With the launch of the two Eighth-Rank Fixed Installation Soul Guidance Cannon Shells, a blinding flash erupted. Two blazing spheres of light rapidly expanded outward.
In the blink of an eye, they swelled to several dozen meters in diameter—and were still expanding at frightening speed.
Faintly visible within the explosion's core, streaks of black spatial rifts flickered in and out of sight, evoking sheer terror. The overwhelming energy shockwave swept across everything nearby with unstoppable, world-shattering force.
The first to bear the brunt of the blast were the defensive shields released by the guards' soul tools.
But before the terrifying energy impact of the Eighth-Rank Fixed Installation Soul Guidance Shells, the remaining barriers were like thin paper—shredded instantly.
Next came the guards behind those shields, who had been trying desperately to flee. They were obliterated on the spot, leaving not even bones behind.
Seeing the monstrous energy wave surging toward him, Xu Tianran hurriedly activated his last-resort life-saving trump card—his Ninth-Rank defensive soul tool, the Heavenly Dragon's Aegis.
The Heavenly Dragon's Aegis was a rechargeable Ninth-Rank defensive soul tool (comparable to Hongchen's Blessing). Its defensive power was astounding—strong enough to withstand a full-power strike from a Titled Douluo-level expert.
The Heavenly Dragon's Aegis could be used in two ways:
The first method was to drive it directly using the soul master's own cultivation.
However, this consumed a massive amount of soul power—something only Titled Douluo-level experts could endure.
The second method was to pre-store soul power within the Aegis's reservoir in advance.
When needed, one could draw on the stored power to activate it. But the stored soul power was only sufficient for a single use; once depleted, it had to be recharged again.
The Heavenly Dragon's Aegis appeared externally as a small dragon-shaped seal. Once Xu Tianran activated it, the seal transformed instantly into a five-meter-long violet dragon, which opened its jaws and swallowed him whole to protect him inside.
Under the devastating energy blast from the two Eighth-Rank Fixed Installation Soul Guidance Shells, the violet dragon formed by the Heavenly Dragon's Aegis let out a pained, ear-splitting roar.
The dragon's glow dimmed rapidly—its deep violet hue fading to pale lavender. Then cracks began spreading all across its vast body until finally, with a thunderous shatter, it broke apart completely.
Meanwhile, the two Soul Douluo—one short and stout, the other tall and thin—who had fled just over ten meters away, were also unable to escape the explosion's range.
They poured all their strength into defense using their soul tools, but it was futile.
The Eighth-Rank defensive soul tools in their hands held for only a brief instant before splintering like fragile glass—shattering into countless fragments that scattered through the air.
Deprived of their protection, the two Soul Douluo's frail human bodies were blown apart by the blast—twisting and contorting mid-air, spraying blood as they fell like discarded dolls. Both perished instantly.
The two Eighth-Rank Fixed Installation Soul Guidance Shells were like ravenous beasts, devouring all life around them without mercy.
——
At the same time, thirty kilometers away, high above the ground—
Members of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion, one of the Sun Moon Empire's Five Imperial Guardian Hands, hovered in mid-air.
Their commander, Xu Tianyuan, held a soul-power detector in hand. As he watched the readings spike sharply upward, his expression changed dramatically.
"Such terrifying soul power levels—could it be that two Ninth-Rank Soul Engineers are battling?"
As the commander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion, Xu Tianyuan held an extremely high position among the imperial clan. In terms of seniority, he was Xu Tianran's elder cousin, though far older in age.
The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion had long been responsible for defending Mingdu itself. Thus, when a massive soul-power fluctuation erupted in the suburbs, they immediately mobilized.
Xu Tianyuan looked toward the direction indicated by the detector, then unfurled the Ninth-Rank Flight Soul Tool on his back and shot forward like lightning toward the source of the explosion.
At the speed of a Ninth-Rank Flight Soul Tool, thirty kilometers was covered in moments.
The rest of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion also activated their flight tools and followed closely behind Xu Tianyuan.
——
Meanwhile, elsewhere—
Wang Yan, Song Zhan, and the others saw the cataclysmic explosion wrought by the Eighth-Rank Fixed Installation Soul Guidance Shells and immediately retreated as far as they could, terrified of being caught in the blast.
After all, there was no such thing as an Eighth-Rank Fixed Installation Soul Guidance Shell that "only harmed the enemy but not the user."
Even as the ones who fired them, they wouldn't dare step within the explosion radius.
Song Zhan glanced anxiously toward Mingdu in the distance and said,
"With such a massive commotion, Ninth-Rank Soul Engineers will definitely come investigate soon. Let's withdraw—if we delay any longer, it'll be too late."
Song Peng nodded in agreement.
"Two Eighth-Rank Fixed Installation Soul Guidance Shells— even an average Ninth-Rank Soul Engineer might not survive that. Xu Tianran's only in his twenties; no matter how talented he is, he can't possibly have that kind of strength. He's definitely dead!"
Wang Yan said coldly,
"Don't get careless. Wait until the explosion ends. If he's still alive, we'll finish him off."
Zhao Yuhang added,
"I'll handle cleanup—so the Empire's investigators don't trace this back to us."
The agility-type Soul Douluo Li Fei nodded.
"Brother Zhao, I'll leave the cleanup to you. I'll prepare for departure. Once we confirm Xu Tianran's death, I'll take everyone and leave immediately."
A short while later, as the explosion finally subsided—
In the middle of a crater several hundred meters wide—
Xu Tianran lay covered in blood. Both of his legs had been blown off, the flesh at his thighs shredded and mangled. The remains of his legs were nothing but torn flesh mixed with tattered cloth—a ghastly sight.
Though protected by the Ninth-Rank soul tool, Xu Tianran had avoided instant death, yet he was still gravely injured.
Looking at the empty space where his legs had been, all traces of the once-spirited Crown Prince's pride vanished.
His eyes were vacant; his entire being was drowning in agony.
But worse than the physical pain was the crushing despair consuming his mind.
He was crippled—his legs were gone.
And, most devastating of all, he could clearly feel that something crucial between his legs had also been destroyed.
That terrifying explosion had blasted to ruin the very thing needed to continue his bloodline!
He was no longer a complete man.
How could he possibly sit upon the imperial throne now?
Xu Tianran's eyes turned blood-red.
The immense mental shock drove him to the brink of madness. He glared at the five assassins in the distance, burning with a hatred so deep he wished he could devour them alive—then slaughter every one of their families to the last, leaving not even chickens or dogs alive.
Not far from the crater lay the shattered remains of his massive, palace-like carriage.
From within the wreckage, several maids and the female Soul Sage who had been entangled with Xu Tianran crawled out.
They had been inside the carriage, some distance from the blast's core.
With Xu Tianran, his guards, and two Eighth-Rank Soul Engineers acting as shields before them, they had avoided the direct brunt of the explosion. Though injured and shaken, they had survived.