With two Title Douluos severely injured and fleeing, the situation for the other members became even more dire.
The Spirit Hall's soul masters were now trapped—no way forward and enemies closing in from behind. They were in a truly desperate situation.
However, the Spirit Hall's soul masters demonstrated remarkable discipline, disregarding their soul power consumption as they charged fiercely at the thousand soul masters brought by Niu Gao, desperately searching for an opening to break through.
Although the thousand soul masters from the Body Sect were formidable fighters, they were insufficient to completely encircle and annihilate the vast number of Spirit Hall personnel.
Snake Spear Douluo gritted his teeth and activated his seventh soul skill: Snake Spear True Body, attempting to carve out a path of blood for his comrades.
But Niu Gao was not about to let them escape so easily. He stood firmly in the way of the Spirit Hall's retreat.
Seeing Snake Spear Douluo charging straight at him, Niu Gao also activated the True Body of his martial soul, transforming into a colossal armored rhinoceros. The rhinoceros's terrifying defense was such that even Snake Spear Douluo could not penetrate it.
At this moment, Snake Spear Douluo's martial soul suddenly changed. His massive snake spear transformed into two strange serpents, attempting to entangle Niu Gao's armored rhinoceros.
Snake Spear Douluo was one of the rare Title Douluos on the entire continent of Douluo to possess only a thousand-year fifth soul ring. His martial soul, the Snake Spear, was an exceptionally rare and top-tier martial soul.
The Snake Spear combined the powerful attacks of a weapon-type martial soul with the augmentative abilities of a beast-type martial soul, making it an extraordinary asset. Without such a high-quality martial soul, Snake Spear Douluo would never have been able to break through to become a Title Douluo.
It was worth noting that Snake Spear Douluo was the only Title Douluo whose fifth soul ring remained purple. Similarly, Lin Gong and Dragon Duke possessed thousand-year fifth soul rings, but without Yang Xiong's immortal grass, neither would have been able to ascend to the level of a Title Douluo.
This highlighted the exceptional quality and innate talent of Snake Spear Douluo's martial soul.
Of course, Dragon Duke's dragon-head staff also possessed both tool-type and beast-type attributes, but its quality was slightly inferior to that of the Snake Spear.
Snake Spear Douluo was now fully aware of the danger facing the Spirit Hall's forces and pushed his Snake Spear martial soul to its limits.
However, even as the strange serpents coiled around Niu Gao's armored rhinoceros, its body was as hard as iron, completely impervious to Snake Spear Douluo's attacks.
Just as Snake Spear Douluo prepared to break through Niu Gao's defenses with all his might, a flash of sword light suddenly enveloped the heavens and earth. A massive Seven Kill Sword descended from the sky, leaving no room for escape.
Initially, Sword Douluo had merely been restraining Snake Spear Douluo. But now, after causing chaos within the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Snake Spear Douluo still dared to think of escape—it was sheer delusion.
Snake Spear Douluo was immediately alarmed. With Niu Gao blocking his path and Sword Douluo in pursuit, the situation was extremely perilous.
Gritting his teeth, Snake Spear Douluo activated his ninth soul ring. His snake spear transformed into countless strange serpents, each resembling venomous spikes, rapidly attacking Sword Douluo and Niu Gao. These serpents emitted an eerie aura, likely carrying some form of potent poison.
Sword Douluo sneered: "How dare you invade the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and still think of escaping? You're simply courting death."
Grasping the Seven Kill Sword, Sword Douluo activated his ninth soul ring. With all his strength, he unleashed a single slash. The entire heaven and earth seemed to tremble as a terrifying sword qi erupted from the sky, tearing through the heavens and splitting the earth. This was Sword Douluo's ninth soul skill: Cutting Gods and Demons.
Snake Spear Douluo's eyes filled with despair. The countless serpents attacking Sword Douluo and Niu Gao were instantly shredded by Sword Douluo's sword qi.
