The Shaking Golden Rope was an extremely rare and powerful control-type martial soul, known for its formidable binding capabilities. Once ensnared, escaping was nearly impossible.
Unfortunately, her opponent this time wasn't an ordinary soul master—it was Zhou Sichen, who had fused with the offensively and defensively overwhelming Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear.
As the Shaking Golden Rope coiled tightly around him and the golden cage took form, Zhou Sichen smirked.
He had to admit—the rope's control was impressive. The more he struggled, the tighter it became.
But in the face of absolute strength, any form of control became meaningless.
His thick, corded muscles suddenly surged with terrifying power. With a light tug, his Terrorclaws shredded the ropes wrapped around him.
Then, dark-golden light surged over his claws. With a mighty swing, he tore open the golden cage formed by the Shaking Golden Rope.
At the same time, Zhou Sichen flung out what looked like a book forged from solid gold—his Contract Book.
As the martial soul left his hand, Zhou Sichen's legs erupted with explosive power, launching him toward Han Ruoruo, who hovered in the air thanks to her flying-type soul tool. His figure shot upward like a human cannonball.
But even human strength had its limits. After rising about thirty meters, his speed began to drop.
Just then, the Contract Book he had thrown opened to the second page, its exquisite illustration bursting with a dark red light that instantly merged with Zhou Sichen's body.
In the blink of an eye, a pair of Phoenix Wings unfurled from his back. His dark-gold, needle-like hair transformed into long, flowing dark-red strands, resembling a blazing inferno of black and crimson flames.
His dark-golden armor was now etched with flowing flame patterns—living designs that seemed to devour the soul of anyone who dared approach.
With a light flap of his Phoenix Wings, Zhou Sichen turned into a streak of dark-red light, flying straight toward Han Ruoruo.
Though astonished by Zhou Sichen's power, Han Ruoruo didn't hesitate.
Zhou Sichen was already terrifying enough before. Now, with a second fusion with a ten-thousand-year Contract Soul Beast, his strength needed no explanation.
"Seventh Soul Skill: Martial Soul True Body!"
Her seventh black soul ring flared to life—the core skill of a soul master's strength.
The Shaking Golden Rope instantly transformed into a golden pillar dozens of meters long, then split into seven, each segment surging forward like a golden dragon to tear Zhou Sichen apart.
Above the Soul Arena, her true form blocked out the sky. Below, the Inner Court students couldn't help but cheer in excitement.
This was the Martial Soul True Body! This was Golden Fairy Han Ruoruo unleashing her full power as a Soul Sage!
Zhou Sichen's body pulsed with dark-red light. He raised his claws and unleashed ten searing, dark-golden flame blades—each carrying the power to burn the soul itself.
A fusion of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear and the Hell Phoenix's abilities.
Ten flame blades cut through the air, slicing three of the massive golden ropes clean in half.
At the same time, Zhou Sichen flapped his Phoenix Wings, fire bursting from them as he accelerated. He weaved through the attacking ropes at extreme speed, closing in on Han Ruoruo.
As a top-tier control-type soul master, Han Ruoruo knew full well—if Zhou Sichen got close, just one of his attacks could render her completely incapacitated.
What was worse, his attacks were devastating. Even the True Body form of her Shaking Golden Rope—hardened to be stronger than steel—had been sliced apart like nothing.
And Zhou Sichen hadn't even used his full power—only two Contract Soul Beasts.
Han Ruoruo poured all her effort into manipulating her Martial Soul True Body, launching wave after wave of attacks while attempting to restrain him completely.
But Zhou Sichen's claws were simply too strong. Her Martial Soul True Body couldn't apply effective control at all.
Zhou Sichen displayed perfect control over every inch of his body. And with flight capability, the Shaking Golden Rope's restraints were almost meaningless against him.
In less than a minute, Zhou Sichen broke through the area her Martial Soul True Body controlled and slashed toward Han Ruoruo's face.
No matter how she maneuvered her flying soul tool, she couldn't escape. Forced to retreat, she recalled her Martial Soul True Body to encase herself in a defensive cocoon.
