Chapter 66: The Shock of Two Douluos, Xue Qinghe's Request for Help
"Coming at me well!"
Snake Lance Douluo let out a low shout, his tone filled with admiration, yet his hands did not stop for a second.
He held his Martial Soul, the Snake Lance, horizontally, steadying the shaft with both hands just as Tang Shan's fists slammed heavily onto the spear's body.
He loosened his left hand, letting the butt of the spear drop naturally with its momentum. Snake Lance Douluo's backhand accurately gripped it, and with a sudden burst of wrist power, the Snake Lance thrust straight forward.
A sharp, chilling aura instantly rushed at him. Tang Shan's brow tightened; that bone-chilling cold felt like a freezing gun barrel pressed firmly against his forehead.
He instinctively tilted his head to dodge. The Snake Lance whistled past his temple, the sharp sound of breaking air still ringing in his ears.
His right hand gripped the spear shaft like lightning, twisting it forcefully in an attempt to disarm his opponent. However, after turning it only a few inches, it was locked tight by a massive force, unable to move another hair's breadth.
Almost simultaneously, Snake Lance Douluo's follow-up attacks arrived: his five fingers were pressed together like a spear tip, pointing directly at Tang Shan's throat, while his left hand pulled back, sweeping the spear's butt toward the back of Tang Shan's neck.
Majestic spirit power condensed at his fingertips. His thumb, index, and middle fingers overlapped and tensed. Just as his fingertips were an inch from Tang Shan's throat, the three fingers suddenly flicked out.
The air distorted violently at his fingertips, and a faint "sizzling" sound of air explosions rang out.
Snap!
Tang Shan's finger accurately flicked against Snake Lance Douluo's arm. A shallow red mark instantly appeared, causing the other's movements to stiffen abruptly.
That fleeting pause was enough for Tang Shan to react.
He immediately concentrated his Physical Body control on his chest and back. The muscles around his neck expanded rapidly, the skin and flesh pulled to their limit, and his bones stretched accordingly, instantly maxing out his defense.
Bang!
The spear shaft slammed heavily into Tang Shan's neck, producing only a dull thud without causing him any damage.
Of course, this was also because Snake Lance Douluo had held back. If he had unleashed the full spirit power pressure of a Titled Douluo onto Tang Shan without reservation, the latter would likely have been crushed instantly.
Tang Shan's fist suddenly clenched, the surface of his knuckles swelling as he threw a vicious upward blow toward Snake Lance Douluo's jaw, forcing him back. His legs pushed off the ground, leaving two shallow pits as he used the recoil to retreat rapidly, widening the distance between him and Snake Lance Douluo.
Snake Lance Douluo did not pursue. He simply held the Snake Lance with both hands, the tip lightly touching the ground. spirit power flowed slowly around him; he seemed to have completely merged with his Spirit, looking like a long spear that could pierce the heavens.
Tang Shan took a deep breath, trying to calm the surging blood and Qi within him. In that series of offensive and defensive exchanges, the consumption of spirit power and blood Qi wasn't too large, but to prevent energy leakage, his body had endured a load far beyond its limit. He needed a moment to adjust and recover.
"Why do I feel like there's an indescribable strangeness to their exchange?"
Xue Qinghe looked at Porcupinefish Douluo beside her, her tone full of doubt.
Porcupinefish Douluo stared solemnly at the field. Hearing the question, he replied in a deep voice, "Your Highness, you probably feel that they don't look like Spirit Masters fighting, right? They haven't released a single Spirit Ability the entire time, relying entirely on the Spirit itself and basic combat techniques to compete."
Xue Qinghe suddenly realized.
The source of the slight sense of dissonance she felt earlier was exactly this.
In her understanding, a battle between Spirit Masters should center on activating spirit ring Spirit Abilities. Yet, in the duel between Tang Shan and Snake Lance Douluo, there was almost no sign of Spirit Abilities; it was all a contest of pure technique.
"Actually, at the level of Old Yu and me, when facing opponents of the same rank, early-stage Spirit Abilities are basically useless. Aside from augmentation types, we don't use the skills from the first few spirit rings at all," Porcupinefish Douluo said slowly, explaining the secrets of the Titled Douluo level to Xue Qinghe, without intentionally excluding Su Yuntao.
After all, Su Yuntao had no idea what Realm they were in.
"What we compete in is always the depth of spirit power, the understanding of our Spirit, and the power of Self-Created Soul Skills."
The first few spirit rings are useless except for augmentation skills?
A flash of inspiration suddenly crossed Xue Qinghe's mind, but before she could catch it, the thought vanished.
"Old Yu promised beforehand not to use Spirit Abilities. As for Tang Shan, his First Soul Skill is an augmentation type, and he currently only has one spirit ring, which is why this battle looks so strange. Once he obtains his second, third, and fourth spirit rings in the future, his fighting style will naturally change."
While the three were discussing in low voices, Tang Shan and Snake Lance Douluo collided once again.
This time, Snake Lance Douluo was no longer purely defensive; he fully displayed the powerful offensive capabilities of the Snake Lance Spirit.
Sometimes thrusting, sometimes sweeping, sometimes slashing upward—he attacked Tang Shan's vital points from various extremely tricky angles. Had Tang Shan's perception not far exceeded that of ordinary people after discovering his body's potential, he would likely be covered in wounds by now.
Tang Shan took a large step forward with his left foot, planting his sole firmly into the ground. His left hand gripped the spear shaft thrusting from the side like lightning, pinning it down. His right hand hung naturally, then suddenly tensed as his entire body's muscles vibrated in a strange rhythm, power layering and—
passing through each segment, finally converging entirely in his right fist, which he swung forward ruthlessly.