Niu Gao roared and activated his ninth soul skill: Absolute Defense – Heaven Collapse Earth Split. The surrounding space seemed to merge with his armored rhinoceros, making it impossible for Snake Spear Douluo to escape, no matter how hard he tried.
In the end, Sword Douluo's Cutting Gods and Demons severed Snake Spear Douluo's Snake Spear martial soul, slicing his body cleanly in half. A rain of blood fell from the sky.
Snake Spear Douluo collapsed, his breath fading. He was the first Title Douluo of the Spirit Hall to fall in this war, and the highest-ranked soul master to die thus far.
In the distance, Porcupinefish Douluo was shocked. Of the four Title Douluos, two had already fled, one had fallen, and he himself seemed the slowest to react, surrounded by formidable enemies.
Yang Wudi sneered: "Scum like you, having come here, shouldn't dream of escaping. Today is your doom."
All of Yang Wudi's soul rings flashed simultaneously. In that instant, all his soul skills overlapped, pushing the attack power of his Soul-Breaking Spear to its peak.
Every single soul ring of the Breaking Clan was an attack-type soul skill. According to the clan's secret technique, when fighting with everything on the line, all soul ring skills could be used simultaneously.
As Yang Wudi's soul rings flashed one by one, all his attack-type soul skills stacked onto the Soul-Breaking Spear, its power reaching its zenith.
Porcupinefish Douluo, having fought Yang Wudi for so long, was well aware of his strength. Now, seeing Yang Wudi use eight soul skills at once, it was clear he was fighting with his life on the line.
As the Spirit Hall's forces were desperately fleeing, Porcupinefish Douluo also unleashed his full potential. His seventh and ninth soul rings flashed simultaneously, transforming him into a colossal Spiny Blood Pufferfish. The pufferfish emitted a terrifying red glow, and a blood-red beam shot toward Yang Wudi. Under its glow, ordinary people and plants turned to ash.
This was Porcupinefish Douluo's ultimate ninth soul skill: Porcupinefish Overlord Poison.
However, Yang Wudi had already pushed the Soul-Breaking Spear to its limits. With a single thrust, his killing intent and soul power condensed into the spear. The colossal Soul-Breaking Spear seemed to tear apart space itself, piercing through Porcupinefish Douluo's ninth soul skill.
Even with all his might, Porcupinefish Douluo's colossal form was pierced through by the Soul-Breaking Spear.
By the time Porcupinefish Douluo returned to his normal body, the massive Soul-Breaking Spear had already pierced through his shoulder, completely impaling him.
Porcupinefish Douluo clenched his teeth: "You scum of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, I'll make you pay for this humiliation sooner or later."
Despite the excruciating pain, Porcupinefish Douluo forced his body to retreat rapidly, wrenching himself free from the Soul-Breaking Spear.
But before he could turn to flee, his eyes filled with horror and fear.
Turning around, he was met with the sight of a colossal bone dragon. The dragon was nearly tens of meters long, its massive wings blotting out the sky. Its enormous head emitted a terrifying glow.
This was Bone Douluo's ninth soul skill: Bone Divine Dragon. With the enemy routed, Bone Douluo could now unleash his full power, no longer needing to guard Ning Fengzhi.
Standing in the central square, Ning Fengzhi laughed aloud: "Anyone who dares to invade the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect must pay the price. All disciples, do your utmost to slay the enemy!"
The Bone Dragon's head emitted a terrifying light, directly piercing through Porcupinefish Douluo's body. Under this devastating attack, his body gradually turned to ash.
Thus, of the four Title Douluos the Spirit Hall had sent to attack, two had fallen, and the remaining two were severely injured and fleeing for their lives.
If the earlier battles had been supported by the presence of Title Douluos, allowing the Spirit Hall to hold on precariously, the core of the Spirit Hall had now completely collapsed. Their forces had lost all cohesion, and what had begun as a retreat had devolved into a rout.
