Douluo: A Century-old Legend I Am the Second Uncle Chenxin

Chapter 1488 Silent Deliberation, Silent Confrontation

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……

The atmosphere in VIP room number 55 was somewhat quiet.

Longma's gaze shifted from the empty arena below, his brow furrowed, breaking the silence: "Miss, something's not right. Xiaoyi's martial spirit... is completely different from what it showed before."

"If it's not the Evergreen Vine, could it really be a Twin Martial Soul? When I received the message from Eurasia before, I didn't quite believe it."

Poseidon sat upright in the soft chair, his exquisite and flawless face showing a deep and thoughtful expression, as if troubled by something incomprehensible.

After hearing Longma's words, she did not respond immediately. She remained silent for a moment before speaking with certainty: "It's not a twin martial soul."

Her voice was clear and resolute.

Longma was taken aback, and said in a deep voice, "But how do you explain this? It has now turned into the Vine of Life that the announcer mentioned? This change..."

He pointed to the specially made soul-guided crystal plate in the private room, on which a brief replay of the post-match information still remained.

Poseidon's deep gaze pierced through the walls of the private room and landed on the spot where Xiaoyi had just fought, even though it was now empty.

She shook her head slightly, her tone carrying a hint of confusion that even she couldn't fully understand: "I don't know the specific reason either."

"But my intuition tells me it shouldn't be as simple as twin martial souls."

This was an intuitive judgment based on her experience and familiarity with Xiaoyi.

The near-fatal incident involving Chen Xiaojun involuntarily surfaced in her mind—a heart attack, respiratory arrest, and a life hanging by a thread.

At that critical moment of life and death, if Xiaoyi really possessed another martial soul called the "Vine of Life," which allowed her to freely utilize pure life force...

That is the most direct and effective way to reverse life and death!
Would she really abandon it?

But the truth is, Xiaoyi chose a completely different path at the time—the risky state of divine descent.

In that inhuman state, she forcibly fought and killed two Soul Douluos.

Then, most importantly, she used the immense life energy of the Contra to guide it and heal Chen Xiaojun's near-death injuries.

This is inherently illogical; why go through such a roundabout and risky process?
Longma was silent for a moment: "No wonder it's related to Him? He has the ability to change martial souls?"

Poseidon paused, "I don't know if it's related to Him, but the Vine of Life is indeed very strong now, but it's still not as good as the Evergreen Vine."

Seeing that his mistress was deep in thought, Longma asked in a low voice, "Then...should we go see Young Master Xiaojun and the others later? Ask them in person?"

Poseidon pulled herself out of her thoughts, her eyes regaining their usual calm: "No, no rush."

She waved her hand gently, "Let's talk about it in a couple of days. I need to observe Xiaoyi's current cultivation level and progress over the past few years a few more times before I can truly grasp her abilities. Besides,"

She paused, her tone revealing a clear understanding, "The competition has only just begun, and there are countless things to consider. We need to analyze numerous tactics and conduct targeted research on our opponents."

“They are at their busiest and most stressed right now, and if we go there rashly, it will only be a disturbance.”

"Yes, Miss." Longma replied respectfully, saying no more, but his eyes still revealed his curiosity about the mystery of the martial spirit.

Poseidon, however, turned his attention back to the arena, where still waters run deep.

"Xiaoyi, what exactly did you mean by that letter..."

…………

Inside Box 111 (The Grand Arena allocated Boxes 100-135 to 36 teams)
The atmosphere still carried a lingering sense of unease from the mental clash in the passageway earlier.

Zhu Wuneng shouted loudly, with a hint of indignation: "Young Master, the Heaven Dou Academy did that on purpose just now. They were clearly trying to test your strength."

Dugu Fu leaned back in his soft chair and snorted coldly: "Isn't that obvious? You came up here without saying a word and immediately unleashed your full aura to create a mental clash. Your purpose is so obvious that even a blind man could see that you wanted to test the young master's strength."

Chen Xiaojun did not respond immediately. He was standing in front of the huge one-way floor-to-ceiling window, his gaze passing through the specially made glass, calmly looking down at the empty arena below, his figure appearing somewhat silent.

Chu Youwei sat to the side, her slender fingers supporting her chin, her brows slightly furrowed, her eyes thoughtful: "But I don't quite understand... why are they in such a hurry to make this kind of test?"

"The competition has only just begun; they have plenty of time to observe."

"And with their resources, the intelligence information about you, Xiao Hongchen, is probably already piling up on the desks of their coaches and analysts, right?"

Chen Ze took over the conversation, adjusted his glasses, and his gaze behind the lenses was calm: "Insufficient intelligence data!"

"Especially you, Captain, you only made four moves in the provincial preliminary rounds, each time like it was a game, with endless techniques."

"People enjoy watching it, but those who study and analyze it have a headache."

"Those only show your 'lower limit,' or that you have a high degree of adaptability in combat and a wide variety of techniques."

"But they have no idea about your 'upper limit'—that is, what level you can reach when you unleash your full power."

Ji Boda leaned back on the sofa and said in a magnetic voice, "So, they chose the unconventional method of 'psychic combat'."

“Level can be hidden, and soul skills can be retained, but ‘intent’, or rather, the ‘root’ that drives the power, is very difficult to perfectly disguise and conceal, especially when facing the oppressive aura of an opponent of the same level.” “What they want to touch is the depth and texture of this ‘root’.”

