Chapter 356: The Elephant Armor Sect’s Tactics, Myriad Ranges and Countless Peaks

The grudge between the Elephant Armor Sect and the Sky Sword Sect was well-known among many sects on the continent.

A battle fueled by such enmity was sure to be spectacular.

For a moment, the audience eagerly anticipated this match.

Of course, what they were most excited about was the sect leader battle between the Snow Mountain Sect and the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.

A showdown between two Super Douluo powerhouses promised to be a feast for the eyes.

Moreover, if Elder Tian Chenxing faced off against Gu Rong in the elder battles, it would also be an intense clash between Super Douluo-level experts.

As soon as the match between the Black Tiger Sect and the Wind Sword Sect concluded, the audience erupted in chants of "Sect Leader Battle!"

In the match between the Elephant Armor Sect and the Sky Sword Sect, only the sect leader battle held any real appeal. The audience hoped this match would end quickly so they could witness the upcoming peak showdown.

After the arena was cleared, the referee announced, "Elephant Armor Sect versus Sky Sword Sect. Please choose whether to begin with the elder battle or the sect leader battle."

"Sect Leader Battle!"

Not giving either sect a chance to respond, the audience answered for them.

Dugu Bo whispered softly to Ning Tianchen, "The elder battle is safer. Me and the other elders can probe their hidden strength. Even if we lose, we'll at least understand their tactics."

The sect leader battle carried significant weight in the ranking battles. Without knowing the opponent's methods, the risks were too unpredictable. If Ning Tianchen faltered, all the pressure would fall onto the elder battles.

And the elder battles were riddled with uncertainties—there was no guarantee of winning all three matches.

At the same time, Tian Guozhen and Chen Xin sent voice transmissions to Ning Tianchen, urging them to start with the elder battle.

The Elephant Armor Sect's behavior was clearly suspicious. To secure a top-three position, the Sky Sword Sect had to proceed cautiously.

"Alright!"

Ning Tianchen nodded in agreement.

Before he could rise to express his stance, Bibi Dong on the main platform spoke first. "Since the audience's enthusiasm is so strong, let's start with the sect leader battle. I'd also like to see what kind of sparks will fly between the leaders of these two peak sects."

Her words were met with thunderous cheers from the audience.

As the host of the conference, Bibi Dong indeed had the authority to arrange the matches. Moreover, her decision received unanimous approval from the spectators.

If anyone dared to object, they would undoubtedly be challenging the Pope's authority.

Even before Bibi Dong could speak, the sheer volume of criticism from the audience alone could drown them.

"Damn it, we've been outmaneuvered."

Dugu Bo angrily stood up, intending to protest.

Ning Tianchen tugged at his sleeve and said gravely, "It's useless. This is the Spirit Hall's home turf. They must have planned everything beforehand. The Sky Sword Sect has just been established—if public opinion turns against us, we'll face great difficulties in the coming years. Don't forget, the Meishi City business has just begun, and we can't afford any setbacks."

Though Ning Tianchen disliked being manipulated by others, the current situation left them with no choice.

The Spirit Hall might have been waiting for them to slip up. With the Spirit Hall's influence among soul masters, a verbal assault against them could lead to unimaginable consequences.

For now, they could only adapt to whatever came their way!

The Elephant Armor Sect immediately voiced their agreement. "We support His Holiness the Pope's suggestion."

Ning Tianchen didn't respond but instead flashed onto the stage. Turning toward Bibi Dong's direction, he extended his thumb.

While it appeared to signal agreement with Bibi Dong's decision, it was also a form of silent protest.

Bibi Dong paid no heed to his thoughts, leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed, completely ignoring his gesture.

Huyan Zhen, rubbing his fists, stepped onto the stage with a brazen smile. "Ning Tianchen, the humiliation the Sky Sword Sect inflicted upon us last time will be repaid a hundredfold today!"

Ning Tianchen didn't even glance at him, merely responding indifferently, "Then let's see what tricks you, Sect Leader Huyan, have up your sleeve."

With nothing more to say, the battle began!

Huyan Zhen struck first, pressing aggressively.

"Third Soul Skill, Crushing Pressure!"

Huyan Zhen's massive body leapt into the air, locking onto Ning Tianchen's position before rapidly diving down.

Ning Tianchen planted the Seven Kill Sword into the ground in front of him. Thousands of spirit swords split off, forming a barrier of sword energy around him.

Huyan Zhen's body slammed heavily into the barrier but failed to shatter it.

"It's not over yet!"

With a loud roar, the soul-guided device on Huyan Zhen's finger emitted a faint glow. Immediately afterward, a crystal vial appeared in his hand.

Throwing the vial to the ground, he swiftly retreated.

At the same time, Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo acted, erecting a soul force barrier around the stage.

The instant the crystal vial shattered, the venomous mist trapped within spread rapidly, enveloping Ning Tianchen.

Seeing this, Huyan Zhen felt triumphant.

