Word Count: 3,158 Words
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"Xiao Qi, ascend to the Divine Realm, now!"
The Sky Azure Bull Python ignored the Sacred Jianmu Tree draining away at his life and roared toward Tang Wutong.
He did not know why Ling Bai had suddenly appeared at the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, but Clear Sky Douluo Tang Tian had just been killed by a single sword strike. The Sky Azure Bull Python was certain the Clear Sky Clan could never withstand a rampaging Holy Evil Douluo!
Tang Wutong had plundered the spirit beast destiny and the Golden Dragon bloodline. She was the most crucial piece in Tang San's grand design, and she had to avoid Ling Bai and ascend to the Divine Realm this very instant!
The blue triangular object blazed brighter and brighter. The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud enveloped Tang Wutong and became a shuttle-shaped streak of light, carrying her upward in a bid to escape the Douluo Continent.
Hummm—
The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud soared skyward. Then three lights erupted together and blanketed the entire sky in an instant, holy gold, deathly ash, and bloody crimson.
The Angelic Domain, the Death Abyss Realm, and the Primordial Blood Hell formed an eternal prison. The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud rammed left and right, yet no matter how it struggled, it could not find a single gap in the blockade!
Tang Wutong nearly ground her silver teeth to powder. She stared up at the Seraphim ruling the sky, and a flash of fear crossed the depths of her pink-blue eyes. She dared not imagine what fate awaited her if she fell into Ling Bai's hands after everything she had done today!
The razored gleam of angelic wings cut into her vision. Ling Bai tore through cloud and mist with the Angel Sword in hand, descending like a devil come to devour the living. Tang Wutong's composure finally shattered. Seven spirit rings materialized beneath her feet, and the seventh blazed to life.
Light Dragon Divine Butterfly Avatar!
The sky was the Seraphim's home ground, and beyond that, a chasm of twenty full spirit power ranks yawned between them. The Angel Sword fell. The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud shattered into countless motes of light, and the wings of the Light Dragon Divine Butterfly snapped apart. Tang Wutong reverted to her true form and plummeted from the sky like a falling star.
"Xiao Qi!"
The Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape burned their own life force without regard for the cost, joining forces to drive back the Sacred Jianmu Tree. Tang Wutong was as fragile as a child before Ling Bai, and she had already lost all ability to fight. The two spirit beasts would not stand by and watch the Sea God's daughter plunge to her death!
Eighth Spirit Skill, Chaos Reversion!
A golden sun and a black moon hung suspended in the sky, light and darkness intertwined. A black-gold beam swept out and slammed into the chests of both spirit beasts with devastating chaotic force. Dragon scales shattered across the Sky Azure Bull Python's body, and beneath the Titan Giant Ape's tough hide, bright red flesh lay exposed.
A heartbeat before Tang Wutong struck the earth, Ling Bai's hand closed firmly around that slender throat. Before the spirit beast destiny was returned, this noble daughter of the Sea God could not be allowed to die.
"You... let go..."
Her neck bones creaked under his grip. Tang Wutong could barely breathe, her legs kicking wildly in desperate struggle. Ling Bai answered with a sharp backhand slap, and she went still at once, her pink-blue eyes glazing over as stars burst across her vision.
The sight sent both spirit beasts into immediate fury. Tang Wutong was a child they had watched grow up. How could they allow an enemy to humiliate her? They threw back their heads with thunderous roars and charged straight at Ling Bai.
Both unleashed their signature abilities. Everything in the vicinity turned heavy and oppressive. Ling Bai could feel his angelic wings growing as heavy as lead. The speed that had let him rule the skies a moment before plummeted. The air twisted before his eyes, and his body slowed to a crawl.
Sky Azure Bull Python, Slow Domain!
Titan Giant Ape, Gravity Control Domain!
Ling Bai only sneered. Even while holding Tang Wutong in one hand, he expanded the Angelic Domain, the Death Abyss Realm, and the Primordial Blood Hell all at once. The three domains devoured the Slow Domain and the Gravity Control Domain in an absolute, overwhelming sweep, crushing them until they could barely cling to the spirit beasts' skin. Both beasts ground to a near halt, struggling against wave after tidal wave of domain pressure.
