Yun Ming Arrives

"Na'er, be good. Don't cry..."

Na'er curled quietly in Su Jiu's arms like a frightened little koala.

His familiar tone and the familiar way they interacted gradually made her subconscious mind overlap Su Jiu's figure with A-Jiu's. For once, she unexpectedly found a rare sense of security in him.

Her sobs and trembling gradually subsided, but her little hands still clutched the tear-dampened front of his clothes, afraid that if she let go, this warm embrace would vanish into thin air.

Looking at her swollen eyelids, Su Jiu's face showed both heartache and a hint of relief. The little girl had learned to rely on him. He gently stroked her head and back with his fingertips.

This was his fault, too. He shouldn't have...

Before long, Leng Yaozhu arrived, carrying the already sound-asleep second daughter of the Leng Family in one hand. Chains condensed from Soul Power stretched behind her, binding the Dark Hummingbird and Dark Bell, both of whom had lost all their cultivation.

"A-Jiu, why is your little sister crying?"

"What else could it be? Sister Yaozhu, you know what my Martial Soul is like. I used it three times in a row, and she got scared..."

Su Jiu's face was full of helplessness. There was nothing he could do about it.

"Ah~ True. There's nothing for it."

"By the way, A-Jiu, should we go help them now?"

Leng Yaozhu raised her head and gazed anxiously at the battle raging above the Sea God Family, instinctively asking Su Jiu what he thought.

Several Limit Douluo had already fought themselves into a frenzy, battling until heaven and earth darkened. Their violent Soul Power collisions ripped through layer upon layer of clouds. Even the sturdy barriers of space twisted constantly, showing faint signs of breaking apart!

Far out at sea, two others fought even more recklessly, staking their lives with every move and drawing blood with every strike. They were completely mad, exchanging life for life. Every blow carried the resolve and ferocity to perish together!

"My dear sister, and I hate to put it this way, but you'd better not go up there and get in their way. Below the Limit realm, we're all ants—especially when there are several Demigods over there. Let's stay right here and keep a good eye on our two Special Merits~"

Su Jiu grabbed Leng Yaozhu's jade-like hand to stop her from going to help. We've already done what we can. No need to worry about people gossiping behind our backs.

Everyone over there was a Limit Douluo. If a Level 98 Super Douluo like her went up, wouldn't she just be throwing her life away?

Even if Leng Yaozhu had Four-Word Battle Armor that could raise her combat power to the Limit level, a fake was still a fake. Strength borrowed from an outside source would reveal its true nature in a single move against a genuine Limit Douluo!

In fact, none of that was what worried Su Jiu most.

Self-destruction!

A Limit Douluo driven to desperation might self-destruct. That was the hidden bomb Su Jiu feared most right now.

As far as he knew, Guan Yue of the War God Temple was exactly that sort of person. It would be fine if he used the Divine Strike, but if he self-destructed, he might wipe out every one of their allies, too.

And there was no ruling out those lunatics from the Holy Spirit Cult, either.

"Besides, if you go help them, I'll have to look after Na'er here. What about Sister Yu Lai? We went through all that trouble to capture her. If she gets away, where do you think the two of us will go to cry?"

"A-Jiu's right. We'll wait here and watch them."

Only then did Leng Yaozhu understand. To be safe, she immediately sent Soul Power into Leng Yulai's body, completely sealing her Soul Core and Sea of Consciousness. At the same time, a vast amount of crimson-gold Soul Power surged out and solidified into chains, binding her limbs tightly so she couldn't move.

Just then, Su Jiu slowly walked over.

He studied her carefully, and couldn't help marveling at the wonders of creation. The sisters looked as if they'd been copied from the very same mold.

Leng Yulai's purple-pink hair fell loose around her shoulders. Her aura leaned toward darkness, and her cold, alluring beauty carried a wicked, soul-stealing charm.

Leng Yaozhu, by contrast, had crimson-gold hair, blazing like flames. She was radiant and striking, with a clear, jade-like air and a bright, generous beauty.

Perhaps their Martial Souls had such utterly different attributes that, despite their nearly identical faces, their temperaments became complete opposites.

"Old Su, why are there two Sister Lengs?"

Who knew when Na'er had turned around? Seeing the astonishing scene, she couldn't help exclaiming in wonder.

"Na'er, this is Sister's younger sister, Leng Yulai. You can call her Second Sister."

