Ambush from All Sides (Part 1)
The rhythmic crunch of carriage wheels grew steadily louder, cutting through the nocturnal chorus of insects. Chu Tianxiu, hidden in the shadows with the five Title Douluos, felt a familiar thrill mixed with grim determination. This was his first encounter with Tang San, the protagonist of the tale he knew so well. But in this reality, the roles were reversed; Chu Tianxiu was the hunter, and Tang San and Yu Xiaogang were the prey.
The carriage emerged from the gloom, a dark shape drawn by two weary horses. It trundled closer, fifty meters, forty, thirty... As it reached the fifty-meter mark, Chu Tianxiu acted.
Four spirit rings—each a deep, profound black—flashed into existence beneath his feet. The second ring lit up with an ominous glow. "Second Soul Skill: Spatial Tear Blade!"
He didn't target the carriage itself. Instead, a shimmering, black claw of pure spatial energy materialized in the air and shot forward, silent and deadly. It passed through the two horses as if they were made of paper. There was no blood, no sound of tearing flesh—just a clean, spatial severance. The horses' front legs simply disconnected from their bodies mid-stride. A moment of confused silence was broken by their simultaneous, agonized whinnies as they collapsed, their momentum carrying the carriage forward in a screeching, uncontrolled lurch.
"Jump!" Yu Xiaogang's voice, sharp with panic, ripped through the night.
He threw himself from the careening carriage, hitting the ground hard and rolling several times before scrambling to his feet, covered in dust. Tang San and Dean Han Yan of Notting Academy reacted instantly, leaping clear. Tang San's movements were a blur, his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track allowing him to tap the ground several times and land with the grace of a cat, far more stable than his teacher. Dean Han Yan, a Bear Martial Soul master, landed with a heavy thud, his body sturdy enough to absorb the impact.
Before the three could even process what had happened, Chu Tianxiu's command cut through the chaos. "Attack!"
Six figures erupted from the darkness, their speed defying comprehension. They fanned out, instantly surrounding the disoriented trio. Chu Tianxiu and Golden Crocodile Douluo blocked the path ahead, while the Four Princes of the King's Banner sealed off all other escape routes from the four cardinal directions.
Yu Xiaogang, his heart hammering against his ribs, shoved Tang San behind him. "I wonder why you gentlemen are blocking our way?" he called out, trying to project calm. "We don't seem to have offended you."
Only silence answered him. Then, with a series of soft whooshes, the five Title Douluos released their auras.
The air grew heavy, thick with power. One after another, nine spirit rings swirled into existence beneath the feet of Golden Crocodile Douluo and the Four Princes. Nine rings each. Nine deep, black, ten-thousand-year rings. The collective pressure was a physical weight, pressing down on the clearing, silencing the insects and making the very air difficult to breathe.
Yu Xiaogang's pupils contracted to pinpricks. His face went deathly pale. "Ti-Title... Title Douluo!" he stammered, the words barely a whisper. The spirit seal he had been about to summon flickered and died. What was the point? He was an ant before such power.
He cupped his hands, forcing a semblance of respect. "I wonder why the five Title Douluos are making things difficult for us? We have never offended you."
Golden Crocodile Douluo looked down at him, his expression one of utter contempt. "We wouldn't stoop to the level of a piece of trash like you." He gestured dismissively with his chin. "Go, but the disciple you've taken in has quite a connection with us."
Yu Xiaogang's face flushed with humiliation, but he swallowed his anger. Then, a terrible realization dawned on him. "Are you from the Spirit Hall?" he probed, his voice trembling.
One of the Four Princes of the King's Banner snorted. "So what if we are?"
Chu Tianxiu's face darkened behind his mask. 'This idiot!' he thought. 'Has his brain been addled by his cultivation? Answering so readily. How did he even become a Title Douluo?' But then he shrugged mentally. The Four Princes were marked for death anyway. He could afford to be magnanimous.
Hearing the confirmation, Yu Xiaogang fumbled in his pocket as if grasping for a lifeline. He pulled out a token, its surface gleaming in the faint moonlight. Six images were carved upon it: a crown, a sword, a figure, a chrysanthemum, a dragon, and a hammer. It was the Papal Decree.
He thrust it forward. "This is the Papal Decree. I'm sure you, Your Excellencies, understand its function better than I do."
A flicker of hesitation passed over Golden Crocodile Douluo and the Four Princes. Even as Title Douluos, they could not openly defy the Papal Decree.
It was Chu Tianxiu who broke the stalemate. "Don't worry, everyone," he said, his voice cold and clear. "This papal decree was given to him by the person who killed my Spirit Hall's former pope."
The hesitation vanished from the Title Douluos' eyes, replaced by cold resolve. Yu Xiaogang's last hope crumbled. He stared at Chu Tianxiu. "And who are you?"
