Tactical Domination

Long hair wound around the target, the Waist Bow opened the assault, followed by the Aerial Execution Spiral Throw, the Front-and-Back Handspring Head Clamp Throw, and finally a brutal 1,080-degree aerial spinning throw. Well, even if Tang Jia San Shao's descriptions had been somewhat exaggerated, as a fan of "Douluo World," Ren Tao had a very vivid impression of Sister Xiao Wu's Eight-Stage Throw.

To be precise, this should have been the "Void, Explosive Eight-Stage Throw" that Tang San could use only once a day!

But the moment Xiao Wu unleashed this move, Ren Tao knew he had won.

No matter how dazzling and varied Tang San's subsequent tricks might be, Xiao Wu was his Achilles' heel.

When it came to defeating Tang San, controlling Xiao Wu was undoubtedly the most effective move!

The instant Xiao Wu's toes pressed against his back, Ren Tao almost resigned himself to his fate and abandoned all resistance. He even managed to say,

"Sister Xiao Wu, go easy on me!"

Boom!

But what followed was not Xiao Wu's explosive throw. Although the Waist Bow greatly amplified her strength, the gulf between their Soul Power Levels was enormous. At this point, Xiao Wu clearly could not throw Ren Tao.

Tang San knew this full well, so he immediately unleashed Purple Pole Divine Light again. Empowered by Divine Slaughter's Domain, this blast of Purple Pole Divine Light was more than twice as powerful as the last. Beneath its dazzling white radiance lurked a chill that pierced the skin and reached straight into the marrow. A murderous air filled their surroundings, as though they had entered a white realm of ghosts.

Ren Tao desperately focused his mind to withstand Tang San's mental attack, but still... he failed!

Reality proved that strength did not rise without limit alongside spirit and hot blood. Even if they provided a boost, that boost was ultimately finite.

Against a vast level Spiritual Power attack, further enhanced by the technique of Purple Pole Divine Light and the amplification of Divine Slaughter's Domain, Ren Tao felt his own Spiritual Power become a huge watermelon smashed against a rock-or a curtain facing the Grim Reaper's scythe, torn to pieces in an instant.

The shattered watermelon flesh was the blood Ren Tao spat out; the shredded curtain was the Soul Garment bursting apart on his body. His mind plunged into darkness, and as the world spun around him, Xiao Wu had already swung his body, comparable to a Super Douluo's Martial Soul Avatar, into the air.

Before that, in the half-second gap between Xiao Wu's Entanglement and Tang San's activation of Purple Pole Divine Light, Ren Tao had managed only one action:

Summoning the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's phantom to possess him.

Heaven and earth spun, the wind howled, and countless cries of alarm rose all around.

The Evil Spirit Orcas' voices were the most familiar among them. Even when Tang San's Eight Spider Lances had clamped around Ren Tao earlier, they had not cried out so loudly.

In their simple minds, being flung back and forth through the air was far more humiliating than dying quietly.

These ignorant fools!

Ren Tao sighed inwardly, then caught sight of Tang San swinging the Clear Sky Hammer on the other side. The white radiance of Divine Slaughter's Domain served as a spotlight, making his movements exceptionally conspicuous.

The Aerial Interception Spiral Throw had already passed, and Tang San had now swung his hammer eight times.

This was his self-created Soul Skill, "Chaotic Cloak Dance." His Sixth Soul Ring Skill, through which Xiao Wu possessed him, could attack entirely on its own, so Tang San had already begun gathering power to unleash the most destructive technique currently at his disposal. Once he finished charging it, the Eight-Stage Throw would end at precisely the same moment. By then, even Ren Tao would be unable to withstand that overwhelming, heaven-destroying, earth-shattering force.

It seemed everything lay within Tang San's calculations.

Except that, after the first throw of the Void, Explosive Eight-Stage Throw, the second was suddenly forced to a halt.

It was not that Ren Tao still had enough Soul Power to resist a violent woman like Xiao Wu. The throw had knocked him senseless, and with the dizziness on top of that, he had practically given up moving.

The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's phantom, however, had not stopped. The aura of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit on Xiao Wu once again triggered his instinct to devour. Eight blue-gray Spider Spears, freshly obtained by "stealing" and copying genes, clamped tightly around Xiao Wu.

The spikes and barbs at their tips had already pierced Xiao Wu's skin.

Even if "Void" could ignore physical attacks and reduce energy attacks by fifty percent, Ren Tao's Devour skill could devour even Soul Power and Spiritual Power.

