Chapter 69: The Sharp Sword and the Finger

"Second soul skill: White Tiger Fierce Light Wave." Driven to the absolute peak of fury, and completely disregarding the fact that he was currently in the middle of a street, Dai Mubai spat out a ball of white energy from his mouth, hurtling straight toward Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong.

Souto City's streets were bustling with crowds today. Ever since Ning Rongrong had mocked Dai Mubai moments before, a large group of onlookers had already gathered to watch.

Dai Mubai's angry strike inadvertently encompassed several passersby within its radius.

This instantly provoked gasps of shock from the crowd. "Is this guy out of his mind?" cried a bystander, covering his head in panic.

"Damn coward..."

"He runs away and yet won't let people speak the truth..."

"Bastard..." Dai Mubai's indiscriminate attack drew curses and condemnations from the surrounding people.

...

Seeing that the attack was about to engulf the innocent bystanders nearby, Zhu Zhuqing's gaze narrowed. She summoned her martial soul, the Nirvana Nine-Tails, and a sharp sword materialized in her hand.

Ever since her martial soul had evolved, the most noticeable change in her abilities was the form of her skills; she no longer relied on sharp claws for combat.

"Second soul skill: Nirvana Hundred Slashes." Facing the incoming White Tiger Fierce Light Wave, Zhu Zhuqing gripped her sword and slashed rapidly. In an instant, she wove a web of sword qi that shattered the white energy blast.

Seeing the shockwave dissipate, the surrounding onlookers collectively breathed a sigh of relief. After offering words of gratitude to Zhu Zhuqing, they hurriedly retreated to a distance, peeking out cautiously.

How did her Netherworld Civet turn golden? And why did it grow nine tails? What on earth was that sword?

Dai Mubai's pupils constricted.

The Star Luo imperial family and the Zhu family had intermarried for generations; the martial souls of both families were long no secret to them.

Yet Dai Mubai had never once heard of the Netherworld Civet possessing another form. This martial soul looked extraordinarily noble—could it be that her martial soul had mutated?

Dai Mubai's thoughts raced for a fraction of a second, and his expression grew even colder.

It appeared that Zhu Zhuqing's martial soul had undergone a beneficial mutation, and its quality likely surpassed both the Netherworld Civet and the Evil-Eyed White Tiger.

He absolutely could not let Zhu Zhuqing leave alive...

"Since you chose to betray me, you must pay the price. Third soul skill: White Tiger Vajra Transformation." Dai Mubai let out a furious roar, lunging forward from his spot like a tiger while activating his soul skill to massively amplify his stats.

"First soul skill: Flash."

Seeing Dai Mubai pounce toward her, Zhu Zhuqing's expression turned icy. She formed a sword finger with her hand, lightly traced the blade, and thrust forward, leaving nothing behind but an afterimage.

Dai Mubai's forward charge came to an abrupt halt. He looked down at his chest with a face full of utter disbelief.

At this moment, the clothing across his chest was torn, and through the rupture, a thin, long wound could faintly be seen gradually expanding. This was the effect of being slashed open instantaneously by an extremely sharp blade.

"How is this possible?" Dai Mubai brushed a hand over the wound, staring blankly at the blood staining his fingers, lost in thought.

One had to remember that he was a thirty-seventh-rank Soul Elder, and three years older than Zhu Zhuqing. Yet in their recent clash, he had only caught a glimpse of Zhu Zhuqing's phantom for a split second.

Given that their innate talents were roughly on par, no matter how desperately Zhu Zhuqing trained, it was impossible to bridge the gap in age and soul power.

Based on his understanding of the Zhu family's martial soul, her soul power at most should only be around the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth rank. He never expected that she had actually broken through to become a Soul Elder, and that her techniques had become so bizarre and unpredictable...

"What on earth happened? What could possibly cause you to change so drastically?" Dai Mubai's expression was grave as he slowly turned around, his four pupils locked onto Zhu Zhuqing.

"Dai Mubai, I've made myself perfectly clear. There is nothing between us anymore." Zhu Zhuqing twirled her Nirvana Sword, flicking the blood off the blade onto the ground. "As for what happened to me, naturally, I have no obligation to tell you."

Hearing this, Dai Mubai's expression turned frosty, and his hands instinctively clenched into fists. "Zhu Zhuqing, just now I let my guard down for a moment. You surely don't think that mere cultivation and this bit of lethality are enough to defeat me, do you?"

With that, he assumed a combat stance, his fists shifting into tiger claws.

