The bright moon hung high in the sky, and the night was as cool as water.
Under the cover of darkness, Bibi Dong left Spirit Hall with four Title Douluo, tracking the aura of Tang Hao and Tang San.
Further behind them were Su Cheng and Su Yue, following from a distance.
They weren't secretly tailing the group but had obtained Bibi Dong's permission to "broaden their horizons." However, because their strength was comparatively weaker, they had to maintain a greater distance.
Given their apparent cultivation level, they naturally couldn't keep up with a group of Title Douluo. But since their main goal was to follow Tang San and his father, being stronger than Tang San was sufficient.
After leaving Spirit Hall a certain distance and ensuring there was no one nearby to observe them, Bibi Dong and the others increased their speed. It wasn't long before they caught up to their targets.
As the distance between the two sides closed, Tang Hao sensed several powerful auras approaching from behind.
There was only one force capable of sending out so many Title Douluo—the Spirit Hall.
He immediately realized he had been exposed. Without delay, he stopped in his tracks, turned around, and placed Tang San behind him.
At this point, continuing to run would be pointless. Turning his back would only expose him to danger. It was better to face his enemies head-on.
Letting Tang San escape alone wasn't an option either. With Tang San's current strength, there was no way he could outrun the Title Douluo. Without Tang Hao's protection, he would be in even greater danger.
With his vast combat experience, Tang Hao wasn't about to make such a foolish mistake.
Moments later, Bibi Dong and her group descended from the sky. Without a word, they immediately summoned their martial spirits. Several powerful soul skills erupted and overwhelmed the area.
The poisonous threads from Bibi Dong's Death Spider Emperor, the shadow of two Panlong Staffs, ghostly daggers shooting through the air, and the radiant lights scattered by the Strange Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum—all of these attacks rained down in an instant.
Faced with such an onslaught, Tang Hao's expression changed drastically. The harsh words he had intended to say were swallowed back down.
With a swing of his Clear Sky Hammer, it expanded to over ten times its size. Gripping it with both hands, he swung it in a wide arc.
Boom—!
Accompanied by a deafening explosion, trees and stones were flung in all directions, and a deep pit formed in the ground.
Tang Hao stood at the center of the crater, his muscular arms trembling slightly. His pants had torn around his legs, revealing two thick calves.
Bibi Dong didn't step forward. She glanced at Qianjun Douluo and Jiangmo Douluo, and said in a deep voice, "Sixth Enshrinement, Seventh Enshrinement."
The two elders understood her meaning immediately. Soul rings flashed under their feet, and they charged at Tang Hao, wielding their Panlong Staffs.
This was a pre-arranged tactic.
First, launch a large-scale attack to suppress the opponent's momentum and deplete their soul power. Then, send in Qianjun and Jiangmo to fight, while the others remained in position to provide support.
This tactic applied steady pressure on Tang Hao, preventing him from going all out or attempting to flee. It was the safest approach.
After all, neither Chrysanthemum Douluo nor Ghost Douluo could match Tang Hao in a head-to-head fight.
As the leader of Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong didn't need to take the lead, nor was it necessary.
Rushing everyone in together wouldn't necessarily improve the outcome. The coordination between Qianjun and Jiangmo, the brothers, was enough to defeat or even kill Tang Hao.
Even if they couldn't do it, they could wear him down, allowing Bibi Dong to finish him off once both sides were exhausted.
Seeing the situation unfold, Tang San, who was standing behind Tang Hao, glared at the Spirit Hall group with fury but could do nothing.
His cultivation level was too low. If he rashly joined the battle, it would only distract Tang Hao. And if he left his father's protective range, he could very well be killed instantly.
All he could do for the moment was retrieve his hidden weapons from his Soul Tool, forcing himself to stay calm while he waited for the right moment to strike.
But by now, Tang Hao had no time to worry about Tang San's thoughts.
He could only focus on protecting his son behind him, as he faced the two Title Douluo alone.
As soon as the battle began, Tang Hao decisively detonated his fifth and sixth ten-thousand-year soul rings, pushing his power and combat strength to the limit.
Even so, he was still no match for Qianjun and Jiangmo.
Their martial spirits, the Panlong Staffs, were almost equal in quality to the Clear Sky Hammer. They only lagged behind because they lacked an extremely powerful complementary skill like the "Great Sumeru Hammer."
However, the difference in numbers and cultivation was apparent. Tang Hao was still suffering from old injuries and had to guard against the other members of Spirit Hall. After only a few dozen exchanges, he was forced into a defensive position.
