#635 - Basalt Shield and Ice Cream Assassin

Chapter 629: Xuanwu Shield and Ice Cream Assassin

"Since you have arranged everything like this, why do you dare to come and see me alone? You should have other backup plans as well."

Xue Yuntian's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a sharp glint as if he wanted to see through Xue Zhonggao.

Even if he couldn't mobilize the palace formation temporarily, he was still a genuine Soul Douluo, possessing formidable strength. Yet, this rebellious son, with only Soul Emperor cultivation, dared to face him alone, indicating he must have some hidden trump card.

"Smart, as expected of my father. Then let me show you my methods." Xue Zhonggao didn't seem surprised by Xue Yuntian's keen observation. He clapped his hands, and soul rings began to rise slowly around him.

In an instant, purple, purple, purple, purple, black, black, black—a total of seven soul rings lit up in sequence, emitting a chillingly powerful aura.

"Seventh Soul Skill: Martial Soul True Body."

As Xue Zhonggao uttered a low roar, the seventh soul ring on his body erupted with dazzling light.

Seeing this, Xue Yuntian immediately perked up, his soul power began to circulate throughout his body, every nerve tensed.

Although he didn't know when this rebellious son had broken through to the seventh ring and dared to face him, an eighth-ring expert, in person,

there was no doubt that with the other party's series of meticulous plans, he didn't seem like a reckless fool. This Martial Soul True Body must contain an extremely special killing move, enough to be fatal.

Even if this rebellious son was a food-type soul master, so what? The Food God Douluo in history also relied on his food-type martial soul to obtain terrifying power no weaker than that of a powerful battle soul master, leaving behind a glorious reputation in the soul master world.

"Buzz—"

As Xue Yuntian's entire mind was attracted by the scene before him, he was completely unaware that the space behind him was quietly changing.

Above him, the air rippled like a calm lake with a stone thrown into it, and a sharp dagger slowly emerged from these strange ripples.

Seven soul rings lit up on the blade in a strange order, emitting a deep light, and then stabbed towards the back of his head at an imperceptible speed.

"How dare you!"

Xue Yuntian was, after all, a Soul Douluo standing at the pinnacle of the soul master world. Even though his attention was mostly drawn to Xue Zhonggao, his body instinctively issued a warning the moment a deadly danger arrived.

In an instant, purple, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—three purple and five black, a total of eight soul rings erupted from his body.

"Seventh Soul Skill: Martial Soul True Body."

Xue Yuntian's roar sounded like a great bell, shaking every inch of the palace's air. Immediately afterward, a huge Xuanwu(玄武: Black Tortoise) phantom slowly emerged from behind him, instantly enveloping his body.

This Xuanwu phantom was one of the martial souls that the Douling royal family had inherited for a long time, inherited from Xu Sanshi, a member of the Shrek Seven Devils who shook the Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago—the Xuanwu Shield(玄武盾: Black Tortoise Shield)!

This is a top martial soul with both water and earth attributes, carrying countless memories of glory and splendor of the Douling royal family.

Although the Douling royal family had never produced a god like the Star Luo royal family, their Xue family had once been rich.

"Sixth Soul Skill: Xuanwu Domain(玄武之域: Black Tortoise Domain)."

Xue Yuntian shouted again, and a layer of black light as deep as an abyss burst out from his body, instantly covering the entire magnificent palace.

A vast pressure as if from ancient times surged and filled the interior of this suddenly formed domain. This was one of the powerful abilities unique to the Xuanwu Shield, which allowed those who stepped into the domain to feel a heavy oppression as if Mount Tai was pressing down on them.

"Ding!!"

A crisp yet startling sound suddenly rang out, and the menacing dagger stopped abruptly only three inches away from the back of Xue Yuntian's head.

At the same time, a figure in a black robe and a mysterious mask slowly emerged from behind Xue Yuntian. A layer of black light ruthlessly pressed down on the black-robed man along the stagnant dagger, making him instantly unable to move, as if bound by a petrification spell.

"As expected of the Xuanwu Shield, what a strong defense!"

Xue Zhonggao, who was also suppressed by this black light, couldn't help but reveal a trace of complex expression in his eyes as he witnessed this scene, which included both envy for this powerful defense and unconcealable resentment.

In his opinion, one of the important reasons why his father was so partial was that his martial soul had mutated and turned into ice cream, while the fourth son's martial soul was an authentic Xuanwu Shield.

If it weren't for this, it would be unknown who would win the battle for the throne.

"But Father, do you really think I don't know the defense of the Xuanwu Shield?"

A very sinister smile suddenly appeared on Xue Zhonggao's face. As a member of the royal family, how could he not know the secrets of this inherited martial soul? He had been secretly planning for this for a long time and had prepared countermeasures.