"If you weren't a prince of Star Luo, the sword I just thrust would have pierced straight through your throat." Zhu Zhuqing's gaze was ice-cold.

For a brief second, she had genuinely wanted to kill Dai Mubai with a single sword strike. However, considering that no matter how much of a piece of trash Dai Mubai was, he was still a Star Luo prince, she could not bring trouble upon the Shrek Academy or the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.

"Heh, you can try and see if you can kill me." Dai Mubai sneered, his four pupils shifting restlessly as he scanned his surroundings.

He admitted that he had slightly underestimated Zhu Zhuqing, and the sharp sword in her hand was indeed more lethal than the claws of the Netherworld Civet. However, soul master battles often relied on more than just raw strength—terrain mastery was equally crucial.

"Second soul skill: White Tiger Fierce Light Wave." Dai Mubai spun around instantly, executing his soul skill once more. Only this time, his target was not Zhu Zhuqing standing opposite him, but Ning Rongrong behind him.

Grandmaster had taught them that in soul master combat, if the opposing team possessed a support-type soul master, that support soul master must be eliminated with priority.

Even though his battle with Zhu Zhuqing wasn't a formal team fight, who said he couldn't target the enemy's support right now?

"Despicable!" Zhu Zhuqing cursed angrily, thrusting her sword forward as her entire figure vanished from the spot in a flash.

"First soul skill: White Tiger Body Barrier." A cold smile curved the corners of Dai Mubai's lips as he timed his soul skill precisely.

Though Dai Mubai did not understand the mechanics of Zhu Zhuqing's technique, as long as it wasn't true teleportation, the range of his first soul skill was more than enough to catch her in the blast.

Zhu Zhuqing wore an anxious expression, thrusting her sword forward as she flickered ahead at blinding speed.

Although her first soul skill was a blink, its range was extremely short. While it consumed very little soul power, it came with the strict limitation of a straight-line thrust. The reason she was able to seemingly vanish right before everyone's eyes was simply because she was chaining the skill back-to-back continuously.

As Zhu Zhuqing flashed past Dai Mubai, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the energy barrier he was about to form. Her anger surged instantly, and she slightly adjusted her trajectory during a brief moment of pause.

As their figures crossed, her sharp blade sliced instantly across Dai Mubai's poised tiger claws.

However, the protective barrier had already formed, hurtling toward her at rapid speed.

Zhu Zhuqing cast a sidelong glance at it without changing her expression. She arched her litely body, leapt off the ground in an instant, executed a complete spin in mid-air, and planted both feet firmly against the energy barrier. Leveraging its impact force, her speed suddenly surged by another twenty percent. Just before the shockwave could strike Ning Rongrong, she slashed downwards, shattering the energy blast with a single stroke.

The exchange between the two happened far too quickly, and only now did the onlookers snap back to their senses.

"You're despicable!" Ning Rongrong's face was pale as chalk, trembling all over with rage as she pointed a finger at Dai Mubai. Though she had often been scolded since childhood, when had she ever experienced such mortal peril?

Terrified to the point where her legs felt like jelly, she exerted all her might, taking a few trembling steps to reach Zhu Zhuqing's side.

"Zhu... Zhuqing, are you alright?" Ning Rongrong asked, gripping Zhu Zhuqing's arm with deep concern as she saw her panting heavily.

"I'm fine..." Zhu Zhuqing shook her head slowly, then took a deep breath. She had simply rushed the rescue at too high a speed, causing her breath to be momentarily disrupted.

"The Nine Treasures speaks: One for power, two for agility, three for soul power." Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's condition, Ning Rongrong assumed her friend had sustained internal injuries.

Wearing an angry expression, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda in her palm bloomed with tri-colored light in an instant, sinking straight into Zhu Zhuqing's body.

Since this fellow named Dai Mubai was so utterly shameless, she was prepared to retaliate as well.

As a support-type soul master, though she could not fight directly, having Zhu Zhuqing enhanced by her soul skills beat down on Dai Mubai was practically the same as fighting him herself.

At this moment, Dai Mubai stood there with a dazed expression, staring blankly at the three fingers lying severed on the ground. The sword was so sharp that the sensory feedback was delayed; he felt no pain, nor did he scream out, feeling only a profound sense of absurdity.

He had never expected that Zhu Zhuqing would actually manage to seize the split-second opening in his skill execution to launch a counterattack.

Tang Shan's expression turned grim as he observed Dai Mubai's current state. "Milady, the two of them are having a one-on-one duel. Don't you think it's a bit unfair for you to interfere now?"