The Howling Gale Valley was a geographical nightmare of unparalleled proportions, a massive, sweeping depression carved deeply into the eastern borders that separated the sprawling territories of the Heaven Dou Empire from the aggressive, heavily militarized borders of the Star Luo Empire. The natural winds here were famously violent, cutting across the wide, rocky plains like invisible, sweeping blades that could flay the skin from an unprotected face. It was a treacherous terrain that heavily favored grounded, heavily armored infantry formations and severely punished any aerial combatants foolish enough to take to the skies.
For the first two days of the continental war, the valley had been a grinding, bloody theater of mortal attrition.
Millions of armored soldiers from the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire had crashed into each other along the jagged, central trench lines. The sheer scale of the conflict was mind-numbing. The deafening roar of the gale-force winds was entirely drowned out by the agonizing screams of the dying, the endless, ringing clash of steel against steel, and the heavy, rhythmic thudding of massive war drums that dictated the flow of the slaughter. The earth itself was rapidly turning into a thick, clinging mud composed entirely of dirt and human blood.
The top-tier experts of the respective nations—the Spirit Saints, Spirit Douluos, and Titled Douluos—remained securely stationed in their respective rear camps, conserving their precious Spirit Power. In the opening phases of such a massive conflict, exposing the high-tier commanders too early was a fatal strategic error. They watched the mortal armies grind each other to dust, waiting for the precise moment when a localized breakthrough would allow them to strike a crippling blow.
On the third day, the chaotic, muddy battlefield began to shift. The mortal infantry lines on both sides were buckling under the sheer, suffocating weight of the massive casualties, and the high commanders on both sides realized it was finally time to deploy their specialized vanguard forces: the Advanced Spirit Master Academies.
Deep within the southern rear lines of the Star Luo Empire, a sprawling command tent made of incredibly thick, wind-resistant animal hides housed the tactical brain trust for the eastern flank. However, the atmosphere inside this tent was incredibly tense, fractured, and bordering on open mutiny.
Yu Xiaogang stood before a massive topographical map laid out on a heavy wooden table. The so-called Grandmaster wore a pristine, elaborate scholarly robe, his hands clasped firmly behind his back, projecting an aura of profound, unshakeable intellect that deeply grated on the nerves of the seasoned warriors surrounding him.
"The Heaven Dou Empire is heavily relying on their massive shield walls in the central sector to bog down our heavy infantry," Yu Xiaogang lectured, pointing a slender wooden stick at a cluster of red markers on the map. "We must employ a rapid pincer movement to break this stalemate. I want the Holy Wolf Academy and the Extreme Blade Academy to push their forces through the narrow, rocky ravines located on the far western edge of the valley. Their innate agility and piercing attack capabilities will easily bypass the slow-moving heavy infantry and strike the enemy's logistical supply lines directly."
The Deans of the respective academies, both of whom were seasoned, battle-hardened Spirit Saints, exchanged highly doubtful, deeply frustrated glances.
"Grand Strategist," the Dean of the Holy Wolf Academy, a burly man named Feng Yue with heavily scarred cheeks and a rough, booming voice, spoke up, his tone bordering on outright insubordination. "With all due respect to your theories, those western ravines are notorious, natural death traps. The high-altitude winds funnel violently through those narrow corridors, making it incredibly difficult to maintain a solid, cohesive formation. If the Heaven Dou Empire has stationed any plant-type or earth-type Spirit Masters on the high ground overlooking those paths, my students will be mercilessly slaughtered before they even catch a glimpse of the enemy supply lines."
"Furthermore," the Dean of the Extreme Blade Academy, a slender, sharp-eyed man named Jian Kuang, added, crossing his arms defensively over his chest. "We are operating on a severe, crippling communication delay. Without the Communication Spirit Tools, we are entirely blind. If we march thousands of our students into those ravines and encounter a prepared trap, we cannot signal this central camp for reinforcements quickly. It will take an Agility Type Spirit Master runner at least two hours to reach you through this chaotic terrain. It is a blind, foolish gamble."
Yu Xiaogang frowned deeply, highly offended that these martial brutes dared to question his flawless, theoretical brilliance. He simply did not possess the practical, grinding battlefield experience to grasp the fluid, chaotic nature of the actual terrain, let alone adequately account for the catastrophic communication blackout that Zhang Tian had maliciously inflicted upon the entire Star Luo Empire. He viewed the battlefield as a static chessboard, failing to realize that the pieces on the board were flesh and blood operating in a fog of war.
