"It's stifling in the academy. Might as well come out and have some fun. The dean's my uncle—nobody would dare say a word even if I skip class."
Xue Beng turned to his gang of lackeys and spoke proudly.
The lackeys nodded in unison. "Boss Xue Beng is right. Life's carefree and easy when we follow the boss."
Xue Beng nodded in satisfaction, though deep down he sighed at his own miserable fate.
They were both princes of the Heaven Dou Empire, yet Xue Qinghe had a peerless genius like Shen An at his side, while he was stuck with a bunch of worthless riffraff.
Just as he was brooding about his future, a thunderous roar exploded near his ear.
Looking up, he saw a masked man wielding a tattooed longsword locked in fierce battle with a middle-aged man with wings.
That middle-aged man—Xue Beng recognized him. Flender. A seventy-eighth-rank agility-type Soul Sage.
Xue Beng swallowed hard. If someone could fight a Soul Sage, they had to be a Soul Sage too. He looked more closely—and was shocked. He rubbed his eyes furiously.
What the hell? A Soul Sage with four ten-thousand-year soul rings?!
But something was odd. The last three soul rings… why were they chasing him around?
Before he could process more, his face—and those of his lackeys—turned pale. The two Soul Sages were fighting in their direction.
The scattered soul power snapped thick trees like twigs. Xue Beng had no doubt—at their level of soul power, just one hit could cost them half their lives.
Terrified, Xue Beng turned to flee. But how could he possibly outrun Shen An and Flender?
In the blink of an eye, the two had already brought their battle over.
As sword qi slashed wildly through the air, Xue Beng even saw the illusions of strange monsters flickering into view.
One particular air blade, after cleaving a towering tree in half, swept directly toward them.
Xue Beng was so scared he nearly passed out. His legs were stiff with fear, unable to move.
Turns out the Profound Heaven Treasure Record had a point—pretend to be a pig long enough, and you really become one.
"Boss, look out!" One of his lackeys, forcing down his own fear, grabbed Xue Beng and yanked him out of the way.
Xue Beng was royalty—if something happened to him, they'd all end up buried alongside him.
But they were still a step too slow. A razor-sharp air blade pierced through Xue Beng's right shoulder, even severing bone.
"AAAAAAHHHH!"
Xue Beng let out a pig-slaughtering shriek and fled the battlefield without daring to look back.
His scream naturally reached the ears of the two combatants.
Flender's face twitched—why the hell was a prince of Heaven Dou Empire out here? And he'd accidentally hurt him? Was this going to come back and bite him?
Shen An didn't care. In his eyes, there was only Flender. The speed of a seventy-eighth-rank agility-type Soul Sage was monstrous—he couldn't afford the slightest slip.
Even though he'd seized the initiative, burned soul power, and kept pushing the tempo with the razor-sharp edge of the Nine-Leaf Swordgrass, he could only force a stalemate for now.
Worse still, Flender hadn't used his seventh soul skill yet. If he truly activated his Martial Soul Avatar, Shen An would have to resort to drugs and flee.
Flender's wings flapped as he sent out several powerful wind blades, finally breaking through one of Shen An's sword strikes.
The quality of this sword qi—it was among the finest he had ever seen.
Flender, shifting form madly in the air, was deeply puzzled. Who is this guy? His grasp of battle is freakishly good.
The moment Flender hesitated, Shen An seized the opening and went on the attack, forcing him into pure defense.
What was even stranger was that although this person was a Soul Sage, both his strength and soul power seemed lacking for the level. Only his speed matched a true Soul Sage.
But that devastating sword qi… it was hard to deal with. It reminded Flender of two people.
One was Sword Douluo Chen Xin. The other… Shen An!
No, that couldn't be right. Shen An was only at the Soul Elder level—maybe Soul Ancestor at best. There was no way he had reached Soul Sage in such a short time.
But Flender's perspective was too limited. He didn't know that in this world, there was such a thing as a bug called Tom Cat.
"Who exactly are you, and what do you want?" Flender's fourth and sixth soul rings flared with brilliance.
Dozens of sharp air blades shot toward Shen An, slicing from all angles. Simultaneously, Flender's entire body was cloaked in a golden-yellow aura, blocking the incoming sword qi.
Clang!
The Nine-Leaf Swordgrass moved like a shooting star. A sea of sword qi poured from it, surging forward to intercept the flying blades.
But Shen An's eyes, once filled with battle lust, suddenly froze.
What the hell did he just see?
The sword qi he had just unleashed—had gathered into the shape of a pink cartoon pig. A wild Peppa Pig. It opened its mouth and swallowed all the air blades.
Shen An froze, then shook his head hard. No way. It's just an illusion.
"I'm just a swordsman who got excited when I saw a worthy opponent. Couldn't resist the urge to test myself." Shen An finally spoke, standing atop the illusory Nine-Leaf Sword and speaking slowly.
To avoid revealing his signature moves, Shen An only summoned a single flying sword for the airborne fight with Flender.
Thanks to his extensive experimentation, this once-lethal sword now obediently lay beneath his feet like a flying platform.
Flender, flapping his wings in midair, also froze. A string of WTFs flew through his mind.
What the hell did I just see? Sword qi turning into a pink pig?
This was so bizarre that Flender found it even harder to guess Shen An's identity. There's no sword cultivator like this on the whole continent.
So it was just excitement, huh? I was wondering why someone I'd never offended would suddenly show up and fight me.
Flender slowly processed Shen An's explanation.
"Well then, sir, shall we call it a day?" he said cautiously. He really didn't want any more trouble—especially not from a mysterious powerhouse with four ten-thousand-year soul rings.
It wasn't that he lacked confidence in winning. But even if he won, it wouldn't benefit him. If things escalated and he couldn't kill the guy, the consequences could be serious.
Shen An gave a sly grin. "No can do. I'm not done yet."
"How about this: you don't use your Martial Soul True Body, and I won't use my mine. Let's just have a proper fight."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen An charged without hesitation, using a medium soul power experience pack on himself.
His soul power, previously depleted, filled up again. He was now a hair's breadth away from reaching level forty-five.
Flender could only smile bitterly. What a day. I went out to clear my head, and now I've been dragged into a duel with a sword nut.
Still, he thought, as long as they weren't using their full power, it shouldn't turn into a life-and-death struggle.
But he remained alert—if the other guy showed signs of going all-out, he'd immediately respond in kind.
Flender no longer hesitated. Since battle was unavoidable, he might as well stretch his bones and show this guy some color.
He wasn't one to fear trouble—but neither was he one to be messed with.
In a flash, powerful soul power formed countless blades of wind that surged toward Shen An. At the same time, he became a golden blur, his wings slashing at Shen An with deadly force.
"Good!" Shen An's eyes sparkled with delight. A fight like this—this was joy.
No one at his own level could give him a challenge.
The yellow air blades tore through the air, shredding fallen leaves as they flew toward Shen An like an unstoppable wave.
In that instant, Shen An's sword intent erupted. His cyan-blue eyes reflected every trace of the incoming wind blades.
Clang clang clang clang clang!
The collisions between sword and air blade rang out like thunder.