Chapter 346: Sparring (Part I)

A bone-chilling cold permeated the seawater; Xiaobai's massive white figure was frozen within the water, her enormous body looking somewhat comical.

A full minute later, a series of explosive sounds erupted from the ice-blue frost, and cracks spread rapidly. After the time it took for three more deep breaths, with a 'bang', the massive blue ice shattered into powder and exploded. Xiaobai's body had already broken free, rolling once in the seawater. Accelerating instantly, she darted hundreds of meters away before turning back to look at Ye Lingling in the air.

"I'm not fighting anymore, I'm not fighting a freak like you," came Xiaobai's dissatisfied voice. "The suppression your attributes have over me is too exaggerated. Although our soul power differs, this gap in attributes is simply not something that can be made up for by a difference in soul power."

Ye Lingling smiled faintly and said, "I have Sister Xue and Sister Bing to thank for that."

Xiaobai shook her head. "Lingling, your martial soul is not purely Ultimate Ice; it contains at least two ultimate attributes. Besides Ultimate Ice, there is also Ultimate Water. Beyond that, I can also sense a vast aura within it; this power definitely does not originate from Bingdi or Xuedi. That is the power of your martial soul itself."

"Although three days is a bit short, with the freakish level of your martial soul, it is not impossible to defeat those seven guys. With my strength, I can't help you anymore, so I won't accompany you in training."

Ye Lingling nodded. "I've troubled you during this time, Xiaobai."

"I'm off, I'm off, the seawater here is truly too cold." After speaking, Xiaobai turned her body directly and, with a few flashes, dove into the deep sea, her speed significantly slower than usual.

Stepping on the water to turn it into ice, with a few flashes, Ye Lingling returned to the shore.

"Why did Xiaobai leave?" Zhu Zhuqing and Dugu Yan approached and asked.

Ye Lingling helplessly repeated what Xiaobai had just said.

Zhu Zhuqing and Dugu Yan's expressions were also somewhat helpless.

"Then shall we spar with each other?" Zhu Zhuqing suddenly suggested.

Shi Quan smiled at this moment and said, "Shall I practice with you?"

"That's not impossible!" Hearing this, the three women looked at Shi Quan in unison. They all knew that Shi Quan's strength had always been very high, but it had been several years since he last showed his skills, and they were very curious about exactly how strong he was now.

Moreover, after returning, Shi Quan spent most of his time meditating, but strangely, they did not feel any soul power fluctuations when he meditated, which inevitably made everyone all the more curious.

What they did not know was that when Shi Quan meditated, he was mostly comprehending the power of the Sea of Consciousness World, so naturally, there would be no soul power fluctuations.

Now, a large number of souls entered the Sea of Consciousness World every day, and Shi Quan's two clones had been practicing and managing the souls in the Sea of Consciousness World.

"So, are you planning to come at me together, or one by one?" Shi Quan smirked.

"In your dreams." The three women huffed, "We aren't weak."

"I'll go first." Zhu Zhuqing, who had first proposed the spar, stepped out and said directly, "Start!"

As soon as the words fell, Zhu Zhuqing's figure moved, and a blood-colored light erupted suddenly.

The Killing God Domain was activated, and everything around them turned blood-colored.

Killing God Domain: Blade of the Killing God! The cold killing intent sliced over like a sharp sword.

With a lift of his hand and a phantom grasp, the Dragon Spine Xuanyuan appeared in Shi Quan's hand. Soul power condensed, and he thrust his sword out. Brilliant golden light and blood-colored light collided fiercely before dissipating, though the Killing God Domain also shrouded Shi Quan at this moment.

Zhu Zhuqing's figure had already transformed into the Nether, quietly arriving at Shi Quan's rear left. Blood-colored light adhered to her Dark Gold Dreadclaw as she slashed toward the position of Shi Quan's lower back. The position Zhu Zhuqing chose was extremely tricky; Shi Quan held his sword in his right hand, making his rear-left defense the slowest, and once the waist area was struck, his strength would inevitably be significantly reduced.

With Shi Quan's reaction speed, he could naturally react to Zhu Zhuqing's attack. He relaxed his right hand, and the Xuanyuan in his hand instantly split into three, dividing into three sword shadows. The speed was incredibly fast, and the condensed sword blades struck simultaneously against the Dark Gold Dreadclaws on Zhu Zhuqing's hands and the Evil God Thorn hidden behind her.

Facing Shi Quan, Zhu Zhuqing was still very serious. As soon as she came out, she used her two great External Spirit Bones. While the Dark Gold Dreadclaw appeared to be the primary means of attack, she actually had the Evil God Thorn, which resembled a venomous snake, hidden behind her.

A harsh clashing sound rang out; the sharp Dragon Spine Xuanyuan was not inferior to Zhu Zhuqing's Dark Gold Dreadclaw in either hardness or attack intensity.

Failing to land a hit, Zhu Zhuqing's figure immediately submerged into the domain.

The Dragon Spine Xuanyuan split and then merged back into one. Shi Quan's figure became eerily translucent and then disappeared; within the entire Killing God Domain, it seemed as if only this long sword remained.

Where his mind reached, soul power condensed. Under the surging golden light, a turbulent aura churned within the Killing God Domain. The Dragon Spine Xuanyuan erupted with an extremely sharp aura, causing the entire Killing God Domain to stir along with it.

Zhu Zhuqing's mind was shaken. Although she did not know how Shi Quan had disappeared within her own domain, she knew she could not let the Dragon Spine Xuanyuan continue to stir her domain.

"First Soul Skill, Nether Thrust!"

After absorbing the God-Bestowed Soul Ring, Zhu Zhuqing's first soul ring had already reached the ten-thousand-year level. After completing four of the Top Eight Trials, it had increased her age by several thousand years.

As her sharp claws extended, her ultimate speed, like Teleportation, brought her directly in front of the Dragon Spine Xuanyuan, and she thrust fiercely.

The sword body turned, light condensed, and he thrust out with a sharp aura that seemed as if it would pierce the sky.

"Second Soul Skill, Nether Hundred Claws."

Zhu Zhuqing did not panic at all. The first strike was merely a probe; facing the counterattack, the second soul ring beneath Zhu Zhuqing suddenly lit up.

Her rapidly spinning body broke through the radiance by force and struck the Dragon Spine Xuanyuan fiercely.

But strangely, no matter how fierce Zhu Zhuqing's attack was, her claws landing on the Dragon Spine Xuanyuan—aside from the splashing sparks—did not feel like they had hit anything or caused any substantial damage.

"What is going on?" Zhu Zhuqing's heart tightened. Her rich combat experience allowed her to discover the anomaly immediately. Her spinning figure stopped abruptly, and her fifth soul ring lit up as she used Teleportation to disappear from where she stood.

Almost the moment she disappeared, the radiance dissipating from the Dragon Spine Xuanyuan suddenly erupted. Countless golden lights exploded like rain. It was like a sun bursting, emitting countless golden light shadows.

At this same moment, the surrounding blood-colored light disappeared entirely, vanishing without any warning.

The scattered golden threads caused a series of air explosions, and the powerful energy swept outward, directly blasting a massive crater into the beach...

(End of chapter)