As the monstrous waves surged and Sea Dragon Douluo charged at them, Chen Yi's eyes shone with deadly light.
"Seventh Soul Skill—True Form of Thunder God!"
Buzz—!
Dazzling purple-gold lightning burst from Chen Yi's body! In an instant, he grew gigantic, surrounded by thunderous lightning so fierce that the surrounding space howled as if on the verge of collapse.
Feeling a terrifying pressure far surpassing any ordinary Title Douluo from Chen Yi, Sea Dragon Douluo's pupils shrank—alarms blaring in his heart.
"Seventh Soul Skill—True Form of the Sea Dragon!"
"Ninth Soul Skill—Fiery Frost Strike!"
Sea Dragon Douluo's body transformed midair into a massive deep azure dragon, opening its huge maw and unleashing a torrent of blue-white and crimson energy toward the thunder giant.
It was his ultimate strike—blending ice and fire, powerful enough to gravely wound or kill foes of the same tier!
Even a peak Douluo would blanch before this fusion breath of ice-fire; yet Chen Yi merely snorted coldly, eyes full of contempt.
"Trivial trick."
"Perfect Golden Body!"
Before he'd finished, the swirling lightning on his body instantly drew inward, then exploded outward as blinding golden light.
Boom—!
The terrible blast of fused ice and fire pounded violently against the seemingly thin golden shield. Yet, expected explosions and dissipation never came.
The power of ice and fire—which could melt metals and freeze mountains—was utterly negated upon contact with the golden membrane, unable to budge it an inch.
"How is this possible?!"
Sea Dragon Douluo's giant eyes brimmed with terror. His full-power ninth soul skill had been completely nullified by his opponent's bare flesh! Not even the High Priestess would dare to claim he could withstand it directly.
The lightning giant's lips curled into a sinister smile, his voice booming like thunder.
"How can a frog in a well grasp the vastness of the world? Nothing is impossible!"
"Blood Art—Blood Shifts Yin and Yang!"
As his deep growling voice rang out, energy within Chen Yi's body surged and reversed, his power spiking yet again.
"Not good!" The warning in Sea Dragon Douluo's heart screamed to the max. Instinctively, he tried to halt his attack and retreat.
"Demonic Destruction Domain!"
A faint blue region spread rapidly out from Sea Dragon Douluo's core.
"Trying to escape? Do you really think you can?!"
Chen Yi's cold voice echoed directly in his soul.
The thunder giant's massive hand, ignoring the domain's resistance, reached easily into the domain and seized the withdrawing dragon's foreleg in a crushing grip.
"What?!" Sea Dragon Douluo was shocked. His domain had little to no effect on Chen Yi. What kind of monster was he?!
Sea Dragon Douluo instinctively tried to break free, pouring all his soul power into struggling, yet the enormous thunder hand clutching him only tightened, the strain humming deep in his bones.
"It's over."
The other thunderous hand ignored the hasty ice and fire shields that Sea Dragon Douluo quickly conjured before his head, blasting through the final barrier of the Demonic Destruction Domain, and seized him by the crown.
Sea Dragon Douluo's eyes filled with blood, frantically burning his soul power and recklessly unleashing every kind of defensive skill for one last stand.
But under such absolute power, it was all in vain.
"No!"
Snap—!
A tooth-grinding crack resounded through the tumultuous battlefield.
It wasn't loud, yet it froze everyone—on either side—in place. Instinctively, all eyes turned to the center of the fight, the flagship.
There, the purple-gold lightning faded, the thunder giant rapidly shrinking back to Chen Yi's original human size.
At his feet, the titanic spirit dragon body vanished, replaced by a headless corpse sagging backward.
In Chen Yi's right hand—Sea Dragon Douluo's wide-eyed head, blood spurting from the severed neck and dyeing half of Chen Yi crimson.
Silence.
In an instant, the entire sea fell deathly still.
Spirit Masters of the sea, Spirit Hall, and the Body Sect all ceased their movements, shocked motionless by such a swift, decisive end.
The leader of Sea God Island's Seven Holy Pillars and a level 95 Sea Dragon Douluo—beheaded in a single exchange by Chen Yi's bare hands!
"No… impossible! Sea Dragon… how could he lose? How could he fall so fast?!"
The Sea Witch shrieked, terror in her voice.
The next moment, a spiritual shockwave smashed into her mind!
Hurriedly shielding herself, but slightly too slow due to instability from her shock, she gasped, her face turning deathly pale as blood trickled from her lips. The mental assault had left her grievously wounded.
"Hmph! To be distracted in a battle of minds is to court death!" Zhang Tao sneered, his attacks growing even more fierce.
The morale of the remaining Sea Spirit Masters collapsed instantly! The one second only to the High Priestess, Sea Dragon Douluo, had fallen so easily!
At the same time, the fighting spirit of Spirit Hall and Body Sect soared, their cheers and roars ringing out as their attacks turned even more ruthless.
