The heavy pressure made the Fourth and Fifth Elders of the Clear Sky Sect dare not be careless. Their seventh Spirit Rings lit up, and they directly unleashed their Martial Soul True Bodies to battle the dragon-snake before them.
The explosive power of the two Clear Sky True Bodies allowed them to initially gain the upper hand in the clash between themselves and the dragon-snake.
However, once the dragon-snake withstood the initial burst from the two elders of the Clear Sky Sect, the battle devolved into a stalemate where neither side had an advantage.
Martial Souls like the Clear Sky Hammer were designed for open, powerful attacks, favoring overwhelming force over intricate coordination.
Therefore, when the Fourth and Fifth Elders of the Clear Sky Sect fought together, their cooperation resulted in an effect where one plus one was less than two.
This caused the momentum of the battle to gradually shift in favor of the dragon-snake couple.
Within the valley's cliffs, three battlefields.
The dragon-snake couple had suppressed the two elders of the Clear Sky Sect.
In another area, at the rocky shore of the valley.
The old butler, Yu Yuan, unleashed his Star Body, enveloping the rocky shore in a starry sky.
His fifth spirit skill, Star Attraction, was activated.
Within his Star Disc Martial Soul, the nine stars represented by his nine Spirit Rings, the star corresponding to the Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Ring circled around the old butler.
The remaining eight stars each sent out four stars to do battle with the Second and Third Elders of the Clear Sky Sect, firmly suppressing them.
The terrifying residual combat energy caused the rocks on the shore to shatter into powder, disappearing into the rushing stream.
The Second Elder of the Clear Sky Sect, wielding the Clear Sky Hammer in its True Body state, fended off the four stars whose attacks varied in a thousand ways.
At this moment, his mood had plummeted to the bottom, just like his personal situation.
His greatest fear had finally come true; this elder with the Star Martial Soul possessed at least level ninety-six Soul Power, possibly even ninety-seven.
"Today, I fear none of us five old fellows will be able to leave, but at least the sect's hope has been evacuated, ensuring the Clear Sky Sect's legacy doesn't end."
"The opponent has been holding back their full strength, even keeping one star to protect themselves. This is to guard against us using any mutually destructive techniques."
"However, this suits me fine. I'll drag this out as long as possible to buy them more time to retreat."
...
Deep within the valley's forest.
The Nine Bend Vine Dragon carried Lin Rong as he flew through the woods, with the Seventh Elder of the Clear Sky Sect in hot pursuit, shouting curses:
"Brat, if you've got guts, don't run!"
Lin Rong did not respond. Only when the Nine Bend Vine Dragon stopped its flight deep within the forest did he reply:
"Run? Who said I was running."
"I was merely choosing a battlefield."
"A friendly reminder, from now on, you should focus on how to survive longer in my hands."
As he spoke, two yellow, two purple, and one black Spirit Rings, a total of five, appeared around Lin Rong.
Of these five Spirit Rings, aside from the second yellow one, the other four lit up almost simultaneously.
Dragon Soul Clone, Dragon Soul Awakening, Azure River Shines Upon Azure Sky, Dragon's Roar Thunder Realm.
With the enhancement of these four soul skills, Lin Rong's own Soul Power instantly surged to the level of a Soul Douluo.
In contrast, the Seventh Elder of the Clear Sky Sect's Soul Power was suppressed by twenty percent by the Vine Dragon Domain, his Soul Power dropping from the peak of level eighty-nine to around the early eighties.
With this increase and decrease, Lin Rong had surpassed the Seventh Elder of the Clear Sky Sect in Soul Power.
Lin Rong used the Blue Silver Emperor's spirit bone skill to fly in the air, with two Nine Bend Vine Dragons coiling around him on his left and right.
The surrounding dense forest had, at some unknown point, been replaced by banyan trees, and a sky-blue thunderous barrier enveloped them.
The next moment, a fierce wind howled, and countless banyan leaves transformed into flying blades, storming towards the Seventh Elder of the Clear Sky Sect.
The dense barrage of attacks made it impossible for the Seventh Elder of the Clear Sky Sect to block them all. His exposed skin and his black robe were all equally torn by the sharp banyan leaves, causing a large amount of blood to seep out and stain his black robe red.
"Brat, you forced my hand!"
The Seventh Elder of the Clear Sky Sect had initially been too proud to use his Martial Soul True Body, feeling it was unnecessary to deal with a mere child.
But now, he couldn't afford to worry about that anymore. If he continued to be concerned with appearances, he would lose his life.
Thus, his sixth and seventh Spirit Rings lit up one after another. The Clear Sky Hammer in his hand split into two, then simultaneously enlarged.
The Seventh Elder of the Clear Sky Sect, wielding two Clear Sky Hammers in their Martial Soul True Body state, swung his large hands, and the powerful soul power pressure shattered the banyan leaves.
"Brat, Martial Soul Clone isn't something only you can do!"
"Also, don't think I can't deal with you just because you can fly. Get down here!"
Saying this, the Fifth Spirit Ring of the Seventh Elder of the Clear Sky Sect lit up.
The surrounding air suddenly became heavy, and a mountain-like pressure emanated from him.
In the air, Lin Rong felt his body become exceptionally heavy, and he began to descend.
"Gravity control?" Lin Rong thought:
"In the original work, this person did indeed have such a spirit skill, and it even caused Tang San quite a bit of trouble."
"However, the gravity control granted by a mere newly acquired ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring isn't absolute airspace denial. To think it could strip me of my flight ability is rather naive."
With that, Lin Rong increased the Soul Power output for his flight Spirit Ability, thereby counteracting the pulling effect of the gravity control.
On the ground, the Clear Sky Sect's Seventh Elder was startled to see Lin Rong wasn't being suppressed by the doubled gravity, but he quickly grasped the situation.
"I originally thought this brat's flight ability was a Spirit Ability granted by one of his five Spirit Rings, and that my ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring's gravity control would be enough to suppress him."
"But now it seems his flight ability is likely an innate capability of his Martial Soul, allowing him to defy my gravity control."
"However, there's still another possibility: this flight ability might be a Spirit Ability granted by a very high-year Ten Thousand Year Spirit Bone!"
At this thought, a trace of greed inevitably sprouted in his heart.
Kill someone, take their bones, and then absorb the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Bone to improve one's aptitude and break through the bottleneck of level ninety, thereby reaching the Titled Douluo realm.
The Clear Sky Sect's Seventh Elder's killing intent towards Lin Rong caused this greedy thought in his heart to rapidly grow, further solidifying his resolve.
"Hmm? He wants to kill me and take my bones?"
In the air, Lin Rong saw the fleeting greed in the Clear Sky Sect's Seventh Elder's eyes. Coupled with his perception of the other party's emotional shift, he instantly understood the thought in the elder's mind.
"Hmph!"
"Old man, if you want to kill for treasure, you'll need the strength for it!"
The Clear Sky Sect's Seventh Elder's greed made Lin Rong lose his patience for further stalling.
Within the Thunder Barrier.
A large amount of thunder power condensed, and under Lin Rong's control, it bypassed the first stage of Lightning Prison: Heavenly Punishment, directly entering the second stage: True Form of the Thunder Dragon.
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