The Scorching Sun Douluo's expression changed slightly.
Xu Yuan's sudden attack without any warning had caught him off guard.
This spear thrust at him brought immense pressure, as if the entire world was targeting him.
This feeling was oppressive, suffocating, and even evoked a sense of fear that made one hesitate to resist.
This sensation was familiar—it was exactly how others described facing Yun Ming.
Although the Scorching Sun Douluo had never fought Yun Ming, he knew of this ability. Now, experiencing it from Xu Yuan, he was first shocked, then found it somehow reasonable.
Of course, even though it seemed reasonable, he still couldn't believe it.
Was this what it felt like to face someone who commanded the forces of heaven and earth?
A youngster not yet twenty years old, already at such a level—unbelievable.
The Scorching Sun Douluo roared, and the blazing sun behind him suddenly erupted with intense light. A white-hot light shield condensed in front of him.
Xu Yuan's spear struck this light shield.
Instantly, cracks appeared on the shield.
The Scorching Sun Douluo was startled but used this brief moment to evade Xu Yuan's spear.
However, dodging the first strike didn't mean escaping the second.
Having avoided this spear, he still had to deal with Xu Yuan's follow-up sweeping attack.
Xu Yuan's spear technique was flawless—at least, with sufficient power, there were no openings.
One spear missed, and the next immediately followed.
The Scorching Sun Douluo was still stunned by the power of Xu Yuan's previous spear.
Though his Scorching Sun Shield wasn't his hundred-thousand-year soul skill, it was still a ten-thousand-year soul skill and the only purely defensive soul skill he had focused on cultivating.
Yet, the Scorching Sun Shield had no effect against Xu Yuan's spear.
If Xu Yuan knew what the Scorching Sun Douluo was thinking, he would have sneered.
Xu Yuan's main cultivation was based on the Five Elements energy. Jue's ability to devour various special metals relied on the Five Elements energy. The rotation of the Five Elements was an ability deeply ingrained in him.
Scorching Sun Shield?
An energy shield built on fire attributes. Upon contact with Xu Yuan's spear, the fire attribute energy was instantly transformed and integrated into the Five Elements rotation.
Breaking through the surface with precision—a subtle transformation at the spear tip was enough to create a fatal flaw in the Scorching Sun Shield.
This Scorching Sun Douluo was already a Limit Douluo, beginning to transform his abilities to use the forces of heaven and earth for his martial soul techniques. However, he hadn't yet reached the profound levels of law mastery necessary to escape this kind of suppression.
The concept of suppression also had a hierarchy.
Water suppresses fire under normal circumstances. Between ordinary water and fire, this is the natural relationship. However, if the fire possesses extraordinary properties, it could evaporate ordinary water and instead suppress it. But if the water is also extraordinary, the original suppression relationship would return.
Similarly, transcendent divine fire would naturally suppress extraordinary water.
Thus, the suppression relationship between the two would change accordingly.
This was the result of constantly evolving power levels altering their relationship.
Xu Yuan's Five Elements rotation had a suppressive effect on the Scorching Sun Douluo's flames. The Scorching Sun Douluo clearly hadn't reached the level to break free from this suppression, so even as a Limit Douluo, he was still being suppressed.
In reality, he had already escaped conventional suppression methods, but Xu Yuan was no ordinary opponent. Xu Yuan already possessed the strength of a Limit Douluo, and the power he unleashed was fused with domain energy. On a certain level, his power had reached the realm of laws, not only suppressing the Scorching Sun Douluo's strength but also overwhelming his flames.
The Scorching Sun Douluo's ninth soul ring shone brightly.
The scorching sun behind him became unbearably hot, and terrifying light condensed into substance, forming a terrifying beam of light.
The beam was dazzling, as if pure light had been condensed, and its terrifying heat seemed capable of melting even space itself.
The Blood Essence Domain was pierced by this beam.
However, Xu Yuan remained calm, his spear continuing to sweep. The Five Elements energy condensed into a Five Elements Divine Light Shield on the spear shaft.
The beam collided with the spear, and both sides were locked in a brief stalemate.
Behind the Scorching Sun Douluo, another Xu Yuan materialized.
The domain's power contracted, condensing into the spear held by this newly formed Xu Yuan.
The new Xu Yuan thrust his spear forward.
The Scorching Sun Douluo's expression shifted slightly.
