Xu Zihuang hovered above the explosion zone of the Flame Firefly and Thunder Firefly, his expression indifferent as he slowly raised his head.
Even though he was not far from the center of the explosion while in his Thunder Origin state, he was completely unaffected by the destructive-attribute and thunder-attribute energy.
His pure thunder elemental body allowed him to significantly reduce the physical and energy attacks he received. Moreover, these Flame Firefly and Thunder Firefly were techniques he himself had unleashed; the energy was of the same origin as his martial soul.
"Since you've come, all of you come out."
His crystalline purple-gold long hair fluttered. At this moment, Xu Zihuang truly resembled a Thunder God descending to issue a divine decree, impossible to defy.
Several azure feathers drifted down from the sky. Without any warning, strange azure flames abruptly ignited in the void. A refined and elegant middle-aged man emerged from within them.
The middle-aged man had a face as handsome as a jade crown, dignified features, and wore a spotless white long robe. He appeared to be only in his forties.
Although he was inwardly extremely shocked by Xu Zihuang's soul ring configuration and the terrifying strength he displayed, his gaze remained exceptionally gentle, easily inspiring goodwill.
"Young friend, what sharp perception you have." The middle-aged man showed a warm smile and spoke with praise, keeping his posture very humble.
"I heard from my daughter that a young friend wished to see me. Naturally, Tianyao dares not be negligent."
The newcomer was none other than the Azure Phoenix Territory Lord, Feng Tianyao. Although Feng Tianyao could not compare to veterans like Hua Xiongyan, who had been famous for many years, he had broken through to the Titled Douluo realm in recent years. Ever since he took charge of the Azure Phoenix Territory, it had almost completely reversed its previous decline within just a few short years, becoming one of the most powerful territories in the Southern Alliance of the Star Sea Continent.
While Xu Zihuang was conversing with Feng Tianyao, Hua Xiongyan had consecutively used several amplification-type soul skills to forcibly break through the blockade of Xu Zihuang's Flame Firefly and Thunder Firefly.
"Roar—" The dragon-wolf raised its wolf head and howled at the sky. The powerful aura fused with deep rolling sound waves, causing the sky in this area to darken.
After all, the Flame Firefly and Thunder Firefly were not used by Xu Zihuang in his strongest state. Combined with the gap in soul power cultivation, Hua Xiongyan ultimately withstood this strike. This was also thanks to the special decomposition power of his Dragon Wolf True Body.
For an ordinary Titled Douluo with a different martial soul, escaping from this soul skill of Xu Zihuang would definitely not have been so easy.
Even so, Hua Xiongyan still suffered considerable internal injuries. The terrifying extreme thunder had directly breached his defense earlier, and part of the destructive power had even invaded his body.
Although he promptly circulated his abundant soul power to resist the infiltration of the destructive power with all his might, fully neutralizing such overbearing destructive power in a short time was not easy.
Right now, he could only display at most eighty percent of his peak strength.
A pitch-black eighth soul ring expanded around Hua Xiongyan. His figure flickered and appeared above Xu Zihuang's head. A massive, sinister wolf claw savagely slammed downward.
Five deep black blades extended from the wolf claw, slashing straight toward Xu Zihuang's body.
Eighth soul skill, Dragon Wolf Annihilation Claw!
This was his strongest single-target attack soul skill, and it required almost no charging time.
"Little beast, die for me!" Hua Xiongyan roared furiously, his teeth bared and eyes splitting.
The two Soul Douluo and seven Soul Saints he had brought earlier were almost the entire core elite force of their Dragon Wolf Territory.
Having their entire elite force annihilated here was already enough to shake the foundation of the Dragon Wolf Territory. But the reason he spared no effort in unleashing his power was that he had genuinely felt fear.
With Xu Zihuang possessing such strength at this age, how could he possibly contend with him once the boy fully grew?
Since they had already offended him, the only option left was to kill him here at any cost.
Hua Xiongyan might have flaws in his character, but having ruled the Dragon Wolf Territory for so many years, what he did not lack was boldness.
Black light surged. A solid energy-formed wolf claw appeared out of thin air. Although it appeared somewhat illusory compared to his real wolf claw, its momentum was undiminished. Five heaven-shattering claw shadows seemed to tear space apart.