"The strategy is completely sound on a foundational level," Yu Xiaogang stated coldly, refusing to yield a single inch of his authority. "The element of total surprise will completely negate any theoretical high-ground advantage they might hold. The Heaven Dou Empire will not expect an assault through such a hazardous route. If your students execute the maneuver with proper martial discipline, the Heaven Dou Empire's western flank will collapse by nightfall, granting us the victory. You will carry out the orders immediately."
Dean Feng Yue and Dean Jian Kuang gritted their teeth, their hands clenching into tight fists at their sides. They offered stiff, highly reluctant bows before turning on their heels and exiting the tent, fully prepared to march their most promising students into what they firmly believed was an absolute meat grinder.
'These foolish brutes entirely lack the intellectual vision to understand true, profound tactics,' Yu Xiaogang thought arrogantly, adjusting the crisp collar of his robes. 'When the flanking maneuver succeeds and the enemy lines break, they should undoubtedly fall to their knees and recognize my unparalleled genius.'
Meanwhile, situated perfectly on the northern, elevated ridges overlooking the sweeping expanse of the valley, the Heaven Dou Empire's eastern command center operated with terrifying, flawless efficiency.
Liu Erlong, now a supremely powerful Titled Douluo whose very presence commanded absolute respect, sat upon a large, intricately carved stone chair inside an open-air military pavilion. Her fiery, imposing aura naturally kept the freezing, biting winds firmly at bay, providing a pocket of comfortable warmth for her attending officers. She held a sleek, softly glowing Communication Spirit Tool to her ear, her dark eyes scanning the distant, dust-choked horizon.
"Commander Liu Erlong," the crisp, clear voice of an outpost scout crackled perfectly through the jade device, utterly unaffected by the roaring winds outside. "The Star Luo Empire's forces are actively mobilizing on the western flank. We have positively spotted the marching banners of the Holy Wolf Academy and the Extreme Blade Academy. They are breaking away from their main host and attempting to funnel their forces through the western ravines."
Liu Erlong let out a harsh, barking laugh, her dark eyes flashing with a deeply cruel, predatory amusement.
"Are they entirely, completely brain-dead?" Liu Erlong asked casually, tapping her armored fingers rhythmically against her knee guard. "They are sending lightly armored, high-agility assault Spirit Masters into a natural wind tunnel that restricts all evasive movements? Let us welcome them properly. Connect me to the Deans of the Plant Academy and the Armored Elephant Academy immediately."
A fraction of a moment later, the joint, encrypted connection was perfectly established.
"This is Commander Liu Erlong," she ordered smoothly, her voice carrying the absolute weight of a battlefield general. "The enemy vanguard is walking directly into the western ravines as we predicted. Dean Bai of the Armored Elephant Academy, you are to instantly plug the northern exit of the ravine with your heaviest defensive formations. Do not let a single blade or a single wolf pass through that gap. Dean Ye of the Plant Academy, you are to position your students quietly along the upper ridges flanking the path. You will wait patiently until the enemy forces are fully committed and tightly packed into the center of the bottleneck, then you will unleash your maximum crowd control abilities. Bury them all."
"Understood, Commander Liu Erlong," the two Deans replied simultaneously, their voices filled with the absolute, unshakeable confidence born of perfect communication and flawless tactical positioning.
The bloody clash commenced exactly two hours later.
Thousands of young students and seasoned instructors from the Holy Wolf Academy and the Extreme Blade Academy rushed headlong into the jagged, winding ravines. The howling winds battered their formations mercilessly, kicking up blinding clouds of sharp dust, but they pushed forward aggressively, their bodies glowing brilliantly with the activation of their respective martial spirits.
"Keep moving! Do not break your formation! Keep your shields raised against the wind!" Dean Feng Yue of the Holy Wolf Academy roared over the gale, his muscular body rapidly covered in incredibly thick, shining silver fur as his powerful martial spirit possessed him entirely.
Suddenly, the rocky earth at the northern exit of the ravine trembled violently, sending loose stones cascading down the steep walls.
Hundreds of massively built, towering students from the Armored Elephant Academy stepped in absolute unison into the narrow chokepoint. Their martial spirits, massive, heavily armored Diamond Mammoths, materialized as dense, spiritual phantoms around their physical bodies.
"We are blocked! Form a defensive perimeter!" a senior instructor from the Extreme Blade Academy shouted, his longsword martial spirit gleaming with a cold, deadly light.
But they were far too late.
