Chapter 373: Severed Arm
"No, Old Seven!"
In the sky and on the ground, the elders of the Clear Sky Clan shouted in alarm upon seeing the shadowy figure standing behind the Seventh Elder. They were horrified, desperate to intervene.
Several elders battling in the sky even considered abandoning their opponents to rush down and save the Seventh Elder. But Serpent Spear and Porcupine Douluo were no novices—impressed as they were by the masked man's performance, they weren't about to let their enemies break away. Both activated their eighth spirit skills. If the elders dared to try saving the Seventh Elder, it wouldn't be only him meeting his end.
Serpent Spear Douluo glanced down at the masked figure below, a startling thought crossing his mind. The stranger's spear technique felt eerily familiar, almost like it shared the same roots as his own.
In the entire continent, only one person had surpassed him in spear mastery—Dai Yao. But Dai Yao's martial spirit was the Holy White Tiger, while this masked man wielded a spear. Could this really be Dai Yao? The thought was terrifying. If Dai Yao possessed a twin martial soul, then once he reached the Title Douluo rank, there would be no one in the continent's history capable of matching him—not even Qian Daoliu, the great High Priest.
Suppressing the thought, Serpent Spear Douluo knew that such speculation, if shared, would have far-reaching consequences.
Forced back by Serpent Spear and Porcupine Douluo, the Third and Fourth Elders had no choice but to turn and resume their fight. In the higher reaches of the sky, Qian Renxue, pushing her Martial Soul True Body to its limits, continued to hold off the Fifth Elder.
On the ground, the Second Elder anxiously watched the Seventh Elder's perilous situation, his heart in turmoil.
Yet, he dared not leave Emperor Xue Ye's side. If he did, Tang San would be overwhelmed by the empire's powerful guards, unable to protect the emperor alone. If the emperor were to die, the Clear Sky Clan would lose its protection from the empire and be reduced to exiles in hiding.
Now, no one could save the Seventh Elder—except himself.
Dai Yao's gaze was as cold as ice as he looked at the agonized Seventh Elder. Without hesitation, he raised the God-Slaying Spear and plunged it toward the Seventh Elder's back.
There was no sound; it was as if all color had drained from the world, leaving only the blinding white light at the spear's tip.
"Ahhh!"
A scream of pain echoed across the sky.
As the white light faded, everyone took in the scene, paralyzed with shock.
An arm, severed at the shoulder, fell slowly from the sky.
The Seventh Elder's left arm had been completely severed, blood gushing uncontrollably from the wound. He clutched his shoulder in agony, struggling to stem the bleeding with his soul power. Meanwhile, the masked figure seemed to have exhausted all his energy, his body dropping from the sky as if beyond his control.
The entire battlefield froze in time, all eyes locked on the Seventh Elder and the masked man, their shock rendering them momentarily incapable of fighting.
"How...how could this be? The Seventh Elder... was defeated?"
One of the Clear Sky Clan disciples stared at the wounded Seventh Elder in disbelief, muttering to himself.
In their minds, the Seventh Elder was a Title Douluo, the Clear Sky Clan's pillar of strength—unbeatable. But now he had lost to a Soul Emperor, sacrificing his arm in the process. It was incomprehensible.
"Old Seven!"
The other elders of the Clear Sky Clan shouted anxiously. Though they struggled to accept what they had witnessed, years of loyalty compelled them to desperately want to save the Seventh Elder. Yet, the Wuhun Hall fighters refused to give them the chance, blocking their every move.
Even Qian Renxue, fighting high above, was momentarily stunned.
She had never expected Dai Yao to not only hold off the Seventh Elder but even sever his arm. In her mind, the best he could do was match her own strength, stalling the Seventh Elder just long enough for reinforcements to arrive, but ultimately facing defeat.
"How did he do it?"
She herself couldn't manage such a feat. Her fight against the Fifth Elder had made her acutely aware of the vast chasm in strength between herself and a Title Douluo, and thus, the impossibility of Dai Yao's victory.
Her gaze settled on the plain-looking spear in Dai Yao's hand, her heart suddenly pounding with an intense feeling of dread. A strange black glint flickered through her eyes, momentarily adding a hint of allure to her holy appearance before quickly vanishing.
