Dai Weisi's Invitation, Xu Mochen Enters the Fray

If things had continued to develop smoothly, the fall of the Heaven Dou Empire would likely have become inevitable. Unfortunately, heaven has unpredictable storms; the series of upheavals over sixty years ago not only completely interrupted the grand ambitions of the Star Luo Empire but nearly plunged it into a crisis of total annihilation.

Although the Star Luo Empire eventually pulled through and restored its national strength to the point where it surpassed the Heaven Dou Empire once again, the realistic impact and psychological shadows cast by that disaster persist to this day. Even now, the elders of the Star Luo Empire who lived through those events are unwilling to speak of them.

Of course, Xu Mochen only understood the general outline of these events. It seems this war not only rewrote the fate of the two great empires but also that of another sect: the Clear Sky Sect. Even today, many on the Douluo Continent believe that the turmoil sixty years ago was the beginning of the Clear Sky Sect's rise to power—becoming the number one sect in the world and gaining the qualifications to stand on equal footing with the Martial Soul Hall—while simultaneously sowing the seeds of the crisis that would lead to the great catastrophe six years ago.

However, it is too early to dwell on such things. Regarding Dai Weisi's inquiry, Xu Mochen replied modestly, "To be honest, Brother Dai, I am currently only a level 24 Soul Grand Master. You know that the combat power of us Sun Moon Empire people relies more on external objects. Furthermore, the quality of our martial souls is generally unremarkable. While mine is decent compared to others from the Sun Moon Empire, I have rarely experienced any decent battles."

Xu Mochen did not hide his cultivation level, nor was there any need to. In recent days, he had practiced diligently, finally advancing from level 23 to 24. It was still not particularly high, and he felt it was truly a disgrace to the ranks of transmigrators.

Hearing this, Dai Weisi seemed to have finally found his opening and quickly said, "External objects are indeed wonderful, but as soul masters, how can we abandon the improvement of our own combat ability and willpower just because of the power of external items?"

"After all, a soul master's cultivation must be rooted in their martial soul! I am untalented, but although I am only level 39, I have been trained by experts of the royal family for years and possess some small skills. Why don't we spar? Perhaps I can offer Brother Xu a few pointers? Rest assured, I will not use my third soul skill."

It was clear that Dai Weisi hoped to regain some face for the Star Luo Empire by demonstrating his own strength, while also gauging the capabilities of the younger generation of the Sun Moon Empire's royal family.

Upon hearing this, Xu Mochen could only cup his hands and smile bitterly, "Very well, since Brother Dai has such refined interest, I hope you will not hesitate to teach me and go easy on me." The two then stopped talking and walked to an open field.

Dai Weisi was the first to release his martial soul. Accompanied by a loud tiger roar, his muscles began to swell like steel, black stripes appeared on his face, and his hands transformed into sharp tiger claws. Three soul rings—two yellow and one purple—appeared around him.

"Dai Weisi, White Tiger martial soul, level 39 assault-system battle soul elder! Please advise!" Dai Weisi bowed slightly to Xu Mochen and immediately entered a combat state. Xu Mochen smiled slightly, and his disguised Purple Imperial Chaos Dragon King martial soul possessed him.

Accompanied by a high-pitched, resonant dragon roar, Xu Mochen's eyes were suddenly filled with purple-tinged chaos qi, and his entire body was covered in a layer of dense dragon scales. Even his hands gradually transformed into dragon claws wreathed in purple-red light. Two yellow soul rings appeared as well.

"Xu Mochen, Purple Imperial Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon martial soul, level 24 assault-system battle soul master! Please advise!" Xu Mochen returned the bow respectfully, and the battle officially began.

"Brother Xu, please make the first move." Dai Weisi knew how to be courteous, and Xu Mochen did not refuse: "Then I shall be rude!" He immediately activated his first soul skill: Chaos Dragon Claw. Xu Mochen swiped his right hand toward Dai Weisi, and a variation of the Chaos Dragon Claw—the Purple Sun Dragon Claw—was unleashed. A claw shadow glowing with sharp purple light flew toward Dai Weisi, accompanied by a dragon roar.

At the same time, while everyone's attention was fixed on the Purple Sun Dragon Claw, Xu Mochen's left hand flicked his wrist, and a highly concealed dragon claw phantom struck toward Dai Weisi from a tricky angle. This was the other variation: the Purple Yin Dragon Claw.

Of the two ways to activate the Chaos Dragon Claw, the Purple Sun Dragon Claw's phantom glows bright purple; its indestructible effect can tear through enemy defenses to a great extent. The chaos dragon qi contained within it can immediately suppress those with lower martial soul bloodlines, causing the target's defense and speed to plummet, making it difficult for them to parry or dodge.

When the Purple Yin Dragon Claw is activated, the phantom glows dark purple. Its characteristics are high attack speed and strong concealment. While its direct damage is not as great as the Purple Sun Dragon Claw, once it hits, the target's soul power will become disordered, making it impossible to flexibly mobilize their martial soul, soul power, or soul skills. Furthermore, the chaos dragon qi injected into them will cause continuous damage.

