[DD]: 74 (Patreon)

It's over.

The three women watching from the sidelines all turned their gazes towards Qian Renxue opposite Han Li, their eyes filled with pity upon hearing him speak.

After several years of interaction, they had figured out Han Li's habits.

He had two combat modes: One was the type Dugu Yan once described—Han Li would remain silent, fighting as if he had meticulously calculated every move, quickly compensating for any occasional errors. They had witnessed this during the acquisition of their fourth soul rings, a rhythm-based offensive mode. In this mode, fighting against him, or imagining oneself as his opponent, felt stifling, yet the difference in strength was evident and convincing.

The other mode was the one he demonstrated during the battle with Hu Liena and the others in the Pope’s Hall. In this state, Han Li’s attacks were less deadly, but his speech became abundant and fragmented. His offensive posture seemed more designed to complement his verbal attacks.

Moreover, the girls knew that last time, because his opponents were too weak, Han Li didn’t use his mental power to add the elements and cognitive delay, yet he easily defeated the three. But they had privately experienced it—the instant loss of rationality and the sensation of everything around slowing down was genuinely uncomfortable.

Although they knew Qian Renxue's mental power was undoubtedly stronger than theirs, Han Li's was even stronger. Would Han Li use mental attacks to provoke Qian Renxue this time?

The answer was...no, they already knew it.

Just before Han Li’s twin blades collided with the golden light sword, the golden ripple reached him first. In Qian Renxue’s widened golden eyes, Han Li’s lips curved slightly, and a faint red shield instantly appeared in front of him, completely blocking the golden ripple.

No, it didn’t just block it. The faint red mental shield, like a flexible crystal, absorbed the entire golden ripple into its body and then quickly replicated it proportionally.

Before Qian Renxue could react, the golden ripple had dissipated, and a faint red ripple, tracing back its path, sped towards her even faster.

Qian Renxue finally sensed something was wrong. She knew Han Li’s mental power was strong—this was information he had voluntarily given her. Her attack was merely a probe to gauge the extent of his mental power.

But given the current situation, why did it seem like Han Li’s mental power was even stronger than her grandfather’s?

Is Han Li's mental power stronger than Qian Daoliu's?

Of course not. Even with the booster from the plane consciousness card, he currently lacks a source for his faith power.

Although Qian Daoliu's potential is capped, the divine power he can harness nourishes his body and spirit, and Han Li still can't catch up with him.

Han Li's exceptional mental power is entirely thanks to the Angel God.

Yes, that's right. Over the past four years, he has managed to gather some unclaimed faith power with the help of his obedient son.

Naturally, he reported this to Qian Daoliu, though he did embellish the truth a bit.

He told Qian Daoliu that he would henceforth worship the Angel God.

Qian Daoliu was quite pleased at the time and generously informed him that God loves all people and that the Lord would graciously grant care to everyone. If needed, God would help him.

Seeing Qian Daoliu's response, Han Li felt a twinge of guilt but still sought out a bit of the scattered faith power from Angel God.

Of course, he confirmed with his obedient son that this would not affect the succession of the divine position or its future. Even if he didn't collect it, the peripheral faith power would naturally dissipate over time, which is why he did it.

As the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall, Han Li was destined to protect the peace. Although the plane consciousness bore the responsibility, both he and his son were inherently the same.

Thus, Han Li maintained his rapid mental cultivation by scavenging.

The millennium-old faith power, although mostly drawn to the divine realm through the inheritance site, had enough residual overflow to suffice for Han Li's cultivation.

Moreover, his mental power acquired some of the Angel God's aura during this process.

Even Qian Daoliu always thought the angelic aura on Han Li was the residual effect of the protection of Angel God had given him, not thinking too much about it.

But now, when dealing with Qian Renxue, this aura played a significant role, even causing her to misjudge.

And Han Li did it deliberately.

He used this trace of lingering aura, combined with his much stronger mental power, to temporarily seal Qian Renxue's mental attack.

Then, he intentionally mimicked her attack style to amplify her emotions to the maximum.

He hadn't forgotten that the Angel Martial Soul inherently carries holy and purification attributes. Who knows if Qian Renxue would have extra resistance? Sparring with Qian Daoliu couldn't verify this.

Perhaps sensing that Han Li's attack was not merely a simple counter, or maybe her intuition kicked in.

When she saw the faint red ripple speeding towards her, Qian Renxue decisively abandoned the prepared Angel's Descent, canceling her attempt to intercept Han Li and without hesitation, activated her seventh skill.

As the black soul ring flashed, the true form of the angel descended instantly.

Not only that, but Qian Renxue also simultaneously activated the Angel Domain, turning herself into a phantom, allowing the faint red mental ripple, weakened by the domain, to pass through her phantom form.

That's right, Qian Renxue did not choose to take the attack head-on but instead dodged it directly.

After activating the Angel Domain, she noticed that Han Li's mental attack was somewhat different from hers and carried a faint elemental aura.

Although she wasn't sure of its effects, she cautiously chose to avoid it. Angels do not fear battle, but they never charge mindlessly.

She looked down and saw Han Li casually shattering the golden light sword, then looking up at her.

Qian Renxue glanced around and saw that her domain now covered a radius of a thousand meters, with Han Li also within it. She looked down at him with a smile, speaking in an undeniable tone:

"Han Li, forcing me to reveal my true martial soul and Angel Domain in one strike is something you can be proud of."

"Next, prepare to face the Angel's Judgment. In this state, I can battle even an ordinary Title Douluo."

However, she did not see the expected reaction from Han Li. Instead, his smile grew even brighter.

"Is that so? But I don't think so."

"Qian Renxue, what makes you think that you have gained an absolute advantage and that I am in a passive position?"