She chuckled softly, thinking to herself,
"So that's the secret to your victory over the Seventh Elder? Your second martial soul is so terrifying it even stirs fear in my Six-Winged Angel martial soul. Dai Yao, Dai Yao, you're only making me more determined to conquer you..."
With a twirl of her Angelic Sword, radiant with divine energy, she charged once more toward the Fifth Elder.
Yet the toll on her Martial Soul True Body was beginning to show. Her golden feathers started falling, raining down like drops of light.
Meanwhile, Tang San, momentarily frozen amidst the imperial soldiers, watched the Shura Emperor in a daze. The sight was so awe-inspiring that even his hand, in the midst of releasing hidden weapons, stilled. He had always considered himself a genius, but compared to the figure blazing in the sky like the sun, he felt like a mere firefly in the dark.
What does it mean to be exceptional? It means triumphing over stronger opponents, accomplishing feats deemed impossible by others—this was true greatness.
Even Dai Yao seemed to pale in comparison to the Shura Emperor. With both Dai Yao and the Shura Emperor standing in his way, how could he hope to destroy Wuhun Hall and avenge his father?
His fists clenched tightly, a glint of blood-red fury rising in his eyes as his nails dug into his palms, spreading a dull ache.
He loathed his own powerlessness and hated that the Shura Emperor blocked his path to vengeance.
After a long pause, he slowly unclenched his fist, letting his blood drip to the ground. Coldly, he thought to himself:
"The Shura Emperor must not leave Heaven Dou Empire alive, or he will haunt us forever."
…
In the sky, the mountain-sized Clear Sky Hammer shattered, its fragments raining down, smashing through palace roofs and leaving deep pits in the ground with each impact.
This rain of hammer fragments seemed to serve as a signal, snapping everyone out of their daze. The battle, which had halted, resumed as shouts filled the air once more.
Finally, the Seventh Elder's bleeding stopped, and he raised his head to look at the figure falling toward the ground, swallowing hard with lingering fear.
If not for his quick thinking, he would already be dead. Everything that had just happened shattered his understanding of reality.
The Clear Sky Hammer had been pierced. Its hardness was such that even attack-oriented Title Douluos couldn't make a dent in it. Yet that man had driven his spear through the hammer as if slicing tofu, facing no resistance whatsoever.
The backlash from his Martial Soul True Body being broken left the Seventh Elder in unimaginable pain, his entire body frozen as though struck by his own hammer. Yet, sensing the imminent danger behind him, his body instinctively shifted aside to evade the incoming attack.
Unfortunately, his body moved, but his arm didn't. He had intended to take the spear head-on, expecting it would at most puncture his arm, which he could accept.
But once again, things went against his expectations. Before the spearhead even made contact, he felt a powerful force tearing at his body from the tip of the spear. If it had struck him fully, he feared his body would have been ripped to shreds.
Thinking quickly, he severed his own shoulder, sacrificing his arm to save his life.
It was this split-second decision that had spared him.
Reflecting on the recent events, he wiped cold sweat from his brow, deeply shaken.
"What on earth is that spear's martial soul? Compared to it, my Clear Sky Hammer feels unworthy even to carry its shoes. That last move, combined with his teleportation ability, was an unstoppable killing technique. Once he becomes a Title Douluo, I doubt anyone in the world will be able to withstand it."
"But seeing how exhausted he is, it looks like he can only use that move once. Thankfully, it's limited to a single use; if he could wield it repeatedly, it would be unimaginably terrifying."
"Even so, being able to use it once is enough to produce incredible results."
"This man is too dangerous; he cannot be allowed to leave here alive! If he does, he'll become just as great a threat as Dai Yao!"
Despite the turmoil within his body, soul power thrashing and surging chaotically, the Seventh Elder gritted his teeth, determined. Summoning his strength despite his injuries, he resolved to stop the masked man even at the risk of damaging his cultivation base.
Unlike Tang Hao's method, his own technique was modeled after Sword Douluo Chen Xin's, and thus wouldn't lower his level. But if he continued to fight while disregarding his wounds and chaotic soul power, without restoring his foundation through rare herbs, he risked losing his rank.
He could already feel his soul power seeping out of him like air from a punctured balloon, his internal reserves visibly dwindling.
