On the main road, a carriage was heading south.
Inside the carriage, Chu Chengzhou extended his spiritual power, remaining constantly vigilant so as not to be dragged into deep waters while fishing for big fish.
As for why he chose to ride in a carriage instead of flying on Little Red, the fire phoenix summon?
The carriage moved slowly, ensuring that the big fish would have enough time to catch up.
It took time for spies to report back, and it also took time for the big fish to mobilize. If he were to fly on Little Red, the big fish might not be able to keep up.
Suddenly, Chu Chengzhou's expression tightened as he looked toward a small grove of trees by the roadside in the distance.
"Four Soul Douluos, plus two Soul Sages and two Soul Emperors? No, four Title-level Netherworld White Tigers!"
The next second, a sly smile appeared on Chu Chengzhou's face as he shouted to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect coachman driving the carriage: "Stop!"
"Whoa—"
The coachman was skilled, and since the carriage wasn't moving very fast, it came to a gentle stop after traveling just over ten meters.
"You can go back now!"
After stepping out of the carriage, Chu Chengzhou waved at the coachman.
A fierce battle was about to break out, and kind-hearted as he was, he didn't want any innocent bystanders getting caught in the crossfire.
Chu Chengzhou: I'm such a good person!
Once the carriage had driven far away, golden light erupted from Chu Chengzhou's body, and the Nine Heavens Mystic Armor, Nine Heavens Mystic Bow, and Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrow materialized.
Immediately after, the True Spirit Banner martial soul manifested in his hand, disguised with six ordinary optimal setup soul rings.
As the fourth and sixth soul rings flashed brightly, soul power surged, and his deliberately suppressed Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear summon, Big Bear, and the Titan Giant Ape summon, Big Black, condensed beside him.
One of the most convenient ways to judge the strength of a spirit beast was by its aura and size.
By disguising the years of the soul rings and suppressing the auras and sizes of Big Bear and Big Black, the moment they engaged in battle, it would surely bring quite a surprise to the big fish.
Chu Chengzhou didn't attempt an ambush because these people were here specifically to intercept and kill him, so their vigilance must be extremely high. Moreover, the enemy was hidden while he was exposed, making an ambush impossible.
As expected, when Big Bear and Big Black were summoned, Dai Sheng and the others hiding in the grove realized they had been exposed. Without hesitation, they immediately activated their Spirit Fusion Technique: Netherworld White Tiger.
"Roar—"
Instantly, four black pillars of light rose from within the grove, accompanied by a deafening tiger roar. Four winged, crystal-like Netherworld White Tigers, each over twenty meters tall, charged out of the small grove.
The auras of the four Netherworld White Tigers were extraordinary. Two of them felt slightly stronger than Dugu Bo, who had recently formed a soul core at Level 93, while the other two were weaker but still possessed the strength of ordinary Level 92 offensive-type Titled Douluos.
Moreover, the Netherworld White Tigers were composed of martial souls and soul power, making their resistance far superior to that of ordinary Titled Douluos. Unless destroyed by overwhelming force, ordinary injuries could be healed by consuming soul power.
If he were alone facing four Title-level Netherworld White Tigers, he would definitely flee. But now, Chen Xin and Gu Rong would arrive soon—fighting was the right choice!
"Big Bear, Big Black, go! Take them down!"
With a command to the two summons, a yellow glow of soul power erupted. A flower of soul power suddenly condensed above his head, and as petals fluttered down, a faint protective divine light enveloped Chu Chengzhou's body.
Thickness was one of the characteristics of earth-attribute soul power. The defensive technique Instant Bloom, powered by earth-attribute soul power, provided even stronger protection.
Upon receiving the command, dark golden light surged around Big Bear as two innate soul skills—Frenzy and Dark Gold Terror Claw—were activated. Bloodlust intensified in his eyes, and his terrifying claws became even sharper.
At the same time, Big Black's body glowed with soul power as the innate skill Titan's Strength activated, doubling his power. His already explosive muscles expanded further.
Then, like land-based tanks, the two summons charged straight toward the four Netherworld White Tigers.
