Xiong Jun was the first to charge into the enemy formation.
His target was a Holy Spirit Cult Super Douluo—Level 97, a Three-Word Battle Armor Master, with a Dark Red Dark Eagle martial soul, an agility-attack-type battle soul master.
The man's eyes flickered with fear as Xiong Jun, a Limit-level expert, targeted him. But he gritted his teeth and met the charge, refusing to flee.
In this situation, there was no escape. Some evil soul masters had turned and run the moment they saw the Tower's overwhelming force, but he'd seen Tower Limit Douluo leading pursuit teams after them.
Chased by Limit Douluo—how many could escape?
Probably none.
Moreover—
The Dark Eagle Douluo glanced at a certain point in the sky. There, Snow Empress was using her divine consciousness to scan the battlefield, providing support for the Tower forces.
Seeing this, he couldn't help a bitter smile.
Escaping a Limit Douluo was already difficult. Trying to flee before an unimpeded divine-level expert was certain death.
Since there was no escape, he could only fight to the death.
Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to face Xiong Jun head-on.
Without hesitation, he activated his Martial Soul True Body, planning to use his superior speed—faster than some Limit Douluo—to maneuver and look for openings.
Xiong Jun charged forward, watching the dark red afterimage darting around him, and frowned impatiently. "Annoying fly!"
His right hand flipped, fingers spreading wide. Dark gold light blazed from his palm, condensing into a massive dark gold claw projection that descended upon the Dark Eagle Douluo.
The Dark Eagle Douluo's heart tightened. He beat his wings fiercely, his dark red form folding through the air three times in succession, barely slipping through the gaps between the claw's fingers.
He could even feel the burning sensation as the dark gold light brushed past his wings—only an inch away from being caught.
"That was close—"
The Dark Eagle Douluo broke out in a cold sweat, but dared not stop. His speed increased by another thirty percent as he transformed into a nearly invisible dark red streak, circling Xiong Jun wildly.
Fifth Spirit Ability—Dark Eagle Heaven-Rending Claw!
A massive dark red claw periodically struck out, leaving sparks on Xiong Jun's dark gold-shimmering shoulders and back before retreating.
But as time passed, the Dark Eagle Douluo found that his attacks were barely causing any real damage to Xiong Jun.
He was a Level 97 Super Douluo, and with Three-Word Battle Armor, his cultivation wasn't far from the Limit level.
Even as an agility-attack type not known for raw destructive power, his attacks were still formidable—yet he couldn't even break Xiong Jun's skin?
Even more despairing was the fact that Xiong Jun hadn't even used his Battle Armor.
"Monster!" the Dark Eagle Douluo cursed under his breath.
Still, what gave him some comfort was that Xiong Jun's speed truly couldn't match his. Several of Xiong Jun's strikes had been dodged through sheer agility, the dark gold energy claws always grazing his afterimage, never truly touching him.
As for spatial power—though Xiong Jun had some comprehension of it, his skill was essentially brute force. He could tear space apart with raw strength and unleash overwhelming attacks like Heaven-Tearing Claw, but he couldn't precisely capture a nimble, darting opponent with spatial power.
"It seems as long as I maintain this speed, this brute,who relies on physique and attack power,can't touch me for now."
The Dark Eagle Douluo thought this, but had no intention of dragging things out. He poured all his spirit power into his wings, preparing his strongest killing move.
Though continuing like this, not seeking to wound but only to delay, might let him survive longer against Xiong Jun, the Dark Eagle Douluo clearly understood the situation.
The enemy had eleven peak experts above the Limit level and over a hundred Title Douluo. Though Emperor Tian had taken some, the rest were all here!
Their Holy Spirit Cult's Super Douluo in Tiandou City, counting the Douling Empire's experts, totaled only seven—with barely over a dozen Three-Word Battle Armor Masters.
In terms of experts alone, the enemy's combat power was nearly ten times theirs!
What a despairing gap!
Unless the Killing God could defeat Huo Yuhao and free his hands to help them kill these experts, the Dark Eagle Douluo saw no hope of victory.
But,even if the Killing God won, could they hold out until then?
Clearly,they couldn't.
Since defeat was certain and escape hopeless, he would give it his all—to take one of the enemy's teeth with him before he died!
With that thought, killing intent surged in the Dark Eagle Douluo's eyes as he fixed on Xiong Jun's every move, watching for any opening.
After his probing attacks, he had some understanding of Xiong Jun. Now he just needed an opportunity—
At a certain moment, he caught one. Xiong Jun, seemingly annoyed by the harassment, made a mistake in his movement—his right arm swung out, his body leaning slightly forward, exposing a moment's gap in his left side, his chest wide open.
