Douluo: Martial Soul Seven Kill Sword, The Sword Opens Heaven's Gates

In the blink of an eye, a day had passed.

Ning Tianchen withstood the soul shockwaves from the Wolf King and successfully absorbed the soul ring.

At this point, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul had gained its first soul ring.

Unexpectedly, the skill provided by the soul ring wasn't off-target—it was exactly what Ning Tianchen needed.

"Big brother Tianchen, how is it?" Ning Rongrong asked with concern.

Chen Huayu was also curious.

No one in history had ever possessed a hundred-thousand-year soul ring for the Seven Treasures Glazed Tower martial soul, let alone the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.

Ning Tianchen chuckled softly as the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul in his left hand shimmered. "The Nine Treasures have names; the first is Speed!"

Although the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul only had one soul ring, Ning Tianchen himself was at the level of a Soul Douluo. His amplification power far surpassed that of a single-ring soul master.

Moreover, because it was a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, the amplification effect doubled, reaching an incredible 180%.

After receiving the boost, Chen Huayu's strides became lightning-fast, and within the blink of an eye, he had already sprinted dozens of meters.

"Feels amazing!" Chen Huayu laughed heartily.

Ning Rongrong covered her mouth in astonishment. "Big brother Tianchen, does this mean that even when you amplify yourself, you still retain 90% of the boost?"

For auxiliary-type soul masters, amplifying themselves typically only resulted in a 20-30% boost, while top-tier auxiliary martial souls like the Seven Treasures Glazed Tower could reach about 50%.

Ning Tianchen smiled and responded, "I have another way to amplify myself."

As he spoke, the hundred-thousand-year soul ring flickered once more.

"First Soul Skill, Acceleration Domain!"

The domain radiated in nine vibrant colors, enveloping a large surrounding area.

Anyone marked by Ning Tianchen's spiritual energy within the domain would receive a 180% speed boost—including Ning Tianchen himself.

This type of domain-based soul skill could remain active even after retracting the martial soul.

While twin martial souls couldn't be activated simultaneously, as long as the domain persisted, Ning Tianchen could continue receiving the amplification while using the Seven Kill Sword martial soul.

Upon hearing his explanation, Chen Huayu was utterly shocked. "Big Brother, does this mean you can always provide yourself with amplification? It's hard to believe—under full attribute double amplification, who among your peers could possibly match you?"

What he said was both right and wrong.

Even without the amplification from the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul, Ning Tianchen's current strength was already peerless at his level.

"Pity that while the soul ring evolved into a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, the soul bone didn't undergo any mutation."

As he spoke, Ning Tianchen took out the soul bone of this Wolf King—the Wind-Riding Right Leg Bone of the Gale Demon Wolf.

Neither the soul ring nor the soul bone inherited the berserk ability, which was fortunate.

"A speed-type soul bone!?"

Seeing the ninety-thousand-year soul bone, Chen Huayu's breathing grew rapid.

He had never seen a hundred-thousand-year soul bone before, and this ninety-thousand-year soul bone was the highest-level one he had ever encountered.

However, Ning Tianchen, Ning Rongrong, and Chen Huayu already possessed right leg bones, so this soul bone could only be given to someone else.

After a pause, Ning Tianchen asked about the pressing matter. "How's the cleanup of the battlefield going?"

During the time Ning Tianchen absorbed the soul ring, Feng Xiaotian had come to clean up the battlefield but hadn't specified the progress.

---

The three returned to the city just as Zhao Yi finished tallying the casualties of the soldiers.

Zhao Yi sat in the study of the city lord's residence, sighing deeply.

Defending the city was indeed the responsibility of every citizen, but in the event of casualties, the city lord's office had to provide compensation.

Xingnan City was a small town. While the city lord had the authority to collect taxes, the revenue was limited, and most of it had to be handed over to the empire.

For now, issuing pensions, paying military wages, and providing care for the wounded were the biggest challenges facing him.

With the border of the Tiandou Empire currently embroiled in war, requesting funds from Emperor Xue Qinghe at this time would inevitably leave a poor impression, affecting his future career prospects.

When Ning Tianchen arrived, he knocked several times before receiving a response.

Quickly concealing his anxiety, Zhao Yi greeted them with a broad smile. "Senior, you've arrived."

"You are the heroes of Xingnan City. I plan to hold an event tomorrow to let the citizens meet you."

Ning Tianchen had never cared about such empty titles; his focus was solely on improving his own strength.

"We didn't come here to guard Xingnan City for the sake of basking in public admiration. Let's not mention this again. By the way, show me the casualty statistics."

Zhao Yi sighed and handed over the completed report.

The data included the soldiers who had sacrificed their lives since the initial invasion by the wolf bandits.

Xingnan City had mobilized over three thousand civilians to join the battle, along with the original two hundred-strong city guard, totaling 3,200 people.

