Gao Yang's Sword God Domain

[Even Xie Yue and Hu Liena's Martial Soul Fusion couldn't withstand your three cries of "Kill!" Xie Yue died on the spot. As Hu Liena lay dying, she looked toward Tang San, seemingly muttering something under her breath. Yan met an even worse end: you practically chopped him into mince.]

[You showed no mercy to the surviving members of Spirit Hall, either. Soul Saints, Soul Kings—it made no difference. All of them died beneath your Seven Kill Sword!]

[The battle lasted only as long as one stick of incense burned. You returned to Ning Rongrong's side, where she was boosting Tang San and Xiao Wu. The ill-fated couple looked battered, but their lives were no longer in danger.]

[Sword Control couldn't carry four people, so after sweeping the battlefield, you set off with them toward the Heaven Dou Imperial City.]

[You had to admit, the battle had yielded quite a haul. From the bodies of Spirit Hall's people, you collected at least four Soul Bones. The only pity was that you couldn't take the Spirit Hall Holy Maiden's External Soul Bone.]

[On the road, you and Tang San exchanged information. He was shocked that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had been destroyed; you marveled at his composure. With little gadgets like Hidden Weapons, he had repeatedly escaped from Titled Douluo while bringing Xiao Wu along.]

[On the journey back, Xiao Wu wore a sorrow that would not lift. Choking back tears, she said that if Da Ming and Er Ming were still around, she and Tang San would never have been reduced to such a state. You didn't know who Da Ming and Er Ming were. You took them for older brothers or kin of Xiao Wu's kind, and from her tone, they were probably Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts too. Since when had the Star Dou Great Forest had so many Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbits? You were curious, but seeing how heartbroken Xiao Wu was, you didn't press her.]

[When you passed a city, you rode your sword above the local Spirit Hall Branch and tossed the heads of Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo, the Golden Generation, and assorted legion members straight into the square. With their blood, you wrote: "The killer was Gao Yang of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"]

[On the way back, you also heard of the calamity that had befallen the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. Once you reached the Heaven Dou Imperial City, you met Ning Fengzhi, Grandmaster, and the others.]

[In just a few days, everyone's hair had turned noticeably gray. Ning Fengzhi in particular had lost every trace of his usual composure and elegance.]

[With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect dealt a devastating blow and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect wiped out, the balance of power across the continent immediately grew precarious. Tang San swore to make Spirit Hall pay. But the high-level fighters capable of resisting Spirit Hall were far too few, and nowhere was that clearer than in the number of Titled Douluo.]

[The Heaven Dou Imperial Family had only one lonely old snake, while the Star Dou side had no Titled Douluo at all. Among the sects, the Clear Sky Sect had withdrawn from the world and could be discounted. Now only the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had two Douluo. If Gao Yang and Ning Fengzhi's boosts were counted, that amounted to four Titled Douluo at most. Spirit Hall, meanwhile, had seven Titled Douluo by a conservative estimate.]

[The battle had not even begun, yet everyone already felt the crushing pressure.]

[At that point, Sword Douluo suggested sending Tang San and the other Little Monsters of Shrek to Sea God Island for training. If they survived and returned, they would surely grow into Titled Douluo. Seven more Titled Douluo would greatly ease the pressure on the battlefield!]

[After considering it, Tang San and the others readily agreed. Only you knew that Sword Douluo had made the suggestion not out of hope, but out of despair. If Spirit Hall overturned the table completely, these youngsters would at least remain as a Core Flame!]

[Finally, Tang San proposed that, in a few days, they invite Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing from distant Star Dou to reunite at Shrek. Once everyone had gathered, they would head to Sea God Island for training together.]

[Over the next few days, Tang San rallied the sects once subordinate to the Clear Sky Sect, including the Strength Clan, and founded a sect called the Tang Sect. You, meanwhile, raced from place to place, gathering the surviving disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.]

[One thing, however, left you with a nagging sense that something was wrong. You had killed Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden; by rights, Spirit Hall would surely come to demand an explanation. Yet day after day, its silence remained bafflingly complete.]

[Half a month later, you brought Ning Rongrong and Oscar back to Shrek Academy and happened to meet Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing. While the group exchanged greetings, you were summoned to the headmaster's office.]

[In the office, you found Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo, along with Grandmaster, Flender, Liu Erlong, and the others of the Golden Triangle. Grandmaster said he hoped you would spar with the Shrek Seven Devils before they departed for Sea God Island.]

[You knew the seven had not fought together in years, and their coordination was bound to be rusty. In an unfamiliar place, even the slightest rust could prove fatal. So you agreed to spar with them.]

Wait, that wasn't right!

