Tang Hao reached a conclusion in his heart that even he himself could hardly believe.
His eldest son, whom he had once regarded as worthless.
The child he had abandoned.
Now possessed power enough to rival the gods!
At that very moment.
Yu Yuanzhen, at the very center of the domain, felt it most keenly.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth around him was drained away in an instant.
The pressure of his mighty Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, which he had always taken pride in, was like snow meeting the blazing sun beneath the crimson light.
It had no room to struggle at all.
"What kind of evil sorcery is this?!"
Yu Yuanzhen was aghast.
He realized that although the nine Soul Rings within him were still pulsing, their light was rapidly fading.
The thunderous power that had given him the confidence to fight any strong opponent was being mercilessly devoured by this space.
After the shock came boundless resentment.
"I will never yield!"
Yu Yuanzhen glared furiously.
He drove the Soul Power within him to its utmost limits.
His level-ninety-five cultivation poured out without reserve.
He tried to tear open a path to survival through sheer force.
"Thunderous Might!"
He let out a furious roar.
His massive body shot into the air.
Two dazzling balls of lightning gathered between his claws, and he slammed them toward the crimson barrier above.
However.
Reality struck him a crushing blow.
The thunderous strike could have flattened an entire mountain peak.
Yet when it touched the edge of the crimson domain, it failed to stir even a ripple.
Hiss—
A soft sound rang out.
The two balls of lightning were like sparks plunging into water, snuffed out in an instant without a trace.
Not only that.
Yu Yuanzhen was horrified to discover that the power he had unleashed had not dissipated.
Instead, it flowed back along the crimson barrier and poured into the very depths of this space.
It became nourishment for the domain.
"This is impossible!"
Yu Yuanzhen cried out.
But before he could react further,
an even more terrifying suction force locked onto his very life essence.
His strength was vanishing rapidly.
Like air leaking from a punctured ball.
Yu Yuanzhen felt his limbs grow unbearably heavy.
Then.
A weakness rising from the depths of his soul swept through his entire body.
He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
Those arms had been covered in hard dragon scales and filled with explosive power.
Now they were withering before his eyes.
His full muscles rapidly wasted away, and his dragon scales peeled off one after another, turning to ash.
His life was slipping away!
Yu Yuanzhen could clearly feel this strange space forcibly draining his lifespan.
Though he had grown old, his vitality had still been as vast as the sea.
But in just a few short seconds,
his back began to hunch.
His graying hair turned as white as snow in an instant, then fell out in clumps.
The wrinkles on his face sank deep, as if carved by a knife.
It was as though he had aged twenty or thirty years in a single moment.
Watching from the shadows, Tang Hao was struck as if by lightning.
He stared at Yu Yuanzhen, who was rapidly growing old, and felt his scalp go numb.
A bone-chilling cold shot from the soles of his feet straight to his head.
"It can even control life itself?"
Tang Hao drew in a sharp breath.
Douluo Continent was home to countless strange and varied Soul Skills.
He had seen plenty of domains that absorbed Soul Power or weakened attributes.
But a method that could ignore an opponent's defenses and forcibly strip the life force from a level-ninety-five Titled Douluo—
He had never even heard of such a thing!
One had to understand:
A Super Douluo possessed tremendous vitality.
Even after suffering a mortal wound, he could hold on for quite some time.
Yet Tang Yu had merely expanded his domain, without even using a single attack.
And he had already turned a powerhouse like Yu Yuanzhen into a decrepit old man on the brink of death.
"What kind of monster is this..."
Tang Hao let out a pained groan in his heart.
He had originally been plotting that once his injuries healed, he would suppress Tang Yu and take the bloodline within him to bring Ah Yin back to life.
But seeing this terrifying power to steal life,
the last of his desire for revenge was crushed to dust.
At the center of the domain, Yu Yuanzhen had completely lost his composure.
The weakness brought on by his draining life force made it difficult even to stand.
His instinct to survive overcame the pride he bore as a clan leader.
"No! Give me back my years!"
Yu Yuanzhen roared in terror.
His voice had lost all its former strength and authority, leaving only hoarseness and despair.
He frantically activated the Soul Rings on his body.
The yellow First Soul Ring suddenly lit up.
"First Soul Skill, Thunder Dragon Claw!"
A gigantic phantom blue dragon claw took shape in midair.
But the instant it appeared,
a stream of crimson air surged through the domain and passed straight through the dragon claw.
