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The gap between a Soul Douluo and a Title Douluo was like an insurmountable abyss.
Even a peak Soul Douluo had no chance of defeating an ordinary Title Douluo.
The Gold Palace Soul Douluo wasn't foolish. Realizing the threat to his life, he spread his martial soul wings and attempted to flee into the sky.
However, he seemed to have forgotten that Title Douluos possessed the ability to fly through the air—and Dugu Bo's flying speed far surpassed his own.
Attacking a Soul Douluo from the Spirit Hall would inevitably invite fierce retaliation from the Spirit Hall.
Once action was taken, there could be no turning back. The only way to avoid future trouble was to leave no trace of the opponent behind.
"Eight Soul Skill, Time Solidification."
The Bi Lin Snake Emperor martial soul spat out its emerald-green core, instantly freezing everything in front of it in place.
Gold Palace Soul Douluo tried to struggle but couldn't break free of the binding.
"No! I haven't avenged my family yet; justice for the over a thousand villagers hasn't been served!"
"A man blinded by hatred doesn't deserve sympathy."
Not giving him a chance to speak further, Dugu Bo activated his head soul bone skill.
"Medusa's Gaze."
A milky-white ray struck Gold Palace, instantly petrifying his body.
A moment later, Dugu Bo retracted his core, and the Time Solidification effect dissipated.
The petrified body of Gold Palace fell from the sky, smashing into countless fragments upon hitting the ground.
Dead beyond any doubt!
Dugu Bo knew the methods of the Spirit Hall. Returning to the ground, he meticulously collected every fragment into his soul tool.
In the future, the Gold Palace Soul Douluo would serve as nourishment within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
After finishing this, Zhang Erhe finally arrived belatedly.
"Thank you, Lord Dugu," Zhang Erhe bowed deeply, speaking with sincere gratitude.
This man had not only saved his life but also eliminated his sworn enemy.
Adding to the favor he owed from when Dugu Bo helped him hunt souls, Zhang Erhe understood that the debt he owed to Dugu Bo would be nearly impossible to repay in this lifetime.
But Dugu Bo didn't need repayment. Waving his hand dismissively, he said, "Serve the young master well—that will be repayment enough for me."
With that, he turned and left.
Zhang Erhe sighed inwardly and sat down next to a nearby tree.
If possible, he hadn't wanted to kill Gold Palace Soul Douluo .
Much of the information Ning Tianchen had provided him came from the Spirit Hall.
Given the Gold Palace Soul Douluo's status, he undoubtedly had access to search through the Spirit Hall's archives for past records.
Unfortunately, he had been blinded by hatred and never came to his senses.
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Zhang Erhe spent the night alone in the wilderness.
During this time, he kept pondering whether killing Gold Palace Soul Douluo had been the right decision.
Years ago, though he had been manipulated, the massacre of the village was still a fact.
After much deliberation, he ultimately decided to move forward. Let the past remain in the past.
(T/N: Finally over this mini-plot, I was getting sick of typing 'Gold Palace'. Should I change it to the pinyin name 'Jin Que'?)
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Inside the Seven Treasures Academy
The rest day had ended, and the members of the Seven Treasures Team gathered in the training room.
They waited for a long time, but Ke Jie's figure was nowhere to be seen.
Chen Huayu couldn't help but remark, "Could it be that the principal forgot about our intensive training?"
Ning Tianchen shook his head.
Based on his understanding of Ke Jie, the man was not someone who lacked a sense of time.
"Everyone, wait a little longer. If the principal is late, it's likely due to being delayed by academy affairs. Let's warm up first. If the principal still hasn't arrived, we'll organize the training ourselves."
Achieving a better ranking in the Soul Master Tournament directly benefited them.
Thus, their training didn't require external supervision.
Ning Rongrong and Oscar, as auxiliary-type soul masters, sat on the sidelines to observe everyone's training.
In the one-on-one duels of the promotion matches, auxiliary-type soul masters had no role to play.
However, as members of the team, they needed to stay by everyone's side.
As the two Soul Kings of the team, Ning Tianchen and Feng Xiaotian became each other's sparring partners.
"It's been a while since we last sparred. Today, let's have a proper match," Feng Xiaotian said with a smile.
Ning Tianchen readily agreed.
"As spectators, we'll help point out any mistakes during your match," Yu Die said cheerfully.
"I'll be the referee," Oscar volunteered himself.
Everyone quickly backed away, leaving the center of the training ground as the stage for their duel.
Once both sides were ready, Oscar announced, "The match begins!"
Both participants held nothing back, fighting with all their might.
When the battle reached its peak, Feng Xiaotian unleashed his Gale Wolf Fifty-Four Consecutive Slashes, yet he still couldn't defeat Ning Tianchen.
"Forget it, I give up," Feng Xiaotian waved his hand and conceded.
His self-created soul skill was his trump card, yet even at full power, he couldn't take down Ning Tianchen.
Continuing the fight would only result in Ning Tianchen's sword techniques overwhelming him.
Ning Tianchen sheathed his Seven Kill Sword and asked with a smile, "Did everyone notice any mistakes during our sparring?"
"It was too fast—I saw double images. How could I possibly analyze it?" Oscar shrugged helplessly.
The others were all Soul Ancestors—it was truly difficult for them to critique a battle between Soul Kings.
Ning Tianchen waved his hand. "Our sparring is over. The next pair, go ahead."
The next pair was Yu Die and Cai Die.
Before Ning Tianchen could make sense of their bout, Sun Buyu hurriedly arrived at the rest area and called Ning Tianchen outside.
In a reception room beside the training hall, Ning Tianchen saw Zhang Erhe's figure.
After bringing him in, Sun Buyu immediately exited the room and closed the door behind him.
"The old man told me about your matter last night."
Without the Gold Palace Soul Douluo , Zhang Erhe no longer had anything to worry about.
Zhang Erhe bowed deeply and said, "Young Master Ning and Elder Dugu's kindness is something I will never forget. Now that my personal matters are resolved, please feel free to give me any instructions, Young Master Ning."
At this moment, the Soul Master Tournament was the top priority, and Ning Tianchen had few private matters to attend to.
After some thought, he said, "I need you to search for the location of the Killing Town on the continent."
For the Seven Kill Sword martial soul, the City of Slaughter was the best place to cultivate killing intent.
After the tournament ended, Ning Tianchen would eventually have to go there.
The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect knew very little about the City of Slaughter—or even the existence of the Killing Town. Having Zhang Erhe search for it in advance would save a lot of time in the future.
"The Killing Town? How could there be a town named after slaughter on the continent?" Zhang Erhe was puzzled.
Ning Tianchen explained, "The Killing Town is essentially a town centered around slaughter. If you find it, record the coordinates and return to report to me. Remember—don't eat or drink anything there, and don't delve too deeply into it. Can you do that?"
Zhang Erhe's susceptibility to the manipulative techniques of evil soul masters proved that his mental fortitude was lacking.
If he consumed Bloody Mary, he would likely become one of the fallen within the City of Slaughter.
It was worth noting that among the fallen in the City of Slaughter, there were no shortages of Soul Douluo-level experts.
After finishing his conversation with Zhang Erhe, Ning Tianchen left the reception room and ran into the belated Ke Jie.
Back in the training room, Ke Jie informed everyone about Yu Tianxin joining the Shrek Team.
"This guy—isn't he just a servant of two masters?" Chen Huayu scoffed.
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