Chen Xin's sword strike, powerful enough to level mountains and reverse seas, was completely blocked by the Golden Crow's defenses. No matter how much strength he poured into it, that piercing blue sword enery couldn't penetrate the barrier formed by its feathers and flames.
What shocked Chen Xin even more was the tree beneath the Golden Crow—the one Xu Yang had called the Fusang Tree. Despite the fierce clash between man and beast that shook the entire island, the Fusang Tree only trembled slightly, easily dissipating the shockwave between them without suffering the slightest damage.
The other thirteen Golden Crows perched on the tree immediately took flight. Wreathed in golden flames, they transformed into streaks of radiant light and soared into the sky, circling around Chen Xin and unleashing countless tongues of golden fire from their rapidly beating wings.
"Sunfire, huh? Impressive, but I've seen far stronger than this."
Surrounded from all sides by the flaming onslaught, Chen Xin remained unshaken. On the way here, he had already witnessed the terrifying might of Xu Yang's Sunfire—it was far superior to what these ten-thousand-year Golden Crows were dishing out.
At this moment, his eyes were focused solely on the beast-level Golden Crow.
"Seventh Soul Skill—Spirit Avatar Seven Kill Sword!"
His seventh soul ring lit up along his Seven Kill Sword, and a piercing sword cry echoed across the entire island. Behind him rose a towering blue phantom, over fifty meters tall, wielding a colossal Seven Kill Sword nearly thirty meters long—this was the Martial Soul True Body of the Seven Kill Sword, evolved after reaching the realm of Ultimate Douluo.
As soon as it appeared, the giant Seven Kill Sword swung down, wrapped in soul power that could shatter the heavens, slicing through the air with a thunderous shriek as it came crashing down on the beast-level Golden Crow.
At the same time, Xu Yang appeared behind Chen Xin, wielding the Sun Sacred Blade. He infused it with bloodthirst and Deathgod Domain power until the blade turned blood-red, and with a sweeping slash, obliterated the incoming fire tongues from the thirteen Golden Crows.
That slash was none other than his signature move: Slaughter God's Blade — One Slash.
Xu Yang didn't use his Sun Martial Soul. Against the Golden Crow—a mythical bird born from the sun—it would have little to no effect, and might even empower the creature instead. The Slaughter God's Blade — One Slash was far more effective in this situation.
This was also one of the reasons Xu Yang had brought Chen Xin along.
His Sun Martial Soul and the Golden Crow were too similar in nature. In a clash, it would likely result in mutual nullification—completely counterproductive.
With Xu Yang handling the interference from the thirteen Golden Crows, the beast-level Golden Crow facing Chen Xin's Martial Soul True Body finally moved.
It let out a long screech, and its entire body burst into blazing crimson-gold flames, turning into a massive firebird. With a single flap of its wings, it transformed into a streak of rainbow light and vanished, causing Chen Xin's devastating sword strike to miss entirely and instead cleave into the island below, carving open a massive rift.
The fissure was enormous, stretching all the way to the shoreline, revealing tangled roots running deep beneath the island. Torrents of seawater began to pour in.
Had their battle not taken place at the island's center—an area densely packed with the Fusang Tree's roots—Chen Xin's sword would've cleaved the entire island in two.
Xu Yang had kept a portion of his consciousness focused on the battle throughout. When he saw the Golden Crow dodge Chen Xin's strike by turning into a rainbow light, his pupils contracted, and one term surfaced in his mind—Rainbow Transformation Technique.
According to legend, the Golden Crow could transform into a ray of rainbow light, flying at speeds beyond comprehension—faster than nearly any living creature. He hadn't expected even a spirit beast version of the Golden Crow to possess this ability.
Now that he thought about it, the other Golden Crows seemed to use similar speed-enhancing techniques, just not as fast. It must be one of the innate racial abilities of the species.
Fortunately, their speed hadn't yet reached a point where Chen Xin or Xu Yang couldn't track them. They were still able to follow the Golden Crow's movements.
"Damn bird, dodged that strike? Then let's see if you can take another!"
Chen Xin's eyes gleamed with excitement. He turned into a streak of sword light and shot toward the beast-level Golden Crow. His third soul ring lit up, and in an instant, his speed skyrocketed—no slower than the Golden Crow itself.
"It seems that as one's cultivation rises, the fusion between Martial Soul and body reaches an extreme. Even soul skills can now be used freely, without the lag they used to carry."
Xu Yang observed in thought. After all, soul skills are techniques derived from spirit beasts and a soul master's Martial Soul. While powerful, they were not created by the user and often came with a slight delay in execution.
This delay diminished as one's cultivation and familiarity with their skills grew. Eventually, soul masters could begin to fine-tune their soul skills, modifying their use. Just like how Tang San had altered Blue Silver Prison into Blue Silver Thrust Array, and now like how Chen Xin—fully united with his sword—was using his Sword Wings soul skill to fly at extreme speeds while maintaining full combat readiness.
This was something Xu Yang had only realized after reaching the micro-level control realm. Before, he thought the delay in soul skills was something inherent and unavoidable. Now he saw that once a soul master became a Super Douluo or above, the delay naturally disappeared.
"When one's soul power surpasses level ninety-five, it undergoes a qualitative change. Each level after that brings about a Martial Soul evolution. At that level, soul skills become irrelevant—you and your Martial Soul become one."
That was what Chen Xin had said in the original novel—and Xu Yang remembered it clearly.
After dodging the previous attack, the beast-level Golden Crow reappeared above the island. It let out a deafening cry, its eyes blazing with fury as it locked onto Chen Xin with a terrifying, beast-like killing intent.
"Screech—!!"
With another shrill cry, the Golden Crow's Sunfire erupted violently. A crimson-gold wave of energy expanded from its body, enveloping the entire island in its domain. In that moment, Xu Yang and Chen Xin were both plunged into a world of red-gold flame.
It was the Sun Domain.
But compared to Xu Yang's Sun Domain from before his breakthrough, the Golden Crow's domain now had an additional trait—control over Sun Fire—on top of the usual burning, purification, and suppression of soul power and mental energy.
As the domain activated, the entire island ignited in flames of pure sunfire, turning the land into an inferno.
The other soul beasts on the island frantically burrowed underground, using molten rock and magma to shield themselves from the scorching temperature and purifying flames. The thirteen Golden Crows, on the other hand, cheered in delight. Xu Yang could clearly feel their auras surging—within seconds, they had become over 50% stronger.
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