She Long, the Snake Lance Douluo, and one of the Cardinals of the Spirit Hall made a move and attacked the Lei Tianlang of the Stormland Dukedom. The disparity in strength was too much between the two of them, because Lei Tianlang was Spirit Rank 91 Titled Douluo, and She Long was Spirit Rank 93 Titled Douluo.
Not to mention, She Long practised the Celestial Spirit Mantra, which gave She Long a tremendous advantage over his opponent, which started showing itself during the first clash between the two of them.
Not long after, several more Titled Douluo auras appeared in the skies as the hidden Titled Douluos revealed themselves.
"Tang Shuming, Tang Fangrui, Moon Sword Douluo Wu Hao, and even the Bone Douluo Gu Rong... well... this is... certainly an interesting outcome..."
Even if it wasn't according to the wishes of the Spirit Hall, they still managed to lure out two Clear Sky Clan's Elders, one of whom was at the Super Douluo Level.
Moon Sword Douluo was the ancestor of the Moonlit Principality and Spirit Rank 94 Titled Douluo with the Martial Soul named Moon Sword. He was a relatively powerful Titled Douluo, and his attacking prowess was no joke due to the power of his Martial Soul, Moon Sword.
The Moon Sword Martial Soul was a hereditary Martial Soul in the ruling family of the Moonlight Principality, and it belonged to one of the more powerful Tool-Type Martial Souls of the Douluo Continent.
Overall, there were two more Titled Douluos on the opposite side, as the forces of the Spirit Hall were a bit outnumbered. Three Average Titled Douluos and two Super Douluos were a rahter intimidating lineup.
This would be the largest battle of the Titled Douluos in the past several decades. Titled Douluos fought one another rarely in the past era, and the large-scale battles between them were becoming very, very rare in the past several centuries.
'Elder Qing, you can make a move... target primarily Tang Shuming compared to Bone Douluo Gu Rong. Our task today is to kill the Elders of the Clear Sky Clan and then the two others... Gu Rong isn't a priority target for the time being.'
Among all the other targets, even though Gu Rong was a Super Douluo of Spirit Rank 95, he wasn't the objective of today's mission.
Azure Luan Douluo Qing Luan was a Spirit Rank 98 Hyper Douluo who cultivated the Celestial Spirit Mantra to the limits, and his Martial Soul, Azure Luan, was a Top-Grade Beast-Type Martial Soul.
He would take on both Gu Rong and Tang Shuming as the two of them were Super Douluos, and both of them were fairly powerful. With the cultivation of the Celestial Spirit Mantra, he should be able to fight the two of them at the same time easily.
Even though both Gu Rong and Tang Shuming were Spirit Rank 95 Super Douluos in front of the Azure Luan Douluo, they still fell too short. Not to mention, the 3rd Worship Elder had an element of surprise on his side, because nobody really knew his Spirit Rank or the extent of his true power.
This battle would also showcase the true might of the Spirit Hall after a decade of intense development and the effect of incorporating the cultivation system from the other worlds into this one.
Which, unbeknownst to Hun Tiandi, was something that was noticed by the Universe Law.
Devil Bear Douluo Xiong Shu, who was a younger cousin of the 3rd Worship Elder Mighty Lion Douluo Xiong Shi, burst out with power and headed directly against Tang Fangrui and Wu Hao, the Moon Sword Douluo.
Xiong Shu, with his Blood Devil Mad Bear Martial Soul, was someone who possessed enormous physical strength, endurance, and frightening defenses. He was essentially a tank but with relatively high combat prowess.
Due to this, he chose to entertain the two Titled Douluos, because he could keep them occupied until She Long killed Storm Duke Lei Tianlang and then joined him to suppress the other two.
Xiong Shu used one of his Spirit Skills as he transformed into a hulking form of the Blood Devil Mad Bear, with his physical strength and other attributes receiving enormous boosts as he attacked the nearest opponent, which happened to be Wu Hao, the Moon Sword Douluo.
