Crushing Victory, Dark Bell

Rustle.

Hideous ghosts charged forward, their gaping maws wide as if to tear him to shreds.

A familiar face filled with terror appeared, but before it could even get close to Xie An, it was shredded to pieces by a surge of spear intent.

A peerless Spirit Beast rushed toward him with a monstrous, towering aura.

"Not a bad little world."

Xie An offered a word of praise.

It is worth noting here that small worlds typically anchored to the Douluo Plane are more like independent spaces carved out by immense power; a Limit Douluo's strength, or a Three-Word Battle Armor master relying on divine artifacts or special secret techniques, is enough to create one.

But what Xie An, Yun Ming, and the others wanted to do was to create a small world that transcended the Douluo Plane, or one large enough to encompass the entire Douluo Plane itself.

With a casual wave of his hand, the illusion, which could not have been more fake, shattered instantly.

Xie An strolled through the space, observing his surroundings.

At the center of the space lay a massive pit, filled with many adult men; judging by their clothes, most appeared to be homeless people from the streets.

The men in the pit were covered in dense, needle-like puncture marks.

Surrounding the large pit were various karst caves, each entrance supported by rough stone pillars; every three feet or so, a small opening had been chiseled out, just large enough for one person to sit cross-legged.

In every opening sat a Spirit Master.

The weakest among them were only three-ringed, while the strongest were six or seven-ringed.

Their expressions were serene, eyes tightly shut, sitting as steady as bells; there was not a single wound on their bodies, but if one looked closely, they would see that these Spirit Masters had long since had their souls drained, leaving only their physical bodies still functioning.

"This, this, this... Senior, how many people have died here?"

Sun Wenxuan's voice was laced with both fear and indignation.

Xie An signaled for Sun Wenxuan to stay calm and continued to observe the space.

Turning a corner, a young girl lay on the ground, wearing her hair in twin tails, dressed in a short shirt and skirt that revealed her fair skin; her large eyes were filled with tears, making one feel an urge to protect her.

Seeing Xie An, the girl sobbed, "Big brother, I fell down. It's so dark here, I want to go home."

Seeing this, Xie An smiled slightly, stepped forward to help the girl up, and asked considerately, "Little sister, why are you here? What is your name?"

Sun Wenxuan had wanted to warn his senior to be careful, but his brain suddenly short-circuited for a moment, and he followed up by asking, "Yeah, yeah, why are you here all by yourself?"

"My name is Lina, and I don't know how I got here either."

The girl replied in a soft voice, though black mist emanated from her hands; Xie An acted as if he didn't see it and continued to help her up.

The girl's eyes flickered with confusion, but she quickly returned to her pitiful appearance.

"Oh, so your name is Lina, but I remember you being called Nanalie?"

"Big brother, you're such a joker. My name is Lina; I don't know who Nanalie is."

The girl spoke in an innocent voice, yet a hint of panic appeared in her eyes.

"Then do you know why these people were killed? What is the goal of the Holy Spirit Cult?"

"Why does big brother keep joking? How would I know? Maybe it's for revenge, or maybe it's just for fun?"

After speaking, the girl covered her mouth and giggled, her voice as melodious as a silver bell.

"So that's how it is."

As soon as Xie An finished speaking, the World-Breaking Spear appeared abruptly in his hand and thrust directly toward the girl, leaving Sun Wenxuan dumbfounded.

Where the girl was struck, a mass of black mist surged; in the blink of an eye, her entire body was assimilated by the mist and drifted away from Xie An's hand.

When she reappeared, she was already a hundred meters in front of Xie An.

The girl, who had been smiling so charmingly, was now covered in dark green Three-Word Battle Armor, holding a large bell in her hand, with a massive phantom of a bell looming behind her.

"The Hall Master is truly boring. That hurt so much, and I was hoping to have a fun roleplay with you. You have no sympathy for the fairer sex at all~."

"I've asked what I needed to ask. Or perhaps you have a plan I don't know about? We're old acquaintances, Dark Bell; why bother playing the innocent?"

Xie An replied, his voice tinged with anger.

"Yo, yo, yo, the Hall Master is actually angry? What? Did killing these commoners touch your little heart?"

"Since the Hall Master won't give me any face, I'll just have to show you the big gift package our Holy Spirit Cult has prepared for you."

As she spoke, the giant bell behind her emerged and swayed gently, emitting a "ding-dang" sound.

In the blink of an eye, countless dark green Wronged Souls surged behind the girl, continuously converging.