Bang!
Thunder Dragon Claw collapsed on the spot, turning into pure Soul Power that the domain instantly drained away.
Yu Yuanzhen refused to believe it.
The purple Third Soul Ring blazed with light.
"Third Soul Skill, Thunder Fury!"
He tried to forcibly boost his lightning attribute and break through the shackles with a berserk state.
But it was no use.
The instant the Soul Skill was unleashed,
the thunderous power within him was forcibly drawn out through his pores before it could even spill beyond his skin.
Not only did the berserk state fail to activate,
it only hastened the depletion of his Soul Power.
"I'll fight you to the death!"
Yu Yuanzhen's eyes were bloodshot.
Without a thought for the consequences, he began burning the little vitality he had left.
The black Eighth Soul Ring suddenly burst into a dazzling glow.
This was his strongest killing move apart from his Ninth Soul Skill.
"Eighth Soul Skill, Dragon Roar to the Nine Heavens!"
Yu Yuanzhen threw his head back and let out a shrill roar.
Vast amounts of lightning formed into a solid dragon, which charged toward Tang Yu with its maw wide open.
But—
It was all in vain.
The imposing lightning dragon suddenly stopped in midair, dozens of meters from Tang Yu.
Then, as if it had encountered an invisible black hole,
the dragon's body began to crumble inch by inch.
The pure lightning power vanished into the crimson space without making a sound.
Every Soul Skill Yu Yuanzhen unleashed—
whether an attack or an enhancement—
the moment it left his body, it became nourishment for the Forest of Eternal Treasures domain.
All his resistance.
All his trump cards.
In the face of Tang Yu's absolute rules, they were as laughable as a child waving a stick.
A crushing sense of helplessness shattered Yu Yuanzhen's mental defenses.
He gasped for breath.
His body trembled violently from sheer terror and old age.
Those eyes, once scornful of everyone, now held nothing but deep horror and pleading.
At last, he understood.
Tang Yu's words from earlier—"Those who follow me will prosper; those who oppose me will perish"—
had not been empty boasts.
Within this domain.
On the square of the Blue Silver King Mansion.
The black-clad youth standing on the high platform
was the true god who held the power of life and death!
Yu Yuanzhen's body crashed heavily to the ground. The once awe-inspiring leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan now looked like a shriveled old man whose life was flickering out.
His formerly burly arms were covered in loose, sagging wrinkles, and his sparse white hair lay in disarray against his scalp.
His cloudy eyes held none of their earlier arrogance. In its place was nothing but boundless terror.
The air around them seemed to freeze in that moment.
All the nobles and powerful figures from the clans present felt their hands and feet grow cold.
They looked at Yu Yuanzhen lying on the ground, then at the black-clad youth on the high platform, who had not even released his Martial Soul from start to finish. They felt a chill shoot from the soles of their feet straight to their scalps.
This was a level-ninety-five Super Douluo.
Across all of Douluo Continent, the people who could surpass Yu Yuanzhen could be counted on one hand.
Yet now, he had not even touched a finger of his opponent before nearly half his life force was stripped away.
Ning Fengzhi stood at the front of the crowd, his face as pale as paper.
He turned to Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong beside him and saw that the foreheads of these two guardian Douluo were also beaded with fine cold sweat.
"Thank goodness..."
Ning Fengzhi silently rejoiced.
Thank goodness the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had chosen to explain themselves and submit at the first opportunity.
If they had tried to meet force with force like Yu Yuanzhen, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would probably have already been reduced to ruins.
Xue Qinghe stood not far behind Tang Yu, an unusual glimmer flowing through her beautiful eyes.
She knew Tang Yu was powerful, but every time she saw him act, she was still shaken by these almost miraculous methods.
Just as the entire scene fell into deathly silence, the heavy clouds overhead were suddenly torn apart by a tremendous force.
A shaft of brilliant sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell squarely upon the center of the square.
Everyone instinctively looked up at the sky.
In midair, a figure unhurriedly stepped forward, as if walking on invisible stairs, descending one step at a time from above.
Tang Yu wore a dazzling suit of Mysterious Heaven Divine Armor.
A faint dark-golden glow flowed across the armor. Every piece fit his form perfectly, making him look tall and imposing.
His face was exquisitely handsome, his features as if carved from white jade. Yet his eyes were so deep they seemed like bottomless abysses, drawing in anyone who looked into them.
