"Xiao Xun, Rongrong, stay back."
Dugu Bo raised his hand toward Li Xun, signaling danger. The seventh Spirit Ring beneath his feet lit up, and his lean body began to swell rapidly, transforming in the blink of an eye into a massive emerald serpent.
The serpent was about thirty meters long, completely overshadowing Luo Sanpao. This was Dugu Bo's Spirit Avatar, the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor. In its presence, the yellow dragon Luo Sanpao looked like a mere dwarf.
This was the first time Li Xun had witnessed a battle between such colossal beasts since arriving in this world. Dugu Bo's Spirit Avatar filled him with anticipation for his own True Several Thousand Hands.
Yu Xiaogang and Flender, along with the others, watched the enormous serpent with grave expressions. Although they were well aware of the gap between themselves and a Titled Douluo, the sheer size of Dugu Bo's Spirit Avatar still brought them immense pressure.
But there was no turning back now.
Luo Sanpao spread its wings and let out a deafening roar, spewing a golden lightning bolt straight at Dugu Bo. The Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor, transformed by Dugu Bo, flashed a look of disdain in its eyes and withstood the attack with its body. Simultaneously, it exhaled a cloud of green poisonous mist, directly targeting Yu Xiaogang and the others.
Having not fought anyone since his promotion after consuming the Immortal Herb, Dugu Bo grinned and swung a massive tail toward the trio.
Facing two consecutive attacks, Yu Xiaogang's expression turned grim. He quickly directed Luo Sanpao to block the poisonous mist with lightning, while the three of them prepared to rely on the golden triangular shield formed during their fusion to withstand Dugu Bo's tail strike.
Boom—
A loud crash echoed as Dugu Bo's tail struck the Golden Triangle. However, the shield only rippled violently, showing no signs of breaking.
Seeing that his attack had no effect, Dugu Bo inadvertently glanced toward Li Xun's position in the air. Unexpectedly, his gaze met Li Xun's.
Feeling a loss of face, Dugu Bo turned his fierce gaze back to Yu Xiaogang and the others. "That was just a little tease. Don't think your Soul Skill is all that impressive."
"Medusa's Gaze." Two pale beams of light shot from the eyes of the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor, heading straight for Yu Xiaogang and the others.
Sensing the danger from the white beams, the Grandmaster's expression turned serious as he poured all his Soul Power into Luo Sanpao.
"Fart like thunder, shatter the heavens and earth, Luo Sanpao!" the Grandmaster roared. A burst of golden mist sprayed from Luo Sanpao's rear, condensing into a golden shield in the air to block the white light.
With a resonant hum, the white light collided with the golden shield. Yu Xiaogang and Luo Sanpao trembled, and under the illumination of the white light, the golden shield gradually turned to stone.
The Grandmaster couldn't help but gasp.
Dugu sneered, about to launch another attack, when he suddenly felt an intense surge of Soul Power behind him. He turned to look.
There, Li Xun held Ning Rongrong in his arms, their bodies radiating a soft glow. Behind them, a towering Thousand-Hand Buddha Statue, over a hundred meters tall, materialized.
The Thousand-Hand Buddha Statue was ethereal, with one of its foremost hands cradling a dazzling nine-tiered pagoda. Against the backdrop of the pagoda, the face of the Thousand-Hand Buddha Statue seemed to exude a faint sense of compassion.
"Buddha Pagoda, Salvation of Compassion." Though it was merely a soft whisper from Li Xun and Ning Rongrong, a resonant, bell-like voice echoed within the Thousand-Hand Buddha Statue.
As this voice reverberated across the sky, the nine-story pagoda held by the Thousand-Hand Buddha Statue vanished in an instant.
When it reappeared, it was directly above Yu Xiaogang, Flender, and Liu Erlong.
The three of them were immediately struck with terror, for the pagoda alone was as tall as the two giant serpents conjured by Dugu Bo.
There was no deafening crash, nor any damage to the surrounding vegetation. The pagoda descended as lightly as a feather.
There was no way to avoid it, no place to hide. The Grandmaster and his companions could only watch in wide-eyed horror as the outside world disappeared before their eyes.
When they regained their senses, they found themselves in an illusory space.
This space was boundless, filled with stars that made it feel as though they were wandering through the cosmos. Yu Xiaogang turned to look for Liu Erlong and Flender, but they were nowhere to be found.
Helpless, he began to survey his surroundings. Apart from a floating staircase, there was nothing that could be called a structure.
Just as Yu Xiaogang was pondering how to proceed, the space suddenly transformed. The myriad stars began to revolve around him.
As the rotation speed increased, a powerful suction force acted upon Yu Xiaogang. In that moment, it felt as though time itself was reversing, and his body gradually grew younger.
When the suction force vanished, the space had transformed into the Blue Lightning Tyrant School from his memories.
Yu Xiaogang was dazed, his memories seemingly fractured as if time had rolled back.
He looked down at his hands, now youthful once more. Though his instincts told him something was amiss, the feeling quickly faded.
"Waste, what does your Martial Soul have to do with our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon? Could it be that the sect leader picked up the wrong child?"
A figure suddenly appeared, pointing at Yu Xiaogang and sneering.
Then came a second voice: "Haha, you know, that actually makes sense."
A third chimed in: "Tsk tsk, with his cultivation speed, he'll probably only reach level thirty or forty in his lifetime."
As time passed, more figures emerged, surrounding Yu Xiaogang, pointing and laughing, their mockery loud and relentless.
Yu Xiaogang slowly turned, looking at the crowd encircling him, his hands trembling uncontrollably. He carefully scanned the faces around him and suddenly realized—these were the younger generation of the Blue Lightning Tyrant School who had grown up alongside him in his youth.
"What's happening to me?" As the sharp, piercing ridicule and criticism filled his ears, Yu Xiaogang stumbled, barely managing to keep his balance.
"Yes, I need to leave the Blue Lightning Tyrant School, prove myself." The constant mockery in his ears was like a demon whispering, and Yu Xiaogang raised his trembling hands, clutching his head tightly.
"Haha, look, I overestimated him. He's already in his forties or fifties, and his Soul Power is only at level twenty-one."
"Tsk tsk, truly overestimated him."
A sharp voice pierced through his hands, directly entering his mind.
"I heard he's been called the Grandmaster out there these years. What a joke."
Another figure gradually solidified, mockingly introducing Yu Xiaogang's remarkable achievements over the years to the surrounding crowd. Then, he leaned in close to Yu Xiaogang's ear and said, "The reason I'm saying all this is to tell you that our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon has always relied on strength to speak. Stop embarrassing yourself out there!"
"Haha."
The surrounding people burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Just as Yu Xiaogang was on the verge of losing his patience, that resonant, thunderous voice rang out once again.
(End of Chapter)