Final Defense: Spirit Pagoda Elite Encirclement

The thunderous crash of the secret prison gates shattering echoed through the deep, empty expanse of the seventh underground level for a long time. Heavy metal fragments scattered across the floor, making cold, crisp sounds. Dust slowly settled, making the already dim prison even more oppressive and clearly reflecting the two figures curled up in the corner, long since worn haggard by torture, in Tang Wulin's eyes.

At that moment, the entire world seemed to fall silent.

Every bloody battle, every trace of exhaustion, every injury, every torment of two lifetimes of reincarnation—all of it turned into a scorching tide that rushed to Tang Wulin's eyes, choking his throat until he could barely make a sound.

Inside the cell, Tang Ziran's hair had long since turned gray and disheveled. The man who had once been gentle and refined, immersed in Soul Guidance research day after day, now wore tattered clothes, his body covered in marks left by restraint chains. Faded bloodstains remained around his wrists and ankles. His eyes were cloudy and weary, but the instant he saw Tang Wulin, they abruptly widened in utter disbelief.

Beside him, Lang Yue's face was so pale it was nearly translucent, her cracked lips devoid of all color. She was so weak that even lifting a hand was difficult. This mother, who had always saved the best food for her son and wept in pain whenever he was hurt, suddenly had the gentlest, most startling light bloom in her once-dull eyes the moment she recognized Tang Wulin.

It was the tremor of bloodline connection.

It was the unique light in a mother's eyes when she saw her son.

"Wulin..."

Tang Ziran's voice was hoarse and dry, trembling violently. "Is it really you? My child... is it really you?"

"It's me, Dad."

Tang Wulin walked into the cell step by step. Every step weighed a thousand pounds, landing upon the rubble-strewn floor and upon the obsession he had carried through two lifetimes. His voice trembled as well. The cold killing intent he showed before powerful enemies was gone from his golden eyes, leaving only tenderness and heartache that would not fade.

"It's me. I'm here."

"I've made you suffer."

Lang Yue's eyes instantly reddened. Tears silently slid down her haggard cheeks and dripped onto her worn clothes. She stretched out a frail, trembling hand, wanting to touch Tang Wulin, but stopped midway, as though afraid that everything before her was merely an illusion born at the edge of despair, one that would shatter at a touch.

"My child... it's really you..."

She repeated it softly, her voice as light as the wind, yet carrying heartbreaking pain.

Tang Wulin hurriedly crouched and gently took his parents' cold, withered hands.

The warmth at his fingertips, that incomparably real temperature, that pulse of connection deep within their bloodline, finally brought a moment of peace to the heart that had remained taut, agonized, and gnawed apart by regret throughout his two lives.

This was not a dream.

He had truly done it.

He had truly arrived while his parents were still safe and alive.

"Let's go. I'll take you out of here."

Tang Wulin suppressed his surging emotions, his voice steady and powerful. "I'll take you home, back to Shrek. No one will ever be able to separate us again."

He reached out, about to help Tang Ziran and Lang Yue to their feet.

At that very instant—

Boom—!!!

The entire seventh underground level suddenly shook violently. Huge chunks of rock fell from above, and shattered stone rained down. The already frigid air was instantly filled with an icy, suffocating pressure steeped in killing intent.

It was not the aura of one or two powerful figures.

It was the pressure of countless troops, layers upon layers of encirclement and slaughter, a net cast over heaven and earth.

From deep within the passage came dense, synchronized footsteps, accompanied by the low, terrifying hum of Soul Guidance Cannons charging and the sound of air tearing beneath circulating soul power.

A destructive aura closed in from every direction like a tide, instantly sealing off the entire secret prison area.

Gu Yue's ink-black hair suddenly flew upward. Her originally frail, pale face tightened, and a flash of cold light appeared in her purple eyes.

Forcing her utterly exhausted body to move, she turned and stepped into the very center of the secret prison entrance.

Her slender figure stood like an insurmountable barrier.

"They're here."

She spoke softly. Her voice was calm, yet it carried a gravity she could not conceal.

