Chapter 73 Beneath the Spirit City, the Final Judgment
South of Tiandou City, the wheels of carriages rolled over the dry official road, stirring up clouds of dust.
This should have been a pilgrimage route to the highest hall of soul masters—Wuhun City, but for Ye Feng and the Glory team, every crooked tree by the roadside and every shadow at every corner exuded a chilling killing intent.
"Captain, those carriages behind us have been following us for three days." Huo Wu lifted a corner of the curtain, and faint crimson soul power flowed in her palm. After her meridians were reshaped in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, her perception was several times sharper. Even from a thousand meters away, she could smell the stale odor of the Spirit Hall's assassins in the air.
Ye Feng sat in the center of the carriage, the disassembled Thousand Chance Umbrella lying across his lap. In his hand, he held a pair of fine steel tweezers, carefully inserting a crystal emitting a faint blue light into a groove in the umbrella handle.
"Let them follow." Ye Feng didn't even raise his head, his voice steady and calm. "Bibi Dong is a person who values dignity. Before entering the territory of Spirit City, she won't let those trash Salas ruin the reputation of the finals. The real trouble is in that canyon ahead."
Ahead lies a cliff-lined canyon at the border between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Hall territory, known as "Soul-Severing Gorge".
When the Glory team's carriage entered the center of the canyon, the previously noisy wind suddenly stopped.
"Stop." Ye Feng coldly uttered a single word.
The warhorses pulling the chariot seemed to sense the oppressive force of some natural enemy; their hooves went weak, and they collapsed to the ground. At the same time, from the pile of rocks above the canyon, thousands upon thousands of black crossbow bolts rained down like a storm, accompanied by piercing whistles.
"Rongrong, activate the shield!"
Ning Rongrong let out a delicate shout, and the Nine Treasures Ice and Fire Glazed Pagoda instantly manifested nine layers of illusory images. This time, she did not use any amplification, but directly activated her evolved soul bone skill—"Ice and Fire Barrier".
A red and blue light screen instantly opened up around the carriage. The crossbow bolts, powerful enough to pierce steel plates, were frozen into ice shards upon contact with the light screen, and then melted into molten iron by the intense heat.
"Hehehe... As expected of the little guy who even Nana feels threatened, this reaction is quite interesting."
A soft, sharp voice, carrying a rich fragrance, echoed through the canyon. Immediately afterward, countless petals of the rare and precious chrysanthemum slicing through the air like flying knives, and in the golden light, a man in magnificent armor with a delicate face slowly descended.
Chrysanthemum Douluo, Moon Pass.
In the shadows beside him, a black vortex quietly emerged, and the ghostly, ethereal figure, like a soul-reaping messenger from hell, blocked the canyon's only exit.
Two titled Douluo, the highest combat force executors of the Spirit Hall.
"For the sake of me, the Soul Sect Master, they actually mobilized two elders." Ye Feng pushed open the car door and stepped out, holding the Thousand Chance Umbrella. He looked at the two big shots in front of him, his face showing no fear whatsoever, but rather a hint of scrutiny.
"Senior Yueguan, your flowers are too mixed and not pure enough."
Yue Guan was stunned. He had never seen anyone who could comment on his martial soul while facing death.
"Even on the verge of death, he's still sharp-tongued. Ghost, make your move! His Holiness the Pope only wants the fragment of his martial spirit."
His ghostly figure vanished in an instant. He was at the pinnacle of the agility-based Title Douluo, his speed so fast that even the retina couldn't catch it.
However, Ye Feng moved even faster. Instead of moving his feet, he suddenly plunged the Thousand Chance Umbrella in his hand into the ground. The canopy folded, the handle extended infinitely backward, and a two-meter-long dark tubular object popped out from the front.
"Since you think speed is everything, then give this a try."
"Thousand Transformations - Anti-Material Sniper Mode"
Ye Feng pressed his left eye against the homemade infrared scope, his fingertip lightly touching the trigger. This move utilized the "absolute perception" enhancement provided by Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda.
Bang!