He could feel that the Xu Yuan blocking his ninth soul skill, the Scorching Sun Divine Light, was real and incredibly powerful.
However, the threat of the spear behind him was equally real.
At this moment, the Scorching Sun Douluo felt a chill in his heart.
Was this Xu Yuan's true strength?
The Scorching Sun Douluo himself didn't possess four-word battle armor. He had broken through to the Limit Douluo level over a decade ago, and after enduring for more than ten years, he had barely reached the demi-god level. Yet, Xu Yuan's current burst of power clearly placed him at the same level.
However, Xu Yuan could produce another avatar with the same combat power using special means, effectively doubling his strength.
There was a rough standard among Limit Douluos: three quasi-demi-gods could fight one demi-god, and three demi-gods could fight one quasi-god.
To achieve a one-versus-three scenario, it didn't mean all aspects of their capabilities had tripled.
Perhaps the overall improvement didn't even double, but it wasn't far off, as the actual combat power had already reached three times the difference.
Now, Xu Yuan could wield two demi-god-level powers. Didn't that mean he already possessed two-thirds of a quasi-god's strength?
With just one more demi-god cooperating with him, he could rival a quasi-god.
While the Scorching Sun Douluo was shocked, Zhang Huanyun and Cao Dezhi were even more astonished.
Xu Yuan wasn't this strong before.
Back then, when Xu Yuan defeated Ba Emperor, he had exhausted all his means, fusing multiple domains and all his abilities, even deploying his battle armor and mecha. It was only by leveraging the suppression relationship that he managed to devour Ba Emperor.
Now, Xu Yuan could reach the demi-god level with just his own power.
Only they understood what this meant for Xu Yuan.
Xu Yuan's battle armor, though only three-word battle armor, surpassed the quality of any three-word battle armor they had ever seen, with amplification power approaching that of four-word battle armor. And his mecha—there was only one such example on the entire Douluo Continent.
Back then, even with these enhancements, Xu Yuan had only managed to defeat Ba Emperor.
Now, wielding just a spear and unfolding his domain, he could unleash the power of two demi-gods.
If combined with his battle armor and mecha, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the synergy wouldn't be inferior to any quasi-god.
Quasi-god…
This truly represented the pinnacle of the continent.
Could such a transformation occur in just one month?
"He was at level ninety-four back then. Could it be that he has now fully digested the remaining energy of Ba Emperor, raising his soul power to level ninety-five or even ninety-six?"
Zhang Huanyun remembered clearly that Xu Yuan hadn't completely digested Ba Emperor's energy back then, only reaching level ninety-four.
At the time, Xu Yuan had explicitly stated that thanks to Lie Emperor cutting away the excess indigestible parts, he was able to stabilize.
Even Xu Yuan himself couldn't provide them with an answer right now.
This was simply natural progress.
At level ninety-four, facing the threshold of advancement, his martial soul naturally grew stronger, breaking open shackles he had once been unable to overcome.
Especially the spear in his hand—it was undergoing a comprehensive breakthrough.
It seemed that his previous martial soul form was merely an ordinary martial soul. Now, it was gradually revealing the sharpness of a divine artifact.
Two Xu Yuans—one was his real body, and the other was the manifestation created by Shanhe.
The manifestation of Xu Yuan by Shanhe was different from the other lifeforms Shanhe could create.
Shanhe's manifestations of other beings had limited power, but when manifesting Xu Yuan, it could achieve a perfect simulation—at the cost of doubling Xu Yuan's energy consumption.
The spear in Shanhe's hands was the essence of the condensed Blood Essence Domain, essentially Jue's true form, while the spear in Xu Yuan's hands was his own Blood Essence.
At this moment, Xu Yuan separated Jue and his Blood Essence.
Jue was a spirit companion, while the Blood Essence was Jue's 'physical' manifestation.
The artifact spirit and the divine artifact itself were split apart, yet both could unleash the power Xu Yuan was currently displaying.
This wasn't a bug—it was simply that Xu Yuan hadn't yet fully tapped into Jue's potential, nor reached its upper limit.
The Scorching Sun Douluo's seventh soul ring flashed.
His body turned ethereal, merging into the scorching sun behind him. The sun blazed, and his eighth soul ring lit up.
BOOM!
The spear struck the scorching sun, causing it to explode.
The entire command center was leveled by the explosion.
The other Limit Douluos quickly retreated from the battlefield, watching the ruins of the command center from afar and gazing down into the deep crater below.
