Six people were walking towards the Spirit Pagoda. The four children, of which, Li Tai and Yu Tian looked perfectly normal, while Siduo and Karni were disguised.
Both of them had pitch black hair. They really didn't stand out as much with these. For an additional measure of safety, they also put on round glasses.
Karni really wanted to put on a fake lightning scar and green eye contacts, but this was serious business.
They were escorted by two teachers. One was Teacher Ye, while the other one was the headmaster of the academy, a Titled Douluo.
This was all done for safety. The headmaster was well aware of the grudge by the police chief who achieved the level of a Soul Sage three years ago. They weren't confident enough in a Soul Douluo to protect everyone, so the only Titled Douluo of the academy, the headmaster himself, escorted them to and from.
The group arrived at the Spirit Pagoda and the headmaster left back to the academy. He would arrive later on to pick them back up. These children could stay inside for hours, sometimes days at a time and he didn't have the time to always watch over them. He was a busy man as the headmaster.
Karni and Siduo took off their disguises and went to talk to Yu Tian and Li Tai.
"You want to do what? Are you two crazy?"
"Yep, and we want a little bit of help at the very start so we can approach the Raging Buffalo Duke without wasting too much soul power." Siduo affirmed with confidence.
"And why exactly should we help you?" Li Tai asked.
"Before that, what would we even be able to do to help?" Yu Tian also wondered.
"We'd need you to get their attention, but stop once we challenge the duke."
"Sounds like we'd be needlessly putting ourselves in danger."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Siduo clicked her tongue. "We'll be making a challenge to his general position in the pack. Once that happens, unless you continue aggravating them, they will ignore you completely."
Li Tai still wasn't convinced. "We'd still put ourselves in danger for you. Why should we? There's nothing in it for us."
Siduo looked annoyingly smug. "Do you know what happens when a duke dies?"
The two looked at each other confused.
"Fucking anarchy that's what. A free for all. All the Raging Buffalos fight it out. It's what popularised their name."
She continued with a look that could be mistaken for a drug dealer. "And you know what you can do then? That's right, they become easy targets for you two. Imagine all of that Spiritual Energy you'd be able to absorb from them."
Li Tai was clearly thinking about it, but still unsure. "We'd have to get a guarantee for you two to defeat the duke though."
Yu Tian was the one to comment on that instead of Karni and Siduo. "C'mon Tai. You do realise who we're talking to right? If it's anyone that can do it, it's these two nutcases."
Siduo just happily nodded, not minding the last comment. She probably agreed to a degree.
Li Tai just sighed. "Fine. We'll help, but if it goes south, we're never helping again and we're also dipping during the mission if you two mess up.."
"Don't just decide that by yourself." Yu Tian argued.
"It doesn't really matter." Karni who was quiet until now commented. "Next year we'll be abroad anyway."
The two were confused.
"We're going to the Star Luo Continent."
"You are?" Both of the teens wondered.
Karni and Siduo explained what Siduo's parents explained to them.
"So this is why you want to finish off the Raging Buffalo Duke?"
"Mm. We likely won't have any more chances to visit this Spirit Pagoda again."
Li Tai finally gave in completely. "Fine. We'll do this. You two have ways to find us right?"
The two nodded. And explained one of their old techniques.
"Mm. A bit slow but it should work. Okay then let's go."
… … …
Karni and Siduo easily found each other thanks to their wrist watches. They've been upgraded since three years ago, though only in their range.
The two did a simple circle in each other's perimeters, hoping to find a mark of either Li Tai and Yu Tian.
It didn't take too long, the group found each other in about 20 minutes.
"This way." Karni led the way. Of all the people it was the easiest for him to find the right way thanks to his general awareness of the surroundings. This aspect of the Golden Insight has been strengthened greatly since the upgrade of the soul ring.
All of them travelled without using much Soul Power. They didn't want the attention of the soul beasts and they didn't want to waste any resources because of the fight that was ahead of them.
This time, they were thrown quite far away from the usual place of the Raging Buffalo's grounds. They needed to travel for about an hour.
Three years inside this place, they've learned how to navigate it safely. They remembered the areas of the most dangerous of creatures, so they knew to avoid them. There weren't many nomadic creatures inside here. The Ragin Buffalo's were ones, but ever since Karni and Siduo caused a stampede three years ago, they've been forced into a corner of the Spirit Ascension Platform.
"Okay. We're here. How exactly do we get their attention?" Li Tai wondered.
