"What… what is this?" Staring at the hellish scene, Chrysanthemum Douluo was scared out of his wits.
He should thank Qin Ming for blocking him earlier—otherwise, if he'd also rushed to the city gate, his corpse would be among those below.
"Haha, Chrysanthemum Douluo! This is the true strength of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. How does it compare to your Spirit Empire? But I'm not interested in your answer—go to hell!" Qin Ming, seizing the moment, launched a fierce attack.
Driven by the will to live, Chrysanthemum Douluo fought back desperately, but the shocking Stars Fall and Earth Trembles had shattered his spirit. He had no fighting will left—he only wanted to escape.
Inside the city, Gu Ran raised the command flag and ordered, "Open the gates—full army assault!"
Heaven Dou Empire's army had always feared the Spirit Empire's heavy cavalry. Now that the cavalry was annihilated, sending out light cavalry for a charge would be most effective.
Actually, the Heaven Dou Empire did have elite heavy cavalry, but Xue Beng would never hand such troops to Ning Fengzhi—they'd long been guarding him as he retreated.
Tens of thousands of troops inside the city were ready. As the gates opened, they surged out, spreading in wings across the plain to flank the Spirit Empire's rear.
The Spirit Empire lacked commanding talent. Previously, they relied on the soul master legions to smash enemy lines, then the heavy cavalry would charge in, and the rear would mop up. That's how they'd won so many battles.
But that only worked when there was a huge gap in power. Now, with the soul master legions and heavy cavalry almost wiped out, and no qualified commanders in the rear, everything was chaos.
Ning Fengzhi's knowledge of military tactics was no less than Gu Rong's, and he'd already taught Gu Ran how to command. The light cavalry charge immediately caused massive casualties.
Now, there was only one person left alive on Heaven Dou City's wall—Feng Tianlei. He'd barely escaped into the city with his speed, protected by the Fire Screen and Earth Screen. But alone, he was still doomed.
Ning Rongrong glanced coldly at Feng Tianlei. "Senior, do you remember, during the Soul Hunting operation, you offended my sect? You were lucky to escape from my Sword Brother last time, and now you survived Stars Fall and Earth Trembles—like a cockroach. But today, you won't escape. I'll kill you myself."
A bright light flashed from Ning Rongrong's brow—a gorgeous trident appeared in her hand. She swept forward. Feng Tianlei tried to block with his Wind Shield, but it was useless. The shield was smashed and Feng Tianlei was sent flying, his bones seeming to shatter.
"What terrifying strength! This woman is even stronger than Tianlin was during the Soul Hunt!" Feng Tianlei thought bitterly. He couldn't beat Tianlin, and now he couldn't beat his wife either.
"That day, even though we were prepared, dozens of my sect members still died by your sword. Today, I'll avenge them—Snow Dance!"
Her domain spread out. Feng Tianlei was too good at escaping—Ning Rongrong used her strongest ice domain to restrict him.
"Take this! Oak Society Wood Supports the Sky!" Ning Rongrong swung the Sea God Trident. Though she hadn't yet learned the Sea God's Golden Thirteen Tridents, Tianlin had taught her a basic Daoist long-weapon technique.
These were the basics of long-weapon arts. Once mastered, learning the Golden Thirteen Tridents would be much easier for Ning Rongrong.
Two streaks of light fell from the sky—Bibi Dong and Chen Xin had also sensed the immense power here and returned.
Both were slightly injured—there hadn't been enough time for two Ultimate Douluos to determine a winner.
Facing Chen Xin, Bibi Dong had a hard fight. In terms of soul power and physical strength—she had eighteen soul rings and surpassed Chen Xin. But his swordsmanship was terrifying. In terms of skill, she was suppressed the whole time.
She was confident that with her undying body, she could win if the fight went on endlessly—but it would take ten days and nights, not counting Chen Xin's self-sacrifice move, which might mean mutual destruction.