Compared to the Tang Fangrui, who was more defensively apt, as most of the members of the Clear Sky Clan were, Sword Moon Douluo was a Glass Cannon. He possessed rahter high attacking prowess, but his defensive capabilities.
Wu Hao reacted pretty fast as he used some unknown Spirit Skill to congeal something that appeared to be Moon Dust into the form of a shield as a means of defense, but it wasn't enough to resist the power of Cardinal Xiong Shi.
A huge bear paw fell on the shield of the Moon Dust, which then shattered into countless particles in one single hit.
Everyone who saw this was shocked, because according to what they knew, Devil Bear Douluo was Spirit Rank 92, yet he was able to breach through the ultimate defense of Spirit Rank 94 Titled Douluo in one hit.
In a mere moment, an enormous hammer appeared in the sky, targeting the Devil Bear Douluo.
Anyone recognized it as the Clear Sky Hammer.
It is a black hammer, and the pattern on it is deep and dim, with various patterns that appear to be inscriptions. Its starting weight was around 150 kilograms, and the weight increases with every Spirit Ring acquired. As a Titled Douluo, the weight of the Clear Sky Hammer already surpasses several tens of tons.
Obviously, this was just basic, as everything depended on the Titled Douluo itself that was wielding the Clear Sky Hammer. The ones used by Tang Chen had a weight of several hundred tons and were able to shatter entire mountains with ease.
Xiong Shu noticed the falling projection of the Clear Sky Hammer on his person as he crossed his hands into the X-shape and activated his 4th Spirit Skill, Ultimate Bear Defense, as the Clear Sky Hammer fell directly on the Devil Bear Douluo.
The Cardinal of the Spirit Hall was enveloped in a huge explosion, as both Tang Fangrui and Wu Hao waited for the result and hoped that the enemy was dead. Moon Sword Doulouo actually looked much more relaxed because he knew that there was no chance that Devil Bear Douluo could have survived that.
Yet compared to the Moon Sword Douluo, Tang Fangrui looked much more grim.
He understood the power of Spirit Hall more than some random Titled Douluo that appeared in a place like Moonlight Principality. The Clear Sky Clan knew that since the Spirit Hall came with something like the Spirit Energy Gathering Method, they must have even more powerful cultivation methods for themselves.
That was also the conclusion of Patriarch Tang Xiao and all other Elders of the Clear Sky Clan.
Unfortunately for the Clear Sky Clan, even though they managed to obtain the Spirit Energy Gathering Method that the Spirit Hall was freely selling, even though it was being sold at an exorbitant price, they didn't have any success modifying it.
In the base state, the Spirit Energy Gathering Method was rather revolutionary, because it allowed all Spirit Masters to increase their powers by at least 20% and even expand their Spirit Energy by some degree, and refine their control over the Spirit Energy.
But any Titled Douluo that was worth one Gold Soul Coin knew that this was the most basic and watered-down version possible.
It is as if someone took proper technique and stripped everything down that could be stripped down and left this skeleton for sale. The Elders of the Clear Sky Clan couldn't do anything with it, because nobody really possesses the knowledge that would be sufficient to even modify the technique even a bit.
Begrudgingly, they had to admit that whoever created the Spirit Energy Gathering Method was an unparalleled genius in terms of understanding the Spirit Energy, cultivation, and Souls.
As the dust settled, both Tang Fangrui and Wu Hao were deeply shocked to see there the Devil Bear Douluo relatively uninjured aside from some minor injuries, but the most frightening aspect was that he was already healing.
"Now it's my turn..."
Xiong Shu grinned as he disappeared from his previous position and rushed towards the two Titled Douluos, as both of them immediately recovered from their previous shock and prepared to defend against the Devil Bear Douluo.
Interestingly, both Tang Fangrui and Wu Hao practised the Spirit Energy Gathering Method and managed to increase their Spirit Energy reserves by a considerable degree as much as possible so they could fly in the air for some time.
