The two stopped in their tracks, realizing that they had unknowingly fallen into the trap of the Purple Flame Golden-Eyed Beast.
The seemingly harmless century- or millennium-old soul beasts from earlier had gradually gathered around them. Tianlin and Sword Douluo had, it seemed, gone from hunters to prey.
Looking at the numerous soul beasts glaring at them, Chen Xin revealed a faint smile. "Tianlin, today your master will give you another lesson: in the face of absolute power, intelligence, no matter how great, is useless."
With that, the Seven-Kill Sword appeared in his hand. Simultaneously, two yellow, two purple and five black soul rings—nine in total—rotated around Chen Xin's body. A massive and chilling killing intent spread out. Even without activating the Seven-Kill Domain, Chen Xin could still control his killing intent with precision.
In the shadows, a soul beast with golden eyes was completely stunned. It had thought the two were just ordinary soul masters. It never expected one of them to be a titled Douluo.
A titled Douluo was a terrifying existence equivalent to a one hundred thousand-year-old soul beast. No matter how many ordinary century- or millennium-old soul beasts there were, they could not possibly be a match for him.
The golden-eyed soul beast began to retreat. But, unbeknownst to it, staying still would have been its best option. The moment it moved, Chen Xin immediately detected its presence.
"Heh, as expected of one of the smartest soul beasts. Sensing danger and retreating immediately, huh?" Chen Xin appeared behind the soul beast as if he had teleported.
"Purple Flame Golden-Eyed Beast, you are indeed clever. But unfortunately, your cleverness is mere cunning without a foundation of strength. If you hadn't moved, I might have missed your presence amid the wild soul beasts surrounding us."
The soul beast before Chen Xin resembled a wolfhound in appearance. Its body was covered in golden fur, and its golden eyes seemed to contain a purple flame burning within.
"Judging by your size, you've just passed the thousand-year mark, making you a perfect match for my disciple," Chen Xin said as he struck without hesitation. A heavy sense of oppression radiated from the long sword he wielded.
"Roar!"
At this moment, the Purple Flame Golden-Eyed Beast let out a roar.
This was the signal to summon its subordinates. However, its command was not to attack Chen Xin and save it but to direct all the soul beasts to attack Tianlin.
If it had been an ordinary soul master, they might have been forced to retreat to aid their companion. But Chen Xin was not ordinary.
"Second Soul Skill, Spirit Sword Guardian!"
Chen Xin flung the Seven-Kill Sword, and instantly, the longsword flew in front of Tianlin. The powerful sword energy formed a protective barrier, a defensive soul skill that immediately blocked all the soul beasts outside the sword energy, preventing them from attacking Tianlin.
Seeing this, the Purple Flame Golden-Eyed Beast shot a beam of fire from its golden eyes. This was its soul skill—Sealing Purple Flame—which could seal part of its opponent's soul power.
Chen Xin did not dodge and allowed the purple flames to fully engulf him.
The Purple Flame Golden-Eyed Beast was overjoyed. The titled Douluo before it no longer had his martial soul in hand, and part of his soul power had been sealed. With the surrounding beasts swarming him, there was now a decent chance of turning the tables.
At its command, the surrounding beasts immediately abandoned their attempts to break through the Spirit Sword Guardian protecting Tianlin and turned their focus toward Chen Xin.
At this moment, a cold voice came from within the flames. "Even without my sword in hand, my sharpness is not diminished in the slightest. Because I am the sword!"
"Tianlin, watch closely. This is the true killing intent of the Seven-Kill Swordsmanship!"
Chen Xin used his arm as if it were a sword, casually slashing through the air, releasing countless sharp sword energies. Each of these sword energies carried an intense killing intent. The mere presence of this killing intent was enough to shatter the will to fight.
Moments later, Chen Xin not only broke free from the flames but also injured all the surrounding soul beasts with his sword energy. As the number one offensive Douluo, Chen Xin had held back.
If he had truly unleashed his full power, none of the soul beasts present would have been left alive. However, Chen Xin's goal today was only the Purple Flame Golden-Eyed Beast. The others could be spared. After all, soul beasts were not easy to come by, and killing one meant there would be one fewer in the future. Chen Xin was mindful of the long-term, and unless it was necessary for cultivation or to obtain a soul ring, he rarely hunted soul beasts.
Because of this mindset, despite his immense power and status, Chen Xin did not possess many soul bones. His calm and selfless attitude was likely the reason he had always surpassed Bone Douluo, whose ambition was more self-serving.
"Tianlin, come over. The Purple Flame Golden-Eyed Beast has lost its will to fight. Now is the perfect time to absorb its soul ring," Chen Xin said.
Chen Xin truly cared about Tianlin. Today, he had been releasing his killing intent the entire time to wear down the Purple Flame Golden-Eyed Beast's will.
Just like how Liu Erlong had beaten the Earth King into doubting its existence in the original story, leaving it with no will to resist when Ma Hongjun absorbed its soul ring, the Purple Flame Golden-Eyed Beast—despite its high intelligence—was now completely terrified of Chen Xin.
After confirming that Tianlin could absorb a millennium soul ring, Chen Xin had been thinking of various ways to ensure his disciple's safety. Tianlin was deeply moved. Although his teacher was strict, every decision Chen Xin made was for his benefit.
"Master, don't worry. I will succeed in absorbing this soul ring," Tianlin promised solemnly.
Summoning his magic sword, Tianlin slowly approached the Purple Flame Golden-Eyed Beast. At that moment, the beast, which had seemingly lost all will to resist, suddenly raised its eyes and shot a beam of purple fire at Tianlin.
Tianlin quickly raised his magic sword to defend himself but was still struck by the purple fire. His soul power was rapidly sealed by the poisonous flames. It turned out the beast had been feigning submission for one final counterattack.
"What a powerful sealing force! My soul power just dropped by eight levels!" Tianlin exclaimed after sensing his soul power. He now only had the strength of a level twelve soul master.
Given his high soul power purity, he fared better than most. An ordinary soul master might have been reduced to below level ten, losing the ability to use their soul ring skills altogether.
"Tianlin, you were careless. Remember, never assume victory until your opponent is completely defeated. Overconfidence in a moment of advantage can be fatal," Chen Xin reprimanded.
Tianlin nodded, acknowledging his mistake. He admitted that his carelessness had allowed the Purple Flame Golden-Eyed Beast to counterattack.
"I won't give you a second chance. First Soul Skill, Frozen Snow!" Tianlin unleashed his full power. Fire and ice were natural opposites, and the intense cold was one of the greatest weaknesses of a flame-type soul beast like the Purple Flame Golden-Eyed Beast.
In an instant, the beast was frozen in ice. Moments later, the ice shattered under Tianlin's sword energy, killing the thousand-year soul beast instantly.
With the strategist of their group slain, the remaining soul beasts scattered in panic, leaving the area peaceful once more.
Seizing the opportunity, Tianlin approached the Purple Flame Golden-Eyed Beast's corpse and used his soul power to draw out a purple soul ring. "Come to me, my second soul ring!"