"What do you want from us?!"
Paralyzed and unable to maintain her Martial Soul True Form, Nan Shuishui clutched her chest with her right hand, struggling to stay upright as she shouted defiantly.
Dark Lightning Douluo didn't answer immediately. Instead, his gaze drifted past her—to Nan Qiuqiu—and for a moment, he looked almost wistful.
"This is your daughter, isn't she? Look how much she resembles you." His voice softened, almost tender. "I never intended to kill you, you know that. Even if we can never go back… I could never bring myself to harm you. Just stay by my side forever—and I'll spare your daughter too. I don't want you to suffer, so I'll let her live… always with you."
He paused, then asked gently, "So… will you agree?"
The butcher holds the knife; I am but fish on the chopping block.
That was the bitter despair flooding Nan Shuishui's heart.
But to submit?
The blood of her Earth Dragon Sect disciples hadn't even dried yet!
Her resolve, already hardened, now surged into something fanatical.
She wasn't just Nan Qiuqiu's mother—she was Sect Master of the Earth Dragon Sect. She bore the duty of an entire lineage.
If the Holy Spirit Cult and Sun Moon Empire were colluding, then the blood debt of her fallen disciples belonged to both of them!
Besides, the Earth Dragon Sect had never been large. With these deaths, their sect would be utterly extinguished.
This vengeance—this hatred—was no less than the pain of total annihilation!
Agree?
Like hell I will!!!
At that thought, Nan Shuishui's eyes blazed with sudden clarity. The dullness vanished, replaced by piercing brightness. Her withered aura flared back to life, the paralysis melting away as if it had never been.
It was like a final, radiant surge before death.
A wisp of annihilation energy rose between her brows. Her soul power ignited—burning at multiples of its normal rate—casting a vast sea of pinkish flame across the land.
"Go back with you?" she laughed bitterly. "Become an evil soul master?!"
As a Title Douluo, Dark Lightning instantly recognized what was happening.
Ignoring her scorn, he roared in alarm:
"You madwoman! Are you insane?! You're going to self-detonate?!"
But her only reply was a charge straight toward him—along with a final cry:
"Dark Lightning! You didn't want us separated? Fine! I'll grant your wish—we'll walk the Yellow Springs Road together!"
"MOM!"
In one swift motion, Nan Shuishui seized Nan Qiuqiu and hurled her backward with all her might. Her daughter crashed hard onto the distant ground, stunned by the suddenness.
"Qiuqiu—run!"
Earlier, Dark Lightning had openly ordered Sun Moon's forces to withdraw surveillance—Nan Shuishui had heard every word. She knew this explosion would create the perfect window for her daughter to escape.
She had chosen death for herself—but she had to give Qiuqiu a chance to live!
As she unleashed her final roar, she also sent a soul-power transmission—one containing the secret passed only to Earth Dragon Sect Masters across generations:
"Qiuqiu… from this moment on, if you safely return to our sect, you are its next Sect Master. No matter what path you choose, Mother's spirit in heaven will always support you."
Then, without looking back, Nan Shuishui poured every last drop of her power into speed.
The instant she closed the distance to Dark Lightning Douluo, her Soul Douluo-level soul power compressed to a singularity—
BOOOOM—!!!
Her annihilation-attribute explosion detonated around Dark Lightning Douluo with the force of a Grade-8 fixed-load soul engineering artillery shell.
"MOM—!"
Nan Qiuqiu screamed, pouring all her grief and sorrow into that single cry—a sound as desolate as autumn leaves falling in the wind.
By now, every Earth Dragon disciple who'd come to compete was dead. Her mother had just perished alongside a Title Douluo evil soul master.
She was the last one left.
But there was no time to mourn. Seeing the mushroom cloud rise, she knew: if she didn't flee now, Sun Moon's scouts would find her.
I can't waste Mom's sacrifice!
Gritting through her tears, Nan Qiuqiu pushed herself up to run—
Cough! Cough! Cough—!
The sound froze her in place.
She whirled around—staring at the epicenter of the blast.
Through the settling dust, Dark Lightning Douluo emerged—disheveled, but very much alive.
"That crazy bitch really tried to take me with her," he muttered.
Nan Shuishui's self-detonation was terrifying—enough to obliterate even a Title Douluo through pure annihilation energy. But Dark Lightning wasn't just a soul master—he was also a Grade 9 soul engineer, always armed with top-tier defensive soul tools.
At the last second, he'd activated an Invincible Barrier, absorbing most of the blast.
Still, some annihilation energy had seeped through—leaving him battered, though unharmed.
"Now…"
His eyes locked onto Nan Qiuqiu. Seeing the hatred blazing in her gaze, his earlier fury over the suicide attack faded—replaced by an unexpected wave of sorrow.
Almost… as if he were mourning the woman who'd just tried to kill him.
But in the next breath, his expression twisted into cruelty. He looked at Nan Qiuqiu like she was nothing but sacrificial prey.
"Since your mother's dead… you might as well join her."
"I'LL AVENGE MOM! ROAR—!"
Seeing Dark Lightning unscathed, Nan Qiuqiu abandoned all thoughts of escape.
Run?
Impossible—not from a Title Douluo.
Instead, she reactivated her forcibly suppressed martial soul. Ignoring her injuries and depleted soul power, a diamond-shaped, pink crystal gem materialized on her forehead. Her body elongated instantly—growing nearly a foot taller.
She, too, had accepted death.
In the next second, she lunged at Dark Lightning Douluo.
"Foolish child," he sneered, raising a hand to strike—
Who's there?!
Suddenly, Dark Lightning sensed movement beside him. He lashed out, sending Nan Qiuqiu flying—then activated his sixth soul ring. A gray-violet whip of lightning cracked through the air, shrieking with phantom wails, radiating ozone as it tore through space with deafening pops.
But then—
A spatial gate ripped open.
And from it emerged a bone shield, silently intercepting his Soul Whip of Wailing Thunder.
To Dark Lightning's shock, even though this was merely his sixth soul skill, it only left a hairline crack on the shield—no shattering at all.
"How is this possible?!"
His spiritual sense told him the defender was likely only a Soul Saint or Soul Douluo. How could such a person wield defense this strong?!
Could it be… soul bones?!
As the thought flashed through his mind—
"There's nothing impossible."
A voice rang out—and with it, a terrifying pressure flooded the battlefield.
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