"What a punch!"
Ji Juechen had no time for other reactions, so he could only raise his sword to block. Yet, in that instant, he seemed to meld entirely with his sword, a powerful Protective Sword Qi swirling around him, his eyes blazing with even greater fervor.
Xu Tianxi felt as if his punch had landed on a Titanium Alloy Steel Plate. A massive recoil jolted his wrist, and the sharp sword intent pierced through his protective Soul Power, making him wince in pain. He stumbled back more than ten steps before finally neutralizing the terrifying sword qi, his right arm tingling.
At the same time, Ji Juechen, who had taken the full force of that explosive punch, was no better off. He was blasted backward like a cannonball, sliding dozens of meters across the ground before thrusting his sword into the earth to steady himself. Blood welled from the tiger's mouth grip on his sword, and his face turned crimson.
Yet, he seemed oblivious to the intense pain, only growing more excited. He roared, "Again!" then used his sword as a prop to push himself up, unleashing several streaks of Gray Sword Qi.
As expected of Sword Maniac, Xu Tianxi thought. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and a blue-green light enveloped him as he struck out with both palms, combining Rushing Thunder and Rising Sun Wind, creating a sonic boom.
When he absorbed the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's Soul Ring, just like with the Silver Demon Whale's, he gained the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's immense elemental power. His Lightning Element was strengthened, and he also gained a portion of the Wind Element.
Xu Tianxi had many ideas about elemental power, but most were still conceptual, lacking sufficient practical application. Now was the perfect time to use Sword Maniac as a whetstone to refine his newly gained elemental control.
Battle was the best teacher!
Hundreds of meters outside the dormitory building, Xuan Ziwen arrived with a female student, a hint of helplessness in his eyes as he watched Xu Tianxi and Ji Juechen.
Yesterday, when he came looking for Xu Tianxi, Ji Juechen said Xu Tianxi hadn't rested well. Today, when he came looking for Xu Tianxi, these two were already fighting.
With their sword qi soaring and wind and thunder raging, those who knew understood it was a sparring match. Those who didn't might think these two students were engaged in a life-or-death battle.
"This Ji Juechen is too crazy. I hope Tianxi doesn't get new injuries right after his old ones heal—"
Xuan Ziwen glared at Ji Juechen, silently cursing him. He felt worried but didn't interrupt them.
Kong Deming had specifically instructed him that nurturing Xu Tianxi shouldn't follow traditional Soul Engineer thinking. He needed to give him the greatest room for development, encouraging him to advance equally on both the Soul Master and Soul Engineer paths.
While Sword Maniac was crazy, he was also the unshakeable chief disciple of the Practical Control Soul Tool Department. He was indeed a good opponent.
Xuan Ziwen found it difficult to stop them.
Standing behind Xuan Ziwen, the female student wearing thin-rimmed glasses seemed to be seeing Xu Tianxi and Ji Juechen's grand battle for the first time. The sight of a four-ring Soul Master fighting a six-ring Soul Master filled her with astonishment. She rubbed her eyes and asked,
"Teacher Xuan, isn't Junior Brother Kong our Sun Moon Empire's Millennium First Soul Engineer Genius, known as Sure-shot with Dual Guns? How can he fight Ji Juechen without using Soul Guided Devices?"
Xuan Ziwen turned back to look at Ju Zi, waving his hand casually as he said,
"You don't know, but Tianxi is a dual talent, both a Soul Master and a Soul Engineer. It's just that he usually keeps a low profile and rarely displays his true strength in front of others."
With that, Xuan Ziwen gave Ju Zi a meaningful smile, then said seriously,
"I can tell you that he is the future strongest expert of the Sun Moon Empire, groomed by certain high-ranking individuals in the imperial family. He will be a towering pillar, a Sea Stabilizing Divine Needle, decades from now, so his growth path is naturally unique. This is absolutely confidential, so you must not speak of it, or I won't be able to protect you!"
Xuan Ziwen knew that his student had some connection with Crown Prince Xu Tianran. Her accidentally witnessing Xu Tianxi's true strength was a huge surprise, and he needed to make amends.
Were there any figures in the imperial family greater than Kong Deming? Probably not.
Additionally, he knew that Xu Tianxi would send gifts to Xu Sheng, the legion commander of the First Soul Engineer Legion stationed in the Ming Dou Mountain Range, during holidays. He had even given away valuable items like Mystic Water Pills, along with other rare elixirs and herbs.