Now!
"Ninth Spirit Ability—Dark Feather Absolute Kill·Blood Sacrifice!"
Without hesitation, the Dark Eagle Douluo beat his wings fiercely, decisively burning everything—his origin, his Battle Armor, his very life energy—all transforming into burning black feathers.
The next instant, those countless black feathers shot forth—not in a scattered barrage, but converging around him, transforming him into a black torrent, like a heaven-devouring black dragon, crashing straight into Xiong Jun's chest.
Where the black dragon passed, the void cracked open, the ground gouged by a deep trench from the air pressure.
With his Three-Word Battle Armor and cultivation burned, his power had temporarily reached the semi-divine level!
"Finally losing patience?"
Seeing this, a glint flashed in Xiong Jun's eyes. His Four-Word Battle Armor instantly covered his body, his power surging. The deliberately exposed opening seemed not to affect his movements at all.
His claws crossed before his chest, dark gold spirit power churning like a raging tide.
A terrifying sight unfolded: ten piercing dark gold lights coalesced at his claw tips, forming ten kilometer-long dark gold blades spanning the sky!
"Heaven-Tearing Claw!"
Xiong Jun roared, his claws slashing forward. The ten dark gold blades tore through the void, leaving massive black fissures in their wake, as if the very sky had been shattered.
The blades collided head-on with the black dragon. A deafening explosion erupted, dark gold and pitch-black consuming everything.
Enduring the pain of his body being torn apart, the Dark Eagle Douluo pressed forward through the light, his vision fixed on the approaching Xiong Jun.
He'd already calculated that Xiong Jun's earlier movement might have been a trap to bait him.
But he didn't care.
Even if it was a deliberately exposed opening, Xiong Jun would still need time to adjust and counterattack—and that brief moment was enough for him to advance another few zhang.
Now, just a little closer—a little closer—reach that spot—
In the end, having burned everything, the Dark Eagle Douluo reached Xiong Jun's body. In the instant before Heaven-Tearing Claw tore him apart—
A dark red short sword appeared in his palm.
BOOM! A silent explosion erupted within the Dark Eagle Douluo as he detonated both of his soul cores. His nearly exhausted body was driven by this destructive force, pulling up a final shred of strength.
Gritting his teeth, the dark red short sword in his hand transformed into a blood-colored streak, stabbing fiercely at Xiong Jun's chest.
The Demon God Sword—this one-use divine artifact—was his true trump card!
His ninth spirit ability, the semi-divine power bought with his life—they were all just cover, only meant to deliver this sword into Xiong Jun's body!
Xiong Jun's physical defense was too terrifying, and his Four-Word Battle Armor could appear at any moment. Without the semi-divine power gained by burning everything, he could never penetrate Xiong Jun's defenses to wound him with the Demon God Sword.
Though his power had already weakened greatly after colliding with Xiong Jun, and he would die beneath Xiong Jun's claws in the next instant, the force of his self-detonating soul cores was enough to drive the Demon God Sword through the Four-Word Battle Armor, leaving a tiny wound on Xiong Jun.
On an ordinary day, such a wound would mean nothing to Xiong Jun—it would heal in an instant. But with the Demon God Sword, it would be fatal.
"Hahaha! In the end, you let your guard down. One life for one life—taking a Limit-level expert with me—worth it!" The Dark Eagle Douluo laughed wildly.
The next moment, Heaven-Tearing Claw descended. His body was severed at the waist by the dark gold claws. Blood sprayed, but his consciousness didn't fade.
He stared fixedly at Xiong Jun, his eyes full of satisfaction, wanting to see this Limit Douluo die with him.
However, the Demon God Sword on which he'd placed his hopes never pierced Xiong Jun's body.
A layer of dark gold protective barrier rose, interposing itself between the Demon God Sword and the Four-Word Battle Armor. The sword tip pierced halfway into the barrier, but could go no further.
"What—" The Dark Eagle Douluo's smile froze on his face.
"I was ready for you!"
Xiong Jun's tone was cold as he grabbed the short sword, wrenching it from the Dark Eagle Douluo's grip. Then, swinging his arm wide, he slapped the Dark Eagle Douluo across the face.
"ARGH!!!"
The slap carried terrifying force, sending the Dark Eagle Douluo's remaining torso flying. The mangled body crashed through several broken walls before embedding in the ground a hundred zhang away, dust exploding skyward. Already on his last breath, the Dark Eagle Douluo died on the spot.
And even in death, he couldn't understand—why had Xiong Jun been on guard against a Super Douluo like him?
Even with self-detonation, he could barely wound a Limit Douluo. Normally, a Limit Douluo facing an opponent of his level wouldn't be so cautious. They certainly wouldn't prepare a protective barrier or constantly watch for a dying strike.
