With a hiss, the blade unleashed a sound like countless meteors plummeting to earth, slicing through the sky, interwoven with the metallic clang of countless armies clashing in war.

The leading hand held light, the rear hand grasped firm—Heaven and Earth’s stars, enter my true body! I am the Stars! Master of All!

Everything about Qian Jin seemed to adhere to the battle saber, his entire being fused with the weapon, erupting with the might of a tsunami, intending to extinguish everything before him. If Tianlian Lingguan’s spear thrust was a great river, then Qian Jin’s saber strike was a river of stars. If Tianlian Lingguan’s spear thrust was a waterfall plunging from a high mountain, then Qian Jin’s saber strike was that stellar river pouring down from the highest heavens, from among the stars!

The clash of weapons more readily decides life and death than the contest of fists! Qian Jin held back nothing; the cleaving strike descended, its speed even more ferocious than Tianlian Lingguan’s, unleashing the Violent Soul Domain! Suddenly! Qian Jin’s battle saber flared with rainbow light, its power instantaneously magnified more than tenfold, striking ahead of its former position toward Tianlian Lingguan’s head. In a flash of lightning and flint, Tianlian Lingguan whipped his head aside. His neck and shoulder only suffered the searing pain of the blade wind generated by the saber, feeling as if his head might truly fall off. In that instant, his spear shifted, thrusting upward to meet the heaven-rending saber blow.

Clang…

The collision and friction between the saber and spear sent countless brilliant sparks flying, hues more dazzling than national celebration fireworks. Ferocious killing intent and murderous thoughts entangled and tore at each other, causing cold sweat to break out on the backs of the onlookers. The spear, massive as a python, instantly bent into a crescent moon shape, its surging momentum utterly broken. Tianlian Lingguan’s feet could find no purchase on the ground; he was sent flying backward, dragging two long furrows in the earth, fresh blood immediately bursting from the tiger’s mouth grip on his weapon.

Crack! What broke was not bone, but the Spearman of Battle! If this had been a contest of fists and feet rather than weapons, the Spearman absorbing the majority of the force, Tianlian Lingguan shattering bones would have been a minor stroke of luck.

Though his Three Great Fighting Souls had only just been successfully condensed, their quantity and quality were in no way inferior to Tianlian Lingguan’s. The forceful possession by the Ultra-Void Soul elevated his strength to another realm. Combined with this nameless Stellar Fighting Art and the power of the Violent Soul Domain, even a Half-Saint would choose avoidance over a direct clash.

Tianlian Lingguan could never have imagined that the Qian Jin who had just battled Lingguan was not even showing his full hand, having hidden such devastating trump cards.

In a single strike! Tianlian Lingguan retreated, wounded, his arms slack and aching, his body tormented by a sensation like countless ants gnawing within. Several of his bones emitted cracking sounds audible only to himself. A sudden force erupted from beneath his skin, exploding into a spray of crimson.

The Submerged Thunder Fighting Art! This was the Submerged Thunder Fighting Art used for killing, not for sparring!

Qian Jin never entertained any leniency toward those who sought his life. Any soft-heartedness toward them was only cruelty toward himself. Since the opponent desired his death, he absolutely would not let the opponent live. Once the killing intent arose, only one side could leave alive.

That damnable Submerged Thunder Fighting Art! I should have killed him back at the academy! Tianlian Lingguan’s heart shook violently. He tried desperately to locate how many instances of the Submerged Thunder Fighting Art had pierced his body, when he suddenly sensed a chilling, violent tide, like a tsunami engulfing heaven and earth, descending from above.

The second strike! Qian Jin’s second blow, one without life yet still present, reappeared!

Tianlian Lingguan’s skin instantly tightened as his heart spasmed. The dazzling blade light, rubbing against the air, carried a scorching airflow, mixed with the metallic, rusty scent unique to weaponry, forming an aura of death only truly discernable by those who have known death.

Since entering the Campaign Academy, Tianlian Lingguan had never known defeat in either bare-handed combat or weapon duels! No one had ever even forced him to use his full strength, let alone feel the breath of death.

But today! At this moment! Qian Jin, with just one strike, forced him to recall the nightmarish taste of near-death experiences on the Man-Demon Battlefield when he was but a rookie!

This familiar aura of death did not terrify Tianlian Lingguan; instead, it instantaneously ignited an excitement that had long been extinguished deep within his heart.

The path to Sainthood, the gateway to the Battle Saint! Open for me!

In an instant, the Dou Qi on Tianlian Lingguan’s body underwent a rapid qualitative transformation. The fluctuations generated by his Fighting Soul resembled pebbles dropped into a lake, sending ripples outward from his body.

Half-Saint! In a mere moment! Without awakening his bloodline power, Tianlian Lingguan, relying on his profound foundation of arduous cultivation, forcibly broke open the gate to the Battle Saint, one foot stepping into the realm of Sainthood, instantly promoting him to the Half-Saint level.

He lacked a Soul Domain, yet possessed Dou Qi of a higher quality—Dou Qi capable of extracting greater power from Fighting Arts!

A thread of electricity, as thick as a little finger, appeared on Tianlian Lingguan’s body at this moment.

Thunder Lion King! The reason he was called the Thunder Lion King was that, as a child, he had been struck by lightning from the sky but not killed. Instead, during his later Dou Qi cultivation, his energy would carry a current of electricity, which surged exponentially upon gaining a Fighting Soul.

