Li Zhexian held the Qinglian Sword angled toward the ground.
His cold eyes fixed on the red light of Charm Demon as it was bound within the sword formation.
In his pitch-black eyes, icy killing intent surged.
Four completely different sword intents ran wild and rampaged within the formation.
It was as if the three of the Golden Generation were in hell.
Yan's Flame Lord Martial Soul was known for its formidable defenses.
Yet under the relentless bombardment of the Blazing Frost Sword Intent, it began to emit the sound of fracturing under unbearable strain.
Fire-and-ice energy pierced directly into his body.
He let out a muffled groan, blood spilling from the corner of his lips.
Hu Liena and Xie Yue, fused into a single androgynous figure with flying scarlet hair,
darted desperately through the storm of sword shadows.
The twin moon blades in their hands had doubled in size, whirling into a near-impenetrable curtain of steel.
Clangs and crashes rang out endlessly.
At first, they managed to endure.
But soon—
the formless wind blades and the destructive might of thunder pressed them into a frantic defense, leaving them battered and disheveled.
Bloody gashes already streaked across their body.
"Damn it!"
The overlapping male-and-female voice growled, filled with fury.
"How can a third Spirit Ability possess such power?!"
"We can't die in here!"
"Yan! Help us break the formation!"
Red light surged outward from their body—
the domain effect of the Martial Soul Fusion Ability.
Though the red light was restrained by the sword formation,
wherever it touched,
the raging sword intent visibly slowed.
Even the twelve Qinglian swords that formed the foundation of the formation trembled faintly.
"Strike one point!" Hu Liena and Xie Yue shouted in unison.
She flung her arms wide, driving the colossal moon blades into a frenzy, spinning them until they became two blood-red discs—like twin moons, whirling to cut the heavens.
"Full Moon!"
This was Xie Yue's self-created Spirit Ability, one that had once slain a rank sixty-eight Spirit Emperor!
The twin blood moons crashed against the sword qi,
a screech of metal tearing the sky,
then swung with unrelenting force at the formation's barrier!
At the same time—
Yan let out a beast-like roar.
The black light from his profound fifth Spirit Ring burst into a brilliant light.
"Fifth Spirit Ability—Flame Lord's Wrath!"
The shattered ground beneath him erupted, magma surging into his right arm,
condensing into a molten limb more than two meters long, dripping with searing lava.
The violent heat warped the very air.
"Break for me!!"
Empowered by the fusion domain's suppression effect,
the combined strike of the Golden Generation's three geniuses slammed against the sword formation's barrier.
Boom——!!!
The arena shook with an earth-shattering roar.
The twelve Qinglian swords shuddered violently.
Light of countless elements clashed and annihilated in a chaotic storm.
The Golden Generation spat blood in unison—
yet their eyes burned with ruthless determination as they poured in every drop of Spirit Power they could muster.
"Break——!"
Finally—
The brittle crack of shattering glass rang clear across the arena.
Ka—
Ka—
Clang——!!!
The barrier of the formation fractured, collapsing into shards.
Fragments of sword aura blasted outward, slicing deep ravines across the once-solid arena floor.
Before countless stunned gazes,
three figures tumbled out from the dispersing red light, battered and broken.
The Martial Soul Fusion of Hu Liena and Xie Yue had been forcibly torn apart, leaving them separated.
Hu Liena dropped to one knee, her fox tail drenched in vivid scarlet.
Xie Yue's arms trembled uncontrollably, cracks spreading across both of his moon blades.
Yan's lava armor lay in ruins, his chest cleaved open by a sword scar deep enough to expose bone.
"Yan! Behind you!"
Hu Liena and Xie Yue cried out in hoarse desperation, ignoring their own agony as they lunged toward him.
Yan spun around in panic—
Only to see a face, handsome and sharp, shrouded in frost.
His soul nearly fled his body.
Instinctively, he swung up his molten right fist,
pouring the last of his power into a strike aimed at Li Zhexian's head.
But Li Zhexian did not dodge.
He raised his own right arm instead.