Initially, Xu Sheng was hesitant to accept, at most taking some tonics beneficial to the younger generation in his family. However, after learning from Xuan Ziwen that Xu Tianxi had become a "Guan You Sect Disciple" under Elder Kong, he no longer held back. Xu Sheng would accept any gift Xu Tianxi sent and even write thank-you letters to foster their relationship.
Runded up, Xu Sheng, this frontier general with a good relationship with Xu Tianxi, also thought highly of him.
An eight-level Soul Engineer and a legion commander could certainly be considered a high-ranking imperial figure.
Ju Zi's heart trembled. Her delicate skin, so soft it seemed water could be squeezed from it, instantly turned pale. This, this, she had only followed her teacher to help a junior brother with research experiments. How had she stumbled upon such terrifying secrets?
The Crown Prince had indeed asked her to try to recruit this new Millennium First Soul Engineer Genius of the Sun Moon Empire, but he had never told her that he was an all-around War God!
If he could fight evenly with Sword Maniac at four rings, what would happen at five or six rings? Would he directly battle Soul Sages and Soul Douluo?
Wait, could it be that even the Crown Prince didn't know his true capabilities? Was this junior brother's confidentiality level that high?
Realizing that imperial bigwigs were nearby, Ju Zi secretly made a decision to keep everything she saw today buried deep within her. The Crown Prince himself didn't know, so why should she rush to betray her junior brother?
This junior brother was quite easy to get along with. He'd sweetly call her "Senior Sister Ju Zi," and he'd bury himself in cultivation and research, occasionally helping out when asked without refusing. His character was truly excellent.
In contrast, the Crown Prince outwardly feigned respect for talent while being sinister and calculating behind the scenes—hmm, the difference was a tad significant.
Ju Zi wasn't a naive girl either. From Teacher Xuan's attitude, she could tell that Junior Brother Tianxi had incredibly powerful backing. To say something disrespectful, whether the Crown Prince could ascend the throne was still unknown, but this individual becoming the future strongest expert of the Sun Moon Empire seemed to be a certainty.
She had seen Xu Tianxi interact with the two geniuses from the Hongchen Family. Xiao Hongchen and Xu Tianxi were like mischievous friends, and Meng Hongchen's gaze would fall on Xu Tianxi at least eight out of ten times, the implications of which were obvious. And the Dean seemed to have no objection either.
With the Hongchen Family, Teacher Xuan Ziwen, and other high-ranking imperial figures protecting him, Ju Zi could almost see a new star rising with unstoppable momentum.
"Oh, if only I had a talent as formidable as yours, Junior Brother, I wouldn't have to worry about revenge. If I cultivated to become a Titled Douluo, I could even assassinate the White Tiger Duke in the Star Luo Empire and take his head."
Watching Xu Tianxi's young, vibrant, and powerful figure, the Empress War God Ju Zi thought of her own talent and great vendetta. While feeling a pang of jealousy, she also felt like crying.
Her Martial Soul was an orange, a genuine Food System Soul Master. Even if she cultivated to Titled Douluo, she would have no combat power.
Furthermore, her talent was inherently poor. Her current cultivation was largely due to the power of elixirs.
The path of a Soul Engineer was also not easy, at least not enough to allow her to cultivate to the point of assassinating White Tiger Duke Dai Hao. To get revenge, she had to gain Xu Tianran's trust and find a way to command the army, then march on Star Luo.
The Crown Prince was ruthless, but his ambition to achieve great things was genuine. Ju Zi was certain that if he ascended the throne, he would definitely launch a war to unify the former Douluo Three Kingdoms, wiping away past humiliations.
However, he currently didn't have many powerful supporters, and his lower body being paralyzed was a huge drawback.
His position wasn't very stable; Ju Zi even suspected whether the Crown Prince still had the ability to produce heirs. For an emperor to have no sons was a grave matter. She wondered how the Crown Prince would handle this big problem in the future—would he adopt a child from an imperial clan relative, or use some other means?
Just as Ju Zi was lost in thought about the future difficulties of a certain Wheelchair Crown Prince, the battle between Xu Tianxi and Ji Juechen was already nearing its end.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Fists clashed against sword gleams, colliding three times in quick succession. Centered on their point of impact, the air within a three-meter radius was compressed into a visible spherical shockwave, a truly spectacular sight, impossible to look away from.
