"Attack!"
His low command rolled like thunder across the city walls.
To the east, Yan Shaozhe's Ninth Soul Ring suddenly lit up.
His Light Phoenix Martial Soul spread its wings to their fullest beneath the night sky. A hundred-zhang phoenix phantom soared upward, its cry ringing through the nine heavens.
He thrust both hands downward, and countless small fire phoenixes formed from Light Phoenix flames poured down like a torrential rain.
"Ninth Soul Skill: Phoenix Descent!"
At the same time, Xian Lin'er moved on the western side.
Her mutated Azure Flame Dragon Martial Soul roared at the sky. The Azure Flame Dragon Spear flew from her hand and became a colossal azure dragon, charging straight at the Level 95 elder with the power to break down all things.
Qian Duoduo stepped onto a crenellation and flung both arms wide.
In an instant, countless Soul Cannon beams burst from his body and rained down.
A dense barrage of shells trailed dazzling flames, blotting out the sky as they hurtled toward the Level 95 elder.
"Boom!"
The Level 95 elder became a speed bump in an instant.
His body exploded into a bloody mist under the combined onslaught of Light Phoenix flames, the Azure Flame Dragon Spear, and the storm of Soul Cannon shells. His Martial Soul shattered, and both body and spirit were annihilated.
Nether Douluo was crushed to death as well.
A dozen small fire phoenixes pierced his Nether Sword Martial Soul from every direction.
Light Phoenix flames were the natural bane of an Evil Soul Master like him. In a single instant, he screamed amid the flames and turned to ash.
Two Titled Douluo had fallen in an instant.
The Level 97 elder was scared out of his wits. Forgetting all about rescue, he turned to flee beyond the city walls.
"Trying to run?"
Elder Song's voice carried on the night wind.
With her Azure Shadow Divine Eagle Martial Soul fully unleashed, she became a nearly invisible azure streak and closed in behind the elder in an instant.
The five fingers of her right hand hooked like an eagle's talons and struck straight for his back.
The elder spun around in panic and released his Three-Eyed Ghost Jackal Martial Soul again.
But the moment he blocked Elder Song's claw, Cai Mei'er came hurtling through the air.
"Die, evil cultist!"
The Break Evil Dragon Soul Spear surged forth like a silver dragon rising from the depths. Bearing the Break Evil Domain's innate power to suppress evil, it pierced the Level 97 elder's left shoulder.
Purifying power ravaged the source of his evil soul, making his entire body convulse in agony.
Elder Song followed with a palm strike squarely to the crown of his head.
The elder's eyes rolled back. Blood streamed from his seven orifices, and he fell completely unconscious.
Duanmu Yao wanted to flee too.
But how could Chen Xuan let him?
"Gray Harrier, tonight you die!"
Chen Xuan appeared behind him like a phantom, and the Taotie's devouring power erupted.
He pressed a hand against Duanmu Yao's back. His Godly Taotie Bull Martial Soul roared at the sky, ravenously devouring the Soul Power left in Duanmu Yao's body.
"No—!"
Duanmu Yao screamed and thrashed.
He felt as though an invisible giant beast had pinned him beneath its claw. His hard-won cultivation was draining away at a terrifying speed.
His Soul Power, his flesh, his very life—this Taotie was devouring them bite by bite.
Just then, an aura of extreme cold and darkness descended from beyond the city walls.
Chen Xuan's pupils contracted, and he snapped his head up.
A gray-white figure tore through the air toward him at astonishing speed.
The figure changed rapidly in midair. Dark-purple mists of death poured wildly from his body, then swiftly drew inward, clinging tight to his form.
In a single instant, a ten-meter-tall skeletal reaper appeared in the night sky.
A dark, bone-like shell covered its entire body like armor made of skeletons.
Blood-red patterns of vengeful spirits coiled around its joints, flowing ceaselessly. Like living things, they breathed out the aura of death.
Two clusters of dark-purple nether soul fire burned in the empty sockets of its skull.
It gripped a colossal pitch-black Grim Reaper Scythe, the blade shimmering with the glow of a death curse.
The newcomer was Zhongli Wu. Without a word, he swung the Grim Reaper Scythe down at Chen Xuan's head.
The scythe tore through the night. Dark-purple ripples spread through space in its wake, carrying a deathly aura that devoured all life.
Chen Xuan had no time to think. His First Soul Ring and Sixth Soul Ring lit up together.
The power of the earth surged, and his Heaven-Mending Light Barrier expanded to its limit. Earth-yellow light condensed into layer upon layer of defenses around him.
At the same time, his Godly Taotie Bull Martial Soul roared at the sky. He drove both fists forward to meet the blow head-on.
"Boom!"
The Grim Reaper Scythe slammed into the Earth-Yellow Soul Power.
The force of their Soul Power even cracked the space around them.
Chen Xuan felt deathly power, cold to the extreme, pour through the scythe into his body and tear savagely at his soul.
He grunted. The ground beneath his feet burst apart, and he slid back several steps.
Zhongli Wu was sent flying backward too.
His Grim Reaper Demon Puppet True Body tumbled twice in the air before it barely steadied itself.
He descended slowly to the ground. A mire of deathly energy spread from beneath his feet, staining the ruins gray-black.
After a single clash, neither had gained the upper hand.
"Taotie Douluo, your reputation is well deserved." Zhongli Wu's voice emerged from the skull, low and hoarse, like countless dead souls whispering at once.
Chen Xuan shook out his numb arms and sneered. "A Level 98 Evil Douluo. Looks like you rats in the gutter have been doing rather well for yourselves."
His face showed disdain, but his thoughts churned.
No wonder he could hold his own against Huo Gua. He really lives up to his reputation.
He gave his still-trembling hand a light shake and cursed inwardly again.
What kind of damned setup is this? We're all Level 98, so why do they each get three red rings while I only get one? Damn you, Third Young Master.
Whatever he thought, not a trace of fear showed on his face.
He straightened sharply and unleashed both his Taotie Domain and Earth Domain at full strength.
His Level 98 aura shot skyward like an erupting volcano. Earth-yellow Soul Power churned wildly across the night sky, faintly overpowering even Zhongli Wu's black death mist.
"I've roamed the continent for two hundred years. What demons and monsters haven't I seen?" he said coldly. "I'd like to know how many people you ate to reach this level."
He was about to charge again when a black-clad figure darted out from behind Zhongli Wu and landed at his side.
The man had dark skin, one eyebrow higher than the other, and a black marking shaped like the character for "king" on his forehead.
He stood beside Zhongli Wu with a deeply deferential bearing. Looking at Chen Xuan, he said in a low voice:
"Xuan Zi, stop."
Chen Xuan narrowed his eyes at him, though his thoughts ran in another direction.
Zhang Peng. One of the few tragic figures in the original story. He had principles and didn't slaughter humans indiscriminately, but the nature of his Martial Soul forced him down an evil path.
Too bad Huo Gua's mental power countered him completely later on. He couldn't even manage to self-destruct in the end. Still, he was someone worth remembering.
His words, however, were far less sympathetic than his thoughts.
"Zhang Peng, you little brat. You actually dared to show your face.
Mu En spared your life back then. Instead of keeping your head down in some mountain ditch, you dared to come cause trouble at Shrek."
Zhang Peng did not answer. He just stood there like a dark, heavy statue.
"Of course I know," Zhang Peng finally said, his voice low.
"That's why I'm not here to fight today.
One elder and two other elders have already died at your hands. If we keep fighting, it won't do anyone any good."