The chilling voice tore through the suffocating silence.
From the mountain path, green mist churned violently. Poisonous miasma surged outward like a tide, staining even the dim light of the heavens into a sinister jade hue.
Dugu Bo stepped forth, walking through poison as though it were air.
His thin, withered figure flickered indistinctly within the fog.
"Grandfather!" Dugu Yan cried out in alarm: "Protect Brother Zhexian!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo's face was cold as he squinted his eyes and said, "Heh… old poison, you dare to show yourself here?"
"Do you really think, with your reputation as the weakest Titled Douluo, that you can protect Li Zhexian?"
Before the words faded—
Boom——!!!
From within the blood-red clouds in the distance,
a massive bolt of lightning lightning, like a dragon breaking free of its shackles, tore the skies asunder.
The purple light illuminated half the heavens as bright as day.
A mighty figure strode forth,
stepping upon torrents of raging thunder.
His beard and hair bristled, purple lightning coursed through his eyes,
and with each step upon the void, blazing thunderballs exploded beneath his feet.
"What if you add this old man?!" Yu Yuanzhen's voice cracked like ten thousand thunders erupting together,
shaking heaven and earth, making space itself tremble.
"Grandfather!"Yu Tianheng shouted urgently: Please, take Brother Zhexian and leave at once!"
The back-to-back, earth-shattering arrivals threw the plaza in front of the Pope's Palace into stunned silence.
Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo!
Thunder Douluo, Yu Yuanzhen!
Two renowned Titled Douluo stood before Li Zhexian together!
A tidal wave of shock surged in every heart.
Everyone knew…
It was impossible that they would risk opposing Spirit Hall just because their juniors were acquainted with Li Zhexian.
So then…
What gave Li Zhexian the right to be shielded by two Titled Douluo?!
"Old dragon, old poison…"
"You're getting in Spirit Hall's way!"
"You two really have a lot of guts!"
Ghost Douluo's body radiated spectral shadows,
while the Chrysanthemum in Chrysanthemum Douluo's hand blazed with golden light.
The two terrifying auras ruthlessly crashed into the pressure of the two Douluos, Poison and Thunder.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The terrifying power of the four Titled Douluos erupted with a loud bang. The violent airwave that was visible to the naked eye was like a material tsunami, sweeping and spreading in all directions as if it was pushing aside mountains and overturning seas.
"Hmph!"
From the high platform,
a cold glint flickered in Bibi Dong's eyes.
At once, a suffocating pressure, as if the heavens themselves collapsed, descended.
Nine Spirit Rings rose beneath her feet—
Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Black, Red!
That final ring, bright red as blood.
Under the dim sky, it shone with a strange, demonic crimson glow, blanketing the entire plaza.
Her Spirit Power surged like a boundless ocean, condensing into an invisible, sky-supporting mountain—
and crashed down. down.
Dugu Bo and Yu Yuanzhen both grunted, their figures trembling slightly.
Both men—two Titled Douluo—were completely suppressed by Bibi Dong alone!
Ghost and Chrysanthemum Douluo's eyes flashed with ruthless resolve.
Once more, they transformed into streaks of light, darting straight for Li Zhexian.
The Chrysanthemum in Chrysanthemum Douluo's hand condensed into a razor-sharp edge that tore at space itself, already flashing toward Li Zhexian's brow in an instant!
But at that deadly moment, just before the golden light could pierce Li Zhexian—
Clang—
A clear, resonant sword cry rang out across the heavens.
There was no world-shaking explosion of force.
Only a single, perfectly condensed streak of silver-white sword light manifested before Li Zhexian.
The sword light was ancient, unadorned.
Yet within it surged a sword intent capable of severing all laws.
And then—
A sight unfolded that none present would ever forget.
The endless, blood-colored clouds stretching for a thousand miles across the sky—
were split apart, torn down the middle by the phantom of a colossal sword piercing heaven and earth.
A single, straight, narrow rift carved itself across the sky.
The cloudbanks on either side rolled violently, retreating away, revealing the deep, ink-blue heavens beyond.
A single, pure and ancient longsword descended from the rift in the sky, stopping in midair before Li Zhexian.
Upon the sword—
a figure silently appeared.
He wore white, his face gaunt, his eyes as calm as still water.
The sword hung quietly at his side, its intent suppressed yet unyielding.
But even that was enough to make the charging Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo halt as though facing death itself.
The last rays of of twilight spilled over his white robe,
gilding him in a lonely, golden brilliance.
He stood before Li Zhexian, shielding him.
"This path is closed."
Looking at the white-robed back shielding him, a flicker of extremely complex emotion crossed Li Zhexian's eyes.
Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo gritted their teeth fiercely. From between their teeth, they squeezed out the name that intimidated the Continent:
"Sword Douluo… Chen Xin!"
From the crowd,
Ning Rongrong's eyes lit with tears and hope, her voice trembling:
"Grandpa Sword!"
"You… you must protect Brother Zhexian!"
The third!
The third Titled Douluo!
This was already the third Titled Douluo shielding Li Zhexian!
And this one was the very pillar of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan—
Sword Douluo, Chen Xin!
The several hundred present felt their heads spinning in disbelief.
Such pinnacle figures, rarely glimpsed in ordinary days—
today appeared one after another!
And all for the sake of Li Zhexian!
Bibi Dong's fingers tightened around her Pope's scepter until her knuckles turned white.
She had never imagined—
that to seize a single Li Zhexian—
she would be forced to draw out three Titled Douluo in succession.
"Yue Guan, I'll hold off Chen Xin, you quickly take Li Zhexian!" Ghost Douluo let out a fierce shout. His body turned into a distorted black shadow and enveloped in a dense ghostly qi, he rushed straight toward Chen Xin.
Chrysanthemum Douluo understood instantly,
his Chrysanthemum's golden light flaring once more,
seeking to slip past the barrier of sword intent.
Yet—
faced with Ghost's assault and Chrysanthemum's bypass,
Chen Xin's expression remained utterly calm.
He did not even lift his Seven Kill Sword.
He merely tilted his head slightly, his gaze seeming to pierce through the void, and said faintly: "You've watched the storms of this battle long enough. Shouldn't you show yourself now?"
At those words—
the entire square was shaken.
Even Bibi Dong felt a chill run through her.
Another one?!
Another Titled Douluo, hidden in the shadows?!
Even Li Zhexian's eyes flashed with surprise and suspicion.
Who else could it be?!
Whoosh...
An indescribable stillness descended.
All sound—
the wind, the clashes of soul power, the cries of insects and birds in the distant forest—
vanished in that instant.
And then came the wind!
Countless threads of azure airflow, thin as silk and barely visible,
seeped out from every leaf in the forest,
from every crack in the stone steps,
from the rift in the clouds that had been split by the sword…
silently gathering together.
These air currents seemed alive.
They carried piercing sharpness and boundless agility,
quietly weaving the central square into a net of countless fine azure lines.
At the center of this net—c
woven of pure sword intent of the wind—
space rippled gently like water stirred by a breeze.
A figure slowly solidified.
His body was thin and gaunt, his long black and white hair was loose, and he was wearing a faded gray long robe. He was so ordinary that he looked like a lumberjack that could be seen anywhere in the mountains.
But what was eye-catching was that he had a black silk cloth wrapped around his eyes. His voice was old and calm, like a gentle breeze brushing over a deep valley and ravine.
"This old man is Wind Sword, and I'm here to protect the path of young friend Zhexian."