Word Count: 2,622 Words
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Valley of Life.
Feng Ling led ten members of the Holy Spirit Cult to the outskirts of the valley. Her voice was devoid of emotion as she issued her command:
"The Blue Silver Saintess's foundation is still shallow, so her blood food should not be excessive. Three 10,000-year life-attribute plant-type spirit beasts will suffice. The rest of you may hunt for whatever beast souls you require."
"We obey, Deputy Leader!"
The Holy Spirit Cult members rubbed their hands in glee, their eyes burning as they gazed upon the mist-shrouded forest. Unable to contain their wicked desire to harvest lives, they soared into the air and plunged straight into the valley.
"AHHH—"
A blood-curdling scream suddenly echoed throughout the valley. Plant-type spirit beasts that had developed intelligence hastily withdrew their vines, desperately trying to disguise themselves as ordinary vegetation to escape danger.
The sound was so heart-rending that the Holy Spirit Cult members paled and rapidly retreated from the forest.
One, two, three... nine!
Feng Ling's beautiful eyes narrowed. Ten had entered, but only nine returned. One was missing!
Thud!
The missing Evil Spirit Master crashed to the ground before them, already a corpse. A gaping hole was torn in his chest where his heart had been pierced clean through. The light in his eyes had not yet faded, still filled with terror and awe, as though he had glimpsed an impossible monster with his dying breath.
A golden figure appeared in the sky, descending with the radiance and heat of the sun. Six distinctive wings made his identity unmistakable.
"Seraphim!"
For a moment, the cult members thought their eyes deceived them, but their bodies' instinctive reactions could not lie. They were all Evil Spirit Emperors and Evil Spirit Saints, yet simply standing opposite Ling Bai made them feel as if holy power might reduce them to cinders at any moment. One stammered in disbelief:
"Wasn't the Seraphim in Mingdu? How could he be in the Valley of Life?!"
There was no custom of offering explanations to Evil Spirit Masters. Ling Bai's response came as two resounding words:
"ANGELIC! DOMAIN!"
His voice rang out like a great bell echoing from the distant horizon. Blinding golden light burst forth, blanketing sky and earth in the blink of an eye. The crushing pressure of three ultimate attributes pressed in from all sides. One Evil Spirit Saint glanced at his agonized companions, his features twisting savagely:
"He's only a Spirit Saint! If we attack together, he can't possibly kill us all!
Brothers, follow me—"
The Evil Spirit Saint never finished his rally. The blinding radiance of the Angel Sword filled his vision, and in the next instant, his head exploded like a melon, split apart by a single merciless strike!
The headless corpse dropped to its knees as sunlight spilled across the gruesome scene of red and white. The flames in Ling Bai's golden eyes burned ever fiercer.
"Seraphim, you've delivered yourself to death's door!"
Feng Ling's voice was ice-cold. Her black robes billowed without wind as a piercing phoenix cry split the air. Spirit rings rose in succession around her.
Purple, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Black, Black, Red!
Three purple, five black, and one red—the terrifying spirit ring configuration of the Holy Spirit Cult's Deputy Leader, Rank 97 Evil Phoenix Douluo!
As her Evil Phoenix Martial Spirit manifested, a pair of dark purple wings unfurled behind her. The unrestrained aura of a Super Douluo erupted, surging toward Ling Bai like an overwhelming tide.
Unlike Ma Xiaotao's blazing, explosive Evil Fire Phoenix, the Evil Phoenix radiated a desolate coldness that chilled to the bone. Feng Ling's spirit power expanded wildly. Sunlight seemed to dim as the sky turned ashen gray. Even the Angelic Domain could not fully suppress this phoenix's profound evil!
Beyond Rank 95, each rank was a heaven-ascending leap in power. At Rank 97, Feng Ling clearly outclassed the Rank 96 Ancient Demon Douluo by an entire tier, and her Martial Spirit also held the advantage.
The other Evil Spirit Masters had already been reduced to ash within the Angelic Domain, leaving only Ling Bai and Feng Ling to face each other in midair. Their holy and evil auras clashed, causing the colors of the world to shift around them.
The Angelic Domain's crushing pressure forced Feng Ling to strike first. Her sixth 10,000-year spirit ring flared as she accelerated, leaving a trail of purple afterimages. Mid-flight, her right hand swelled grotesquely, transforming into a savage phoenix talon that slashed down at Ling Bai's head.
With a single beat of his six angelic wings, Ling Bai surged forward to meet the attack. He raised his own right hand, and a hundred-meter golden dragon erupted with an earth-shaking roar.
Light Holy Dragon Spirit Bone Skill, Holy Dragon Judgment!
Light Holy Dragon and Evil Phoenix collided with devastating force. Dragon roars and phoenix cries intertwined as terrifying spirit power rippled outward from the center of their clash.
The explosive impact tore the cloud layer apart, the intermingling light and dark energies carving deep furrows across the sky, as if a dragon and phoenix had ripped it asunder.
Both the Seraphim and the Evil Phoenix were powerful Martial Spirits with innate flight capabilities. The two rivals soared higher, racing toward the upper reaches of the sky.