"Kill—!!!"
Chen Yi calmly surveyed the battlefield, untouched by the moment's deathly stillness, and flicked his wrist.
Swoosh!
Sea Dragon Douluo's severed head traced an elegant arc through the air, spearing itself atop the battle flag—its empty gaze seeming to stare down at the collapsing Spirit Masters below.
To offer up the head of the enemy's leader as a tribute to the war banner!
This struck the morale of the Sea God Island defenders down into the abyss, while their enemies' morale soared to its peak.
"Kill them all!!"
"Avenge Lord Sea Dragon!!"
Some crazed Sea Spirit Masters, driven to desperation, tried counterattacks.
Ultimately, the sea was their territory; they knew all the currents and could draw on the ocean's strength. In the initial panic, the surviving six Holy Pillars led the survivors in rallying, using their advantage in numbers and terrain to regroup and counterattack, plunging the battle into deadlock.
Then, suddenly, shrill screams erupted from the rear ranks of the Sea Spirit Masters!
Hearing it, the six remaining Holy Pillars, fighting fiercely, were immediately gripped by dread and turned to look behind.
The region behind them was still enveloped in Dugu Bo's Jade Poison Sea—now a living nightmare.
Countless Sea Spirit Masters, upon touching the vivid green fog, fell from sky or sea like dumplings dropped into boiling water, sinking into the weirdly hued toxic depths. Their fate was unknown.
"No—!!!"
Seaspear Douluo's eyes bulged with grief and rage. These were the pillar talents raised at impossible cost—the hope of the future.
Seeing them fall into the toxic mist one after another, his heart nearly shattered!
He blasted Snake Spear Douluo aside with a single strike and roared to the others:
"Release the power of the Sacred Pillars! Quickly—form the grand array!"
The other five, also at their limits, pushed their soul power to the maximum, knocking back their opponents and regrouping at Seaspear Douluo's side.
Forming a circle, the six simultaneously made ancient mystic hand seals while chanting esoteric incantations.
Buzz—!!!
The next moment, immense pillars of blue light shot up from the seven sacred pillars deep within Sea God Island! Six of these beams, ignoring the distance, instantly converged on the battlefield, pouring divine power into the bodies of Seaspear, Sea Witch, Seaghost, Seahorse, Seastar, and Seafantasy Douluo.
Boom—
Their auras soared—instantly replenishing their drained soul power, exceeding their limits and reaching the very pinnacle of Douluo.
Especially the Seaghost Douluo, who had briefly exchanged with Chen Yi, was now—for the moment—his match.
He seized the opportunity and shouted:
"Form the array! The Boundless Sea Grand Array!!"
The six sacred pillars instantly changed their hand seals, linking their sacred pillar power and soul force together in a mysterious fashion.
Boom—!!!
A light blue, diamond-shaped barrier rapidly formed around the six, protecting themselves and several elite Sea Spirit Masters nearby.
However, the section corresponding to Sea Dragon sacred pillar remained obviously dim—the formation imperfect and its power diminished.
At the core, Seaspear Douluo struggled to maintain the array, shouting to the Sea Spirit Masters and the other pillars inside:
"Don't drag out the battle! Regroup the survivors and retreat at once to Sea God Island! With the Sea God's light to aid us, there may still be a chance!"
Under the protection of the formation, the remaining Sea Spirit Masters fought their way toward the center. As they gathered, the array slowly moved—retreating toward Sea God Island amid running battle.
Bathed in faint divine light, their withdrawal was nevertheless painfully slow.
"You think you can leave? Did you consult me first?"
Chen Yi smashed aside an onrushing Sea Spirit Master's skull with a palm strike, then instantly appeared before the shield, focusing his energy and soul force into a punch.
Thud!
A muffled boom rang out, making the entire light-blue shield ripple with countless waves, its glow flickering, on the verge of shattering.
Within the array, the six Sacred Pillars groaned in unison, faces paling under tremendous pressure.
Yet even Chen Yi's punch—powerful enough to severely wound a peak Douluo—could not break through at once when faced with a defense built from the power of the Sacred Pillars.
"Go!"
Sea Spear Douluo roared, and the six activated the full power of the array, transforming into streaks of blue light that sped back toward Sea God Island at impossible speed.
The blue glow outpaced their pursuers, quickly vanishing over the horizon into the misty ring surrounding Sea God Island.
Qian Renxue split a Sea Spirit Master in two with a single golden sword strike. Her armor was spattered with a few drops of blood, accentuating the gloom in the air. She sheathed her sword, glanced at Chen Yi, and frowned slightly:
"They've retreated to their lair."
Chen Yi gazed calmly toward Sea God Island, his tone icy:
"They won't escape."
He turned to his fleet, now swiftly organizing and sweeping the battlefield. His voice reached every leader's ears:
"Pursue them."
"Today, Sea God Island falls."
With his command, the massive fleet pressed on, tidying up the battlefield and making for the sacred island now within their grasp.
…
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