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"That move actually didn't affect you?" Bai Xu exclaimed in astonishment at Tang Wulin's condition. It seemed as though Tang Hao had restored him to full strength, leaving him completely unharmed.
"I am the son of the Sea God! The guardian of this realm. My father protected the Douluo Continent for twenty thousand years, and now... I must eliminate the threat you bring!" Tang Wulin's eyes gleamed with golden light, burning with anger.
With a sweeping motion of his Dragon Spear, he struck Bai Xu squarely in the chest, sending him flying backward with enough force to make him cough up blood.
"Where's your recovery ability now?"
A golden flash shot toward Bai Xu from the side, but a massive cauldron materialized in front of him, blocking the attack.
Clang!
The cauldron resonated with a deep, thunderous vibration, its reverberations echoing like the toll of a mighty bell.
"You think just because I'm weakened, you can defeat me with brute strength alone?" Bai Xu sighed softly.
An immense force emanated from the cauldron as Tang Wulin braced against it with one arm, his Golden Dragon Spear locked in a contest of raw power against Bai Xu.
Both of them had made tremendous progress in physical prowess—Bai Xu with his mastery over the human body's secrets, and Tang Wulin with his Golden Dragon True Body. Each was a force to be reckoned with.
Boom!
The clash of their strength sent shockwaves rippling outward, forcing the two apart.
"You're already this weakened. Why not surrender?" Tang Wulin urged once more.
"Don't joke around..."
"I know you still have your spiritual power as a trump card. There's no need to pretend anymore—I won't give you the chance!" Tang Wulin continued, speaking as if to himself. "Over the years, you've indeed grown stronger, but I've been chasing after you with everything I have. If you rely on the Ten Thousand Techniques, then I have the Forbidden Arts as my final card!"
"Though I've only just begun to unlock it, against you in this state..." Tang Wulin trailed off, as if realizing he held an overwhelming advantage.
"Dragon Emperor's Forbidden Art, First Form: Forbid All Techniques—Dragon Emperor's Shatter!"
In truth, Bai Xu's soul injuries had yet to fully heal. Fearing permanent damage, he had refrained from using his Soul Sword Embryo and had no intention of doing so now.
"Forbid All Techniques? Do you even understand what 'All Techniques' means?"
Bai Xu sneered and charged forward, lifting the massive cauldron and hurling it toward Tang Wulin.
A new round of battle erupted. Bai Xu was indeed at the end of his strength, barely holding on. Even his stamina was failing him—his internal organs dimmed, and his once-unparalleled regenerative abilities were nowhere to be seen.
Thud!
A fist wreathed in golden dragon scales struck Bai Xu's right shoulder, its tearing force instantly splitting the wound open, blood gushing uncontrollably.
The last remnants of Bai Xu's energy were spent protecting his organs, leaving no defense elsewhere. He fought on with sheer physical resilience alone.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The cauldron, too, was gradually dimming, its surface marred by deep gashes from the Golden Dragon Spear. Though forged from the metal of living beings, it could not withstand the onslaught of a divine weapon. Without the protection of the Five-Colored Mystic Light, it was quickly being destroyed.
Of course, this was partly because Bai Xu had spent much of his time nurturing the Five Elements Formation, leaving the cauldron with little refinement from his internal organs. Otherwise, it wouldn't have deteriorated so badly.
"Still not surrendering?" Tang Wulin frowned, retracting the Golden Dragon Spear. He could sense something was off—even the tearing effect embedded in Bai Xu's right shoulder remained unhealed. It seemed he had truly reached his limit.
With the Dragon Emperor's Forbidden Art, Tang Wulin could dismantle any illusion, spiritual, or energy-based attack. There was no longer any risk to his life.
Bai Xu's black hair was disheveled, his body unsteady. With a faint smile, he glanced upward and said, "Tang Wulin, actually, your father, Tang San, he's also—"
Boom!
A tremendous force struck Bai Xu from behind, sending him plummeting from the sky and crashing into the skyscrapers of Mingdu.
"Heartless Douluo?! Why are you here?"
Tang Wulin turned in surprise to see the former Blood One of the Blood God Legion, his heart surging with emotion. The man must have rushed here upon hearing of the situation. Though that kick had been a sneak attack, it was justified.
"Where's Amorous Douluo?" Cao Dezhi asked, his brows furrowed with anger, assuming his old comrade had already perished. He was ready to finish Bai Xu off.
"Amorous Douluo is down below, but he's trapped in some strange state, unconscious."
"I'll check on him. He's yours to handle."
Cao Dezhi descended swiftly, spotting the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy disciples encased in black-and-white energy, seemingly sealed away without consciousness.
Crash!
The sound of rubble being shoved aside echoed as Bai Xu emerged—still alive, though cracks of crystalline light spiderwebbed across his waist. Cao Dezhi's kick had been devastating, fueled by vengeance for his old friend.
But...
Despite his shattered bones and the fractures spreading from his wounds, Bai Xu remained standing, his presence unbroken.
"The Heartless Douluo truly lives up to his name. That kick broke over a dozen of my bones... I'll remember this." Bai Xu spat out blood, his voice weak.
"You won't get the chance. The Blood God Legion's forces are on their way. The Federation will judge you as they would the Abyss—and we'll extract whether you had any involvement in the Soul Master invasion!" Cao Dezhi's expression darkened as he gently laid down Amorous Douluo.
"Is that so? Then let me finish..." Bai Xu scoffed. "Your father, Tang San—"
"Enough! An otherworldly demon like you has no right to speak of my father!"
Tang Wulin's fury erupted. For some reason, he couldn't bear to let Bai Xu continue. His Golden Dragon Claw shifted from a lethal strike to a clenched fist, a roaring dragon's phantom swirling around it as he drove it into Bai Xu's abdomen.
Bai Xu's body fractured, cracks spreading from his stomach across his entire form. His soul separated from his flesh—a sign that this body had reached its absolute limit.
"Feeling almost ready... Let's begin."
"Understood, my lord."
Instead of crashing into another building, Bai Xu's falling form was swallowed by a ripple in space, vanishing without a trace.
!!!!
"What?! How could someone rescue him right under my nose?!"
In an unknown dimension, Tang Hao's relaxed demeanor shattered into shock. He leaped to his feet, frantically scanning the space around Mingdu—then expanding outward, further and further!
"Nothing? Impossible! How can I not detect him? Did that otherworldly demon have an escape plan all along?"
"Damn it! I never considered this!"
"Now we've let a calamity slip away! Could that demon's home dimension be planning an invasion of Douluo too?"
Tang Hao's heart sank. The Douluo Continent was already under siege by the Abyss. If another dimension joined the fray... how could they possibly withstand it?
All he could say was that he had been careless.
He'd have to discuss this with Tang San later. Otherworldly demons were indeed enigmatic, but with injuries that severe—on the brink of death—Bai Xu shouldn't survive.
---
Demon Dimension.
The dimension's spirit descended with Bai Xu's near-lifeless body in tow. His form was shattered, his abdomen nearly blown apart. Only the last vestiges of his energy had shielded his organs, preserving a sliver of life.
"Now, as my lord instructed, we retrieve the Heaven-Earth Five Elements Formation without alerting Tang Hao... Fortunately, you reached the 90th rank during the battle, my lord. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to intervene so effectively!"