Yet compared to the Xiong Shu, who practiced the Celestial Spirit Mantra, which allowed him to create Spirit Wings after reaching the 7th Layer of the Celestial Spirit Mantra and condensing the 1st Soul Core.
In a split second, Xiong Shi appeared in front of Wu Hao as he swung his fist with full force, hitting the Moon Sword Douluo in his stomach. Before the Fourth Elder of the Clear Sky Clan, Tang Fangrui, could react, Wu Hao was shot to the ground, as he created a small crater as he crashed down.
Devil Bear Douluo didn't waste any moment as he directly charged towards Tang Fangrui. The Fourth Elder of the Clear Sky Clan sweated a little as he looked at the charging Devil Bear Douluo, because he realized that this was a trap.
When he noticed the situation of the Duke Lei and even the Third Elder Tang Shuming, who was in a very dire situation, and Bone Douluo Gu Rong, who was also severely injured, he realized that this was a deliberate trap prepared by the Spirit Hall...
When he noticed that Tang Shuming used the Great Sumeru Hammer, he knew that they were already dead...
The Great Sumeru Hammer was a special technique taught to only one person in each generation of the Clear Sky Clan because of the demands it requires of the body. After the Clear Sky Clan went into seclusion, all other Elders were allowed to learn this technique because they needed to increase their power as much as possible.
And with the benefits of the Spirit Energy Gathering Method, they were able to execute this technique to some degree.
This technique involves condensing all Spirit Rings into one body and then channeling it into Clear Sky Hammer, turning it into the purest strength and attack power. The Great Sumeru Hammer is actually a God Technique, only able to be fully utilized when the user attains God Level.
The most powerful aspect of the Great Sumeru Hammer was the Exploding Ring Technique.
The Exploding Ring Technique was a life-risking technique of the Great Sumeru Hammer. Each spirit ring can perform the exploding ring once. The power of each Spirit Ring could burst out completely and turn into power, merged with the attack to create a formidable force that far surpassed the original attack.
The higher the quality of the Spirit Rings, the greater the force will be. Each Spirit Ring can launch one attack. After all had exploded, the user would become very fragile. If the user can't control the power of the exploding Spirit Rings, he will be devoured by the exploding power.
***
While Devil Bear Douluo was fighting against the two Average Titled Douluos and constraining them in one place, Snake Lance Douluo was facing against the Duke Lei Tianlang, who was in rahter poor shape.
Lei Tianlang was already using the Martial Soul True Body, but he was in very bad shape because the attacking prowess of the Snake Lance Douluo was no joke.
The Snake Lance Martial Soul was a rahter powerful Tool-Type Martial Soul, and She Long, as a master spearman, was using it skilfully as he pushed the Lei Tianlang to his very own limits.
Even though Lei Tianlang was a relatively powerful Titled Douluo, which was mainly attributed to the Thunder Leopard Martial Soul and deep understanding of the Lightning Element that stemmed from the heritage of the Lei Family, he was no match for Cardinal She Long.
She Long salshed towards the Duke Lei with thunderous speed, his speed easily matching or even outclassing sometimes that of the Duke Lei, which was rather a feat. The Spirit Masters who possessed the Lightning-Attributed Martial Souls were known for two things.
Extreme Speed and Extreme Offensive Prowess.
When the Spirit Master started comprehending the Law of Lighting after they reached the Titled Douluo Realm, they could drastically increase the power of the Lighting. One of the most fundamental advantages of the Titled Douluos was that, after reaching the Titled Douluo Realm, they could start comprehending Laws.
Usually, the Laws that the Titled Douluos comprehended were related to their Martial Souls, but it wasn't entirely limited to their Martial Soul, as a lot depended on their innate affinity and comprehension capabilities.
Most of the Titled Douluos only barely scratched the Law Realm, because well... nobody really focused on this aspect, as it was too hard, challenging, and it was much easier to focus on the development of the Martial Soul.