Tang Wulin slowly rose to his feet, gently yet resolutely placing Tang Ziran and Lang Yue behind him and completely blocking the front.

At that moment, all warmth vanished from his golden eyes, leaving only bone-chilling killing intent and resolve.

He knew that Spirit Pagoda's final killing move had finally arrived.

The true desperate situation had descended.

At the end of the corridor, the dim light was illuminated by vast arrays of lamps. Dense figures slowly emerged, standing in orderly ranks like an honor guard of death.

At the front stood ten supreme experts clad in standardized dark-gold armor—the Spirit Pagoda Guard Douluo.

Every one of them possessed peak combat strength below a Titled Douluo. Their Soul Rings were perfectly uniform: purple, purple, purple, black, black, black. They were six-ring Soul Douluo, each only half a step away from becoming Titled Douluo.

With ten of them joining hands and forming a battle formation, they could surround and kill, even slay, an ordinary Titled Douluo.

Along both sides of the passage stood twenty enormous Soul Guidance Cannons, their bodies pitch-black and engraved with patterns of death—the Break-God Soul Guidance Cannons.

A Soul Guidance Cannon of this level could blast through a mountain with one shot and severely wound a Titled Douluo with two. If all twenty fired at once, even the physical body of the Dragon Emperor Douluo would be blasted into fragments in an instant.

Every black cannon muzzle was aimed at the secret prison.

There would be no mercy and no hesitation.

Tang Ziran and Lang Yue within the cell had been included in the extermination targets as well.

And at the foremost position, in the very center of all the Guard Douluo and Soul Guidance Cannons—

A tall figure in a golden robe stood with his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent.

His gaze was lofty as he overlooked the secret prison, as though he were watching several trapped beasts struggling in vain.

The soul power around him was restrained, yet immeasurably deep, like a boundless ocean whose depths could not be seen.

Spirit Pagoda's true ruler, an existence admired by hundreds of millions of Soul Masters, the mastermind behind imprisoning Tang Wulin's parents and coveting the Golden Dragon King bloodline—

The Spirit Pagoda Master.

He had finally descended in person.

"Tang Wulin."

The Spirit Pagoda Master slowly spoke. His voice was not loud, yet it carried a strange power, clearly reaching every corner of the seventh underground level and drowning out all rumbling and tremors.

"You truly dared to force your way here."

"You broke the restrictions on my fourth underground level, destroyed my Soul Douluo legion, and slew my two Titled Douluo guardians..."

His tone was calm, as though he were describing something insignificant. Yet a cold hint of admiration flashed through his eyes, along with even deeper greed.

"You are indeed far stronger than I expected."

Tang Wulin stood at the entrance to the secret prison, his back straight as a spear. Golden blood essence slowly boiled within him, but did not erupt.

His eyes were icy as he replied, each word clear:

"They are not your bargaining chips. They are not your tools. They are my parents."

"Today, I will take them away."

"Away?"

The Spirit Pagoda Master suddenly gave a soft laugh. It was faint, yet filled with undisguised contempt and indifference.

"Do you really think that with you, a Silver Dragon King whose soul power is completely exhausted, and two ordinary people without the strength to truss a chicken, you can leave my final defense alive?"

He slowly raised his right hand and gave a light wave.

"Activate the Sky-Locking Formation. Deploy the Break-God Soul Guidance Cannons."

"Today, I'll show you—"

"What it means to have no escape, even with wings."

Buzz—!!!

Countless golden patterns instantly lit up across the ground, spreading through the entire seventh underground level like awakening dragons.

Space was completely locked down, frozen, and sealed.

The flow of elements in the air was forcibly suppressed, severed, and confined.

Gu Yue's expression abruptly changed, and gravity flashed through her purple eyes.

The Sky-Locking Formation.

This was a killing formation Spirit Pagoda had specifically designed to counter elemental manipulators and users of spatial abilities. It was precisely the greatest nemesis of her Silver Dragon King power.

Once the formation fully took shape, she would be unable to command even the slightest trace of elemental power and would be reduced to a cripple.

