And just at that moment, Tang San—who had been blasted a thousand meters away—came charging back. He was like a moth plunging into flame, giving himself no time to recover whatsoever. The instant his body's backward momentum ceased, he lunged forward again. Three of his nine Soul Rings had already been shattered, yet his aura only grew stronger. Blue-gold flames wrapped around his entire body, and the Sea God's Trident brand on his forehead blazed with surging radiance. He seemed to have entered a state of berserk fury. Qian Renxue had seen this state before—when Tang San had simultaneously absorbed the Soul Rings of the three Thousand Jiao Ant Emperor brothers. Wasn't this exactly what he'd looked like back then?
Let me see how many of my attacks you can take. Qian Renxue surged forward to meet him. A thunderous boom accompanied the shattering of Tang San's fourth Soul Ring as his body was blasted away once more. But this time he wasn't sent flying backward—he was punched directly into the sky by Qian Renxue's fist. Massive golden flames chased after Tang San's body, threatening to swallow him whole.
Just then, the Sea God's Trident brand on Tang San's forehead suddenly blazed with incomparable brilliance. Midair, pale golden blood trickled from his seven orifices like tiny serpents. But even as he hung in the sky, he abruptly slammed both palms against his own body, arching his upper torso backward, using his back and the folded Eight Spider Lances to shield himself from the golden flames' devouring embrace.
The intense corrosive force of Soul Power dimmed the blue-gold radiance surrounding Tang San's body. But in the next instant, hundreds of golden beams shot out from the Eight Spider Lances, forcibly burrowing into the golden flames of Angelic divine power. As those beams were destroyed by the golden flames, they desperately devoured Qian Renxue's divine power in return and channeled it back into Tang San's body, causing the blue-gold glow around him to surge back to full strength.
Pfft—Tang San coughed up another mouthful of blood. Through the Eight Spider Lances' near-suicidal act of self-consumption, his strength had been restored to its peak. But the searing, splitting pain across his back sent his body into violent, uncontrollable spasms. Yet even so, Tang San's iron will did not waver in the slightest. He twisted his body, head downward and feet up, pressed his palms together above his head, and descended from the sky like a blue-gold arrow plunging earthward. His fifth Soul Ring detonated and shattered, merging into his blue-gold flames as he hurtled straight toward the pursuing Qian Renxue.
From the start of the battle until now, if one were to describe Tang San's fighting process in a single simple sentence, Qian Renxue would undoubtedly say: it was far too savage.
Yes—knowing full well that his strength was inferior to Qian Renxue's, Tang San had resorted to something akin to drinking poison to quench his thirst, launching suicide-like attacks against her. During their previous two collisions, Qian Renxue had even sensed that if she had channeled just a little more Angelic divine power, Tang San's body would have been utterly annihilated. Yet after four impacts, Tang San was still alive and well, and had launched an even fiercer fifth strike. His relentless assault had even left Qian Renxue somewhat dazed. She believed that no other Titled Douluo could have pulled off something like this.
The fifth collision occurred between Tang San's pressed palms and Qian Renxue's rising-dragon-style right fist. This time, the golden flames spread outward horizontally like a shockwave ring. Within a ten-li radius, every tall tree level with the point of impact was sheared clean off. The colossal energy fluctuation caused the very air to solidify. This time, the one sent flying was none other than Qian Renxue.
Tang San's body merely trembled slightly in the air, swaying once as he forced himself not to cough up another mouthful of blood. Qian Renxue, however, plummeted downward, her feet slamming into the ground and sinking more than half a foot deep. Clearly, she had not fully neutralized the power behind Tang San's strike. That piercing force had erupted with unparalleled explosive power the moment it penetrated her Angelic divine power, rendering her flames' natural energy-devouring and burning properties completely ineffective.
"Ha ha—come again!" Tang San's brief hesitation was only momentary. The instant his blue-gold flames forcibly dispersed the golden light around his body, he streaked down like a meteor chasing the moon, heading straight for Qian Renxue, who was flapping her six wings to free herself from the ground.
"Are you truly courting death?!" Qian Renxue roared in fury. The successive defeats had set her rage ablaze. Facing Tang San's sixth attack, she cupped her hands before her chest, and a colossal angelic phantom materialized behind her. Terrifying golden flames condensed into a titanic Sword of the Angel. This was no divine artifact—it was formed entirely from Qian Renxue's own divine power. The hundred-meter-long blade looked solid as steel. The Sword Douluo had once displayed a similar ability, but compared to the energy fluctuation Qian Renxue was unleashing now, it was nothing more than a firefly beside the full moon.
Tang San's expression tightened, but the savagery in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest. On his body, the sixth, seventh, and eighth Soul Rings shattered simultaneously. They transformed into streams of blue-gold light that enveloped him entirely. At this moment, his body appeared almost translucent. Surging Sea God's light shot forth like lightning from the trident brand on his forehead. An equally colossal phantom appeared behind Tang San—it was the exact form of the Sea God's Trident.
The Sea God's Trident, planted in the ground by Qian Renxue, seemed to sense this aura. Its main blade emitted an excited hum. Though it could not join this battle, at this moment it seemed to be cheering Tang San on with all its might.
Channeling the power of three rings in an instant eruption, the illusory blue-gold Sea God's Trident and the heaven-and-earth-cleaving Sword of the Angel hovered across the sky from each other.