"Once infected with viper venom, one's soul power will drain away in a short time. What's a genius powerhouse? What's a Soul Douluo? It makes no difference!"

Below the stage, Yang Wudi furiously stood up, his Breaking Soul Spear martial soul manifesting in his hands.

He cursed loudly, "That's viper venom fog! Spirit Hall, what have you done to Yang Wushuang!"

Dugu Bo frowned deeply.

Viper venom fog was one of the inherited poisons of the Breaking Clan—he knew how devastating this toxin could be.

If Ning Tianchen were poisoned, he would almost certainly lose his ability to fight.

Furthermore, he was aware of the conflict between Yang Wudi and the Spirit Hall.

If Ning Tianchen were to meet with misfortune, storming the Spirit Hall wouldn't be out of the question!

Before they could take further action, a mocking laugh echoed from the stage.

"So this is where Sect Leader Huyan gets his confidence—preparing dirty tricks outside the rules, huh?"

Surrounded by a pink mist, Ning Tianchen calmly walked out of the toxic fog's range.

"Aromatic Silk Beauty Immortal Herb!"

Chrysanthemum Douluo exclaimed in shock, involuntarily turning his gaze toward Bibi Dong.

They hadn't anticipated that Ning Tianchen would have this trump card before the match.

But Bibi Dong remained calm and composed, clearly having prepared more than just this one tactic for Huyan Zhen.

Below the stage, Chen Xin's tension eased slightly.

Dugu Bo sighed in relief and pulled the agitated Yang Wudi back down. "Elder Yang, calm down for now. I deeply regret what happened to your brother, but we must trust the young man."

Yang Wudi glared fiercely at Bibi Dong's position before angrily sitting back down.

Upon realizing Huyan Zhen's underhanded tactics, the audience erupted in boos.

---

On the stage, Ning Tianchen shrugged. "It seems Sect Leader Huyan's actions don't win hearts."

Huyan Zhen crossed his arms, nonchalantly saying, "This isn't the Soul Master Tournament—it's the re-selection conference of the seven great sects. There's no rule stating contestants can't use means beyond their martial souls."

Chrysanthemum Douluo backed him up, saying, "Indeed, the conference imposes no restrictions on the participants. The match continues."

"Despicable!" Ning Rongrong slammed her hand on the armrest of her seat.

Dugu Bo sighed. "These are the rules. However, the young man's vigilance is commendable. Subsequent matches should pose no issue."

"Hmph, today we must thoroughly humiliate the Spirit Hall!"

The match continued.

Ning Tianchen chose to take the initiative.

Tucking the Aromatic Silk Beauty Immortal Herb into his pocket, he no longer worried about external toxins.

"Eighth Soul Skill, Sword Shadow Clone."

His blood-red hundred-thousand-year soul ring gleamed beneath his feet, and the morning sky seemed dyed crimson.

The power of a hundred-thousand-year soul skill was not to be underestimated.

Beside Ning Tianchen, a clone identical to him appeared.

The clone inherited all of Ning Tianchen's combat abilities and could fight independently as long as soul power sustained it.

One Ning Tianchen was already difficult for Huyan Zhen to handle. How could he possibly deal with two?

"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul True Body."

The Diamond Mammoth martial soul erupted, clad in thick armor.

With continuous roars, Huyan Zhen unexpectedly launched an aggressive attack, seemingly intent on going all out against Ning Tianchen.

Ning Tianchen sneered inwardly.

The clone created by his hundred-thousand-year soul skill wasn't just a simple duplicate.

His true body could swap positions with the clone, nearly placing him in an invincible position. Meanwhile, the clone was intangible, making it nearly impossible to destroy with ordinary means.

Both the true body and the clone raised the Seven Kill Sword, slicing through the sky.

Seven Kill Sword Technique, Annihilation Form!

Extermination of life, cutting through all things.

A powerful, fierce sword energy shot forth, seemingly intent on severing everything in its path.

"Eighth Soul Skill, Infinite Diamond!"

Countless diamonds condensed on the Diamond Mammoth martial soul, forming a thick layer of armor to resist Ning Tianchen's assault.

"Seven Kill Domain, activate!"

At the moment the sword energy shot out, a surge of sword intent radiated from Ning Tianchen's body, enveloping the entire arena.

Within the Seven Kill Domain, his attack power increased by seventy percent, while Huyan Zhen's attack strength was significantly suppressed.

With this dynamic shift, Huyan Zhen could only endure the relentless barrage without retaliating.

---

"Two domains!"

The powerful individuals from the Spirit Hall and those in the audience couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment.

It was already rare for an ordinary soul master to possess one domain, yet Ning Tianchen had two.

The title of the continent's number one genius was truly well-deserved.

"Haha, this is my grandson," Chen Xin proudly declared.

Two streams of sword energy slashed toward the Diamond Mammoth. Huyan Zhen's normally invincible eighth soul skill seemed to lose its effectiveness.

The two streams of sword energy crossed and easily broke through the diamond armor, leaving two deep gashes on Huyan Zhen's forehead.