Seeing Bibi Dong return, Golden Crocodile Douluo and the others retreated to her side. Gu Rong and Yu Yuanzhen didn't pursue, returning to the walls.
Ning Fengzhi withdrew his support and collapsed to his knees—supporting two super Douluos at once had drained his soul power.
Oscar quickly gave him a sausage to help him recover—at the moment, this was all he could do.
If not for the risk of exposing his copy martial soul ability to Bibi Dong (and her discovering the truth about the Grandmaster's death), he'd have used his mirror sausage to join the fight, especially with Tianlin's magic sword—he'd dare step even onto a super Douluo battlefield.
Bibi Dong looked at the corpses of her soul masters and the butchery of her army, and said coldly, "Good—very good. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has given my Spirit Empire another crushing defeat. But don't forget, the power of my Spirit Empire is far from exhausted."
The meaning was clear: their Grand Worship Qian Daoliu, and the third, fourth, and fifth worships, plus Judgement Elder Qian Renxue, had yet to arrive.
Ning Fengzhi ate the sausage, regained some strength, and stood up with a smile. "And don't forget, our sect's real trump card hasn't appeared either."
His meaning was clear: their Tianlin was still not here. As long as the fight wasn't at the Hall of Worship, even if Qian Daoliu, three other worships, and Qian Renxue fought together, they might not be a match for Tianlin.
This year, Tianlin hadn't been idle. With the help of the Holy Spirit domain, Oscar's pearl sausage, and three great enhancements from his ultimate martial soul, his cultivation had soared, now reaching rank 97.
After rank 95, each step was like ascending to heaven. At rank 94, Tianlin could withstand Ultimate Douluos; at rank 96, he was confident of suppressing them.
Now at rank 97, as long as he didn't fight at a god's trial site, even if Qian Daoliu brought three worships, they might not be able to beat him.
"Fine, you win. Order a retreat!" Bibi Dong, seeing there was no hope, ordered a withdrawal. If this continued, her entire army would be wiped out.
Following the principle of not pursuing a desperate enemy, Ning Fengzhi waved for a halt. "That's enough, Gu Ran—sound the retreat!"
"Yes!" Gu Ran sounded the gong, and everyone on the battlefield withdrew.
Ning Fengzhi didn't want to push Bibi Dong too hard—today's victory was enough, time to withdraw.
"Hey, Ning Rongrong, we're sounding the retreat. Why aren't you stopping?" Feng Tianlei shouted when he saw Ning Rongrong still attacking him.
"I don't care! Today I will kill you—Dreamland in the Clouds!" Ning Rongrong's Sea God Trident radiated killing intent as she struck at Feng Tianlei. This move was more suited for a staff, but with the trident's weight, it was deadly even as a blunt weapon.
With one blow, Feng Tianlei's Wind Sword martial soul shattered, and his body exploded into pieces.
Any blood that flew toward Ning Rongrong instantly turned to ice and fell away—she remained spotless.
"Ning Fengzhi, what's your daughter doing?" Bibi Dong yelled. Both sides had called a retreat, yet she was still killing—wasn't it too much?
"My daughter is spoiled—she rarely listens to me!" Ning Fengzhi smiled helplessly, then changed his tone, "But so what, Bibi Dong? Are you questioning me? Don't forget, today you are the loser and we are the winners. Have you been in power so long that you've forgotten your place?"
Sword Douluo Chen Xin raised the Seven Kill Sword. "If my granddaughter wants to kill someone who once slaughtered our sect, that's perfectly justified revenge. Who dares object? Bibi Dong, if you're angry, I'll fight you again. Don't take it out on my granddaughter."
"Truly spoiled. Fine, remember this—the loss today won't shake the Spirit Empire's foundation. I'll return someday!" Bibi Dong said bitterly, leading her followers away.
Thus, the Battle of Heaven Dou City was temporarily over. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had won its first victory!