I've also recently started a new translation, please check it out and show your support! Douluo: Seven Kill Shock the World
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At this moment, Xie Yue of the Spirit Hall team stepped onto the battlefield.
"Moon Blade!"
With a low shout, two blood-red crescent blades materialized in Xie Yue's hands. Five soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black—shone brightly around his body.
"Tang San, you may be strong, but I believe the one who will stand until the end will undoubtedly be my Spirit Hall team!"
Holding the Moon Blade at an angle toward Tang San, Xie Yue spoke with unwavering determination.
Xie Yue was well aware that facing Tang San, he likely had little chance of victory.
In terms of soul power level, both were equal at Level 52 Soul Kings.
As for their martial souls, Tang San's "Mutated Blue Silver Grass" was probably no weaker than his Moon Blade.
Regarding soul rings, Xie Yue was at a disadvantage. Tang San's soul ring configuration was yellow-yellow-purple-black-black, giving him one more ten-thousand-year soul ring than Xie Yue.
Moreover, judging by the color of Tang San's fifth soul ring, Xie Yue could confidently say that its age was far beyond the typical ten thousand years—it might even exceed twenty thousand years.
However, none of the above were the key factors. The crucial point was that Tang San possessed three soul bones, one of which was a head-type soul bone.
When it came to spiritual power, Xie Yue didn't believe he surpassed his similarly ranked teammate Yan by much.
Yan had been instantly defeated by Xiao Wu's century-level mental control soul skill, and Xiao Wu herself had been similarly defeated by Tang San's mental control soul bone skill. This meant that if Tang San used that same mental control soul bone skill against him, Xie Yue would undoubtedly be unable to resist.
Fortunately, even if he lost this battle, it wouldn't affect the overall situation. His team still had Hu Liena, their strongest member.
Furthermore, before his sister took the stage, Tang San would first have to face Chu Chengzhou.
When two tigers fight, one is bound to get injured. Regardless of who emerged victorious between them, neither would be at full strength, ensuring that his Spirit Hall team would have the last laugh.
"Hmph, I've heard that you, Xie Yue, Yan, and Hu Liena are known as the 'Golden Generation' of the Spirit Hall—the most outstanding young soul masters of the Spirit Hall.
But if I'm not mistaken, wasn't one of the so-called outstanding members, Yan, just defeated by a single century-level soul skill?"
With a light chuckle, Tang San sneered disdainfully.
The implication was clear: being defeated by a single century-level soul skill from a peer-level soul master? Is this really the vaunted "Golden Generation" of the Spirit Hall?
Of course, Tang San knew that Xiao Wu's combat power far exceeded her soul power level and that Yan was undoubtedly among the top tier of his peers. Yan's defeat was simply bad luck—he had encountered Xiao Wu.
But Tang San refused to acknowledge anything else. All he knew was that someone from the Spirit Hall's overhyped "Golden Generation" had been instantly defeated by a single century-level soul skill!
"You—!"
Upon hearing this, Xie Yue was furious but couldn't muster a counterargument.
"If you're on the same level as Yan earlier, then you'll be a huge disappointment."
Seeing Xie Yue rendered speechless, Tang San delivered another verbal blow.
'Damn it!'
Under Tang San's gaze of "you disappoint me," Xie Yue tightened his grip on the Moon Blade.
"Match start!"
At this moment, the referee gave the command, and the match began.
Whoosh—
The instant the match began, Xie Yue charged directly toward Tang San.
Tang San was a control-type soul master. If Xie Yue wanted to win—or at least give Tang San some trouble—he had to close the distance. Otherwise, even if Tang San didn't use his soul bone skill to instantly defeat him, Xie Yue would find himself trapped in a "sea of vines," struggling to survive.
Watching Xie Yue charging straight at him, Tang San's expression turned cold. A greenish glow erupted from his forehead, accompanied by surging spiritual energy. Numerous eerie purple eyes condensed in the air behind him.
Soul Bone Skill: Purple Divine Light, activated once again!
Tang San had no intention of engaging in a drawn-out battle with Xie Yue. In this individual elimination round, besides Xie Yue, he still had two more opponents ahead, including the particularly formidable Chu Chengzhou. If he exhausted too much soul power here, winning would become difficult.