The disciples of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect grew ferocious, preparing to relentlessly pursue and slaughter the Spirit Hall's attackers.
Especially Niu Gao, leading his thousand soul masters who had just entered the battlefield—they had barely made an appearance. How could they let the enemy escape so easily?
The single-attribute families harbored a deep-seated grudge against the Spirit Hall. The battle against the Hao Tian Sect years ago had devastated the three great families, especially the Breaking Clan, which had dwindled to fewer than a hundred members. It had taken many years to rebuild.
Now, everyone's eyes burned with hatred, and they spared no effort in slaughtering the enemy to avenge their losses.
The Spirit Hall's forces scattered like frightened sheep, fleeing in all directions without regard for the main gates or any specific route—any means of escape would do.
Thus, the Spirit Hall's ten-thousand-strong soul master army faced an unprecedented defeat. It was unclear how many would manage to escape or return to the Spirit Hall.
After this defeat, the ten thousand men were like monkeys scattering as the tree fell.
Meanwhile, Ning Fengzhi, Lin Gong, and Bone Douluo approached Yang Xiong. Yang Xiong appeared in a pitiful state—his soul power completely depleted, his body covered in wounds, most of his bones shattered, and drenched in blood.
Had Yang Xiong's body not been extraordinarily resilient and equipped with multiple top-tier soul bones, the previous attack might have killed him outright.
Ning Fengzhi quickly arranged for healing soul masters to tend to Yang Xiong, even considering using the Eight Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda to assist him.
However, whether it was the healing soul master's abilities or the auxiliary light of the Eight Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, all attempts were repelled upon entering Yang Xiong's body.
Ning Fengzhi exclaimed: "What's going on? Why can't we heal Yang Xiong?"
The healing soul master shook his head: "My lord, Yang Xiong seems to reject my healing energy. It feels as though his body is healing itself automatically."
At this moment, Yang Xiong's body appeared extremely strange. It radiated a blood-red glow, and golden patterns emerged across his skin. No one could approach him.
Ning Fengzhi and the others were astonished. They had never seen Yang Xiong in such a state—his body healing itself. Given the severity of his injuries, others would either have died outright or been left permanently disabled.
"Huh, what's going on?"
Lin Gong noticed something unusual and couldn't help but exclaim.
Ning Fengzhi quickly asked: "Elder Lin, what's happening to Yang Xiong?"
Lin Gong shook his head: "I'm not sure either, but have you noticed? After Yang Xiong unleashed his full-power attack earlier, his soul power actually increased by one level."
"His soul power had always been at level 69, but now it's reached level 70. How could his soul power increase during such a life-and-death battle?"
Everyone exchanged bewildered glances. Advancing levels during such intense combat was taboo, yet Yang Xiong had inexplicably gained a level while fighting for his life. Ordinary people would never dare take such a risk.
After carefully observing Yang Xiong for a while, Lin Gong spoke: "This wasn't Yang Xiong intentionally increasing his soul power during battle. It seems his body underwent some kind of extreme pressure, triggering a mutation between his body and martial soul, resulting in the level-up."
Ning Fengzhi looked even more puzzled: "What's the difference?"
Lin Gong replied: "There's a significant difference. Based on my years of research, soul masters may experience some soul power increase under extreme stimulation, but no one has ever done so at level 69."
"We are all advanced soul masters. We understand the gap between levels 69 and 70. At level 70, a soul master approaches the rank of Soul Sage, where their martial soul, body, and spiritual power begin to fuse. Only at this stage does a soul master gain the True Body of their martial soul, marking a true qualitative leap."
"In Yang Xiong's case, I believe this breakthrough is related not only to the immense pressure he endured but also to his martial soul. You should know that life-and-death situations are the most unpredictable. We top-tier soul masters have all emerged from countless life-and-death battles. No one achieves such breakthroughs easily."
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