Bound tightly by the Blue Silver Emperor vines, the Sea Woman Douluo could only watch helplessly as the massive Blue Silver Giant closed in.
Under Tang San's control, the Blue Silver Giant suddenly raised a massive leg, aiming a devastating stomp directly at the Sea Woman Douluo.
"I surrender!"
Just a split second before the strike landed, the Sea Woman Douluo decisively surrendered. The glowing leg, over ten meters long and two to three meters thick, froze right in front of her face.
If she had been hit, she would likely have been seriously injured.
A moment later, the Sea Woman Douluo deactivated her seventh soul skill. Shrinking back down, she glared fiercely at Tang San, her face flushed with extreme displeasure. "Don't you know how to treat a lady with any gentleness?!"
Such a terrifying, high-cost skill! Instead of saving it for dealing with Sea Dragon Douluo, he had ruthlessly wasted it on her.
However, Tang San didn't think he had done anything wrong. He stated righteously, "In my opinion, since this is Lord Sea God's test, giving it my absolute all is the only true way to show respect to the examiner."
Hearing this logic, the Sea Woman Douluo was instantly enraged.
This wasn't an assessment; it was clearly a student brutally beating up the examiner! She wasn't going to suffer through that kind of disrespect.
Watching this all-too-familiar scene unfold from the shore, Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan exchanged an awkward, knowing glance.
Back when Teacher Lin Mu had first joined the Royal Fighting Team, they had been wildly resentful, only to be effortlessly defeated with a few casual kicks.
Looking back on it now, they realized how completely blind they had been. Not only did they foolishly believe Teacher Lin Mu had gotten the team leader position through backdoor connections, but they had also been convinced that Qin Ming was the most suitable mentor.
Reality, however, had violently proven them wrong. Compared to Lin Mu's brutal but miraculously effective training methods, Qin Ming's teaching was practically useless.
With the Sea Woman Douluo's assessment officially over, Tang San had no time to stay and argue with her. He immediately used his flight skill to cross the sea-within-a-sea, returning to his master's side.
"Little San, which examiners do you have left?" Lin Mu asked.
"Master, I've already challenged Seahorse Douluo, Sea Star Douluo, and Sea Ghost Douluo. Adding the Sea Woman Douluo from just now, that leaves only Sea Dragon Douluo, Sea Fantasy Douluo, and Sea Spear Douluo," Tang San replied earnestly.
Hearing this, Lin Mu stroked his chin thoughtfully. Judging from Tang San's current combat strength, only Sea Dragon Douluo and Sea Fantasy Douluo posed any real threat.
Sea Dragon Douluo, as the undisputed strongest among the seven Holy Pillar Guardians, was naturally a massive hurdle. Sea Spear Douluo, being second only to Sea Dragon Douluo in raw attack power, posed little real threat to Tang San.
Sea Fantasy Douluo was trickier, given his unparalleled expertise in creating mental illusions.
Unfortunately, Tang San was currently forbidden from using his soul bone skills, making it exceedingly difficult to break through such mind-altering domains.
"You should challenge the Sea Fantasy Douluo first," Lin Mu decided.
Following his master's advice, the group headed to the Sea Fantasy Holy Pillar first, and then to the Sea Spear Holy Pillar.
As expected, Tang San expended a considerable amount of effort when challenging Sea Fantasy Douluo.
Fortunately, his foundational mental strength was incredibly robust, and his heart was resolute. In this timeline, Xiao Wu hadn't been forced to sacrifice herself; furthermore, the person he respected and cared about the most was his master.
In Tang San's mind, there was absolutely no soul master or soul beast in the world capable of harming Lin Mu.
Therefore, the traumatic mental environment created by the Sea Fantasy Douluo lacked the emotional leverage to truly break him. Tang San eventually found a structural loophole in the illusion, shattering it in one fell swoop.
Challenging Sea Spear Douluo afterward proved to be relatively easy. Before Tang San even entered the arena, Xiao Wu had already fought and significantly weakened Sea Spear Douluo during her own trial.
With the ultimate healing and amplification provided by Ye Lingling and Ning Rongrong, she had passed her test relatively smoothly. Immediately afterward, Tang San stepped up and easily defeated the already injured Sea Spear Douluo.
Having successfully defeated the guardians of the first six pillars, the group finally arrived at their ultimate destination: the Sea Dragon Holy Pillar.
