Thunder Canyon, as the name suggested, was a canyon constantly ravaged by lightning.
The rocks continuously collapsed under the bombardment of lightning, forming a chaotic rocky terrain.
Inside the canyon, the sound of thunder echoed endlessly, deafening the ears.
The sky above the canyon was covered in storm clouds; lightning flashed, and thunder rolled, seemingly filled with infinite power.
Seeing this scene at the entrance, Ning Tianchen couldn’t help but marvel at nature’s uncanny workmanship.
“Are you from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan?” A disciple of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan guarding the area stepped forward to ask upon seeing the arrivals.
As their private territory, Thunder Canyon strictly prohibited all forms of poaching.
The group of four, consisting of the old and the young, clearly didn’t look like poachers.
Thus, the disciple asked just to be sure.
Chen Xin casually tossed him the token symbolizing the identity of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
After inspecting it, the disciple respectfully returned the token and opened the passageway into Thunder Canyon.
“Distinguished guests of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, the Clan Head has already given instructions.
You may enter directly.”
The environment inside Thunder Canyon was vastly different from the outside world.
As the four of them entered, everywhere was wet, and the atmosphere was incredibly hot and humid.
To protect Ning Rongrong’s safety, Ning Fengzhi specifically sent a Spirit Douluo elder from the sect.
This person’s name was Ke Jie, a control-system soul master with the martial soul Sky Canopy Chessboard, and a soul power level as high as eighty-eight.
Hearing his name, Ning Tianchen was astonished.
This name was similar to a certain chess player from his past life, and his martial soul was a chessboard.
How bizarre.
Not long after they entered, everyone except Chen Xin was soaked in sweat.
The hot and humid environment made the sweat cling to their skin, unable to drip off.
After taking only a few steps, Ning Rongrong’s body was the first to give out.
“Eldest Miss, how about this old man takes you back?” Ke Jie couldn’t help but offer.
They hadn’t gone far into Thunder Canyon, so leaving now wouldn’t delay Ning Tianchen’s soul beast hunt.
However, Ning Rongrong seemed determined to witness Ning Tianchen break through to Soul Expert.
Panting heavily, she insisted on continuing.
“Since Rongrong wants to stay, watch Grandpa Jian.”
A trace of a smile appeared on the corner of Chen Xin’s mouth; he doted on Ning Rongrong very much.
In the next moment, the Seven Kill Sword martial soul appeared in his hand.
With a single slash, he scattered the hot and humid air around them.
The air that flowed back in was not only much drier but also brought waves of coolness.
What exquisite sword technique, Ning Tianchen sighed in admiration.
The path of cultivating swordplay was a long and arduous one.
…
Along the way, Chen Xin briefed Ning Tianchen and the others about the situation inside Thunder Canyon.
This canyon had front and back entrances.
Aside from the entrance they used, there was another one located inside the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan’s stronghold, reserved exclusively for their disciples.
Outsiders wishing to hunt here could only enter through the entrance they just used.
Furthermore, there were many enforcers from the Blue Lightning clan patrolling nearby.
Once caught poaching, one would be turned into fertilizer for the soul beasts.
However, in recent years, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan was experiencing a lack of successors.
Among the new generation, no one was capable of taking over from Yu Yuanzhen.
Therefore, the entire clan adopted a contraction strategy.
The patrol intensity in Thunder Canyon had subsequently decreased a lot, and many bold soul masters had sneaked in to poach.
“The decline of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan is inevitable,” Ning Tianchen chimed in.
“Sword Douluo, I think the current ‘Twin Stars of Blue Lightning’ cannot even be compared to the ‘Twin Stars of Clear Sky’ from back then.”
Even without Spirit Hall’s soul hunting operation, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan would naturally face its demise within thirty years.
Chen Xin nodded noncommittally.
“The soul beasts here were mostly captured by experts of the Blue Lightning clan.
Tianchen, the third soul ring this old man has chosen for you is a Sword-winged Dragon soul beast.”
“The third soul skill of the Seven Kill Sword is a flying-type soul skill.
Possessing such a skill will be extremely helpful to you in battle.”
Of course, it didn’t just provide flight.
One could also use the sword-riding technique to execute long-range attacks.
In short, this was one of the most important early-stage soul skills for the Seven Kill Sword, and the choice of the soul ring had to be made with extreme caution.
Dragon-type soul beasts inherently possessed the ability to fly, but very few perfectly suited the Seven Kill Sword.
Ning Tianchen nodded slightly, imagining himself riding a flying sword.
However, with the strength of a Soul Expert, using the third soul skill would consume a lot of energy.
Even if he could ride the sword, he wouldn’t be able to maintain it for long.
The Sword-winged Dragon’s territory was not deep within Thunder Canyon, but the outer area was vast.
In this hot and humid canyon, there were many small insects; every extra minute spent here was a torment.
After failing to find the Sword-winged Dragon for two consecutive days, the group inevitably felt a bit irritable.
“Where exactly is this damn thing hiding?” Ning Rongrong said impatiently.
Even with Chen Xin leading the way, her clothes were still covered in grime after two days.
“Rongrong, you can’t be too hasty when searching for a soul beast.
One misstep, and we might mistakenly enter the territory of a powerful soul beast, causing unnecessary trouble.”
When hunting for his second soul ring, Ning Tianchen had wandered around the Sunset Forest for over a month before yielding any results.
A mere two days was nothing.
Of course, Ning Rongrong couldn’t be blamed.
The sources of soul rings for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda were fixed.
Before Ning Rongrong was about to break through, Ning Fengzhi had already dispatched people to pinpoint the soul beast’s location.
Thus, when she went out to hunt, she usually found a suitable soul beast within half a day.
This was the first time she had experienced searching for two days without success.
“Rongrong, Thunder Canyon is not our territory, and we don’t know the distribution of soul beasts here.
Just treat this hunt as a tempering experience,” Chen Xin said leisurely.
“Sword Douluo, you all rest here for a moment.
This old man will go look around nearby.
If I find anything, I’ll notify you immediately,” Ke Jie said, getting up to search the vicinity.
The Sword-winged Dragon was a flying soul beast, but in an environment like Thunder Canyon, and considering it wasn’t a lightning-attribute beast, flying high into the sky would likely result in getting struck by lightning.
Flying was its nature, so it could only be flying at low altitudes.
To find it, they had to search along the rock walls on both sides of the canyon.
Since Ke Jie volunteered to help search, Chen Xin wasn’t in a hurry to take Ning Tianchen and Rongrong forward, so they rested on the spot.
About four hours later, a massive chessboard suddenly appeared in Ning Tianchen’s field of vision.
Noticing the situation, Chen Xin stood up and looked towards the chessboard.
“That’s a Martial Soul Avatar.
For Ke Jie to treat it so seriously, he must have encountered a high-age soul beast.”
Chen Xin raised an eyebrow.
“Tianchen, Rongrong, come with me.
But do not participate in the battle.
Once I take over the battlefield, Ke Jie will immediately come back to protect you.”
(END CHAPTER)