Xu Yuan still held his spear, seemingly uninjured, while the Scorching Sun Douluo appeared to be gasping for breath. He looked at Xu Yuan with eyes full of apprehension.
"Xu Yuan, this is just a small punishment as a big lesson. There are only so many Limit Douluos on the continent—you can't really kill him, can you?" Zhang Huanyun interjected, pretending to "reason" with Xu Yuan.
Xu Yuan glanced at Zhang Huanyun, his expression blank.
Cao Dezhi's lips twitched as he looked at Zhang Huanyun, who appeared sincere in his attempt to mediate.
Xu Shengqun frowned, glaring at Zhang Huanyun, clearly dissatisfied.
The other observing Limit Douluos exchanged glances, their expressions shifting between Xu Yuan, the Scorching Sun Douluo, and Zhang Huanyun.
"Those who threaten the Blood God Legion must die!" Xu Yuan coldly declared.
His face remained indifferent, showing no willingness to negotiate.
The Blood God Legion required absolute authority and could not tolerate teammates who were outwardly cooperative but inwardly discordant.
In the original timeline, due to the selfishness of Qiangu Dongfeng, factions within the army had formed cliques, leading to internal strife and causing massive losses during the war against the Abyss.
Now, Xu Yuan would absolutely not allow such a situation to occur.
Losing one Limit Douluo now was far better than suffering a major failure later that would result in the loss of even more Limit Douluos.
Even if Xu Yuan didn't eliminate the Scorching Sun Douluo today, and no Limit Douluos were sacrificed in the future, there would inevitably be unnecessary casualties among innocent soul masters due to conflicts between Limit Douluos.
Too many people had already died in the fight against the Abyss.
These deaths were all senseless, caused by the greed of certain god-kings.
The calamity brought by the Abyss should never have existed in the first place. For six thousand years, it had wreaked havoc on Douluo Star, dragging down the development of the soul master world.
If not for these six thousand years of the Abyss leeching off Douluo Star, Douluo Star would have long since ascended to become a god-level planet, and the limits of soul masters would have been shattered long ago—breaking through to godhood at level 100 would no longer be an unattainable dream.
Was six thousand years too short?
During a flourishing era of cultivation, when the cultivation system was reaching its peak maturity, was it really so unlikely to break through the bottleneck and ascend to god-level?
Over the past six thousand years, the number of quasi-gods among soul masters hadn't reached triple digits, but it certainly exceeded fifty.
What defines a quasi-god?
If conditions allowed, they would already be gods.
The true quasi-gods standing at the pinnacle of the continent were capable of burning themselves to temporarily reach the level of a god. If the soul master system hadn't been restricted during this era, almost all of them could have broken through to godhood.
"Scorching Sun merely made a suggestion—it wasn't a threat to the Blood God Legion."
Seeing that Xu Yuan's killing intent remained strong with no room for negotiation, the Limit Douluo from the Mecha Alliance finally spoke up.
The Mecha Alliance and the Spirit Pagoda didn't have direct ties, unlike Scorching Sun Douluo, who was directly funded and trained by the Qiangu family. However, the Mecha Pilot Association and the Spirit Pagoda frequently collaborated on activities, so the two organizations were somewhat close.
He didn't directly confront Xu Yuan but instead tried to justify Scorching Sun Douluo's actions, arguing that they didn't constitute a threat to the Blood God Legion as Xu Yuan had claimed.
Xu Yuan turned his gaze to the Limit Douluo from the Mecha Alliance.
"Do you think the bottom line of the Blood God Legion can be tested?" Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes, challenging him.
The Limit Douluo from the Mecha Alliance furrowed his brow.
Xu Yuan's tone suggested he still wasn't willing to back down.
He looked around at the other Limit Douluos. Apart from the one from the Celestial Spirit Sect, who also seemed puzzled, the rest of the Limit Douluos had become expressionless, showing no regret over the potential death of one of their own.
What was going on?
"You've never served in the Blood God Legion," Xu Yuan said coldly.
Every single Limit Douluo present had served in the Blood God Legion at some point.
Among the Federation's four major organizations, every War God from the Hall of War Gods had undergone training in the Blood God Legion, even those originally affiliated with other legions. The same applied to the Spirit Pagoda, Shrek Academy, and the Tang Sect. Each generation sent powerful individuals to guard the Blood God Legion. Shrek Academy often dispatched inner disciples for training, serving as pillars of support, while the Tang Sect and Spirit Pagoda typically assigned elder-level figures to serve as Blood Gods.
