Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 502: Chapter 502: Terrifying Battle

He’s so clueless, Xiao Xiao complained inwardly, a flash of resentment crossing her exquisitely beautiful, fair face.

She knew her young master was utterly oblivious to a woman’s heart, yet paradoxically, this very trait made him all the more appealing to women.

Eager to show Ye Qingchen her true strength, Xiao Xiao brandished the Vajra Silk, and the spiritual energy in the air once again gathered toward her. As a key disciple of the nine-star sect, the Wuji Immortal Palace, Xiao Xiao had long ago mastered how to harness nature’s spiritual energy for her own use.

However, her ten-star Vermilion Bird Holy Soul was usually enough to crush most opponents, so she rarely needed to borrow nature’s spiritual energy. This led others to believe her power relied solely on the Holy Soul, causing them to overlook her own innate talent.

”Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens!”

As Xiao Xiao channeled her power, the phantom of the Vermilion Bird reappeared in the sky. It was more solid than before, and the flames it radiated were even more scorching. Its power had at least doubled.

Countless flames rained down from the sky once more. But Ye Qingchen, now using Fen Tian’s Earth Fire, was like a fish in water amidst the blaze. He wielded the Double Pupil Sword, shattering the flames that fell around him. Protected by Fen Tian’s Earth Fire, the aftershocks from the explosions couldn’t cause him any substantial harm.

Xiao Xiao had anticipated this, so she moved for the first time right after unleashing Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens.

Her speed was incredible. In the blink of an eye, she was in front of Ye Qingchen, her Vajra Silk snaking toward him.

Ye Qingchen’s heart leaped in surprise. I didn’t expect her to be this fast! If I get entangled by the Vajra Silk, I’ll have to face that sky full of flames head-on. Even with the protection of Fen Tian’s Earth Fire, I’ll undoubtedly be gravely injured!

At this thought, Ye Qingchen didn’t dare hesitate. He pushed his Fire Spirit Charm Shadow to its absolute limit, leaving an afterimage in his place as he dodged Xiao Xiao’s attack.

After her strike missed, Xiao Xiao shattered Ye Qingchen’s afterimage and shifted her stance once more. Her Vajra Silk danced around her like a celestial maiden amidst the flames—ethereal and noble.

Unlike before, she now chose to use the Vajra Silk to defend against Ye Qingchen’s unpredictable swordsmanship, while the Vermilion Bird True Fire continued to rain down from above. This greatly limited the space Ye Qingchen could move in. After all, Fire Spirit Charm Shadow relied on extreme speed to evade detection, creating the illusion of having vanished.

But in reality, Ye Qingchen was still within the arena. Facing the omnipresent Vermilion Bird True Fire, launching a sneak attack using his afterimages was next to impossible.

Ye Qingchen couldn’t help but admire Xiao Xiao’s clever response. By defending with the Vajra Silk while attacking with the Vermilion Bird True Fire, she achieved a true balance of offense and defense, leaving no openings to exploit.

Ye Qingchen’s vanishing state couldn’t be maintained for long; he would inevitably reappear within a few breaths’ time. As long as Xiao Xiao held out for those few moments, she would have effectively countered most of his Fire Spirit Charm Shadow.

Undoubtedly, Xiao Xiao’s plan was perfect. But she had overlooked one crucial fact: she was facing Ye Qingchen.

In truth, Ye Qingchen’s greatest trump card was his Dual Pupil Martial Soul, a secret he had always kept hidden. He had activated it at the very start of the battle, constantly searching for a flaw in her technique as they fought.

When Ye Qingchen vanished using the afterimage, his Dual Pupil Martial Soul allowed him to keenly perceive a faint connection between Xiao Xiao and the Vermilion Bird phantom in the sky. It was a concealed bridge formed from spiritual power. Without his Dual Pupil Martial Soul, Ye Qingchen would never have discovered it, even if his own spiritual power were ten times greater than hers. But he had.

Therefore, after he vanished, his true target was not just Xiao Xiao, but that bridge of spiritual power as well. As long as I can break her Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens, the pressure on me will be more than halved!

”Shadow-extinction Sword Technique!”

Ye Qingchen didn’t use another afterimage to mislead her. Instead, he appeared directly behind Xiao Xiao, unleashing three hidden streams of Sword Qi at her.

Through the feedback from the surrounding Vermilion Bird True Fire, Xiao Xiao instantly detected the hidden Sword Qi and swung the Vajra Silk to block it.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The three streams of hidden Sword Qi struck her Vajra Silk sequentially from the same direction. Even though she was wielding a low-grade artifact and using an Earth Rank Martial Technique to defend, she was still blown back several dozen steps, right to the edge of the arena.

Just as Xiao Xiao thought she had blocked his attack and was feeling a bit smug, a loud bang echoed from the sky.

BOOM!

With the explosion, invisible fragments rained down from mid-air—the remnants of the spiritual power bridge that Ye Qingchen’s sword had just severed.

Everyone had always assumed that three streams of hidden Sword Qi were Ye Qingchen’s limit. What they didn’t know was that, empowered by Fen Tian’s Earth Fire, he could now condense four. Furthermore, as his strength grew, he would be able to condense even more. If he could also master the technique of infusing Five Elements attribute energy into his Shadow-extinction Sword Technique, then Elder Yang’s claim that it could rival a Heaven Rank Martial Technique would prove to be no empty boast.

With its connection to Xiao Xiao severed, the Vermilion Bird phantom began to dissipate. Its energy erupted into a terrifying storm of flames that bombarded the arena. The arena now resembled a hell on earth, with fire raining down ceaselessly, scorching the ground beyond recognition. Even the Defensive Array guarding the arena began to waver.

Faced with the rain of fire, Ye Qingchen pushed his Fire Spirit Charm Shadow to its absolute limit, constantly dodging to avoid a direct hit.

At this point, the organizers hurriedly summoned Array Masters to reinforce the arena’s formation, preventing the battle’s aftershocks from escaping and harming innocent bystanders.

Because the spiritual power bridge had been severed, Xiao Xiao suffered a backlash. Blood trickled from her mouth, and she was left temporarily unable to move. Fortunately, these flames were the Vermilion Bird’s own essence. Not only would they not harm Xiao Xiao, but they even began to autonomously heal her injuries and restore her depleted energy.

The Array Masters reinforcing the formation felt the apocalyptic power raging within the arena and couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. A battle this terrifying is unprecedented in the history of the New Disciple Tournament!