"Chen Xin, let's see just how much you've grown these years."
The cold voice slithered across the courtyard, chilling even the night air.
From within shadows, a black figure silently appeared beside Yueguan. His presence was lightless, his form blurred, yet his aura swallowed the courtyard like a tomb.
Ghost Douluo had arrived.
"Ghost Ju…" Zhu Zhenyuan's heart sank into his stomach. Everyone on the continent knew those two together—Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo—were near unstoppable. Not only were they both Titled Douluos, but through Martial Soul fusion they could invoke the dreaded Bipolar Forbidden Realm.
If they managed to activate it, not even Chen Xin might walk away unscathed.
"Trouble," Chen Xin muttered, his iron-willed composure flickering. Alone, either Yueguan or Ghost? He could hang them up like chickens. Together? That was another story. He couldn't allow them to complete their fusion technique.
Not good.
An Unexpected Laugh
"Chrysanthemum boy! Daddy's here to crack your flower open! Wahahaha!"
A thunderous, hearty laugh suddenly split the tension in two.
Emerald light swept across the scene as a tall, thin figure appeared outside the courtyard—poisonous aura rising in billowing clouds.
Dugu Bo!
The Emerald King himself had arrived, and his smile was venomous. Years ago, Yueguan and Ghost Douluo had surrounded him, very nearly obliterating his spirit. He had survived only thanks to Prince Xue Xing stumbling upon the clash. The humiliation had festered ever since.
Recently healed completely, Dugu Bo had watched secretly, stalking for the perfect chance to settle the score. And when he had followed Yueguan and Ghost's movements here to Star Luo, he almost couldn't believe his fortune.
Not only could he exact vengeance—but he could do it in the Zhu clan's courtyard, with Sword Douluo himself present, and even throw his lot in beside Lu Yuan.
Three birds with one poisonous stone.
He grinned wider, spirit power igniting. If he didn't seize this chance, even his own granddaughter Yan Yan would beat him for cowardice.
Zhu Zhenyuan's Horror
Zhu Zhenyuan's body went stiff as stone. His scalp prickled as he glanced across the courtyard. Chen Xin stood with killing sword drawn. Yueguan's aura shimmered beside Ghost's shadows. And now Dugu Bo's venomous emerald light joined as the fourth.
Four.
Four Title Douluos, standing in his backyard.
This is no longer a battle. This is… gods fighting.
His throat was so dry that his lips cracked. If the Zhu family's ancestral grounds weren't already doomed, they might soon be scoured from history.
And all… because of that one boy.
His eyes flicked to Lu Yuan. You're just a Soul King… why do you attract monsters with every step?
The Royal Family Watches
Before Zhu Zhenyuan could voice the thought, hurried footsteps came. Davis slipped in quietly, cloak billowed around him.
"Father-in-law," Davis whispered, eyes darting nervously to the clash of power above, "his majesty the emperor wants to know—what in the heavens is happening here?"
The Star Luo Emperor himself had convened the court the moment these shocking auras burst across the city. Ministers, generals, all debated in panic. They sensed Titled Douluos clashing in their capital and were desperate for answers.
Now Davis stood face to face with four standing titans.
"Do you not see?" Zhu Zhenyuan snapped, close to hysteria. His lips twitched. "Four Titled Douluos dropped straight into our estate!"
Davis paled. "Four? Earlier it was only two! What in the blazes is going on here?"
He dared not shout, too terrified of drawing attention, but his voice cracked like a breaking flute.
"Father-in-law," Davis whispered harshly, "you think… they won't actually fight, will they?"
Zhu Zhenyuan glared flatly. If they don't fight, it will be a miracle. But if they do? Do you really think I can stop them?
He waved tiredly. "If you want to know, then send someone up and ask."
Davis stiffened. Send someone? To stroll into a god-fight? He swallowed, shaking his head. "Better not."
Exactly, Zhu Zhenyuan thought darkly. As if any of us couriers wish to die early.
