqing's position, only to be casually dispersed by the former with a simple wave of her hand.
This entire exchange happened in a split second.
Aside from Little Medical Fairy—whose cultivation had reached the level of a Seven-Star Dou Huang—and Qian Renxue, who also possessed terrifying hidden strength, the remaining two could not even see how Xiao Se and Sword Douluo exchanged blows.
All they saw was Sword Douluo suddenly surrounded by nine horrifying soul rings, and then the once-pristine courtyard turning into utter devastation.
It was genuinely terrifying.
On the other side, Ning Fengzhi stood beside Qian Renxue.
"This friend of yours is truly frightening," Ning Fengzhi said solemnly. "He actually surpassed Sword Uncle in swordsmanship itself, forcing him to use a soul skill."
Qian Renxue smiled confidently. A hint of emotion flickered in his heart as he replied softly, "He's always been… different."
"It's about time to stop," Ning Fengzhi nodded lightly. "If Sword Uncle really gets carried away, the entire Crown Prince's residence might be destroyed."
As he spoke, his gaze lingered for a moment on Little Medical Fairy standing in the corner opposite them. His eyebrows lifted ever so slightly.
From the moment she entered with Xiao Se, Ning Fengzhi had been paying close attention to her. And the more he observed, the more he realized—this girl was anything but simple.
The scene where she casually dispersed Xiao Se's sword qi earlier had been witnessed clearly by Ning Fengzhi, leaving him deeply shocked.
Those terrifying sword energies were capable of cutting massive boulders apart with ease—yet they were brushed away as if they were nothing by a girl who looked no older than fifteen.
It was utterly unbelievable.
Stepping forward, Ning Fengzhi called out as he walked, "Sword Uncle, let's end it here. If this continues, the Crown Prince's residence won't survive. You can arrange another match some other day."
Hearing this, Sword Douluo raised an eyebrow, clearly reluctant. After hesitating briefly—and considering that he could not afford to damage relations between the Crown Prince and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—he finally chose to stop.
Looking solemnly at Xiao Se in the distance, he said, "Xiao Se, your swordsmanship is extremely strong. If my cultivation weren't higher than yours, I wouldn't be your opponent. Another day, we'll spar properly again."
Xiao Se nodded slightly, casually withdrawing the demonic sword back into his body.
"You flatter me," he said with a faint smile.
After all, he knew his own situation well. This was a classic case of enjoying the shade planted by others. He relied on sword techniques left behind by predecessors, along with sword intent he had essentially 'borrowed'. His true understanding of the sword was still far inferior to that of the Sword Douluo before him.
With the duel cut short, the group exchanged a few polite words with Ning Fengzhi. Soon after, Ning Fengzhi consciously departed the Crown Prince's residence together with Sword Douluo.
High in the sky, Ning Fengzhi stood atop the Seven Kill Sword as it carried them away. He turned to Sword Douluo ahead of him.
"Sword Uncle, what do you think of Xiao Se?"
Sword Douluo was silent for a moment before slowly replying, "A very powerful young man. His perception is terrifying, and his eyes… they seem capable of seeing straight into one's heart. Standing in front of him, it feels as if you have no secrets at all."
"I feel the same," Ning Fengzhi nodded. "But Sword Uncle, did you notice the grey-purple robed girl who came with Xiao Se? She's also far from simple. She actually managed to catch and disperse, barehanded, sword qi so powerful that even you had to use a soul skill to deflect it."
Hearing this, Sword Douluo's expression turned grave.
"When you put it that way… it reminds me of someone."
"Who?"
"Old Poison—and a strengthened version of Old Poison at that."
—
Back inside the Crown Prince's residence, Qian Renxue had already led Xiao Se and the other two into her private chambers.
The moment they entered, Qian Renxue shut the door behind them. She removed her mask, golden light flashing across her body as she deactivated her soul bone skill and returned to her female form.
Then—
Like a swallow returning to its nest, she leapt forward and threw herself straight into Xiao Se's arms.
The entire sequence of actions flowed smoothly and naturally, so practiced that it was almost unbelievable.
"Dad! How did you recognize me?" Qian Renxue wrapped her arms around Xiao Se's neck, pouting as she spoke in a coquettish tone. "I practiced the aura-concealing technique Mom taught me really seriously!"
At this moment, she bore no resemblance whatsoever to the calm, elegant crown prince who commanded a nation.
She looked exactly like a spoiled daughter acting cute in her father's embrace.
Seeing "Xue Qinghe" suddenly transform into a stunning blonde beauty, Little Medical Fairy and Zhu Zhuqing were both completely stunned.
Zhu Zhuqing, having recognized Qian Renxue before, quickly recovered after a brief moment of shock, her expression turning to realization.
But Little Medical Fairy—who had never seen Qian Renxue before—felt her brain completely short-circuit.
This world had gone mad.
Absolutely mad.
Xiao Se, this shameless lecher… actually had a daughter who was older than her.
(End of Chapter)
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