Karni smiled. "Simple. Tian, let's use the sonic boom."
Yu Tian nodded. His eyes were shining a little.
Just outside of the great horde, a giant shield appeared, followed by five more giant shields. The skill that enlarged the shields was called Dragon's Size. Right now, he was combining it with Dragon Clones.
He summoned eight of them. And put them one after another in a row. If the attack were to hit from the front, it would have to go through a total of eight shields before hitting Yu Tain.
Yu Tian was sweating a bit. Eight shields weren't a problem. But eight shields ten times bigger than his normal shield? His Soul Power was quickly leaving him.
"Let's do this quickly." Karni stated. He summoned his martial soul and activated his third soul ring.
"On three. One, two, THREE!" Karni hit the first shield from behind with all of the sound inside his Bo Staff going into it.
Meanwhile, just as he hit it, Yu Tian's first soul ring shone. An incredible Dragon's Roar was heard, amplified by Karni's sound.
There were multiple Dragon Roars, each from their own shield. The first roar travelled to the second, then the third, all the way to the eighth, where the sound couldn't even compare to the first one anymore.
It was as if a true dragon was roaring in the forest, mocking the Raging Buffalos. Half of them immediately turned towards the shields. Burning red rage in their eyes. They charged.
"Good luck." Karni and Siduo said, before disappearing away. They had to reach the Raging Buffalo Duke fast.
Yu Tian looked at Li Tai. Li Tai nodded. They only had to last a few minutes right now. They had to preserve their power for later on when they'll have to actively kill them.
The shields became smaller, but positioned themselves in a way that isolated the Buffalos from each other. They shouldn't have a problem lasting for a while.
… … …
Karni and Siduo were charging in from the side. Space appeared between the buffalos when all of them were charging in another direction. The two dashed through the opening. The duke should be resting in the middle of it.
The two dashed into it and noticed it. The duke, his one eye black and calm, looked at them too.
Karni released his third soul ring. The sound was released into the air. Then that sound was released into the ground. He hit the bo staff into the ground in an almost ritualistic manner.
At that very same time, Karni and Siduo stomped with their feet. They repeated it again. It sounded like a stomping buffalo. With Karni understanding the Element's Heart of Sound, it has become easy to manipulate sound to replicate something like stomping.
Siduo summoned her White Tiger martial soul. The first and the third ring shone. White Tiger Diamond Transformation and White Tiger Diamond Layer were both activated.
She especially focused her Diamond Layer on her head and charged. She charged into the buffalo duke, head first.
Did she attack? No. She headbutted the head of the buffalo. A certain useless endeavour, but she immediately became cautious and returned to Karni.
The buffalo duke didn't stagger, he just watched the two of them. Then his remaining eye was set ablaze. As if he went mad, he released a howl into the sky. All of the buffalos stopped and looked at him.
In an almost hypnotic manner, they circled around the duke. A spacious circle. No. An arena appeared in which there were only the Raging Buffalo Duke, Karni and Siduo.
The other buffalos' eyes turned red. They started stomping and with it, an invisible energy was released into the circle. The Raging Buffalo Duke started growing.
He reached twice his size, yet still grew for a while. Next, his horns enlarged, one's that suited the size of his new body.
On the other hand, the already average buffaloes that were watching, seemed to diminish further in strength. They looked like they were under-fed for years. For the duke to grow so much stronger, the others had to fall. This was the double edged sword for the average member of the species.
Right now, they were definitely amongst the weaker soul beasts, even with their size. They were like a house made of sand; but should someone attack them, the duke would return their powers. Survival was still of utmost importance to soul beasts.
Karni and Siduo simply waited for the transformation to finish. Should they attack him in between the transformation, they would face the rage of all the buffalos. Their only choice would be to escape.
They would easily escape due to their abilities of future sight, agility and speed, but why should they? They were here to fight.
"Sisi. No holding back."
"Of course."
The two vanished from the spot in an instant, purple colours shining all over the area.
Karni went to the right, Siduo to the left. His eyes shone in purple-gold, while his second ring shone in bright purple.
Ever since their overnight stay in the wilderness, in the snow, Karni's Spiritual Power has increased by leaps and bounds. Back then he broke through to the Spirit Sea level. His Purple Demon Eyes were enhanced at the same time, breaking through to the Detailed level.
The movements of the buffalo duke slowed down in Karni's eyes. He locked eyes with the buffalo's single one. His second soul ring activated.
