Martial Soul City, located at the center of the continent, is the seat of the main Martial Soul Hall. It is towering, majestic, and possesses a magnificent atmosphere. In ordinary times, this place is already a holy land in the hearts of soul masters, solemn and grave. But today, the entire city is shrouded in an unprecedented grandeur and clamor.
In front of the towering Papal Palace, an extremely spacious white marble plaza has been temporarily converted into a massive Martial Arts Arena. Surrounded by layers upon layers of viewing stands, it is currently packed with people. Representatives from various forces, sects, and families across the continent, as well as countless rogue soul masters who rushed over upon hearing the news, have surrounded the place until not even a drop of water could trickle through. The air is filled with a complex mixture of excitement, tension, and anticipation.
Today is the official opening day of the first "Seven Sects Selection" conference, initiated and led by Martial Soul Hall! This grand event will publicly select the seven strongest sects on the continent today, granting them the titles of "Upper Three Sects" and "Lower Four Sects," establishing the sect landscape for the next hundred years or even longer!
On the high platform, Pope Qian Chongshan has arrived in person to preside over the conference on behalf of Martial Soul Hall. Beside him sit several elders with profound auras, and a calm-faced old man in a simple white robe sits quietly to the side. Although he does not emit the slightest aura, he makes all the experts present feel an invisible pressure—this is none other than the Great Consecrator of Martial Soul Hall, the Angel Douluo Qian Daoliu! His appearance undoubtedly highlights the importance Martial Soul Hall places on this selection.
The representatives of the sects participating in the selection enter the venue one after another, drawing bursts of exclamations from the viewing stands.
The group from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, led by Sect Master Yu Boxuan, enters the plaza with the strides of dragons and tigers. Yu Boxuan, at the head, wears a purple-gold dragon-patterned sect master robe. His face is majestic, his aura is as deep and calm as the sea, and he is shockingly emitting the terrifying soul power fluctuation of a peak Level 97! Behind him, the Supreme Elder Yu Qingtian has white hair and beard, sharp eyes, and soul power reaching the peak of Level 95; Elder Yu Boyu has a vast aura and has also reached Level 93.
What is even more startling is that the dozen or so old men following them are all Soul Douluo-level experts without exception! This strength makes all the forces present look on with side-eyed glances. But the most eye-catching one is the blue-haired young man walking a step behind Yu Boxuan—Yu Yuanchen! His expression is calm and his aura is restrained, as if he were an ordinary person, but everyone who knows his name dares not underestimate him in the slightest. This is the peerless genius hailed as the number one of the younger generation on the continent, who even vaguely has the momentum to contend for supremacy over the world!
The Clear Sky Sect group follows closely behind. Sect Master Tang Gan is burly with a resolute face, and his whole body radiates a heavy aura like a mountain; his soul power is also as high as Level 97! Beside him is Tang Chen, who has already advanced to Level 95 with an aura even more impressive than before, as well as an old man with a cold and stern face whose soul power has reached Level 94 (the Second Elder Tang Lie). The eleven Soul Douluo elders behind them are all filled with a chilling aura, manifesting the dominance of the top-tier Power Attack System weapon soul.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is led by an old man with a refined face carrying a long sword; he is the sect consecrator, the peak Level 95 Azure Peak Douluo. His soul power is sharp and peerless; although he is not the sect master, his combat power is unquestionable. Although Sect Master Ning Zhiyuan is only a Level 79 Soul Sage, he holds the brilliant Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda with a graceful demeanor. Behind him, nine seven-ring Soul Sages and nine Soul Douluos have their auxiliary lights vaguely connected, forming a system of their own.
Wind Sword Sect Sect Master Feng Zaiyun, in a green robe with a cold face, has soul power at the peak of Level 95. His whole body is surrounded by sharp sword qi. Although he only brought three Soul Douluo elders, no one dares to underestimate his attack power.
White Tiger Sect Sect Master Dai Jingxuan has tiger eyes full of majesty and soul power at Level 94. He brings over ten Soul Douluos with a fierce aura, a standard lineup of Power Attack System battle soul masters.
The Black Tortoise Sect (with the Black Tortoise Turtle martial soul, not the Black Tortoise) is led by the peak Soul Douluo Shi Feng. The five Soul Douluo elders all have steady and heavy auras, clearly being soul masters extremely skilled in defense, filling the vacancy of top-tier defensive sects after the destruction of the Elephant Armored Sect.
In addition, there are the Fire Leopard Sect, the Sparrow Bee Sect, and others who have Soul Douluos sitting in command but whose overall strength is slightly inferior, also arriving with hope.