"How do you know that everything you're doing isn't part of my plan?"

"The one falling behind is you."

As he finished speaking, Qian Renxue saw a flash of cyan light behind Han Li.

He ascended actively, flying towards her through the dense golden light, heading straight for the center of her domain where she stood.

She immediately directed her domain's power to press against Han Li, but found that he, who should have been slowed as if stuck in a quagmire, was completely unaffected, still speeding towards her.

Her Angel Domain, which should immobilize enemies in the center and render them helpless, had no effect at all.

"It's just a domain. It's not like I'm without one," Han Li's voice reached her clearly as he got within ten meters of her.

It was then that Qian Renxue noticed a thin energy shield covering him like a membrane.

No, to be precise, it should be called a domain.

A small red-and-white domain clung to Han Li's body, forming a peculiar pattern that slowly rotated on his surface, blocking all the golden light of the Angel Domain from reaching him.

"Two-Pole Static Domain?"

Qian Renxue blurted out, recognizing the pattern she had seen before.

"Wrong answer. This is my Two Elements Domain."

Han Li was now in front of her, using his momentum as the third soul ring on his head flashed, slashing heavily at Qian Renxue.

With the attack imminent, Qian Renxue instinctively empowered her Holy Sword with Angel Assault to meet Han Li's twin blades.

What happened next was unexpected. As soon as her sword made contact with Han Li's twin blades, she realized something was wrong.

Han Li's twin blades, which were accelerated and slashed with full force, felt weightless when they landed on her sword and were easily deflected.

Mid-air, Han Li utilized the force from her deflection, spinning his wings and waist, and slashed at her with even greater speed and strength.

Clang!

Amid the intense clash, the enormous force from the Holy Sword lowered Qian Renxue's height significantly.

Although the Holy Sword nearly slipped from her grip, she barely managed to block the attack.

"Green Shadow Goldy Eagle!"

After steadying herself, Qian Renxue uttered the name.

She recalled reading about this soul beast's skill effect in a letter from her grandfather, who praised it as an excellent soul skill for a long-range archer.

However, she hadn't expected that Han Li's twin blades would also inherit a similar soul skill.

But there was no time for further thought, as Han Li used the recoil from their clash to change direction mid-air and launched an even fiercer attack on her.

Clang, clang, clang!

The continuous sound of weapon collisions echoed in the air, and Qian Renxue's face turned bright red with suppressed anger, her teeth unconsciously biting her lips.

She now had only one thought: she must defeat Han Li.

Han Li's despicable use of the soul skill that could alter the weight of his blades meant that each strike varied in force—sometimes heavy, sometimes almost weightless.

But Qian Renxue, fighting him, had to exert her full strength with each sword swing.

Several times, Han Li's attacks were weaker than those of a strong soul master, disrupting her attack rhythm and causing interruptions in her soul power.

Had she not been within her domain, the backlash from her soul power would have harmed her during those weak attacks.

What infuriated her the most was recognizing the technique Han Li used, one she would never forget.

Though it had been modified and the attack pattern quickened, it undoubtedly bore the mark of the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer.

Using a technique once employed by the Clear Sky Sect, deliberately engaging her in aerial combat, and making her so disgraced—how could she not be enraged?

Her father had been gravely injured by Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect and died due to inadequate treatment.

Her most admired grandfather had been defeated by Tang Chen, a previous sect master of the Sect, who then stepped on her grandfather to reach the pinnacle of the Douluo Continent.

She could no longer tolerate it.

Even if he was the current Holy Son of the Spirit Hall, she was determined to beat him to a pulp.

"Han Li, you have angered me!"

The furious Qian Renxue abandoned her proud swordsmanship. The soul rings above her head began to flash continuously, and she pushed her Angel Domain to its limit, starting a wild confrontation with Han Li.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to adjust his posture in the air, Han Li's mouth curved into a slight smile, which Qian Renxue did not notice.

Their weapons clashed once more. Seeing Qian Renxue rush towards him without even adjusting her stance, Han Li grinned.

"I am waiting for my power to stack up. What are you waiting for?"

"Are you waiting for me to expose a flaw for you to attack?"

"Now, my power is fully stacked. Are you ready to face my attack?"

Qian Renxue seemed not to hear his words. The golden light around her body became even more dazzling. She tightened her grip on the Holy Sword and slashed at him fiercely.

"Although the sky belongs to you, even angels can fall."

"Qian Renxue, you are too proud. It's time for you to come down."

Before Han Li's words reached Qian Renxue, an extremely covert mental attack did.

Qian Renxue felt her already angered emotions completely ignite her rationality. She forgot even basic defense during her attack, focusing all her soul power on the Holy Sword, intending to defeat the person in front of her with one strike.

Boom!

This time, it was not the sound of weapons clashing but the explosion of Qian Renxue's Holy Sword in mid-air.

Under her full soul power impact, combined with Han Li's control over the fire element, the Holy Sword directly exploded.

The sword, formed from Holy Fire, was still fire, albeit wrapped in a layer of holy energy.

In Qian Renxue's extreme emotional outburst, she fully activated her powerful flames. Han Li seized this opportunity, breaking through the outer layer of holy energy at the moment of weapon contact. The subsequent events were predictable.

Han Li also exerted his utmost effort to control the fire element's explosion in other directions, preventing Qian Renxue from becoming the first soul master on the Douluo Continent to be blown up by him.

If it had been just a pure holy energy shock, with her current fully stacked buffs and her domain active, she would have been gravely injured at most.

A divine-level martial spirit does provide some degree of protection.

Qian Renxue regained clarity at the last moment.

However, it was too late. She couldn't stop anything; she could only barely activate an incomplete phantom ability to lessen her injuries slightly, but she still fell toward the ground.

Her soul power was depleted.