The Grand High Priest!

It was as if a thunderclap had sounded between heaven and earth.

Centered on the point where his fist had landed, the bluestone ground shattered and heaved across an area dozens of yards wide. A massive crater, several yards deep, appeared out of nowhere in the middle of Spirit Hall's ruins.

The shockwave erupted in every direction. Shattered stones sprayed outward like a torrential downpour, and three weaker Spirit Hall stewards were hurled away by the blast, crashing down a hundred yards off and lying there unconscious.

Ghost Douluo clutched Yue Guan as they tumbled through the shockwave for more than a dozen rolls before finally managing to steady themselves.

The crater sprawled across the very center of Spirit Hall's ruins, large enough to swallow an entire side hall.

If they hadn't escaped just now...

Ghost Douluo didn't dare imagine what would have happened.

The dust slowly settled.

Er Ming slowly withdrew his fist, a flicker of surprise passing through his bell-like eyes.

That Ghost Douluo had actually managed to save someone from his Thunderlight Fist?

Looks like that punch earlier in the day hadn't knocked him senseless. It had taught him a lesson instead.

No matter. He'd just throw another punch.

Er Ming raised his right arm, and dazzling lightning began to dance between his fingers once more.

But just then, a golden figure descended from the sky and landed steadily at the edge of the crater.

He was an old man with snow-white hair and beard, a lean face, and a ramrod-straight back.

He wore a plain gray robe with no Spirit Hall insignia, yet an imposing aura of authority radiated from him.

Nine Soul Rings slowly revolved beneath his feet.

Two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red.

The instant that red Soul Ring lit up, it was as if the air across the entire battlefield froze.

Golden Crocodile Douluo.

The second seat in the Worship Hall, a Level 98 Titled Douluo.

Facing Er Ming, he chose to fight once more!

Golden Crocodile Douluo's gaze swept across the crater before settling on Er Ming.

"You went back once, and you seem to have grown stronger again?"

Golden Crocodile Douluo was somewhat astonished. He had lived for over a hundred years and fought countless Soul Beasts.

For a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, its strength had long since reached a bottleneck. It might not advance even a fraction over the course of several hundred or even a thousand years.

Yet this Titan Giant Ape before him had merely returned to the Star Dou Forest, and in barely an hour or two, its strength had grown another notch.

That was completely beyond his comprehension.

But Er Ming had no intention of explaining, and Golden Crocodile Douluo didn't press him further.

The Seventh Soul Ring beneath his feet abruptly lit up, and golden light shot into the sky.

Golden Crocodile King Avatar!

The fearsome phantom of an ancient golden crocodile appeared once more. Golden Crocodile Douluo's body merged with the Martial Soul's apparition, his hands transforming into golden, scale-covered claws. Behind him, a golden crocodile tail five yards long lashed through the air with a sharp whistle that tore through it.

He took a step forward, unleashing the full force of a Level 98 Titled Douluo's Soul Power.

The bluestone slabs beneath his feet cracked inch by inch. The Spirit Hall stewards who had just struggled back to their feet were forced to their knees once again by the pressure.

Er Ming moved too.

He had never been one for fancy tactics, nor did he need any clever footwork.

His Dark Gold Bone Wings suddenly unfurled to their full span, lightning coursing wildly over them like serpents.

His massive body charged toward Golden Crocodile Douluo like a meteorite. His fists, each larger than a millstone, swung in alternation, every blow carrying the power of countless bolts of lightning.

Fist and tail collided.

Boom!

Another barb snapped off Golden Crocodile Douluo's crocodile tail.

But this time, he had been ready. The instant his tail was knocked aside, his left claw shot out, aiming straight for Er Ming's throat.

Er Ming neither dodged nor evaded. He took the blow head-on with his chest.

A metallic screech, harsh enough to set one's teeth on edge.

The black fur on Er Ming's chest was ripped open in three gashes, and blood seeped out.