As the spherical shockwave dissipated, both combatants were sent flying backward. Xu Tianxi used the wind and lightning elements to dissipate the force, retreating nearly thirty meters before flipping in mid-air and landing, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Ji Juechen protected himself with his sword intent, leaving a hundred-meter-long gouge in the ground. His sword-gripping hands were bleeding profusely, the bones even visible beneath the skin.
At first glance, Xu Tianxi seemed to have the upper hand, but at this moment, Xu Tianxi dared not relax in the slightest. He clearly sensed that Sword Maniac's sword intent was still climbing, having reached yet another new peak.
"Everyone else's condition deteriorates the more they fight, but you just get more energetic the more you fight. It's too absurd—"
Xu Tianxi wiped the blood from his lips, tasting a metallic sweetness, and stared at Ji Juechen with wary eyes.
He had seen many geniuses, and their fighting prowess would decline with the consumption of Soul Power, Spiritual Power, and physical stamina. Only Ji Juechen was an exception; as long as his sword intent wasn't extinguished, he wouldn't be significantly affected.
Ji Juechen looked at his hands, which were almost devoid of blood, and knew his body was nearing its limit. He suddenly raised his head, looking at Xu Tianxi with burning eyes:
"I have one last sword strike left. This is a rudimentary form, so be careful."
"One last sword strike?"
Xu Tianxi's eyelid twitched. This Sword Maniac, who knows what he's researched now? he thought, then loudly declared:
"Alright! Go all out. It'll be a good chance to test my new Soul Skill!"
With that, his body vibrated, and the disguised two yellow, two purple Soul Ring configuration rose from beneath his feet.
In the entire Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, only the three members of the Hongchen Family knew about his previous version of Soul Skills. The four-black version remained unknown to anyone.
Ji Juechen raised an eyebrow: "You're going to use a Soul Skill?"
Xu Tianxi smiled: "Indeed. This Soul Skill of mine is defensive, but I don't know its limits. It's a perfect opportunity to have you, a peerless Sword Maniac of slaughter, test its quality."
Ji Juechen nodded at his words. Such a request was easy to fulfill: "Alright! Then wait a moment, I need to charge up for a bit."
The smile on Xu Tianxi's face froze. Wait, you still need to charge up? Are you afraid you won't be able to split me open and send me to the campus infirmary?
If you injure me, watch out for the Hongchen siblings, they'll hit you with a Martial Soul Fusion Technique and send you to the infirmary to keep me company while I get an IV drip.
However, since the words were already out, Xu Tianxi naturally couldn't go back on them. He saw his internal energy sink, his spiritual essence contained, and his Fourth Soul Ring, which drifted gracefully and contained a layer of gray energy, suddenly began to pulsate, ready to unleash its power.
On the other side, Ji Juechen's charge lasted a full five seconds. His handsome face looked terrifyingly pale, as if all the blood had been drained from it.
Has he poured all his Soul Power into it? Xu Tianxi's vigilance intensified. He flicked his sleeve, and Hongchen Blessing was already in his right hand.
In his previous battles, he had always struck like lightning, fiercely aggressive. The most important reason for this wasn't that he enjoyed fighting that way, but that he simply dared not give Ji Juechen time to charge up.
If given enough time, the consequences would be unimaginable. If Xu Tianxi didn't have confidence in his Fourth Soul Skill, he would have fled in reverence by now.
"Be care...ful...!"
Ji Juechen struggled to raise his sword and speak, then heavily unleashed this charged strike. A gray light swept out like a bolt of silk. What was peculiar was that there was no Soul Power fluctuation whatsoever when it appeared.
Xu Tianxi's hair stood on end. Without any hesitation, he lit up his Soul Ring: "Fourth Soul Skill, Moon God's Protection!"
The sky suddenly dimmed, and a dark, full moon descended. Wisps of cloud-like moonlight scattered down, forming layers of swirling bright light that protected Xu Tianxi's entire body.
Subtly, an impossibly tall gray phantom seemed to appear behind Xu Tianxi. It was a protective light-shadow he had condensed from his Spiritual Power and Soul Power, supporting a massive spherical shield.
At that very moment, the gray sword light struck, heavily cleaving down upon this shield!
-----------
Translation by: randomtranslator.com
Read 2500+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: randomtranslator.com