Poseidon entered the fray: "Insolence! Die!" Lu Changqing: "I've finally been waiting for you!" [4K!]

"Your Majesty, please remain calm. We absolutely must not throw our own ranks into disarray now."

Ning Fengzhi remained composed as he began his methodical analysis:

"The fall of Vast Sea Fortress stemmed from the disparity in intelligence and Bibi Xi's exceptionally powerful group Soul Skill.

On the Douluo Continent, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo seems to be the only one who can compare.

Moreover, the power of their Soul Tools has already surpassed every conventional heavy weapon on the Douluo Continent. They can even inflict sustained destruction at the Soul Douluo level.

If we let them face our army head-on across open plains, the Heaven Dou legions' regular armored troops will be nothing but targets."

"Sect Master Ning, what do you believe I should do now?"

Xue Ye asked breathlessly.

"Am I supposed to simply watch the people of the Xuanwu Continent trample the empire's lands flat?!"

"We must fortify the key routes immediately and buy time."

Ning Fengzhi declared decisively:

"Two natural barriers stand on the route from Vast Sea Fortress into the heartland:

Sunset Canyon and Dragon-Slaying Pass.

Both passes are narrow and steep. Large armies cannot spread out and advance in force, and their heavy long-range weapons will also struggle to bring their full power to bear.

Your Majesty should immediately send orders to Marshal Ge Long, commanding him to muster the empire's elite Royal Knights and the main forces of three legions.

At any cost, he must establish multiple defensive lines at Dragon-Slaying Pass and pin the Xuanwu Empire's army firmly along the western frontier!"

Xue Ye caught his breath slightly, only for his brows to knot again:

"But that only addresses their weapons!

All of you saw the extraordinary scenes the Sky Screen revealed just now!

The Xuanwu Empire doesn't merely possess bizarre heavy weapons. It also has vast numbers of supreme experts at the Titled Douluo level!

If those superhuman Soul Masters take to the battlefield in person, how can Dragon-Slaying Pass hold with nothing but mortal soldiers and a handful of ordinary generals?!"

Gu Rong, who had remained silent throughout, spoke coldly:

"Your Majesty's concerns are entirely justified.

Before a Titled Douluo, ordinary armies are mere ants, annihilated with a wave of the hand.

According to what the Sky Screen just revealed, the advance force the Xuanwu Empire sent to Sea God Island alone includes over a dozen Titled Douluo.

If all those Titled Douluo set foot in Dragon-Slaying Pass, even Chen Xin and I together would absolutely be unable to stop them."

A chill ran through Xue Ye's entire body:

"Your Eminence Gu Rong, even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's two guardian Douluo together have no confidence in stopping them?!"

Gu Rong nodded without concealing anything:

"We cannot stop them.

This isn't a question of arrogance. It is an absolute gulf in underlying strength.

The combat power the Xuanwu Empire has displayed has completely shattered the continent's existing balance."

"Then... does Heaven intend to destroy my Heaven Dou Empire?!"

Xue Ye looked panicked.

"Your Majesty, the Heaven Dou Empire's inability to stop them does not mean the entire Douluo Continent cannot."

Looking Xue Ye straight in the eye, Ning Fengzhi said gravely:

"This calamity has long since ceased to concern Heaven Dou alone. It is a war for the survival of two continents.

Once the Xuanwu Continent fully collides and merges with ours, we will all be eggs beneath an overturned nest.

Not just Heaven Dou, but the Star Luo Empire and... Spirit Hall as well!"

Xue Ye's pupils contracted:

"Spirit Hall?

Sect Master Ning, Spirit Hall harbors a wolf's ambitions. Pope Bibi Dong has eyed both empires like a tiger for years. Would they send troops to help me?

They would love nothing more than to watch the Heaven Dou Empire fall and reap the fisherman's rewards!"

"In ordinary times, perhaps. But now, absolutely not."

Ning Fengzhi shook his head firmly, his voice utterly calm:

"Bibi Dong is ambitious, but she is certainly no fool.

When the nest is overturned, how can any egg remain whole?

