Facing Qian Renxue, who had already unleashed her Martial Soul Avatar, even a high-level Soul Douluo might not necessarily be her match. Consequently, Gu Xuan's heart was filled with immense gravity.
To win this battle, he could no longer afford to hold anything back. This meant that his true abilities and hidden trump cards would finally be exposed.
However, Gu Xuan made his choice in an instant. Just as he had told Tang San, the path of a soul master was one of charging forward relentlessly. If he chose to give up now, he would never be able to reach greater heights in this lifetime.
Five soul rings—two yellow, one purple, and two black—spiraled around him. With his first and second soul skills active, combined with the Darkgold Terrorclaw and the Sword Dragon Eight Wings, his enhancements had reached their absolute peak. In this state, Gu Xuan could stand his ground against a typical Soul Saint.
But Qian Renxue was no ordinary Soul Saint. She possessed combat power that far exceeded her rank.
Furthermore, she struck with full force from the very beginning. As her voice fell, she spread her arms wide, her body forming a cross in the air. Tilting her head back, she let out a clear, melodious, and long cry.
In an instant, the golden light erupting from her expanded at a speed invisible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, it had encompassed thousands of square meters in the sky, directly swallowing Gu Xuan within its range.
Everything around him suddenly turned gold. Gu Xuan knew that this was the Angelic Domain under the effect of the Martial Soul Avatar—or rather, this was the true Angelic Domain.
Under the Avatar's influence, the domain was fully unleashed. Standing within that golden light, Gu Xuan first felt immense pressure coming from all directions. His senses were compressed into a narrow range, and even his mental detection was limited to a radius of less than ten meters around his body.
It was as if he had entered another world where the sole ruler was Qian Renxue.
At the same time, the sensation of soul power being purified and dissolved appeared, forcing Gu Xuan to accelerate his consumption of energy just to resist the domain's effects.
"Gu Xuan, do you feel the gap between us now? This is my domain; here, I am the master."
The thirty-meter-tall Angel spoke with absolute confidence. "Within my domain, even a Titled Douluo might not be my match. You're everything is already completely within my grasp."
Listening to her confident words, Gu Xuan's expression remained as calm as a deep well. He replied indifferently, "If you are speaking just to wear down my patience, then congratulations—you've succeeded."
"Next, I will shatter all of your confidence."
In truth, Gu Xuan wasn't entirely certain he could do it, but he needed this aura of peerless arrogance and momentum.
Qian Renxue raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then let me see where your confidence actually comes from!"
In the next moment, the power of the Angelic Domain concentrated entirely on Gu Xuan under her control. If an ordinary Soul King were in his position, they wouldn't even need her to lift a finger; the domain alone would be enough to dissolve them.
However, the situation Qian Renxue expected did not occur. After being enveloped by the domain, halos of eight different elemental colors began to circulate around Gu Xuan: blue-purple lightning, pitch-black darkness, silver-white space, teal wind, ash-gray earth, sky-blue ice-fire, crimson flame, and blue-white time.
These were the eight attributes currently mastered by Gu Xuan, with space, darkness, ice, and fire being the most powerful and reaching the "ultimate" level.
The domain's ability to dissolve soul power was undoubtedly the strongest of its rank—or rather, an ability infinitely close to the ultimate level. Yet, as the eight elemental halos appeared, they actually isolated the Angelic Domain, demonstrating a power that was not at all inferior to the domain under the Avatar's effect.
Unfortunately, Gu Xuan's current ability could only be applied to himself; he could not yet form a domain to restrict enemies. If these eight powers ever formed a domain, even a Titled Douluo would likely be annihilated in an instant.
The eight elemental energies formed a multicolored set of armor over Gu Xuan's body, dominated by silver-white space, pitch-black darkness, crimson fire, and sky-blue ice. It looked domineering and allowed Gu Xuan to completely ignore the suppression of the Angelic Domain.
Yes, ignore—or rather, neutralize—the suppression of this terrifying domain.
"Elemental Battle Armor!"
The name was simple and unpretentious, but it described the ability perfectly. The eight elements flowed and shifted over the armor, completely blocking the negative effects of the domain from affecting him.
Qian Renxue's eyes flickered. She truly hadn't expected Gu Xuan to possess such an ability, despite having estimated his hidden strength at the highest possible level.
This was why she had gone all out with her domain after activating the Martial Soul Avatar—she wanted to defeat him in a single move. Geniuses like Gu Xuan would never yield easily, nor would they be swayed by words. Only the most direct and violent methods could beat them into submission.
Qian Renxue was the same. To ensure that Gu Xuan wouldn't have second thoughts when she eventually revealed her true self and the "Xue Qinghe" identity to him, she intended to take him down with overwhelming force.
However, she never imagined he could withstand her full-power domain while she was in her Martial Soul Avatar form. Of course, while surprised, that was all. Even if he could resist the domain, she was still a genuine Soul Saint.
While Gu Xuan had an over-limit ten-thousand-year fourth ring, she had the empowerment of three ten-thousand-year rings herself. With that thought, she spoke no more and swung her thirty-meter Angelic Holy Sword down at him.
"Angelic... Judgment!"
Under the Martial Soul Avatar, Qian Renxue could use her first six soul skills without restriction for half an hour. Naturally, with the domain fully active, this time would be greatly shortened, but she felt it was more than enough to deal with Gu Xuan.
As the massive sword descended, Gu Xuan remained expressionless. His black fourth soul ring ignited.
Without the domain's suppression, his soul power was no longer being drained rapidly. The Elemental Battle Armor didn't consume much energy to maintain, but once used, it required a significant amount of time to recover. With his current mastery, space, darkness, fire, and ice would take three days to recharge, while the other four required at least a week.
Essentially, he could only use this at full power once a week. But for now, against Qian Renxue, it was enough.
As the dark, profound light of his fourth ring radiated outward, Gu Xuan actually walked directly toward the descending holy sword.
Just as the sword was about to strike him, Qian Renxue subconsciously held back seventy percent of her strength. Gu Xuan's refusal to dodge looked like a death wish, and she found she couldn't bring herself to kill him.
However, right before impact, a three-meter-wide spatial gate quietly appeared between Gu Xuan and the blade.
Gu Xuan stepped directly into it. By the time the sword struck the air, the spatial gate had vanished, and Gu Xuan along with it.
Qian Renxue's eyes widened. She knew she hadn't hit him; he had escaped using his fourth soul skill. But why did a mere Soul King possess such eerie spatial power?
Even Gu Xuan's grandfather, the Bone Douluo Gu Rong, who was famous across the continent, only began to show his brilliance with space after reaching Rank 70.
While she was lost in thought, a faint spatial ripple appeared behind her. Within her own Angelic Domain, any minute change was under her absolute control. Without hesitation, she spun around and swung her sword. This time, she didn't hold back at all—she realized she had still underestimated Gu Xuan.
(End of Chapter)
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