Moreover, Hua Xiongyan simultaneously shouted toward Feng Tianyao:
"Lord Feng, this child is a foreign race from another sea domain. This time, he infiltrated our Star Sea Continent with nefarious intentions. Please lend me a hand! I swear on my martial soul that afterward I will offer generous rewards! Whatever my Dragon Wolf Territory possesses, nothing will be withheld!"
When Feng Tianyao appeared, Hua Xiongyan, who originally had not been completely certain, now felt greatly reassured.
Feng Tianyao's reputation across the entire Star Sea Continent was excellent. He was kind and courteous, treated capable individuals with great respect, and no bad rumors had ever circulated about him. He was practically the perfect image of a refined gentleman.
Moreover, his words were spoken very skillfully; by labeling Xu Zihuang as a foreign race, he was essentially holding the banner of righteousness. Combined with the current situation, he believed Feng Tianyao would feel some sense of "the fox mourns the death of the hare." And finally, he offered generous benefits.
Feng Tianyao narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze flickering. He did not make a hasty decision right away.
On the surface, he appeared to have multiple choices, but in reality, there were only two: either join forces with Hua Xiongyan as he suggested and kill Xu Zihuang together, or stand on the opposite side of Hua Xiongyan.
As for remaining neutral and impartial, that would be the most foolish option, easily offending both sides.
From an apparent perspective, the first choice carried the least risk. Although Xu Zihuang's strength was outrageously beyond common sense, with the combined power of two Titled Douluo, their chances of victory were still quite high.
The second choice, however, contained far too many uncertainties. But if truly carried out, not only was its feasibility extremely high, but it could very likely bring him even greater rewards. This was a huge gamble.
Feng Tianyao's expression shifted uncertainly. In the flash of thoughts, he seemed to have already made his decision and returned to his usual gentle and refined demeanor.
A magnificent and noble Azure Jade Phoenix phantom appeared behind him, letting out a resounding phoenix cry. Azure flames rose, turning the space behind him into a sea of azure fire.
The Azure Jade Phoenix was a phoenix subspecies, also possessing the aura of the king of all birds.
Like Hua Xiongyan, the nine soul rings around Feng Tianyao were the optimal configuration: two yellow, two purple, five black. Although his soul power cultivation was slightly lower than Hua Xiongyan's, his aura was in no way inferior.
This was the advantage of martial soul quality. The special cultivation system of soul masters determined that the higher the martial soul quality, the greater the advantage in the later stages of cultivation.
Without sufficient martial soul quality, there was simply no possibility of thick accumulation leading to a breakthrough, unless one obtained a heaven-defying opportunity like the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm.
Sensing that Feng Tianyao was preparing to act as he had anticipated, Hua Xiongyan could not help but feel joy in his heart.
But in the next instant, he realized something was wrong.
The target of Feng Tianyao's attack was not Xu Zihuang; it was him!
The azure flame wings behind Feng Tianyao spread open. A lifelike azure flame phoenix rapidly condensed in front of him and sternly rebuked:
"Hua Xiongyan, please tell me, what is a foreign race?! This young friend, you and I are all human soul masters. He came from afar to our Star Sea Continent; he is a guest, and we should welcome him with honor. Yet you acted tyrannically, failed to oppress the young friend, and your subordinates were counter-killed. This is your just deserts."
"This Lord is ashamed to be associated with you."
At this moment, Feng Tianyao's face seemed bathed in the radiance called justice.
"Today, I shall join this young friend to eradicate a scum like you from the Star Sea Continent!"
Before his words even finished, the azure phoenix in front of Feng Tianyao dove straight toward the back of Hua Xiongyan's Dragon Wolf True Body.
"You?!" The sudden turn of events nearly made Hua Xiongyan spit blood in rage. Then, as if instantly realizing something, his voice became extremely gloomy.
"Good! What a fine hypocrite! Feng Tianyao, I never expected you to hide so deeply. The high-sounding excuse is fake; your real goal is to annex my Dragon Wolf Territory, isn't it? Do you think this old man will let you have your way?!"