To conserve soul power, Tang San planned to eliminate Xie Yue in one swift move.
Of course, this wasn't the only factor.
The former Pope of the Spirit Hall had driven his mother to death, making the Spirit Hall his sworn enemy. Though he currently lacked the strength to exact revenge, Xie Yue, as the captain of the Spirit Hall team and a leading figure among the younger generation, would serve as a perfect target. Defeating him in front of the Pope's Hall would undoubtedly strike a blow to the Spirit Hall's arrogance and demonstrate to the world that the Spirit Hall was not invincible.
Tang San believed that by humiliating the Spirit Hall, when the winds of change swept across the continent, more forces dissatisfied with the Spirit Hall's hegemony would rise up and join the righteous cause of overthrowing the Spirit Hall.
A powerful surge of spiritual energy immediately descended upon Xie Yue's consciousness.
In an instant, it felt as though time had stopped. Xie Yue, mid-charge, was completely immobilized by the overwhelming spiritual force, unable to move a muscle.
Instantly, dense Blue Silver vines surged forward, and Tang San prepared to severely wound Xie Yue as retribution for his mother's suffering.
However, after reconsidering, Tang San abandoned this plan. Instead, he controlled the Blue Silver vines to toss the immobilized Xie Yue out of the arena.
Though Lan Ba Academy and Tian Dou Royal Academy both hailed from the Tian Dou Empire, they weren't from the same academy. If he severely injured Xie Yue, leaving him unable to recover fully in a short time, wouldn't that benefit Lan Ba Academy?
That's right—in Tang San's view, with three high-age soul bones and a hundred-thousand-year soul bone, his Tian Dou Academy team was sure to win the individual elimination matches that morning. In the afternoon's team battle, the Spirit Hall team would face off against Lan Ba Academy.
Lan Ba Academy was already very strong. If he temporarily incapacitated Xie Yue, Lan Ba Academy would easily win, preserving their strength for tomorrow's championship battle.
Although Tang San was confident in his abilities—or rather, in his soul bone skills—for safety's sake, he decided to leave Xie Yue intact, adding a bit more trouble for Lan Ba Academy.
"Tian Dou Royal Academy team's Tang San wins! Please send the fourth participant from Lan Ba Academy onto the field."
The referee announced the result of the match.
"Brother, good luck! Take down that Tang San!"
In the Lan Ba Academy resting area, Xiao Wu pumped her fist toward Chu Chengzhou.
Clearly, the little rabbit was still bitter about being defeated by Tang San's soul bone skill.
"Big scumbag, don't let us down, okay~!"
Ning Rongrong said playfully.
"Good luck!"
Zhu Zhuqing made a thumbs-up gesture.
"Just cheering me on with words isn't enough. How about giving me some extra strength?"
Chu Chengzhou pointed to his cheek.
Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing: "…"
After receiving a triple dose of love-powered encouragement, Chu Chengzhou strode confidently onto the battlefield.
His opponent was Chu Chengzhou. Although Chu Chengzhou's soul power level was only at the four-ring Soul Elder level, Tang San's expression was noticeably graver than during his previous battles against Xiao Wu and Xie Yue.
A few days ago, during Lan Ba Academy's match against Star Luo Royal Academy, Chu Chengzhou's archery prowess had demonstrated strength comparable to a Soul Emperor.
After all, both Dai Wei and Zhu Zhu Yun were four-ring Soul Elders—one at Level 49 and the other at Level 47. After activating their Spirit Fusion Technique: Netherworld White Tiger, their combined strength could reach at least a high-level Soul King or even a Soul Emperor.
Additionally, although Chu Chengzhou hadn't participated in the advancement tournament, Tang San knew that Chu Chengzhou had displayed impressive spiritual power. Every single opponent had been subdued by a single glance from him.
Clearly, Chu Chengzhou likely possessed a head-type soul bone. Otherwise, how could a non-spirit-type soul master use illusion techniques so effectively to control opponents?
Most importantly, since the start of the Soul Master Tournament, Chu Chengzhou had yet to reveal his fourth soul skill on the battlefield.
Powerful spiritual power, illusion techniques, and archery skills rivaling a Soul Emperor had all been exposed, but the fourth summon remained tightly concealed. From his own perspective, Tang San believed that this fourth summon was undoubtedly Chu Chengzhou's greatest trump card.
