Chapter 67: When Combat Is No Longer Turn-Based
In a barren, rocky clearing, far from the lush valley of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Qin Xuan took a deep breath of the dry, cool air. He glanced at his personal attribute panel, a mental screen only he could see, to confirm his status after the breakthrough.
[Qin Xuan]
[Age: 20]
[Spirit: Changming Sword (Vermilion Bird)]
[Cultivation: Level 75 (Spirit Saint)]
[Spirit Ring Configuration: Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Red]
[Physique Level: Titled Douluo]
[Mental Force Level: Titled Douluo]
[Spirit Bones: Mind Condensing Wisdom Skull, 100,000-year Vermilion Bird Left Leg Bone]
[Domains: Slaughter God Domain, Vermilion Bird Domain (Evolved)]
[Talent: SSS]
[Self-Created Abilities: Longitudinal and Horizontal Swordsmanship, Ghost Valley Breathing Technique, Sword Control Technique (Wu Shuang Sword Case), Reincarnation Divine Art (Lao Ai Edition)]
[Emotional Value: 147,992]
[Blind Boxes: 0]
[Lottery Draws: 0]
[Godly Revival Coin: 1]
Qin Xuan closed the panel, satisfied. His power had taken a qualitative leap. He looked at the desolate landscape around them, a wasteland of shattered boulders and gravel.
"This should be far enough from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well," he said, his voice echoing slightly in the open space. "There are no trees around either, so there's no need to worry about burning down the entire Sunset Forest."
Jing Ni, standing opposite him, slowly nodded. She had already placed the sleeping A Yan safely into the Mother-Child Qiankun Bag. Her expression was calm, but her eyes were sharp, her entire being focused. She drew her Jing Ni Sword.
"Then let's begin," she said in a deep voice.
As soon as she finished speaking, two invisible forces exploded outward. Two energy walls, one a cold, colorless white and the other a new, divine golden-red, shaped like igloos, expanded from the two of them as the center.
The Slaughter God Domain and the Vermilion Bird Domain!
They instantly collided. The very air pressure in the clearing skyrocketed. Wherever the shockwave of their meeting passed, boulders shattered into dust, and a storm of sand and stones flew into the air.
After a moment, a clear victor emerged. Because Jing Ni had not yet obtained her seventh spirit ring, her Slaughter God Domain had not evolved.
Qin Xuan's new, evolved Vermilion Bird Domain, now reinforced by his Spirit Saint cultivation, gained the upper hand. The golden energy wall began to overpower the white, pushing it back, its divine heat and pressure causing Jing Ni's own domain to shrink.
Seeing that her Slaughter God Domain was about to give way, Jing Ni didn't hesitate. Six terrifying crimson halos—Red, Red, Red, Red, Red, Red—appeared from her body as she summoned her Spirit Bone Set.
[Inorin's Note: The 100,000-year Spirit Bone set is manifesting as red "halos" or rings, which is a common fanfiction trope but not standard wiki-canon. We will follow the text's description.]
Buzz—! A sharp sword hum rang out. A dense, pinkish-purple sword qi, covered in the icy killing intent of her Domain, wrapped around the Jing Ni Sword as she thrust it forward.
The focused power, aimed at the single weakest point of Qin Xuan's Domain, shattered the delicate balance. The Domains of both simultaneously fractured.
The fight had truly begun.
Seven spirit rings—Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Red—quietly appeared around Qin Xuan as he summoned his Spirit.
Almost the instant the Slaughter God Domain shattered, he had already moved. He arrived beside Jing Ni, his speed a golden-red blur. Golden sword light shimmered on the surface of his Changming Sword as he swung it fiercely, bringing with it a large trail of divine flames.
Clang—!
Jing Ni, an assassin of the highest caliber, parried it. Her movements were economical and precise. The Jing Ni Sword blocked the blow, rubbing against the Changming Sword and creating a shower of crackling, ice-blue sparks.
The two met each other's gaze, their killing intents clashing. Then they separated, their forms vanishing, only to reappear as blurs, clashing several more times amidst the chaotic, flying rocks.
Sword qi crisscrossed the clearing.
Qin Xuan's sword qi was fire-attributed, inherently possessed divine lightning attributes, and was now amplified by the Vermilion Bird Domain. It was explosive and tyrannical.
Jing Ni's Spirit was water-attributed, but after obtaining the Slaughter God Domain, her power had transformed into a biting, deadly ice.
Ice and fire collided. Wherever their sword qi passed, lightning flashed. Boulders cracked, shattered stones flew. Some were instantly burned to ashes, while others were frozen into fragile ice sculptures before falling to the ground and shattering.
Neither of them used their spirit rings or Spirit Bone Abilities. This was purely a duel of sword art.
Despite a difference of 5 spirit power levels, they were, surprisingly, evenly matched for a short period. Jing Ni's perfect 100,000-year Spirit Bone set gave her a physical prowess that perfectly bridged the 5-level gap.
However, the stalemate did not last long.
Qin Xuan began to truly use the Longitudinal and Horizontal Swordsmanship. He switched, his style flowing seamlessly from the pinpoint, rapid strikes of the Vertical technique to the overwhelming, crushing blows of the Horizontal technique.
With the left-right switching of his avatar and his main body, Jing Ni, who was only proficient in one style of assassination, gradually found herself unable to parry.
Seeing that she was no match in pure, complex swordsmanship, Jing Ni activated her Spirit Bone armor without the slightest hesitation. Her combat power instantly soared by a large margin.
The full 100,000-year set manifested as a sleek, purplish-red armor, covering her body.
