Xiao Wu in Peril
"Little girl, you can't run."
The chilling voice sliced through the air as an immense pressure descended over Xiao Wu. Her legs trembled under the suffocating aura pressing her to the ground.
The man descending wore dark armor, his Martial Soul flaring as his arms twisted into sharp, hooked eagle claws. His eyes burned with merciless greed. It was Lordiala, a Contra ranked master loyal to Spirit Hall.
"Wuuuuh—!" With the shrieking cry of a hawk, he swooped from above. In one motion his claws seized the panicked Xiao Wu, wrenching her into the sky like prey caught in talons.
"Let me go, bast—" She barely shouted before one claw pressed her neck with crushing force. Darkness filled her mind, her body went limp, and her pink-clad form fell into unconsciousness.
One capture, neat and clean.
Lordiala sneered with pride, wings of spirit power flaring as he held her up. "The Pope will reward me greatly."
Back Mountain Battle
Closer to the academy, the titanic clash between Tang Xiao and Chrysanthemum Douluo Yueguan raged.
Hammer and petals collided, shockwaves blowing trees apart like saplings. The sound could be heard across the entire city. Title Douluo colliding always drew attention.
"Another battle at Title Douluo level!" disciples whispered in terrified awe.
Chen Xin's eyes narrowed, his Seven Kill Sword trembling faintly with anticipation. "Fengzhi, who do you think that mysterious powerhouse might be?"
Ning Fengzhi's lips were pressed tightly, his expression solemn. "Besides those gathered here already, who else would dare oppose Spirit Hall? Someone with history—someone with long-standing hatred for them…"
Both men paused, their thoughts converging on the same possibility: Clear Sky School.
"Uncle Jian, let's confirm it ourselves," Ning Fengzhi ordered.
Chen Xin nodded without hesitation. He drew his sword and their figures flashed into the air, rushing toward the mountain clash.
Not far behind, Dugu Bo also rose lazily into flight, curiosity burning in his snake-like eyes. Heh. Entertainment's better than wine tonight.
Even Yu Yuanzhen clenched his fists. "Second brother, let's move too!"
In moments, the peak experts of three great sects streamed toward the chaos.
And there, in the dust-filled back mountain, towering above the battlefield—they saw him.
The burly shadow wielding a Clear Sky Hammer larger than a siege pillar. His aura explosive and definitive.
Tang Xiao.
The guess was correct. Haotianzong had returned.
Tang San's Despair
Meanwhile, Tang San's hoarse scream carried through the forest.
"Xiao Wu! Xiao Wu!"
He finally spotted her silken figure. But limp, eyes closed. Her breaths shallow, caught in Lordiala's claws like a broken doll.
His heart cracked. For six long months he had thought of her every day, every night. And now, when he saw her again, it was her unconscious form, stolen by Spirit Hall.
"Take them both down."
Bibi Dong's cold decree rang like thunder, her scepter pointing directly toward Tang San and Tang Xiao.
Inside, part of her was pleased. She had hoped for an excuse to openly strike the descendants of the Clear Sky. Tang Xiao had kindly volunteered.
The Return of Tang Hao
The earth thundered.
BOOM!
A dull roar overhead shook the mountains.
"Move!" Bibi Dong barked instinctively. She leapt backward, scepter raised.
CRASH!
The heavens split as an enormous red-striped Clear Sky Hammer smashed downward, gouging a crater into the earth where the Pope had stood but a moment prior.
Standing tall upon the hammer's handle, clad in torn, gray robes—hair matted, eyes hollow yet burning—the long-absent figure appeared.
Tang Hao.
Son of Clear Sky. Father of Tang San. The heretic who once barged into Spirit Hall and shattered their Pope's Palace.
Half a year vanished, and now, in the most crucial moment, he returned.
Spirit power rippled ferociously from his frame like molten rivers. He vaulted down, pushing Tang San away from the battlefield, holding him outside the circle of death.
"Bibi Dong… dare to touch my son? Have you asked the Clear Sky Hammer in my hand first?"
His gravelly voice rolled like mountains grinding.
Bibi Dong's eyes chilled to frozen steel. "Tang Hao. Still alive, still rabid. Interfering in what does not concern you."
"Interfere?" Tang Hao laughed hoarsely. "There is nothing I interfere with. There is only what I destroy. What I protect."
His weary eyes snapped open—fierce, deadly. The Clear Sky Hammer raised, soul rings gleaming. He hurled it down toward Bibi Dong herself.
"Let's see if your Spirit Hall dares compete with my hammer."
Her purple spirit rings roared to life, spider legs of bone armored with poisonous evil rushing forward. Sharp purple blades burst from her back and swung into the colliding hammer.
BANG! The ground ripped apart, shockwaves rattling Heaven Dou City to its foundations.