The instructors of the Armored Elephant Academy, recognizing the critical moment, did not hesitate to unleash their absolute maximum power.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Diamond Mammoth Avatar!" five distinct, booming voices echoed through the canyon.
Five deep, pitch-black spirit rings flared with blinding radiance. The five Spirit Saint instructors underwent colossal, awe-inspiring physical transformations. Their human bodies merged perfectly with their martial spirits, transforming them into fifty-foot-tall, flesh-and-blood Diamond Mammoths. Their thick, gray skin was entirely covered in interlocking plates of indestructible, crystalline armor.
They stepped forward, forming an impenetrable wall of colossal beasts blocking the exit.
"Third Spirit Ring Ability - Diamond Fortress Wall!" one of the colossal avatars bellowed, slamming its massive, tree-trunk-like front legs into the ground.
Behind their instructors, the hundreds of Armored Elephant Academy students perfectly synchronized their attacks. However, their specific abilities varied slightly based on the unique origins of their acquired Spirit Rings.
"Third Spirit Ring Ability - Earthen Bulwark!"
"Fourth Spirit Ring Ability - Granite Shield Barrier!"
"Third Spirit Ring Ability - Obsidian Blockade!"
Hundreds of purple and yellow spirit rings flashed simultaneously. The Spirit Masters slammed their heavy fists and palms into the rocky ground. A massive, towering wall of pure, highly condensed earth, thick granite blocks, and hardened spiritual energy erupted from the canyon floor in front of the colossal avatars, completely, permanently sealing off the narrow exit with a barrier fifty feet thick.
"It is a trap! We have to retreat!" a terrified student from the Extreme Blade Academy screamed, skidding to a frantic halt as the massive wall rose before them.
Before the tightly packed Star Luo Empire forces could even attempt to turn around in the confined space, the upper ridges of the ravine suddenly exploded with a vibrant, blinding green light. The instructors and students of the Plant Academy had been waiting patiently, perfectly coordinated by their instant communication lines, completely hidden from sight.
The instructors of the Plant Academy stood atop the cliffs, their eyes cold and calculating.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Ironwood Treant Avatar!"
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Venomous Flytrap Avatar!"
The Spirit Saint instructors physically transformed, their bodies elongating and merging into massive, terrifying plant constructs. A colossal tree entirely made of dark, iron-hard wood towered over the ridge, while a gigantic, horrifying carnivorous plant with dripping, acidic maws snapped menacingly at the air.
"Now! Unleash everything!" the Ironwood Treant Avatar roared, its voice echoing like grinding timber.
The hundreds of Plant Academy students lining the ridges immediately executed their coordinated assault.
"Fourth Spirit Ring Ability - Iron Bramble Strangling Vines!"
"Third Spirit Ring Ability - Razor Leaf Storm!"
"Fourth Spirit Ring Ability - Toxic Spore Cloud!"
"Third Spirit Ring Ability - Paralytic Pollen Dust!"
Countless yellow and purple spirit rings illuminated the overcast sky. Massive, incredibly thick vines, as hard and unyielding as tempered steel, shot down from the high cliffs like a barrage of massive arrows. They violently wrapped around the panicked Star Luo Empire Spirit Masters, crushing their thin armor and violently lifting them into the air to be torn apart. Simultaneously, thousands of razor-sharp leaves rained down like a deadly hailstorm, slicing through flesh and bone with terrifying ease.
Compounding the physical devastation, dense, billowing clouds of highly toxic, suffocating yellow spores and paralyzing purple pollen were released directly into the howling winds. The natural gale-force winds of the valley acted as an absolutely perfect, highly efficient dispersal mechanism, rapidly driving the toxic clouds deep into the tightly packed enemy ranks, causing hundreds of students to collapse instantly, coughing up blood and gasping for air.
"Break through the vines! Protect the students!" Dean Feng Yue roared, his eyes wide with absolute horror as his academy was systematically slaughtered around him.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Silver Wolf King Avatar!" Feng Yue bellowed, his black seventh spirit ring flaring.
He transformed into a massive, thirty-foot-long silver wolf, his claws glinting with a deadly, piercing light. He lunged forward, his massive jaws snapping and tearing at the thick, encroaching vines, desperately trying to carve a path of retreat for his screaming students.
"First Spirit Ring Ability - Flaming Wolf Strike!" a desperate, bleeding student from the Holy Wolf Academy cried out, his yellow spirit ring glowing as he launched a fiery, spiritual claw attack at the vines wrapping around his legs.