Leng Yaozhu came forward and took Na'er from him. She was small and cool to the touch, very comfortable to hold.

Only then did Su Jiu have both hands free. He walked over to the two unlucky souls: one old geezer and one bratty little girl.

At that moment, they were on their last legs, sprawled on the ground like a pair of dead dogs.

Once-arrogant Dark Hummingbird and Dark Bell had been reduced to cripples overnight. Could a tiger without claws and fangs still be called the king of the mountain?

But why were they baring their teeth while unconscious?

Only then did Su Jiu remember. He'd nearly let something important slip: the power of his Ultimate Fire and Destruction attribute was still ravaging their bodies. If he didn't withdraw it at once, the two of them might die!

A living Hummingbird and Bell were far more useful than dead ones.

His spiritual power swept over them, directly annihilating the violent elements inside their bodies. Only then did their tightly furrowed brows relax a little.

A short while later.

A series of sonic booms rang out, and the roar of a spear shook the sky. Looking up, they saw a silver-white spear a thousand meters long!

That old geezer Yun Ming had arrived.

Su Jiu looked toward Leng Yaozhu's crimson eyes, but saw not a trace of excitement in them.

"Sister Yaozhu, looks like you've really let go of that old geezer Yun Ming."

"Ah~ What can I do? Life has to go on. If something needs to be let go, then I have to let it go. Besides, now that I have A-Jiu and Na'er, I can see everything clearly..."

"Tsk! Yun Ming's here!"

The silver-white spear that pierced the distant sky instantly shattered the Demon Empress's remaining frenzy and fighting spirit.

Her heart lurched. She no longer dared to keep fighting. Her enormous body leaped high, then swept her tail like a giant whale, unleashing a colossal wave tens of thousands of meters high. Dragging her battered body, she fled in panic toward the deep sea.

Chen Xinjie gritted his teeth and squeezed out the last trace of Sea God Divine Power from the Sea God Helmet, smashing through the raging waves. He, too, was forced out of his Vast Ocean True Body.

He gasped for breath, each inhale thick with the stench of blood. Though utterly exhausted, he could barely conceal his joy at having survived.

That battle had been far too brutal and arduous...

Most of his Four-Word Battle Armor had shattered. The Sea God Helmet was nearly destroyed, and the Sea God Divine Power had run dry. Deep and shallow wounds covered his body.

In his battle against the Demon Empress, he had nearly exhausted every resource he'd accumulated in his life just to claw out a sliver of hope for survival.

By contrast, above the Sea God Family, the Underworld Emperor's aura was weak and his face pale, but he was otherwise unharmed. On the surface, the Ghost Emperor's aura seemed unstable, and the Skeleton King's true form was covered in cracks, with many parts badly damaged. In truth, he was just putting on an act. As for the Dark Blood Demon, his plight was dire. Long Yeyue had torn away half his body, and his savage wounds gaped horribly.

Elsewhere, the other Limit Douluo had also won victories that felt like defeats.

Zang Xin had lost an arm, and a hideous gash across his chest went deep enough to expose bone. Guan Yue had suffered a devastating wound across his waist and abdomen, a terrifying gash that nearly cut him in half; damaged organs could faintly be seen inside. The Bright Sacred Dragon Avatar of Long Yeyue had lost both wings, and her tail had been torn off completely. After she withdrew her Martial Soul Avatar, three bloody gashes on her body nearly ripped open her entire back, and her aura was on the verge of collapsing.

Only the father and son of the Qiangu Family had avoided serious injury. Qiangu Dongfeng and the Ghost Emperor shared a secret they couldn't reveal, so the Ghost Emperor had spent the entire battle merely sparring and trading blows with them, never striking to kill.

As for the battlefield below, nearly a hundred unconscious Titled Douluo had been caught in the fighting, and six out of every ten had perished!

The Evil Soul Masters had carried off all the corpses. The Douluo side had suffered catastrophic losses and been gravely weakened.

By contrast, only a handful of Titled Douluo had died on the Evil Soul Masters' side. The Underworld Emperor had sent his Death Knights charging in as the vanguard, while the main force stayed hidden behind them, waiting to ambush their opponents.

Once the Underworld Emperor recalled all the surviving Death Knights, the Evil Soul Masters knew it was time to withdraw!

The Evil Soul Masters, all eager to preserve their own skins, immediately reined in their fighting spirit and stopped pressing the battle. They retreated at once, swift as a receding tide.