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On Sea God Island, the High Priest was naturally the undisputed strongest. However, she was far too powerful and spent most of her years in secluded cultivation within the Sea God Temple.
Excluding the High Priest, the strongest was the Sea Dragon Douluo. Not only did he possess the highest soul power rank among the guardians, but he also wielded the "Strongest Domain" and several self-created spirit skills. His combat prowess far exceeded those of the same level. None of the other six guardians posed a threat to him, which meant he had spent a long time without a peer to challenge him.
Despite his lack of rivals, he never slackened in his training. Now, the arrival of the Battle Heaven Douluo made his hands itch with the desire for a true duel.
"A battle?"
Faced with the Sea Dragon Douluo's request, the Battle Heaven Douluo didn't refuse. He was a man born for combat, yet he too had gone a long time without a balanced confrontation. Since this Sea Dragon Douluo—who actually radiated enough pressure to make him wary—had issued a challenge, he naturally wouldn't decline.
As for his trial, the instructions were clear: he simply had to slay his target within a year. There was plenty of time for a detour.
"You must be the Grand Scholar," the Sea Dragon Douluo said, turning to Su Wen with an invitation. "I wonder if you would be willing to act as the referee for our duel?"
Su Wen had no objections.
"Certainly," Su Wen replied smoothly. "Since Senior Battle Heaven has a higher soul power rank, I shall provide a certain degree of augmentation to the Sea Dragon Douluo to ensure fairness. It should make for a more exhilarating fight."
The Sea Dragon Douluo's eyebrows shot up in surprise. An auxiliary system Spirit Master? This didn't match the intelligence he had gathered about the "Grand Scholar."
Noticing that the Battle Heaven Douluo didn't protest—in fact, his fighting spirit only grew more intense—the Sea Dragon Douluo nodded, accepting Su Wen's assistance.
"Seven Treasures turn to Glass. Seven Treasures have a name: Six says, Augment!"
Su Wen manifested a replica of Ning Fengzhi's martial soul and spirit skills, utilizing the Sixth Spirit Skill: Attribute Augmentation. It provided roughly a 50% boost.
Generally, the difference between Rank 95 and Rank 96 is a 20% gap in overall attributes. By giving the Sea Dragon Douluo a 50% boost to his primary attributes, Su Wen effectively brought the two men to a perfectly balanced playing field.
By now, many of the residents had returned from their first foray into the Academic Realm. Fresh from the novelty of the mental world, they were thrilled to find a high-level battle about to unfold.
"Seventh Spirit Skill: Sea Dragon True Body!"
The Sea Dragon Douluo instantly transformed into a massive, deep-blue dragon. A Draconic Might washed over the field, its oppressive force no weaker than that of the top-tier Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul. Furthermore, likely due to the environment of Sea God Island, this draconic pressure was infused with the Oceanic Intent, making it even more crushing.
"Seventh Spirit Skill: Battle Soul True Body!"
The Battle Heaven Douluo also activated his transformation. His True Body was peculiar; he grew a size larger, and a thick, suffocating aura of slaughter filled the air. In this state, it was as if his physical body became the martial soul. He turned into a being purely designed for war. His battle intent became almost tangible, radiating outward to manifest a specific domain.
The Battle Heaven Domain.
This was a "Post-Natal" Domain. Domains are categorized as Pre-Natal (innate to the martial soul or a spirit skill) or Post-Natal (developed through cultivation). Just as Huo Tianyang had his Blazing Sun Domain, the Battle Heaven Douluo had condensed this through sheer force of will.
The Sea Dragon Douluo sensed familiar traces within the domain—whispers of storms, lightning, and the sea.
"Breaking Magic Domain!"
As soon as the Battle Heaven Douluo's domain appeared, the Sea Dragon Douluo unleashed his own. This was his innate "Inborn Domain," awakened once his martial soul reached a certain level. It was hailed as the "Strongest Domain" because its effect was to nullify all other domains.
However, as it clashed with the Battle Heaven Domain, the effect wasn't as decisive as he expected. The Sea Dragon Douluo's expression shifted.
"My domain is built around my battle intent as its core," the Battle Heaven Douluo explained. "The essence is my own will."
The domain was affected—the suppression effect on his enemy was gone. However, the self-augmentation provided by his battle intent remained untouched. In a fight between peers, the most important part of the Battle Heaven Domain was the internal boost it gave the user, rather than the external suppression of the foe.
The Sea Dragon Douluo didn't let the failure of his domain's primary effect distract him. Su Wen's augmentation had pushed his attributes far beyond their normal limits; he was confident that even without the domain advantage, he could go toe-to-toe with his opponent.
The deep-blue sea dragon collided with the towering giant. It was a brutal, physical clash—fists meeting scales, raw power against raw power.
"So powerful!"
"Look, the Battle Heaven Douluo is holding his own... Lord Sea Dragon can't suppress him!"
"And Lord Sea Dragon has the Grand Scholar's help, too!"
At this point, when the residents spoke of the "Grand Scholar," it was no longer just a title they had overheard. It was voiced with growing recognition and respect.
The battle raged for a full half-hour, both men fighting to their hearts' content.
"Hahaha! Refreshing!" the Sea Dragon Douluo laughed heartily. "I haven't fought like this in years!"
"Indeed," the Battle Heaven Douluo sighed with deep emotion. Today, he felt he had found a kindred spirit. He looked at the Sea Dragon Douluo with a sense of mutual appreciation.
In the Spirit Battle Realm back on the Continent, there were four divine guardians, all at the Super Douluo level. Aside from Battle Heaven (Rank 96), there was the Jinbao Douluo (Rank 96) and two others at Rank 95. Technically, he had peers, but the other three were far too cautious—they refused to trade blows with him in such a head-on fashion.
"Healing Light!"
Su Wen cast several healing spells on both men. Their wounds closed and their fatigue vanished almost instantly.
The Sea Dragon Douluo was genuinely impressed. "As expected of the Grand Scholar." He was stunned—Su Wen could provide top-tier support and potent healing. But wait, wasn't his martial soul the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda just a moment ago? Even on Sea God Island, they knew of that legendary pagoda.
"Senior Sea Dragon," Su Wen said with a smile, "Why don't you experience my Academic Realm as well?"
Without waiting for a formal agreement, Su Wen pulled the guardian's consciousness directly into the network.
(End of Chapter)