As he continued to descend, an indescribably terrifying pressure swept across the entire Blue Silver King Mansion.
It was not the oppression brought by Soul Power, but an absolute crushing dominance in bloodline and level of life.
The sect powerhouses in the plaza felt their chests tighten and their knees go weak. Some could barely stay on their feet.
The weaker nobles were so terrified that they collapsed to the ground, trembling violently and not daring to look directly at the extraordinarily handsome young man in the air.
"Thud."
A soft, muffled sound.
Tang Yu's shoes touched the bluestone pavement lightly.
The instant he landed, the aura that had seemed capable of crushing even the void vanished completely.
Even so, no one dared to speak. They did not even dare to breathe loudly.
Suddenly.
A uniform clatter of metal rang out from the streets surrounding the mansion.
The elite Blue Silver Army troops stationed around the mansion, along with the Black Horse Iron Cavalry, all dropped to one knee at the same moment and slammed their spears heavily against the ground.
"We welcome Prince Wuyang!"
Tens of thousands of soldiers shouted in unison.
Their voices merged into a peal of thunder rolling across a clear sky, making all of Heaven Dou City tremble faintly.
"We welcome Your Highness! Long live Your Highness!"
This earth-shaking salute left the dignitaries present trembling with fear.
They were reminded once again of how terrifying this young man was.
Not only was his personal strength unrivaled beneath heaven, but the iron cavalry under his command was a mighty force capable of trampling any empire.
Tang Yu stood where he was and casually waved his hand, his expression calm.
"Rise."
His voice was not loud, yet every person there heard it clearly.
The Blue Silver Army and Black Horse Iron Cavalry rose as one, their movements so perfectly synchronized they seemed like a single person.
Just then, a side door to the mansion's inner hall was slowly pushed open.
Zhu Zhuqing, dressed in a tight black outfit, walked out at an unhurried pace.
Her close-fitting leather suit outlined her breathtakingly sultry figure to perfection. Her long legs and slender waist, together with her exquisite, coolly beautiful face, gave her a fatal allure.
And yet.
This Hell Spirit Cat, usually as cold as ice and indifferent to everyone, became docile beyond measure when she reached Tang Yu's side.
She lowered her head slightly, folded her hands at her sides, and bowed to Tang Yu.
"Your Highness, I've prepared everything you asked for."
Zhu Zhuqing's voice was gentle, with a hint of sweetness almost too subtle to notice. There was no trace of her usual icy aloofness.
At the sight, the Shrek members in the seats along the edge were struck as if by lightning.
Dai Mubai most of all.
He stared fixedly at Zhu Zhuqing's beautiful face, watching her behave so deferentially and obediently toward Tang Yu. It felt as though a dull knife were repeatedly sawing at his heart and lungs.
That was his fiancée!
Although Zhu Zhuqing had always been cold toward him, he had long since regarded her as his private possession.
Now this woman was actually fawning over another man in front of everyone.
Dai Mubai felt his dignity being trampled underfoot. His handsome face twisted in an instant.
He sprang to his feet and shouted without a care for anything else:
"Zhuqing! Come over here!"
"It's me, Mubai! Come to me. You don't have to be afraid of this bastard!"
"We're all here from Shrek. We'll protect you!"
Dai Mubai's voice rang loudly through the quiet plaza, standing out all the more.
Tang San, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and the others were just as anxious, all waving Zhu Zhuqing over.
Hearing the shouts, Zhu Zhuqing paused slightly.
She slowly turned around. When her gaze fell on Dai Mubai and the Shrek members, the tenderness vanished from her face, replaced by undisguised disgust and contempt.
"How dare you."
Zhu Zhuqing's voice was cold and clear.
"Dai Mubai, who gave you permission to shout in the Prince Wuyang Mansion?"
"Do you think trash like you has the right to address His Highness by name?"
"If you dare show His Highness the slightest disrespect again, I'll cut out your tongue myself!"
Dai Mubai stood rooted to the spot, utterly stunned.
His eyes widened. He could not believe those words had come from Zhu Zhuqing, the woman who had once faced life and death alongside him.
"Zhuqing, you... have you gone mad?"
Dai Mubai stumbled backward, pointing at Tang Yu with a violently trembling finger.
"He's a bandit! He forcibly took you away!"
"And now you're actually defending him?"
"He must have bewitched you with some kind of sorcery, right?"