Word Count: 2,941 Words
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"Semifinals, first match: Angelic Sanctuary versus Tang Sect. Team battle, begin!"
Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan's deep voice boomed across the arena. He understood full well that this was the championship being decided ahead of schedule. Without Xiao Hongchen using drugs to break through to Spirit Saint, the Sun Moon Imperial Academy stood no chance against either of these two powerhouse teams.
Both sides burst into motion simultaneously. Wang Dong Er forcibly suppressed the churning blood and qi within her body and unfurled the Light Goddess Butterfly's wings. Suspended in midair, she unleashed a deluge of Light of the Butterfly Goddess that rained toward Angelic Sanctuary like a meteor shower.
Ling Qiuxi's golden eyes narrowed. She pushed off the ground and soared skyward, sweeping the Golden Dragon Spear in a wide arc that annihilated every strand of butterfly light in a single stroke. Its momentum carried through undiminished as the spear tip thrust straight for Wang Dong Er's chest.
Right then, the Golden Dragon's ultimate innate skill—Golden Dragon's Perception—sent every nerve in her body snapping taut. A crimson metallic object had materialized silently in the sky above, resembling an eyeball laced with bloodshot veins.
Class 7 Spirit Guidance Device, Eye of Fear!
The Tang Sect bore the glory of both themselves and Shrek Academy on their shoulders, yet their raw strength lagged far behind Angelic Sanctuary's. But this was no longer an era decided purely by spirit power cultivation. Spirit Guidance Devices could overturn any battlefield!
The Eye of Fear was He Caitou's creation, capable of reaching a hundred meters in altitude and covering a three-hundred-meter diameter below. Every ten seconds it fired a terror ray combining decomposition, piercing, melting, burning, and corrosion effects. A textbook high-altitude strike device.
Wang Dong Er's Light of the Butterfly Goddess had been nothing more than a feint. The Eye of Fear was the Tang Sect's true key to victory!
Intense bloody radiance churned across the Eye of Fear's surface. The instant Ling Qiuxi glanced back, a beam of blood-red light plunged straight down!
BOOM—
A white light screen materialized in midair above Ling Qiuxi's head. The terror ray's violent detonations hammered against it over a dozen times before finally ceasing. She landed safely on the ground, her ample chest rising and falling with shallow breaths.
The Tang Sect members' expressions shifted at once. Hovering opposite the Eye of Fear was a white angel, the very one that had deployed the light screen to block the terror ray. Without its intervention, Ling Qiuxi would have suffered grievous wounds!
Class 7 Spirit Guidance Device, Guardian Angel!
A trace of amusement flickered through Ning Tian's sapphire-blue eyes. She too had entered through Shrek Academy and studied at the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Naturally, He Caitou was not the only one capable of crafting high-altitude Spirit Guidance Devices.
The Guardian Angel was her personal creation: a high-altitude defensive Spirit Guidance Device equipped with Guard and Interfere functions. It was specifically designed to counter two types of Spirit Guidance Devices the Sun Moon Empire loved deploying on the battlefield: high-altitude strikes and high-altitude surveillance.
"Eye of Fear is neutralized. Plan B!"
Huo Yuhao made the call without hesitation. His Spiritual Detection Sharing linked all seven members' Spiritual Seas while He Caitou transformed into a Spirit Fortress and laid down covering fire. The Tang Sect erupted into action!
"The Nine Treasures revolve to produce a Glazed Pagoda!"
Ning Tian held the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda delicately aloft as her six spirit rings blazed to life in rapid succession. Streams of multicolored radiance poured into her teammates' bodies, the massive seventy-percent amplification catapulting everyone's combat strength up an entire tier.
In the same breath, she unfurled the Emerald Wings, her 100,000-year Emerald Demon Bird External Spirit Bone. The magnificent wings blazed with brilliant light, and an emerald ring materialized around He Caitou. Four pillars of green light rose from the ground, locking his body firmly in place!
Emerald Wings' Second Skill, Emerald Seal!
He Caitou locked in place, Ning Tian gripped a compact cannon barrel in each hand. Small and exquisite, they nonetheless radiated a palpable sense of danger.
Class 6 Continuous Piercing Cannons!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He Caitou pivoted to return fire. The two quasi-Class 7 Spirit Guidance Masters exchanged bombardments, and billowing smoke and dust swallowed the sky above the arena.