But he didn't even furrow his brow. He turned his hand and slapped at Golden Crocodile Douluo's face.

How could mere claws break through the Demon Emperor Bone's defenses?

Golden Crocodile Douluo's expression changed, and he hurriedly pulled back his claw and retreated.

But Er Ming's palm wind had already swept past his temple, blasting a ruined wall dozens of yards behind him into dust.

The two fought their way from the ruins to the plaza, then from the plaza to the remains of the side hall.

Lightning and golden radiance clashed wildly, each exchange bursting into dazzling sparks.

Everything in their path was ground to pieces. The side-hall buildings that had barely survived the Soul Beast stampede during the day now collapsed one after another in the aftershocks of their battle.

Ghost Douluo, Bai Changhe, and the others watching could only keep backing away. They didn't even dare approach the battlefield.

The longer Golden Crocodile Douluo fought, the more alarmed he became.

Something was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

He hadn't been a match for this Titan Giant Ape in their battle that afternoon, but at least they had been evenly matched.

Three barbs had broken off his crocodile tail, but the giant ape's fists had also been battered bloody.

Yet now, each time he clashed with the giant ape, its fists struck harder than they had during the day, its reactions were quicker, and even the lightning coursing over its Dark Gold Bone Wings burned more fiercely.

What had this giant ape gone through after returning there?

What Golden Crocodile Douluo didn't know was that although Er Ming had fought to his heart's content that afternoon, the Demon Emperor Bone had only just been fused into his body, and it was still far from fully harmonizing with his own bones.

After Jiang Li had urgently reinforced him in the courtyard, and after some practical combat in Spirit City, the Demon Emperor Bone had reached a whole new level of compatibility with his body compared to that afternoon.

His combat power had naturally surged.

Golden Crocodile Douluo gritted his teeth, and his Ninth Soul Ring abruptly lit up.

That red Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring radiated a suffocating light. The barbs along his crocodile tail stood on end, and golden radiance gathered at its tip into a dazzling sphere of light.

Ninth Soul Skill—Golden Crocodile God-Slaying Tail!

This was his trump card. Fueled by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, its full-powered strike was strong enough to kill an ordinary Titled Douluo outright!

Er Ming took a deep breath and clenched his right fist.

Countless bolts of lightning came crashing down from the nine heavens, pouring into his fist.

The lightning dancing across his knuckles shifted from silver-white to blazing violet-gold, a sign that Thunderlight Fist had been pushed to its absolute limit.

One fist.

One tail.

They collided.

Boom—!!!

This collision was more terrifying than any of the previous ones.

The ground within a hundred yards sank a foot and a half. Every remaining wall and ruin was pulverized by the shockwave.

The shockwave kept expanding, only gradually dissipating hundreds of yards away.

Golden Crocodile Douluo's body slid backward dozens of yards, his feet gouging two deep furrows into the ground.

The golden crocodile apparition behind him dimmed, and two more barbs snapped off the crocodile tail he had always been so proud of.

A gash split the web of his hand, and blood dripped from his fingers, one drop at a time, onto the shattered bluestone slabs.

Er Ming's massive body swayed as well. A crack deep enough to expose bone had appeared across his knuckles, and a thread of dark-golden blood seeped from beneath the Demon Emperor Bone.

He glanced down at his fist, then at Golden Crocodile Douluo, a hint of satisfaction passing through his bell-like eyes.

To crack his Demon Emperor Bone, even just a little, meant the old fellow had some real skill.

But that was all.

Golden Crocodile Douluo steadied himself, his aged face grave.

He had seen it clearly: even if he kept fighting, he couldn't take down this giant ape.

Instead, Spirit Hall would be torn apart again, and the few halls that had escaped destruction during the day would meet the same fate.

He drew a deep breath, slowly turned around, and looked toward the Worship Hall.

A complicated look flickered in his deep green eyes.

Looks like... he'll have to ask the Grand High Priest to step in!