The Peerless Emperor (TPE)

In mid-air, the golden light around the soul avatar of Qin Lingtian, the Emperor of the Qin Dynasty, had already dissipated, revealing the true form of his illusory body.

It was a middle-aged man with an appearance strikingly similar to Qin Yunyu, with a black beard, sharp sword-like eyebrows, and an extremely dignified expression.

The soul avatar of the current Emperor of the Qin Dynasty looked at Lin Qian with a shocked expression, unable to believe what had just happened.

"You..." Qin Lingtian's incredulous voice echoed for a brief moment before his illusory soul avatar completely shattered, breaking into countless specks of light that dissipated in the air, disappearing entirely before everyone's eyes.

As for Lin Qian, he remained calmly suspended in mid-air, completely unaffected. The bright yellow flames of his Emperor's Robe continued to burn, and his aura showed no signs of weakening.

What had just transpired left everyone dumbfounded. Fear filled their gazes as they looked at Lin Qian, and many from the Qin Dynasty began to tremble.

According to everyone's initial expectations, Lin Qian's arrogance should have led to his soul being crushed by the Emperor's soul avatar, causing the downfall of this once-promising genius.

Even if he survived, he would be left as a fool, destined to live out his days as a mindless shell of his former self.

Of course, the Emperor's soul avatar could only unleash such an attack once. Afterward, it would only have enough soul energy left to maintain its form.

Those observing from other factions within the Southern Region were aware of this fact. Confident that the Emperor's soul avatar would be used to finish off Lin Qian, they had stayed to witness the outcome without fear.

But no one could have anticipated that Lin Qian would use his pressure to shatter Qin Lingtian's soul avatar.

In this confrontation, the Emperor had lost?

Even now, they struggled to process what had just happened.

Gazing at the empty sky where Qin Lingtian had vanished, Lin Qian inwardly scoffed, "Attacking my sea of consciousness with soul force? Was he seeking death?"

Initially, Lin Qian had no means to directly crush the Emperor's soul avatar with his Emperor's pressure.

Although his soul was incredibly powerful and fortified by the national fortune of the Huaxia Empire within his sea of consciousness, making it invulnerable to any intrusion, he couldn't yet use his full strength to deal significant damage to Qin Lingtian.

However, given that such a powerful figure's soul avatar was attacking a lower-realm cultivator's sea of consciousness, Lin Qian had anticipated this strategy.

As long as the Emperor attacked his sea of consciousness, Lin Qian could harness his natural defenses to shatter the soul avatar.

And just as he had expected, Qin Lingtian fell right into his trap.

In truth, Qin Lingtian had brought about his own defeat.

Lin Qian looked down coldly at Qin Yunyu and the others from the Qin Dynasty, his golden eyes filled with a killing intent that he did not bother to conceal.

Seeing Lin Qian's gaze turn toward them, the members of the Qin Dynasty gulped in fear, terror evident on their faces.

If their Emperor's soul avatar could be shattered by this young man's pressure, what hope did they have? Their cultivation levels were no match for the Emperor's power, and they would only face the same fate—soul destruction.

"Don't panic!" At that moment, Qin Yunyu was the first to regain his composure and shouted loudly, "Father's soul avatar only shattered after attacking him first! This guy must have some kind of soul-protecting artifact!"

"If his soul pressure could directly kill us, why hasn't he used it from the start? Why only when my father's soul avatar attacked?"

Qin Yunyu's words were like a slap to the face, waking everyone up. They weren't fools and quickly understood his point.

Seeing Qin Yunyu's quick thinking, Lin Qian couldn't help but nod in approval. Although Qin Yunyu's reasoning wasn't entirely correct, he had at least grasped part of the truth.

Unless a higher-realm expert tried to attack his sea of consciousness, Lin Qian couldn't normally use that kind of soul pressure in battle.

"Impressive for the Crown Prince of the Qin Dynasty," Lin Qian thought to himself as nine spherical metal components appeared around him. Under the infusion of soul energy, they turned into liquid metal, converging toward the sword-shaped core in his left hand.

Weapon Soul Armament!

In an instant, the liquid metal components formed around the core, taking the shape of a wide black sword with golden patterns. The sound of crackling filled the air as golden lightning coiled around the black blade.

"A primordial-level Weapon Soul!" Seeing that Lin Qian's soul armament had a unique form despite his mere Life and Death Realm cultivation, many onlookers were stunned, clutching their heads in disbelief.

"Where did this monstrous Lin Qian come from?!"

Their minds screamed with shock at everything Lin Qian had done so far—it was simply terrifying.

Gripping the Thunder Night Sword in his hand, Lin Qian channeled his soul energy into the blade, his golden Emperor's Eye remaining fixed on Qin Yunyu, exerting immense pressure.

"Lin Qian, let's fight to the death!" Qin Yunyu now saw Lin Qian as a true opponent, shouting at him from below.

With his Weapon Soul's special ability fully activated, the soul energy emanating from Qin Yunyu cut through the surrounding air, and his expression became wild as he looked up.

"It's been a long time since I've felt like this. My blood is boiling." Qin Yunyu thought to himself as he smiled, his grip on the golden-patterned Qin Sword tightening until his knuckles turned white.

The spectators focused intently on Lin Qian and Qin Yunyu, anticipating a fierce battle between the two.

"If this turns into a direct fight, it'll be hard to tell who will win. Lin Qian's talent is terrifying, but his cultivation level isn't enough."

"Qin Yunyu's Weapon Soul ability is extremely powerful. If Lin Qian isn't careful, he could end up severely injured."

The onlookers whispered among themselves, speculating about the outcome of the impending battle.

"Lin Qian, come on!" Qin Yunyu grinned, filled with fighting spirit.

Boom!

The air behind Lin Qian exploded as he instantly vanished from sight.

Boom!

A golden lightning storm roared through the sky as a golden thunderclap cut through Qin Yunyu, splitting him in half in a flash.

The golden lightning on the sword erupted with a thunderous roar, deafening everyone around.

Qin Yunyu was reduced to ashes in an instant, his remains blown apart by the storm of electric serpents, leaving only charred fragments drifting through the air.

As Lin Qian dismissed his weapon armament, his expression turned bleak, his eyes filled with disappointment. He let out a long sigh...

"Boring."