Chapter 263 - Long Aotian vs. Hu Po
Long Aotian walked silently onto the stage, gently picked up Chen Lu's desiccated skeleton, and carried it back to the waiting area. As the others witnessed the tragic death of Chen Lu, their brows furrowed in anger and their hearts burned with fury.
"I'll go next," Long Aotian said softly as he laid down Chen Lu's remains.
"Boss, you must avenge Chen Lu!" Wang Yifeng, whose relationship with Chen Lu was exceptionally close, exclaimed with tears in his eyes. The two had often trained and sparred together, both their martial souls complementing each other—one a pair of hands, the other a pair of legs—pushing each other to improve.
Vina, looking worried, hesitated before speaking, "Aotian, let me fight her. Her methods are spiritual attacks, and since my martial soul is of the spiritual type, maybe I can better counter her."
"No, let it be. She's a Soul Saint and has the advantage in cultivation. Just watch from below how I take her down," Long Aotian reassured her with a slight smile, pulling Vina into his arms with a touch of pride in his voice, "I'm not so easily defeated. In our realm, disciples of the Body Sect fear no one, not even evil soul masters!"
"Alright, just be careful," Vina said, resting against Long Aotian's chest and nodding lightly.
"I'm off then." Long Aotian released his arms and turned towards the stage.
Wang Yifeng, suppressing his sorrow, prepared a separate soul-storage device to carefully store Chen Lu's skeleton. As a disciple of the Body Sect, it was his duty to bring Chen Lu's body back and ensure a proper burial at their sect.
The atmosphere among the rest of the waiting area was somber. They had just been laughing and chatting with Chen Lu, and now he was gone forever. Jin Peng watched from the shadows, his expression dark and solemn. Despite being a Limit Douluo, he had failed to notice the subtle attack Hu Po had launched on Chen Lu until it was too late. Chen Lu's heart and brain were destroyed in an instant by the thorny vines Hu Po had implanted within him, and Jin Peng didn't even have the chance to pull him out of the arena.
"Anyone who kills a disciple of the Body Sect should prepare for burial alongside Chen Lu," Jin Peng muttered darkly, his eyes filled with undisguised malice. Protecting their own was a deeply ingrained virtue in the Body Sect. While failing to save Chen Lu was his mistake, Jin Peng was determined to make Hu Po pay for it.
Back on the stage, the referee Zheng Zhan was cursing internally. Was this a competition or a fight to the death? Apart from those who forfeited, no one seemed to be able to leave the stage on their own feet.
Hu Po stood gracefully on the stage, occasionally humming a tune, seemingly pleased with herself. When Long Aotian climbed onto the stage, she finally showed interest. "Oh, what a handsome young man," she cooed, twirling a strand of her wine-red hair and licking her lips seductively.
She could sense the robust vitality in Long Aotian, which was incredibly appealing to her. If she could consume him entirely, Hu Po felt she might gain another hundred-thousand-year soul ring. From the moment she spoke, she had already begun her spiritual erosion on Long Aotian, but her usual seductive tricks seemed to have no effect on him, which surprised her.
Long Aotian remained impassive, his gaze steady and unaffected by her charms. This was Long Aotian, the pride of the Body Sect aside from Du Qianjue, a warrior who had reached the unity of heaven and man. This state helped stabilize his spirit, impervious to disruption until forcibly broken.
Hu Po, beautiful as she was, couldn't compare to his own girlfriend in Long Aotian's unaffected eyes.
"Shall we begin?" Long Aotian asked calmly, turning to referee Zheng Zhan.
Zheng Zhan nodded, his respect for Long Aotian growing. Even a Titled Douluo like himself was affected by Hu Po, but Long Aotian stood unswayed as a mere Soul Saint.
"The match begins!"
Long Aotian and Hu Po released their martial souls at each other. Their soul rings appeared: yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black for Long Aotian; purple, purple, purple, black, black, black, red for Hu Po. Both had seven rings, signifying a battle of the strongest Soul Saints in the tournament.
Initially, everyone thought Laughing Red Dust, the seven-ring Soul Sage, was the strongest this season, until Long Aotian defeated him. But when Hu Po displayed her hundred-thousand-year soul ring, doubts about the strongest Soul Saint resurfaced.
This match would determine the strongest Soul Saint of the tournament—Long Aotian vs. Hu Po.
(End of Chapter)
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