Just as Xue Yuntian's attention was drawn to the assassin behind him, another black-robed man quietly emerged behind his huge Martial Soul True Body.

This person also flashed eight soul rings on his body, exuding a palpitating powerful aura. He slowly clenched his right hand in the void, and then gently swiped towards the majestic Xuanwu phantom.

"Bang!"

With a loud noise, as if the sky was falling and the earth was splitting, the huge Xuanwu phantom was instantly divided into two under this seemingly casual swipe, crashing and shattering. Then, the black-robed man waved his right hand violently towards Xue Yuntian, and a powerful force surged.

"Humph."

With the Martial Soul True Body broken, Xue Yuntian grunted, and a mouthful of blood surged to his throat. But at this moment, what made him even more unbelievable was why his Xuanwu Shield Martial Soul True Body, which he was so proud of, was so easily broken!

How could this be? The Xuanwu Shield was the top defensive martial soul. Even if it simultaneously resisted the attacks of more than a dozen Soul Douluos, it would be completely fine. He could even deal with a Titled Douluo with this Xuanwu Shield.

But at this moment, a Soul Douluo-level assassin actually broke through the defense of the Xuanwu Shield, which shocked Xue Yuntian!

"Shua!"

After successfully breaking through the defense of the Xuanwu Shield, the assassin's momentum did not diminish at all, and the sharp blade in his hand slashed towards Xue Yuntian's neck like lightning, with a clear goal and full of killing intent.

"Bang!!"

However, at this critical moment of life and death, several golden lights suddenly burst out from Xue Yuntian's body. These golden lights, like substance, quickly wrapped his body layer by layer, forming an indestructible golden barrier.

The assassin's dagger broke through several layers of shields in succession, but was finally blocked by this powerful defensive force, making a crisp collision sound, and sparks flew everywhere. Then, Xue Yuntian, who had reacted, shook it away with a soul power burst.

After the initial shock, Xue Yuntian quickly regained his composure.

As the monarch of a country, he wore countless defensive soul tools, most of which were ninth-level defensive soul tools. Some of these were collected by him, and some were passed down by the previous emperor.

Xue Yuntian calmly analyzed: "This eighth-ring assassin should be your ultimate move. You use your own Martial Soul True Body as a guise to attract my attention."

He stared at Xue Zhonggao with piercing eyes and continued: "Then let the first seventh-ring assassin attack me to further distract my attention, and then let the eighth-ring assassin sneak attack. I didn't expect you to hide these two dark pieces in your hands. It's really surprising."

Xue Zhonggao said calmly: "People always have to hide some trump cards. You only know my ice cream army. But you don't know that these ice cream assassins are my strongest killing moves. I originally wanted to keep them as trump cards, but things happened suddenly, so I can only use them now."

"Ice Cream Assassin! This name is really like you, harmless on the outside, but able to stab people unexpectedly." Xue Yuntian nodded in agreement, then a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes and asked:

"However, I am a little curious as to why he can break through my Xuanwu True Body so easily. I can feel that this assassin's martial soul is not strong, at most it is just very good at hiding, logically speaking, he should not be able to break my defense."

Xue Zhonggao didn't seem to be in a hurry to attack, a smile appeared on his face and said: "Although my martial soul has mutated, I have studied the royal family's inherited martial soul a lot."

"Although the Xuanwu Shield is the top defensive martial soul, it has always had a weakness. As long as you attack this weakness, the defense of the Xuanwu Shield martial soul will be defeated without attacking."

Xue Yuntian had a vague guess in his heart, but he still asked, "Where is that weakness?"

"Hehe." Xue Zhonggao smiled and said: "Father, as long as you understand the story of the first meeting between our Douling Empire's ancestors, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan, it is not difficult to guess where this weakness is."

Hearing this, Xue Yuntian subconsciously touched his back door. The story of Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan is recorded in detail in the Douling royal family's genealogy, and he already understood a little in his heart at this moment.

"Okay, Father. I know you are stalling for time, thinking about directly activating the palace formation after a cup of tea to take us down." Xue Zhonggao suddenly changed the subject, his face became serious, "However, you are stalling for time, and so am I. Hurry up and do it!"

As soon as Xue Zhonggao's voice fell, the seventh-ring assassin's body turned into a black shadow and quickly merged into the eighth-ring assassin's body. This strange scene made Xue Yuntian's heart tighten.

"Martial Soul Fusion Technique!"

Xue Yuntian's face instantly became extremely ugly. He never expected that these two assassins would have such a powerful killing move!

"That's right, it's the Martial Soul Fusion Technique."

Xue Zhonggao grinned. These two ice cream assassins were carefully cultivated by him for many years, so how could they be simple? The reason why they have a Martial Soul Fusion Technique is only because the fusion degree is not high, so it takes a certain amount of time to fuse.

