Ba Song exhaled a dense, sweet-smelling, emerald-green poison mist in an attempt to disrupt Gu La's vision and perception. Simultaneously, his third soul ring shone brightly.
"Snake Shadow Strangle!"
His body suddenly expanded, transforming into several indistinguishable snake-like illusions that struck from various angles with piercing whooshes of air, converging toward the golden-haired figure at the center of the domain.
The poison mist evaporated instantly upon entering the Radiant Sun Domain, sizzling like ice meeting the sun, disappearing before it could reach Gu La.
The fierce snake shadows, upon entering the core area of the domain, abruptly slowed down, their trajectories becoming visible as if in slow motion. Golden flames enveloped them, and groans revealed Ba Song's true form.
Gu La's golden eyes remained calm and unruffled, completely ignoring Ba Song's overwhelming attacks.
He didn't even bother with any defensive or evasive movements. Instead, he watched with interest as the snake shadows struggled to advance through the Radiant Sun Domain, akin to insects trapped in amber. He was observing how the unique spatial fluctuations and slippery attributes of the Nine-Pulse Wandering Snake martial soul reacted under intense heat and light.
Gu La wasn't serious at all. If he had overlaid his gravity domain, no soul master of the same level could have approached him without being incinerated alive by the Radiant Sun Domain.
He was merely observing and analyzing this unfamiliar martial soul. The mention of a space-attribute snake-type soul beast reminded him of the legendary ferocious beast, Bashe—a mighty snake second only to the pure-blooded Taotie. Perhaps, by invoking Ancient Memory, he could retrogress its bloodline and create a Bashe spirit soul, which held some value.
No one knew what Gu La was thinking. His series of ineffective attacks had instead severely depleted his soul power, leaving him battered and bruised.
Ba Song's face turned grim. His strongest attack, in front of the seemingly tranquil domain, proved so powerless that he couldn't even get close.
The other party hadn't even spared him a glance. This silent disdain was more humiliating and disheartening than any mockery.
"I can't hold back anymore!" A resolute gleam flashed in Ba Song's eyes. With a sudden shout, he cried out, "Snake Armor—Assimilation!"
Instantly, a dark glow erupted from his body, and a full set of battle armor covering most of his vital areas appeared!
This battle armor was a deep ink green, covered with fine snake scale patterns. The joints were designed for extreme flexibility, perfectly matching the characteristics of his wandering snake martial soul.
At the center of the chest plate, a peculiar gemstone surrounded by nine serpentine patterns emitted a cold, slippery aura. It was his single-word battle armor—"Snake"!
The moment the battle armor fused with his body, Ba Song's aura skyrocketed. The powerful soul power fluctuations, combined with the energy amplification from the battle armor, forced open a small, shadowy area within Gu La's Radiant Sun Domain.
The suppressed slippery sensation and spatial attribute reactivated.
Clenching his teeth, Ba Song's fourth and fifth soul rings lit up simultaneously, emitting a brilliant purple glow!
"Spatial Leap·Venom Fang Assault!"
"Nine-Pulse Convergence·Raging Python Strike!"
Ba Song's figure suddenly blurred, as if merging with the surrounding distorted light. In the next moment, his true form eerily appeared less than three meters behind Gu La's side!
He had pushed that faint spatial attribute to its limit, performing a short-distance spatial leap.
Simultaneously, his entire soul power burned furiously, his body expanding and twisting into a massive, grotesque phantom of a dark python with exposed fangs. Emitting a fierce and violent aura, it opened its enormous maw and lunged toward Gu La, delivering his ultimate combination technique with astonishing explosive power.
This sudden burst and spatial leap indeed elicited gasps from some spectators in the stands.
However, in Gu La's spiritual perception, Ba Song's pupil contractions, muscle tremors, and even the flow path of his soul power before activating his soul skill were as clear as fireflies in the night.
That so-called "Raging Python Strike," under the intense heat and light suppression at the core of the Radiant Sun Domain, had its power reduced by at least half, and its speed slowed several times over.
Facing the foul-smelling maw just inches away, Gu La finally moved.
He merely tilted his head slightly, his golden hair gently swaying in the heated airflow. Then, he extended one finger.
A slender finger, its tip swirling with an extremely condensed, liquid-golden brilliance.
He didn't even look at Ba Song. Casually pointing towards the forehead of the lunging python phantom, he tapped it lightly.
"Clear Sky·Compressed Ray!"
"Pop—"
A soft sound, like a bursting bubble.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
The formidable python phantom, condensed from all of Ba Song's soul power, upon touching that pinpoint of golden light, collapsed like a punctured soap bubble!
The violent surge of soul power didn't have time to spread before it was instantly assimilated and dissipated by the even stronger Radiant Sun Domain.
Ba Song felt an irresistible, sun-core-like scorching and pure force rush back through his martial soul origin.
With a groan, his soul power instantly became chaotic, forcibly dispelling the martial soul assimilation state. Like a broken kite, he flew backward over ten meters, crashing heavily to the ground. Blood trickled from his mouth and nose, his body charred black, as if scorched by flames, utterly defeated.
His eyes were filled with utmost fear and bewilderment—he hadn't even seen how the opponent had attacked!
The sub-arena fell deathly silent.
The Star Luo spectators, who had originally anticipated seeing the Douluo Continent contestant humiliated or were cheering for Ba Song, all gaped in astonishment.
Gu La slowly retracted his finger, the golden glow at its tip quietly vanishing.
The Radiant Sun Domain receded like a retreating tide, the burning sensation disappearing, leaving only the lingering smell of burnt air to confirm that what had transpired was no illusion.
Without sparing a glance at the unconscious Ba Song on the ground, Gu La turned, his hair fluttering like the dazzling brilliance of the sun, illuminating the hearts of the Star Luo spectators.
By the time he casually stepped off the arena, the referee finally snapped out of his daze and hastily announced the result. Medical personnel quickly rushed onto the field to treat Ba Song.
"Number 666, wins."
Gu La's first battle ended in a nearly crushing, seemingly effortless yet profoundly shocking manner.
In the eyes of those who understood, he hadn't even truly "attacked." By merely releasing his domain and tapping once, he effortlessly defeated a Soul King with a rare martial soul!
That composed demeanor and unfathomable strength left an indelible impression on all the Star Luo spectators and contestants who witnessed the scene.
This youth from the Douluo Continent seemed far more terrifying than Tang Wulin, who had been "favored" by the princess!
------------------------------------------------------
Join my Patreon to read an exclusive novel – 'Douluo: Rebuilding Hao Tian Sect'
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)