From what Xiao Wu had said about Er Ming, Dugu Bo could guess without hesitation that it had to be a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Golden Crocodile Douluo shook his head as well, idly fiddling with his fingers.
"Ce'er, watch closely. This is what they call 'theory invincible.'
Before absolute strength, any flashy fusion skill is just a paper tiger."
At the heart of the battlefield, Dugu Bo stood beneath the golden light, amusement filling his emerald snake eyes.
"Yu Xiaogang, is that all you've got?"
Dugu Bo's voice came from the Serpent Emperor, layered with deep, overlapping echoes.
"You think I'm fighting you head-on?
I'm just watching you put on a show.
This move is called 'Serpent Emperor's Might'!"
Before his voice had even faded, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor whipped its tail. The enormous tail tore through the air with a thunderous crack and slammed into the Golden Sacred Dragon's belly.
"Bang!"
The Golden Sacred Dragon was sent tumbling hundreds of meters through the air by the blow, its light dimming in an instant.
"Pfft—!"
Yu Xiaogang, at the heart of the fusion, spat out a mouthful of blood. His face turned deathly pale.
But he still gritted his teeth, madness gleaming in his eyes.
"No... I haven't lost yet!
Sacred Dragon, burn your Soul Power!
Smash into him!"
"Xiaogang!
Have you lost your mind?"
Flender realized in horror that Yu Xiaogang was forcibly draining the Soul Power Origin of all three of them.
The frenzied pull made Liu Erlong's body tremble.
She stared coldly at Yu Xiaogang's back and murmured under her breath.
"For the sake of your false pride, you don't even care if we die?"
"Yu Xiaogang, you're a complete and utter lunatic!"
Flender felt his life force rapidly draining away.
From the strain of pushing himself too far, Flender's hair visibly turned gray before their eyes.
"Xiaogang, stop!
If you keep this up, Erlong will die!"
"Shut up!
As long as we win, any loss is worth it!"
Yu Xiaogang's eyes were bloodshot, his face twisted like a demon from hell.
He spread his arms and screamed frantically at the phantom in the sky.
"Golden Sacred Dragon, sacrifice your Origin!
Smash that stinking snake!"
The Golden Sacred Dragon in the sky let out a pitiful cry. A layer of blood-red spread across its once-golden scales.
Its body swelled to one and a half times its size. Wrapped in a fierce, desperate aura, it became a gigantic shooting star and hurtled madly toward the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor.
"Teacher..."
Watching this, Tang San's excitement plunged to rock bottom.
Having lived two lives, how could he fail to see that they were risking everything?
Yu Xiaogang's own Origin had long since run dry.
Yet he was still forcibly drawing on the Martial Soul Origins of Flender and Liu Erlong.
He didn't care that this would permanently cap their future Soul Power Levels, or even shorten their lives.
He still had to win this battle!
After all, if he lost, Liu Erlong would be taken away.
The Golden Iron Triangle, with Yu Xiaogang at its head, would be gone for good.
And Yu Xiaogang would once again become that useless "Grandmaster" who was "fifty years old and still hadn't broken through level 30."
For Liu Erlong's sake, Flender had offered up his own Origin willingly.
Otherwise, his hair wouldn't have turned white in the blink of an eye.
"Ce'er, do you see?"
Dugu Bo stood with his hands behind his back atop the Serpent Emperor's head. Faced with that desperate strike, he looked almost bored.
"This is a piece of trash's last struggle.
Since he wants to see a 'miracle,' I'll show him what 'despair' looks like."
"Eighth Soul Skill: Time Stasis!"
The eighth black Soul Ring beneath Dugu Bo's feet suddenly lit up.
Space within a hundred meters seemed to freeze completely in that instant.
The Blood-Colored Sacred Dragon, which had been charging forward in a frenzy, was abruptly locked in midair.
Even the dragon breath it had spewed out solidified into strange crystals.
"What... what?"
The madness on Yu Xiaogang's face froze.
He desperately tried to channel his Soul Power, only to find his body trapped in ice a million years old. Even his thoughts began to slow.
"One minute?
Yu Xiaogang, you didn't even last forty seconds."
Dugu Bo walked leisurely up to the frozen Sacred Dragon and gently touched its head with one finger.
"Shatter, along with your beautiful dream."
"Crack—!"
At the sound of a crisp break, the seemingly majestic Golden Sacred Dragon shattered instantly into a rain of golden dust, as fragile as glass.
"Thud!
Thud!
Thud!"
Three figures fell from the sky almost at the same time, crashing hard onto the lawn of Blue Tyrant Academy.
Flender's face was waxen, and Liu Erlong lay unconscious.
As for Yu Xiaogang, the one at the heart of it all, he was in even worse shape.
Blood poured from every orifice, and every strand of his black hair had fallen out, leaving his head so smooth it reflected the light.
He slumped on the ground like a piece of rotten wood, dead and dry.
"Teacher!"
Tang San's eyes nearly split with rage. He darted to Yu Xiaogang's side and reached for his pulse with a trembling hand.
"The bet is over."
Dugu Ce looked at the Shrek people and spoke coolly.
"Aunt Erlong, the winner's been decided. It's time to keep your promise."
Liu Erlong staggered to her feet and pushed away Zhu Zhuqing, who tried to support her.
Her face was as pale as paper. With grim resolve, she walked toward Dugu Ce.
"Erlong... no, you can't go with him!"
Yu Xiaogang struggled to crawl toward Liu Erlong.
His short hair had fallen out completely during the burning of their Origins.
Now, with a shining bald head and blood smeared across his face, he looked both ridiculous and terrifying.
Yu Xiaogang shouted hoarsely.
"Dugu Ce, you're abducting a woman!
You're a junior of the Dugu Family. Aren't you afraid the whole world will laugh at you?"
"Laugh at me?"
Dugu Ce sneered.
"You agreed to the bet yourself, and you were the one who smashed the Golden Sacred Dragon.
Yu Xiaogang, besides hiding behind women and spouting high-minded nonsense, what else can you do?"
"Get out of my way."
Liu Erlong didn't even glance at Yu Xiaogang. Her voice was cold as ice.
"Erlong!
I did it to save everyone!"
Yu Xiaogang clutched the hem of her skirt and begged.
"You're from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. He wouldn't dare really do anything to you.
Please, beg him. Beg Dugu Ce..."
"To save everyone?
Or to protect that pathetic scrap of pride?"
Liu Erlong flung Yu Xiaogang's hand away and laughed bitterly at herself.
Her laughter was filled with desolation.
"Yu Xiaogang, it's been twenty years. I waited for you for twenty years.
Only today did I finally see clearly: you don't deserve me.
At least Dugu Ce is a real man. But you... you're nothing but a selfish coward."
"Pfft—!"
Flender watched the scene, then looked down at his own hands, withered like dry branches.
Overcome with fury and grief, he spat out a great mouthful of blood.
"Erlong... I, in the end..."
Before he could finish, Flender's vision went black, and he toppled straight to the ground.
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