"Eighth Elder, Ninth Elder, you two handle these beasts!"
Dai Sheng, already transformed into a Netherworld White Tiger, instructed Elders Dai Xu and Dai Yao.
Without responding, Dai Xu and Dai Yao, controlling two Netherworld White Tigers, respectively engaged Big Bear and Big Black, while the other two stronger Netherworld White Tigers charged toward Chu Chengzhou in the distance.
In Dai Xu and Dai Yao's eyes, the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear, only six or seven meters tall, and the Titan Giant Ape standing upright at eight meters, were nothing more than creatures that could be crushed under one paw.
Though the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear was formidable, even a ten-thousand-year-old one's claws could make ordinary Titled Douluos avoid direct confrontation.
But their Netherworld White Tigers weren't ordinary Titled Douluos. While their strength might not surpass others significantly, their durability far exceeded that of ordinary flesh-and-blood bodies. Even if struck by this Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear once or twice, they wouldn't collapse.
As for the Titan Giant Ape? At that size, whether it reached the level of a Soul Douluo was questionable!
Unfortunately, Dai Xu and Dai Yao underestimated Big Bear and Big Black's true ages and strength.
Big Bear, around sixty thousand years old, and Big Black, over eighty thousand years old, were beings ordinary Titled Douluos couldn't match! Especially Big Bear, whose offensive capabilities were extraordinary.
The moment they clashed, Big Bear's size suddenly increased by several meters, returning to its original height. A cunning gleam appeared in his large bear eyes, and his sharp right claw extended. Activating the innate soul skill Dark Gold Terror Claw, the passive attack mode shifted to active skill mode. A flash of dark golden light revealed a terrifying claw shadow bursting forth with endless sharpness.
"What?!"
Seeing this Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear's size instantly balloon, Dai Xu, controlling the Netherworld White Tiger, couldn't help but show a shocked expression.
Due to the close proximity, before Dai Xu could evade, the terrifying dark golden claw shadow struck the massive tiger head of the Netherworld White Tiger.
"Pfft—"
An unstoppable sharpness descended, accompanied by a soft sound as the dark golden claw shadow penetrated directly into the tiger's head.
Instantly, the huge Netherworld White Tiger twisted violently before shattering into fragments of soul power. On the spot, the fusion technique was broken, and Dai Xu and his partner, suffering backlash from their martial soul, turned pale and spat blood.
The next moment, from afar where the bowstring was drawn, Chu Chengzhou released the arrow. The Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrow turned into a streak of golden light, shooting forward explosively.
Simultaneously, the movement technique: Divine Light Flash activated, and Chu Chengzhou's figure flickered, leaving behind multiple afterimages as he reappeared dozens of meters away, dodging the two rapidly charging Netherworld White Tigers.
Meanwhile, the golden streak dividing into two, became one Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrow and one metal-attribute soul power arrow, both accurately hitting the heads of Dai Xu and his partner, who were severely injured from the backlash of their shattered fusion technique.
"Boom boom—"
Two consecutive bursts sounded as brain matter, blood, and bone fragments splattered everywhere. Dai Xu and his wife were instantly killed by headshots.
The flesh-and-blood bodies of Soul Douluos and Soul Emperors simply couldn't withstand Chu Chengzhou's Sun-Shooting Divine Arrows.
"Damn it!"
Seeing his own Netherworld White Tiger obliterated in one strike by Chu Chengzhou's Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear summon, Dai Yao nearby, who had just engaged Big Black, was startled.
The next moment, as a golden streak flashed, and Dai Xu and his wife were both headshot, Dai Yao's anger was instantly ignited.
However, amidst his burning rage, Dai Yao was also filled with fear.
After all, Dai Xu's soul power level was one rank higher than his own. After activating the Netherworld White Tiger, his strength was also slightly superior. If he had faced the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear earlier, then the ones suffering headshots would have been him and his wife!
"Roar—"
Seeing this big tiger still had the leisure to care about others, Big Black roared in anger, pounding his chest with his left arm. A flash of yellow soul power illuminated his right fist, which he slammed directly into the massive tiger head in front of him.