Feng Tianyao remained completely unmoved. Together with Xu Zihuang, he formed a pincer attack against Hua Xiongyan from the front and back.
Hua Xiongyan hurriedly accelerated the release of his eighth soul skill, Dragon Wolf Annihilation Claw. This soul skill could indeed be released instantly and could lock onto a target. However, his locking was achieved by sealing the space, which required a certain amount of time to strike the target.
The additional effect of this soul skill was suppression!
Hua Xiongyan's attack reached Xu Zihuang first. Just as he prepared to turn around and block Feng Tianyao's soul skill, his right claw suddenly felt as if it had been firmly grasped by something, immobilized in place. His entire body was likewise rendered unable to move.
Only when he saw what was inside the enormous dark wolf claw phantom did both Hua Xiongyan's and Feng Tianyao's pupils suddenly contract.
Xu Zihuang stood expressionlessly in the air, casually extending his left hand. But that left hand had completely transformed into a dragon claw. The phalanges had become extremely thick and long, covered entirely in deep purple scales that extended to the wrist. On the dragon claw danced clusters of deep purple semi-transparent flames. As the flames swayed with the wind, merely a wisp of aura leaking out seemed to cause all life in this space to return to silence and nothingness.
It was precisely Xu Zihuang's left palm's attached external soul bone, the Desolate Dragon Claw. Over the years, because he needed to conceal his identity, he had basically never used the abilities of this external soul bone. But as his cultivation improved, this soul bone had also subtly evolved.
Although there was still a huge gap between his soul power cultivation and that of a Titled Douluo, his soul power foundation and quality surpassed even ordinary Titled Douluo, and even most Super Douluo.
This external soul bone, the Desolate Dragon Claw, had now evolved to a level comparable to a hundred-thousand-year soul bone!
Xu Zihuang clenched his left Desolate Dragon Claw. The massive black energy wolf claw instantly shattered and collapsed, dissolving into countless specks of light that dissipated in the air.
Immediately afterward, the soul rings around Xu Zihuang suddenly switched again, now seven.
Black! Black! Black! Black! Black! Red! Gold!
Hua Xiongyan and Feng Tianyao felt as though their hearts were gripped by an invisible giant hand. With each soul ring that appeared around Xu Zihuang, the oppressive feeling in their hearts grew heavier.
If the previous five ten-thousand-year soul rings and the hundred-thousand-year sixth soul ring were barely within the range they could accept, then when that bright golden million-year soul ring rose, their eyes were already filled with utter horror and despair.
Xu Zihuang was not only a twin martial soul holder, but he was also a seven-ring Soul Saint!
And what exactly was that bright golden soul ring?
In their Star Sea Continent, there had never been any record of a bright golden soul ring.
Space distorted. Hua Xiongyan's Dragon Wolf True Body abruptly appeared right in front of Xu Zihuang.
Before Hua Xiongyan could even react, Xu Zihuang used the Desolate Dragon Claw to directly tear apart his martial soul true body.
At this moment, Feng Tianyao's attack also arrived. The azure phoenix he had condensed was a locking-type soul skill. However, because Xu Zihuang had used spatial power to teleport Hua Xiongyan right in front of himself, the soul skill lost its lock and struck empty air.
Xu Zihuang's left Desolate Dragon Claw continued forward, seizing Hua Xiongyan's head. His voice was indifferent.
"Old trash who relies on age to bully others, is this the only time you can finally recognize your own stupidity and incompetence?"
Now Hua Xiongyan truly felt his scalp go numb. With disheveled hair, he looked extremely miserable. The voice ringing in his ear from Xu Zihuang sounded like the whisper of the Grim Reaper.
His face ashen, he closed his eyes. In an instant, he seemed to age many years. His tightly clenched fists naturally dropped, completely giving up resistance.
"Kill me or torture me as you wish. But what I did has nothing to do with my grandson. Can you spare his life?" Hua Xiongyan said miserably.
Human nature is complex. Even Hua Xiongyan, at the moment of death, had something worthy of praise.
"Do you think you have the qualifications to negotiate terms with me?" Xu Zihuang sneered coldly, but then his tone shifted.
"But let me tell you this: the only reason I came looking for you was to inquire about some information. The fate you met today is purely your own fault."
