Chen Xin's flying speed was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, the group had closed in on the Golden Tortoise.
When they were less than a hundred meters away, the massive soul beast finally sensed the threat coming from above.
"Too late!" A trace of disdain curled on the corner of Xu Yang's lips.
"Seventh Soul Skill: Nine Treasures True Body!"
"Nine Treasures, First is Strength, Second is Speed, Third is Soul... Sixth is Boost!"
Without hesitation, Ning Fengzhi fully unleashed his peak-level split-mind control, instantly applying boosts to everyone present.
As the multicolored radiance descended, the aura around Chen Xin surged dramatically. His full strength as a level 98 Super Douluo erupted completely.
The overwhelming pressure of his soul power distorted the space around him.
A sharp sword intent pierced the skies. Standing on the Seven Kill Sword, the group felt as though they had been thrust into a world of sword qi and murderous aura.
"So this is Grandfather Sword's true power. Back then during the battle with Tang Hao, he must not have used even 70% of his strength."
Feeling the force of the aura, Xu Yang suddenly understood why Chen Xin, despite being three ranks higher, had failed to stop Tang Hao in the past—it was simply because he hadn't gone all out.
At the same time, a vague suspicion crept into his heart—perhaps Chen Xin had deliberately held back.
"Seventh Soul Skill: Seven Kill True Body!"
A ring of blue light surged around Chen Xin. As he lifted his right hand, the Seven Kill Sword appeared within it. With the release of his Martial Soul True Body, the first eight soul rings beneath his feet merged into the blade, inlaid like eight glowing gemstones.
"Fifth Soul Skill: All Around Massive Quake!"
Eight enormous Seven Kill Swords, each over a hundred meters long, plunged down from the sky and embedded themselves in the beach, erupting into a storm of sword qi. The resulting sword wall cut off the Golden Tortoise's escape route back to the sea.
"Roar!"
The Golden Tortoise let out an enraged bellow that echoed across the beach. Though categorized as a reptile, it was still a sea turtle—its true power could only be displayed in the ocean.
Because of its reptilian physiology, it wasn't a pure sea soul beast and thus couldn't take on a human form, even after reaching the hundred-thousand-year mark.
On land, it could barely utilize half its strength.
Worse yet, its anatomy meant it couldn't employ the torque of its midsection like other sea soul beasts. It could only rely on its four flippers for movement, making it less than half as fast as other aquatic beasts.
But with no lack of intelligence, it clearly understood: the only chance to survive was to retreat into the sea.
"Roar!"
With a deafening roar, a surge of bluish-green soul power gathered before its massive open jaws, forming into a colossal sphere of energy aimed forward.
"Not a chance!"
Madam Ning coldly snorted. In the next instant, she appeared high above the Golden Tortoise, spinning midair. Her right leg came crashing down with immense force.
Boom!
The Golden Tortoise's mouth shut abruptly. Its throat moved as it swallowed the soul power sphere whole. Yet, there was no explosion as one might expect. It made sense—after all, it was its own soul power. As long as it acted quickly, it could reabsorb it before detonation.
From nearby, Xu Yang gulped quietly. He realized his teacher's wife had a serious habit of fighting with her feet—even though she was a speed-type assault soul master who used a sword. The last time she took him soul beast hunting, she had nearly kicked a Sun Saint Beetle to death.
Noticing Xu Yang's expression, Ning Fengzhi's mouth twitched. He offered a quick explanation: "Your teacher's wife has four soul skills that amplify speed—except for her third, sixth, ninth, and her Martial Soul True Body. With speed-enhancing boosts, her attack power isn't any weaker than a power-type soul master's."
Speed is mass. Once speed reaches a certain threshold, the force generated is terrifying. People who think agility-types are weak attackers have clearly only seen pre-Soul Sage ones, before their speed reaches a point of transformation. For someone like Madam Ning, a Titled Douluo, that's no longer a problem.
This was Xu Yang's first time seeing her fight seriously. All her speed-enhancing soul rings were shining as her figure transformed into a blur of afterimages, rapidly circling the Golden Tortoise.
Third Soul Skill: Drizzle Sword!
Madam Ning's third ring lit up. Her rapier stabbed forward at extreme speed, transforming into a rain of sword light. But rather than scatter, the countless strikes converged into a single silver point aimed directly at the creature's brow.
This was necessary. The Golden Tortoise's defense was formidable. Even its limbs and head, which weren't covered by the shell, were protected by thick keratin layers. A wide-area attack would never penetrate—only a focused point could hope to do any real damage.
Pfft!
The rapier pierced into the creature's brow—but only halfway. Given the sword's length and the beast's massive size, that depth didn't even count as a scratch. Even if some sword energy did seep toward the brain, it merely made the hundred-thousand-year Golden Tortoise howl in pain.
Seeing her strike fail, Madam Ning pulled back without hesitation. She withdrew the rapier and blurred away, avoiding the retaliatory burst of soul power.
After it expelled the energy, the Golden Tortoise's entire body glowed with a golden sheen. The light looked solid, clearly offering exceptional defense. With this added layer, it roared and charged toward the shoreline, pushing through the sword qi from the Seven Kill Sword.
"What terrifying defense. Even the sword qi of the Seven Kill Sword is only causing faint ripples in that golden light… Is this really the defense of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast?"
Chen Xin, still maintaining his Shock the Four Directions skill from above, was visibly shaken.
This level of defense surpassed anything he had ever witnessed. Not a single beast or soul master he had faced had ever demonstrated this kind of durability.
But Xu Yang had already noticed something.
This Golden Tortoise likely followed a path similar to the Defense Clan—one of the Four Great Clans with single-attribute soul power—focusing entirely on defense. That much was evident from its fighting style, limited movement, and lack of offensive techniques.
As a sea turtle, it lacked the ability to retract its limbs like land turtles. Its structure also prevented simultaneous protection of both head and limbs. In the sea, it could rely on its fins for agile movement and evasive tactics, but on land, that advantage was gone.
So this Golden Tortoise had made a clear choice: go all in on defense. As long as its defense couldn't be broken, it couldn't be killed—by soul beasts or humans alike.
In other words, this was a soul beast that had gone full tank mode out of fear of death.