The voice of the bald marquis caught the attention of many, and they all turned to look in his direction.
Some of the allied forces' members who saw the bald marquis couldn't help but show strange expressions.
"This guy is Wu Xuan from the Qin Dynasty, known as the strongest in defense among all the marquises and generals of the Qin Dynasty. His martial soul's characteristic is 'Fortress of Steel,' which triples his soul power, physical body, and defensive martial techniques. Furthermore, when he's purely defending, his soul power consumption decreases by sixty percent."
In Lin Qian's mind, Fang Yiping's soul transmission echoed, explaining the background of this bald marquis.
"Your Majesty Lin, this guy is incredibly troublesome," remarked the Blood Spirit Valley elder floating beside Lin Qian, his brows furrowed in frustration. "Even with our enhanced strength, we still can't break through his turtle shell."
Lin Qian nodded slightly, gazing at Wu Xuan with a hint of excitement in his eyes. Such opponents were the most challenging and interesting.
"It seems you're very confident in your defense and believe I can't break through it, right?" As Lin Qian spoke, his imperial aura surged forth, pressing down on Wu Xuan with overwhelming force.
Although Wu Xuan's expression briefly changed, he quickly regained his composure. It was clear that Lin Qian's emperor's aura had little effect on him. His awakened realm and the defensive augmentation of his martial soul likely also bolstered his resistance to spiritual attacks.
"A truly perfect turtle shell of a martial soul, offering comprehensive defense," Lin Qian thought, impressed by Wu Xuan's impenetrable defense. Yet, the more formidable Wu Xuan's defense seemed, the more determined Lin Qian became to break it.
"Should I use double weapon armor fusion and arm the Emperor's Sword?" Lin Qian considered for a moment as he observed Wu Xuan's slightly smug expression. However, he quickly shook his head. "Revealing such a trump card too early could be detrimental. I need to be cautious."
Dismissing that idea, Lin Qian soon smiled as a plan formed in his mind. Since his current power wasn't enough to break through Wu Xuan's defense, he would simply increase his strength until he could smash through that turtle shell.
With that decision made, Lin Qian raised his right hand, summoning the yellow imperial soul power, which coalesced into a small dragon—only the width of a finger—that circled above his palm.
The small dragon then dove into a square base formed from the yellow soul power, solidifying into a form.
Nine Dragons Seal!
As soon as the Nine Dragons Seal took shape in Lin Qian's hand, his imperial aura grew even more intense, becoming almost tangible.
To the onlookers, Lin Qian no longer appeared as a young man but as a supreme ruler governing a vast empire—an emperor greater than any king or sovereign they had ever seen.
"Emperor…" The thought involuntarily surfaced in the minds of everyone present.
In the past, they had heard of the Qin Dynasty's Sovereigns and other nations' Great Kings, but they had never encountered the term "Emperor" before. Yet, somehow, they now understood it instinctively.
"Imperial Power!" Lin Qian's gaze remained fixed on Wu Xuan as he uttered these two words. In his right hand, four blood-red characters floated into view.
Blood Battle, Blood Thirst!
In his previous life, every player had their own talent skill tree, and Lin Qian's "Imperial Domination" skill tree began with the Nine Dragons Seal. Once the seal was formed, he could then unleash other imperial skills.
One such skill was Imperial Power, which allowed him to acquire the skills of allied troops within a thousand-mile radius.
For instance, Blood Battle's Blood Thirst, which increased strength by twenty percent after killing an enemy, up to a total of fifty percent—doubling his power entirely!
As Lin Qian completed the Imperial Power skill, the Nine Dragons Seal gradually dissipated, and his gaze shifted from Wu Xuan to another Qin Dynasty general who was battling an elder from the Xiaoyao Sect.
Boom!
The Blood Spirit Valley elder near Lin Qian felt a sudden burst of energy, and before he knew it, Lin Qian had vanished, streaking across the sky like crackling golden lightning toward the Xiaoyao Sect elder's location.
Zzzt, zzzt!
The sharp sound of electricity filled the air as Lin Qian traversed the battlefield in an instant, appearing behind the Xiaoyao Sect elder.
The elder barely had time to react before Lin Qian grabbed his shoulder with his right hand and yanked him backward with tremendous force.
The sudden, overwhelming strength left the elder no time to resist as he was thrown back, while Lin Qian advanced forward.
His black sword, Thunder Night, seemed to roar as thunderous sword energy, like a dragon, surged toward the Qin Dynasty general's face.
The golden thunder soul power surged like a river, engulfing the general's body in an instant.
Crackle…
When the golden lightning finally dissipated, there was no trace of the Qin Dynasty general. He had been completely obliterated by Lin Qian's strike, leaving no remains.
As Lin Qian hovered in mid-air, a layer of blood-red light enveloped him—a clear sign that Blood Thirst had taken effect.
Killing a Qin Dynasty awakened third-realm expert in one move shocked everyone nearby.
Even though the general had been weakened from his fight with the Xiaoyao Sect elder, the sheer power of Lin Qian's single strike was terrifying. After all, this was an awakened third-realm expert, not just some common soldier.
But while Lin Qian's attack appeared effortless, it was actually the result of his full strength, a mark of respect for his opponent.
"One down, four to go," Lin Qian muttered, his body once again enveloped in golden lightning as he charged toward another weakened Qin Dynasty awakened expert.
Seeing Lin Qian rushing toward him, the Qin Dynasty expert looked like a mouse that had seen a cat. He abandoned his current opponent and fled in panic.
Though this particular general was only at the awakened second realm, and his condition wasn't as depleted, it didn't matter. Lin Qian still killed him with five strikes, making the blood-red aura around him even more intense.
After taking down five of the Qin Dynasty's awakened experts, Lin Qian finally paused and turned his gaze back to the bald Wu Xuan.
"..." Wu Xuan gulped, then slapped his own mouth hard. "This mouth of mine really is a curse!"