He Qiang crossed his arms, his expression serious, and added, "That's right! For top-tier Soul Masters, willpower is a power amplifier."

“Soul power level, soul skill power, and combat style are all the basis for evaluation.”

"But once all of these are clear, one of the decisive factors that determines the maximum combat power that can be unleashed is the level and intensity of the core 'intention'."

Liu Ruyan straightened her skirt and continued, her gaze sweeping over her teammates: "In their eyes, or more accurately, in their assessment, Young Master is undoubtedly the biggest stumbling block on their path to winning the national championship."

"For such a core opponent, it is naturally better to figure out their hand as soon as possible, and the sooner we discover the key, the sooner we can develop targeted strategies."

"This is the inevitable mindset of teams vying for the championship."

Gu Wuyan nodded in agreement: "Sister Ruyan is right. Besides, it's not like they're losing anything."

"Xue Shiming's kingly aura and Tang Chen's domineering true meaning were already shown to many people four years ago at the academy challenge and the Chen family's banquet. Their intelligence value is already public knowledge to us."

"So they don't care if we see it."

Shen Youchu's clear voice came: "This test is probably a 'aftereffect' of the unfinished battle between Young Master and Qian Daoliu back then."

She was referring to the experience four years ago at the Chen family's coming-of-age banquet, when Chen Xiaojun, with the help of the powerful Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Formation, briefly possessed the ability to stably exert the power of a Soul Saint.

That fleeting glimpse left a deep impression on all the forces involved, and to some extent, led to a biased assessment.

Liu Ruyan glanced at her and said softly, "I guess there will also be the sensation caused by the young master's trip into the mountains to command the battle against the wolf bandits."

Xiao Yi had somehow walked up to Chen Xiaojun's side and was quietly looking out the window at the arena, just like him.

Her gaze was calm, as if she could see through his thoughts, and then she gently turned her head, her clear emerald green eyes gazing at him.

This unspoken attention brought Chen Xiaojun back to his senses. He turned to look at the slender figure beside him, his eyes softening, and said gently, "Xiaoyi, thank you for what you did earlier."

Xiao Yi simply shook her head slowly and almost imperceptibly, her voice as light as a feather: "Are you... alright?"

Her gaze lingered on him for a moment, with a subtle searching in it.

Chen Xiaojun was slightly taken aback, then understood what she meant and smiled gently: "Don't worry, it's alright."

"It was just a brief exchange of auras and thoughts, not even a warm-up, so what could possibly happen?"

He naturally knew that Xiaoyi was worried about the potential danger of the cracks in the Soul Nest wall.

However, in the past few months, thanks to the rare medicinal power of many spiritual herbs and the nourishment from his continuous comprehension of various thoughts, the once incredibly powerful cracks in his soul wall have been repaired to only about a quarter of their original state.

Although this hidden danger still exists, it is no longer as unstable as it was before.

However, if it weren't for Xiao Yi's intervention and support, he would have inevitably exposed much more.

Of course, the idea of ​​yin and yang harmony and the deep affection between him and Xiaoyi were also revealed.

During a break in their conversation, Chen Mu glanced at the two teachers who had been listening attentively—Ji Xiang and Yan Nanfei.

"Teachers, what do you think of that...unique 'greeting gift' just now?"

Jixiang and Yan Nanfei exchanged a glance and nodded slightly to each other.

Jixiang cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, "Xiao Mu is right. The special nature of this battle of wills naturally leads to the special nature of the result."

He paused for a moment, Yan Nanfei's gaze filled with profound meaning, "First, the three completely different top-level intentions of the Three Heroes of Tiandou—the kingly demeanor, the domineering fighting spirit, and the fusion of holy light—can actually blend and attract each other so skillfully during the confrontation, and even form a layered and coordinated suppression."

"This shows that their daily training coordination far exceeds outsiders' imagination; their tacit understanding is ingrained in their very bones. Even..."

He emphasized, his voice firm, "We have to be wary of a possibility: they may have developed some kind of powerful 'three-person combination technique,' a trump card that only top teams possess."

Chen Mu immediately understood, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, and he immediately turned to look at Chen Xiaojun: "Teacher Yan's analysis is reasonable!"

"Sixth Brother, don't forget, Xue Shiming, Tang Chen, and Ning Zhongtian are the absolute core of the Heaven Dou Team's attack lineup, the only three true attack-type Soul Masters."

"With such a high level of tacit understanding, coupled with their respective top-notch martial souls and willpower, developing a combination skill is almost a natural choice."

"This could very well be one of their trump cards."

Chen Shurui, standing nearby, gasped dramatically and clicked his tongue: "Good heavens! The super combination technique of three top geniuses—the sixth, tenth, and fifteenth on the Heavenly Pride Ranking?! If they were to unleash this, the power would be..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Bin, who had been keeping a close eye on the Soul Arena, spoke up coldly, breaking the slightly tense atmosphere in the private room: "The Heavenly Dou competition has begun!"

He pointed out the window, where the arena below was already showing images of the two teams of players entering the arena.

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to it, their eyes all turning to the first battle that was about to begin for Team Tiandou.

(End of this chapter)