The air distorted violently in front of his fist, but under Tang Shan's precise control of power, it didn't explode prematurely. Instead, it condensed into a mass of invisible Qi, enveloping his fist as it crashed toward Snake Lance Douluo.
Boom!
Palm and fist collided, and the point of contact instantly erupted with a piercing air explosion. A powerful shockwave swept outward, kicking up dust from the ground.
Tang Shan took a deep breath, his chest expanding rapidly as a mass of condensed Qi quickly gathered in his chest cavity.
Seeing this, Su Yuntao's mouth twitched, and he hurriedly reminded Xue Qinghe beside him: "Your Highness, quick, cover your ears!"
Before he finished speaking, he had already covered his own ears tightly, his expression looking strange.
This time, Tang Shan clearly intended to do something big.
Relying on the superior Physical Body control granted by his First Soul Skill, he forcibly expanded his chest capacity and reinforced his body with spirit power to ensure he wouldn't be burst by the internal pressure. The surrounding air was frantically sucked into his lungs, and then he suddenly opened his mouth and spat. A mass of extremely condensed transparent air, like a refined Dragon Pearl, whistled toward Snake Lance Douluo.
Feeling the air around him suddenly grow thin, Snake Lance Douluo felt an ominous premonition rise in his heart.
He didn't have time to think; the spirit power in his Dantian surged out, instantly condensing into a thick spirit power barrier around him.
Perhaps because Tang Shan was more proficient with this strike than the last time, or perhaps because its power had skyrocketed with his improved Physical Body control, the air sphere flew quite a distance before suddenly exploding due to internal energy imbalance.
In an instant, the compressed air and hidden sound waves erupted from the center of the sphere, surging outward in all directions like a tsunami!
Roar—!
The sound waves slammed into the spirit power barrier, causing it to vibrate violently. Even though it was mostly weakened, the remaining sound waves were still deafening.
Snake Lance Douluo felt his ears ringing, and he fell into a brief state of deafness.
And that wasn't all.
The ground directly beneath the explosion point was instantly covered in fine cracks. The windows not far away finally failed to withstand the terrifying sonic impact, shattering with a "crash" as glass shards scattered everywhere.
The powerful air current blew Xue Qinghe's and the others' hair into a wild dance, and the leaves of the trees at the edge of the training ground fell in heaps.
After a long while, the storm gradually subsided. Tang Shan deactivated his Martial Soul Possession and said crisply, "The blood Qi and spirit power in my body are exhausted. I admit defeat."
Only now did his voice awaken everyone from that earth-shattering roar.
Xue Qinghe was the first to snap back to her senses, her lips still twitching slightly. She cleared her throat, barely calming her agitated emotions, and said, "Alright, today's test ends here."
Only then did Tang Shan notice the glass shards all over the floor. He scratched his head sheepishly. "Your Highness, these windows—"
1
"It's fine. I'll have someone fix them in the next few days," Snake Lance Douluo spoke slowly, his voice still a bit raspy.
Clearly, the sound waves just now had quite an impact on him. Although they didn't cause injury, his ears still seemed to be ringing.
"The power of your Self-Created Soul Skill is extremely strong; it probably isn't inferior to the Fourth Soul Skill of a weaker Spirit Ancestor."
Tang Shan waved his hands hurriedly. "Senior overpraises me. This single strike exhausted almost all the spirit power and blood Qi in my body; I can't use it consecutively at all."
"Alright, I'll have someone clean up here. Let's head back to the hall first." Xue Qinghe put on her gentle smile again and took the lead in turning back toward the hall.
Tang Shan and Su Yuntao exchanged a glance and quickly followed.
Porcupinefish Douluo and Snake Lance Douluo walked at the back, communicating via secret sound transmission.
"Old She, what do you think of this kid's strength?"
"Exquisitely brilliant! To be honest, what shocked me most wasn't his Self-Created Soul Skill—after all, his teacher is the Grandmaster, so it's normal to be taught such techniques.
What's truly impressive is his control over the battle," Snake Lance Douluo's tone was full of gravity.
"This kid doesn't look like he's been through much actual combat, yet his ability to adapt and his precision in power control have reached a terrifying level. You know how deep my control over the Snake Lance is, yet just now he actually used a bizarre force to make me briefly lose control of my Spirit."
Porcupinefish Douluo's face showed astonishment. "You're not joking?"
"Would I bother telling you this?" Snake Lance Douluo asked in return, adding, "You were staring at him for so long just now, didn't you see it?"
Porcupinefish Douluo gave a bitter smile. "I was focusing on his blood Qi then."
Then he recounted his findings from the spirit power pressure test.
"Something even the Second Consecrated Elder couldn't achieve seems to have been realized in this kid. That level of blood Qi activity is simply ridiculous; it feels almost no different from the spirit power in his body."
"Are you saying—the Grandmaster really did something that even the Second Consecrated Elder couldn't?" Snake Lance Douluo's voice was full of disbelief.
"The possibility is extremely high."
As Porcupinefish Douluo's words fell, both fell into silence.
Their respect for the Grandmaster grew a few points deeper. That Grandmaster was like a bottomless abyss, always able to refresh their understanding again and again.
Just as they returned to the hall, a servant leaned in and whispered a few words to Xue Qinghe.
Tang Shan's heart stirred, guessing that someone had come to visit.
The smile on Xue Qinghe's face faded slightly. She nodded gently and then turned to Tang Shan and Su Yuntao, her tone still gentle. "There's a bit of an emergency; I'll go handle it first. We'll have lunch together later, and at that time, there are some things I'd like to ask you two to help with."
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