He wondered: what kind of summon was it?
'I hope it's not some absurdly rare species.'
With narrowed eyes, Tang San thought to himself.
The healing-type Sky Azure Tree, support-type Light Lion, and power-type Fire Phoenix were Chu Chengzhou's first, second, and third soul skills, with soul ring ages of 400 years, over 700 years, and 1,500 years, respectively. However, Tang San knew that these three summons' strengths rivaled those of wild soul beasts of the same species aged ten thousand years.
If the first three summons were already this powerful, then the fourth summon's strength would undoubtedly surpass them. At the very least, it would match a ten-thousand-year soul beast of the same species.
After all, there was no logic in a higher soul ring age yielding a weaker summon.
For ordinary soul beasts, ten thousand years equated to a Soul King. For stronger bloodlines, like the Fire Phoenix, it could rival an average Soul Emperor.
But if Chu Chengzhou's fourth soul ring came from one of the extremely rare soul beasts with exceptionally strong bloodlines, its strength wouldn't stop at the level of an ordinary Soul Emperor. There were indeed ten-thousand-year soul beasts on the continent capable of matching seven-ring offensive Soul Saints, or even eight-ring Soul Sages—though their numbers were exceedingly rare.
"Chu Chengzhou, your strength is impressive. Can I see your fourth summon?"
Tang San asked Chu Chengzhou.
"If your strength is sufficient, you will see it!"
Chu Chengzhou raised an eyebrow and replied.
Tang San had no shortage of trump cards. Honestly speaking, within the tournament rules, unless Big Bear was summoned, Chu Chengzhou didn't have absolute confidence in defeating Tang San using conventional means.
Aside from the hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, Tang San's left arm bone and head bone were at least fifty thousand years old.
Given Tang San's current strength, he naturally couldn't obtain such precious soul bones on his own. These two soul bones were most likely gifts from Tang Hao.
As one of the continent's strongest individuals, Tang Hao's standards weren't low. He wouldn't settle for mediocrity—a fifty-thousand-year soul bone wouldn't be deemed worthy of his son, who possessed innate full soul power and twin martial souls, destined to become one of the continent's strongest.
In terms of spiritual power, Tang San was a Soul King while Chu Chengzhou was a Level 50 Soul Ancestor, placing him at a disadvantage.
(T/N: Doesn't have a ring yet so he hasn't progressed to Soul King)
Tang San had the Purple Divine Light, while Chu Chengzhou had Eternal Thought. However, having only practiced Eternal Thought for about a year—compared to Tang San's cultivation of Purple Extreme Demon Eye since childhood—Chu Chengzhou was clearly at a disadvantage.
Tang San had a head-type soul bone, while Chu Chengzhou had previously consumed the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew. If Tang San's head bone wasn't too old, based purely on the increase in spiritual power, Chu Chengzhou should have the advantage.
Balancing these advantages and disadvantages, Chu Chengzhou estimated that Tang San's spiritual power was roughly on par with his own. Illusion techniques might not necessarily be effective.
As for the Sun Piercing Arrow, relying solely on a bow and arrow formed from soul power wouldn't unleash its maximum power. It might not be able to penetrate Tang San's defensive soul bone skill, which was at least fifty thousand years old.
"Match start!"
Without allowing further discussion, the referee announced the beginning of the match.
"Third soul skill, Summoning: Fire Phoenix!"
The moment the match began, Chu Chengzhou waved his grand flag. His third soul ring lit up, and with a surge of soul power, the summoned spirit Xiao Hong, the Fire Phoenix, materialized in midair.
Although Tang San's martial soul had evolved into the Blue Silver Emperor—no longer the trash-tier Blue Silver Grass—it lacked the fire immunity of the original Blue Silver Grass. The Fire Phoenix Xiao Hong was a natural counter to plant-based control-type soul masters like Tang San.
"Soul Bone Skill: Purple Extreme Demon Eye!"
But as Chu Chengzhou summoned the Fire Phoenix, Tang San wasted no time in unleashing his trump card. Dense purple eyes reappeared, and intangible spiritual energy surged forth, instantly invading Chu Chengzhou's consciousness.