After the intense battles, a total of over 2,300 people had perished, with most of them leaving behind incomplete remains.

Of the remaining 900 or so individuals, nearly everyone was injured.

Among them, over 500 were severely wounded, while 400 sustained varying degrees of minor injuries.

It was worth noting that some of those classified as lightly injured were missing limbs, but because their wounds hadn't become infected, they weren't counted among the critically injured.

Ning Tianchen made a rough estimate. To properly settle these 3,200 people, the city lord's office would need to allocate at least 300,000 gold soul coins.

Judging by Zhao Yi's demeanor, it seemed unlikely that he could afford such an amount.

Ning Tianchen had no obligation to fill the financial gap. After a pause, he asked, "Where did Xiaotian and the others go?"

Zhao Yi quickly led the way.

Feng Xiaotian and the others had been highly efficient, clearing all the wolf bandit corpses within a day. They had dug a large pit outside the city to bury and incinerate the bodies collectively.

At this moment, they were taking inventory of their spoils in the warehouse provided by Zhao Yi.

After knocking on the door, Zhao Yi tactfully refrained from entering.

In his view, since most of the wolf bandits were eliminated by Ning Tianchen and the others, these spoils naturally belonged to them.

As an outsider, entering the warehouse might cause discomfort.

When Ning Tianchen arrived, Oscar couldn't hide his excitement. "Tianchen, we've struck it rich! Out of over eight hundred wolf bandit corpses, we extracted thirty-six soul bones!"

Among these soul bones, there were nine hundred-year soul bones, eleven thousand-year soul bones, six forty-thousand-year soul bones, and ten ten-thousand-year soul bones.

Ning Tianchen instructed, "Out of the sixteen ten-thousand-year soul bones, keep the ones that provide berserk skills. The rest can be distributed among you for absorption. By the way, I have a ninety-thousand-year soul bone here."

The speed-type skill provided by the ninety-thousand-year soul bone overlapped with Feng Xiaotian's existing right leg bone, leaving only Yu Die and Cai Die, as well as Zhu Zhuqing, who were agility-focused attackers.

Zhu Zhuqing shook her head. "This forty-thousand-year right leg bone is also speed-oriented. We've already agreed that I'll absorb it. Take this ninety-thousand-year soul bone yourselves."

Cai Die smiled and said, "Sister, you should absorb it."

Yu Die shook her head. "No, I'll trade with Zhu Zhuqing, or you can absorb it."

Seeing this, Oscar tapped the table impatiently. "Hey, hey, hey, there's no need to keep deferring. There are plenty of soul bones here—everyone gets a share."

After discussion, it was decided that Yu Die would absorb the ninety-thousand-year soul bone.

Next, the group allocated the remaining soul bones.

Ning Tianchen didn't need any of the soul bones, and Ning Rongrong didn't require speed-type ones (she already had one), so they didn't participate in the distribution.

After the allocation, the remaining two forty-thousand-year berserk skill soul bones, three ten-thousand-year soul bones, and all the thousand-year and hundred-year soul bones were handed over to Ning Tianchen for safekeeping.

Of course, Ning Tianchen wouldn't sell these soul bones. Instead, he would bring them back to serve as stock for the sect.

After all, if someone in the sect achieved great feats in the future, appropriate rewards would need to be given.

After some thought, Ning Tianchen took out the nine hundred-year soul bones. "The value of soul bones is significant. If sold, these nine hundred-year soul bones should fetch around 300,000 gold soul coins."

No one questioned why Ning Tianchen would sell soul bones, as hundred-year soul bones weren't particularly valuable and didn't count as strategic resources—they could be sold without regret.

What puzzled them was why Ning Tianchen cared about these 300,000 gold soul coins.

Considering Ning Tianchen's current wealth, the amount of cash he held far exceeded this sum.

"The losses in Xingnan City are substantial. Shouldn't we help our junior raise funds for pensions?" Ning Tianchen shrugged.

Zhao Yi was older than them, but as the first batch of students in the academy and members of the team, they called each other classmates.

Among the students of the same cohort, the members of the battle team held a "senior" status compared to the other students.

This was why Zhao Yi, despite being older, still addressed them as senior brothers and sisters.

Feng Xiaotian agreed wholeheartedly. "Indeed, the losses among the soldiers and civilians of Xingnan City are severe, not to mention the damage to the villages outside the city. Though 300,000 gold soul coins isn't much, it can at least help Zhao Yi resolve one major issue."

They weren't Zhao Yi's parents, so naturally, they couldn't solve all his problems for him.

After all, Zhao Yi was an outstanding graduate of the Seven Treasures Academy and had been serving as city lord for several years. If he couldn't even handle resettling the villagers from outside the city, it would be quite embarrassing.

Everyone agreed with Ning Tianchen's plan. After tidying up the remaining soul bones, Ning Tianchen called Zhao Yi in.