Were you being cautious against the wrong person? I should be the one who needs to be careful!
The Dark Eagle Douluo's eyes stared fixedly at the sky—dying with his eyes wide open.
Xiong Jun glanced at the corpse, then looked at the Demon God Sword in his hand with lingering fear.
"I didn't expect to be the lucky one. Thank goodness Spirit-Ice warned us about these divine artifacts in advance. Otherwise, if I'd taken these Super Douluo lightly, I might have capsized in a ditch."
Huo Yuhao had learned of several of the Holy Spirit Cult's hidden assets from the Demon Emperor's intelligence, including several insidious divine artifacts.
The Demon God Sword was one of them.
The Demon God Sword—a one-use killing divine artifact, the most venomous weapon developed by the Holy Spirit Cult. It contained the toxins of countless vengeful spirits, capable of cursing and devouring even the soul.
Even a quasi-divine struck by this sword would rapidly turn to ash. Even healing-type experts like Bi Ji and Saint Spirit Douluo couldn't cure wounds inflicted by the Demon God Sword.
From this single example, one could see how terrifying the Cult's other divine artifacts were. That was why Huo Yuhao had specifically warned them before they came to Douling.
And that was why Xiong Jun had always held back some strength while dealing with the Dark Eagle Douluo—to guard against such killing moves.
Otherwise, even if his speed was inferior, he wouldn't have let the Dark Eagle Douluo dance around him for so long. He'd have used his full power and taken him down with a single claw.
Xiong Jun examined the Demon God Sword for a moment, then glanced one last time at the Dark Eagle Douluo's corpse.
"If it had been a Limit Douluo who was unaware and careless, you might actually have succeeded—making him the shame of Limit Douluo."
Even with a prepared ambush, a Limit Douluo dying at the hands of someone below Limit was a rarity throughout history—seemingly without precedent. If the Dark Eagle Douluo had succeeded, he'd have gone down in history—both himself and the Limit Douluo he'd killed.
(In the original, Tianfeng Douluo killed by Dark Phoenix Douluo with the Demon God Sword: Feels like you're targeting me.)
Xiong Jun put away the Demon God Sword and looked up at the battlefield.
In the distance, spirit abilities exploded. Spirit rings churned.
Sword qi split the sky for kilometers. Unyielding will challenged heaven and earth. Ocean water reversed and fell like cascading waterfalls.
The roar of explosions was unending. All colors of light wove together into a chaotic portrait of apocalypse.
The experts were locked in fierce battle—well, "fierce" wasn't quite right. For the Tower side, it was a one-sided massacre.
Tower Limit Douluo crushed Super Douluo. Super Douluo chased down Title Douluo. Title Douluo cleared the minions and destroyed Cult strongholds.
In some cases, multiple Tower experts pursued a single Cult member.
"AH! Spirit Transmission Tower, you have no honor—ganging up on me! Fight me one-on-one!"
"No! Lord Killing God! Lord Demon Empress! Save me!"
"You bastards! When Lord Killing God frees his hands, you'll all die!"
The evil soul masters' screams and curses rose and fell—enough to move anyone to tears.
These evil soul masters had probably never dreamed they'd end up in such a hell—no retreat, overwhelming disparity in power, only death.
But finding no way out, the Cult's evil soul masters grew desperate.
Like cornered beasts, they self-detonated and burned their lives, trying to inflict casualties on the Tower forces—just like the Dark Eagle Douluo.
But against Tower elites who either outclassed them in cultivation or outnumbered them, it was merely the death throes of a dying beast.
The Tower's elites were like a precision meat grinder, layer by layer crushing the Cult's evil soul masters.
Aside from the two divine-level battlefields still locked in stalemate, the Cult's other fronts were rapidly collapsing.
Super Douluo were being picked off one by one. Three-Word Battle Armor Masters were falling like broken-winged insects.
Xiong Jun's battle was relatively slow; most Limit Douluo had already finished their opponents.
After all, apart from Level 97 and Level 98 Three-Word Battle Armor Masters who could last a few exchanges against a Limit Douluo, Title Douluo below Level 96 generally couldn't withstand a few moves. And the Holy Spirit Cult didn't have many at Level 97 or 98.
The Dark Eagle Douluo he'd faced, with the Demon God Sword and speed exceeding some Limit Douluo, was already one of the tougher opponents—which was why it had taken longer.
Among the Cult's Super Douluo, the only one stronger than him seemed to be—
Xiong Jun's gaze shifted to another battlefield, his brow lifting slightly, a smile appearing.
"Xuanqiu has hit the jackpot too."