During the Martial Soul Fusion Technique, the soul power fluctuations of the two of them cannot be hidden. Otherwise, at the very beginning, the two of them would have directly sneaked attacked Xue Yuntian in the form of a Martial Soul Fusion Technique.

But it doesn't matter, now everything is ready, and it's not too late to start.

"Martial Soul Fusion Technique: Formless Blade."

With this roar, after the fusion was completed, fifteen soul rings appeared on the eighth-ring assassin's body, each soul ring exuding a powerful and mysterious aura.

Then, a transparent dagger appeared out of thin air, suspended in front of the assassin. This dagger seemed invisible, but it exuded a chilling killing intent, as if it could cut through all defenses in the world. Then, it stabbed towards Xue Yuntian at an extremely fast speed.

"Bang! Bang! Peng!"

A large number of defensive soul tools were broken under the attack of this Formless Blade, making a crisp sound.

And Xue Yuntian's expression also changed slightly, because he found that the transparent dagger was not attacking his body, but his sea of consciousness. This was actually a mental Martial Soul Fusion Technique!

"Good! Good! Good!"

Xue Yuntian said good three times in a row, which was a sign of his extreme anger. As an emperor, he naturally had soul tools to defend against mental attacks.

Although this Martial Soul Fusion Technique was strong, it was not difficult to withstand this attack by relying on the mental defense soul tools on his body.

But the problem was that these mental defense soul tools were expensive, and each one was purchased by him at a high price from the Tang Sect and the Spirit Transfer Pagoda. Once damaged, he would have to spend a lot of money and energy to purchase them from those two major organizations.

With the style of these two major organizations, he would probably be blackmailed again. Who told them that the Douling royal family did not have the ability to develop mental defense soul tools!

Xue Yuntian's soul power surged around him, fully resisting the mental impact of the Formless Blade like a surging tide.

His face was solemn, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, but his eyes were as cold as ice, and he looked directly at his son Xue Zhonggao, saying word by word: "Use all the methods you have. Otherwise, after a cup of tea, you will be completely finished."

"Hoo~ As expected of Father."

Xue Zhonggao sighed, his voice filled with helplessness and emotion. "I didn't want to use this trick, but now I have no choice." After saying that, he turned around without hesitation and ran madly towards the outside of the palace.

Seeing this, Xue Yuntian was shocked and instinctively wanted to chase after him. However, the powerful mental pressure of the Formless Blade, like an invisible net, bound him tightly.

"Father, have a good journey."

Xue Zhonggao's voice came slowly from outside the palace, with a hint of determination and coldness. Immediately afterwards, a black shadow flew in from the palace gate like lightning.

Xue Yuntian's eyes were instantly attracted by this black shadow. When he saw what was flying in, his heart shrank, and a chill rushed straight to the top of his head from the soles of his feet.

His eyes reflected the terrifying cannonball, and his pupils contracted sharply. The energy fluctuations emitted from the cannonball made him clearly aware of its origin. In the end, he only had time to leave a sentence: "Ninth-level fixed-installation soul guidance cannon!"

"Boom!!!"

Before Xue Yuntian could finish speaking, a terrifying explosion that seemed to come from hell rang out. A world-destroying force erupted instantly, and the entire space trembled violently under the impact of this force.

A huge mushroom cloud, wrapped in hot flames and billowing smoke, rose into the sky. The palace used to handle official business was as fragile as paper in the face of this force, and it was instantly reduced to ashes.

Countless bricks and pillars were thrown into the sky by the powerful impact, and then fell like raindrops.

"Truly terrifying!"

Outside the palace, Xue Zhonggao had already protected himself with a defensive soul tool.

Even so, the heatwave and powerful impact still made his body tremble slightly. He looked at the terrifying scene before him, a trace of fear flashing in his eyes.

The light from the explosion illuminated his face, flickering between bright and dark. At this moment, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.

"Speaking of which, why am I doing this? Wouldn't it be easier to assassinate Fourth Brother?"

A trace of confusion appeared on Xue Zhonggao's face, and his eyes became hollow and wandering, as if he had fallen into deep self-doubt. He subconsciously raised his hand and touched his forehead, his brow furrowed tightly.

But the next moment, a golden butterfly phantom flashed in his eyes, and that trace of confusion disappeared without a trace. Replacing it was a firm and resolute look.

"No, that's not right. Even if I kill Fourth Brother, it's useless. According to Father's biased personality, he will definitely not hand over the throne to me. I'm just taking back what belongs to me."

A firm look reappeared on Xue Zhonggao's face. He clenched his fists tightly, his fingernails digging deeply into his palms, as if to vent the anger and unwillingness in his heart through this grip.

He kept telling himself that he was not wrong. It was Father who was wrong, it was Father's bias that forced him onto this dead end.