Triangle Formation Broken? Yan's Crushing Defeat

The golden flames on the Star Dou Arena still burned away the lingering sinister aura of the Soul Erosion Array. Hu Liena's collapsed figure on the ground seemed to signal the downfall of the Golden Generation. Yet unwilling fire blazed in Yan's eyes. He clenched his fists, and the dark blue Nether Ghost Fire in his palms surged once more—despite the shattered core of the charm, despite the dispersing black mist, he still refused to accept the outcome of "Spirit Hall's Golden Generation losing to a ragtag team."

"Do not even think of winning this easily!" Yan's roar was ragged and tearing. He stomped heavily on the ground, launching his fifth soul skill, Volcanic Purgatory, without warning! Unlike the previous Volcanic Eruption, these flames were no longer scattered fire spears. Crimson magma poured from beneath the Star Dou Arena, mixed with Soul Devouring Spider Poison that had yet to fully disperse, forming a purgatorial zone thirty meters across. The heat warped the air, the obsidian floor gradually melted in the magma, and even the stone beneath the Cauldron Sword Team's feet began to grow scorching hot.

"He's lost his mind! He actually used his fifth soul skill!" cries rang out from the stands. Everyone knew that a fifth soul skill consumed soul power equivalent to half one's life. Yan was clearly forcing it now because he wanted to perish together with them. In the VIP section, an unusual glint flashed through Bibi Dong's eyes. That ruthlessness did carry something of Spirit Hall's style, but she soon scoffed. "It's useless no matter how ruthless he is. Without the charm supporting him, his volcano is nothing but an empty display."

Just as Bibi Dong had said, without Hu Liena's charm to restrain them, Yan's magma assault had become an obvious flaw anyone could see through. Although Dai Mubai had released his White Tiger True Body, he remained at peak condition. He stepped forward, gathering pale golden, masculine soul power in his White Tiger Claw—this was a form of soul power gained after absorbing Jiang Zhu's Life Origin, specifically suited to counter sinister attributes. "Yan, your magma is useless against me!"

Dai Mubai lunged into the magma zone, his White Tiger Claw slicing through the air as it slammed down toward the densest part of the molten flow. "Bang!" The instant the pale golden soul power collided with the crimson magma, the lava churned violently like boiling oil struck by cold water, forcefully torn open into a passage fifteen feet wide. The Soul Devouring Spider Poison within the passage hissed under the burning masculine soul power and turned into wisps of black smoke that dispersed.

"Impossible! How can your soul power restrain my magma?!" Yan's pupils contracted. He could clearly sense a pure Life Energy within Dai Mubai's soul power, the natural bane of both Nether Ghost Fire and Soul Devouring Spider Poison. He tried to alter the magma's path and ambush Dai Mubai from the side, only to hear Ma Hongjun's wild laughter behind him.

"Yan, watch your back!" Ma Hongjun's Sun Flame True Fire had condensed into a sky full of fire rain. The golden flame particles gleamed like brilliant meteors beneath the sunlight—it was the evolved Sun Flame True Fire Meteor Shower. This time, the fire rain was no longer a scattered attack. It locked on with precision, every flame particle flying toward Yan amid the magma while deliberately avoiding the passage Dai Mubai had opened.

"Damn it!" Yan was forced to split his attention to deal with the fire rain overhead. He condensed the Nether Ghost Fire into a barrier, attempting to block the flame particles, but the Sun Flame True Fire's temperature far exceeded his expectations. The golden particles struck the dark blue barrier and pierced through it as easily as fire burning paper, landing on his shoulders and scorching tiny bloody holes into his flesh.

Dai Mubai seized the opening and rushed straight through the magma passage to Yan's front. No longer holding back, he slammed an armor-piercing strike into Yan's chest. "White Tiger Light Splitting Wave!" Pale golden soul power invaded Yan's meridians like sharp swords, shattering the core of his magma soul power and forcing all the remaining Soul Devouring Spider Poison out of his body.

Yan let out a shrill scream and flew backwards like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily against the edge of the Star Dou Arena. He struggled to rise, only to discover that the soul power inside his body had been completely exhausted. The Nether Ghost Fire flickered out like a candle in the wind, while blood continued to seep from the holes in his chest. When Ma Hongjun's final Sun Flame True Fire particle landed on the ground beside him and burned a charred mark into the stone, Yan finally closed his eyes in despair and completely lost consciousness.