"You don't need to know," Chu Tianxiu replied icily. "Everyone, let's make our move and force that person out!"
Upon hearing this, Golden Crocodile Douluo's body began to change. His form swelled, muscles bulging. A thick, scaled crocodile tail sprouted from his back, slapping against the ground. His eyes turned into the vertical slits of a cold-blooded predator, his teeth lengthening into sharp fangs. Golden scales, each the size of a dinner plate, erupted across his skin, gleaming dully. His fourth spirit ring, a deep purple, lit up.
"Fourth Spirit Skill: Golden Tail Strike!"
His massive tail swelled with golden light, and he whipped it forward like a colossal whip, smashing toward Yu Xiaogang and the others with enough force to pulverize stone. Simultaneously, the Four Kings of the Banner summoned their own martial souls. A cacophony of light and energy erupted as various spirit skills rained down upon the three—blades of wind, lances of ice, crushing earthen fists.
Just as Yu Xiaogang and Tang San braced for a futile defense, a shadow fell over them.
A giant hammer, as large as a small hill, materialized out of thin air and crashed down between them and the incoming attacks. The impact was deafening, throwing up a wave of dirt and debris. The Title Douluos' attacks shattered against the immense, dark metal of the hammer.
A tall figure in tattered black robes emerged from the deeper darkness beneath the trees, his movements slow but deliberate. As he stepped into a patch of moonlight, his weathered, resolute face became visible, etched with lines of hardship and simmering fury.
"Father!" Tang San cried out, a mixture of relief and fear in his voice.
Ignoring the blocked attack, Golden Crocodile Douluo's lips curled into a sneer. "Tang Hao, after hiding for so many years, you've finally decided to come out."
Tang Hao's voice was low and thick with killing intent. "I didn't expect Qian Daoliu to be willing to send out you, the Second Elder of the Douluo Hall, just to lure me out. Isn't he afraid you'll perish outside?"
"Hmph, try if you dare," Golden Crocodile shot back. "Although you killed my Spirit Hall's Pope more than ten years ago, you were also seriously injured, weren't you? Whether you've recovered or not is still a question."
Tang Hao reached out and gripped the handle of the Clear Sky Hammer that was embedded in the ground. "That's enough to deal with you." With a roar, he charged, the hammer lifting as if it weighed nothing.
Golden Crocodile Douluo, along with the Four Princes, met his charge. The collision of six Title Douluos was apocalyptic. The very ground trembled and split, creating ravines where their attacks landed. The shockwaves tore trees from their roots and sent stones flying like projectiles.
Seeing Tang Hao engaged with five terrifying opponents, Yu Xiaogang and Han Yan grabbed Tang San and tried to flee toward Notting City.
But Chu Tianxiu was waiting. He flashed into their path, his demon mask seeming to grin in the moonlight. He didn't use a named spirit skill. Instead, he simply clenched his fist and punched the air in front of him.
"Emperor's Domination!"
An invisible shockwave, dense with destructive power, rippled out from his fist. It wasn't fast, but it was inexorable, distorting the air as it traveled, crushing everything in its path.
Han Yan reacted instantly, shoving Yu Xiaogang and Tang San behind him. Four spirit rings—white, yellow, yellow, purple—swirled at his feet as his Thick-Armored Rhinoceros martial soul possessed him. Facing this terrifying, unconventional attack, he used his only defensive spirit skill, his sole thousand-year ring.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Thick Earth Rock Shield!"
The earth in front of him surged upward, condensing into a thick, solid shield of rock and packed soil. It was a formidable defense, one that had saved him many times.
The shockwave hit the shield.
CRACK!
The shield didn't just break; it disintegrated into dust. The shockwave passed through it without slowing and struck Han Yan full in the chest.
THUMP!
The sound was sickening. Han Yan felt his ribs crack, his internal organs jolted violently. His face turned ashen, and he coughed, spraying a mist of blood into the air. Yu Xiaogang and Tang San, shielded by his body, were still sent tumbling by the aftershock, their ears ringing, their bodies bruised.
Feeling the fatal severity of his injuries, Han Yan made a split-second decision. With his last ounce of strength, he grabbed the two dazed men and hurled them further down the road toward the city. "Xiaogang, run!" he roared, his voice a bloody gurgle.
Then, with a final, desperate look at his old friend, he turned and charged blindly toward Chu Tianxiu, a sacrificial pawn to buy a few precious seconds.
Watching Yu Xiaogang and Tang San's fleeing backs and the mortally wounded man stumbling toward him, Chu Tianxiu's eyes behind the mask narrowed in cold displeasure. He had men waiting further down the road, but Han Yan's desperate, futile struggle was an irritating complication. The hunt was on, but the prey was proving more troublesome than expected.