Titan Fist, a strong offensive innate soul skill, was also another innate skill of Big Black, the Titan Giant Ape summon, aside from Titan's Strength.
With Big Black's foundation of over eighty thousand years, the power of the Titan Fist was absolutely no weaker than an ordinary Titled Douluo's ninth offensive soul skill.
"Boom—"
The punch carrying immense force landed, creating a loud collision. The massive Netherworld White Tiger trembled violently. As the controller of the Netherworld White Tiger, Dai Yao felt a terrifying force surge throughout his body, his mind blanking out.
Unfortunately, although Big Black possessed great strength, his sharpness was far inferior to Big Bear's. Coupled with the Netherworld White Tiger's resilience, the gap between their strengths wasn't significant, and the Netherworld White Tiger controlled by Dai Yao and his partner didn't get obliterated by Big Black's single punch.
Big Bear's burst, combined with Chu Chengzhou's seamless coordination, resulted in one Title-level Netherworld White Tiger being taken out right at the start—a fruitful outcome.
Although one of the four opponents was eliminated, Chu Chengzhou didn't show any signs of ease.
Taking out one Netherworld White Tiger in an instant was only possible due to catching them off guard. Now that they had learned their lesson, it wouldn't be so easy to succeed again.
Moreover, after using the innate soul skill Dark Gold Terror Claw, Big Bear couldn't activate it again in a short time, causing a significant drop in offensive capability.
Even Titled Douluos couldn't unleash their ultimate ninth soul skill twice in succession.
After enduring a few more punches from Big Black, Dai Yao regained his composure. Seeing Big Bear, who had shattered Dai Xu's Netherworld White Tiger with one claw, charging towards him, he quickly flapped his wings and flew into the air.
After all, he couldn't even handle the Titan Giant Ape in front of him. If another Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear joined in, continuing to fight head-on would surely mean his defeat.
"Roar—"
Seeing the big tiger take to the skies, Big Bear roared angrily.
Bullying me because I can't fly? How despicable!
Facing a flying Netherworld White Tiger, the helpless Big Bear turned his attention to his master's side.
Upon seeing Chu Chengzhou dodging attacks from two Netherworld White Tigers, Big Bear immediately charged forward with his powerful bear legs to provide support.
As for this big tiger? Leave it to Big Black, the dumb brute.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Shooting three Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrows in quick succession, Chu Chengzhou, surrounded by the Killing God Domain, didn't even have time to check if the arrows hit their mark before his figure flashed, leaving behind an afterimage as he teleported ten meters away.
The next instant, a massive sharp tiger claw slashed down, shattering the afterimage he left behind.
Meanwhile, the three Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrows struck the other Netherworld White Tiger.
Boom boom boom—
Three distinct sounds echoed as the force carried by the arrows exploded upon impact. The Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrows penetrated deeply, leaving three hemispherical gaps, each a foot in diameter, on the twenty-meter-long Netherworld White Tiger's abdomen.
If it were a flesh-and-blood body, such wounds combined with the arrows lodged inside would result in severe injuries. But for the Netherworld White Tiger, this was nothing.
As soul power surged, the wounds on the Netherworld White Tiger's abdomen healed rapidly at a visible speed, restoring it to its original state in the blink of an eye.
To a certain extent, transformation-type fusion techniques like the Netherworld White Tiger possessed a semblance of immortality.
Facing two Title-level Netherworld White Tigers, even with the defensive technique Instant Bloom and the soul-refined Nine Heavens Mystic Armor, Chu Chengzhou didn't dare to withstand their attacks directly. He could only dodge while occasionally firing arrows.
Compared to Chu Chengzhou, the two Netherworld White Tigers had ample strength but lacked speed and flexibility.
For a moment, the situation reached a stalemate.
Soon, reinforcements arrived as Big Bear joined the fray.
However, Big Bear couldn't fly, and having just unleashed his innate ability, he couldn't use the Dark Gold Terror Claw again in a short time. Even joining the battle didn't tip the scales in Chu Chengzhou's favor.