As each sect takes their seats, an invisible pressure permeates the plaza. Everyone understands that the upcoming battles will determine the future power map of the continent.
A Cardinal stands up, his voice spreading throughout the venue through soul power amplification: "Everyone, the Seven Sects Selection aims to clarify the order of sects and promote the way of the soul master. The rules are simple: determine the order through martial arts! Each sect can send representatives to fight and spar; those with more wins will be ranked higher! Ultimately, we and all the witnesses will jointly adjudicate the attribution and ranking of the seven sects! Now, the selection begins! The first match, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan versus Clear Sky Sect!"
Boom!
The whole arena instantly boils over! The opening is a trump card! The collision between the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and the Clear Sky Hammer! This is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated duels of this selection!
Yu Boxuan and Tang Gan look at each other, both seeing burning fighting spirit in the other's eyes. Their figures flash simultaneously, and they appear in the center of the huge Martial Arts Arena.
"Sect Master Yu, long time no see!" Tang Gan's voice is like a bell. He cups his hands in a salute, and a huge black hammer shadow vaguely appears behind him, a terrifying pressure sweeping out.
"Sect Master Tang, please!" Yu Boxuan returns the salute. Purple-gold lightning erupts from his body, and a dragon roar is vaguely heard; he does not show weakness.
Without much nonsense, both of their auras instantly climb to their peak!
"Seventh Soul Skill, Clear Sky True Body!"
"Seventh Soul Skill, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon True Body!"
Tang Gan's figure expands violently, transforming into a giant over ten meters tall with knotted muscles, holding a huge Clear Sky Hammer. The sense of violent power seems to want to tear the space apart! Yu Boxuan transforms into a majestic dragon over twenty meters long, covered in blue-purple scales with lightning coiling around it; the dragon might is vast!
"Kill!" Tang Gan roars, and the huge Clear Sky Hammer smashes toward Yu Boxuan with the momentum of collapsing mountains and splitting the earth! It is the "Collapse Character Art" from the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes!
"Well fought!" The dragon transformed by Yu Boxuan roars, its dragon claws wrapped in destructive lightning. It also activates the True Dragon Transformation, meeting the attack without fear! This is the evolution of Yu Boxuan's ninth soul skill, "Tyrant Dragon Tribulation Fall"!
Boom—!!!
Hammer and claw collide, erupting with an earth-shattering roar! The terrifying blast wave spreads to the surroundings like substance, hitting the soul power barrier around the Martial Arts Arena and stirring up violent ripples! The entire Martial Soul City seems to tremble for an instant!
A sound of gasping for air rises from the viewing stands. The collision of Titled Douluo-level experts is actually this terrifying!
Under the impact, both of them retreat several steps simultaneously, evenly matched!
"Satisfying! Take another hammer from me! Break Character Art!" Tang Gan's fighting spirit grows even stronger. Black light condenses on the Clear Sky Hammer, and with unparalleled penetrating power, he strikes again!
Yu Boxuan's dragon eyes are solemn, his dragon tail sweeps across with thunderous might.
Boom, boom, boom!
The two instantly engage in a melee, hammer shadows flying and dragon roars shaking the sky. Lightning and immense force collide crazily, and every clash causes the heaven and earth energy to fluctuate violently. Their fighting styles are both fierce and domineering, clashing head-on, which makes people's blood boil and their hearts tremble.
"The Clear Sky Nine Absolutes are indeed extraordinary. That kid Tang Chen is also a man of talent, it's just a pity he was suppressed by Chen'er," Yu Qingtian strokes his beard and praises, though there is not much worry in his eyes.
"Boxuan's lightning dragon is also not inferior," Ye Kuan nods slightly.
Yu Yuanchen watches the fierce battle in the arena calmly, his gaze deep. He can clearly perceive that the soul power cultivation, combat experience, and soul skill power of his grandfather Yu Boxuan and Tang Gan are on par. The key to victory in this battle lies in the details, in... endurance and physique!
Sure enough, after nearly a hundred rounds of fierce fighting, the high-intensity confrontation makes both of them consume a huge amount of soul power, and their auras begin to show subtle fluctuations. According to common sense, in such an intense Titled Douluo duel, their soul power should have been consumed by nearly half.
However, what surprises all the spectators, especially those Titled Douluo-level experts, is that although the soul power fluctuations of the two in the arena rise and fall, their recovery speed is shockingly fast! In the brief intervals after every clash, one can feel the soul cores in their bodies rotating rapidly, crazily absorbing the surrounding heaven and earth origin qi to replenish their own consumption! The speed of that soul power recovery is far beyond that of ordinary Titled Douluos!