"You—?!"
Hua Xiongyan's eyes suddenly widened, but before he could say anything more, a faint arc curved at the corner of Xu Zihuang's mouth. Without changing expression, he crushed his skull.
The Lord of the Dragon Wolf Territory, a generation's Titled Douluo, thus fell in this desolate land, filled with regret and despair.
Hua Xiongyan's body melted away under the erosion of the destructive flames, vanishing without a trace. Only two pitch-black, strange bones remained, seemingly engraved with patterns resembling dragon scales, floating in the air amid rich soul power.
These were the inherited soul bones of the Hua family of the Dragon Wolf Territory—and they were a matching pair, taken from the same ten-thousand-year soul beast: the left and right arm soul bones.
This pair of double arm soul bones was a relatively complete, high-quality type, imbued with a violent power quality. Undoubtedly, these were strength-type soul bones.
Not far away, Feng Tianyao gazed at the two soul bones, a trace of longing clearly flashing in his eyes.
Although the history of the Star Sea Continent was long, it took a very long time before humanity gained the upper hand in the struggle against soul beasts. Top-tier powerhouses and soul beast resources were relatively scarce, making soul bones extremely rare.
These two ten-thousand-year soul bones were still beneath Xu Zihuang's notice, but for Feng Tianyao, they were priceless treasures that could only be encountered by chance.
If not for his consideration of Xu Zihuang's strength, he might have already tried to seize these two soul bones for himself.
Feng Tianyao's eyes opened and closed. In an instant, he calmed his emotions and smiled while lightly clapping his hands.
"Truly, heroes have emerged from the youth since ancient times. Hua Xiongyan's death at a young friend's hands was his own doing. Has a young friend ever heard of a type of earth dragon soul beast called the Tyrannosaurus? The two soul bones left by Hua Xiongyan were taken from a ten-thousand-year Tyrannosaurus. I believe they should be of some help to a young friend."
"The Tyrannosaurus, king of the earth dragons?" Xu Zihuang looked toward Feng Tianyao and thoughtfully repeated the name.
In the soul beast forests on the Douluo Continent side, the Tyrannosaurus was also an extremely powerful existence. At the same level, it could contend with true dragons. They carried the bloodline of the Golden Dragon King; though not pure, it was singular.
Feng Tianyao was momentarily stunned. He had not expected Xu Zihuang to be so knowledgeable and actually know about the Tyrannosaurus soul beast. After all, on their Star Sea Continent, the Tyrannosaurus species had been on the verge of extinction tens of thousands of years ago.
Even people who knew this soul beast once existed were very few.
"Precisely so."
But he quickly recovered and nodded sincerely, extending an invitation to Xu Zihuang.
"Young friend, earlier said, you wished to inquire about some information from me. Why not come with me to the Azure Phoenix Territory, so that I may fulfill my duties as a host? Whatever young friend wishes to ask, I will certainly answer everything I know and speak without reservation."
Xu Zihuang stored away the pair of ten-thousand-year Tyrannosaurus left and right arm soul bones and also showed a gentle smile, readily accepting.
"Since Lord Feng graciously invites me, naturally, I would not refuse."
Meanwhile, standing atop a distant mountain peak and having witnessed everything from beginning to end, Wang Qiu'er coldly snorted in disdain as she watched Xu Zihuang and Feng Tianyao chatting and laughing together.
"Humans truly are the most hypocritical race."
Wang Qiu'er saw things clearly.
Xu Zihuang had achieved his goal, and with strength and confidence that feared no schemes, he naturally did not need to expose Feng Tianyao. Feng Tianyao had also gained enormous benefits: with Hua Xiongyan dead, swallowing the entire Dragon Wolf Territory was now entirely feasible. Plus, forming a connection with Xu Zihuang, one move, multiple gains.
Only Hua Xiongyan and the Dragon Wolf Territory had become the sacrifices.
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are chapters available on Patreon."
"From Douluo to Godhood by Defy 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo: Far North Invincibledo 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Peerless: Living as an Evil Soul Master 40 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Dalu 2:Peerless Tang Sect Dawn of Sun and Moon 40 Advance chapters."
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