The Annihilation Form, as the most powerful form of the Seven Kill Sword Technique, rivaled the eighth soul skill of a peak Soul Douluo in terms of sheer destructive force.

"I'm far inferior to him," Feng Bailong, watching from below the stage, murmured with a bitter smile.

Gravely injured, Huyan Zhen felt a wave of dizziness, his True Body state on the verge of collapsing.

Staggering a few steps, he nearly fell over.

Such a powerful attack also consumed a significant amount of Ning Tianchen's soul power.

However, since Huyan Zhen had broken the rules first, Ning Tianchen saw no reason to adhere to them either. If his soul power ran low, he could simply consume a Dragon Essence Leaf.

Suddenly, the soul-guided device on Huyan Zhen's finger glowed faintly, and a cannon-like soul-guided weapon appeared in his hand.

He channeled his soul power into the device, and a sphere of soul energy began to condense at the cannon's mouth, emitting an overwhelming aura.

"Die!" Huyan Zhen roared.

"An offensive-type soul-guided weapon!"

Ning Tianchen's heart jolted slightly; he hadn't expected the Spirit Hall to have such powerful artifacts.

And they had handed it over to Huyan Zhen so casually.

The power of a soul-guided weapon was directly tied to the user's soul power. Although Huyan Zhen was a peak Soul Douluo, due to the nature of his martial soul, his attack power fell far short of what a peak Soul Douluo's should be. The offensive soul-guided weapon compensated for this flaw.

However, Ning Tianchen remained completely calm.

His true body and clone were positioned far apart, and Huyan Zhen's cannon could only aim in one direction at a time.

By swapping positions with his clone, Ning Tianchen ensured that he wouldn't be in any real danger.

The power of the soul-guided cannon was terrifying. The moment it fired, the very atmosphere seemed to distort.

Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo immediately reinforced the soul barrier with all his might, fearing the devastating attack would leak out.

When the attack landed, it erupted in blinding light, sending up a mushroom cloud. The area fell silent.

Dugu Bo and others, who had been constantly monitoring the battlefield, finally let out a sigh of relief.

About a minute later, the commotion subsided. At the site of the original arena, a deep crater had been blasted, and Ning Tianchen's figure was nowhere to be seen.

"Is it over?"

The spectators exchanged bewildered glances, assuming Ning Tianchen had perished under the cannon's blast.

"Damn impressive."

Huyan Zhen sighed in admiration, collapsing onto the ground and gasping for breath.

Unfortunately, the soul-guided cannon, due to lack of maintenance, was now completely destroyed and unusable for a second round.

Still, being able to "eliminate" Ning Tianchen made it worth it.

Not long after, some sharp-eyed spectators noticed movement in the air and pointed upward. "Look, he's there!"

Looking up, they saw Ning Tianchen standing atop the Seven Kill Sword, his figure suspended in midair.

To avoid being caught in the cannon's wide and devastating range, he had flown into the air to evade the blast.

"What a pity. If I could've seized a fully intact high-grade soul-guided artifact, it would've been invaluable for soul-guided research," Ning Tianchen thought with slight regret.

The earlier attack from the soul-guided weapon had completely annihilated his clone, costing him a significant amount of soul power for nothing.

Huyan Zhen had thoroughly enraged him. Now, it was time for revenge.

"Evolved Skill of the Seven Kill Domain: Myriad Ranges, Countless Peaks!"

The Seven Kill Sword returned to his hand, and a pair of sword wings sprouted behind him, suspending Ning Tianchen in the air.

The blades on the sword wings fell off simultaneously, transforming into countless Seven Kill Swords.

These swords formed towering peaks of sword energy, as if ready to tear apart everything within the domain.

Huyan Zhen sensed movement above him and looked up, his eyes widening in terror.

"How is this possible? How did you escape?!"

On the main platform, Bibi Dong inwardly cursed, "Idiot!"

The tip of the Seven Kill Sword pointed directly at Huyan Zhen, and Ning Tianchen coldly stated, "Since you willingly act as the Spirit Hall's lapdog, then sacrifice yourself for your master!"

Countless streams of sword energy flowed through the domain like a serene yet deadly landscape painting.

Even the slightest contact with Huyan Zhen's body left countless gashes on him.

"No!"

Huyan Zhen gritted his teeth, attempting to use defensive soul skills to resist.

But every time a soul skill materialized, it was instantly shattered by the overwhelming torrent of sword energy.

There was no rule in the conference prohibiting killing.

What did it matter if he killed Huyan Zhen?

---

Bibi Dong's expression darkened, and she signaled subtly to Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo.

Huyan Zhen was a dog raised by the Spirit Hall. If they ignored his fate, other "dogs" might begin to doubt their loyalty.

No matter what, they had to save this dog—even if it meant breaking the rules!

"Eighth Soul Skill, Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts!"

Ghost Douluo's body transformed into countless ghostly shadows, rushing into the Seven Kill Domain to block the attacks on Huyan Zhen's behalf.

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