Looking at the soul bones in front of him, Zhao Yi was tempted but instinctively refused. "No, soul bones are extremely valuable—I can't accept them."

After much persuasion, he finally nodded and accepted.

"Alright. However, Xingnan City can't sell this many soul bones. We'll have to go to Kuike City."

Kuike City was a three-day journey from Xingnan City and was the largest city nearby, aside from Hanhai City.

Although Hanhai City was closer, sea soul masters and land soul masters lived like people from two separate worlds, rarely interacting. Therefore, those living on land wouldn't consider traveling to Hanhai City.

Ning Tianchen said seriously, "The journey is a bit far. If you want to leave, you need to arrange matters within the city properly."

Zhao Yi thought carefully for a moment and nodded.

The matter of the soul bones was significant—he had to go personally to sell them.

Moreover, the fewer people who knew about this, the better. If the wrong people found out, rumors could spread across the continent.

At that point, countless powerful individuals might flock to Xingnan City to "search" for soul bones, which would be far more serious than the wolf bandit attacks.

As they spoke, Ning Tianchen took out a ten-thousand-year soul bone from his soul-guiding tool. "As your senior, I don't have much to give you. Consider this soul bone a gift for our first time meeting."

He wasn't giving away the soul bone without reason.

Through the map, he had already analyzed the geographical advantages of Xingnan City.

Although there were some hills nearby, they were all small mountains less than a hundred meters tall, making it easy for engineering disciples to carve out trade routes.

This location was close to Hanhai City, facilitating future commercial expansion toward the coast. Additionally, it connected two large cities of the Tiandou Empire, making it an excellent hub for goods transit.

It could even become the central city of southwestern Tiandou Empire.

The term of city lords in the Tiandou Empire was long. As long as Zhao Yi remained in office here, the Sky Sword Sect's future commercial expansion would be secured.

Giving away a ten-thousand-year soul bone would, in return, secure a vast commercial market for the Sky Sword Sect.

This "deal" was a sure profit.

---

After Zhao Yi left, everyone exchanged glances.

There was no other reason—it had been so long since they eradicated the wolf bandits, yet the divine trial hadn't signaled completion.

This made everyone suspect that perhaps there were still some high-level wolf bandits at large.

"Could it be that we missed a high-cultivation wolf bandit, and this guy managed to regroup the fleeing wolf bandits?"

Chen Huayu voiced his speculation.

Oscar sighed. "If that's true, a full day has already passed. This guy must have fled far away by now—how are we supposed to find him?"

As everyone lamented, a majestic voice echoed in their minds.

"The Fourth Trial of the Asura God has been completed."

"Not fighting for empty fame, but taking the protection of all living beings as the primary mission—the trial has been exceeded with honors. Rewards have been increased."

"Reward: 20% increase in Asura Affinity, 30,000 additional years added to soul ring cultivation, and two divine-bestowed soul rings."

"Total Affinity: 50%."

Ning Tianchen was overjoyed.

The rewards for the divine trial had significantly increased from the original terms.

With the rewards, his sixth soul ring reached 110,000 years and transformed into a crimson soul ring.

The others also received varying degrees of reward enhancements, and their first four soul rings all evolved into ten-thousand-year soul rings.

"Who would've thought that Big Brother simply refusing Junior Brother's request would bring us such an unexpected joy," Chen Huayu laughed heartily.

Ning Tianchen kicked him lightly and said with a smirk, "This isn't luck, nor was it a spur-of-the-moment decision."

"If everything we do is for recognition, then what's the point of living?"

His words earned everyone's agreement.

Chen Huayu awkwardly scratched his head, feeling a sense of shame.

---

The next day, as everyone prepared to leave Xingnan City, Zhao Yi brought big news.

Due to the wolf bandits, the large auction previously planned to be held in Kuike City had been temporarily canceled.

Now that the wolf bandits had been eliminated and Kuike City was no longer under threat, they decided to hold a grand auction in about half a month.

It was said that many new items had been added, including high-age soul bones and some specially functional soul tools.

"I think it's because of the war. Many families, in anticipation of the upcoming situation on the continent, are liquidating their collections," Yu Die sneered.

Ning Tianchen smiled faintly. "For us, this is also a great opportunity to pick up bargains."

When a single auction features multiple high-value items, each item naturally depreciates somewhat.

Moreover, most guests aren't willing to spend too much, so the prices of the auction items won't be outrageous.

Feng Xiaotian quickly added, "Let's see how much money we have. The sect has just been established and lacks resources. Bringing back more items will greatly benefit the sect's development."

Chen Huayu lazily remarked, "Not long after the big battle ended, let's treat this auction visit as a way to relax. Hopefully, the next challenge will be a bit easier."

Ning Tianchen shot him a glare. "Don't get your hopes up. The further we go, the harder it gets. Be prepared."

"Everyone can rest in the city for a while. We'll set off a few days before the auction begins."

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