"Teacher Lin Mu, please allow me to challenge him first," Yu Tianheng volunteered.
With the dual assistance of Ye Lingling and Ning Rongrong, his combat power could briefly surge to the level of a Titled Douluo. It would be enough to legitimately contend with the Sea Dragon Douluo and see exactly whose dragon martial soul was truly superior.
However, Tang San also wanted to take the lead. "Master, I am confident I can defeat Sea Dragon Douluo on my own."
Seeing that both young men were eager to prove themselves, Lin Mu shook his head helplessly.
Looking strictly at the tactical odds, Yu Tianheng, backed by the double support of Ye Lingling and Ning Rongrong, plus the raw, domineering power of his newly evolved Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul, clearly had a higher, safer chance of winning the initial clash.
Undeniably, Tang San's individual baseline strength was higher. However, he was severely handicapped: his soul bone skills were locked, he had no one to assist him, and his domain skills were completely countered by Sea Dragon Douluo's own domain. This made his chances of a clean victory significantly lower.
Objectively speaking, it was far more tactically sound for Yu Tianheng to fight first and weaken the Sea Dragon Douluo before Tang San took his turn.
After a moment of deliberation, Lin Mu looked at Yu Tianheng and instructed, "Yu Tianheng, your domain will be ineffective against him, so you must use your absolute full strength right from the start. Do not hold back."
"I understand," Yu Tianheng nodded firmly. He turned and strode purposefully toward the Sea Dragon Sacred Pillar, with Ye Lingling and Ning Rongrong following closely behind to take up their support positions.
Tang San felt a slight twinge of disappointment at his master's arrangement but did not voice any objections.
He knew this was the safest, most logical approach, and that his master was ultimately considering his best interests.
In front of the massive Sea Dragon Sacred Pillar, the Sea Dragon Douluo, who had been waiting for a long time, stood up.
He stared intently at Yu Tianheng, his brow furrowing slightly. "What is your martial soul?" he asked in a deep voice.
Although the young man in front of him had not yet released his martial soul, the Sea Dragon Douluo could actually feel a faint, innate trace of bloodline suppression.
His own martial soul was already a top-tier dragon-type, and his soul power was vastly superior to the boy's, yet he was still being suppressed.
This was enough to prove that this young challenger possessed a dragon-type martial soul of a terrifyingly high quality.
"Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!"
A fierce hint of pride flared on Yu Tianheng's face as he announced his heritage.
Upon hearing the name, the Sea Dragon Douluo frowned deeper, a look of realization dawning on him.
He said slowly, "A few years ago, news of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's utter annihilation reached even the isolated shores of Sea God Island."
Upon hearing this brutal reminder, Yu Tianheng's initial arrogance vanished, his face turning ashen. This event was an agonizing thorn buried deep in his heart.
Over the past few years, every time he recalled the tragic fate of his family, he had forced himself to channel that immense grief and anger into raw motivation, spurring him to cultivate relentlessly.
After a tense moment, Yu Tianheng forcibly regained his composure. He looked at the Sea Dragon Douluo and said calmly, "As long as I am here, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan will always exist."
Besides him, there was his cousin Yu Tianxin and several clansmen who had been scattered elsewhere. As long as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul could survive in the world, it would one day return to its peak.
Upon hearing this, a hint of genuine appreciation appeared in Sea Dragon Douluo's eyes. He nodded and said, "In that case, let me witness the true power of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul."
"Then this junior will not hold back."
As soon as he finished speaking, blinding blue lightning erupted from Yu Tianheng's entire body, and seven soul rings swirled up from beneath his feet. Then, his seventh soul rings suddenly shone brightly.
In an instant, he transformed from his human form into a massive, crackling blue lightning dragon.
At the exact same time, the brilliant light of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda radiated over his scaled body, massively enhancing his attack, defense, and soul power.
"It wasn't an illusion after all; the feeling of my martial soul being suppressed is even more pronounced now."
Looking at the terrifying lightning dragon soaring in the air above him, the Sea Dragon Douluo's pupils dilated in shock.
Although his attributes were only suppressed by about ten percent, it still significantly weakened his overall combat strength.
Logically speaking, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul shouldn't be this absurdly strong; otherwise, how could the clan have ever been wiped out?