Thus, the only people in the recent history of the Douluo Continent who were actually comprehending Laws were the Limit Douluos who reached the end of the Path, and there were not many paths to increase their power.
'He is a rare talent... shame that he is the enemy...'
She Long looked at the Lei Tianlang with mild disappointment because he had to admit that the man was a rather rare talent who managed to comprehend some bits of the Law of Lighting, which was testament that his comprehension capabilities were higher than most of the current Cardinals of the Spirit Hall.
Unfortunately, Lei Tianlang was the long-standing ally of the Clear Sky Clan and Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and thus was the enemy.
And there was only one fate awaiting the enemies of the Spirit Hall.
Death.
'7th Spirit Skill: Snake Lance Spirit Avatar'
He used this 7th Spirit Ring's Spirit Skill as his Snake Lance transformed into a huge, cyan and purple snake, which is ten meters long, with hexagon scales opening fully, standing from his body like thousands of sharp knives.
The snake had two heads that menacingly looked at Lei Tianlang as they bared their fangs at him and shot twaods their target at frightening speed. Even faster than Lei Tianlang could react, because these Snakes were also using the empowering effect of the Lightning Element to increase their explosive speed.
In a split second, both snakes managed to bite the Duke Lei and inject a certain kind of poison. This poison was cultivated by Dugu Bo personally, and it was a rather frightening kind of poison as it targeted the very existence of Spirit Energy.
Death Spirit Poison.
Lei Tianlang noticed that something was wrong when the two snake heads bit him in his arms, as he unleashed his full power and destroyed large chunks of the snake avatars, but it was already too late.
The Death Spirit Poison was already in his bloodstream and was spreading through his body at a staggering pace.
The Death Spirit Poison was created in a very specific way, where it targeted the Acupoints and Meridians of its host, because they were the places that held a lot of Spirit Energy. It took root in this place and started feeding on the Spirit Energy of the host, and the more Spirit Energy fought back, the more Death Spirit Poison expanded and got stronger.
This was one of the most prized possessions of the 8th Worship Elder Dugu Bo.
With his newly evolved Martial Soul that reached almost the Divine Beast Level and his own affinity towards the Poisons, Dugu Bo could right now refine poisons that could threaten even powerful Hyper Douluo Body Refiners.
She Long was one of the few people who used poisons in his fighting style because the Snake Lance Martial Soul could actually accommodate poisons in it. When he needed to use the Poison, he could just release the poison from the Snake Lance into the body of the target.
Not even ten seconds later, She Long, who had made some distance between the two of them, could see several black lines pulsing through the body of Lei Tianlang as the Death Spirit Poison already showed its power.
Just after the ten seconds, the Spirit Energy that he could sense from the Duke Lei dropped by 50% and it was dropping low at a staggering pace to the point that not even five additional seconds passed and the Duke of the Stormland Dukedom fell from the skies.
Literally like a falling rock, he crashed on the ground, not even able to move anymore, because all of the Spirit Energy in his body was being devoured and used to spread even more and more of the Death Spirit Poison.
Another frightening aspect of the Death Spirit Poison was that, once it was strong enough and spread enough throughout the body of the Spirit Master, it would start attacking the person's very own Soul and flesh.
The number of methods that one could use to defend against the Poisons wasn't a lot.
The most reliable was if the Spirit Master had at least one Soul Core and overwhelming control over his Spirit Energy. That way, they could control the Spirit Energy in their body to attack the poison instead and destroy it, but even then, the Spirit Master would be left weakened for some time.
Another thing was to have some Artifact, Pills or Martial Soul that could do the same thing.
She Long landed down next to the Lei Tianlang, who was already half dead as he stabbed the Snake Lnac through his heart, killing him in one hit.
With this, Lei Tianlang became the very first Titled Douluo that was killed during the event that was also known as the "Age of Unification".