"Attack."

The Spirit Pagoda Master gave the order.

The ten Guard Douluo stepped forward at once. Their Soul Rings flared around them as dozens of incomparably powerful soul skills gathered simultaneously. Wind, lightning, fire, light, spiritual attacks... densely interwoven into an impenetrable net of attacks that crushed toward the secret prison with the momentum to destroy everything.

"Wulin!"

Gu Yue shouted low.

Her ink-black hair flew wildly through the darkness. She hesitated no longer, no longer caring about her depleted soul power or the damage to her origin.

For him, for the family behind him, she forcibly burned the remnants of her strength.

The power of six elements erupted from her palms.

Gales howled, forming countless peerlessly sharp wind blades that crashed head-on into the enemy's soul skills;

Lightning roared as pillars of violet thunder tore through the air and forcibly blasted open a gap;

Flames swept outward, a raging sea of fire halting the Guard Douluo's advance.

With a single strike, she actually blocked the first full-force assault of all ten Guard Douluo.

Boom—!!!

The shockwave swept outward, and dust filled the air.

Gu Yue's body suddenly trembled. She staggered back a step as a thread of bright red blood spilled from the corner of her lips and dripped down her pale chin.

She had already been utterly drained. Now, forcing out power beyond her limits brought a backlash like countless steel needles stabbing viciously into every limb and bone.

"Gu Yue!"

Tang Wulin's eyes nearly split apart. It felt as if an invisible hand had clutched his heart, squeezing so hard that he could barely breathe.

He turned and looked deeply into the cell.

Tang Ziran and Lang Yue stared at him with shock, worry, and pain written across their faces. Their eyes were full of unease and self-blame.

They knew they had become a burden.

They knew their son was fighting a bloody battle for them.

Dad. Mom.

Wait for me just a moment longer.

I have to win this battle.

Tang Wulin slowly turned back. His golden eyes had completely become a cold sea of golden flames.

He slowly stepped out of the secret prison, standing alone before Gu Yue and before the final defense of the entire Spirit Pagoda.

"You want to touch my family."

His voice was low, as though it came from an abyss,

"Then step over my corpse first."

As his words fell—

Tang Wulin moved, charging straight ahead like golden lightning. He neither dodged nor evaded, and he did not retreat.

The Golden Dragon King's blood essence surged toward the heavens. Golden dragon patterns spread from his neck across his cheeks, arms, and entire body. His dragon might billowed forth, shaking the seventh underground level.

Bang—!!!

The first collision shook the entire passage violently.

One Guard Douluo took Tang Wulin's punch directly in the chest. His armor instantly shattered, and he flew backward like a kite with its string cut, slamming hard into the wall. He spat out a mouthful of blood and immediately lost his combat strength.

But the remaining nine Guard Douluo instantly filled the gap and closed in around him.

Soul skills descended upon Tang Wulin like torrential rain, like tsunamis, like natural disasters.

Golden light exploded, and blood essence churned.

Tang Wulin gave a muffled grunt. Several bone-deep wounds immediately appeared across his body. Blood seeped out, soaking through his clothes.

It was not that he could not defeat them.

He simply could not retreat.

Behind him was Gu Yue, whose soul power was exhausted and whose body was on the verge of collapse.

Behind him were his unarmed parents, completely without combat strength.

One step back meant death without a burial ground.

One step back meant the regrets of two lifetimes would repeat themselves.

"Wulin! Be careful!"

Lang Yue covered her mouth as tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. Her voice broke with sobs.

She had never imagined that the child who once needed to be held in her arms and protected behind her had now grown into a man capable of holding up the sky for her and blocking every mountain of blades and sea of fire.

The Spirit Pagoda Master stood in the distance, watching coldly, his expression indifferent and unchanging.

"Meaningless resistance."

"Attack with everything you have. Crush him."

The order fell.

The Guard Douluo's offensive instantly surged. The power of their soul skills doubled, and the dense barrage of attacks nearly swallowed Tang Wulin whole.