As the souls surged, the girl's aura climbed steadily, eventually reaching the level of a Limit Douluo, with six black and three red spirit rings pulsing around her.

"This was prepared specifically for you, Hall Master. That Xie Family Head outside actually had quite a firm will; it took me a lot of effort to bewitch him back then~."

"Hall Master, I have reached the peak of the Demigod realm, only a hair's breadth away from being a Quasi-God. Taste this move of mine."

The smile on the girl's face remained unchanged, her voice still soft and sweet, as if she were whispering flirtatious words, yet her movements were swift as she gathered power in the giant bell.

The girl's sixth spirit ring lit up, and the bell in her hand swayed in tandem.

Suddenly, with a crisp "ding-a-ling," a wave of sound rippled out from the bell, and a halo of light simultaneously released from beneath the girl's feet, the sound wave and the halo merging into one.

The sound wave manifested as a vibrant green, spreading outward with tangible form. Following closely behind the sound wave, countless dark green vengeful spirits surged out from behind Lilina with shrill roars, rushing toward Xie An like a volcanic eruption.

The sound wave arrived in the blink of an eye, triggering a violent explosion. A thick cloud of black smoke billowed up, and the vengeful spirits charged into the smoke as well, accompanied by terrifying sounds, as if they had already torn the War God Temple Master to shreds.

"Is he dead? That would be too boring."

Nanalie felt a bit doubtful. The black smoke obscured her vision, and the intensity of the explosion prevented her spiritual power from inspecting the area.

"Hmph, the War God Temple Master is nothing—"

Before she could finish her second sentence, the World-Breaking Spear suddenly pierced through the black smoke, directly impaling Dark Bell's body. Had her Battle Armor not pulled her body to shift, that spear would have pierced her heart.

"How is this possible? How are you completely uninjured?"

Dark Bell could no longer remain calm. Looking at Xie An, who walked out of the black smoke without a single scratch on him, she said somewhat hysterically.

"How can a firefly compete with the brilliance of the moon? If the Holy Spirit Cult had sent Ghost Emperor, I might have been wary, but a mere Super Douluo dares to bark wildly here?"

As he spoke, Xie An condensed the World-Breaking Spear once more. Simultaneously, a set of Battle Armor with incredibly complex patterns emerged on his body—it was, impressively, a Four-Word Battle Armor.

"You have already reached the realm of a Quasi-God, haven't you!?"

"Take a guess."

The seventh, eighth, and ninth soul skills on Xie An's body pulsed in unison.

A sense of life-or-death crisis constantly blared warnings in Dark Bell's mind.

No, I have to run. If I don't run now, I'll really die here.

Dark Bell suddenly transformed into a cloud of black smoke, and a teleportation rune lit up simultaneously, opening a spatial tunnel.

"War God brother, I was careless this time. You won't be so lucky next time."

"Hmph, you want to run? It's not that easy."

Xie An let out a cold snort, and the World-Breaking Spear was thrown at high speed once again, chasing directly into the tunnel.

"Ah! War God Temple Master, you... I will make sure you die a horrible death!"

A shrill, miserable scream drifted out just before the tunnel closed.

"Senior, did you let her run away?"

Sun Wenxuan asked from behind, trembling.

Xie An shook his head and said with some regret: "Although her Demigod cultivation was temporarily boosted and will plummet before long—she might not even be able to maintain level 98—she has, after all, broken through certain limitations. If she is determined to run, there is no way for me to stop her."

"Furthermore, do not pursue a desperate foe. It is more important to deal with the matters at hand first."

After explaining this to Sun Wenxuan, Xie An asked again: "Sun Wenxuan, how old are you this year?"

"Reporting to the Temple Master, I am not yet 30. I am 28."

"Hmm, not bad. The next twenty years will be an Era of Great Contention. Cultivate well and strive to break through to Limit Douluo as soon as possible. I have high hopes for you."

"Yes, Temple Master!"

Although Sun Wenxuan did not understand what the Era of Great Contention meant, he still responded enthusiastically.

"Let's go. It's time to return; everyone should have arrived by now."

On the other side, Dark Bell said to Ghost Emperor with some indignation: "The intelligence was wrong. That guy Xie An has already broken through to the Quasi-God level."

Silence.

Seeing that Ghost Emperor did not speak, Dark Bell returned to her hiding place on her own.

Her fingers gently stroked the wound left by the World-Breaking Spear.

A flush of excitement appeared on Dark Bell's face.

"War God brother, you really hurt me, but... what should I do? I like it so much~"