SWNOVELXO Chapter 36: Chapter 36: A Kiting Strategy
Chapter 36: A Kiting Strategy
"How arrogant. Let me see exactly how you plan to defeat me," Guangling Douluo retorted, his face showing a hint of anger.
Within the Hall of Consecrations, the other Consecrations sensed the surge of soul power coming from the rear of the mountain. They emerged from seclusion one after another. Most were well over eighty or even a hundred or a hundred and fifty years old, fully devoted to seeking higher realms. They rarely exhibited strong emotions like joy or rage, but self-cultivation could be monotonous. A fight served as a bit of entertainment, and upon hearing Qian Xunji claim he could defeat Guangling Douluo even without a domain, their interest was piqued.
They did acknowledge the Six-Winged Angel's might, but every one of them had been a genius with a top-tier martial soul to ascend to Titled Douluo and join the Hall of Consecrations.
Raising his arm, Qian Xunji flicked his wrist, hurling the Holy Sword infused with golden flames at Guangling Douluo. Simultaneously, his first soul ring flared beneath him, golden soul power gathering in his fist to form a golden shield – Angelic Assault.
"That's all you've got? Sixth Soul Skill – Ice Crystal Shield!"
Guangling Douluo's sixth soul ring lit up; icy crystalline wings sprouted behind him, and as he lifted his bow, blue-white soul power formed a protective shield.
Qian Xunji's Holy Sword collided with the Ice Crystal Shield in a moderate explosion. Tiny cracks appeared on the shield from the impact, but it withstood the blow – naturally so, since Qian Xunji had merely tossed the sword without channeling much soul power into it.
With the shield still raised, Guangling Douluo prepared to counter Qian Xunji's Angelic Assault. But clearly, the shield wasn't about to break. Many of the spectators were already guessing at the upcoming sequence of moves: the eighth or ninth soul ring would light up, Qian Xunji and Guangling Douluo would exchange ultimate soul skills, and if Qian Xunji's earlier confidence were genuine, perhaps his hundred-thousand-year soul ring gave him an exceptionally powerful technique to secure victory.
Aware of his watchers' assumptions, Qian Xunji had a different plan altogether. In his opinion, the ninth soul skill was a finishing move – to be unleashed either for a guaranteed kill or in a prince-style final flourish.
Right at the moment Angelic Assault was about to meet the Ice Crystal Shield, Qian Xunji's second soul ring glowed.
Angelic Wings – turning himself intangible, immune to all physical damage and reducing energy attacks by fifty percent, much like Xiao Wu's "phasing" skill after her sacrifice to Tang San.
Exploiting that phasing skill, Qian Xunji slipped through both Guangling Douluo's shield and Guangling Douluo's body.
This is… Distraction Control!
Guangling Douluo finally realized what was happening as he retracted his sixth soul skill and tried to mount a counterattack. But a sword – not the Holy Sword, just a casual blade Qian Xunji had formed from soul power – was already at his neck. The angelic energy on Qian Xunji's right fist dispersed as well, since he had no desire to wound a Hall elder. They were, after all, on the same side.
"You've lost, Fifth Uncle."
A Titled Douluo could be worn down by a ten-thousand-year army or pinned by a single spear once he'd run out of soul power. It proved that without soul power, even a Titled Douluo's body was not invincible. And given the purifying properties of Qian Xunji's angelic soul power, a blade at a Titled Douluo's throat signaled there was no way to fight back.
"I've lost," Guangling Douluo said with a sigh, "I never imagined Distraction Control could be used that way."
In general, a Titled Douluo had nine soul skills. But each time they used soul abilities like the seventh, eighth, or ninth ring, it consumed a great deal of soul power and also had cooldowns. Apart from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, most major clans had never paid serious attention to Distraction Control. This time, Guangling Douluo had definitely been caught off-guard by Qian Xunji's creative tactic.
Qian Xunji offered some consolation. "Like any advanced technique, Distraction Control's effectiveness depends on when and how it's deployed. If you were prepared, it wouldn't have worked so smoothly."
Then, casting a glance toward the distance, he said, "Fourth Uncle, you've been observing long enough. Come on out."
With that, Qian Xunji returned to the dueling field. Guangling Douluo, having lost the motivation for further seclusion, stepped aside to watch what came next.
Suddenly, Qian Xunji looked upward.
Boom!
A burly figure plunged from the sky like a fortress falling, landing with a fierce whoosh of wind. Its feet slammed onto the ground, fracturing the obsidian-like granite floor with hairline cracks. At the instant of impact, Qian Xunji felt the earth tremble. Through the lingering dust came a rough laugh.
"Haha! Your Holiness, I won't make the same mistakes Guangling did. That soul-power sword of yours won't scratch me."
The speaker was the Fourth Consecration, Lion Douluo. In the Hall of Consecrations, they addressed one another as brothers, ranking them by strength.
Qian Xunji's nine soul rings lit up once more as the Six-Winged Angel spread behind him.
Lion Douluo blinked in surprise. "Your Holiness, you don't want to rest? Your fight just now – you need no recovery?"
Qian Xunji shook his head with a calm smile. "No need. To be frank, Fourth Uncle, I can defeat you even more easily than I did Fifth Uncle."
"We'll see how you do that!"
Lion Douluo bristled at Qian Xunji's certainty. His martial soul was the Blazing Lion. Titled Douluo or not, a lion was the king of beasts, with a proud temperament – ironically outstripping even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons in arrogance.
Two yellow, two purple, five black – nine rings flared around Lion Douluo as he shifted into a towering lion form, its neck full of bristling mane, its entire body engulfed in flames. That bulky lion was almost as tall as a small hill, occupying a fifth of the 200-meter-diameter duel arena.
Qian Xunji soared upward, channeling soul power into both fists with no sign of employing any soul skills, sending wave after wave of golden fist imprints from a distance. Lion Douluo blocked those easily with one huge paw.
"This puny, soft attack does nothing to me."
Having tanked a few such blows and feeling the angelic power nibble away some of his own soul power in the process, Lion Douluo launched himself into the air with a pounce, trying to pin Qian Xunji. In the eyes of the watching Consecrations, it became obvious Qian Xunji's strikes were fairly weak, but each one introduced purifying angelic energy into Lion Douluo's body.
Yet Qian Xunji kept leaping back, always staying just beyond reach. Meanwhile, he hurled golden fist imprints that, although not particularly powerful, landed consistently on the huge lion's body. The crowd realized that Qian Xunji was "kiting" Lion Douluo – a tactic of keeping enough distance to avoid any close-range retaliation while whittling him down gradually.
This was the so-called "kiting flow style," using superior speed and range to exhaust the foe.
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