Two versus Two
Chen Xin finally let out a measured breath, eyes flicking to the emerald Poison Douluo, who now stood proudly at his side. "Dugu Bo. Your timing could not have been better."
Two-on-two. That was a fight worth wagering life on.
"You old poison," Yueguan snarled, eyes narrowed. "When did you bend yourself into someone else's dog?"
Dugu Bo sneered, scales of viridian sheen flickering faintly already across his skin. "Dog? Ha! Call me what you want, Chrysanthemum boy. Lu Yuan here—is daddy's grandson-in-law! You dare touch him, I'll smash your ugly flower to pulp!"
Yueguan twitched. His expression snapped toward Ghost. "Forget it. Let's finish them fast."
But Ghost, ever silent and grim, had already moved. "Old poison. You're mine." His body blurred, vanishing in mist as he lunged straight for Dugu Bo.
Yueguan almost cursed. Why him?! Why leave Sword Douluo to me?
Orders and Clashes
"Lordiala," Yueguan barked, snapping toward one of the Martial Soul Hall elites, "take Lu Yuan at once. Leave these two old freaks to us."
"Yes!"
Golden light burst from Lordiala's body as wings blazed wide from his back. His golden eagle real body unfurled magnificently, scattering radiance.
He dove, talons tightened, feathers sharpened into metallic blades.
Lu Yuan casually tipped another mouthful from his jar. Wine spilled down his chin, his half-drunken eyes still blazing sharp as swords. He chuckled.
"You coming for me too? Hah. You bastard—then come and die."
Wine and Blades
Lordiala clenched his golden claws in rage. "Die? You don't know your place. Sixth soul ability—Golden Eagle's Domain!"
Golden wings folded sharply around him, encasing him like heavy armor. His dive became meteoric, feathers slicing down like countless missiles.
Lu Yuan exhaled slowly.
"Fourth soul skill—Sword Will!"
His aura exploded. For the first time, his soul power merged into his blade not as raw force, but as condensed intent—unbounded, terrifying. His long sword's golden filigree vanished, leaving black flames burning on pure will and edge.
And then—
"Surge."
His attributes multiplied under the empowering storm, his body tighter, faster, stronger.
"Break through the air!"
Nine arcs of sword qi screamed out, cutting across air in lethal formation.
Lordiala's body slammed against them with his golden wings locked tight. The impacts rang one after the other, sparks crashing like thunder. His dive faltered, golden feathers scattering under the chains of black arc-slashes until he was shaken backward mid-air!
The Zhu family all but collapsed watching.
"Is this… really a Soul King?"
"This power is enough to kill Soul Saints outright!"
Sword Qi Dome
Lordiala snarled, light flooding back into his wings with a gleam. Golden feathers stripped loose, streaking as darts in a storm of steel.
But Lu Yuan's eyes closed briefly. His mind twitched—and his Sword Qi barrier groaned alive.
The aura wrapped tighter, forming a dome of condensed edge, pure sword energy woven into a curved shield.
Ding ding ding ding ding!
Feathers slammed against it like a thousand arrows against steel, sparks choking the air. Lu Yuan's dome rippled but remained intact, each strike swallowed by his whirling storm of blades.
Gods Ascend Above
While Lu Yuan's clash stormed below, four true giants had already exploded into the skies.
"Seventh Soul Ability—Martial Soul True Body!"
Dugu Bo's thin body warped, consumed in emerald light. His form vanished fully into scales, emerald coils erupting outward until a massive aquamarine serpent uncoiled across the air. Nearly thirty meters long, body thick as a water tank, emerald eyes glinting murder.
"Ghostly True Body!"
Ghost's low growl followed, his black mist exploding outward as his Martial Soul merged completely. His body did not seem to change so much as dissolve, his edges thinning until he became nearly incorporeal, a drifting phantom in the wind.
Above the Zhu family compound… gods began to fight.
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