The murderous intent revealed on the Sky Screen was directed at purging the entire Douluo Continent.

If the Xuanwu Empire swallows Heaven Dou, it can immediately establish an impregnable foothold in the heartland. Spirit City will then be exposed directly to its cannon fire and iron hooves.

Even with more than half the continent's Soul Masters, Spirit Hall would face certain death if it fought an enemy from another realm alone."

"Sect Master Ning, you mean... an alliance?"

Xue Ye looked thoughtful.

"Not merely an alliance. We must also force Bibi Dong to declare her position."

Ning Fengzhi said quietly:

"Your Majesty should immediately dispatch a delegation of the highest standing with Heaven Dou's official letter, traveling by express relay to Spirit City to meet Pope Bibi Dong directly.

State the stakes clearly in the letter:

Vast Sea Fortress has fallen. If Heaven Dou perishes, the Douluo Continent will lose its entire defensive barrier!

Appeal to the pope in the name of 'peace throughout the continent and the survival of human Soul Masters,' and request that she immediately dispatch the main Soul Master forces of Spirit Hall's Elder Hall and its great temples to the western frontier!

At the same time, Your Majesty must personally write to the Star Luo Emperor, demanding that both nations immediately cease all border clashes and that Star Luo send troops to help defend the central line!"

Beside him, Gu Rong sneered:

"Fengzhi is right.

Bibi Dong wants to save her own skin?

Nothing under Heaven comes that cheaply. Nearly seventy percent of the continent's Soul Masters are sheltered beneath Spirit Hall's wings, enjoying the support and honors provided by the great empires in ordinary times.

Now that calamity is upon us, if Spirit Hall dares to keep its troops idle, the Papal Hall's prestige among countless Soul Masters will vanish completely!"

After weighing his options briefly, Xue Ye finally declared resolutely:

"Very well!

We shall do as Sect Master Ning says!

Attend me! Draft my decree!"

An attendant hurried forward with brush and ink.

"Order Marshal Ge Long to lead his elite troops to reinforce Dragon-Slaying Pass immediately and seal the entire western frontier. Without an imperial command, even if only one man remains, he must not allow a single man or horse to advance east!

Command Crown Prince Xue Qinghe to lead the delegation personally. Select senior imperial clansmen and officials as chief envoys, accompanied by elders of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

They shall carry my personally written state letter and travel day and night to Spirit City, explain the stakes to Bibi Dong in person, and force her to send troops!"

Xue Ye gasped heavily:

"I shall see just how long Bibi Dong can remain calmly seated on her fishing platform in the face of an annihilating disaster from another realm!"

Meanwhile.

Overseas, on Sea God Island.

Utter silence reigned.

Before Sea God Island's Seven Sacred Pillars, all seven towering stone columns had dimmed.

On the beach, Sea Horse Douluo lay collapsed, clutching his caved-in chest as bloody foam kept spilling from his mouth.

Not far away, Sea Spear Douluo, renowned for his formidable physique, knelt on one knee. His innate Sea Spear Martial Soul had snapped in two, his entire body was covered in blackened lightning burns, and his presence had weakened to the extreme.

Next, Sea Delusion Douluo lay unconscious at the edge of the stone steps, his eyes bleeding and his Sea of Consciousness forcibly torn apart.

Sea Ghost Douluo's Martial Soul had been forcibly beaten back into his body, and his meridians were severed inch by inch.

All of Sea Star Douluo's tentacles had been severed, leaving him limp as mud.

The black flute in Sea Witch Douluo's hands had shattered into powder. Deathly pale, she had been blasted back dozens of steps and only barely remained standing with her companions' support.

Seven duels, seven defeats!

The seven great Titled Douluo who were Sea God Island's pride, who had guarded the Seven Sacred Pillars for decades without a single defeat.

Before the experts fielded by the Xuanwu Empire, they had actually been toppled one after another like rotten wood swept away!

Not one match had been a fluke. There had not been the slightest chance of turning the tables.

