Mercy toward one's enemy was cruelty toward oneself. There were still six trials ahead, and Tang San naturally wouldn't pass up the opportunity before him. White light spread from beneath his feet, instantly engulfing the entire area of the Seahorse Sacred Pillar platform. The Killing God Domain's Asura Hell activated.
The Seahorse Douluo felt a cold shiver run through his entire body. Tang San had vanished from sight, and his surroundings had transformed into a blood-red world. Piercing wails echoed in his ears as dense, almost solid killing intent surged toward him from every direction. An instinctive, deep-seated fear welled up from within.
A Domain. The Seahorse Douluo had never fought Tang San before, and he was immediately hit with the Killing God Domain right from the start. Combined with his momentary lapse in focus, he was instantly put on the defensive.
However, as a Titled Douluo, he naturally wouldn't crumble so easily. He didn't panic in the face of the changing surroundings — with a shake of his body, he revealed his Martial Soul's true form.
The Seahorse Douluo's body instantly fused with the white bone armor he wore, transforming into an enormous seahorse over three meters long. With a shake, a ring of peculiar ripples radiated outward from his body. At the same time, his sixth Soul Ring lit up.
The ripples were pale blue, filling a five-meter diameter around his body. They forcibly pushed back the killing intent of Asura Hell. Though they couldn't break through the domain or affect Tang San, they minimized the Killing God Domain's influence on him to the lowest possible degree.
Each layer of ripples that spread outward served as a shield enveloping the Seahorse Douluo's entire body — somewhat similar to Tang San's Vast Sea Protective Shield, except this Ripple Shield released by the Seahorse Douluo was designed entirely for defense.
Just then, the scene before the Seahorse Douluo suddenly shifted. The sharp killing intent vanished without a trace, replaced by a world of blue-gold. In the fleeting instant between the transition from blood-red to blue-gold, he caught a glimpse of Tang San's figure. His left foot stepped forward as he launched a plain, unadorned punch straight at Tang San.
What he saw was Tang San's body transformed to blue-gold, with eight brilliant golden lances resembling spider legs emerging behind him.
In his seahorse form, he had two short arms on his upper body — different from an actual seahorse. Yet it was this plain, unadorned punch that was backed by his fifth Soul Ring.
A rapid series of explosive booms rang through the air, as though the atmosphere itself were bearing an unimaginably enormous pressure. Meanwhile, within the Sea within the Sea behind Tang San, a massive wave surged skyward, solidifying into a colossal fist in midair that hurtled toward Tang San's back. Together with the Seahorse Douluo's punch from the front, it formed a pincer attack.
The spectators on the shore tensed up. Those who knew Tang San well understood he was switching Domains. And the Seahorse Douluo had seized the fleeting gap between the two Domains to launch his attack. To be so clear-headed as to catch that opening while under the suppression of the Killing God Domain spoke volumes about just how formidable his combat ability was.
But the Seahorse Douluo's attack had been fully anticipated by Tang San. The immense pressure from both front and back, the sensation of his entire body being locked down so tightly that even Instant Transmission couldn't be activated — this was the strength of a Titled Douluo. However, Tang San showed no trace of panic. He had no intention of dodging either, and simply took the Seahorse Douluo's terrifying strike head-on.
With a thunderous boom, Tang San's body remained utterly motionless in midair. Today's first activation of the Invincible Golden Body — triggered. Thirty-six hours, which was three days, giving him a total of nine opportunities to use the Invincible Golden Body. In order to bring this battle to a swift conclusion, Tang San used his first one without hesitation.
A pincer attack from both sides could undoubtedly maximize its destructive force, but against Tang San's Invincible Golden Body, it was utterly useless. The attack couldn't even knock him flying — in fact, the pincer effect prevented him from being sent backward.
Tang San had his reasons for choosing to take the punch head-on. Only this way could he be absolutely certain of forcing the Seahorse Douluo back into his Blue Silver Domain. He had already discerned that the Seahorse Douluo didn't possess a Domain of his own — and fighting within a Domain was undoubtedly the most advantageous scenario for him. Moreover, enduring the Seahorse Douluo's attack with his body gave him time to do something else.
The attack proved ineffective, and the Seahorse Douluo was greatly alarmed. All he saw was a red light flash at Tang San's right arm before it instantly transformed into golden light that spread across his entire body. What kind of defensive power was this? His Soul Power clearly surpassed Tang San's, so how could his attacks have no effect?
While he was still in shock, Tang San's figure had already disappeared before his eyes. The Blue Silver Domain's Ten Thousand Phenomena was complete. Although there were no plants on this platform, Tang San's spiritual power had become extraordinarily strong. The lack of plants on the platform didn't mean the shore had none. His Domain instantly crossed the Sea within the Sea, rapidly drawing upon the plants on the shore to manifest the Blue Silver Domain's full power.
