The Might of the Sky-Piercing Douluo, Shocking the Entire Battlefield

Just as Li Yunming's final clash with the three Limit Douluo erupted with world-destroying energy, another crucial battlefield also saw its victor decided.

Li Tianwu, the Emperor Sword Douluo, faced a level 97 Super Douluo of the Qiu Family renowned for his defense and strength. His Martial Soul was the heavy Black Tortoise Carapace Shield. His defenses were extraordinarily powerful. Although he had been suppressed by Li Tianwu's Emperor Sword all along, he had relied on the sturdiness of his tortoise shell to endure while waiting for an opportunity to counterattack.

After failing to break through for so long, a trace of impatience and resolve flashed through Li Tianwu's eyes. He knew full well what pressure the First Elder was facing high above. He had to finish his opponent quickly, even if it meant paying a price.

"Emperor Sword, Radiant Heavenly Might!" Li Tianwu let out a long roar. The Emperor Sword in his hand blazed with golden light, transforming into a massive golden pillar that crashed down with the force of splitting heaven and earth, its might greater than any of his previous attacks.

The Black Tortoise Douluo did not dare be careless. With an angry roar, he poured all his Soul Power into his Martial Soul Avatar. The enormous Black Tortoise Carapace Shield shone with dark light, its patterns vivid as though alive. A thick, rock-like sheen even condensed across the shield's surface as it prepared to withstand this supreme strike head-on.

However, at the instant the golden pillar was about to collide with the Black Tortoise Carapace Shield, Li Tianwu gave his wrist an incredibly subtle flick. The core sword intent within that pillar, which seemed to contain all his power, actually produced an almost imperceptible deviation and... dispersal? At the same time, the overwhelming sword domain around him briefly stagnated, as though he lacked the strength to follow through.

"A chance!" The Black Tortoise Douluo had immense combat experience and instantly seized upon that fleeting "opening"! Ecstasy surged through him. He thought Li Tianwu had exhausted too much Soul Power after attacking for so long without success and had finally begun to falter. How could he possibly let such an opportunity slip away?

Without hesitation, he abandoned pure defense. Countless sharp barbs suddenly sprang from the edge of the heavy Black Tortoise Carapace Shield. Tilting the shield slightly, he intended to block the strike while slamming the shield back at Li Tianwu. If he could severely wound him, it would be a tremendous achievement!

Idiot! Li Tianwu sneered inwardly. The seemingly scattered sword intent instantly condensed again, becoming even more concentrated and sharper than before! The Emperor Sword's pillar of light was merely a feint. The true killing move was hidden beneath that Radiant Heavenly Might—a thread-thin streak of sword light, faster than the mind could react!

"Emperor Sword Art, Thread of Heaven!"

At the instant the Black Tortoise Douluo turned to launch his shield strike, slightly exposing the vital point beneath his ribs, that thread of sword light seemed to pierce through the distance of space itself. Silent, yet utterly unstoppable, it struck the weakest point linking his Martial Soul Avatar to his body!

"Pfft—!"

There was no deafening explosion, only a faint, strange sound like a bubble bursting.

The Black Tortoise Douluo's forward charge suddenly froze. The wild joy on his face instantly turned into utter horror and disbelief. He lowered his head and looked at his chest. There was no massive wound there, only a tiny red dot. Yet in the next moment, countless fine golden cracks spread from that red dot across his entire chest, even reaching the phantom image of the Black Tortoise Carapace Shield behind him!

"Crack... crash!"

Like an exquisite piece of porcelain struck by a heavy blow, the Black Tortoise Carapace Shield Martial Soul he had built his reputation upon shattered explosively beneath the spreading golden cracks! It turned into countless black motes of light that scattered through the air.

"Urgh..." He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but only spewed out a mouthful of blood mixed with chunks of internal organs. The backlash from his shattered Martial Soul was devastating. The Soul Power around him instantly collapsed, and his aura withered like an avalanche. The light in his eyes rapidly dimmed. His massive body, as though all its bones had been pulled out, fell limply from the sky. Though he had not died immediately, he had already been reduced to a critically injured state on the brink of death.

A level 97 Super Douluo had actually been forcefully defeated by Li Tianwu in a head-on clash through exquisite tactics and even greater attack power!

However, before Li Tianwu could even breathe a slight sigh of relief, and before the allied soul masters below could cry out in shock at the sight, an indescribably terrifying pressure erupted from the center of the battle zone where Li Yunming stood. Mixed with vast yet utterly different auras of purification, destruction, venom, deathly stillness, and more, it surged across heaven and earth like a tsunami!