Some even speculated that when the Thunder Lion King acquired a Soul Domain, it would inevitably be the Thunder Soul Domain!

This unique aspect granted him a special ability in combat against other opponents: electricity! Powerful currents could paralyze the opponent’s body, interfere with their judgment, and make him even stronger.

At this moment, entering the Half-Saint realm, the Thunder Lion King could vaguely sense his Soul Domain—like a seed containing infinite lightning—slowly pulsing in the center of his forehead, rapidly forming the nascent stage of a Thunder Soul Domain!

With sufficient time, Tianlian Lingguan believed he could truly utilize this potentially awakening Thunder Soul Domain to stimulate his bloodline power, successfully stepping into the true realm of the Battle Saint.

The broad battle saber was drawn from Tianlian Lingguan’s Dou World. At this critical juncture, he raised it to block and lock the attack. Countless blue electrical currents saturated the weapon, shaping it into a great saber seemingly forged of pure lightning.

Another Dou Soldier! Many spectators watched Tianlian Lingguan with envy. Truly worthy of being the foremost expert of the younger generation of the Golden Griffin King family; his assets far surpassed those of ordinary warriors. How much time had passed? He had already produced a second Dou Soldier!

A second Dou Soldier? The rear hand gripping the saber empowered Qian Jin, driving the pressure down once more! The strike unleashed a scent thick with gore!

Tianlian Lingguan cast aside all previous condescension toward Qian Jin, though his inherent dominance remained unshaken. Facing the razor-sharp saber light, the skin on his scalp burned with a searing pain, as if his scalp was actively being sliced open. This illusion was purely the result of the sheer potency of Qian Jin’s strike—the effect generated merely by the leading edge of the saber pressure.

Yet, Tianlian Lingguan could not ignore the illusion of his scalp being severed. If he responded poorly, the arc traced by the great saber would not just slice his scalp, but cleave his entire body in two.

Facing Qian Jin’s ferocity, the proud bloodline warrior’s dignity and honor of the Thunder Lion King erupted, forcing out the strength of a Half-Saint. His years of accumulated power, intended for a singular breakthrough into Sainthood to activate his bloodline and reach a higher peak, were now prematurely extracted by his opponent. He roared, the sound shaking the surroundings, exhaling a visible stream of air.

The air Tianlian Lingguan expelled subtly contained electricity, like steam gushing from a boiling pot, rushing toward Qian Jin. Though he held a broad, heavy saber, as his body violently shook, it transformed into a colossal shield—it was the Griffin King bloodline Fighting Art, Immovable as the Mountain!

Left and right peaks conjoin to form a range; unmoving, unshakeable like towering mountains!

However, the arm of Tianlian Lingguan, which resembled connected peaks, was not as indestructible as the mountains rumored to be. The moment it contacted Qian Jin’s battle saber, it instantly collapsed, like a smaller peak caving in next to a main summit, absorbing the force and momentum of the world-falling meteor.

This lock and retraction covered a distance of three inches. Tianlian Lingguan’s face instantly became covered in veins and crackling electricity. The power of a Half-Saint erupted like a volcanic explosion, blue electrical light surging around him. He resembled a Golden Griffin King controlling lightning, every feather on his body standing on end, much like the supremely domineering single finger strike of Gan Zhanxuan in the past!

The broad battle saber brutally slammed against Qian Jin’s Zhanmadao. Traces of cracking spiderwebbed across the saber, yet it managed to barely block Qian Jin’s savage blow. Blue current shot along the Zhanmadao, surging toward Qian Jin’s hands and body.

Touch and retreat, arbitrarily weakening the opponent’s momentum by thirty percent, then unleashing the burst! This combat technique of Tianlian Lingguan fully utilized the life-or-death training forged on the Man-Demon Battlefield. Even Pan Hongji couldn't help but let out a silent nod of praise: “Beautiful!”

Having blocked Qian Jin’s Zhanmadao with one strike, Tianlian Lingguan’s pupils constricted sharply. The corners of both eyes slanted upward in a tight arch. Clenching his steel-like teeth, his internal Dou Qi surged and accelerated. A roar unique to the Griffin burst forth through his gritted teeth, one higher and stronger than the Beast King’s Roar of the Raging Lion King by several magnitudes. Spectators in the distance could not withstand the sheer pressure of the cry, spitting blood. The destructive power generated by such a potent roar was immense, let alone the pressure exerted on the nearest Qian Jin.

Amidst the long cry, Tianlian Lingguan instead stepped forward—his first true advance since the engagement began—his body like an overwhelming ocean wave, punching forward to destroy everything in a straight rush.

This punch was not only magnificent in momentum, causing Tianlian Lingguan’s entire body to resemble a roaring wave, but his hand transformed into a bolt of furious thunder cleaving from the sky, entwined with countless arcs of light—it was like the Thunder God’s War Hammer, capable of shattering the world!

Tianlian Lingguan had created an ultimate move, a unique Fighting Art derived from the Golden Griffin King’s Fighting Arts, based on his own physical characteristics: the New Overlord Fist! It was born from countless near-death experiences on the Man-Demon Battlefield, fueled by the descriptions of Gan Zhanxuan’s Overlord Fist inherited from his predecessors!

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