On the ground, Xie Huanyue activated his Martial Spirit Manifestation. His already plump body swelled into a massive sphere that barreled toward Xiao Xiao like a bulldozer. The Diamond Mammoth spirit bone skill, Crystal Diamond Tyrant Body, engaged at the same time, transforming the Rubber Elephant into a gleaming diamond sphere.
The Rubber Elephant and Diamond Mammoth possessed exceptional compatibility. Combined, their power skyrocketed. Xiao Xiao manipulated the Three Lives Soul Sealing Cauldron; three cauldrons arranged in a triangular formation barely managed to halt the Rubber Elephant's rolling crush, leaving her no capacity to help anyone else.
Na Na's Specter darted ceaselessly through the Xuanwu Domain, weaving in and out to launch hit-and-run attacks against Xu Sanshi.
Xu Sanshi puffed on one of He Caitou's oversized cigars, frustrated nearly to the point of vomiting blood. The Golden Dragon's Skybreaker had battered his internal organs, leaving him able to muster barely half his usual strength.
Na Na's Specter Martial Spirit proved exceptionally slippery, and with the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's seventy-percent speed boost layered on top, the mighty Xuanwu found himself forced to endure a beating, his eyes brimming with hope as he looked to his teammates for rescue.
Overhead, Nanmen Yun Er leveraged her Jade Azure Bird's aerial superiority to entangle Jiang Nannan. Wang Dong Er took a strikingly similar approach against Ling Qiuxi, her Light Goddess Butterfly ceaselessly harassing the Golden Dragon.
Bei Bei and Wu Feng, the two dragon-type Spirit Masters, clashed with fiery intensity. Bei Bei ignited his Light Holy Dragon bloodline and his fifth spirit ring blazed to life. He opened with the technique inherited from his great-grandfather, Dragon God Douluo Mu En: Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture.
Wu Feng countered immediately with the Dark Gold Terror Claw. Five dark-gold blades carved through the air and collided with the Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture head-on.
The two teams had paired off across the battlefield. Ling Bai and Huo Yuhao naturally found themselves facing each other. Huo Yuhao spoke in a low, brooding tone:
"I've waited a long time for this day."
Exposed cheating. The Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone. The Dark Gold Terror Claw Right Palm Bone. Shrek Academy's elimination. Ma Xiaotao becoming the Sea God Pavilion heir. Wang Dong Er, outwardly close yet inwardly estranged...
Thick, almost tangible resentment and hatred pressed down on Huo Yuhao's heart. Without Ling Bai, he could have obtained so much more. Those treasures should have been his!
"So what are you planning to do about it?"
Ling Bai asked with leisurely ease, as if merely chatting with this 'formidable' Spirit King opponent.
"Angelic Sanctuary is certainly powerful, but for the Tang Sect, you are the only real threat," Huo Yuhao said coldly. "To catch brigands, first capture their king. Once we deal with you, the rest aren't worth worrying about. Our target is you!"
The instant his words fell, Huo Yuhao acted with clean decisiveness. He erected a Class 7 Invincible Barrier to deny Ling Bai any chance of a dishonorable sneak attack, then raised both hands toward the sky.
Wang Dong Er shook free of Ling Qiuxi and descended from above. She cast a glance at Ling Bai, her expression complex, before extending her right fingertips to rest lightly in Huo Yuhao's palm.
Huo Yuhao folded his hands around hers as if cradling his most precious treasure. The instant his palms closed, both figures vanished, replaced by an enormous vertical eye.
The eye itself gleamed gold, yet noble purple-gold patterns radiated from its surface. Its halo rippled outward in mesmerizing waves as strange small hammers materialized one after another, filling the entire arena.
"The Divine Truth Among the Emptiness, Spiritual Storm!"
Huo Yuhao's resonant voice echoed through the Spirit Dueling Arena. In this timeline, he and Wang Dong Er had only ever revealed the Golden Road from their arsenal of Spirit Fusion Skills. In other words, they had been concealing three trump cards!
Spiritual Storm was the Spirit Fusion Skill born from Spirit Eyes and Clear Sky Hammer, specializing in attacks against the Spiritual Sea!
"Comfortable."
Tiny hammers tapped rhythmically against his consciousness, and Ling Bai offered his sincere praise. With the Purple-Gold Dragon King's Crown standing guard over his Spiritual Sea, Spiritual Storm felt no different from a massage. Quite pleasant, really.