His disheveled, bearded face had turned pale, and blood trickled from his mouth and nose. His seventh soul ring had already been detonated, and his body was nearing its limits.
"You call that an unexpected twist?" Su Yue glanced at Su Cheng with some disdain.
The outcome of the battle was clear.
Though Tang Hao was still holding on, his strength was nearly depleted. In less than ten more exchanges, he would be defeated.
"It's coming," Su Cheng suddenly turned his gaze in another direction.
He had been paying little attention to the ongoing battle. Aside from watching Tang San, his focus was on observing the surroundings.
As expected, reinforcements had arrived, though a bit later than anticipated.
His eyes flashed with surprise, mixed with a hint of mockery.
To think Tang San's saviors would be these creatures—it was quite a coincidence.
Soon, Su Yue also noticed the commotion in the distance, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.
However, Bibi Dong and the others, with their superior strength, had already sensed the two powerful auras rapidly approaching.
Their energy fluctuations were far stronger than those of Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo, even more intense than Qianjun and Jiangmo.
The sound of massive beasts running across the ground grew louder.
In mere moments, a towering black gorilla, as large as a small mountain, came charging forward. Its dark fur shimmered faintly under the moonlight.
As it barreled forward, it casually swept aside the trees in its path.
Those towering trees, standing over ten meters tall, were as fragile as dead twigs in its hands.
The giant gorilla moved on all fours, yet its shoulder height was still over seven meters, and its body was more than fifteen meters long. Perched on its shoulder was a beautiful young girl in a white dress.
Although the gorilla was moving at a tremendous speed, the girl remained perfectly steady, unmoved except for her long scorpion-tail braid, which fluttered in the wind.
Behind the black gorilla followed an even more terrifying beast.
It had a massive bull head, over four meters wide, but behind it was a thirty-meter-long snake-like body. Its green scales gleamed ominously, and its power was clearly far superior to the gorilla's.
It was Xiao Wu, along with the Titan Giant Ape and the Azure Bull Python!
Xiao Wu knew the schedule of the Spirit Master Tournament.
Though she hadn't participated in the tournament with Shrek Academy, she had stayed with them at the academy. Shortly before Tang San and the others left for Spirit City for the finals, she returned to the Star Dou Forest under the pretense of an excuse.
After the tournament, she had planned to return to Tang San. However, the two hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts, concerned for her safety, insisted on escorting her part of the way. Once they were close enough, they intended to leave her to reunite with Tang San.
But on their way, they sensed the intense battle nearby. They quickly recognized the presence of Tang Hao, Tang San, and the Spirit Hall members.
After informing Xiao Wu, the two soul beasts rushed to assist under her orders.
"Two hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts?! What species is that soul beast following the Titan Giant Ape?"
"No, there are three of them."
Apart from Tang San, everyone present was a Title Douluo, and they instantly discerned the situation of the newcomers. Their expressions turned solemn.
The Titan Giant Ape's strength needed no introduction. It was a powerful soul beast recorded in the annals of the Spirit Hall, known as a genius species capable of fighting above its level. Meanwhile, the bull-headed, snake-bodied soul beast following behind seemed even stronger.
If Xiao Wu's appearance was an unexpected bonus, then the arrival of these two powerful hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts made the situation increasingly unpredictable.
Even for Bibi Dong, this was true.
At this moment, she was under the pressure of the Rakshasa God's trial and temporarily couldn't exert her full strength. Moreover, even if she could kill all three soul beasts here, with her accumulation, she would never be able to attach three consecutive hundred-thousand-year soul rings to her Devouring Spider Emperor.
At the same time, Tang Hao and the two great worshipers, sensing the changes in the external situation, tacitly paused their battle.
Tang Hao finally had a moment to catch his breath and immediately seized the opportunity to recover from his nearly unmanageable old injuries.
"Roar!"
As the Titan Giant Ape approached, it stood up straight and roared angrily at Bibi Dong and the others.
Its amber crystal-like eyes suddenly lit up, resembling two suns in the night, and the mountain-like pressure it emitted spread unchecked.
The heavy breaths it released blew the surrounding trees, causing them to topple in all directions.
"Xiao Wu!"
Seeing the figure perched on the giant ape's shoulder, Tang San's face changed slightly, and he was momentarily bewildered.
The situation had shifted so quickly that he couldn't comprehend why Xiao Wu was with the Titan Giant Ape they had previously encountered, looking so close and familiar.