At this point, it was a test of soul power endurance—seeing who could outlast the other.
While attacks hadn't yet landed on him, the consumption of Instant Bloom was minimal. However, Chu Chengzhou needed to maintain two summons in combat, continuously use the Divine Light Flash to dodge, and unleash Sun-Shooting Divine Arrows in retaliation—all of which consumed a massive amount of soul power.
As for Dai Sheng and the others, the soul power consumption of the Spirit Fusion Technique Netherworld White Tiger was substantial, not to mention the need to heal the wounds inflicted by arrows. Their soul power depletion was also considerable.
Overall, if this stalemate continued, Chu Chengzhou would undoubtedly be the first to collapse.
After all, his soul power level was lower, and maintaining high-year summons and powerful techniques were major drains on soul power. Even with a soul core, sustaining them was difficult.
But Chu Chengzhou wasn't worried. Big Bear would soon be able to use the innate soul skill Dark Gold Terror Claw again, delivering a devastating blow to these two Netherworld White Tigers. With the cooperation between man and bear, there was a chance to take down another Netherworld White Tiger.
Moreover, the sounds of battle had been going on for some time. By his calculations, Chen Xin and Gu Rong should be arriving soon.
"Sixth Soul Skill, Ten Thousand Swords Returning to Origin!"
Just as he thought this, Chu Chengzhou heard a light shout. Countless sword shadows shot out from the northern sky, forming a river of sword energy that swept toward the two Netherworld White Tigers.
Suddenly, ripples of spatial fluctuations arose, and a towering figure surrounded by nine soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—appeared above the two Netherworld White Tigers.
"Sixth Soul Skill, Bone Dragon's Might!"
Gu Rong's sixth soul ring lit up, and a ferocious skeletal dragon phantom appeared behind him. As an eerie dragon might spread, the auras of the two Netherworld White Tigers below plummeted by thirty percent.
Among the myriad soul beasts of the Douluo Continent, dragons were the strongest. Since bone dragons were also dragons, under the suppression of dragon might, all beast martial soul masters and beast-type soul beasts experienced a reduction in strength.
The next moment, the river of sword energy swept through, leaving countless sword marks on the two Netherworld White Tigers.
"Retreat!"
Under the dual suppression of the Killing God Domain and Bone Dragon's Might, the strength of the Netherworld White Tigers plummeted drastically. After enduring Chen Xin's Ten Thousand Swords Returning to Origin, Dai Sheng realized they were no match for Chu Chengzhou, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong. He immediately ordered everyone to retreat.
Dai Xu and his partner were eliminated at the start, and the remaining six couldn't subdue Chu Chengzhou in a short time. Now that Chen Xin and Gu Rong from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had arrived, and their strength exceeded expectations—not to mention Chu Chengzhou's trio being far stronger than anticipated—if they didn't escape quickly, they might end up accompanying Dai Xu on the road to the underworld!
"Thinking of running? Can you even run!? Eighth Soul Skill, Moving Mountains and Filling Seas!"
With a disdainful snort, Chen Xin's eighth soul ring lit up. Amidst surging soul power, twelve massive sword beams erupted from his Seven Kill Sword, shooting explosively toward the Netherworld White Tiger controlled by Dai Sheng.
"Eighth Soul Skill, Heaven-Cracking Bone Spike!"
At the same time, Gu Rong's eighth soul ring lit up. What appeared to be bone spikes, but more akin to spears, materialized and rained down on the Netherworld White Tiger controlled by Dai Heng.
With the two experts' arrival, Chu Chengzhou handed the two Netherworld White Tigers over to Chen Xin and Gu Rong, redirecting his focus to the other Netherworld White Tiger that had previously restrained Big Black and was now fleeing.
As the great leader once said: It's best to pursue the remaining courage of the enemy, not to pretend to be a hero and let them escape!
Three versus three—even with wings, these Netherworld White Tigers wouldn't be allowed to escape!
Moreover, with only one Netherworld White Tiger remaining as an opponent, Chu Chengzhou went all out.