The Break-God Soul Guidance Cannons on both sides glowed brighter and brighter. Their charging was almost complete. In a single instant, they would fire in unison and blast their targets to death.

Gu Yue gritted her teeth and dropped to one knee, pressing both hands against the ground. Her purple eyes stared fixedly at those Soul Guidance Cannons.

She could not move. She could not fall. She could not let the cannon muzzles aim at Tang Wulin.

"Space... distort..."

She murmured weakly, forcibly drawing upon the final trace of spatial power suppressed by the formation.

Boom—!!!

The muzzles of three Soul Guidance Cannons were forcibly shifted aside. Their shells flew out of control and struck the rock walls, blasting open enormous craters.

But that strike completely drained the last of her strength.

Gu Yue could no longer hold on. Her body went limp as she collapsed to her knees. Her ink-black hair fell over her pale, agonized profile, while blood continuously slid from the corner of her mouth.

"Gu Yue!"

Tang Wulin's pupils turned crimson. Heartache and fury intertwined, instantly igniting the last boundary he would not yield.

He stopped holding back.

He stopped caring about the cost.

He stopped calculating a way out.

The Golden Dragon King bloodline burned completely.

"You—"

"Get the hell out—!!!"

Ninth Soul Skill, Golden Dragon Annihilates the World.

Unleashed without reservation, it descended in full.

The phantom of a golden dragon soared into the sky, its roar shaking the deepest levels beneath the Spirit Pagoda. Golden light illuminated the entire darkness.

The guard Douluos' defenses shattered layer by layer. Cries of agony rang out one after another as armor cracked and Soul Rings dimmed. Several were blasted away and severely injured on the spot.

But just then.

The Spirit Pagoda Master's gaze turned cold as he finally made his move himself.

"You do not know your place."

He gently pressed down with one hand.

A force of soul power far more terrifying, vast, and irresistible than the dragon phantom descended from above. Like an ancient mountain crashing down upon them, it forcibly shattered, crushed, and dispersed the golden dragon phantom Tang Wulin had unleashed.

Pfft—!!!

Tang Wulin was struck as if by a heavy blow and sent flying backward. He slammed hard into the unyielding wall of the secret prison, spraying blood as the golden vitality around him instantly dimmed.

"Wulin!"

Gu Yue struggled to rise, yet she did not even have the strength to lift a finger.

The Spirit Pagoda Master approached at an unhurried pace, his boots crunching over broken stones with crisp, chilling sounds.

He looked down from above at Tang Wulin, who lay wounded all over and unable to rise. His eyes held the indifferent calm of someone who controlled everything.

"It is over."

"The Golden Dragon King bloodline belongs to me."

"Your parents will remain imprisoned, serving as my leverage for the rest of their lives."

"And you—"

"From this day onward, you will become the Spirit Pagoda's vessel."

He extended his right hand. His soul power formed an enormous golden claw, carrying the force to imprison all things as it reached for Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin braced himself against the ground, his arms trembling violently as he tried to stand. But his body was as heavy as a mountain, every inch of bone screaming in agonizing pain.

He watched the giant claw draw closer, blotting out the sky.

He looked at his parents in the cell, their faces filled with terror and tears.

He looked at Gu Yue kneeling not far away, her eyes brimming with worry and despair.

An obsession that had erupted from the very depths of his soul, one that had never been extinguished through two lifetimes of reincarnation, suddenly exploded.

He could not lose.

He could not fall here.

He could not let tragedy repeat itself.

He had promised them.

He would take them home.

Tang Wulin suddenly raised his head.

Within his golden eyes burned a flame that would never be extinguished, never yield.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he pushed against the ground and straightened his body bit by bit.

His wounds split open, blood streamed freely, his soul power was exhausted, and his body writhed with pain.

Yet he stood up.

Golden light surged from within him once more.

This time, it was more dazzling, more violent, more—

Unstoppable.

"I will say it one more time—"

Tang Wulin's voice was hoarse and broken, yet as firm as iron as it echoed through the entire seventh underground level.

"No one will ever separate us again."