Fury and hatred blazed in Feng Ling's eyes, her aura climbing with her ascent. Ling Bai's right leg glowed particularly bright, absorbing the sun's radiance. He used Glorious Light Convergence, a skill from his Radiant Thunder Hell Dragon spirit bone, to devour the abundant light elements overhead and convert them into power for his Seraphim.
The true battle between holy and evil was about to begin.
Another piercing phoenix cry split the air. Sonic booms erupted around Feng Ling as her eighth spirit ring blazed to life, doubling the intensity of her evil energy. A massive, illusory purple phoenix materialized in the sky, spewing clouds of vile power.
In response, golden light erupted from Ling Bai's core. Lightning flashed and thunder roared as endless dragon-shaped bolts filled the heavens, a divine punishment descending upon a sinner from a god atop the clouds!
Radiant Thunder Hell Dragon's Second Skill, Radiant Thunder Dazzles the World!
Thunder rolled ceaselessly. The Radiant Thunder Hell Dragon's holy lightning stood in stark contrast to the Evil Phoenix's corrupting breath.
The divine lightning surged and crashed, carrying the unstoppable might of heaven as it pounded the illusory phoenix again and again.
Feng Ling nearly ground her silver teeth to dust, enduring the full brunt of Radiant Thunder Dazzles the World, which Glorious Light Convergence had enhanced. Evil Spirit Masters might be nightmares to ordinary Spirit Masters, but to a Seraphim, they were merely prey.
Against any other Rank 97 Titled Douluo, Ling Bai would have been at an absolute disadvantage; the twenty-rank spirit power gap was simply too vast. But against her, the Seraphim could strut and swagger!
Ultimate Holy, Ultimate Light, Ultimate Fire, and near-Ultimate Lightning—every single one was the natural nemesis of all evil attributes!
What Feng Ling could not comprehend was why the Seraphim was here at all. The Valley of Life was a paradise for plant-type spirit beasts, ruled by one of its own. His presence seemed far too calculated, as if he had known prey would appear and had laid an ambush to catch them like turtles in a jar!
"Evil Phoenix Avatar!"
Unable to puzzle it out under such intense pressure, she unleashed her Martial Spirit Avatar. A massive Evil Phoenix with a hundred-meter wingspan burst free from the lightning storm. Its hateful gaze locked onto Ling Bai as it charged, trailing purple-black flames and rippling distortions of space.
The air shook with each wingbeat, carrying the faint echoes of human wails, while the contorted faces of countless victims flickered across its tail feathers in eternal agony.
Pure evil surged forward. Above the Evil Phoenix, a purple sun tore through the clouds, and as it appeared, Feng Ling's aura soared once more. From this artificial sun, a purple pillar of light dozens of meters thick blasted downward.
100,000-year Ninth Spirit Skill, Sun of the Evil Phoenix!
The illusory Seraphim behind Ling Bai was instantly dyed purple, and his six angelic wings folded inward. Triumph flashed across Feng Ling's face; few knew that the Evil Phoenix's most fundamental power was spiritual attack!
But her triumph lasted less than a second. Wide-eyed, she watched Ling Bai raise his Angel Sword high. An overwhelming will, as vast as the heavens themselves, erupted from the blade and shattered her light pillar in an instant!
Sword Intent: Heavenly Brilliance!
Sword intent was a spiritual battle technique in its own right. Having shattered the Sun of the Evil Phoenix, Ling Bai pressed his advantage. His third, sixth, and seventh spirit rings lit up simultaneously. Under the triple amplification of Holy Heart, Great Sun Angel, and Angel Avatar, his fourth skill, Ten Thousand Blades Radiant Glory, erupted in a blinding display!
Thousands upon thousands of holy sword energy streams descended in an instant. Their matchless sharpness swept through everything like an unstoppable army. Feng Ling screamed and unleashed the second skill of her 100,000-year ninth spirit ring: Devouring Light!
Gold and purple clashed in a frenzy, erupting with an unparalleled, blinding brilliance. Twin halos of light spread outward in parallel, visible for a hundred miles in every direction.
In the end, evil could not overcome righteousness. When the explosive confrontation subsided, Feng Ling's Evil Phoenix Avatar was riddled with countless cracks. She had barely escaped Ten Thousand Blades Radiant Glory with her life, but to an Evil Spirit Master, 'holy' was the true evil. The divine sword energy continued to ravage her body without respite.
Feng Ling panted heavily, her body a canvas of wounds. She finally understood why the Ancient Demon Douluo had died so miserably at Ling Bai's hands. The Seraphim's suppression of Evil Spirit Masters was every bit as terrifying as the ancient texts recorded, and Ling Bai's Seraphim was even more horrifying than the legends.
She noticed the slowly rotating spirit core at his brow and was shocked that he had managed to condense his first spirit core while still a Spirit Saint. Both his light and fire attributes had reached the ultimate level. That Martial Spirit Avatar and those spirit skills were each more terrifying than the last. Having experienced them firsthand, Feng Ling felt each one matched or even surpassed her own ninth spirit skill in power.