"Second Spirit Ring Ability - Lunar Claw Rend!" another student yelled, unleashing glowing white arcs of energy.
The fire momentarily burned the outer layers of the plants, but there were simply too many vines descending from the high ground. The coordinated, overwhelming suppression from the Plant Academy was absolute and entirely inescapable.
The Extreme Blade Academy students frantically unleashed their own Spirit Ring abilities to chop through the descending nightmare.
"Second Spirit Ring Ability - Crescent Wind Blade!"
"Third Spirit Ring Ability - Piercing Steel Flash!"
"Fourth Spirit Ring Ability - Rending Sword Aura!"
Hundreds of sharp, spiritual blades flew through the air, successfully severing dozens of vines, but their localized, desperate attacks were entirely useless against the massive, structural defense of the Armored Elephant Academy blocking their only escape route, and they were rapidly succumbing to the toxic spores filling their lungs.
The slaughter was systematic, completely one-sided, and utterly devastating.
By the time the agonizing, heavily delayed reports finally reached Yu Xiaogang in the rear command tent many hours later, the western ravine was entirely choked with the broken, poisoned bodies of the Star Luo Empire's most promising youth.
"Grand Strategist!" a heavily bloodied, gasping runner stumbled into the tent, collapsing onto the floorboards, his armor dented and covered in toxic yellow residue. "The western flank is completely broken! The Holy Wolf Academy has suffered eighty percent casualties! The Extreme Blade Academy is nearly wiped out! We were heavily ambushed by the Plant Academy and a massive blockade of heavy defenders! We could not break out!"
Flender, the Dean of Shrek Academy, who had been listening to the horrific reports with a growing sense of dread, slammed his hands onto the map table, his face flushed with extreme, unbridled anger.
"I told you it was a fool's errand, Xiaogang!" Flender roared, spittle flying from his lips as he pointed an accusing finger at the Grandmaster. "You sent those kids into an absolute meat grinder without proper scouting or magical support!"
"Do not raise your voice at me, Flender," Yu Xiaogang replied coldly, refusing to display a single ounce of remorse or accept any responsibility for the catastrophe. He adjusted his collar, looking down at the map with a detached, clinical gaze. "The strategy was perfectly sound on a foundational level. The failure lies entirely with the sheer incompetence of the Deans of the Holy Wolf and Extreme Blade Academies. They clearly lacked the necessary martial discipline to execute a rapid breakthrough. If their students had moved faster and maintained a tighter formation, they would have cleared the ravine before the enemy could deploy their toxic clouds."
"You arrogant, blind bastard," Zhao Wuji, the Vice Dean of Shrek Academy, growled furiously, stepping forward, his massive, bear-like frame radiating intense hostility. He looked ready to physically strangle the Grandmaster. "You cannot casually blame the soldiers on the ground for your own flawed, theoretical strategy! We are fighting completely blind while the Heaven Dou Empire reacts to our every move instantly! We need to pull back and consolidate, not launch blind flanking maneuvers!"
"Silence!" a voice interrupted from the corner of the tent. Li Yusong, the Dragon Staff wielding elder of Shrek Academy, stepped forward, his face grave. "Fighting amongst ourselves will not revive the dead students. The Heaven Dou Empire has completely fortified the ravines. The flanks are closed to us."
"We will adjust," Yu Xiaogang stated stubbornly, waving his hand dismissively at the furious Deans. He stared at the center of the map. "Since they have committed their crowd control and heavy defenders to the western ravines, their center must be slightly weakened. We will commit the Dragon Carp Academy and the Asura Academy directly to the central plains. We will break them with pure, overwhelming elemental force tomorrow."
The fourth and fifth days of the battle transformed the Howling Gale Valley into a spectacular, terrifying canvas of pure, unadulterated elemental warfare.
The Star Luo Empire, desperate to regain their lost momentum and punch a hole through the enemy lines, threw their heavy hitters directly into the wide, open expanse of the central plains. The Dragon Carp Academy, boasting hundreds of highly trained Water Attribute Spirit Masters, marched forward in a massive, shimmering blue phalanx alongside the Asura Academy, renowned for their brutal, bloodthirsty, Dark Attribute assault combatants.
High upon the northern ridge, Commander Liu Erlong watched the massive, coordinated march from her elevated pavilion. She smiled, a feral, terrifying expression spreading across her face.
"They are finally committing to the open plains," Liu Erlong spoke calmly into her Communication Spirit Tool. "Blazing Fire Academy, Divine Wind Academy. It is time. Move to the vanguard. Combine your elements. Turn the valley into an oven."