Ling Bai suppressed the two spirit beasts with ease. His gaze flicked across the battlefield raging between the two sects, and in the next breath the Nine Fiends erupted from within the Primordial Blood Hell. The Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King shot into the air, and the Bone Dragon King burst from the Spectral Gate with a thundering dragon roar.
"Chop them down. Leave no one alive."
The Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King and the Bone Dragon King obeyed at once. Two colossal monsters with the combat power of Limit Douluo entered the fray, and wherever they passed, blood and carnage followed. Clear Sky Clan disciples fell headless to the ground.
"Big Brother, save Xiao Qi!"
The Titan Giant Ape let out a low growl. The two of them had once been 100,000-year spirit beasts. Entering the Clear Sky Clan had only ever been a matter of obeying Tang San's orders. In their eyes, every person in the Clear Sky Clan put together was not worth a single strand of Tang Wutong's hair!
The Titan Giant Ape planted both feet on the earth and drew on the abundant earth elemental power buried deep underground to amplify his strength. A formless shockwave exploded outward. Centered on the point where he stood, the ground within a three-hundred-foot radius sank thirty feet, carrying dust, debris, and shredded vegetation down with it.
He stomped hard with both feet and used the rebound to hurl himself skyward, rushing straight at the Seraphim standing proudly above. His massive fists swung forward and gathered a blazing mass of yellow light. The air warped into a vortex as an unparalleled concentration of earth element condensed within it.
Titan Giant Ape's Innate Spirit Skill, Titan Firmament Breaker!
A world-shaking dragon roar accompanied the Sky Azure Bull Python as he twisted and coiled through the air. Azure lightning crawled over his pair of horns. Thunder screamed, and a dragon-shaped bolt of azure lightning blasted forth!
Sky Azure Bull Python's Innate Spirit Skill, Sky Azure Fading Thunderclap!
The Seraphim's six wings spread wide. Ling Bai flew forward with unstoppable momentum, like a primordial beast charging headlong into battle. He was by far the smaller of them, yet his presence made it seem as though he were about to crush two insects underfoot.
His white-gold spirit ring erupted with dazzling brilliance. The Angel God Position nurtured within the Angel Spirit Core at his brow seemed to awaken, and golden radiance poured into the Angel Sword.
Ten thousand rays of gold blazed across the sky. The Angel Sword shone at last with the divine radiance befitting a true sacred artifact. Golden patterns came alive across its surface, rippling along the blade like flowing sunlight. A terrifying aura exploded from Ling Bai's body, and his sacred majesty forced the pressure released by the two spirit beasts back into their own bodies.
In that instant, Ling Bai became the center of the world. The radiant illusory figure of a Seraphim materialized behind him, and intense golden light bathed his form until he shone like cast gold. Time and space locked down completely. Even Jianmu Douluo, with his Limit Douluo cultivation, found himself caught and restrained by that golden brilliance.
Across battle-torn Nine Treasure City, civilians raised their heads and witnessed the holiest, most magnificent sight of their lives. The Seraphim raised the Angel Sword and drew a gate across the sky, as though opening the first page of a divine revelation. Light descended. Hope returned.
The Seraphim's Second Ninth Spirit Skill...
Holy Edict: First Light of Dawn!
A sacred torrent of light poured through the gate. Radiance like the breaking dawn spilled across the sky, pierced the curtain of darkness, and illuminated every corner of Nine Treasure City, sweeping away all gloom and despair.
The Seraphim stood above the horizon as countless particles of holy light danced through the air and fell like a gentle rain, nourishing sky and earth alike. All living things bathed in that light of hope. Under its cleansing brilliance, pain and suffering seemed to ease. The sight was so overwhelming that the humans below dropped to their knees and bowed toward the Seraphim in sincere reverence.
Beneath the radiance of First Light of Dawn, Titan Firmament Breaker and Sky Azure Fading Thunderclap vanished like stones dropped into a still sea, unable to stir even a single ripple. The bodies of both spirit beasts went utterly still for two seconds. Then their agonized cries rang out for all to hear.