Without needing to consider evasion, the explosive power of an archer was terrifying, especially a high-damage archer with super-fast attack speed.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Drawing his bow, Chu Chengzhou fired one Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrow after another, each streaking across the sky as golden streaks of light striking the Netherworld White Tiger controlled by Dai Yao.
Against the infused soul power of the Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrows, the formidable defense of the Title-level Netherworld White Tiger seemed as flimsy as paper.
Each arrow, upon penetrating deeply, created a sizable hemispherical wound on the massive Netherworld White Tiger.
Using the Divine Light Flash to chase, one bow fired three arrows, and after thirty Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrows were shot, the fleeing Netherworld White Tiger in mid-air was forcibly blown apart.
Though the Netherworld White Tiger could rapidly recover from wounds, the frequency of attacks was too high for the injuries to heal in time. The collapse of the fusion technique was only a matter of time.
The next moment, a metal-attribute soul power arrow shot out, splitting into two streaks of golden light that streaked through the air.
In an instant, one streak blew apart the head of the Netherworld Spirit Cat Soul Emperor, splattering red and white matter everywhere. However, the other streak aimed at the White Tiger Soul Douluo was abruptly blocked by a shimmering blue crystal light.
'Defensive-type soul bone skill?'
Chu Chengzhou raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Without hesitation, he drew another arrow, and the Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrow shot out explosively.
Clang—
A metallic collision rang out as the explosive Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrow was still blocked by the shimmering layer of blue crystal light.
"What?!"
Chu Chengzhou's eyes widened in shock.
It was understandable that a simple soul power arrow couldn't penetrate, given its reduced power after splitting, and it could be blocked by an Soul Douluo's defensive soul bone skill.
But this time, it was the specialized armor-piercing Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrow—how could this defensive soul bone skill still hold up?
Could this be a hundred-thousand-year defensive soul bone skill?
As this thought crossed his mind, Chu Chengzhou showed no frustration. Instead, a trace of excitement appeared on his face.
Though he had a cheat to artificially boost the years of soul bones, excluding the required leveling-up time, the gap between low age soul bones and hundred-thousand-year soul bones still existed.
Boosting the years of soul rings could compensate for physical attributes, matching the effects of naturally acquired high-year soul rings. Unfortunately, increasing soul ring years wouldn't boost soul power.
If soul rings were like this, then soul bones should be similar.
And the soul power increase from refining a hundred-thousand-year soul bone couldn't possibly compare to that of a low-year soul bone.
For a moment, Chu Chengzhou's eyes burned with excitement.
He considered himself one of the strongest figures on the continent, yet he still didn't possess a soul bone!
As for the defensive strength of a hundred-thousand-year defensive soul bone skill?
This Star Luo royal elder had lost the Spirit Fusion Technique Netherworld White Tiger. In his current state of martial soul backlash, unable to use martial souls or soul skills, even possessing a hundred-thousand-year defensive soul bone skill was merely a futile struggle.
Moreover, though the defensive soul bone skill was powerful, it couldn't withstand many Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrows specifically designed to pierce soul power defenses.
However, developments soon surprised Chu Chengzhou.
After firing another arrow, the shimmering blue crystal light around the White Tiger Soul Douluo remained intact, showing no signs of collapsing. But the next second, the defensive light abruptly disappeared.
'Absolute defense skill?'
The term immediately flashed in Chu Chengzhou's mind.
On the Douluo Continent, when considering non-spiritual defenses, the effects of defensive soul skills or soul bone skills could roughly be categorized into three types.
The first type was shield-type skills with fixed defense limits, which most defensive soul masters used.
The second type was percentage-based damage immunity skills. For example, if the skill granted 20% damage immunity, taking 100 points of damage would reduce it to 80 points.
Generally speaking, these percentage-based damage immunity skills lasted a long time, but the damage reduction percentages weren't particularly high.
The final type was absolute defense skills, like Xiao Wu's fourth soul skill, Invincible Golden Body, rendering all physical and energy attacks ineffective.
Even with a low soul power level, as long as the absolute defense skill was active during its duration, not even a Titled Douluo could inflict any non-spiritual damage.
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