Chapter 12: Su Cheng's Sword

Qian Renxue raised her eyebrows slightly.

Although she had just recently broken through level 30, she was still a whole realm higher than Su Cheng. Yet, her full-force strike had been blocked. Even though it seemed like he was struggling, it was still surprising.

She was amazed.

Then, another punch was thrown.

And blocked again.

Two punches, three punches...

As each attack landed, Qian Renxue became increasingly astonished.

She found that despite exerting all her strength head-on, she couldn't break through Su Cheng's seemingly simple defense.

And as time passed, he seemed to become more and more at ease.

With each step he took and every subtle movement of his body, most of the force was deflected, and the remaining strength was redirected by the sword in his hand.

However, when Qian Renxue attempted to bypass the long sword and attack from a different angle, she found that his simple defensive posture seemed impenetrable.

Her breath began to grow restless.

"Brother, have you figured it out?" Qian Daoliu, who was silently watching in the Hall of Worship, suddenly spoke, addressing the Golden Crocodile Douluo standing beside him.

"Self-created soul technique!" Even with the strength and knowledge of the Golden Crocodile Douluo, he couldn't help but exclaim, "It's hard to imagine. If this kid had a little more talent, I wonder how far he could go..."

"That's right." Qian Daoliu nodded, "The key to this move lies in blocking the enemy's initial attack, suppressing their momentum. It's particularly suitable for dealing with aggressive soul techniques like Qian Renxue's. Once the first attack is blocked, if there's no significant increase in subsequent damage, it's difficult to find an opportunity."

"And have you noticed? His defensive sword technique is almost like the embryonic form of a domain. At least with Qian Renxue's current strength, she won't be able to break through this defense."

"I see, no wonder Qian Renxue can only choose a direct assault afterward." The Golden Crocodile Douluo's expression turned dark with realization. "It seems like it's a stalemate. That girl has always been arrogant, she's probably in for a heavy blow this time."

"No, Qian Renxue is probably going to lose," Qian Daoliu said calmly.

"How is that possible?! Even if he's using his own soul technique, there's no way he can compete with Qian Renxue, who has a Six-winged Angelic Martial Soul and is already level 32, even if it's at the expense of soul power consumption."

"He's gathering strength!" The burly old man's eyes shimmered with a faint golden light as he focused on the match in the martial arts field. "This sword is just a starting move."

Qian Daoliu was right; this sword was just Su Cheng's opening move.

"Almost there." Sensing the increasing stiffness between his sword movements, Su Cheng thought to himself.

The amount of power he could control was approaching his limit.

But it was already enough.

With this give and take, he was now capable of putting up a fight.

"Second Soul Skill: Sharpness."

With the activation of the purple second soul ring taken from the Specter Wolf of the year 1100, Su Cheng's second soul skill was unleashed.

The effect of this soul skill was similarly straightforward: it significantly increased the sharpness of the long sword in his hand.

Under his development, after using this soul skill, the Broken Sword Martial Soul could inflict armor-piercing effects during attacks, and to some extent, ignore the opponent's defense.

Simply put, it could cause real damage.

After completing the soul skill enhancement, he shook the long sword in his hand, deflecting Qian Renxue's fist edge.

Then, he took a step back and held the sword vertically in front of him, ready to attack. With a downward slash, the sword struck straight at Qian Renxue's front.

"Slash!"

The force was heavy, the speed was fast.

Seeing Su Cheng change his tactic, turning defense into offense, Qian Renxue was initially surprised, then delighted.

She had previously found it difficult to break through that sword-style defense, but she didn't expect Su Cheng to take the initiative to attack.

However, this sword did carry some momentum. Its sharpness was overwhelming, causing a chilling sensation and even making her, a Soul Sovereign, feel some pressure.

With a flicker of her body, she prepared to evade the sharpness for now and counterattack afterward.

However, as she prepared to dodge, her expression suddenly changed.

She couldn't dodge this sword!

The surroundings seemed to be completely locked down by this sword, at least with her current eyesight and speed, she couldn't completely dodge it.

Forcing avoidance would only lead to severe injuries; at this point, she had no choice but to face it head-on!

In desperation, Qian Renxue had to change tactics.

The third soul ring lit up beneath her feet, and a golden halo rippled like water, forming a radiant golden barrier in front of her.

This was her third soul skill—Angel's Protection.

She decided to use this highly defensive soul skill to withstand the blow first before considering her counterattack.

Although it had a significant consumption and might lead to a missed opportunity for a counterattack, she had no other choice.

As Su Cheng observed the golden barrier before him, his expression remained solemn, his eyes unfazed.

In his eyes, what flashed by was not this defensive soul skill, but countless scenes and images of practicing swordplay.

This sword had already become ingrained in his blood and bones.

"Break!"

The sword descended.

In the horrified gaze of Qian Renxue, the golden barrier shattered with a resounding crash.

Trying to evade, she could only retreat under the impact force of the sword.

However, in the lock of this sword, she couldn't retreat fully.

Helplessly, she crossed her arms in front of her and infused a substantial amount of soul power, solidly absorbing the remaining force of this sword.

After being pushed back several yards, a trace of blood spilled from her mouth.

"Why is he so strong?!" Qian Renxue's emotions were momentarily hard to calm, and she couldn't comprehend the combat strength Su Cheng displayed.

"Phew..." After taking a deep breath, she forcefully suppressed any stray thoughts and opened her last trump card.

Originally, she didn't want to use this move, or rather, she didn't think defeating Su Cheng required unleashing it.

Once again, golden radiance emerged from Qian Renxue, enveloping her entire body, even dyeing her pure white wings in a golden glow.

Then, concentric golden halos rippled out, accompanied by a strange and wonderful sound, enveloping Su Cheng.

Under the layers of radiant light, everything around became tinted with gold, and Su Cheng felt like he had stepped into another world, seeming both real and unreal.

However, the sensation in this world was far from visually appealing.

Powerful pressure surged from all directions, and his senses were confined to an extremely narrow range.

Across from him, Qian Renxue, with her golden wings, hovered in mid-air, resembling a deity.

The feeling of his soul power being purified and dissipated resurfaced, even more pronounced than when she attacked him with her soul technique earlier.

"The Angelic Domain..." Su Cheng suddenly understood.

He silently assessed his own state and the suppressive and eroding effects of the surrounding environment...

"I can still muster my last full-strength strike. It should be enough."

"Mr. Su is indeed formidable. If you can withstand this blow, you've won."

Qian Renxue's voice seemed to come from the sky, yet it also felt close at hand.

In reality, she was just saying it for the sake of politeness. After using the Angelic Domain, her soul power was already running low.

Su Cheng didn't reply, silently raising the long sword in his hand and thrusting forward.