In the past, he suffered a spiritual shock while applying the ability. This time around, he had no problem. Even now he sensed it. The buffalo duke, while strong, was still at the bottleneck of the Spirit Sea Realm.
The duke's physical abilities were vastly boosted thanks to the other buffaloes, but his spiritual power wasn't.
Meanwhile, Karni's Spiritual power has actually already surpassed 1000 points. This was thanks to his Purple Demon Eyes progressing to the detailed level. This was impressive, as his martial soul, while spiritual, didn't actually have the spiritual element like Spirit Eyes for example. His spiritual cultivation increased in speed with the progress of Purple Demon Eyes.
The buffalo duke was confused. He saw hundreds of golden humanoids running around him, many of them attacking him.
With Spiritual Power increase, as well as the soul rings turning purple, many changes happened to Karni's abilities. The second ring specifically, had the biggest change. Karni could add false predictions intentionally now. It became more illusion based at the cost of more spiritual power and soul power.
This was the perfect opportunity for Siduo to strike. First, she opened her mouth and sent her Diamond Light Wave at the buffalo duke's leg tendons. It didn't leave a great effect. It barely drew blood. Then her martial soul changed in an instant, her second soul ring shone.
Hundred Claws came together as one, forming a singular blade with clear smaller blades making it. Her third soul ring shone, the multiple smaller blades forming a true, giant blade. Blade of both black and icy cold colour.
She slashed at the marked spots of the tendons, and the blade cut through halfway.
"Tough bastard."
This was the higher power he achieved thanks to the other buffalo's support.
The buffalo's horns turned blood red at this injury. It was small, nonfatal, but absolutely detrimental when it came to his movement. If he can't move, what can he do?
From the bloody colour of the horns, his body turned blood red as well. It was the ability they saw oh so long ago. The veins popped out of the body, the muscles strengthened. The deep injury healed in seconds.
The buffalo duke raised on his two legs, high into the air.
Siduo dashed to his other two legs on which he was standing and fused her two soul rings again, attempting to cut at the same place as before.
She barely drew blood. The buffalo came crashing down from above.
The ground shook. Karni and Siduo were both knocked away from the stomp, but thankfully it didn't hit them directly. Both of them were skilled at dodging.
"Kiki! We just have to wait out this state of his! He'll be weakened after!"
"You better be right!"
The two circled around the buffalo, but its speed was incredible for his size. He charged towards Karni in seconds.
Karni applied his second soul ring, but due to the buffalo duke's size, his raming motion still aimed for Karni.
He focused his first soul ring with the Purple Demon Eyes to the duke's movement, jumping in between one of the horns' spirals in an incredibly precise manner.
In what felt like slow motion for Karni, he bent his legs through the holes then twisted his body and finally the arms and the head. At the end, he had to spin himself to dispel the force he put onto himself.
He was flexible, but his bones still hurt from such forceful movement. He really wished to have Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon right now. He was close to getting them, but he really wished he did more work on the side for the Tang Sect right now to already have it.
At least he was precise enough thanks to the Drunken Ghost Dance. To comprehend that combination of movement perfectly, he had to train in control of his body.
The duke didn't care that Karni dodged and simply ran forward towards Siduo. Even when she had her first soul ring, Hell Rush active, the buffalo duke was catching up.
Siduo ran in the circle, eventually coming back to Karni.
"Sisi, you sure we can last?"
"We can. Support me."
She stopped, turned around and two energies, both white and black combined into one. The energies surrounded Siduo in a short tornado, before a big, Hell White Tiger appeared, about the size of the normal buffalo duke.
She dashed and clashed with him. Claws against a ramming motion. The buffalo duke stopped for a second, but Siduo's left arm clearly went limp from the impact. It was completely shattered. No sound of pain was heard from her.
In that moment, the stomping from the buffalos around seemed to turn a bit quieter, before suddenly reappearing from the side of the duke. All of the sound of the surroundings gathered on Karni's Bo Staff. His third soul ring shining. He hit the head directly.
It was like the horns were made of metal. That's how the hit sounded. The buffalo duke clearly stopped, shaking his head to get rid of this effect.
"That's all? Just what is that skull made out of!?"
Siduo circled to the side, pouncing onto the duke as well. The good arm's claws deep into his rib area, most likely breaking some of them. Her power was on a whole different level compared to her normal attacks. The giant buffalo duke fell onto his side. The ground shook as he hit it. It even destabilised some of the buffalos around in the circle.
The duke raised his head a little from this pose and hit it into the ground. The whole area became cracked. Karni and Siduo lost balance.