Faced with this mental control soul bone skill again, Chu Chengzhou's expression changed. He immediately focused his mind to resist the invading spiritual force.
'Did I lose?'
Just as this thought surfaced in Chu Chengzhou's mind, his physical form was forcibly immobilized in the real world.
But in the next instant, the immobilization vanished without a trace.
'Tsk, seems I didn't lose too badly?'
Imprisoned by Tang San's Purple Extreme Demon Eye for half a second, Chu Chengzhou clicked his tongue and nodded inwardly.
At present, Tang San's spiritual power was stronger than his own. However, judging by the duration of this soul bone skill's control, it seemed only slightly superior. Once Chu Chengzhou advanced to a Soul King, he would undoubtedly surpass Tang San.
"What?"
Upon unleashing the soul bone skill Purple Extreme Demon Eye and seeing Chu Chengzhou immediately immobilized, Tang San widened his eyes in shock as he prepared to use Blue Silver vines to toss Chu Chengzhou out of the arena.
This Chu Chengzhou not only possessed extraordinary soul skill effects but also such formidable spiritual power?
After all, Tang San was a Soul King who had been cultivating the Purple Extreme Demon Eye since childhood and had fused a seventy-thousand-year Demon Eye Tree head bone. His spiritual power far exceeded that of an ordinary 70-level soul master and was not far from reaching 80 levels.
With such a strong foundation in spiritual power, combined with the seventy-thousand-year soul bone skill *Purple Extreme Demon Eye,* how could it only immobilize Chu Chengzhou for such a brief moment?
"Fifth soul skill, Blue Silver Emperor Tyrant Transformation!"
The fifth soul ring lit up, and Tang San was enveloped in a brilliant blue light. His aura surged, doubling in intensity.
Blue Silver Emperor Tyrant Transformation, an attribute-enhancing soul skill, increased all attributes by 100%. It originated from a Blue Silver Grass that had willingly sacrificed itself for its ruler, aged over twenty thousand years.
'An attribute-enhancing soul skill?'
Seeing Tang San's aura surge, Chu Chengzhou immediately realized the danger. His second soul ring lit up, and he quickly summoned the Light Lion Xiao Bai.
Xiao Bai's massive form instantly materialized. A streak of white light shot out, merging into Chu Chengzhou's body.
Simultaneously, Chu Chengzhou's soul power fluctuated, and in an instant, a transparent blue soul power shield formed around him.
As Chu Chengzhou's aura surged and the soul power shield solidified, dense purple eyes reappeared on the battlefield.
The moment he saw Tang San activate the attribute-enhancing soul skill, Chu Chengzhou deduced that this enhancement likely applied to spiritual power as well.
He also guessed that Tang San intended to use the attribute boost to amplify the power of his mental control soul bone skill: Purple Divine Light After all, Chu Chengzhou had done similar things before.
Tang San's spiritual power already slightly surpassed his own. If it doubled, the immobilization effect of Purple Extreme Demon Eye wouldn't be just half a second. By the time Chu Chengzhou broke free, he might already have been thrown out of the arena.
However, with Xiao Bai's innate soul skill: Blessing, which boosted all attributes, including spiritual power, by 50%, Chu Chengzhou, though unable to completely close the gap with Tang San's enhanced abilities, had mitigated some of the disparity.
With a protective shield formed by defensive cultivation techniques, along with Xiao Hong and Xiao Bai guarding him, Chu Chengzhou was confident that Tang San wouldn't be able to eliminate him during the brief period of immobilization by Purple Divine Light
Since Little Qing's age had reached ten thousand years, the innate soul skill Guardian provided a defense comparable to a Soul King's ten-thousand-year defensive soul skill. Chu Chengzhou rarely used defensive cultivation techniques anymore and had even considered abandoning further upgrades to this skill.
But unexpectedly, defensive cultivation techniques still proved useful in certain situations.
Little Qing's Guardian innate soul skill was indeed excellent, but using it required summoning Little Qing first, which she would then cast.
In prepared battles, this drawback was negligible, but in ambushes or special environments, it was a significant flaw.
Standing firm was key to output. Chu Chengzhou decided that he should still invest in upgrading his defensive cultivation techniques in the future.
"Soul Bone Skill: Purple Extreme Demon Eye!"
