The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind

Duan Yu watched as Zhao Wuji struck at him with a palm, intending to suppress him through sheer strength, and a disdainful smile curled at his lips.

Zhao Wuji, Zhao Wuji, you wanted to suppress me with strength? Then you had miscalculated after all. Even with your Martial Soul Avatar, competing with the Mountain Dragon King in strength was simply absurd.

Duan Yu neither dodged nor retreated. Pity unconsciously filled his eyes as his right arm swelled as well, dragon scales covering it as it grew a full size larger than before.

What Zhao Wuji himself failed to notice was that at this moment, Duan Yu's originally silver dragon claws had quietly changed color, becoming primarily earthy yellow with silver as a secondary hue.

The instant the bear paw collided with the dragon claw, Zhao Wuji felt an indescribably terrifying force.

This time, there was no longer a one-sided outcome. Bolstered by his Martial Soul Avatar, Zhao Wuji barely withstood the bloodline suppression of the Mountain Dragon King.

Yet the two terrifying forces remained locked in a stalemate. The ground beneath their feet began to crack, fissures spreading endlessly in every direction.

Duan Yu snorted coldly and raised his left palm. The Mountain Dragon King's Crown at the mountain range lit up quietly as he shouted, "Mountains and Rivers!"

With one hand supporting the heavens, a towering mountain suddenly surged into the sky. It clearly was not a real mountain, yet in that instant, it felt as though a great mountain had truly appeared between heaven and earth.

Boom—

A thunderous roar exploded as Mountains and Rivers shattered. Zhao Wuji was sent flying by the sudden turn of events.

Zhao Wuji, who had briefly gained the upper hand through his Martial Soul Avatar, was once again at a disadvantage.

Before Zhao Wuji could adjust himself and react, Duan Yu's aura surged again. A terrifying pressure bore down directly upon Zhao Wuji.

Zhao Wuji was horrified. What was this? How could there be such a bizarre dragon-type martial soul?

Zhao Wuji had no time to dodge. He raised his arm to take the claw head-on, only to be slapped flying.

Dust filled the air. Zhao Wuji staggered to his feet, lowered his head, and saw clear, distinct dragon claw marks gouged into his palm.

Zhao Wuji was shocked and horrified. He had activated his Martial Soul Avatar, increasing his strength by two hundred percent, yet he still could not gain any advantage in a pure clash of strength?

At that moment, Zhao Wuji understood completely. If there was any place on the continent that possessed such a powerful and terrifying dragon-type martial soul, it could only be the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.

If this continued, he would likely be the only one to die.

"Are you from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect?"

Zhao Wuji stared at him fixedly, but he took the initiative to retreat. "I do not know how I, Zhao Wuji, have offended the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. Please give me a hint. Next time, I will bring gifts to your door and offer my apologies."

Duan Yu laughed at those words, a trace of contempt flashing through his eyes. "Zhao Wuji, Zhao Wuji, saying you will apologize next time is rather perfunctory, isn't it?"

"Taking your head will be the best gift. So, please do me the favor, Fudo Myoo, and obediently offer up your head."

"So you do not intend to let this end peacefully?" Zhao Wuji narrowed his eyes, pushing his soul power to its limit.

"Enough nonsense. If you do not die, I will never be at ease."

As his words fell, silver light flashed around Duan Yu as he rushed before Zhao Wuji and threw a punch.

Boom!

The Martial Soul Avatar could not last long. Seeing that peace was impossible, Zhao Wuji could only take the initiative to charge forward, hoping to find that sliver of opportunity.

"Zhao Wuji, before me, the strength you take such pride in is no different from that of a clown."

After saying that, Duan Yu's aura abruptly changed. Previously, his Dragon Transformation had only covered his upper body, making it incomplete.

But now, as earthy yellow light burst from his body, the Mountain Dragon King's Crown floated above his head, and the Mountain Dragon King coiling above the mountains manifested behind him.

His arm swelled once again, undergoing threefold enhancement. Each enhancement doubled its previous strength.

"Die!" Duan Yu suddenly exerted force and tore toward Zhao Wuji.

At that moment, Zhao Wuji felt that he was no longer facing a Soul Master, but all of nature itself.

The gravity suppression, incomparably formidable defense, and immense strength of his Mighty Vajra Bear—everything he took pride in—began to collapse one after another.

This was simply too terrifying. It was absolutely not something he could contend against.

Duan Yu pointed at him through the air. The phantom of the Mountain Dragon King appeared, countless streams of power gathering in his hand.

With a boom,

Zhao Wuji could no longer resist and was sent flying backward, smashing a hundred-meter-wide crater into the ground.

Duan Yu slowly walked forward and looked at the severely injured, unconscious Zhao Wuji. "If you want someone to blame, blame yourself for insisting on meddling in other people's business."

Just as silver light flashed around Duan Yu and he stepped forward to end Zhao Wuji's life with a palm strike,

This palm carried heaven-shaking might.

Once it landed, Zhao Wuji would have no possibility of surviving.

However.

At that very moment, several figures suddenly appeared behind Duan Yu.

Duan Yu sensed the auras of three Soul Douluo and several Soul Emperors behind him and froze. Were those three Soul Douluo not Meng Shenji and the others?

Several killing intents suddenly erupted from behind him.

Countless Evergreen Vines descended from the sky and surrounded him. A Black Demon and a Celestial Star Furnace also smashed toward him.

Those were clearly full-force attacks from Soul Douluo-level experts.

"Damn it! Where did those three old men come from? Why did they have to come here and stir up trouble now?"

Duan Yu sensed the several terrifying killing intents behind him. By the time he thought of dodging, it was already too late.

Brilliant light burst from the top of the Mountain Dragon King's Crown. It circled around him, forcibly protecting him.

The Mountain Dragon King's Crown's innate divine skill: Absolute Defense.

When faced with fatal danger, the divine artifact automatically protected its master and blocked the fatal strike.

No matter how powerful a divine artifact was, it still depended on its user. Even though it was the Mountain Dragon King's innate divine artifact, the crown symbolizing the king of the Mountain Dragon Clan,

Duan Yu was only at four rings. After blocking the combined sneak attack of three Soul Douluo for him, the Mountain Dragon King's Crown gradually dimmed.

This signified that the Mountain Dragon King's Crown had entered cooldown and could not be used freely again for a short time.

Looking at those three old men and the group of Soul Emperors, how could Duan Yu still fail to understand what was happening?

Before launching the sneak attack, he had investigated every place except the area inside Shrek, fearing that he might alert Zhao Wuji. The surrounding space had also been sealed off by the Seven-Leaf Spatial Grass.

It was absolutely impossible for three Soul Douluo and a group of Soul Emperors to suddenly appear without him noticing.

Unless... the rumor that Fudo Myoo Zhao Wuji had fled in fear of punishment had been a complete sham from beginning to end.

They had guessed that he would find an opportunity to make a move against Zhao Wuji, discussed it with Zhao Wuji, and staged this entire act to lure him out.

They had truly gone to great lengths to capture him.