Huo Yuhao's voice cut off abruptly. For a heartbeat, he seemed to be questioning the very nature of reality. The Spiritual Storm faltered. Then dense ice fog erupted violently upward like a blossoming mushroom cloud, and an indescribable majesty emerged within the mist.
The light and shadow of the Ice Jade Scorpion and the Clear Sky Hammer wove together. In the instant ice-white and dark gold fused, a figure burst from the fog.
He stood roughly two meters tall. Black hair spilled over his shoulders. A luxurious white robe inlaid with diamonds caught and scattered the light. His features bore an unmistakable resemblance to Huo Yuhao's, at least eight parts out of ten.
In his hand he gripped a giant hammer. The hammerhead was black as ink, with a sharp emerald-green spike jutting from each end. The handle was covered in a dense pattern of hexagonal diamonds.
"Blaze Amidst the Frost, the Heavenly Emperor's Hammer!"
In Huo Yuhao's original plan, they would shatter Ling Bai's defenses with Spiritual Storm, then finish the job with the Heavenly Emperor's Hammer!
For some unfathomable reason, Spiritual Storm had proven utterly ineffective. Fine, then the Heavenly Emperor's Hammer would batter through by brute force!
The Ice Jade Scorpion embodied Ultimate Ice, an element capable of contending with a Seraphim's power to some degree. The Clear Sky Hammer remained the world's number one Assault System Tool Martial Spirit, one that had suppressed three generations of Seraphims ten thousand years ago. In the devastating power produced when these two great spirits fused, Huo Yuhao held unparalleled confidence!
A peculiar whimpering filled the air, as though the world itself were weeping at the Heavenly Emperor's Hammer's mere existence. The sharp emerald spikes on either side of the hammerhead blazed with green radiance, the hammerhead shone with dark golden light, and the handle gleamed ice-white. Three distinct colors erupted simultaneously, and in the next heartbeat, the Heavenly Emperor's Hammer turned blood-red.
A flash of savage satisfaction streaked through Huo Yuhao's eyes. This single strike contained six years of pent-up hatred!
One hundred percent Martial Spirit compatibility. Ultimate Ice layered atop Clear Sky might. One hammer coming down. Even Ultimate-attribute Spirit Masters like Ling Qiuxi and Wu Feng would be flattened!
BOOM—
The Angel Sword settled against one of the hammerhead's protruding spikes. A sharp, brittle wail split the air. Huo Yuhao's body locked stiff as a rapid series of cracking sounds rang out. Dense spiderweb fractures raced across the Heavenly Emperor's Hammer before it shattered with a thunderous explosion!
Ling Bai shot skyward. His blood-red seventh spirit ring blazed to life. Of Skydream's five hundred thousand years of origin power, three hundred thousand had been absorbed by the Snow Empress spirit ring. That ring broke through the million-year mark in a single stroke, its true color advancing to a pure, dazzling gold!
Once the Million-Year Angel Avatar emerged, a Heavenly Emperor's Hammer could be erased with a casual turn of the palm!
The shattered fragments of the Heavenly Emperor's Hammer dissolved into light, revealing Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong Er once again. Huo Yuhao's voice came out weak. "Dong Er, the Heavenly Emperor's Hammer failed. We have only one road left.
I don't know if I've done something wrong lately. If I have, I'll definitely change.
We carry the hope of the Tang Sect's revival and Shrek's glory. This battle... we can't lose!"
Wang Dong Er nodded slowly. Both Princess Xu Jiujiu and Princess Wei Na had canceled their orders for the Godly Zhuge Crossbow Cannons. The Tang Sect was counting on a championship victory in the Spirit Master Tournament to skyrocket their reputation and bring in a steady stream of clients.
Shrek Academy had suffered its first elimination from the tournament in ten thousand years. The Tang Sect was, in truth, Shrek's second battle team. They had reasons they absolutely could not lose!
Light Goddess Butterfly. Ice Jade Scorpion!
Their final Spirit Fusion Skill!
Wisps of ice fog spread across the stage. A golden halo framed a face of city-toppling beauty. Pink-blue hair flowed down her back. Her eyes shone brilliant gold. Every ray of light, every curve upon that body seemed crafted with perfect harmony.
