"Hey, kid, where's your soul rings? Not even showing your soul rings—are you looking down on us?" Qian Lin questioned.
"I'll show them now, don't rush," Tianlin replied with a smile. Then, two yellow and two purple soul rings slowly appeared—a very standard configuration. No one said anything.
But at this moment, Tang San was completely stunned. After all, Tianlin's Concealment Charm and Transformation Charm were just the lowest-level talismans. While they could fool others, they couldn't escape the insight of his Purple Demon Eye.
"What's wrong, Xiao San? What did you see?" Flender asked.
"Brother Tianlin's real soul rings—his second ring is already a thousand years old, and his fourth ring... it's a ten-thousand-year black soul ring!" Tang San exclaimed in shock.
Hearing this, everyone else gasped audibly. What kind of bizarre soul ring configuration was this? Flender, however, was not surprised. After all, the news of Tianlin's thousand-year-second soul ring had already spread across the continent. But the ten-thousand-year fourth ring—this was new to him. "No wonder he hides his martial soul and soul rings. If this configuration becomes known, it will attract attention—possibly even assassination attempts."
"Let the match begin!" The announcer declared as soon as all four participants were ready, signaling the start of the Soul Arena match.
Tianlin immediately charged at the two opponents, while Ning Rongrong swiftly activated her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, providing two layers of support to Tianlin.
"Li Zong, I'll hold off that kid. You take care of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda first!" Qian Lin ordered. In combat, targeting the support role first was an ironclad rule.
"Got it, boss," Li Zong responded, leaping into the air and raising his spear. "Third spirit ability: Spear Assault!"
Starting off with a thousand-year spirit ability, he hurled his spear, which shot toward Ning Rongrong like a missile. Although Rongrong used her Drunken Immortal Moonstep to dodge multiple times, the spear seemed to have eyes, relentlessly pursuing her.
"This is... a spirit ability lock-on. No wonder it's a thousand-year ability. Against this kind of attack, no matter how exquisite Rongrong's footwork is, it's hard to evade—unless she uses her soul bone ability," Flender remarked with a frown.
However, in matches like this, most people wouldn't casually use soul bone abilities, as it could easily attract unwanted attention.
Tianlin wanted to rush over to help, but a massive shield blocked his path—that of Qian Lin. "First spirit ability: Golden Shield Protection. Second spirit ability: Golden Shield Enhancement!"
Qian Lin used two spirit abilities in quick succession, solely to delay Tianlin.
"A decisive tactic. But even if I don't rescue Rongrong, there are other ways." Tianlin wielded his longsword defensively, activating the Shu Mountain Treasure Record, and silently chanted: "Heavenly Cycle Duality!"
This auxiliary sword technique from the Shu Mountain Sect allowed sword energy to flow like water, subtly dispelling negative states.
Tianlin directed his sword energy toward Ning Rongrong. At that moment, the only state affecting her was the spear's lock-on. Tianlin forcibly transferred this lock-on state to Qian Lin.
Suddenly, Li Zong's spear changed direction and flew toward Qian Lin instead.
Clang!
Shield and spear collided, producing a resounding noise. Both Qian Lin and Li Zong suffered injuries to varying degrees—one from the spear's impact and the other from the shield's recoil.
"What a move—using their spear against their shield," Tang San silently praised.
He became even more certain that Tianlin, like him, possessed techniques from another world. That earlier move was not a spirit ability but a skill far more advanced than those recorded in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.
"Li Zong, stop using the spirit ability lock-on. That guy has some way to transfer the lock-on state from others," Qian Lin warned.
"But that support-type soul master has an incredibly bizarre footwork technique. If I don't use the lock-on, I won't be able to defeat her quickly," Li Zong replied, looking grim. His previously invincible tactic of targeting the backline support had been so easily countered.
"In that case, change the target. Don't focus on the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. Let's join forces and take down the guy first. Without a target to support, what good is her auxiliary ability?" Qian Lin said decisively, charging toward Tianlin.
Li Zong quickly followed his boss's lead.
Seeing that the attack target had shifted from Ning Rongrong to himself, Tianlin welcomed it with open arms.
"Blood Drenches the Rivers!"
Tianlin spun with his longsword, unleashing blood-red sword energy in all directions. Qian Lin and Li Zong immediately activated their martial souls to defend.
Qian Lin managed to hold on due to his defensive nature, but Li Zong's spear began to crack under the relentless sword energy.
"It's here—the Seven Kills Sword Technique!" Flender finally recognized it. The technique Tianlin was using now was the Sword Douluo's unparalleled offensive skill—the Seven Kills Sword Technique.
Tianlin's martial soul was already several levels higher in quality than his opponents'. With the support of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, Tianlin's attack power now far surpassed that of the average Soul King.
"Boss, is this guy's martial soul just an ordinary longsword? Why is his attack power so much higher than my spear?" Li Zong complained, struggling to hold on behind Qian Lin.
Qian Lin was also at his limit. Even his shield had started to crack. "How would I know? I've never encountered a situation like this before. Has the auxiliary power of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda reached such a heaven-defying level?"
"Step down now, or you'll get seriously hurt. Heaven Collapses!" Tianlin unleashed the fourth move of the Seven Kills Sword Technique.
As the Heaven Collapses erupted, the entire Soul Arena trembled. The overwhelming sword energy, accompanied by an intense killing intent, made everyone's hair stand on end.
In an instant, Qian Lin and Li Zong were blasted off the stage by the force of the attack. Tianlin had shown mercy, striking the ground in front of them rather than directly hitting them. Otherwise, they would already be corpses.
"Incredible! He defeated them so easily without even using a spirit ability!" Dai Mubai and the others were stunned. Ma Hongjun, in particular, felt that joining the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile School had been the best decision of his life. With Tianlin around, who would dare bully him anymore?
Ning Rongrong, however, wasn't surprised by the result. If Tianlin hadn't been holding back to hide his identity, he could've defeated the opponent in a single move. After all, back in the sect, Tianlin's record was taking on seven opponents at once—and that was without her support.
The reason Tianlin could now wield the Seven Kills Sword Technique so effortlessly was simple: over the past three years, he had killed—and killed a lot.
At first, Chen Xin had only taken him to participate in death matches in the Soul Arena. During his first match, Tianlin chose to spare his opponent after winning, only to nearly be killed in return. It was then he learned that in death matches, merely defeating your opponent wasn't enough—you had to kill them to claim victory.
That day, he took his first life. Afterward, he vomited for a long time before recovering.
Since then, to accumulate stronger killing intent, Chen Xin had taken Tianlin on a spree of carnage across the continent—bandits, tyrants, rapists, and even evil soul masters. Altogether, Tianlin had slain hundreds.
This was the Sword Prince, Jun Tianlin. His path of slaughtering evil not only earned him a reputation but also made his mastery of the Seven Kills Sword Technique even more refined.