Perhaps everything truly did come full circle. The earlier scene of Tang San restraining Ren Tao replayed in an instant, only with the roles reversed. This time, Xiao Wu had fallen under Ren Tao's control.

"Xiao Wu!"

Although Tang San was spinning as he swung the Clear Sky Hammer, his Spiritual Power had never stopped monitoring Xiao Wu for even a moment. He abruptly let out a heart-wrenching cry.

A slight flush had appeared on Xiao Wu's face, and her breathing had grown somewhat hurried. The murderous edge in her eyes and brows softened a little as she called to Tang San, her voice full of apology,

"Brother!"

At that moment, clever as Xiao Wu was, she had already guessed Ren Tao's scheme. More importantly, she knew how Tang San would react next.

Whenever anyone hurt Xiao Wu, Tang San would go mad. He would even throw away his life for her. If he admitted defeat to Ren Tao because of her, Xiao Wu would never forgive herself for the rest of her life.

"I'm fine. Don't-"

"No, Xiao Wu!"

Tang San shouted, wanting to rush over, but the windup of Chaotic Cloak Dance had already begun. Under that tremendous momentum, he could not stop immediately. His body continued rotating with the Clear Sky Hammer, but his eyes abruptly turned blood-red.

"Genetic Devour, Reverse Decoding... unless you want Xiao Wu turned back into a rabbit, keep using your Chaotic Cloak Dance!"

Ren Tao was anxious too, so he rattled off a string of technical terms without worrying whether Tang San could understand them.

It was not that Ren Tao had never considered using Xiao Wu to keep Tang San in check, but that was not the ideal plan.

What he wanted was to throw his opponent's state of mind into chaos.

Letting go in order to capture, releasing before seizing again-this was true tactical domination, ultimately planting the seed of defeat in Tang San's heart.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ren Tao swiftly released Xiao Wu. The eight Spider Spears pushed off the ground, and the enormous figure of the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King swept his body into the air.

"I'll take your Clear Sky Hammer head-on and settle this fated battle!"

In midair, Ren Tao swiftly withdrew the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's phantom, then rapidly formed another Soul Garment to cover his exposed body. In that brief instant of devouring, he had obtained at least the genetic codes of the Lovesick Heartbreak Red and Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng. His harvest was ample enough.

Besides, he did not want to face a Tang San who had gone mad.

The white radiance of Divine Slaughter's Domain grew ever more brilliant and dazzling, becoming almost tangible upon the Clear Sky Hammer's enormous head. Tang San's figure also became a blur as a gigantic tornado rose from the ground, carrying the surrounding plants, sand, and dust into the sky.

A gray figure of the Evil Orca King also began taking shape behind Ren Tao. Threads of golden light shone through his immense gray body, and layer upon layer of energy ripples radiated from him, pressing down until even the air stopped flowing. The space around him seemed to become a single solid whole.

Ren Tao was now unleashing the Evil Orca King's Energy Domain with everything he had, striving to erupt with his greatest strength and block the culminating hammer strike of Tang San's Chaotic Cloak Dance.

"He really is so powerful!"

Sea Maiden Douluo watched Ren Tao with both fists clenched, an unusual light gleaming in her eyes.

"Ah..."

Bo Saixi let out a soft sigh, ripples stirring involuntarily in her heart. Lord Sea God, when you chose the Evil Orca King as Tang San's Fourth Trial, did you foresee what would happen today?

Everyone had witnessed Ren Tao releasing Xiao Wu just now. Strictly speaking, Tang San had already lost one exchange.

And so, a subtle change had now taken place in everyone's mindset.

"Big brother is mighty!"

Among the Evil Spirit Orcas, the strongest, Hu Dong; the blinded Feng Ba; the divergent-eyed Zhen Jiu; the oldest, Ha Jun; along with Tae Hee, Jun Hyuk, Jun Ho, and Jenny and Yeonnie, who were doted upon like little princesses-all had light shining in their eyes as they shouted without restraint.

Even the pressure of Sea God's Light seemed to ease considerably at that moment.

Ren Tao swept his gaze across the entire gathering, lingering on Xiao Bai just a fraction longer. Then he turned back, twisted his body into position, and, together with the Evil Orca King's phantom behind him, abruptly plunged into the tornado Tang San had raised.

"Oh, ohhh."

The Shrek Seven Devils made sounds whose meaning even they did not understand, filled with surprise, shock, and a trace of bewilderment.

Could Tang San, who had never tasted defeat since they first met him, still preserve his unbroken golden aura today?

That was the question in everyone's heart.

And Xiao Wu stared unblinkingly at the figure inside the tornado, uttering only a single word:

"Brother!"