He thrust his spear forward, the tip gleaming like a silver serpent as it shot straight toward Zhu Chen.
At the same time, Porcupine Douluo shielded Qian Renxue behind him and unhesitatingly released his nine soul rings.
Clang!
Zhu Chen casually raised his right hand and caught the spearhead between his index and middle fingers.
With a slight exertion of force, he sent the spear flying thousands of meters away, where it finally embedded itself deep into a towering ancient tree, trembling violently.
"What?!"
Serpent Spear Douluo's pupils shrank sharply.
Looking at his numb, trembling hands, his face was filled with shock.
This young man had caught his spear with just two fingers...
and even knocked it out of his grasp!
What kind of terrifying strength was this?!
"Ninth Soul Skill—!"
Seeing the situation turn critical, Porcupine Douluo prepared to unleash his ultimate ability.
But at that moment, Qian Renxue stopped him.
"Stop."
"That's my friend."
"What?!"
"He's your friend, Young Master?"
Serpent Spear Douluo and Porcupine Douluo turned around at the same time, shock written all over their faces.
During Qian Renxue's long infiltration of the Heaven Dou Empire, the two of them had secretly protected her at all times. They knew exactly who she interacted with.
Yet they had never seen this terrifyingly powerful young man before.
"Yes. You two may step back."
Qian Renxue nodded at Serpent Spear Douluo and Porcupine Douluo.
Then she took a small step forward, standing in front of Zhu Chen, and asked softly,
"Are you… Zhu Chen?"
There was a trace of surprise in Qian Renxue's voice.
Ever since joining that mysterious chat group, she had imagined Zhu Chen's appearance countless times.
But she had never expected him to be so young.
"Who else did you think it would be?"
Zhu Chen laughed lightly and shrugged. His gaze swept over Qian Renxue, carefully observing the graceful young woman before him.
Qian Renxue was not disguising herself at all.
She wore a resplendent golden palace dress. Her long golden hair fell loosely down her back, slightly disordered, contrasting sharply with her immaculate royal attire.
This mix of elegance and casual disorder created a striking visual impact.
"Honestly, you look quite beautiful like this," Zhu Chen said bluntly.
"Why insist on pretending to be a man all the time? For the sake of a mere Heaven Dou Empire, there's no need to wrong yourself like this."
He wasn't flattering her...he was simply stating a fact.
Qian Renxue disguised herself as a man in order to seize control of the Heaven Dou Empire.
But in Zhu Chen's eyes, she could easily dominate the Douluo World simply by downloading a few decent cultivation techniques from the chat group.
There was no need to rely on such elaborate schemes.
Power gained through trickery could never last.
Only an empire founded on absolute strength could suppress all opposition and intimidate every petty villain.
Zhu Chen shared his thoughts openly with Qian Renxue.
However, Qian Renxue held a very different view.
She believed that while seizing power by force was easy, it would inevitably lead to the deaths of countless Soul Masters.
Once war broke out, the entire Douluo World would be plunged into chaos.
That was not what she wanted.
Although disguising herself as Xue Qinghe and infiltrating Emperor Xue Ye's side was troublesome—and often forced her to do things against her will—it prevented large-scale bloodshed.
Once Emperor Xue Ye passed away, she could naturally inherit the Heaven Dou Empire.
At that point, Spirit Hall could take over the empire smoothly, without war or resistance.
Qian Renxue's ambition was to unify the Douluo World through peaceful means and make Spirit Hall the sole ruling power of the continent.
She wished to put an end to endless wars between empires like Heaven Dou and Star Luo.
More than that, she intended to abolish the existing clan and sect systems, ushering the Douluo Continent into an unprecedented golden age.
No royal privileges.
No inherited advantages.
Everyone starting from the same point.
Fairness.
Justice.
"Your ideals are admirable," Zhu Chen said calmly.
"I hope you succeed."
Seeing Qian Renxue's firm resolve, Zhu Chen said no more.
After taking a map of the area around the Heaven Dou Empire from her, he prepared to head directly toward the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
However, just as he turned around.....
a massive hammer glowing with red light suddenly tore through the air, accompanied by a piercing whistle, and smashed straight toward him.
"Young Master, be careful!"
Serpent Spear Douluo reacted instantly. He gathered his soul power and thrust his spear forward the moment the hammer descended.
"—Fifth Soul Skill: Thunderous Explosion Kill!"
The spear collided violently with the hammer. Sparks flew everywhere as a deafening explosion echoed throughout the Sunset Forest.
"Damn it… it's the Clear Sky Hammer!"
Serpent Spear Douluo immediately realized the danger.
He tried to deflect the attack, but it was already too late.
"Killing God Domain!"
"Clear Sky Nine Absolutes .... Tremor!"
An enraged roar burst from the depths of the forest.
An overwhelming killing intent surged outward, instantly enveloping Zhu Chen, Qian Renxue, and the others.
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