The other thirty students followed closely behind, each releasing their own Martial Soul. Lights of various colors intertwined in the hall, forming a spectacular scene.
"Let him go." Su Chen's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a hammer, striking heavily against the Void High Priest's heart.
The Void High Priest turned around, his purple pupils staring at Su Chen. A ripple finally appeared in those entirely emotionless eyes—not fear, not surprise, but curiosity.
"Nine-Tailed Silver Fox," the Void High Priest said. "A legendary mutated Martial Soul, simultaneously possessing nine attributes, one in a million. You are that strategist from the Heroic Spirits Academy, Su Chen?"
"I said, let him go." Su Chen repeated, his voice even colder than before.
The Void High Priest smiled. The smile was bizarre, like a madman seeing his favorite toy. He let go, and Chen Hao's body fell from the air, crashing to the ground with a muffled thud. Several students immediately rushed forward, dragging Chen Hao and Lin Xue to a safe place.
"Interesting," the Void High Priest said. "Thirty-three Soul Masters at the Soul Ancestor level, plus a Soul Sage level Su Chen, plus a Soul Douluo level Ares, and you dare to invade my base? Are you tired of living?"
"We are just here to complete our mission," Su Chen said. "Your men have already been dealt with by us, and the base's defense system has been sabotaged. Now only you are left. Surrender, you don't have a chance."
The Void High Priest threw his head back and laughed uproariously, the sound echoing through the hall and shaking the ice crystals from the ceiling. He laughed for a long time, until tears even streamed from his eyes, then suddenly stopped, his purple pupils staring dead at Su Chen.
"No chance at all?" The Void High Priest repeated Su Chen's words. "A Soul Sage, saying to me, a Titled Douluo, that I have no chance at all?"
As he spoke, the aura on his body suddenly erupted.
The pressure of a Titled Douluo was like a physical entity, pressing down on everyone like a great mountain. The legs of most students gave out, and a few even fell to their knees, blood spilling from the corners of their mouths. Su Chen's body swayed as well, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself not to fall. Ares' body bent slightly, but quickly straightened; his rock armor helped him share part of the pressure.
"See this?" The Void High Priest spread his arms. "This is the power of a Titled Douluo. In the face of absolute power, your courage, your conviction, your protection, are all just worthless jokes."
Su Chen didn't speak, but his Nine-Tailed Silver Fox phantom became even more solid, and the light on the nine tails grew brighter. His eyes flashed with a silver radiance, the manifestation of spatial power pushed to its absolute limit.
"Nine-Tailed Silver Fox—Spatial Lockdown!"
Su Chen formed hand seals, and silver light spread out from him, forming a spatial lockdown zone with a diameter of fifty meters. Everything within the zone was frozen, even the air ceased to flow. The bodies of the black-robed cultists were fixed in place, their expressions solidified like wax statues.
The Void High Priest's body also paused for a moment, but he quickly recovered his mobility. A Titled Douluo's strength was far superior to Su Chen's; the Spatial Lockdown could only trap him for less than a second.
But one second was sometimes enough.
"Ares!" Su Chen shouted.
Ares had already finished charging his power. His body expanded to three meters tall, his rock armor covered in spikes, making him look entirely like an ancient behemoth. He charged out fiercely, every step cracking the ground and sending rubble flying.
"Martial Soul True Body—Colossal Rock Emperor!"
Ares' fist smashed toward the Void High Priest, carrying overwhelming force, compressing the very air into white shockwaves. The Void High Priest turned sideways to dodge, but the wind from the fist still grazed his shoulder, tearing a gash in the robe at his shoulder.
"A bit interesting," the Void High Priest said. "But that's all it is."
He extended a single finger and gently tapped Ares' fist.
With just that light tap, Ares' arm let out a crisp cracking sound. The rock armor shattered, and the entire arm bent at a bizarre angle. Ares screamed and staggered back; his right arm was broken, the bone piercing out from his elbow, dripping with blood.
"Next," the Void High Priest said indifferently.
Su Chen didn't back down. He lifted the Spatial Lockdown and condensed all his soul power onto the Tail of Fire. The Nine-Tailed Silver Fox's Tail of Fire blazed up, the scorching flames dispersing the surrounding cold air, raising the temperature in the room by dozens of degrees instantly.
"Tail of Fire—Fire Dragon's Breath!"
The fire dragon appeared again, but this time it was more solid and massive than when fighting the ice bear, looking like a true dragon. The fire dragon opened its maw and spewed a blazing pillar of flame toward the Void High Priest.
The Void High Priest raised his right hand, and black mist condensed into a shield in front of him. The pillar of flame struck the shield with an ear-shattering roar, but the black shield remained completely unmoved. The pillar of flame was diverted to both sides, incinerating a lot of equipment in the hall.
"The temperature of your flames is indeed very high," the Void High Priest commented. "But for a Titled Douluo, it's still far from enough."
Saying so, he waved his left hand, and a black blade flew out from his grip, passing straight through the pillar of flame and slashing directly toward Su Chen. Su Chen had no time to dodge and could only forcefully block it with a Spatial Barrier. The black blade slashed against the Spatial Barrier, shattering it. The blade's momentum undiminished, it sliced a deep, bone-deep wound into Su Chen's chest.
Su Chen grunted, retreating a few steps and dropping to one knee. Blood poured from his chest, dyeing his white robes red. His face was pale to the point of being almost transparent, his soul power draining rapidly.
"Strategist!" the students cried out in alarm.
"I'm fine." Su Chen gritted his teeth and stood up. "I can... still fight."
The Void High Priest looked at Su Chen with keen interest, like a man observing a fascinating test subject. He didn't rush to deliver the killing blow, but walked step by step toward Su Chen, every step seemingly treading on Su Chen's heartbeat, bringing an invisible, crushing weight.
"Do you know why you can't beat me?" the Void High Priest asked.
Su Chen didn't speak; he was secretly accumulating power, preparing for a final stand.
"It's not because of the gap in realms," the Void High Priest said. "It's because you have ties in your heart. You care about your students, you care about your companions, you care about those civilians you don't even know. These ties make you weak, making you always think about protecting rather than destroying when facing an enemy."
"But I don't." The Void High Priest's eyes grew even brighter, a mad gleam flashing within his purple pupils. "I have nothing in my heart. No love, no hate, no fear, no hope. I only have the thirst for power, the pursuit of knowledge. For these, I can sacrifice everything, including myself."
"So, you will never be my match."
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