Qian Renxue did not rush to attack. Gazing into Tang San's wild eyes, her brow furrowed deeply. She could keenly sense that Tang San was continuously overdrawing his life force. Even with the support of every Blue Silver Grass in the Star Dou Great Forest, his attacks through this unknown method would most likely end in mutual destruction. Of course, he couldn't actually kill her. Was his wager merely an excuse—an excuse to prevent her from using a divine artifact?
Qian Renxue not attacking didn't mean Tang San wouldn't. Another person might have used this opportunity to catch their breath, but not Tang San. From the very first moment of battle, he had never once considered stopping his assault. The Sea God's Trident phantom blazed with blinding light as it shot across the sky, hurtling straight for Qian Renxue. Wasn't the way it flew exactly like the Golden Thirteen Strikes' move—"One Strike, Never to Return"? Without a divine artifact in hand, Tang San's strike was in no way inferior to the one he had used earlier to block Qian Renxue. The difference was that Qian Renxue had now made full preparations and would not be caught off guard again.
Qian Renxue took a deep breath. Regardless of anything else, if this man could not be conquered, he had to be utterly destroyed before he fully came into his power. Blazing golden flames erupted from the Sword of the Angel, merging with Qian Renxue's body as she swept it downward through the sky.
BOOM—
The two illusory divine artifacts collided in midair. The entire sky changed color in that instant, as though the sun had fallen to earth. Above the Star Dou Great Forest, the sky blazed with resplendent gold. Even from a thousand li away, the spectacle was clearly visible.
……
"That's…" Bibidong gazed from her carriage toward the Star Dou Great Forest, watching the extraordinary phenomenon of the sky painted gold. She froze completely. With her cultivation, she could keenly sense the aura within that collision. Only aura of that caliber could produce such an effect!
"Teacher, what is that? Why is it so terrifying?" Hu Liena stared at the golden light, her feelings entirely different from Bibidong's. What arose in her heart was sheer terror. Her breathing grew labored, and her delicate face turned deathly pale. She quickly lowered her head, not daring to gaze at the golden light any longer.
To feel such effects from a thousand li away just by looking—the amount of energy contained in that golden light was beyond imagination.
"Divine level… how is that possible? Another divine-level being. Grand Preceptor, what exactly are you doing?!" Bibidong's fists clenched involuntarily. She bit her lower lip hard, but in her eyes blazed a light of absolute resolve.
Years of effort cannot be allowed to go to waste just like that.
"Nana, relay my orders—all troops accelerate and return to Martial Soul City as quickly as possible." Her mind was already made up. No matter how great the price, she would reach that level as soon as possible. She would make herself the strongest person in this world—no, the strongest god. Bibi Dong's proud heart would never allow anyone to stand above her. She had made her decision: at any cost, even if it meant… she would elevate her own power.
……
Tang San's body lay still upon the ground. Before him stretched a massive trench—five meters wide, five meters deep, and five hundred meters long. That trench had been carved out by the impact of his body.
If he hadn't been clenching his teeth the entire time, he would have lost consciousness long ago. His body felt as though it were being torn apart, every single bone as if it had been shattered. What was even more terrifying was that the Angel God Power, brimming with devouring force, had already invaded his body and was dissolving his Soul Power. Fortunately, the energy of the Sea God's Light had been able to barely hold it at bay. But expelling that Angel God Power from his body entirely was an extraordinarily difficult task.
Qian Renxue naturally did not look nearly as wretched as Tang San. She stood quietly beside a large tree, the Angel God Power emanating from her body protecting the incense stick planted in the trunk so that it would not be shattered by the residual shockwaves of their clash. From the start of the battle until now, that incense stick had burned down halfway. But in Qian Renxue's eyes, this battle was already over.
Tang San had constantly pushed his potential to its limits and used a special method to temporarily elevate his power to the divine level, but against a true god, his defeat was still inevitable. Qian Renxue's breathing was only slightly hurried, with just a faint blush added to her cheeks. Yet Tang San lay motionless in the distance.
The Angel God Consciousness told Qian Renxue that Tang San was not dead. His injuries were severe, but far from fatal. Her Angel God Power was continuously eroding his body.
Qian Renxue flicked away the lengthened ash from the tip of the incense stick. Just as she was about to pull it out, Tang San's hoarse voice drifted over.
"Our wager isn't over yet. I haven't lost."
Qian Renxue looked toward the far end of the trench in surprise. She saw Tang San's hands emerging from the depths of the chasm, along with two golden spider lances that plunged forcefully into the ground, hoisting his body up from the trench.
Standing on solid ground, Tang San's clothes were torn in many places, his face as pale as gold paper, his body swaying. Were it not for the Eight Spider Lances propping him up, Qian Renxue would not have doubted that he could collapse at any moment. The blue-gold radiance that had been burning around him earlier had vanished, and even his Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul had disappeared. In his complete state, he had still been no match for her—could it be that in this condition, he actually intended to continue fighting? Qian Renxue truly could not understand what ability Tang San still had to rely on.
Drawing a deep breath, Tang San struggled to straighten his chest, forcing his spine to stand upright. His right hand reached into his Wishful Hundred Treasure Pouch and pulled out several sausages, which he stuffed into his mouth.