At the same time, countless golden threads had already materialized within the Blue Silver Domain, rapidly closing in on the Seahorse Douluo. This was what Tang San had been doing while enduring his attack. The Eight Spider Lances wouldn't appear without reason — the external spirit bone's fusion skill with the Domain, Devouring Golden Threads, activated.
At first, the Seahorse Douluo was unconcerned. But when the Devouring Golden Threads landed on his Ripple Shield, he was shocked. The Ripple Shield's energy was being drained at a furious rate under the threads' effect. Since Tang San had reached the eighth rank, his Devouring Golden Threads within the Blue Silver Domain no longer needed physical contact to devour — any energy that wasn't part of the Blue Silver Domain itself would be consumed upon contact with the threads within the Domain. After conversion and filtration through the Eight Spider Lances, it became part of Tang San's Soul Power.
Weakening the opponent while strengthening himself — this was the most dominant aspect of the Blue Silver Domain, and Tang San's ultimate weapon for victory.
The Killing God Domain wasn't without its merits, but the Soul Power cost of maintaining it was enormous. When the opponent didn't possess a Domain of their own, the Blue Silver Domain was undoubtedly the best choice.
The Ripple Shield covered a five-meter diameter, meaning it naturally bore the brunt of more Devouring Golden Threads. Feeling their effect, the Seahorse Douluo couldn't help but be alarmed. What a terrifying Domain. No wonder his fifth trial was to challenge three of the Seven Sacred Pillar Douluo.
Left with no other option, the Seahorse Douluo had no choice but to retract his sixth Soul Skill's Ripple Shield closer to his body, minimizing the area of contact with the Devouring Golden Threads as much as possible. At the same time, he threw another punch — this time directed into the air. But to his surprise, something unexpected happened again.
That was right — the Devouring Golden Threads were indeed knocked about by the force of his punch, but they weren't destroyed, as if they were completely unaffected by physical force. And a small portion of the energy from his punch was absorbed by the scattered threads.
It could absorb that too? The Seahorse Douluo finally felt a genuine sense of crisis. He understood that at this rate, Tang San wouldn't even need to launch any attacks — as long as he maintained the Domain and drained all his Soul Power, he would be defeated.
As one of the Seven Sacred Pillar Guardians and a powerful Titled Douluo, he naturally wouldn't give up like this. White light blazed in his eyes. The Seahorse Douluo stopped worrying about the Devouring Golden Threads, took a deep breath, and interlaced the fingers of both hands, raising them to his chest with palms facing down. At the same time, his ninth Soul Ring lit up.
A Soul Master without a Domain was at a severe disadvantage against one with a Domain. What the Seahorse Douluo needed to do now was leverage his superior Soul Power to unleash his strongest attack. Even if he couldn't defeat Tang San, he would drain as much of Tang San's strength as possible. This was his duty as an examiner. He would absolutely not go easy on Tang San just because he knew him and was aware of his identity.
Although the Seahorse Douluo's ninth Soul Ring was still the black color of the ten-thousand-year class, it actually represented a spirit beast with eighty thousand years of cultivation — one he had painstakingly sought out in the depths of the ocean.
Now the ninth Soul Ring blazed bright, and the black halo rapidly expanded outward, forming a circular curtain of darkness that surrounded him at its center. Massive waves of energy surged violently, and the surrounding air warped and twisted intensely.
Dai Mubai and the others watching from the shore could clearly see the entire Sea within the Sea erupt into a frenzy. This time, with no light from the Seahorse Sacred Pillar to block it, the seawater surged straight upward to a height of a hundred meters. The once-clear water instantly turned black, and its violent churning radiated boundless energy.
The Shrek Five Monsters' expressions changed simultaneously. This was a Titled Douluo's ninth Soul Skill? What an overwhelming display of power. Even compared to the full-force eruption of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, this strike was no less impressive. The Seahorse Douluo, completely suppressed by Tang San's Domain, had unleashed his strongest attack. His strategy was simple and direct — yet highly effective.
I can't see through your Domain? You want to devour my energy? Fine — I'll unleash all my energy at once for you to devour. I don't need to find your location. With this all-encompassing ninth Soul Skill, I'll fuse my power with the Sea within the Sea and erupt with everything I have, attacking your Domain and your body simultaneously. Even if this causes me massive expenditure, you won't come out of it unscathed either.
The Seahorse Douluo's choice was undoubtedly the correct one. As a Titled Douluo, his Soul Power exceeded Tang San's, and choosing this kind of all-out collision played perfectly to his advantage. Even with the Domain's debuff, his Soul Power beyond the ninetieth rank was still firmly in play.