Seeing this, Zhou Sichen's smile turned a little devilish. His Terrorclaws gleamed with dark-golden light, nearly becoming solid, as he struck.
"Darkgolden Penetration!"
This was a core skill unlocked only after Bear One evolved to ten thousand years. It combined the unstoppable might of the Terrorclaws with terrifying penetrative force.
A natural enemy of any absolute defense.
Han Ruoruo had channeled her entire Martial Soul True Body into making her defense as hard as steel.
But under the might of Darkgolden Penetration, it was as fragile as paper.
His claws tore through her layers of defense, straight to the core.
Her Martial Soul True Body shattered. Han Ruoruo's face turned pale, blood rising in her throat.
Zhou Sichen withdrew his claws and formed a fist. With a swing, his dark-golden iron fist slammed into her slender body.
The sheer power overwhelmed her guard. She vomited blood, her figure crashing down like a kite with a severed string. Her flying soul tool couldn't even stabilize her descent.
The Golden Fairy of the Inner Court, rarely ever challenged, had been completely overwhelmed by Zhou Sichen.
Zhou Sichen retracted his fist, flapped his Phoenix Wings, and descended rapidly after her.
Han Ruoruo thought he was going to follow up and attack again. Desperate, she curled up and tried to stabilize herself, but with her soul power drained and her Martial Soul broken, she couldn't control her fall.
Inwardly, she was reeling from how terrifying Zhou Sichen was. She had expected a loss—but not a crushing defeat like this.
Had he not changed his claws into fists at the last moment, she might've died right then and there.
But unexpectedly, the killing blow never came.
Instead, a thick, muscular arm caught her by the waist, halting her descent. The next moment, she was resting against a broad, solid chest.
She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and blinked up at Zhou Sichen. Their eyes met—and she quickly looked away.
At such close range, staring at his handsome face, still smiling gently, she suddenly flushed.
It was her first time being this physically close to a man.
Feeling the powerful arm around her waist and the warmth of his chest, Han Ruoruo forgot she had just lost. Her mind went blank.
In the stands, Dugu Xianmeng puffed out her cheeks, clearly unhappy about something.
Zhou Sichen gently landed on the Soul Duel Platform, his Phoenix Wings carrying them both down. He set Han Ruoruo down.
In a voice as soft as a whisper, Han Ruoruo said,
"Thank you…"
Zhou Sichen smiled faintly.
"Your Shaking Golden Rope is very powerful. An ordinary Soul Sage wouldn't have lasted nearly this long against me."
The spectators all exchanged strange looks at those words. Even Han Ruoruo didn't know how to respond.
Was that supposed to be a compliment?
Probably…?
Han Ruoruo weakly muttered,
"I lost… You're strong. But someday, I'll catch up to you."
Zhou Sichen nodded.
"I'll be waiting."
A Soul King-level student from the Inner Court ran up and activated his healing soul skill to treat Han Ruoruo's injuries.
After this duel, Zhou Sichen's strength once again shattered everyone's expectations.
Even Soul Sages were no match for him. With power like that, wasn't he more than qualified to serve as their instructor?
The only downside?
Teacher Zhou didn't seem to go easy on women. That iron fist of his had slammed straight into the Golden Fairy—how could anyone else hope to survive?
At the entrance, Chen Zifeng opened his mouth, unable to say a word, and turned to leave.
Still, he felt much better now.
If even a Soul Sage lost so badly… then his own defeat made a lot more sense.
Han Ruoruo, freshly treated, was helped off the stage by the student.
Zhou Sichen remained calm and spoke quietly.
"Anyone else?"
Everyone shook their heads frantically. If even Han Ruoruo had lost, what chance did the rest of them have?
Seeing no one respond, Zhou Sichen continued,
"In that case, let the Soul Duels continue."
With that, he turned and stepped off the platform. As he did, the golden Contract Book appeared, and the Hellfire Phoenix and Bear One turned into two streaks of light that flew back into its pages. Zhou Sichen's appearance slowly returned to normal.
The war god who had just looked like a dark-golden humanoid beast was now back to being a refined, warm young noble.
The Inner Court students didn't know whether to admire him… or fear him.
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