"Seriously? What's that head made of!?" Karni complained as he regained his balance.
Siduo even came out from her fusion form early. She was breathing deeply, but the duke still wasn't out of his transformation. It stood up with some difficulty. The injuries inflicted by Siduo were healing in a slow manner. Siduo was effective.
The duke went into a wide pose, before opening its mouth. A howl that clearly bent the very air in a spiral way, similar to his horns was released towards the two.
Karni stepped in front of Siduo, activating his third soul ring to better feel the elemental energy of that sound. He took it into himself. All of it. The attack didn't reach Siduo, but his body and martial soul were overfilled with the energy. The only damage he took was from the force of the pressure released, but that damage wasn't major.
Understanding an Element's Heart was a double edged sword, in the sense that, should one try to control too much, there was a possibility of destabilising the element, as well as other elements with it. It can cause a catastrophe. Not just on the surroundings, but on the person that's controlling it.
His Spiritual Power was dissipating with record speed. He could barely control all of this. His mind was hurting. His eyes, ears, and head were hurting. He was focusing on sending all of the sound to his martial soul.
His orifices on the head began bleeding. Ears especially. He could taste blood as well, but he managed to force the sound out of his body.
"Sisi!"
Siduo grabbed his martial soul, her first and third soul ring of the White Tiger shining brightly. It almost flew out of her remaining hand because of how shaky it was, but she still managed to throw it at the buffalo duke.
The duke was currently standing still, recuperating before it saw the bo staff flying into him. An instinct to dodge did not exist among the Raging Buffalos. He charged straight at it, head first.
He simply collapsed. He fell onto the ground head first, but his ability was still active, he wasn't dead yet.
The two looked at each other and charged. Siduo switched to her Hell Cat. First, second and third soul ring shining in succession.
Meanwhile Karni was a bit slower, he resummoned his martial soul, his third soul ring reactivating.
He split the bo staff into two drumsticks, and with Sonic Rhythm he hit the two against each other, forcefully amplifying the sound. Who said that he still couldn't use the technique to build up Stacks? It was just that it was amplified to eleven!
He hit them once, twice, thrice, then stopped. The sound was five times stronger than before. His hands could barely handle it, but it was nowhere near to what he experienced just seconds before. His mind was running weak as well. He was looking at Siduo, and her timing was just perfect.
Just as the Raging Buffalo Duke attempted to stand back up, her good hand formed a blade from Hell Hundred Claws, before fully materialising in a smaller, but incredibly thick and sharp blade of black energy. Her Hell Slash was being used with only three fingers.
An icy blue light twinkled through the energy before she stabbed the one good eye that the buffalo duke still had. An injury of the past due to his carelessness once, but now, the last eye was destroyed with all of his effort to win.
Howling in pain, the attack had yet to stop. Two drumsticks were thrown from afar; Brimming with a deep, booming, as well as high pitched sound all at the same time.
Karni threw the drumsticks, each one aimed at one of the ears. He was a Tang Sect disciple, and one of his first things he got was the Hidden Weapon Hundred Separation. He was more than capable of being immaculate when throwing a weapon.
The two perfectly hit the ears in an arc. The ears bled. The eardrums were destroyed.
The howling of pain stopped, only deep breathing remained. It was clearly in great pain, but the howling felt empty to the giant buffalo. If he still had his eyes, they'd be the most red they ever were.
He started jumping. Kicking. Hitting the head in the ground. Spinning. Everything it did, it only hit the air. The bloody ability of rage was still active, but he couldn't do anything unless he hit.
His wide attacks didn't hit, his stomps didn't hit, nothing hit. Only tiredness remained, and about 5 minutes later even that seemingly endless rage stopped.
The duke shrinked. It looked almost sad. What came next was even weirder to watch.
Karni and Siduo hit it from all sides. While they were battered, their soul power wasn't exhausted yet. Siduo was worse, but she still had about a third remaining. Meanwhile Karni only had about a fifth of his spiritual power remaining, but his soul power was still alive and well.
They slashed at the tendons, the head, the horns. When the horns never broke, they attacked other places. When they couldn't destroy something in a single hit, they attacked it again without worry.
The duke barely tried to defend himself. His body was completely out of energy. Everything hurt. Eventually… it just fell; the final breath leaving his lungs.
Karni and Siduo glanced at each other, excitement in their eyes. Then they saw something from the corner of their eyes. The horns. Were they really the horns? That looked like… a Soul Bone!