The two elite academies of the Heaven Dou Empire marched swiftly to the front lines. They did not charge the enemy wildly. They stood in perfectly organized, alternating ranks, their discipline impeccable.
The instructors of the Divine Wind Academy stepped to the forefront.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Hurricane Falcon Avatar!"
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Storm Eagle Avatar!"
The Spirit Saint instructors transformed into massive, majestic birds of prey entirely composed of violently swirling wind currents. Their colossal wings beat furiously, generating a massive pressure front.
"Fourth Spirit Ring Ability - Divine Wind Tornado!"
"Third Spirit Ring Ability - Gale Force Cyclone!"
"Fourth Spirit Ring Ability - Rending Zephyr Blast!"
Hundreds of wind-attribute Spirit Masters from the Divine Wind Academy shouted in perfect unison, black and purple spirit rings flaring brightly across the lines. They unleashed massive, swirling vortexes of wind that fed directly into the natural, howling gales of the valley. The synergistic effect was immediate. The localized abilities exponentially increased the violent air currents until the sky darkened entirely with dust and flying debris, making it incredibly difficult for the Star Luo Empire forces to even open their eyes.
Immediately behind them, the students and instructors of the Blazing Fire Academy stepped forward into the gaps.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Blazing Tyrant Lion Avatar!" an instructor roared, transforming into a colossal, fifty-foot-long lion composed entirely of roaring, white-hot flames.
"Third Spirit Ring Ability - Blazing Crane Fireburst!"
"Fourth Spirit Ring Ability - Volcanic Eruption Array!"
"Fourth Spirit Ring Ability - Scorching Sun Beam!"
The fire-attribute Spirit Masters unleashed torrents of highly concentrated, blazing flames directly into the massive, swirling tornadoes generated by their allies. The combination of wind and fire was absolutely catastrophic. The violent winds caught the flames, rapidly feeding them oxygen and creating colossal, roaring fire-tornadoes that swept across the central plains with devastating, unstoppable speed.
The Dragon Carp Academy attempted to desperately counter the encroaching inferno.
The instructors stepped forward, their faces pale with fear.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Abyssal Dragon Carp Avatar!"
Several massive, heavily armored blue carp materialized, floating in the air, radiating intense water-attribute energy.
"Third Spirit Ring Ability - Torrential Rain Wall!"
"Fourth Spirit Ring Ability - Abyssal Geyser!"
"Third Spirit Ring Ability - Crashing Tidal Wave!"
The students yelled frantically, unleashing massive, towering waves of water and highly pressurized geysers to block the fire-tornadoes.
But it was entirely, fundamentally useless. The combined, highly synergistic power of the wind and fire was simply too overwhelming. The intense heat of the fire-tornadoes instantly evaporated the water shields upon contact. The massive volumes of water did not extinguish the flames; instead, they were flash-boiled, turning the defensive waves into a massive, expanding cloud of scalding, blinding steam.
The superheated steam rolled directly over the Star Luo Empire forces, causing horrific burns that bypassed standard armor. The Asura Academy combatants, despite their fierce, bloodthirsty martial spirits and their attempts to use abilities like "Fourth Spirit Ring Ability - Darkness Devouring Sphere" to absorb the heat, were forced to fall back screaming. Their dark auras were completely useless against the literal, physical wall of roaring fire and boiling steam.
By the end of the fifth day, the Star Luo Empire's central push had completely, utterly collapsed. The casualty reports flooding into the rear command tent were absolutely staggering, leaving the generals in a state of stunned disbelief.
On the morning of the sixth day, the sheer scale of the losses forced the highest-tier commanders of the Star Luo Empire to authorize the deployment of their elite, elder-level combatants. They could no longer rely on the students and mid-level instructors to hold the collapsing lines against the superior coordination of the Heaven Dou Empire.
The Heaven Dou Empire immediately responded in kind.
The battlefield parted respectfully as two distinct, incredibly powerful figures walked slowly onto the scorched, glass-like earth of the central plains.
Duke Meng Shu, the legendary Dragon Duke, and his beloved wife, Duchess Chao Tianxiang, the Serpent Grandmother, had arrived to personally lead the elite forces of the Exotic Beasts Academy.
Meng Shu, an imposing, elderly man with a fierce, uncompromising gaze and a thick white beard, stood proudly at the forefront. He was a formidable Level 86 Spirit Douluo, his aura heavy and oppressive. Beside him stood Chao Tianxiang, an elegant, elderly woman possessing a Level 72 Spirit Saint cultivation, her eyes sharp and calculating. Together, they formed the legendary, unyielding duo known throughout the continent as the Unrivaled Dragon Serpent.