"Yan!" Xie Yue's furious roar echoed across the arena. He looked at Yan lying on the ground, then at the steadily advancing Cauldron Sword Team, madness flashing in his eyes. He poured every last bit of soul power into his twin blades. The silver blade qi surged to three feet wide and swept toward Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun—he wanted revenge for Yan, even if it meant dying together.

"Careful!" Tang San called out in time. His Blue Silver Grass had just started to wrap around Xie Yue's ankle, but the opponent's blade qi was thirty percent faster than before. The grass leaves were cut apart the instant they protruded. Xie Yue's twin blades, like two streaks of silver lightning, had already approached Dai Mubai's back. Having just endured a bitter battle against Yan, Dai Mubai had spent more than half his soul power and had no time to turn around and defend himself.

At that critical moment, a golden light flew in from the side and landed precisely in the hands of Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Tang San. Oscar's voice rang out: "All-Attribute Sausage! Eat them quickly! They'll temporarily fully restore your soul power and boost all attributes by thirty percent!"

The three did not hesitate in the slightest and stuffed the sausages into their mouths. The golden sausages melted the instant they entered, and immense soul power swept through their bodies. Dai Mubai's more-than-half-depleted soul power was instantly replenished, and the pale golden glow of his White Tiger Claw surged again. Ma Hongjun's Sun Flame True Fire also blazed anew, while the range of his fire rain doubled. Most surprising of all was Tang San—his Mysterious Heaven Skill internal energy resonated with the sausage's all-attribute soul power. His Blue Silver Grass changed from emerald green to deep blue-green, and patterns like refined iron appeared across the grass leaves.

"Xie Yue, I'm your opponent!" Tang San's voice carried unprecedented authority. He formed seals with both hands, and deep blue-green Blue Silver Grass rapidly gathered before him. Mysterious Heaven Skill internal energy continuously poured into the leaves. They gradually hardened and lengthened, finally forming a spear over three meters long. The spear shaft bore a deep blue-green metallic sheen, while sharp soul power condensed at its tip—it was the Blue Silver Overlord Spear.

"What kind of soul skill is this?" Xie Yue's eyes were filled with disbelief. He had never seen Blue Silver Grass form such a sharp weapon. What alarmed him even more was that the pressure emitted by the spear seemed even stronger than his twin blades.

"Take this!" Tang San gave Xie Yue no time to hesitate. Gripping the spear with both hands, he hurled it fiercely at Xie Yue's twin blades. The Blue Silver Overlord Spear shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow, its deep blue-green shaft tearing through the air with a piercing whistle as it charged straight at the twin blades.

"Clang!"

The huge metallic collision made every spectator in the arena cover their ears. The Blue Silver Overlord Spear and Xie Yue's twin blades remained locked in the air for three breaths. The deep blue-green spear tip gradually overwhelmed the silver blade qi, and fine cracks began spreading across the moonlight patterns on the twin blades. Xie Yue's face turned deathly pale. He could feel that Tang San's spear contained not only the resilience of Blue Silver Grass, but also the fierce power of the Mysterious Heaven Skill. Combined, those two forces made his twin blades impossible to sustain.

"Impossible! My twin blades were forged from the bones of a thousand-year soul beast. How could they..." Before Xie Yue could finish, a crisp "crack" rang out. The tip of the Blue Silver Overlord Spear completely crushed the twin blades' blade qi. The spear shaft smashed into the center of the blades, breaking them into four pieces. The broken fragments scattered like meteors. One grazed Xie Yue's cheek, leaving a deep bloody gash across his face.

Xie Yue stared blankly at the broken blades in his hands, then at the intact Blue Silver Overlord Spear in Tang San's grip, and finally collapsed completely. His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees. The broken blades slipped from his hands with a "clang." These twin blades had accompanied him for five years, weapons that carried all his glory, yet they had now become fragments.

"Xie Yue concedes! Every member of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation has lost the ability to fight!" The referee's excited voice spread throughout the arena through the Soul Gathering Array. He raised his right hand and pointed toward the Cauldron Sword Team. "The final of the All-Continent Soul Master Competition goes to the Cauldron Sword Team!"