The dragon scales on the Sky Azure Bull Python melted into scalding liquid. The great azure dragon was reduced to a grotesque snake of raw, seared flesh, collapsed flat on the ground with only the faintest breaths escaping him.
The Titan Giant Ape fared slightly better, though burns covered his body as well. Worst of all was the enormous wound torn open across his chest, deep enough to expose bone. Through it, one could faintly see his heart still beating within the cavity.
"Eldest Uncle... Second Uncle..."
Tang Wutong broke down in grief, tears streaming down her face in heavy drops.
Ling Bai sealed both spirit beasts in ice without a flicker of expression, though in truth this encounter had left him in a cold sweat. He had originally intended to spend a few more days observing the Snow Empress until her Yin-Yang Complement twin spirit cores stabilized before leaving the Extreme North.
Had the power of destiny not warned him, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan might well have been wiped out root and branch by the Clear Sky Clan!
The best possible outcome would have been Lin Jiaran detonating several Class 9 Stationary Spirit Cannon shells in mutual annihilation, and whether that could even drag every last Clear Sky Clan member down with her remained an open question.
"Bai-ge, come check on Qiuxi!" Ning Tian called urgently.
Ling Bai flashed to the ground. Everyone had gathered around Ling Qiuxi, who lay unconscious, her aura terribly weak.
He sent a thread of holy spirit power into her body to examine her condition, and his expression eased slightly. "The spirit beast destiny was transferred, and the Golden Dragon bloodline forcibly stripped away... Qiuxi's body has suffered trauma. The one saving grace is that her life isn't in danger."
He then produced a teardrop-sized piece of green metal and fused it into Ling Qiuxi's body.
It was Life Gold, bitten off long ago by the Golden Tortoise. Ling Bai had kept three drops in reserve for emergencies. One had gone to Ning Fengyu to help her break through to Titled Douluo, while the remaining two had gone untouched until today.
"Once Qiuxi's condition stabilizes, I'll channel the spirit beast destiny back to her and reclaim the Golden Dragon bloodline."
As the human Son of Destiny, Ling Bai had the power to do exactly that. His golden eyes shifted to the Sea God's daughter dangling from his grip, and his voice turned cold. "Tang Wutong, since you enjoy stripping others of their bloodlines so much, I'll gladly accept your twin god bloodline on Qiuxi's behalf."
"You wouldn't dare! My father won't let you go!"
Tang Wutong shrieked, though anyone could see straight through her bluster to the fear underneath.
"What about those two?"
Wu Feng jerked her chin toward the spirit beasts trapped in ice.
"They aren't human. They're the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape who once followed Tang San to the Divine Realm. Ten thousand years have passed, and their cultivation ranks near the top even among the Ten Great Beasts. On the Douluo Continent, the Sky Azure Bull Python's strength is probably second only to the Beast God Di Tian.
These two beasts dared to charge into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. We can decide the distribution of their spirit rings and spirit bones later. For now, I'll extract the essence of their bloodlines and use it to raise all of your strength as fast as possible."
The Death Abyss Spider Emperor was an Ultimate Death evil spirit beast, and drawing out life force was its specialty. Tang San had once used the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King to boost the Shrek Seven Monsters' spirit power. Ling Bai intended to turn the enemy's own methods against him, wringing the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape dry down to their last drop of blood and marrow so the geniuses of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan could feast to their hearts' content.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King and the Bone Dragon King tore through the Clear Sky Clan like tigers loosed into a flock of sheep and quickly slaughtered every last member. Even so, the surprise assault had inflicted grievous losses on the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
Jianmu Douluo, Ning Fengyu, Xie Qin, Lin Jiaran, the Golden Tortoise, Princess Li Jing, and Princess Li Ya. Every Titled Douluo of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan apart from Ning Fengya had been wounded.
Azure Emperor Douluo Ning Fengyu had taken the worst of it. Augmented by Ring Detonation, Tang Tian's Clear Sky Hammer had been terrifying beyond measure, and a single blow had come within a hair of sending her to meet her great-grandmother. She would need at least two months of rest to recover.
The two Spirit Guidance legions the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had built were also smashed into disarray by two Clear Sky Clan Super Douluo leading their disciples. Close to twenty percent of their personnel had been lost, and the number of ruined Spirit Guidance Devices was beyond counting.