Across the scorched battlefield, three formidable Spirit Douluos from the Star Luo Imperial Academy's senior faculty stepped forward to meet them, their bodies radiating intense, highly hostile spiritual fluctuations. They had been ordered to break the Heaven Dou vanguard at all costs.
"The Heaven Dou Empire sends their frail elderly to die on the front lines," the lead Star Luo Spirit Douluo, a massive brute of a man, sneered loudly. He summoned his martial spirit, a colossal, heavy iron mace that gleamed with a dark, metallic light.
"Eighth Spirit Ring Ability - Mountain Shattering Blow!" the brute roared.
He leaped high into the air, his pitch-black eighth spirit ring blazing with power. He brought the massive iron mace down with enough concentrated kinetic force to easily crack the earth itself, aiming directly for the elderly couple.
"You severely underestimate the old blood, whelp," Duke Meng Shu grunted, his voice filled with supreme confidence.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Dragon Cane Avatar!" Meng Shu roared, his aura exploding outward.
His deep, pitch-black seventh spirit ring flared. His martial spirit, the formidable Dragon Cane, did not merely materialize as a phantom; Meng Shu's entire physical body merged perfectly and completely with the weapon. The Tool Spirit expanded massively, transforming into a colossal, fifty-foot-long physical staff carved with intricate, glowing dragon scales. It swept through the air with terrifying, highly concentrated destructive power.
CLANG!
The colossal Dragon Cane collided directly with the descending iron mace mid-air. The resulting, deafening shockwave shattered the scorched earth and flattened the nearby infantry lines of both armies. The Star Luo Spirit Douluo was violently, effortlessly repelled, crashing back into the dirt, his arms completely numb and his mace vibrating wildly from the sheer, overwhelming durability of the Tool Spirit Avatar.
"Do not let him press the advantage! Flank him!" the second Star Luo expert shouted, summoning a massive, ethereal phantom of a dark feline beast.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Shadow Panther Avatar!" the second expert roared.
He physically transformed, his human body merging seamlessly into a colossal, thirty-foot-long black panther. He utilized the immense speed and raw, physical vitality of the Beast Spirit Avatar to blur across the battlefield, leaving faint afterimages as he attempted to rapidly flank the massive Dragon Cane and strike Meng Shu's blind spot.
"You forget I am here to protect his back," Duchess Chao Tianxiang spoke calmly, her voice carrying across the battlefield.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Serpent Blade Avatar!" Chao Tianxiang called out confidently.
Her own black seventh spirit ring pulsed with vibrant power. She merged completely with her Serpent Blade, transforming into a massive, sinuous, and incredibly sharp, serpentine blade that hovered effortlessly in the air, glowing with a sickly emerald light.
"Sixth Spirit Ring Ability - Viper's Breath!"
The colossal Serpent Blade swept forward, unleashing a wide, highly concentrated arc of highly corrosive, emerald poison fog directly into the path of the charging Shadow Panther Avatar. The giant beast roared in genuine pain as the toxic fog instantly ate away at its spiritual defenses and singed its black fur, forcing it to violently alter its trajectory and retreat.
"They are far too coordinated!" the third Star Luo Spirit Douluo yelled, a man wielding a large, red-feathered avian spirit. "We must separate them!"
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Blood Condor Avatar!" he yelled, transforming into a massive, blood-red bird of prey, launching a barrage of razor-sharp, spiritual feathers toward the Serpent Blade to force it away from the Dragon Cane.
'Separate us?' Meng Shu thought from within the colossal Dragon Cane, a dark, profound amusement echoing through the massive weapon. 'We have fought side-by-side for over fifty years. Our souls are inextricably intertwined. You are children playing with fire.'
"Now, Tianxiang! End this farce!" Meng Shu commanded through their deep spiritual link.
"With pleasure, Husband," Chao Tianxiang replied smoothly.
The colossal Dragon Cane and the massive Serpent Blade suddenly flew directly toward each other at blinding speeds, their spiritual fluctuations perfectly, flawlessly synchronizing into a single, harmonic frequency.
"Martial Spirit Fusion - Serpent Dragon Joint Assault!" the elderly couple roared perfectly in unison, their voices echoing across the entire valley.