From Sea Horse Douluo's crushing defeat in the first match, to Thunder Dragon Sect Master Yu Chuanwu overwhelming Sea Spear Douluo with a full-body Dragon Transformation in the second, to the bizarre experts subsequently dispatched by the Xuanwu Empire each displaying their abilities...

Sea God Island's foundations had been trampled beneath their feet.

"Cough, cough... pfft!"

Sea Spear Douluo coughed up another mouthful of black blood. With a bitter smile, he raised his head toward the Xuanwu Empire's camp ahead, his eyes filled with disbelief and desolation:

"Impossible...

This is absolutely impossible...

Within the seas blessed by Lord Sea God, we Soul Masters of Sea God Island draw upon the ocean currents. Against opponents of the same rank, there is no reason we should lose...

You... what kind of monsters are you?!

Why does your Soul Power seem inexhaustible?"

Before the Xuanwu Empire's advance army.

Thunder Dragon Douluo Yu Chuanwu withdrew the blazing blue lightning covering his body and folded his arms, looking down at him from above with profound disdain:

"Monsters?

Frogs at the bottom of a well, viewing the sky from its depths."

Yu Chuanwu snorted:

"With a mere trace of divinity bestowed by the Sea God and the advantage of seawater, you really believed yourselves invincible among your peers?

On the Xuanwu Continent, without truly fighting through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, without being tempered a thousand times over in actual combat.

Those meager attribute bonuses from your Martial Souls wouldn't even qualify you to serve as scouts for a top combat regiment!"

On the other side, within the Xuanwu Empire's camp, Lu Wudao tossed a Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shell into the air and caught it, his eyes filled with utter boredom:

"All seven matches are over.

Is this the strongest trump card this so-called Sea God Island has?

I haven't even ordered the artillery formation to charge to full power, and they're already all down. What a disappointment."

Ye Shaozhe did not even spare the collapsed Seven Sacred Pillar Douluo a proper glance, merely saying coldly:

"Seven Titled Douluo, the strongest only at level ninety-five. Their Martial Souls are of acceptable quality, but their fighting will and adaptability are absurdly poor.

Their long seclusion overseas, cultivating away from the world, has made them forget what true life-and-death combat is.

Your Highness, there's no need to waste more words. Under the terms of the wager, they have lost completely."

Lu Wudao took a step forward and proclaimed:

"All Seven Sacred Pillars of Sea God Island have been defeated!

Defenders of Sea God Island, do you yield?!"

Around the island, thousands of yellow-clothed and purple-clothed Sea Soul Masters looked ashen.

During the wagered duels, they had disregarded orders and insisted on returning to Sea God Island.

They had sworn to live or die with Sea God Island.

Yet they had never expected this outcome.

The collapse of faith was more fatal than wounds to the flesh.

The seven great Sacred Pillar Guardians, whom they regarded as divine emissaries, had actually been swept aside on their own territory!

For a time, anguished cries filled the land, yet not one person dared voice an objection.

"Since you've lost, honor the agreement."

Murderous intent appeared on Lu Wudao's face:

"All of you, throw down your weapons and kneel. Hand over every secret inheritance text and resource on Sea God Island, and submit to our Xuanwu Empire!

Otherwise, the very next moment, our army will trample Sea God Mountain flat and erase this Sea God Inheritance completely!"

"Insolence!"

Just then, a furious shout rang out!

At that very instant!

The entire turbulent stretch of sea eerily stood still for a moment.

Churning white waves froze in midair, and the howling sea wind abruptly ceased.

Then, boundless azure divine light shot into the heavens from Sea God Mountain at the very center of Sea God Island.

It dyed the entire sky the color of an emerald sea!

A terrifying surge of Soul Power swept thunderously down from the summit!

Beneath that pressure, the previously supremely arrogant Yu Chuanwu's expression changed drastically. The lightning around him was instantly forced back into his body.

He staggered backward several steps, the blood within him churning violently;

Even Lu Wudao's expression stiffened, his face instantly turning pale.

Ye Shaozhe unleashed all the Soul Power within his body before he could just barely withstand it.

In midair, waves condensed into a staircase.

Bo Saixi, who had disappeared during the wagered duels, came walking through the air.