It was the mixture of residual energy and will left behind by the ultimate collision of four Limit Douluo!

Under that pressure, which contained the utmost power, the entire battlefield—whether in the sky or on the ground—seemed to have been slammed onto pause by an invisible giant hand.

Everyone in the midst of battle, whether Titled Douluo or ordinary soul masters, involuntarily froze. Blades and halberds swung into the air hung motionless. The light of condensed soul skills stiffened in their palms. Even droplets of blood falling from the sky and dust swirling through the air seemed trapped in viscous amber, moving at an incomparably slow pace.

Countless gazes, carrying complex emotions of shock, horror, fear, and wild joy, all turned toward the central battle zone high in the sky.

What did they see?

Qiu Qiansha, another pillar of the Qiu Family and a Limit Douluo, had nearly half his body blasted apart. Like a rag doll, he was being held by his clan leader, Qiu Miehun, his fate unknown.

She Duyun, the dreaded Poison Venerable of Five Poisons Valley, had his left arm hanging twisted at his side, blood dripping from it as his aura churned chaotically.

As for the equally terrifying Poison Venerable Xie Qiyan, he sat cross-legged in the air with a weakened aura and blood at the corner of his mouth, clearly suffering serious internal injuries.

Only the figure standing at the center with a spear in hand—Li Yunming! Though a trace of bright blood stained the corner of his mouth and his face was slightly pale, his upright figure remained like the spine holding up heaven and earth. His gaze was calm and profound. As he swept his eyes across the battlefield, not a single person dared meet his stare!

One man had fought three experts of the same rank and achieved such results?!

"H-how is this possible?!" A Titled Douluo of the Qiu Family muttered in disbelief, his face filled with horror he could not accept.

"Sky-Piercing... Sky-Piercing Douluo... Is he, is he even human?" A Soul Emperor from Five Poisons Valley spoke in a trembling voice, his hand gripping his weapon shaking uncontrollably.

"First Elder is mighty!" One of the Li Family disciples was the first to shout, his voice cracking with excitement.

Then, as though a fuse had been lit, deafening cheers erupted from the city walls and from the Li Family soul masters holding the line on the ground. The sound waves shot into the sky as the suppression and despair from before were replaced by wild joy and renewed fighting spirit!

"Infinitely close to godhood... Is this the power of someone infinitely close to godhood?" Dongyue Qing stroked his beard as he looked at Li Yunming, his eyes filled with amazement and complicated emotions. He knew that if he had been in Li Yunming's position, merely holding on without defeat would likely have been his limit. There was no way he could have achieved such a record.

Chen Jianjun sheathed his sword and stood quietly, looking at Li Yunming. Even a trace of barely noticeable admiration flashed through his cold eyes. He had spent his life pursuing the pinnacle of swordsmanship, yet at this moment, he had no choice but to admit that in terms of absolute strength and cultivation, this suddenly returned First Elder of the Li Family had already walked ahead of him.

The joy Li Tianwu felt from defeating a powerful enemy was also washed away by this even greater shock. As he looked at Li Yunming, his heart held only reverence.

Under this invisible deterrence, the Titled Douluo of both the Qiu Family and Five Poisons Valley instinctively stopped attacking. They withdrew and rapidly widened the distance from their opponents, returning to the front of their respective camps. Every face bore solemnity, uncertainty, and a trace of unconcealable... fear.

A temporary three-way standoff formed in the sky. On one side stood Li Yunming, lightly injured but with his momentum soaring, along with Li Yuanhui, Dongyue Qing, Chen Jianjun, Li Tianwu, and the other experts of the Li Family and Dongyue Family who swiftly gathered behind him. On another stood Qiu Miehun, supporting Qiu Qiansha with a face ashen and twisted with fury, alongside the remaining Titled Douluo of the Qiu Family, whose morale had already plunged to rock bottom. The final side was led by She Duyun, his left arm badly injured, and Xie Qiyan, whose aura was weak, together with the Titled Douluo of Five Poisons Valley. Even the dark green poisonous mist around them seemed to have dimmed considerably.

The battlefield fell into an eerie silence. Only the howling wind and the faint groans of the wounded below reminded everyone of the brutality of the battle that had just taken place.

Everyone's eyes were focused on that bloodstained figure in white robes.

Li Yunming slowly raised his hand, and the cheers behind him gradually subsided. His calm gaze swept over Qiu Miehun and She Duyun. His voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly across the entire battlefield:

"Do you still wish to continue?"