Splendid butterfly wings unfurled. Blue, gold, and green light washed across them in waves. Countless beads of water rolled gently along their surface, refracting a myriad of dazzling colors. Layer upon layer of extreme frost aura coiled around her, rising and spiraling as she danced gracefully amidst the ice.
Solitary Dance Amidst Frost, Raiment of Light!
The woman born from the Raiment of Light was even more breathtaking than Wang Dong Er herself. A trident-shaped rune flickered faintly upon her forehead. Each time it pulsed, the look in her eyes as she regarded Ling Bai shifted, as though she were sinking into some strange trance.
Her initial resolve slowly gave way to hesitation. Shrek's glory, compared to the handsome youth standing opposite her, seemed to diminish to nothing more than a common pebble found anywhere on the roadside. What he carried was the precious treasure she had always yearned for.
A tremor rippled through the depths of Ling Bai's bloodline at the sight of Wang Dong Er in her Raiment of Light state. A slumbering remnant consciousness awakened and sent a signal surging into his mind.
Amidst dazzling radiance, the Seraphim's eight spirit rings—yellow, purple, purple, black, black, red, red, red—merged into one.
Secret Technique, Rings Fusion!
The ice fog split open along a narrow seam. Sunlight poured through, piercing the arena's protective barrier to descend upon the form of a newly born, peerlessly beautiful woman.
Six angelic wings spread from her back. Her expression was utterly indifferent. Compared to Wang Dong Er in her Raiment of Light form, she possessed less gentleness and warmth, and in their place stood cold majesty and domineering authority. An aloof, imperious aura radiated from her entire being.
What truly made it impossible to look away were her eyes—two brilliant golden pupils like boundless oceans of gold. Their surface lay calm and mirror-smooth, yet who knew how many storms and tides lurked beneath, how much loneliness and apathy lay buried within.
Angel God, Descent!
The Angel God and the Raiment of Light. Two peerlessly beautiful figures appeared, and their presence struck every spectator into awed silence. This beauty, suffused with divine majesty, mesmerized all who beheld it. Even the Tang Sect and Angelic Sanctuary ceased their fighting, drifting to either side in silent reverence as they gazed skyward.
Compared to his Spirit King cultivation five years ago, the current Ling Bai was countless times more powerful. Each of his eight spirit rings was, in truth, at least a hundred thousand years old. After Rings Fusion, the Angel God he awakened stood even more solid and powerful than before.
Those golden eyes studied Wang Dong Er for a long moment before the Angel God spoke, her voice soft:
"No wonder you bear the semblance of an old acquaintance. You are that old acquaintance's child."
Her melodious voice rang like pearls falling on jade, yet resonated with the weight of morning bells and evening drums. Wang Dong Er froze completely. The light-attribute power within her body fell utterly silent before this figure, not daring the slightest stir.
The Angel God's gaze fixed upon the golden trident rune adorning Wang Dong Er's brow. Her tone turned glacial in an instant:
"A pity... just a toy to be manipulated at will!
Light, Deprivation!"
The wrong love had long since vanished with the passing of time. All that remained was hatred!
The Raiment of Light stalled. Layers of golden halos swarmed outward, streaming rapidly into the Angel God. Wang Dong Er's aura weakened at an alarming rate as the fusion dissolved, splitting back into Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong Er once more.
The Angel God swept her sword through the air and cleared the arena. The Tang Sect's members were sent flying, while Angelic Sanctuary's members were set gently down. Only the Angel God and Ling Bai remained upon the stage.
She turned to look at him. The chill faded entirely from her face, replaced by a warm, almost relieved smile:
"I never expected such earth-shaking changes in you over these five years.
But the West is dangerous. He has come."
"I'm prepared to face him."
"I'm sorry. As an ancestor, I have no way to protect my bloodline descendants."
"Senior, please rest assured. The remaining road, I'll walk it together with my family and companions."
"Mm. I believe in you."
The Angel God cast her gaze toward Angelic Sanctuary and froze for an instant. Her eyes had landed on Ling Qiuxi, whose features bore a striking resemblance to her own. She turned back to Ling Bai with an exasperated look, as if regarding some audacious little creature.
"I am your ancestor. This... is not very appropriate."
Ling Bai felt certain the Angel God had misunderstood. Cold sweat ran down his back. "That... let me explain..."
"Mm-hmm."
Ling Bai: "..."