"Haha! Well done!" Dai Weisi's arrogance meant he clearly did not realize the severity of the situation. He advanced instead of retreating, meeting the bright purple claw shadow head-on. At the same time, his first soul ring lit up: White Tiger Protection Shield activated!

Clearly, Dai Weisi intended to forcibly withstand this blow and then rush forward to knock Xu Mochen away, ending the match. With a muffled "bang," the Purple Sun Dragon Claw slammed into the White Tiger Protection Shield.

Immediately after, Dai Weisi was shocked to find that as he faced this claw, the flow of blood throughout his body began to slow, sweat beaded on his forehead, and a terrifying pressure weighed upon him. Even the light of the White Tiger Protection Shield dimmed under this terrifying momentum.

Finally, with two successive cracking sounds, the Purple Sun Dragon Claw tore through the White Tiger Protection Shield and headed straight for Dai Weisi's chest.

"Not good!" Dai Weisi felt a sense of dread in his heart, but his years of combat experience led him to quickly cross his arms to protect his chest, intending to take the hit head-on.

Although he did not know why Xu Mochen's attack could break his defense despite having lower soul power, he estimated that the momentum of this dragon claw must be nearly spent. He could rely on his abundant soul power and physique to block it and then immediately launch a counterattack.

But in the next moment, Dai Weisi suddenly felt a phantom strike his right side with lightning speed. A wave of pain followed.

"Where did this attack come from?" Just as Dai Weisi winced in pain and tried to mobilize his soul power to protect himself, he was horrified to find that it had become very difficult to do so. Even his arms, which were protecting his chest, went numb and loosened slightly. Before he could react, the following Purple Sun Dragon Claw phantom landed solidly on his arms and chest.

Accompanied by another burst of intense pain, bloody wounds appeared on Dai Weisi's chest and arms. Two different types of pain spread throughout his body. But Dai Weisi had no time to worry about the pain, for he was horrified to see that Xu Mochen had already seized the opportunity to reach him, his right dragon claw condensed with purple soul power, striking viciously toward his head.

"Damn it! He isn't trying to kill me, is he?" Dai Weisi felt a surge of fear, but he reacted immediately, gathering every bit of soul power he could and letting out a roar. His second soul skill: White Tiger Intense Light Wave activated! A beam of light flashing with white energy shot toward Xu Mochen. At the same time, Dai Weisi kicked off with his right foot, retreating at top speed to put distance between them.

Facing the incoming White Tiger Intense Light Wave, Xu Mochen's eyes narrowed, and his second soul ring lit up. His body was instantly wrapped in a terrifying purple dragon qi, and the dark purple scales on his arms erupted with a deep purple luster. Xu Mochen continued his right-handed strike, not dodging or avoiding, but grabbing directly at the White Tiger Intense Light Wave.

His bold move caused the onlookers to gasp. But then they saw that the seemingly fierce beam of light was crushed by Xu Mochen's claw. The intense attack light dissipated instantly into purple smoke.

This was the second soul skill granted to Xu Mochen after passing the first trial of the Purple Imperial Chaos Dragon King: Chaos Dragon Body, a defensive soul skill. But its characteristics were not merely about defending against attacks. Its function was to use chaos power to devour the energy emitted by the attacks hitting him, causing the enemy's soul skills to weaken significantly or dissipate entirely due to insufficient energy.

He could then convert the energy devoured by the chaos qi into his own soul power. With Xu Mochen's current level 24 cultivation and a soul skill from a thousand-year soul ring, he could fully neutralize and devour even a standard thousand-year soul skill attack from a Soul Elder.

Xu Mochen then continued to strike at the retreating Dai Weisi at high speed. Dai Weisi was already injured and had just barely finished using two soul skills; although his soul power remained abundant, he found it inexplicably difficult to fully mobilize it.

Furthermore, his condition was poor, and the special energy Xu Mochen had injected into him was constantly disrupting his martial soul and soul power, as if gnawing at his body from within. Just as he managed to gather a bit of soul power, he didn't expect that Xu Mochen, who had only been delayed for a breath by his previous attack, would continue to charge at him.

"No choice!" Dai Weisi could no longer care about their previous agreement. His third soul ring shone brightly, and his already robust body—swollen from the White Tiger Possession—expanded further. His muscles bulged exaggeratedly, tearing his upper garments to shreds and revealing terrifying muscular contours.

Most strangely, black horizontal stripes appeared all over his skin; if not for the lack of fur, it would be no different from a tiger's hide. His tiger palms grew larger, and the sharp blades protruding from them turned a bright silver.

Most uniquely, his entire body was shrouded in a layer of intense golden light, as if he were plated in gold. His blood-red eyes revealed a bloodthirsty light, and his entire being exuded the domineering aura of the king of beasts.