"In his formative years, the cultivation aptitude he displayed was quite ordinary. Back when he was 12, Qiangu Dongfeng had already outstripped his cultivation rank at just nine years of age. As a result, he became even more looked down on, and was even bullied to a certain extent. He and Qiangu Dongfeng had different mothers, and his mother had passed away not long after his birth, so his life in the Qiangu Family was quite difficult. At 14 years of age, he asked for a sum of money from the Qiangu Family with the alibi of seeking an education, and he left for 20 years."

"During those years, Qiangu Dongfeng progressed rapidly with the support of the entire Qiangu Family, and at just 30 years of age, he was already a Titled Douluo. However, it was right at this point that Qiangu Qingfeng suddenly returned, and the first thing he did following his return was challenge Qiangu Dongfeng."

As they were speaking, Yali and Tang Wulin had already risen to the same altitude as Qiangu Qingfeng and his wife.

"I'm assuming Qiangu Qingfeng won?" Tang Wulin asked as he appraised his opponents.

Yali nodded in response. "Apparently, Qiangu Dongfeng was utterly crushed. After defeating Qiangu Dongfeng, he declared that it wasn't that he couldn't compete with Qiangu Dongfeng; he simply didn't want to. After that, he left the Qiangu Family once again and didn't take on any official role in the Spirit Pagoda. I didn't think that he would show up here. He was already able to crush Qiangu Dongfeng several decades ago; I'm sure he's even more powerful now."

Tang Wulin asked with a rather perplexed expression, "Why haven't I ever heard of him? Has he not traveled the continent in the past?"

"He has, but..."

Yali's voice trailed off here as Qiangu Qingfeng made an inviting hand gesture toward them, and said, "Let's begin."

He took a step forward as he spoke, releasing a total of nine soul rings, comprised of six blacks and three reds.

Meanwhile, his wife sat down in mid-air with a faint smile, and a miniature guzheng appeared on her lap.

The guzheng was completely snowy-white in color, and was giving off a faint frosty mist.

She also possessed nine soul rings, and her soul ring configuration wasn't as elite as that of Qiangu Qingfeng, but her final soul ring was also red.

Thus, they were a pair of Titled Douluos who both possessed 100,000-year-old soul rings, and there was a very good chance that Qiangu Qingfeng was a Limit Douluo; this was clearly not going to be an easy match for Shrek Academy.

"That's Frost Symphony Douluo Xia Zhengleng!" Yali exclaimed.

Tang Wulin faltered slightly upon hearing this. He had heard this name before, but couldn't quite match the face to the name.

There were countless types of martial souls in the Soul Master world, but they could be split up into several broad categories. For example, there were beast martial souls and tool martial souls. In terms of battle styles, they could be split up into the assault system, control system, agility attack system, defense system, food system, etc. Among those categories was one known as soundwave-type martial souls.

This was an often overlooked category as Soul Masters who possessed this type of martial soul were quite rare.

Tang Wulin had heard of this Frost Symphony Douluo as she was listed as the current number one soundwave-type Soul Master in Shrek Academy's records. Her Frosty Symphony Guzheng was a truly formidable martial soul, and her reputation had been forged as far back as several decades ago.

As such, she had to at least be a Hyper Douluo. She had kept a very low profile for the past few decades, and it was quite a surprise to see her representing the Spirit Pagoda here.

It seemed that the Spirit Pagoda had more depth than previously imagined. Xia Zhengleng and Qiangu Qingfeng were definitely an extremely fearsome pair.

Qiangu Qingfeng raised a hand high up into the air, and a long weapon appeared in his grasp amid a flash of black light.

This was a massive ancient halberd that was roughly comparable to Tang Wulin's trident in size, except the arrangement of the blades on the two weapons were quite different.  

[1]

"That's Qiangu Qingfeng's Purgatory Halberd; his Douluo Title is also Purgatory," Yali quickly explained.

Tang Wulin nodded in response, and all of a sudden, his surroundings seemed to have been plunged into complete darkness.

This wasn't darkness on a visual level. Instead, he felt as if his mind had gone completely dark.

In the next instant, an extremely heavy aura descended upon him as Qiangu Qingfeng unleashed the first attack.

This was his first soul skill, Dark Night Assassination!

Tang Wulin's senses were temporarily blinded, and the fact that his opponent was able to infuse his spiritual power into his soul skill to affect Tang Wulin indicated that he was definitely also at the mental manifestation level.

As expected, this Qiangu Qingfeng really was a Limit Douluo.

A crisp clang rang out, and a burst of light emerged in the darkness, illuminating everything in the surrounding area.

Tang Wulin was hovering in mid-air in a stable manner, keeping the Purgatory Halberd at bay with his shimmering Golden Dragon Spear.

A hint of surprise appeared in Qiangu Qingfeng's eyes upon seeing this, and all of a sudden, scintillating light erupted from his Purgatory Halberd as he slashed it through the air to unleash a purplish-black blade projection.

This was his second soul skill, Nether Slash!

The slash appeared to be very simple and nonchalant, but it struck Tang Wulin with a sense of extreme peril.

He immediately retreated as he released his Golden Dragon Body, upon which a layer of golden scales appeared all over his skin, and he also unleashed his Golden Dragon Vibrational Explosion to oppose the Nether Slash.

At the same time, he thrust his Golden Dragon Spear forward, sending countless golden spear projections hurtling directly toward Qiangu Qingfeng. Fury of the Masses!

Tang Wulin had once held the title of Spear God, and his mastery of the spear had reached an exceptional level.

Currently, his Fury of the Masses was completely subdued and gave off no threatening aura at all, as if it were one with heaven and earth.

Becoming one with nature was a state that was extremely valuable to all Soul Masters, yet Tang Wulin had achieved this a long time ago.

As the one who was blessed by the plane, it was far easier for him to enter this state than others.

Right at this moment, a clear ringing sound rang out, and Tang Wulin felt as if a bucket of icy water had been poured over his head, instantly causing him to become quite sluggish.

At the same time, his Fury of the Masses had lost its direction, and right at this moment, the purplish-black Purgatory Halberd instantly reached his chest.

Tang Wulin didn't panic in the slightest as he gripped onto his Golden Dragon Spear with both hands to oppose the oncoming halberd, and at the same time, all of his golden scales took on a mirror-like appearance. This was his second Golden Dragon King soul skill, Golden Dragon Tyrant Body!

"Clang!"

Tang Wulin was forced backward, while the Purgatory Halberd was repelled by the Golden Dragon Spear.

However, in the instant that the two weapons had come into contact with one another, Tang Wulin had been struck by an indescribably torturous feeling, as if his soul had been about to escape out of his body.

Only after being struck by Qiangu Qingfeng's Nether Slash did Tang Wulin come to understand just how fearsome it was.

Even though he could still control his own body, he felt as if he had lost control of his own soul, and it was hovering beside his body.

[1] [The halberd being mentioned here is a rather special type of ancient Chinese halberd for which there isn't really a good translation. If you're curious about what it looks like, search 方天畫戟 in Google images]

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter