Chapter Thirty-Five: The Madwoman

Barely having steadied themselves, the two sides lunged at each other once more, locked in a frenzied battle as the sound of continuous collisions echoed through the air.

Nearby, seeing Qin Lang fighting to a stalemate with Ye Keqing, Qin Yue and Qin Jian clapped and cheered incessantly. In a short span, they had exchanged dozens of blows, each gaining and losing ground in equal measure. But the longer the fight dragged on, the more alarmed Ye Keqing became. She had assumed she could utterly crush Qin Lang with her superior strength, yet Qin Lang’s "Eight-Fold Wave" technique proved incredibly powerful, and he struck at the vulnerabilities of her own martial arts with uncanny precision, refusing to give an inch.

As they fought, they moved further away, until soon even Qin Yue and Qin Jian lost sight of them.

"I cannot let this continue!"

After hundreds of exchanges, Ye Keqing gritted her teeth and summoned her Martial Soul. A phantom icicle, several feet long, slowly manifested above her head. Rich soul energy churned within it, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet instantly, accompanied by a bone-chilling cold. This icicle was none other than Ye Keqing’s Martial Soul.

"Go!"

With a cold command, the icicle spun and swept toward Qin Lang, its massive soul energy churning and tearing everything in its path into nothingness. It was clear that Qin Lang could not withstand such an attack with the Eight-Fold Wave alone. His mind raced as he understood her intent: she was forcing him to pit his Martial Soul against hers. She intended to rely on the Martial Soul she had cultivated for a full decade to crush the one he had practiced for a mere six months, thereby defeating him.

Her plan was sound, but she was unaware that he was a dual-soul practitioner. Compete with him in soul energy? He had nothing to fear.

"Fire Dragon Martial Soul, appear!"

The Fire Dragon Martial Soul instantly emerged above his head. The bone-chilling cold surrounding Qin Lang vanished, replaced by a surging, scorching heat. As soon as it appeared, the Fire Dragon let out a roar, carrying billows of searing flames as it lunged at the icicle.

"Boom!"

The two Martial Souls collided violently, consuming each other in a frenzy. Once a battle of soul energy began, it was a fight to the death; it would not end until one side’s energy was utterly depleted. The Fire Dragon’s energy was visibly depleting faster than the icicle’s, and within moments, it was suppressed, falling completely on the defensive.

"I see now how truly stupid you are! My Martial Soul has been cultivated for ten years, while yours for a mere six months. Furthermore, my Soul is the natural bane of yours. Challenging me to a contest of soul energy is nothing but a death wish!"

Ye Keqing’s face lit up with triumph. Qin Lang might have extraordinary talent, but his combat experience was woefully lacking—he did not know how to adapt to changing circumstances. By daring to go head-to-head with her, he had sealed his own fate. Her beautiful eyes shimmered with anticipation, as if she could already see the moment Qin Lang’s energy ran dry and she would seize his Martial Soul.

Excited, she pulled a crystal-clear jade pendant the size of a thumb from her bosom. Mysterious power swirled around it—it was the magical artifact that would allow her to merge with Qin Lang’s soul. She clearly intended to extract his soul the moment his energy failed and absorb it immediately. Her eyes burned with a fanatical, eager intensity, as if she could already see the brilliant path of a supreme warrior beckoning to her.

"Sigh, what a self-righteous woman."

Qin Lang shook his head in silence. With a single thought, his Black Eye-Wheel Martial Soul surged out from his mind, hovering above his head and pulsing with dark energy.

"What!"

Seeing Qin Lang summon a second Martial Soul, the triumphant expression on Ye Keqing’s face froze.

"Another Martial Soul! You... you are a dual-soul practitioner!"

Panic flashed across her face, and her voice began to tremble. The soul energy of a dual-soul practitioner was far beyond the reach of an ordinary warrior. Even if both of his souls had only been cultivated for half a year, they were far from something she could match with a single soul. In an instant, her fighting spirit collapsed.

Qin Lang focused his intent, and the Black Eye-Wheel joined the fray. Beams of dark soul energy shot out like black lasers, striking directly at the icicle.

*Hiss!*

The icicle was corroded, holes appearing across its surface as it emitted a piercing sound. It was consumed rapidly, instantly falling into a disadvantage.

"So, it was I who was foolish and self-righteous all along!"

Despair washed over Ye Keqing. Once her icicle was exhausted, her defeat would be absolute. She looked up at Qin Lang, realizing he seemed to hold endless trump cards. Every time she thought she had him cornered, he surprised her. First, he revealed the strength of a ninth-stage Martial Apprentice; then, he unleashed the Eight-Fold Wave, a technique more powerful than her own clan's secret arts; and now, a dual Martial Soul! The shock of his growing strength shattered her pride, which had once sat so high, and trampled it into the dust. To think that she, a first-stage Martial Warrior, would be defeated by a mere ninth-stage Martial Apprentice—it was a preposterous joke.

As she realized her path to greatness was ending, she was filled with resentment. Suddenly, a flash of madness crossed her eyes, and her beautiful face twisted into a snarl. She poured all the spiritual energy within her Dantian into the icicle. With this infusion, the flickering Martial Soul began to swell at a visible rate.

"This madwoman! She’s going to self-destruct!"

Qin Lang’s expression changed drastically. The self-detonation of a warrior was immensely powerful; even a peak-level Martial Master could perish in such an explosion.

"If I, Ye Keqing, cannot have it, why should you, Qin Lang? Let’s die together! Hahaha!"

Her hair wild, her face contorted into a hideous mask, she laughed maniacally. She was choosing to self-destruct and drag him down with her.

"Boom—"

The swollen icicle erupted with a heaven-shaking roar. A violent surge of spiritual energy exploded, sweeping everything in its wake, crushing and obliterating all that it touched. Countless trees were reduced to wood chips, scattering in the wind, and massive boulders were pulverized into dust.

At the moment of the detonation, Qin Lang retracted his soul, poured his remaining energy into his legs, and used the "Roaming Dragon Step" to flee with all his might. Despite his speed, he was still clipped by a shockwave of violent energy and slammed into a large tree.

"Ugh!"

He collapsed to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His face was deathly pale as he looked back at the site of the explosion with lingering fear.

"You actually escaped... I never thought... you still had another trump card!"

Seeing that Qin Lang had used a powerful movement technique to flee the center of the blast, Ye Keqing let out a blood-curdling roar of frustration. Her figure was engulfed by the violent energy, torn into countless fragments, leaving nothing but a bloody mess.

"No! No! I cannot accept this!"

Her frantic, piercing wails echoed through the wilderness, chilling and dissonant.

"Damn, what a crazy woman!"

When she couldn't steal his soul, she tried to drag him to the grave with her. Qin Lang spat out a glob of blood and gasped for air, his heart still pounding. If he had been even a second slower, he would be dead. Just then, his brows twitched—he realized that after this life-or-death battle, the bottleneck that had been on the verge of breaking had finally, completely shattered.