Gao Yang scratched his head. It felt as though he had missed part of the plot.

He had only read the story of Douluo I once, and by now he had forgotten almost all of it.

But he clearly remembered one event: the Heaven Dou Palace Coup.

Tang San and Qian Renxue had fought for the first time.

Yet the Shrek Seven Devils were already about to leave for Sea God Island. Why hadn't that part of the story begun?

Had he remembered it wrong? Did it happen only after Tang San returned from Sea God Island?

[When you went outside, the Shrek group was seething with righteous anger, denouncing Spirit Hall's wolfish ambitions.]

[Once Grandmaster let them vent, he suggested that they spar with you.]

[Although Tang San had not returned yet, they were still brimming with fighting spirit.]

[First-person perspective engaged.]

"Grandmaster, I admit Brother Gao is strong, but having all of us fight him at once..." Ma Hongjun narrowed his small eyes and scoffed.

"Grandmaster, that's too unfair to Brother Gao. Why not fight one-on-one? I've been wanting to spar with him myself."

As Dai Mubai spoke, he stepped forward, radiating confidence.

They still harbored some resentment toward Gao Yang over what had happened with Ning Rongrong and Oscar.

That resentment had eased after they accepted the God-Given Soul Rings.

But only a little.

If they had once wanted to kill Gao Yang, now they merely wanted to beat him badly enough to keep him in bed for a few months.

Gao Yang gave a faint smile.

"Sword God Domain!"

As the Domain spread, an invisible pressure enveloped Dai Mubai and the others.

Their faces drained of color, and they summoned their Martial Souls one after another to resist it.

Of course, the pressure was not directed at Ning Rongrong.

Then came an awkward blunder: Gao Yang didn't know Bai Chenxiang and assumed she was another of Shrek's monsters.

So she faced the same pressure as Zhu Zhuqing.

The moment the Domain enveloped Bai Chenxiang, she felt herself pinned to a cross, unable to move!

All around her stood Gao Yangs holding swords.

Then, expressionless, Gao Yang drove a sword into her body.

One thrust. Two.

Only after the third thrust did the illusions vanish.

She had not broken free of the Domain. Gao Yang had withdrawn it himself.

Bai Chenxiang dropped onto her backside, her beautiful eyes fixed on Gao Yang.

"So strong... uh... so cold..."

The next second, she summoned her Martial Soul and flew away.

Yet her departure drew no one's attention.

Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun were deathly pale and drenched in cold sweat. Clearly, they had yet to recover from the Domain.

Only Oscar stood straight-backed, his expression unchanged.

Though he was a support-type Soul Master, his body was now stronger than those of the three Battle Soul Masters by an astonishing margin!

"Everyone, I won't use my Domain in the fight that follows," Gao Yang said with a faint smile. "You'd better take this seriously. Grandmaster said I'm allowed to strike to kill during this spar!"

Only then did Dai Mubai and the others realize that in a one-on-one fight, Gao Yang would be unbeatable on the strength of that Domain alone!

Years of teamwork had them assume their optimal formation for a team battle in the very next instant.

Dai Mubai took the front, Zhu Zhuqing hid in his shadow, and Ma Hongjun flew into the air, gathering his strength.

Oscar drew his sword. Though he stood at the rear, he had none of the bearing of a support-type Soul Master.

He looked more like the team's second Power Attack System fighter or second agility-type fighter, waiting for his chance to move.

"Protect Rongrong!"

With Tang San absent, Dai Mubai naturally took command.

"Rongrong, come on, summon your Martial Soul and boost us!"

Ma Hongjun grumbled from above.

"Hey, Fatty, if I summon my Martial Soul, of course I'll boost my Gao Yang!" Ning Rongrong said with a charming smile.

"Rongrong, you really are putting romance before friendship!" Zhu Zhuqing finally got a line in.

"Exactly. Without your boosts, we might not be able to beat Brother Gao!" Dai Mubai finally acknowledged Gao Yang's strength.

"Don't worry. I can't bear to help you beat up my fiancé, but there's someone who'd very much like to see you give Gao Yang a beating!"

Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun: ???

As they puzzled over her words, a familiar voice suddenly sounded beside their ears.

"Seven Treasures turn forth, Glazed Tile appears. First, strength..." At some point, Ning Fengzhi had come to stand behind them. "Youngsters, I'll boost you in Rongrong's place!"

Understanding dawned on everyone. Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun even looked at Gao Yang with a touch of sympathy.

Sure enough, mothers-in-law and fathers-in-law had always been the hardest to win over...

Gao Yang: ...

He would rather have Ning Rongrong support them.

He dared to smack Ning Rongrong's backside, but he would never dare smack Ning Fengzhi's...