Qiu Qianchi's shrill, nearly distorted cry of "Retreat!" tolled like a funeral bell in the hearts of every Qiu Family expert. The panic and despair contained in that shout completely shattered the last remnants of their fighting spirit.
Once an army was defeated, it collapsed like a mountain.
Already reeling from Qiu Tianxie's instantaneous death, the Qiu Family members no longer cared about formations or coordination. Like startled birds, they desperately drove their Soul Power, their Soul Rings flashing wildly in every color, wanting only to escape this battlefield that had become a living hell as quickly as possible. They fled in panic in every direction.
"Trying to leave now? Have you asked the spear in my hand?"
Li Yunming's voice was icy and piercing, as though it carried the chill of the netherworld. His towering figure remained utterly motionless in the night sky, but the Sky-Piercing Divine Spear in his hand erupted with a platinum radiance brighter than the moon. There were no elaborate tricks, only an incomparably simple thrust. He and the divine spear became one, transforming into a bolt of white lightning that tore through the night as it shot straight toward the fleeing Qiu Qianchi. Wherever the spear's force reached, the Purification Holy Light seemed to form an invisible domain, turning the space around Qiu Qianchi thick and stagnant, abruptly slowing his escape.
Qiu Qianchi felt his soul leave his body, and for the first time, an almost despairing expression appeared on his aged face. He could clearly sense the killing intent contained in that spear light behind him—cold, pure, and locked onto every trace of his aura. "No—!" he roared unwillingly. At the brink of life and death, his instinct to survive overwhelmed everything else. A flash of madness and heartache crossed his eyes as he bit through his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of blood essence containing his origin power onto the shattered bone staff floating before him.
The bone staff trembled violently, its black radiance suddenly surging. Countless phantom souls struggled and wailed as they were forcibly drawn out and gathered around the staff. "Block it for me!" Qiu Qianchi howled. The bone staff Martial Soul that had accompanied him for over a century actually took the initiative to meet the tip of the Sky-Piercing Divine Spear and self-destructed without hesitation!
Boom!!!
An explosion far more violent than any previous clash erupted. Pitch-black resentful energy and platinum holy light collided and annihilated one another madly, forming a chaotic storm of energy. The bone staff was reduced completely to dust, but the immense force generated by that desperate self-destruction finally hindered the spear force that seemed capable of piercing everything for a negligible instant.
In that fleeting instant, Qiu Qianchi displayed the ruthlessness and decisiveness of a Limit Douluo. His body twisted sideways in an almost grotesque posture, forcing most of himself out of the strongest point of the spear's trajectory.
Splat!
Blood burst forth! Accompanied by the teeth-grinding sound of flesh and bone being severed, Qiu Qianchi ultimately failed to evade it completely. That peerless spear light swept past, cutting off his entire left arm at the shoulder. The wound was smooth as a mirror, then immediately seared by the lingering Purification Holy Light with a sizzling sound. Hardly any blood sprayed out; instead, the wound was charred black.
"Urghhh—!" A heart-wrenching scream tore from Qiu Qianchi's throat. His face instantly turned as pale as paper. The agony of losing his arm and the backlash from his destroyed Martial Soul caused his aura to plummet, and he nearly fell from the sky. Yet he did not dare pause for even a moment. Forcing up a breath of Soul Power, he pressed his right hand tightly against the severed wound. Borrowing the combined momentum of the self-destruction and his severed arm, he transformed into a miserable streak of bloody light. At the cost of burning his life origin, his speed surged as he fled desperately into the distant darkness, vanishing after only a few flashes.
Li Yunming hovered where he was, divine spear in hand, his brow slightly furrowed. He did not pursue. A Limit Douluo determined to flee at any cost would be difficult to leave behind completely. Even if he succeeded, he would inevitably pay a considerable price. The family had only just stabilized, and it still needed him to hold the fort. This was no time to take risks.
"Do not chase a cornered enemy. Eliminate the remaining foes!" Li Yunming's steady voice rang across the battlefield, carrying unquestionable authority.
That order was like a stone thrown into water, stirring even greater ripples. The rage and killing intent that the Li Family had suppressed for so long erupted completely!
"Trying to run? Leave your life behind to honor the spirits of my clan!" Li Yuanhui's eyes were bloodshot as he was the first to respond. His Sky Phoenix Halberd pointed at Qiu Lie, who had collapsed mentally after witnessing his father's tragic death and was now stumbling away in flight. Qiu Lie had already been severely wounded by him, his back scorched black, and his speed greatly reduced. Now, he was even more dazed and distraught.
"I'll do it!" A figure moved even faster—it was Snake Lance Douluo Li She Long. His body flickered like a ghost, and the Snake Lance in his hand traced a strange arc. Like a venomous snake leaving its burrow, it precisely avoided the wind blades Qiu Lie hastily swung out. With a soft pfft, the cold spear tip pierced through the back of his head and emerged from his face!
Qiu Lie's charging body abruptly froze. The madness and grief in his eyes instantly solidified into dead gray, and his corpse fell limply toward the ground, landing on the same earth as his father, Qiu Tianxie.
"Lie'er!!" The other Level 94 Darksteel Shield Douluo, who had been entangled with Chen Jianjun and attempting to rescue him, let out a grief-stricken roar upon seeing this. His mind shook violently, exposing a fatal opening in his defenses.
"You dare lose focus while fighting me?" Chen Jianjun's gaze was cold as ten-thousand-year ice. The Seven Kill Sword in his hand released a clear sword cry. "Seventh Soul Skill, Seven Slaughters True Body! Ninth Soul Skill, One Sword Across Worlds!"
