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Lion Douluo sat cross-legged atop a glacier deep within the Frozen Forest, eyes closed in meditation, awaiting news from Serpent Spear Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo.
"Buzz!"
The heavens trembled with a low hum. His eyes snapped open, pupils constricting sharply.
"This unease… what is it?!"
Before the words faded, a crushing sense of imminent danger surged through his chest.
"Fourth Worship, save us!"
In the next instant, the desperate cries of Serpent Spear Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo echoed from afar, filled with terror and despair.
Lion Douluo's brow furrowed, his expression displeased.
"Though She Long and Ci Xue are hardly outstanding, they are still Title Douluo. For them to panic so disgracefully—such conduct shames the dignity of Spirit Hall."
With that, he rose to his feet, intent on discovering what could so rattle two of the Hall's elders.
Yet the moment he stood, the sense of crisis exploded within him.
He lifted his head just as an overwhelming tide of sword qi swept from the horizon, vast and inexorable.
The sword qi descended like divine judgment, brimming with killing intent and frigid majesty, as though to cleave apart heaven and earth itself.
Though it had yet to reach him, the wind and snow across the world froze in place, time itself seemingly bound.
Lion Douluo's pupils shrank to pinpoints. Alarms screamed in his heart.
"Not good!"
He instantly abandoned any thought of rescue, body flashing aside in retreat.
Serpent Spear Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo saw this abandonment and seethed with fury.
"Damn it, the Worship Hall's dogs truly can't be trusted!"
They cursed inwardly, but knew full well—at this moment, only their own strength could save them.
Meeting each other's gaze, they saw only grim resolve.
"Serpent Spear True Body—activate!"
"Porcupinefish True Body—activate!"
Their twin roars split the air, shaking heaven and earth.
Serpent Spear Douluo hurled his weapon skyward. It expanded in a burst of black light, transforming into a colossal black python, so lifelike it seemed alive. The serpent opened its maw wide, lunging to devour the incoming sword qi.
At the same time, Porcupinefish Douluo's form swelled monstrously, his body twisting into a titanic porcupine covered with metallic bristles that gleamed with venomous luster.
In the same instant, countless venom-tipped quills fired forth like a storm of arrows, joining the python's strike in an all-out attempt to halt the sword qi barreling down upon them.
Lan Minghua merely sneered.
"Petty tricks. You dare to block my sword?"
The next heartbeat—sword light ripped across the heavens like a blazing rainbow.
The moment the sword qi touched their attacks, everything melted away like snow under blazing sun.
"Ahhh!!!" Serpent Spear Douluo screamed, his martial soul true body cleaved apart with a single strike.
The massive black python shrieked in agony before shattering into fragments of dark soul power, dissipating into the storm.
Serpent Spear Douluo himself was bisected in the same instant, blood erupting in a crimson spray.
Porcupinefish Douluo's eyes bulged with grief and fury, yet despair consumed his heart.
Though famed for his defense, before Lan Minghua's sword qi he was no more than paper.
The blade tore through his bristles and flesh alike, unstoppable.
He had time for only one final roar of unwilling rage:
"No—!"
Then the sword qi consumed him utterly, body exploding into blood mist, which instantly froze and scattered into the snow, erased from the world.
Far away, Lion Douluo watched, eyes wide in horror, his body trembling uncontrollably.
"To slay two Title Douluo with a single stroke… Lan Minghua's strength exceeds even my darkest fears."
There was no doubt in his mind who had unleashed this devastation.
Never before had he witnessed sword qi so terrifying. Even Sword Douluo Chen Xin, the so-called strongest attacker, wielding his ninth soul skill, could not muster half this might.
Worse still—the sword qi, far from dissipating after annihilating two Douluo, continued roaring onward, cleaving toward him.
Panic seized him. He dared not block it head-on. His figure flickered, fleeing madly.
The instant he vacated his perch, the sword qi descended.
"Boom!"
It split the storm above, tearing the heavens in two.
Sunlight lanced down through the cleft sky, spilling upon the Frozen Forest with a brilliance so harsh it burned the eyes.
But the light was not the true terror.
When the sword fell, an enormous glacier within the forest was cleaved in half.
The cut surface gleamed smooth as a mirror, as though carved by the edge of some divine blade.
The mountain shattered, avalanching in a thunderous roar, casting boulders of ice across the land, shaking the earth itself.
The soul beasts of the Frozen Forest, sensing calamity, scattered in panic.
Lion Douluo stood in the distance, cold sweat streaming down his temples, his heart thundering with dread.
Had he been a moment slower, that strike would have left him gravely wounded—if not dead.
"So this… this is Lan Minghua's true power?" he muttered in disbelief, his voice hollow.
Never had he imagined that as the Fourth Worship of Spirit Hall, he would stand so powerless before a man once unknown.
"No wonder none of the Worship Hall elders wished to accept this task. I… I was far too arrogant."
Regret burned through him. He had only wanted to impress Grand Worship Qian Daoliu, but instead had plunged himself into mortal peril.
Forcing deep breaths, he smothered his terror.
He knew he had to flee—task abandoned, reputation be damned. His life was all that mattered.
Lan Minghua's power was far beyond the Worship Hall's predictions.
If word did not reach the Hall, they would suffer devastating losses.
And Lion Douluo knew well the true nature of his peers—selfish, calculating, and merciless.
But just as he prepared to retreat, a voice colder than ice drifted from the storm.
"Leave? Did I give you permission?"
Lion Douluo whipped his head around, blood draining from his face.
Lan Minghua strode forth from the snow, his presence towering, his gaze glacial and merciless.
The Douluo's heart plunged into despair.
Still, he smothered his fear, forcing cruelty into his eyes. He knew—hesitation meant death.
Drawing a deep breath, he steadied himself, voice low and grim yet carrying faint authority:
"Lan Minghua, do you know who I am? I am Fourth Worship of Spirit Hall. Today you've slain two of our elders—an unpardonable crime! Yet… should you choose to join the Worship Hall, I swear upon Spirit Hall's honor—you will not only be forgiven, but granted unrivaled status and endless resources!"
At this, Lan Minghua's lips curved in a mocking smile.
His gaze was as cold as an arctic gale, his words sharp as frozen steel.
"You injured my disciples… and now expect to walk away? Does Spirit Hall truly think so highly of itself?"
Without pause, his hand formed a sword seal, pointing skyward.
His voice was deep, ringing with lethal intent:
"Seventh Sword—Seven Blades to Pluck the Stars!"
At once, seven pillars of sword qi erupted heavenward.
Each beam radiated such force it seemed to stir the very constellations, crushing down with boundless killing intent upon Lion Douluo.
Where the sword qi swept, snow halted, winds died, even time itself seemed shackled.
Lion Douluo's pupils contracted, panic seizing his chest.
He had no choice. With a furious roar he unleashed his final trump card:
"Lion True Body—activate!"
(End of Chapter)