Sect Politics
Chen Xin slid forward, standing protectively before Ning Fengzhi, his blade humming. "Fengzhi. Do we step in?"
Fengzhi's voice, though soft, was sharp as ice. His within-sound transmission echoed: "The last three sects—Qibao, Blue Lightning, Clear Sky. If Spirit Hall takes a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, our suppression will only tighten. Bibi Dong's ambition cannot be left unchecked. We must strike. Act when Tang Hao and Tang Xiao draw attention away."
"Clear." Chen Xin's sword spun, light flooding the sky.
Sword Qi roared forward, knocking back Spirit Masters who had begun binding Xiao Wu's unconscious body.
Shaken, Bibi Dong snarled. "Ning Fengzhi! Does Seven Treasure Glazed really dare oppose Spirit Hall openly?"
Fengzhi smiled gently, his pagoda soul rising in his hand, radiating bright brilliance. "The hundred-thousand-year soul beast is ownerless. Whoever seizes it deserves it. That is Douluo's law. Our sect makes no exception."
He raised his pagoda high. "Assist our allies. Let Martial Soul Hall understand the Three Great Sects still breathe."
Old Poison Unleashed
Beside them, Dugu Bo grinned, teeth white as bone. His emerald eyes glimmered with venom.
"Count me in as well. A hundred-thousand-year soul bone—why wouldn't I want a slice?"
His body blurred as green smoke erupted, the air buzzing violently as his Snake Emperor spirit coiled behind him.
The eerie black-robed shadow across the way slipped silently from Bibi Dong's command line. Ghost Douluo. His pale eyes locked hungrily onto the Jade Snake.
"Old Poison," Ghost hissed, voice colder than night. "Your path was always crooked. Today let it end. Your head… your soul bone… are mine."
And then he lunged.
"Fifth Soul Skill—Ghostly Claw!" Ghost's aura spiked, black talons lashing for Dugu Bo's throat.
Dugu Bo's smirk curdled into steel.
"Third Soul Ability—Emerald Enchantment!" A mist of aquamarine poison burst across the battlefield. The ground instantly withered, trees shriveling to ash.
Ghost faltered. His form lurched inside the choking fumes, paralysis crawling into his limbs. He reeled dangerously.
"You—your poison has strengthened?"
Dugu Bo laughed harshly, venom rippling in every breath. "You thought I was the weakest Title Douluo? Forgotten trash?"
His right arm surged with venomous light. "Think again."
"Fifth Soul Ability—Snake Emperor Break!"
An enormous jade serpent formed, roaring forward, fangs snapping straight for Ghost's neck.
But Ghost was cunning as ever. His sixth ring flared violently, conjuring up the phantom of a howling skull.
"Sixth Soul Ability—Ghastly Roar!"
The world shook with the banshee wail. Even Dugu Bo's conjured serpent fractured, crumbling into shards of smoke.
Ghost's blades erupted immediately after. "Second Soul Skill—Soul Devouring Claws!" Ten talons of shadow carved toward Dugu Bo's head, dripping with killing intent.
Across the chaotic courtyard, Ning Fengzhi's elders frowned. If the Ghost lands this—Dugu Bo falls.
But the Poison Emperor had not come unprepared.
A chilling emerald orb pulsed into being in his palm. Thin veins of acid vapor hissed from it, corroding earth beneath his feet.
"First Soul Skill—Jade Snake King Ball."
A sharp wrist flick, then with explosive force he hurled the sphere forward.
The air ricocheted with impact.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Nine thunderous detonations cascaded as emerald mist surged outward. Poison fog consumed the air, staining trees black; water evaporated, stone cracked.
The green brilliance engulfed Ghost's claws entirely. The shadows shrieked and shredded.
Black against green, deadly against venom.
Yet, when the wave receded, only Dugu Bo stood steady—his poison flooding the land, his shoulders proud, his aura radiating deadly confidence.
Not the Weakest Anymore
From the sidelines, disciples gasped in disbelief.
"Poison Douluo—he's… holding Ghost Douluo off?"
"No… he's pushing him back!"
Even Chen Xin raised his brows faintly.
Ning Rongrong's herb… Lu Yuan's cure… Ha. This old snake has grown much stronger than half a year ago.
Dugu Bo laughed venomously, his voice crackling across the battlefield. "You wanted a soft persimmon, Ghost? Bite down and see how many teeth you'll lose! I'm Dugu Bo, Snake Emperor—I'm no one's weakest anymore!"
The green fog surged behind him like endless waves, his laughter carrying through the battlefield as Spirit Hall's advance faltered.
And far above, Bibi Dong's eyes burned icily.
What was supposed to be a clean hunt for a soul beast—was turning into a storm across the continent.
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