Without hesitation, he unleashed his strongest single-target Soul Skill once more! Man and sword became one, transforming into a blood-red line stretching across the heavens. That ultimate killing intent drained the world of color. The Darksteel Shield Douluo's face changed in horror as he desperately raised his shattered giant shield before himself, black light flowing across its surface.
Clang—crack!
First came the deafening clash of metal, followed immediately by the crisp sound of the shield shattering completely. The blood-red sword energy mercilessly pierced through the fragments and swept across his neck. His eyes widened as both hands clutched his throat, but he could not stop the blood gushing out like a spring. In the end, filled with boundless unwillingness, he fell to the earth.
"Not one of you will leave intact!" Li Tianwu let out a long howl as the Emperor Sword Domain fully spread out. Brilliant golden light firmly enveloped Qiu Wanjun, his Level 98 opponent who was already badly injured. Qiu Wanjun had previously been wounded by the Emperor Sword, the wound on his chest deep enough to expose bone. Under the domain's suppression, every step now became difficult.
"Emperor Sword, Judgment!" Li Tianwu formed a sword gesture with his fingers and pointed through the air. A golden sword light condensed to the extreme, as though carrying the will of an emperor's judgment, ignored the layers of defense Qiu Wanjun had set up with his battle-axe and struck directly at his dantian sea of qi!
Pfft! Qiu Wanjun spat out a mouthful of blood, yet took the opportunity to flee far away.
Elsewhere, the Level 95 Lava Colossal Fist Douluo whose arm had been severed by Chen Jianjun was in an even more miserable state. Blood poured from his severed arm, greatly reducing his speed and turning him into a living target. Li Tiancheng charged like a raging rhinoceros, his ninth Soul Ring blazing brightly. "Ninth Soul Skill, Rampaging Rhinoceros Sky-Splitting Crash!" He lunged forward bodily, and a massive rhinoceros phantom slammed fiercely into the lava shield his opponent had hastily formed.
Boom! The shield shattered. Nangong Yi followed close behind, his Dragon-Patterned Long Spear striking like a venomous dragon emerging from its lair. A flash of dark-golden spear light pierced precisely through his opponent's heart.
"Urgh..." The light in this Level 95 Super Douluo's eyes quickly faded, and his corpse fell.
The remaining Qiu Family Titled Douluo, including the Level 97 Douluo wielding the Shadow Twin Daggers and two other Level 92 Titled Douluo, saw that the situation was lost and that the elders had fallen one after another. They were already terrified out of their wits. No longer caring about anything else, they all used secret techniques that depleted their origin power. Some sprayed blood essence to accelerate, while others activated life-saving Soul Tools. They transformed into several streaks of different-colored yet equally panicked light, enduring the attacks pursuing them from behind as they burst through the Li Family's encirclement covered in wounds and fled into the boundless night.
Li Yuanhui wanted to give chase, but Li Yunming raised a hand to stop him. "Family Head, enough. Clearing the battlefield, treating the wounded, and strengthening the city's defenses are more important."
Li Yuanhui took a deep breath, suppressing the surging blood and killing intent within him, then nodded heavily. "All right. Clear the battlefield!"
The night sky gradually returned to calm at last. Only the lingering scent of blood, the fires burning everywhere, and the devastated estate silently testified to the brutality of the battle just fought.
The Li Family members began descending slowly. Every face bore exhaustion, but even more than that, there was the exhilaration of surviving a catastrophe and the satisfaction of avenging a great hatred. The clansmen voluntarily began clearing the battlefield, collecting the bodies of their fallen kin, and treating the wounded. Every gaze was exceptionally resolute.
Li Yunming, Li Yuanhui, Chen Jianjun, Li Tianwu, and the other core leaders hovered in the air, silently watching below. There was not much joy on their faces, only an unshakable solemnity.
In this battle, the Qiu Family's ten Titled Douluo had launched a night raid on the Li Family in Heavenly Phoenix City, and the final result was nothing short of a crushing defeat:
Three had fallen: Level 93 Qiu Tianxie, killed by Nangong Yi's sneak attack; Level 94 Qiu Lie, finished off by Li She Long; and the Level 95 Lava Colossal Fist Douluo, slain through the combined efforts of Li Tiancheng and Nangong Yi. The Level 94 Darksteel Shield Douluo had also died.
Four were severely wounded: the Level 99 First Elder Qiu Qianchi, whose Martial Soul had been destroyed, whose arm had been severed, and whose origin had been damaged; Level 98 Qiu Wanjun; and two Level 94 Titled Douluo who had been jointly heavily wounded by Li Yunming's residual spear light and other elders during their breakout.
Three were lightly wounded: the successfully escaped Shadow Douluo, Level 97, and the other two Level 92 Titled Douluo, all of whom had sustained minor injuries.
As for the Li Family, relying on Li Yunming as their pillar, along with numerous hidden and newly affiliated experts, as well as the entire clan's determination to fight to the death, they had weathered this sudden calamity at the cost of several dozen low- and mid-level clansmen. They had achieved a glorious victory sufficient to shake the entire continent!
Yet everyone knew that this was only the beginning. After suffering such an unprecedented defeat, the Qiu Family's retaliation would surely come like a violent storm, even more savage than before. That God Rank Qiu Family ancestor who had remained hidden in the shadows, hanging over their heads like the Sword of Damocles... would he still stand by and do nothing next time?
The clouds of war had not dispersed. Instead, they hung even more heavily over Heavenly Phoenix City.
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