Ice-blue and crimson-red light spiraled together, arcs of lightning dancing across his limb, sheathing it in an instant.
Then he punched.
Boom——!!!
Where their fists collided,
a shockwave of violent force erupted outward.
Fragments of rock and molten lava blasted into the air like a storm of arrows.
"You?!"
Yan's eyes nearly burst from their sockets.
In horror, he saw his massive lava arm shattering inch by inch, starting from the fist and crawling upward.
Bang——!
Bang——!
Bang——!
Explosions rang out in rapid succession!
That lava was his flesh and blood while in Martial Soul state!
Under Li Zhexian's single punch,
his entire right arm's flesh was pulverized to nothing.
"Arghhhhhhhh—!"
Yan's face twisted into something monstrous.
His right arm was now bare white bone, dangling scraps of flesh and blood, agony ripping through him like fire.
He looked at Hu Liena and Xie Yue with desperate eyes.
"Save me!!"
At this moment, Hu Liena and Xie Yue had already attacked from behind Li Zhexian.
"Li Zhexian! How dare you?!" Hu Liena roared, her fox tail cracking down like a steel whip.
Xie Yue's eyes gleamed with murderous intent, his moon blades slicing the air straight toward Li Zhexian's throat.
Clang—!!!
From Li Zhexian's back, sword qi erupted skyward at the nape of his neck.
Four Qinglian sword, each carrying a different sword intent, materialized out of nothing, crossing behind him.
They blocked both fox tail and moon blades.
The unleashed sword intent was so overwhelming it sent Hu Liena and Xie Yue staggering backward, blood surging in their chests.
"Go."
With a thought, the four Qinglian swords streaked forward as streams of light, slashing toward Hu Liena and Xie Yue.
Then, his cold gaze turned toward Yan, who was retreating again and again from pain and fear.
"I admit—"
Yan's voice broke in panic.
But before the words were fully spoken—
Shhhk——!
A gleam of icy-blue sword light flashed.
Yan's entire right arm was severed at the shoulder, soaring high before crashing down.
"I told you…"
Li Zhexian's voice was cool, detached.
"I'm taking this arm."
Yan clutched at the bloody stump, screaming as he stumbled back.
Hot blood gushed through his fingers like a fountain.
Li Zhexian's eyes blazed. With two fingers, he drew a line in the air.
An invisible qi swords materialized, pierced Yan's remaining left arm, and hurled him backward—
nailing him hard into the arena wall.
The Golden Generation's Yan—eliminated.
With a turn of the Qinglian Sword's edge,
Li Zhexian wasted not a breath.
His figure blurred into a streak of azure light, lunging straight for the staggering Xie Yue.
The sight froze the entire audience into silence.
Every spectator gaped, their hearts clenched by two crashing waves of emotion:
One, terror at Li Zhexian's overwhelming strength.
Two, dread—at the audacity of this man who, under Spirit Hall's roof, before the Pope's very eyes, showed no mercy to the Golden Generation, cutting them down one by one.
Let none forget—
This was Spirit City.
And on the high platform above, the Pope watched every move.
Not only Spirit Masters of Spirit City felt their scalps crawl at Li Zhexian's defiance.
Even those from Heaven Dou trembled with unease.
"This…"
The smile froze on Bai Baoshan's face, replaced by deep worry.
This was the second time!
The second time Li Zhexian had publicly provoked the Pope's authority before the masses!
Too reckless!
"Shouldn't… shouldn't go this far…"
Bai Baoshan muttered with a pained sigh.
"Dean Bai, forgive me—but I cannot agree!"
At the sidelines, the lone remaining team member Osler frowned tightly.
"I believe Zhexian is absolutely right!"
"What, should he bow politely to the Golden Generation, hold back his blade—"
"—and expect the Pope to spare him, not to strike at him again without cause?"
"Dean, have you truly lost all of your edge?"
At that, Bai Baoshan could only give a bitter smile and shake his head.
In his heart, only one thought remained:
No matter what, I must bring Li Zhexian and the Emperor Team safely back to Heaven Dou—
with this hard-won championship glory intact.