The two massive Tool Avatars collided in mid-air, but they did not shatter. They seamlessly fused together, creating an entirely new, apocalyptic entity. A colossal, incredibly terrifying phantom of a serpentine dragon materialized on the battlefield. It possessed the overwhelming, crushing physical weight and durability of the Dragon Cane, combined perfectly with the lethal, highly piercing toxicity and sharpness of the Serpent Blade.
The sheer, suffocating spiritual pressure radiating from the fused entity easily matched that of a Level 91 Titled Douluo, completely overwhelming the three Star Luo Spirit Douluos.
The Serpent Dragon swept across the battlefield with unstoppable momentum. It did not bother with intricate, dodging techniques. It relied purely on overwhelming, absolute physical power and lethal toxicity. It crashed directly into the Star Luo Empire's Spirit Douluo vanguard.
Its massive, armored tail whipped around with terrifying speed, swatting the Shadow Panther Avatar directly into the side of a jagged cliff. The impact instantly shattered the beast transformation, leaving the enemy commander a broken, bloody mess on the rocks, his spirit power violently dispersed. The Serpent Dragon then opened its jaws, unleashing a concentrated beam of toxic energy that clipped the wing of the Blood Condor Avatar, sending the screeching bird plummeting to the earth.
The Star Luo Empire's elite lines began to violently, irrevocably buckle under the unstoppable rampage of the Unrivaled Dragon Serpent.
High upon the northern ridge, Commander Liu Erlong watched the utter devastation unfold, a fiery, deeply predatory grin spreading across her beautiful face. The sixth day of the battle was drawing to a close, and the enemy was bleeding heavily from every single wound.
She held her Communication Spirit Tool to her ear.
"Commander Liu," a scout reported frantically, his voice barely audible over the roaring winds. "The Shrek Academy forces have moved directly to the front lines to try and stabilize the massive breach caused by the Dragon Duke. I have confirmed visual identification. Dean Flender and Vice Dean Zhao Wuji are personally leading their elite instructors into the fray."
Liu Erlong's icy, predatory gaze snapped toward the distant, chaotic melee on the central plains. She lowered the jade slab, her heart hammering with a sudden, intense surge of dark, vindictive excitement.
'They are finally exposing themselves to the open field,' Liu Erlong thought, her breathing quickening as she focused her powerful vision on the distant figures. 'Master Zhang Tian was very explicit with his orders. He commanded me to hunt down that pathetic coward, Yu Xiaogang. He promised me a truly great, unimaginable reward if I bring that useless trash to him alive. I want that reward. I want to be thoroughly fucked and praised by my master. But to draw the snake out of the grass, I must first slaughter his closest companions.'
She stood up from her intricately carved stone chair, tossing her heavy, fur-lined commander's cloak aside. She was dressed in tight, highly functional dark crimson armor that perfectly accentuated her massive breasts and her wide, curvaceous hips, ensuring she had absolute freedom of movement.
"Hold the defensive lines here," Liu Erlong ordered the elite guards stationed near her pavilion. "I am taking the field personally."
She stepped to the very edge of the towering, sheer ridge. She did not bother summoning a flying beast or utilizing a conventional floating ability.
With a profound, focused surge of her terrifying, Titled Douluo spirit power, the space directly behind her shoulders violently warped and shimmered.
Two massive, breathtakingly beautiful wings erupted from her back. They were not made of delicate feathers or ordinary, ambient energy. They were forged from pure, highly condensed, incandescent solar energy, glowing with an intense, blinding golden-orange radiance. This was her highly coveted External Spirit Bone, the Solar Dragon Wings.
They granted her unparalleled aerial mobility, completely ignoring the hazardous winds of the valley, and possessed the terrifying ability to continuously absorb raw power directly from the sun. This ensured her vast reserves of spirit power remained entirely full, allowing her to retain her absolute maximum combat capability at all times during the day.
Liu Erlong leaped from the cliff without a shred of hesitation, her Solar Dragon Wings flaring brilliantly as she shot into the howling winds like a descending, apocalyptic meteor.
On the chaotic, blood-soaked battlefield below, Flender and Zhao Wuji were fighting desperately, back-to-back, attempting to hold the rapidly collapsing Star Luo line against the relentless push of the Heaven Dou heavy infantry.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Four-Eyed Owl Avatar!" Flender yelled, his voice cracking with exertion. He merged his physical body entirely into a massive, four-eyed owl, utilizing his extreme aerial agility to dive and weave, dodging the sweeping, lethal strikes of the Heaven Dou heavy infantry while launching rapid, localized wind blades.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Vigorous Vajra Bear Avatar!" Zhao Wuji roared beside him, transforming into a colossal, heavily muscled golden bear. He swung his massive, heavily armored paws, utilizing pure, crushing kinetic force to shatter the advancing enemy shields and send soldiers flying.
