As the brilliant fireworks bloomed in the sky, ten miles away in a forest, Dai Tao and his group received the signal. Together, they activated their martial souls and initiated the martial soul fusion technique: Nether White Tiger.
"Roar—"
Instantly, eight black pillars of varying sizes rose into the air. Accompanied by a tiger's roar, the eight black pillars dissipated, and the sixteen figures originally in the forest transformed into eight massive Nether White Tigers.
Immediately after, the eight Nether White Tigers flapped their wings and soared into the sky, rushing toward the desolate mountain where Chu Chengzhou was located.
Far away in the sky above the desolate mountain, Cao Lie and the other five did not approach directly.
In their original plan, Chu Chengzhou would have allied with experts from the Tian Dou Empire and the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect to ambush them.
Although they were Title Douluos, the five of them were well aware of their own limitations and did not advance directly. Instead, they intended to regroup with the main force before taking action.
'Five Title Douluos, all with soul power levels below Level 95...'
Chu Chengzhou observed clearly that these five Title Douluos were far from being top-tier experts among their ranks.
The one with the highest soul power level was a middle-aged man wielding a staff as his martial soul—a Level 94 Title Douluo with an optimal soul ring configuration.
Two were Level 93 Title Douluos—one had an Iron Armor Tyrant Dragon martial soul, and the other had a leopard-type martial soul that shimmered with cyan and purple hues. Moreover, the former did not have an optimal soul ring configuration; similar to She Long (Serpent Spear) and Ci Xue (Porcupinefish), his fifth soul ring was still purple.
The remaining two had even lower soul power levels—only Level 92. One had a Silver Moon Sky Wolf martial soul, while the other had an ice-attribute bear-type martial soul. Additionally, like the Iron Armor Tyrant Dragon Douluo, the latter also lacked an optimal soul ring configuration.
Mm, perhaps not all who reached the Title Douluo level were originally geniuses.
But those who achieved the Title Douluo level without an optimal soul ring configuration were undoubtedly true genius soul masters.
Seeing that the five did not intend to attack immediately, and having already assessed their strength, Chu Chengzhou decided to act.
After all, this time, the Star Luo Empire had likely mobilized all its hidden forces, putting significant pressure on him.
To avoid disaster, he decided to strike first, eliminating one or two powerful foes to reduce the pressure when he inevitably faced a siege.
'Go! But don't rush to attack—remember to ambush!'
After issuing a telepathic command to Big Bear, Xiao Ming, and Xiao Hei, whose appearances had been "cute-ified," Chu Chengzhou activated Soaring Golden Light, transforming into a streak of light and rapidly flying toward the five distant figures.
It was often said that one should pick the soft targets, but Chu Chengzhou was different—he preferred the hard ones.
The speed of Soaring Golden Light was incredibly fast. After slightly closing the distance and entering the "maximum range" of Void Illusion Realm, Chu Chengzhou directed his attention to the strongest-looking Staff Douluo among the five.
Chu Chengzhou: I'll bet you don't have a precious head soul bone, and if you do, its age isn't high!
Activating Void Illusion Realm, he unleashed his spiritual power, which invaded the consciousness of Canglong Douluo Cao Lie.
In an instant, after a brief clash of spiritual power, Chu Chengzhou silently altered the other's consciousness.
As it turned out, Chu Chengzhou had won his bet—the opponent did not possess a valuable head soul bone, nor a high-age one. His spiritual power was significantly weaker than Chu Chengzhou's.
Of course, this wasn't much of a gamble. After all, there weren't many soul masters on the continent who possessed head soul bones, let alone rare high-age ones.
Moreover, this Title Douluo's martial soul wasn't a White Tiger, meaning he wasn't from the direct lineage of the Dai family. While the Star Luo Empire might have nurtured him, they certainly hadn't spared no expense.
Subsequently, Chu Chengzhou didn't kill him outright. Instead, he chose to turn the enemy into a friend. This way, he could add a Title-level combatant to his side, potentially amplifying his advantage.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Seeing Chu Chengzhou approaching at high speed, the attention of the several Douluos—who knew he was no ordinary Soul Saint—was fully focused on him. Not daring to be careless, they hastily activated their True Martial Souls.
"Seventh Soul Skill, Iron Armor Tyrant Dragon True Body!"
"Seventh Soul Skill, Wind and Thunder Leopard True Body!"
"Seventh Soul Skill, Silver Moon Sky Wolf True Body!"
"Seventh Soul Skill, Ice Spirit Demon Bear..."
Among the five Douluos of Star Luo—Tyrant Dragon, Wind and Thunder, Sky Wolf, and Ice Bear Douluos—all were releasing their True Martial Souls. But what about Canglong Douluo Cao Lie, whose consciousness Chu Chengzhou had altered and who had now become an 'ally'?
Canglong Douluo Cao Lie's soul rings also lit up, but it wasn't his seventh soul ring—it was his ninth.
"Ninth Soul Skill, Dragon Majesty Overwhelming, Canglong Strike!"
Amidst the surging soul power, the ninth soul ring on Canglong Douluo Cao Lie's body shone brightly. With a single thrust of his staff, he struck the sturdy figure to his left.
Under the night sky, a fierce green dragon shadow erupted, brimming with overwhelming might, and directly hit the unprepared Ice Bear Douluo, who was in the process of releasing his True Martial Soul.
Boom—
The green dragon exploded, creating a deafening roar. A mixture of flesh fragments and shattered bones sprayed through the air.
For most Strong Attack-system Title Douluos, their ninth soul skill was their most powerful offensive trump card.
How could a ninth soul skill unleashed by a Level 94 strong-attack system Title Douluo be withstood by a mere Level 92 Title Douluo relying solely on protective soul power and physical resilience?
Caught off guard, facing Canglong Douluo's 90,000-year strong-attack ninth soul skill, the Ice Bear Douluo, whose True Martial Soul had not yet fully manifested and who hadn't had time to activate defensive skills, perished instantly.
It was an honor for Canglong Douluo Cao Lie of the Star Luo Empire to become one of the few Title Douluos on the continent with a record of killing another Title Douluo.
The sudden death of the Ice Bear Douluo immediately shocked the three remaining Douluos nearby.
"Canglong, what are you doing?!"
The hot-tempered Tyrant Dragon Douluo Chu Xing immediately questioned him.
"Retreat quickly! Canglong has been controlled!"
At this moment, Sky Wolf Douluo Du Ze seemed to realize something. As he warned his two colleagues, he immediately distanced himself from Cao Lie.
Cao Lie was a pure-blooded citizen of Star Luo. Although his wife wasn't an imperial princess, she was still a member of the royal family, and his descendants were currently all in Star Luo. It was highly unlikely that he would defect. Therefore, the only explanation for his sudden attack on the Ice Bear Douluo was that he had unknowingly been controlled by Chu Chengzhou, who excelled in spiritual power!
The reactions of Tyrant Dragon and Wind and Thunder Douluos were also swift. Upon hearing Sky Wolf Douluo's warning, they immediately pulled back as well.
"Hmph, serving my glorious master is the greatest honor of Cao's life! You all have shown great disrespect to my master and deserve to die! Submit to my master immediately!"
With a flicker of devoutness in his eyes, Canglong Douluo Cao Lie sneered, pointing his Canglong staff at Tyrant Dragon Douluo and the others, sternly barking orders.
Chu Chengzhou: "..."
He hadn't taught him that line. This Canglong Douluo was truly talented!
Mm, just a bit too overly dramatic, always talking about "deserving death."
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