A muffled roar shattered the silence of the canyon. A "barrier-breaking bullet," compressed from extremely pure soul power, flew past with a ghostly afterimage, directly shearing off a corner of a small hill behind it.
A ghostly figure appeared a hundred meters away, a charred tear in his black robe, his eyes filled with horror. If he hadn't instinctively shifted his position by half an inch, that attack would have pierced his shoulder.
"Old Ju, something's wrong with this kid! His weapon can track my soul power fluctuations!"
"What kind of skill is it for two old geezers to bully the younger generation?"
A thick, emerald-green fog instantly enveloped the entire canyon. Dugu Bo's cold, sinister face appeared atop the cliff. With a wave of his hand, thousands of emerald-green snakes surged forth.
"Dugu Bo? How dare you betray the Spirit Hall?" Yue Guan's face was so dark it was almost dripping with water.
"Betrayal? I have never been a dog of the Spirit Hall." Dugu Bo sneered. "Ye Feng is now my 'technical advisor.' If you touch him, you are touching my life!"
While Dugu Bo was holding back the two Title Douluos, Huo Wu, Shui Bing'er, and Zhu Zhuqing also made their move.
Instead of trying to fight against the Title Douluo, they set their sights on the elite Spirit Hall Soul Masters lying in ambush above the canyon.
"Red Lotus Karmic Fire - Fall!" Huo Wu soared into the air, her hands forming hand seals, and a huge incandescent fireball crashed down on the ambush position like a meteor.
"Frost Imprisonment!" Shui Bing'er seamlessly connected the controls, freezing the scattered soul masters in place, letting them be consumed by the flames.
Zhu Zhuqing was the reaper roaming amidst the crimson blood. With Ning Rongrong's amplification, her speed was now bordering on teleportation. Each flash of her shadow claimed the life of a Soul Master-level expert.
"Is this the 'elite' you've trained?" Ye Feng stood in the center, his Thousand Chance Umbrella switching back to rifle mode, occasionally picking off enemies trying to break through. "Too slow, really too slow."
Sixth Soul Skill: Golden Stamens Flowing with Rosy Clouds!
Frustrated by Dugu Bo's persistent entanglement and witnessing the heavy losses on his side, Yue Guan finally got serious. Countless golden petals transformed into shooting stars, indiscriminately covering the center of the canyon. The rage of a Title Douluo was enough to destroy this entire realm.
"Hide behind me!" Ye Feng roared.
The girls from the Glory team instantly shrank back. Ye Feng opened the Thousand Chance Umbrella, and the canopy began to spin wildly under the drive of soul power, forming an airtight hemisphere.
"Thousand Transformations - Shield Form - Mechanical Deflection".
This wasn't a simple defense; Ye Feng utilized the principles of centrifugal force and tilt angle from physics. The golden meteors that struck the rotating umbrella were mostly deflected by a strange arc, and the remaining impact was channeled into the earth through the umbrella handle.
Rumble—
The ground collapsed to a depth of three meters. Ye Feng's leg muscles were tense and blood was flowing from his seven orifices, but he managed to block a killing move from a Title Douluo.
"That's enough, stop it."
A clear and noble voice came from afar, as if it had transcended the distance of space.
Upon hearing this voice, Yue Guan and Gui Mei paused, immediately withdrew their hands, and respectfully knelt on one knee.
On the distant horizon, the silhouette of a colossal Martial Soul City loomed faintly in the setting sun. A woman appeared above the canyon, holding a papal scepter, her long purple dress billowing in the wind, her deep, star-like eyes gazing down.
Bibi Dong.
"Yue Guan, Gui Mei, take them into the city." Bibi Dong's gaze lingered on Ye Feng for three seconds. There was no murderous intent in her eyes, but rather a chilling admiration.
"Ye Feng, I'll be waiting for you at the Papal Palace. Don't let this final be too boring."
After saying that, Bibi Dong disappeared from the spot.
The two Title Douluos snorted coldly and turned to lead the way. Dugu Bo jumped down from the cliff top, walked to Ye Feng's side, patted him on the shoulder, and his expression was solemn.