Then there was the damage to Nine Treasure City's infrastructure and the civilian casualties. Though the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had annihilated every Clear Sky Clan member at Spirit Saint rank and above, the price they paid was enormous. All of it had been the Sea God Tang San's poisonous scheme.
Ning Fengya ordered the clan's disciples to tend to the wounded, clear the battlefield, and carry out postwar compensation. Ling Bai dragged Tang Wutong into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's underground chamber, stripped away her armor, sealed her spirit power and spiritual power, and flung her inside.
He could not be bothered reasoning with a puppet who had no will of her own. Once he reclaimed the spirit beast destiny and the Golden Dragon bloodline, Tang Wutong would have no remaining value.
He vaguely recalled that a certain someone had been very eager to meet Tang Wutong. Given that woman's ruthless temperament, Tang Wutong was sure to shed bitter tears behind iron bars.
Ling Bai found Ning Fengya and spoke in a grave tone. "Aunt Ya, announce this to the world. The Clear Sky Clan, defying the condemnation of all under heaven, colluded with Death Abyss Douluo Du Busi and led its disciples in a retaliatory surprise raid on the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
Holy Evil Douluo slew the Clear Sky Clan Master and discovered that every member of the Clear Sky Clan had degenerated into Evil Spirit Masters. Therefore, for the sake of the continent...
The Clear Sky Clan has been exterminated!"
"Go."
Ning Fengya gave a small nod and handed him a map marked with the location of the Clear Sky Clan's headquarters. The clan had hidden itself from the world for ten thousand years, and ordinary people had no idea where it lay. She understood Ling Bai well enough to have prepared the map in advance.
"Thank you, Aunt Ya. I'll leave the Bone Dragon King to guard the clan. Rest well, all of you. I'm going for vengeance."
…
A few hours later, Ling Bai stood atop the mountain peak of the Clear Sky Clan and gazed at the twelve bold words carved into the great boulder, their strokes sharp as silver hooks and hard as iron. Coldness settled between his brows.
"Challenging is the Clear Sky Hammer, lofty is the Clear Sky Clan.
What a pity. From this day forward, the Douluo Continent will have no more Clear Sky Hammer!"
The Clear Sky Clan members who had stayed behind were utterly oblivious to what was about to descend upon them. Ling Bai took out three Class 9 Stationary Spirit Cannon shells from the Imperial Dragon Spirit Guidance Legion's reserves and bombarded the peak from high above!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!
The sky collapsed and the earth caved in. Mountain peaks toppled. All life was snuffed out.
Three shells sent the Clear Sky Clan straight to the afterlife!
...
Lightning flashed in crisscrossing arcs above the Star Dou Forest, and rolling thunder crashed as though it meant to shatter the world. One powerful figure after another rose into the air, broke through the canopy, and sped toward the core region of the forest.
"Di Tian, what happened? The fortune of the Star Dou Forest is draining away!"
Xiong Jun revealed the true body of his Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear, his pair of dark golden claws gleaming with a chilling light.
"It's the Emperor Destiny Beast," Di Tian said, suppressing his fury. "The destiny of spirit beasts resides within her. When that destiny left the Emperor Destiny Beast, the Star Dou Forest suffered this kind of backlash."
"The Emperor Destiny Beast?"
Bi Ji, dressed in a long water-green gown, looked stunned. "Doesn't she have your reverse scale protecting her?"
"That is precisely the problem. Only Gods of the Divine Realm could block the reverse scale's senses..."
Di Tian's golden dragon eyes lifted toward the boundless sea of clouds, as though he meant to pierce the sky and gaze into a world far higher and farther away.
"Humans have pressed spirit beasts at every turn. The Gods refuse to let spirit beasts set foot in the Divine Realm. And now the Divine Realm wants to strip away even the last destiny left to spirit beasts. Fine. Then I'll show them the fury of spirit beasts!
I will not spare a single human power on the Douluo Continent. Shrek Academy prides itself on being humanity's guardian? Then they shall be the first to feel the blade!
Great Beasts, hear my command. All spirit beasts, out of Star Dou!
Flatten Shrek!"