As though they had found their pillar of support, the Seven Sacred Pillar Douluo struggled to prostrate themselves, crying out in grief:

"High Priest!

We were incompetent and have disgraced Lord Sea God's glory!"

"Please punish us, High Priest!"

Thousands of Sea Soul Masters also fell to their knees together, their voices choked with tears:

"We welcome the High Priest!"

Bo Saixi slowly descended from the sky and landed before the Seven Sacred Pillars' guardians.

Bo Saixi gently waved the Sea God Scepter in her hand.

Humm-

An exceedingly gentle stream of Sea God's Light fell like welcome rain, instantly sinking into the bodies of the seven Sacred Pillar Douluos.

Sea Spear Douluo's broken bones began to mend, and Sea Delusion Douluo's chaotic sea of consciousness rapidly settled.

The vital signs of those who had been on the brink of death miraculously stabilized.

Only after doing all this did Bo Saixi slowly turn around, looking coldly at Lu Wudao, Ye Shaozhe, Yu Chuanwu, and the others.

"You invaders."

"The Seven Sacred Pillars accepted the wagered battle. Their skills were inferior, and a loss is a loss."

Lu Wudao narrowed his eyes slightly and sneered:

"Then, since you admit defeat, are you planning to personally offer up Sea God Island and bow before our Xuanwu Empire as its subject, High Priest?"

Bo Saixi slammed the Sea God Scepter in her hand heavily into the beach.

Boom!

The entire Sea God Island shook violently. The surrounding waves surged a thousand feet into the sky, transforming into countless water dragons that roared and coiled in midair!

"Bow as a subject?"

Bo Saixi's gaze was like ten-thousand-year-old ice as she said coldly:

"They represent the Seven Sacred Pillars. They cannot represent my will, much less my majesty in the mortal world!"

Hearing this, Lu Wudao could not help bursting into curses:

"You old hag, are you planning to shamelessly welch on the wager?!

"You agreed to seven against seven yourselves, and now that you've lost, you're shifting the blame onto your subordinates.

"Is this how a grand level ninety-nine Peerless Douluo conducts herself?!"

Beside him, however, Ye Shaozhe's expression abruptly changed!

Something's wrong. Bo Saixi actually said 'my' will and majesty?

No, you're not Bo Saixi. Who are you?!

"Insolence!"

"Bo Saixi" narrowed her eyes and condensed a droplet of water, which actually pierced straight through the void and blasted viciously toward Lu Wudao!

"Oh no, this isn't Bo Saixi! It's the Sea God, Poseidon!"

Ye Shaozhe realized what was happening and wanted to stop it, but he had no time to react.

At that very moment.

A sinister cackle suddenly rang out!

"Keh keh keh, Poseidon, you've finally appeared!"

Beneath the Xuanwu Continent, the serpent head abruptly reared up, its eyes gleaming with ferocity.

"Old turtle, Poseidon's entered the fray himself. Let me play with him first!"

The Divine Beast Xuanwu was turtle and serpent in one, one still and the other moving.

In essence, they were Lu Changqing's two personalities.

And now, Lu Changqing wanted to play with Poseidon.

As Lu Changqing's direct descendant, Lu Wudao carried the Divine Beast Xuanwu bloodline within him.

This allowed Lu Changqing, with a mere stir of his Divine Sense, to follow the power of that bloodline and manifest his divine power directly out of thin air!

And now, it was the serpent head's personality.

Lu Wudao's Divine Beast Xuanwu would also shift into its offensive form!

The second Divine Core: Ultimate Dao World-Destroying Divine Core, began to rotate!

Divine laws controlled: Great Slaughter Void-Breaking Law, Nine Nether Annihilation Law.

Traits: offensive might unsurpassed throughout the heavens; tore through the Plane Barrier with a single strike; specialized in breaking through all protective astral Qi and Divine Bodies.

Poseidon, you used divine descent. Did you think this would let you avoid the risk of your true body being injured?

With this Divine Core, even if you've only hidden your Divine Sense inside Bo Saixi, I can still severely wound your true body across the boundary between planes!