"We cannot hold this exposed position for much longer, Flender!" Zhao Wuji bellowed from within his massive bear form, swatting away a barrage of incoming fireballs launched by the Blazing Fire Academy students in the distance. "Xiaogang's deployment was entirely, fundamentally flawed! We are completely exposed on three sides!"
"Just hold the line!" Flender shouted back desperately, his massive owl wings beating furiously to keep him aloft against the chaotic winds. "We must wait for the official retreat signal from the command tent! We cannot abandon the infantry!"
Suddenly, the ambient temperature on the battlefield skyrocketed to an unbearable, suffocating degree. The very air around them seemed to spontaneously ignite, the moisture in the muddy ground flashing into steam.
Flender looked up, his four highly perceptive avian eyes widening in absolute, unadulterated terror.
Descending from the sky with unstoppable momentum was a blinding, golden-red comet.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Sacred Fire Dragon Avatar!" a furious, terrifyingly familiar female voice roared from the heavens, the sound echoing with the absolute authority of a Titled Douluo.
Liu Erlong did not hold back a single fraction of her overwhelming power. Her deep, pitch-black seventh spirit ring expanded outward, completely enveloping her body. She underwent a colossal, awe-inspiring physical transformation. Her human flesh merged seamlessly with the highly evolved essence of her mutated martial spirit.
She transformed into a massive, incredibly majestic, and utterly terrifying Sacred Fire Dragon. Her thick, impenetrable scales glowed with the blinding, incinerating heat of Ultimate Fire, a flame so pure and destructive it instantly melted the rocky ground beneath her as she slammed into the earth. The colossal Solar Dragon Wings remained permanently attached to her draconic form, fueling her devastating, blazing presence with continuous solar energy.
"Erlong?!" Flender gasped, completely dropping his evasive defensive posture, his heart plummeting directly into his stomach. He recognized the terrifying, evolved aura immediately.
The massive Sacred Fire Dragon turned its colossal, horned head, locking its burning, reptilian eyes directly onto the Four-Eyed Owl Avatar.
'I have finally found you, you pathetic bird,' Liu Erlong thought from within her draconic form, a savage, predatory joy echoing through her consciousness. 'You are the first step to claiming my reward.'
"Eighth Spirit Ring Ability - Sacred Fire Meteor Strike!" Liu Erlong commanded silently, refusing to engage in any sentimental banter.
Her pitch-black eighth spirit ring pulsed violently. She opened her massive, terrifying jaws, gathering an unimaginable, swirling concentration of Ultimate Fire and raw solar energy from her wings. With a deafening roar that shook the very valley, she unleashed a colossal, hyper-condensed sphere of pure, incinerating plasma directly at Flender's hovering avatar.
"Move!" Zhao Wuji roared in sheer panic, throwing his massive golden bear body forward with all his might to violently shove the owl out of the immediate, central blast zone.
The hyper-condensed meteor struck the earth exactly where Flender had been hovering a split second prior.
The resulting explosion was truly apocalyptic.
The massive shockwave of Ultimate Fire expanded outward in a perfect, devastating dome. It vaporized hundreds of Star Luo soldiers instantly, leaving absolutely nothing behind, and turned the muddy, blood-soaked battlefield into a sprawling, glowing lake of molten glass.
Zhao Wuji's massive bear avatar was caught in the outer edge of the blast. He was thrown violently backward by the sheer, overwhelming kinetic force, his incredibly tough golden fur heavily scorched, blackened, and smoking as he crashed into the dirt, his avatar flickering dangerously.
Liu Erlong did not pause to admire the destruction. The massive Sacred Fire Dragon lunged forward through the smoke and flames with terrifying, blinding speed, her massive, burning claws extending. She fully intended to rip her former comrades entirely to shreds, leaving a trail of ash and broken bodies in her wake, until she finally dragged the cowardly Grand Strategist out from his hiding hole and delivered him directly to her master's waiting hands.
~~
A/N: Check out my new novel [Heavenly Villain: Stealing Fate, Tempting Beauties].
Also, check out 20 Chapters Ahead for this fanfic on my P.atreon. [Check Out Art Of Characters On My Patreon. It's Free To View btw.]
Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/c/evildragon04