Grasping his Clear Sky Hammer in one hand, his gray robes billowing, the Seventh Elder spat a mouthful of blood and slowly gathered his soul power. He gazed coldly at the masked man, who struggled to stay upright on the palace rooftop.
"Kid, I must admit," he said, "you may only be a Soul Emperor, but you possess the strength to threaten a Title Douluo. Across the continent, only one person rivals your potential. But it's a shame—you'll die here today!"
Dai Yao steadied himself on the rooftop, drained by that last spear strike. With a thought, however, his body, which had been utterly depleted, was filled with soul power once more.
This was the result of his sixth spirit ring: a skill granted by his Chaos Green Lotus that allowed him to store the equivalent of a Rank 99 Limit Douluo's full reserve of soul power. Over time, he'd managed to fill it up to 80%. To Dai Yao, this was like having limitless soul power, eliminating any concern about running out.
Hearing the killing intent in the Seventh Elder's voice, Dai Yao sighed inwardly.
He could have killed the Seventh Elder outright with that spear strike. At such close range, his spear technique wouldn't have missed. But in that final moment, he hesitated. He hadn't expected that when combined with his spear technique, the God-Slaying Spear would be so devastating, piercing the Clear Sky Hammer as if slicing through tofu.
The Clear Sky Hammer was no ordinary martial soul. Those three words alone carried weight and commanded respect across the continent—even Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong did not treat it lightly.
It was one of the most powerful weapon martial souls in the entire continent.
And Dai Yao had shattered it with ease, nearly killing a Title Douluo-level opponent as a mere Soul Emperor. The potency of his God-Slaying Spear would inevitably draw attention, perhaps even from the Divine Realm. The risk of exposing his Chaos Green Lotus martial soul would skyrocket.
This was something Dai Yao was determined to avoid.
The difference between injuring and killing the Seventh Elder was vast. Had he actually killed the elder, the news would spread like wildfire, instantly sweeping across the continent and etching Dai Yao's name in history. But merely injuring him would have a much less explosive impact.
Furthermore, what would killing the Seventh Elder accomplish in the overall battle? Since the Clear Sky Clan's appearance, Wuhun Hall's plan for the Heaven Dou Empire's palace coup had already failed. Dai Yao defeating the Seventh Elder was a tactical victory, but it couldn't reverse the strategic defeat.
Most importantly, his success with the God-Slaying Spear had come from catching the Seventh Elder off guard. Now that everyone knew its power, the technique's threat was greatly reduced. Not only would future opponents prevent him from charging it up, but the surprise element of his teleportation would also be less effective, diminishing his chances of a successful strike.
To continue holding back the Title Douluos of the Clear Sky Clan, he'd need to repeatedly use his teleportation and the God-Slaying Spear, exposing far too much of himself. For Wuhun Hall's sake, he couldn't afford that risk.
For all these reasons, Dai Yao had deliberately angled the spear just slightly off-target.
Of course, he hadn't simply spared the Seventh Elder; if the elder hadn't reacted swiftly and decisively sacrificed his arm, he would've perished. But that tiny margin of error granted him a chance to live.
One could call it fate.
Feeling the rush of soul power within him, Dai Yao smiled faintly. Watching the Seventh Elder charge down at him, he raised the God-Slaying Spear once again, adopting a stance that signaled he was gathering power for another strike.
The sudden surge of killing intent and chilling death aura brought the Seventh Elder to an abrupt halt mid-dive. The turbulence of his soul power shook his insides, and he coughed up another mouthful of blood. Yet he couldn't spare a thought for his injuries as he looked at the masked man in horror.
"How is this possible? How can you still use such a terrifying soul skill?!"
But the next moment, the deadly aura vanished, and the masked man slumped, leaning on his spear for support, barely preventing himself from collapsing.
The Seventh Elder quickly realized what was happening and cursed,
"Damn it! This guy's just putting on an act—he's running on empty!"
He lifted his hammer again, charging at the masked man with renewed determination.
But just as he was certain of the masked man's imminent death, the figure vanished from sight once more.
"Teleportation again? Let's see how many times you can do this, kid! I can keep trying as many times as I need. You fail once, and you're dead!"
However, as he prepared to give chase, countless golden feathers rained down from above, while the brilliant figure in the sky—radiant as the sun—began to fall rapidly...
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