If her spirit power had not broken through to Rank 97, she would have already been pierced by ten thousand swords. But even now, her gaze remained wild and unyielding. The mind of the Evil Phoenix held no fear, only the determination to fight to the death!
She beat her wings furiously, madness overflowing from her eyes as she channeled all her remaining spirit power toward her dantian!
Detonate the spirit core!
Mutual destruction!
Feng Ling knew death was inevitable. She would rather have her body and soul obliterated than let Ling Bai survive. She would drag him down to the yellow springs with her!
A Rank 97 Titled Douluo's desperate self-destruction would carry power comparable to a Class 9 Stationary Spirit Cannon shell!
Ling Bai, of course, would not simply stand by and watch her self-destruct. His golden pupils shifted silently, as if another, darker consciousness had awakened within. Soul-devouring, black-red eyes lit up like those of a malevolent ghost!
200,000-year External Spirit Bone Demon Eye's Attached Skill, Evil Spirit Curse!
A black-red light flashed toward its target. In her hysterical state, Feng Ling had no time to dodge. The Evil Spirit Curse struck home, the dark light spreading across her Evil Phoenix Avatar. The massive Evil Phoenix suddenly turned translucent before collapsing like a mountain avalanche.
The Demon Eye originated from the Demon Eye Evil Tree. Its distinctly evil attribute stunned Feng Ling for half a second. She seemed shocked that the Seraphim could possess an evil-attribute ability. But her hesitation lasted only that brief moment before she frantically continued driving her spirit core, not caring that her Martial Spirit Avatar had dissipated as she hurled her own body straight at Ling Bai.
Ling Bai welcomed her voluntary sacrifice. The Angel Sword slid easily through her chest. Blood poured from her mouth and nose, crimson serpents winding down her face.
With trembling hands, she clamped down on the blade embedded in her chest, trying to prevent his escape as she channeled the last of her spirit power into her spirit core. Having chosen self-destruction, she was absolutely determined to drag Ling Bai down with her. She would grant him no chance of survival whatsoever.
Feng Ling's eyes bulged as she stared at Ling Bai's face, desperate to see a flicker of panic on that righteous visage. To her disappointment, he remained as calm as still water, his expression unchanging, showing no sign of nervousness or alarm.
An angelically handsome face paired with sinister demon eyes created a thousand discordant impressions. Ling Bai gazed at Feng Ling from point-blank range. He could almost hear the Evil Phoenix's agonized wails as the Angel Sword's holy power slowly purified it—what was conventionally called Martial Spirit shattering.
They stared at each other in deadlock while the spirit core continued expanding. Feng Ling's heart raced inexplicably, as if a ferocious beast had fixed its gaze upon her. The sensation made her blood run cold.
Just then, the Demon Eye's spiritual fluctuations intensified. A destructive beam of spiritual light shot forth, piercing directly into Feng Ling's Spiritual Sea!
Demon Eye's Second Skill, Spiritual Annihilation!
"AHHHH!!!"
Spiritual Annihilation flooded her brain, obliterating all her memories and consciousness. Her agonized scream pierced the clouds, her once-beautiful features twisting beyond recognition.
Without her consciousness to drive it, the unstable spirit core gradually stabilized.
Ling Bai withdrew the Angel Sword. Grabbing Feng Ling by the collar, he descended back to earth and casually tossed her to the ground. The once-proud Deputy Leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, the Rank 97 Evil Phoenix Douluo, now lay limply in the dirt.
He was considering whether to dissect her on the spot and bring only her head back to Shrek Academy when Feng Ling stirred. She huddled her curvaceous body and mumbled in confusion:
"It hurts… I hurt so much…"
"Hmm?"
Ling Bai paused. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he carefully probed her with his spirit power. Her injuries were severe, but not life-threatening.
Titled Douluo possessed a remarkably tenacious life force, and his sword had missed her heart, which explained her survival.
But the Angel Sword had crippled her Evil Phoenix Martial Spirit, and Spiritual Annihilation had destroyed her Spiritual Sea. Even if she physically recovered, Feng Ling would be nothing more than a drooling idiot for the rest of her days.
Under Feng Ling's timid gaze, Ling Bai crouched before her and slowly extended his hand. Her face flushed red... from the slap he delivered.
He had put his full strength behind the blow, knocking her unconscious.
Half her face swelled up like a pig's head.
"Once an Evil Spirit Master, always an Evil Spirit Master," Ling Bai said coldly.
A rotten orange is still a rotten orange!
No amount of idiocy could wipe away the monstrous sins she had committed. A Seraphim would never show sympathy for an Evil Spirit Master!
Ling Bai's Storage Spirit Guidance Device could contain living beings. After storing Feng Ling inside, he gazed toward the distant horizon where Shrek Academy lay on the other side of the continent and murmured:
"Rank 97 Evil Phoenix Douluo Feng Ling—the graduation examination mission is definitely secured.
But Dean Yan, I bet you never imagined the surprise would be this big..."