On the other hand, the three wild Limit Douluos had never participated in the Blood God Legion's service.
Over the six thousand years, countless predecessors in the Blood God Legion had sacrificed themselves. The four major powers would never forget how much the Blood God Legion had endured to protect Douluo Star and provide a stable rear for the Federation.
Thus, the dignity of the Blood God Legion could not be challenged, and its bottom line could not be tested.
Because once tested, the consequences would reveal themselves.
"Xu Yuan, don't go too far! I merely made a suggestion, and you want to eliminate a Limit Douluo? If you act like this, who would dare come to support the Blood God Legion?"
The Scorching Sun Douluo roared angrily.
As he shouted, the flames around his body grew even more intense, as if he was finally about to unleash his true power.
"And besides, you may not even be able to kill me!"
He merged once again into the scorching sun behind him, and his ninth soul ring lit up.
In his true martial soul form, the beam of scorching sunlight he condensed this time was even more terrifying than before, sending out waves of fluctuation that shook the entire Blood God Legion's soldiers.
The light of the scorching sun condensed to its peak, emitting a destructive ripple.
This was the direction the Scorching Sun Douluo had truly comprehended after ascending to the Limit Douluo level.
BOOM!
The beam of light shot toward Xu Yuan in the blink of an eye.
Xu Yuan didn't counter with his spear.
Around his body, clusters of light began to condense.
Pieces of metallic components materialized in midair, surrounding his body, floating up and down.
Over a hundred components, resembling parts of something larger, orbited around Xu Yuan. The surrounding void rippled with their movements, and an invisible barrier formed in front of him, intercepting the beam.
The Limit Douluo from the Mecha Alliance's expression shifted slightly as he observed the hundreds of components, a suspicion forming in his mind.
Xu Yuan's mecha design philosophy differed from traditional mechas. It wasn't control-based but rather sensory-based. Inside the mecha, he didn't rely on buttons or joysticks for control but instead used his own movements to manipulate the mecha's actions, achieving a perfect one-to-one replication. Inside the mecha, there was also a space designed entirely for Xu Yuan to operate freely, allowing seamless interaction.
It was only after reaching the Soul Forging realm that Xu Yuan fully realized this technology. His previous Purple-grade mecha at the Spirit Forging level still relied on close-range sensory devices for control.
But a mecha was still a mecha.
Many of its components were easily recognizable.
How could the Mecha God Douluo from the Mecha Alliance fail to recognize them? After all, his title was "Mecha God," the god of mechas, and he was the foremost publicly acknowledged mecha designer of the current era.
The Xu Yuan behind the Scorching Sun Douluo dispersed, and the Blood Essence Domain enveloped the surroundings once again.
A crimson-red domain spread, obscuring everyone else's vision.
Xu Yuan slowly stepped forward, walking on air.
His spiritual power and soul power merged into the Blood Essence Domain.
A wave of spiritual fluctuations spread, dispersing the spiritual probes of the other Limit Douluos.
"What is this—"
Chen Xinjie's expression changed slightly as his spiritual power was driven back.
"Spirit Domain-level spiritual power!"
Xu Shengqun and the other Limit Douluos were shocked.
Has Xu Yuan's spiritual power broken through to the Spirit Domain level?
To be clear, the threshold for becoming a Limit Douluo was essentially Spirit Domain-level spiritual power. Many Super Douluos stuck at level 98 were unable to break through because their spiritual power couldn't advance.
Yet, Xu Yuan had already reached the Spirit Domain stage.
This meant that becoming a Limit Douluo posed absolutely no challenge for him anymore.
Xu Yuan unfolded his spiritual domain.
At this moment, even Chen Xinjie, who had advanced far in spiritual power, couldn't penetrate Xu Yuan's domain.
Three minutes later.
The Blood Essence Domain dissipated, and the Scorching Sun Douluo had vanished without a trace.
Xu Yuan reappeared before everyone. Aside from slight fluctuations in his soul power and some minor damage to his clothing, he bore no visible wounds.
No, there were wounds, but they had already completely healed, leaving not even a scab.
"Hiss~"
Could subduing a demi-god really be this effortless?
Several Limit Douluos turned their gazes toward Chen Xinjie.
Could the Sea God Douluo achieve the same?
---
"Here we go again, stop spreading rumors."
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