The Seahorse Douluo's black ninth Soul Ring represented a skill called the Cyclone Giant Wave Annihilation Fist. It channeled Soul Power to harness all surrounding water elements, forming a giant wave vortex that dealt area-of-effect devastation. Being at the center of the Sea within the Sea was the optimal location for the Cyclone Giant Wave Annihilation Fist. The towering waves had already begun to spin wildly, and the Seahorse Douluo's Soul Skill charge was climbing rapidly. The moment the charge was complete would be when this terrifying ninth Soul Skill took the stage on its perfect battlefield.
It was at this moment that Tang San's figure appeared. Within the blue-gold Domain, his blue-gold silhouette was unmistakable. His body rotated gracefully in midair as his left leg swung outward.
The instant his head was pointed downward and his left leg cleaved from above, his left leg no longer resembled a leg at all — it descended like a colossal red battle-axe splitting the sky. In that moment, behind him, there appeared a phantom image as if the Evil Spirit Whale King were slamming its massive tail fluke against the sea surface.
The axe-blade-like red light condensed into a single stream, and the fan-shaped crimson arc shimmered with crystalline afterimages in the air. Strangely, Tang San's target wasn't the Seahorse Douluo's body, but the layer of black light emanating from him — the dark curtain of the ninth Soul Ring.
This layer of black light was the protective barrier generated during the Seahorse Douluo's ninth Soul Skill activation, and its defensive power even surpassed that of his sixth Soul Skill, the Ripple Shield.
When Tang San's strike descended from the heavens, all the Devouring Golden Threads instantly converged, condensing into two streams positioned on either side of his attack. Devouring power at full capacity.
In this way, the black curtain — already being frantically drained of energy — saw its central glow dim slightly under the devouring of the two concentrated streams. And it was at precisely this moment that Tang San's left leg descended from the sky.
The hundred-thousand-year Evil Spirit Left Leg Bone's skill — the Demon Whale Evil Axe. Tang San possessed five spirit bones in total, and this recently acquired Evil Spirit Left Leg Bone was arguably the only one used entirely for offense. As a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone, its attack power was unimaginable. It had two offensive skills: one was an area-of-effect attack, and the other was the Demon Whale Evil Axe that Tang San was now using — channeling all his power into his left leg, amplified by the spirit bone, transforming it into a battle-axe blade as thin as a cicada's wing for a linear single-target strike.
Even someone of Xiao Bai's caliber would suffer when facing Tang San's Demon Whale Evil Axe — that was how terrifying this spirit bone skill was. When a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone or Soul Ring's effects were channeled entirely into offense, the result was absolutely devastating.
With a soft tearing sound, the red light swept past. The black curtain surrounding the Seahorse Douluo's body froze momentarily, and the next instant, a massive gap appeared between the two streams of Devouring Golden Threads.
The red light flashed again — this time it wasn't the spirit bone's glow, but the radiance of Tang San's eighth Soul Ring. The ripple-like red light that had once frozen Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun now emanated from within the eighth Soul Ring, flowing silently through the gap in the black curtain and enveloping the Seahorse Douluo's body.
Tang San's eighth Soul Skill — the Blue Silver Demon Whale's Captivating Gaze — activated.
As a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring, Tang San's eighth ring possessed two skills. The second was the Blue Silver Demon Whale's Captivating Gaze. Its characteristics: physical defense is nullified. Once the body was touched by the red ripples it produced, regardless of the target's power, they would be forcibly stunned for three seconds. Energy barriers could resist it, but any energy attack from a Soul Skill that came into contact with it would have its caster's Soul Power drain at three times the normal rate during the skill's duration.
This was an all-target Control Skill — an extremely domineering crowd-control ability. The forced three-second stun alone was enough to make even Titled Douluo-level powerhouses shudder. Because the stun was absolute. It would trigger as long as it made contact with the physical body. No skill or internal Soul Power could negate it.
Even with an energy shield for defense, once touched by the Blue Silver Demon Whale's Captivating Gaze, one's Soul Power would drain at a furious rate. Against such a Soul Skill, defending was futile, but not defending meant being stunned outright. This was exactly what made high-level Control Type Soul Masters such a headache for all other types.
At this point, the Seahorse Douluo's outer defensive energy had already been shattered by Tang San's Demon Whale Evil Axe. The crimson ripples of the Blue Silver Demon Whale's Captivating Gaze naturally climbed onto his body without hesitation. The forced stun effect took hold.
The simple word "forced" brought annihilation to the Seahorse Douluo. Had this been an ordinary stun skill, it would have been ineffective against him at this point. While channeling a super-powerful skill like the ninth Soul Skill, the Seahorse Douluo was already in a state similar to super armor. Let alone with the outer shield — even without it, interruption would be nearly impossible. Otherwise, how could the ninth Soul Skill be worthy of being called the ultimate technique of a Titled Douluo?