Even though Qin Xuan surpassed her in sword moves, he still couldn't break through the armor's defense. His attacks, which would have crippled a normal Spirit Saint, now only glanced off with a spray of sparks.
Qin Xuan, his attacks rendered ineffective, began to fall into a passive state. After unleashing a final, heavy Horizontal Sword Technique that clashed with Jing Ni's block, he used the powerful recoil to pull apart their distance.
He gripped his sword in a backhand, and his seventh spirit ring—a dazzling, 100,000-year red—lit up.
Martial Soul Avatar!
A golden phantom, about 10 meters tall and resembling Qin Xuan, materialized from nothing. It leaned on a golden greatsword with both hands. Seven slightly smaller golden greatswords encircled the golden phantom, and golden-red flames rose from the surface of all the blades.
"Is this the Haotian True Body?" Jing Ni murmured, her eyes sharp. Facing Qin Xuan's Avatar, derived from a 100,000-year spirit ring, she dared not be careless.
[Inorin's Note: The text continues to use "Haotian True Body" (昊天真身) as a term for "Martial Soul Avatar" (武魂真身). We will follow the text's terminology.]
Neither of them was a fan of turn-based, play-house combat. They lacked the so-called "chivalry" of the Spirit Master's world. They struck quickly, giving their opponent no chance to catch their breath.
Almost the instant Qin Xuan pulled away from her, Jing Ni had already begun to cover herself with her Spirit Bone armor. She didn't wait; she charged directly at Qin Xuan's main body, ignoring the massive avatar.
Her speed, amplified by the 100,000-year leg bones, was so fast that it surpassed Qin Xuan's.
But Qin Xuan also didn't fall behind. The seven smaller golden greatswords floated behind the golden phantom, acting as a shield.
He swung his long sword. The greatsword in the Avatar's hand simultaneously swung up. The Vermilion Bird Flame surged. A massive, golden cross-shaped sword light, carrying an intricate Vermilion Bird patterned-array, broke through the air and enveloped Jing Ni.
Wherever it passed, the very rocks melted. The terrifying high temperature seemed to even warp and deform space itself.
If it were any other Spirit Master, even a Limit Douluo like Qian Daoliu, they would probably choose to take this move head-on, to break through it from the front with pure power.
But Jing Ni would not.
As an assassin, she would never engage in a meaningless head-on clash. She always advocated for resolving opponents with the smallest possible cost and the fastest speed.
The Teleportation skill, attached to her 100,000-year set Spirit Bone, activated.
In a flash of red light, Jing Ni easily dodged Qin Xuan's Avatar's attack. She suddenly appeared behind him, bypassing the 10-meter-tall phantom entirely, and struck at his side.
She gave him no chance to dodge.
Seeing the Jing Ni Sword about to land on his waist, Qin Xuan did not choose to use the seven smaller golden greatswords for defense. It was too late.
Instead, a strong, brilliant red light suddenly erupted from his left leg.
The 100,000-year Vermilion Bird Left Leg Bone's elementalization skill activated.
Swish!
Jing Ni's strike, which would have skewered any other Spirit Saint, passed through empty air.
Qin Xuan's entire body transformed into pure Vermilion Bird Flame. The divine fire spread wildly, instantly covering the area where Jing Ni stood, attempting to engulf her.
Jing Ni knew the terror of these flames; her ice simply couldn't withstand them. She teleported again, arriving a hundred meters away, exiting Qin Xuan's flame coverage.
But if she could teleport, Qin Xuan could also teleport.
And after Qin Xuan had refined the Immortal Herb, the Looking Through Autumn Water Dew, his mental force was even superior to Jing Ni's.
He quickly sensed her direction. Almost the instant Jing Ni's figure reappeared, he arrived before her—his body still wreathed in flames—and swung his Changming Sword.
At this time, Jing Ni had not yet stabilized her stance. She could only instinctively block.
Even with the Spirit Bone armor's enhancement, which gave her an absolute advantage in strength and speed, the surprise and the raw power of his strike sent her flying.
Her feet landed, and she plowed two deep trenches in the ground for several meters before stopping.
"His sword art... has surpassed mine," Jing Ni marveled inwardly, her arms stinging from the impact.
When she first met Qin Xuan, she was not his match. But in terms of pure sword art, Qin Xuan, who had only practiced the Longitudinal and Horizontal Swordsmanship for a year, was still no match for her centuries of inherited skill.
Yet, only half a year had passed. Qin Xuan had already left her far behind.
How... how exactly did he achieve this?
Jing Ni was very puzzled. Even if Qin Xuan's sword art talent was the rarest she had ever seen, to improve to this extent in just half a year... it was truly incredible.
As Jing Ni was thinking, she saw Qin Xuan put away his Spirit and stand there, smiling.
"Let's stop here for today. I've pretty much understood the abilities of the Haotian True Body."
His Avatar didn't have too many flashy tricks. In the Avatar state, all skills cast by the Changming Sword were amplified by 100%, and his own strength and agility were amplified by 100%.
This was also why Qin Xuan was able to keep up with Jing Ni's speed while she was in her Spirit Bone armor state.
Additionally, it would conjure flying swords equivalent to the number of his spirit rings, primarily to protect his main body. They could also be used for attack or, as he now knew, the Sword Control Technique.
"Aren't you going to try the Vermilion Bird Domain?" Jing Ni asked. She put away her Spirit and her Spirit Bone armor, then leaped in front of Qin Xuan. She took out the pouting A Yan from the Qiankun Bag, the storage spirit tool at her waist.
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