"Kid, you took too much risk just now. Now that Bibi Dong has shown up, it means she no longer cares about killing you outside the city. But inside Wuhun City, her methods will be far more terrifying than killing."
Ye Feng wiped the blood off his face and revealed a slightly manic smile.
"This is the day I've been waiting for. Senior, do me a favor and place these 'little gadgets' around the outer perimeter of the Hall of Worship in Spirit City." Ye Feng took out a pile of crystals that were shimmering with red light from his package.
Dugu Bo's lips twitched: "Are you planning to blow up Wuhun City?"
"No, I just want to hear a sound on the awards stage."
Wuhun City, hotel lobby.
As soon as the Glory team stepped in, they ran into the Spirit Hall Academy team, who had been waiting there for a long time.
Hu Liena stood at the forefront, her alluring fox-like eyes fixed intently on Ye Feng. Beside her stood Yan, a burly man wielding a massive blade, and Xie Yue, whose entire being was as sinister as a dagger.
"You're Ye Feng?" Yan was the first to step forward, flames erupting from his body, instantly cracking the ground. "So you're the one who crippled that piece of trash Tang San?"
Ye Feng ignored him and walked past him, his nose almost touching Hu Liena's.
"Hu Liena, your charm has no effect on me," Ye Feng said softly, his voice only audible to the two of them. "Tell your teacher that if she wants my martial soul, let her come and get it herself. Sending these little cats and dogs is an insult to whom?"
Hu Liena's face flushed instantly. She could feel the destructive aura emanating from Ye Feng, the bloody scent that only those who survived the carnage possessed.
Late at night, in a secret room in Wuhun City.
Ye Feng did not rest. In front of him were several kinds of top-grade metals he had brought back from the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire.
"The Thousand Manifestations Umbrella has reached its limit. Ordinary soul power can no longer support its switching during high-intensity battles."
He closed his eyes, recalling Su Muqiu's ultimate vision for the Thousand Chance Umbrella from The King's Avatar. It was an existence that transcended a single profession, and even surpassed the Martial Soul itself.
He began to fuse those metals. Without the aid of spirit rings, he relied entirely on his hands and a kind of self-destructive spirit power to temper the chains.
Click—
A red gem slowly sprouted from the handle of the Thousand Manifestations Umbrella. It was the "Fragment of Law" he had found in the heart of Sunset Forest. The moment the fragment embedded itself, the Thousand Manifestations Umbrella emitted a rhythmic pulsation like a heartbeat.
"Final form... Awakening."
The next day, in the central square of Wuhun City.
At the foot of the ten thousand steps in front of the Papal Palace, a sea of people stood. Bibi Dong sat on the high throne, with several elders of the Spirit Hall standing beside her.
"The final match of the All-Continent Elite Tournament for Advanced Soul Master Academies."
Bishop Salas, dragging his still aching and broken body, trembled as he announced the rules.
"Glory Team vs. Spirit Hall Academy Team!"
Ye Feng led four girls towards the arena. Their opponents were the "Golden Generation," whose average soul power exceeded level fifty.
Xie Yue and Hu Liena exchanged a glance, and the red light around them instantly intertwined.
"Soul Fusion Skill: Enchantress!"
A thick red mist instantly sealed off the entire arena. Within the red mist, all senses were weakened, and soul power was continuously corroded.
"Captain, we can't see anything!" Huo Wu shouted anxiously.
"No need to look."
Ye Feng stood in the center of the red mist, the Thousand Chance Umbrella planted upside down in the ground. He slowly closed his eyes and placed his hands on the cross-shaped structure of the umbrella handle.
"Domain expansion—no, this is not a domain."
"This is called... the Judgment of the God of Machines."
Ye Feng abruptly pressed the switch, and the Thousand Chance Umbrella instantly disintegrated within the red mist. Hundreds of miniature floating cannons were launched from the umbrella's ribs, hovering in every corner of the red mist.
"Fire."
boom--!
At this moment, the entire Martial Soul City was completely engulfed by incandescent light.
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