"Strange... how can the soul power of Sect Master Yu and Sect Master Tang be so long and continuous?" On the high platform, Wind Sword Sect Sect Master Feng Zaiyun frowns slightly.
"With such intense attacks, if it were us, our soul power would probably have been consumed by sixty or seventy percent. They seem to... have only consumed thirty or forty percent?" White Tiger Sect's Dai Jingxuan also shows shock.
Even the Angel Douluo Qian Daoliu, sitting on the high platform, has a glimmer of light that is hard to detect flash in his calm eyes. He can naturally see that both of them have condensed soul cores! And the quality is not low.
This is exactly the preview of the "Soul Core Condensation Method" that Yu Yuanchen, Qian Daoliu, and Tang Chen agreed to announce later! At this moment, the performance of Yu Boxuan and Tang Gan is undoubtedly the best foreshadowing for this secret method that is about to change the soul master world!
The fierce battle continues. Two hundred rounds pass, and their speed slows slightly, but the offensive remains sharp. At this time, Yu Boxuan's advantage begins to manifest!
After a head-on collision, the two separate again. Tang Gan's breathing is slightly rapid, and the arm holding the hammer is slightly numb. Although the holy dragon transformed by Yu Boxuan has some cracks on its scales, its aura is even more steady, and its dragon eyes are shining with gleams of light.
"Sect Master Tang, be careful!" Yu Boxuan roars, and the lightning on his dragon body surges again. But this time, the lightning is vaguely mixed with a trace of extremely faint but life-filled bloodline power! Although he is advanced in age and cannot cultivate the martial way to a profound realm, under the guidance of Yu Yuanchen, he has also dabbled in the first five grades, performing preliminary tempering on his physical body! This makes his physique strength, endurance, and recovery power a notch higher than Titled Douluos of the same level who rely purely on soul power to temper their bodies.
It is this slight gap that becomes the key weight tilting the balance in a stalemate of endurance.
"Thunder Dragon Nine Flashes!" Yu Boxuan seizes the moment Tang Gan catches his breath, his dragon body turning into nine afterimages, launching a storm-like attack from different angles! The speed is so fast and the offensive so dense that it far exceeds before!
Tang Gan is startled and hurriedly uses the "Entwine Character Art" and "Shock Character Art" from the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes, swinging the Clear Sky Hammer in an attempt to resolve this sudden fierce attack. However, the connection of Yu Boxuan's offensive is too fast, and his timing control is perfect. More importantly, the attacks containing a trace of bloodline power have stronger penetrating power and a higher ability to withstand the counter-shock force!
"Bang!" A muffled sound!
A thunder dragon afterimage broke through the defense of the hammer shadows, its dragon claw slamming fiercely into the side of Tang Gan's Clear Sky Hammer! Although most of the force was blocked by the hammer's body, the contained shockwave and a trace of qi and blood impact still caused Tang Gan's internal energy to churn, forcing a muffled groan from him as his figure retreated over ten steps, leaving deep footprints on the ground.
Yu Boxuan did not pursue; his nine afterimages merged back into one, transforming once again into a majestic Holy Dragon. Suspended in mid-air, the lightning light receded, but his aura remained robust.
The victor was decided!
Tang Gan steadied his figure, his expression shifting several times before he finally let out a long sigh. He retracted his Clear Sky True Body and cupped his hands, saying, "Sect Master Yu's cultivation level is profound, and I admire it! In this battle, I have lost!"
He was convinced of his defeat. His opponent was not only his equal in terms of soul power endurance but also held a slight edge in physique and the control of instantaneous bursts!
Yu Boxuan also returned to human form, breathing slightly heavily, and returned the salute: "Sect Master Tang, you are too kind; I won by a narrow margin."
The entire arena was silent for a moment before erupting into thunderous cheers and discussions!
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had won! In this battle for the title of the Number One Sect Under Heaven, they had taken the first step toward victory!
In the spectator stands, the various factions held different thoughts. The terrifying strength displayed by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and their mysterious endurance made everyone feel a sense of dread. Although the Clear Sky Sect was defeated, the powerful offensive capabilities and equally astonishing endurance they displayed still commanded awe.
Yu Yuanchen watched his grandfather accepting the cheers in the arena, a faint arc appearing at the corner of his mouth. The effects of the Method of Soul Cores were already beginning to show.
The first peak showdown had concluded, and the curtain for the Seven Sects Selection had been thoroughly raised. A greater storm was yet to come.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: GodKun-Chan