Cheers crashed against Heaven Dou City's sky like a tsunami. Golden streamers and flower petals poured down from the stands, covering the entire Star Dou Arena. The seven members of the Cauldron Sword Team supported one another as they stood in the center of the arena. Dai Mubai's White Tiger Claw still glimmered pale gold, Ma Hongjun's Sun Flame True Fire danced in his palm, Tang San's Blue Silver Overlord Spear gradually faded, Oscar's sausage machine still gave off heat, Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda radiated a gentle glow, Jiang Zhu's Seven-Colored Sacred Staff trembled lightly, and Lin Che's Azure Water Sword and Universe Cauldron intertwined into a pale golden curtain of light.

In the VIP section, Emperor Xue Beng burst into hearty laughter. He rose to his feet and raised his cup toward the Cauldron Sword Team. "Excellent! What a Cauldron Sword Team! I declare that the Cauldron Sword Team shall become permanent honored retainers of Heaven Dou City and receive the highest treatment from the imperial family!" Ning Fengzhi also smiled with satisfaction as he looked at Chen Xin. "Old Sword Douluo, look. These young people have not disappointed us."

Chen Xin slowly nodded as the sword qi of the Seven Kill Sword gradually converged. "Their coordination has surpassed that of an ordinary team. Oscar's All-Attribute Sausage and Tang San's Blue Silver Overlord Spear in particular are a perfect match. In the future, they will surely become the central pillar in the fight against Spirit Hall."

Bibi Dong's expression had darkened to the extreme. She abruptly rose, her black pope's robes stirring without wind, and left in fury with Spirit Hall's people without a single unnecessary word. In this match, Spirit Hall had not only lost the championship, but also the future of its Golden Generation and its standing before soul masters across the continent.

In the shadows of the Star Dou Arena, Ghost Douluo watched everything with a sinister gleam in his eyes. He did not launch the ambush Bibi Dong had ordered. The Cauldron Sword Team's momentum was at its peak, and Chen Xin sat in the VIP section. An ambush would only bring humiliation upon himself. He silently memorized the appearance of every member of the Cauldron Sword Team, especially Tang San's Blue Silver Overlord Spear and Oscar's All-Attribute Sausage, before turning and disappearing into the mist of Heaven Dou City. This grudge would never end here.

Lin Che looked at his companions, then at the cheering crowd, warmth welling up in his heart. From their difficult breakthrough in the preliminaries to their life-and-death reversal in the finals, they had faced too many challenges and crises: Dai Mubai's recovery from severe injury, Jiang Zhu's epic healing, Ma Hongjun's flame evolution, Oscar's crucial sausages, Ning Rongrong's precise boosts, Tang San's Blue Silver Overlord Spear, and his own Dual Martial Souls coordination... Every person and every moment had been indispensable.

"We won!" Ma Hongjun's voice choked with emotion. He raised both hands, and Sun Flame True Fire formed a huge golden character for "victory" in his palms, its golden blaze illuminating the entire Star Dou Arena.

"We won! We're the champions!" Dai Mubai shouted excitedly as well. He grabbed Tang San beside him in a fierce hug, the strength of his White Tiger Claw nearly leaving Tang San unable to breathe.

Oscar ran over to Jiang Zhu and handed her a Recovery Sausage. "Jiang Zhu, you worked hard. Hurry and eat something to restore your strength."

Ning Rongrong leaned against Lin Che, watching the sky full of streamers and petals with a brilliant smile. "Captain, we did it. We really won the championship."

Lin Che nodded and raised the Azure Water Sword, pointing its tip toward the sky. The Universe Cauldron rotated above his head, its pale golden halo enveloping the entire team and gathering the glow of everyone's martial souls together. It formed a dazzling pillar of light that soared to the heavens. This pillar was not only a symbol of their championship, but proof of the Cauldron Sword Team's bond and strength.

Sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell upon the Cauldron Sword Team, coating them in a layer of golden radiance. The final of this All-Continent Soul Master Competition finally came to an end amid the cheers of countless spectators. But Lin Che knew this was only the beginning of their legend. Spirit Hall's threat remained, and many challenges lay ahead. They would continue forward side by side under the name of the Cauldron Sword Team, writing their own legend.