As expected, Chu Chengzhou's guess was correct. After a 100% boost in spiritual power, Tang San disregarded the damage and exhaustion from repeatedly using the same soul bone skill and immediately unleashed Purple Extreme Demon Eye again.
Dense purple eyes materialized, and a surge of powerful spiritual energy rushed out, instantly engulfing Chu Chengzhou.
In an instant, Chu Chengzhou's form was once again immobilized.
And compared to before, this time it wasn't just a brief half-second.
The next moment, Tang San's third soul ring lit up, and an extraordinarily resilient cage of Blue Silver vines descended directly toward Chu Chengzhou.
"Chirp—!"
A phoenix cry rang out as Xiao Hong in the sky spewed forth phoenix flames.
Roar—
Intense phoenix flames surged downward, instantly igniting Tang San's Blue Silver Prison Cage. Before the cage could fully enclose Chu Chengzhou, it was completely incinerated by Xiao Hong's flames.
The Blue Silver Emperor was a top-tier martial soul, and its derived vines were incredibly resilient, even capable of withstanding cuts from many peer-level sword-type martial souls. However, it had one glaring weakness: vulnerability to fire.
While the Blue Silver Emperor might not fear ordinary flames or even flames from common fire-type martial souls, Xiao Hong was a pure-blooded Fire Phoenix. With elemental suppression, the Blue Silver Emperor naturally couldn't withstand the phoenix flames.
"Hmph, Fourth soul skill, Blue Silver Emperor Tyrant Spear!"
Unfazed by the failed attempt, Tang San snorted. His fourth soul ring lit up, and a majestic blue-gold spear materialized in his hand.
With a sharp whistling sound, the thrown Blue Silver Emperor Tyrant Spear transformed into a streak of blue-gold light, hurtling directly toward Chu Chengzhou, who was immobilized by Purple Divine Light
At this critical moment, determination flashed in Xiao Bai's eyes. Her lion-like form leaped out, shielding Chu Chengzhou with her summoned body.
The next instant, the Blue Silver Emperor Tyrant Spear struck, piercing through Xiao Bai's waist and abdomen.
Shh—!
The sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out. The razor-sharp Blue Silver Emperor Tyrant Spear tore through Xiao Bai's tough fur, penetrating her abdomen and emerging two feet out the other side.
Roar—
Her entire lion-like form was pierced. Amidst a low roar, Xiao Bai's summoned body gradually collapsed, dissipating into countless soul power particles in the air.
The thrown Blue Silver Emperor Tyrant Spear had instantly killed one of Chu Chengzhou's summons, but Tang San's face showed no joy. After all, his goal wasn't to kill Chu Chengzhou's summons but to eliminate Chu Chengzhou himself.
"Third soul skill, Blue Silver Spike Array!"
With a shout, Tang San's third soul ring lit up again. Numerous Blue Silver vines sprouted, resembling countless spears, and shot toward Chu Chengzhou, who was still immobilized.
It wasn't that Tang San had two third soul skills; Blue Silver Prison and Blue Silver Spike Array were simply different forms of the same skill.
"Roar—"
The roadblock… no, the fiery obstruction appeared again. Scorching phoenix flames surged downward, reducing all the Blue Silver vines to ashes.
'Damn it! You forced my hand!'
Seeing that the battle dragged on and Chu Chengzhou was about to break free from the Purple Extreme Demon Eye's immobilization, Tang San realized he couldn't afford to keep testing the waters. Repeated use of Purple Extreme Demon Eye had depleted much of his spiritual power, and over half of his soul power was gone.
If he managed to defeat Chu Chengzhou but lacked sufficient soul power and spiritual energy to face Hu Liena of the Spirit Hall team, he'd be in trouble.
Worse, if he lost to these two, he might not recover fully by the time the afternoon's team battle began.
"Soul Bone Skill: Diamond Burst Strike!"
With a mighty shout, a dazzling golden glow erupted from Tang San's right arm. Surging soul power caused a colossal golden-haired ape's shadow to suddenly materialize.
The blinding golden light flashed, and the ape's shadow transformed into a massive golden fist, carrying tremendous momentum as it smashed down toward Chu Chengzhou.
Tang San refused to believe that an eighty-thousand-year offensive soul bone skill couldn't take down a mere four-ring soul master who was immobilized!
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