Moreover, why had they suddenly appeared at this moment?
"Brother!"
At this point, Xiao Wu leaped down from the ape's shoulder and threw herself directly into Tang San's arms, quickly explaining the situation in a low voice.
As she spoke, she worriedly glanced at his expression, fearing that Tang San wouldn't be able to accept the fact that she was a transformed soul beast.
In truth, Xiao Wu hadn't wanted to expose her true form like this, but when she learned of the danger Tang San was in, she couldn't care about such trivial matters anymore and rushed over with the two great soul beasts.
On the other side, while the young duo whispered to each other, the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python, Xiao Wu's loyal companions, had already sprung into action.
Seeing that Tang Hao was still recuperating, the Titan Giant Ape was the first to pounce forward.
In the next moment, both Qianjun and Jiangmo Douluo felt the environment around them grow heavy.
It was as if their bodies were filled with lead, and their speed slowed drastically. The lights and colors before their eyes seemed to distort slightly.
The Titan Giant Ape's Gravity Domain!
This was the extraordinary innate talent of a remarkable soul beast species.
The Titan Giant Ape's Gravity Domain was different from ordinary gravity-based soul skills. It could control gravity at will, amplifying or reducing it. Although it couldn't yet manipulate the direction of gravity, it was already terrifying.
The Titan Giant Ape swung its fist directly toward Jiangmo Douluo.
All the earth-elemental energy in the surrounding air seemed to condense into this one punch.
Under normal circumstances, the best way to respond to such an attack would be to dodge first, wait for the force to wear off, and then counterattack.
But due to the influence of the Gravity Domain, Jiangmo Douluo's speed was greatly reduced, making it difficult for him to dodge. He had no choice but to raise his staff and brace for impact.
Further away, Qianjun Douluo, also trapped within the domain, was unable to offer support.
Seeing the staff swinging toward it, a flash of light appeared in the Titan Giant Ape's amber eyes. The gravity, which had been amplified tenfold, suddenly vanished, and in an instant, it switched from being ten times stronger to ten times weaker.
This sudden shift left Jiangmo Douluo, who was trying to break free from the control, no time to react. Not only was his staff-swinging motion disrupted, but his entire body accelerated toward the terrifying fist of the Titan Giant Ape.
Seeing this, Bibi Dong and the others naturally wouldn't sit idly by. They all activated their Martial Spirit True Bodies and joined the battle.
At this moment, the blue light on the Sky Azure Bull Python's body spread outward, unleashing yet another domain—the Sluggish Domain!
Tang Hao, ever keen, immediately sensed the shift in the battlefield. He already knew Xiao Wu and quickly understood that these two soul beasts were friendly reinforcements.
Without further rest or recovery, he gritted his teeth, swung the Clear Sky Hammer, and charged forward.
Watching the increasingly chaotic battlefield ahead, Su Cheng sighed softly, "So that's how it is..."
There was no need to watch further. Bibi Dong's mission was destined to fail.
Even though, up until now, the Spirit Hall still had the upper hand in terms of power, the situation was no longer a one-sided domination.
If a twist could happen under the earlier circumstances, now that a turning point had been reached, it would be even less likely that Tang San would die today.
Unless Su Cheng intervened personally.
"I told you there would be an unexpected turn of events," he said.
"It really happened, but isn't it a bit too coincidental?"
Su Yue still frowned, her eyes fixed on the two hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts not far away.
In truth, before the encounter in Fenghua Town, Su Yue hadn't known who Xiao Wu was, but she had heard from Di Tian about the existence of the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python—two extraordinarily gifted hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.
However, these two had just crossed the threshold of one hundred thousand years and hadn't yet been recruited under Di Tian's command.
Xiao Wu, the Titan Giant Ape, and the Sky Azure Bull Python were all of similar cultivation age. The latter two had advanced slightly faster due to their exceptional talents, but it was understandable that they were close companions.
Considering that after Xiao Wu transformed, she developed feelings for Tang San, and that Spirit City and Star Dou Forest were located near the borders of the two empires, the distances weren't too great. If she encountered Tang San in danger along the way, pulling her companions to assist him made sense logically.
But the development of this situation was still unusual.
Setting aside the perfect timing of their arrival in the nick of time—
How could two hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts so easily leave the Star Dou Forest and expose themselves under the eyes of human soul masters?
For soul masters, hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts were priceless treasures.
No matter how strong they were, there were only two of them, and they weren't strong enough to rival an Ultimate Douluo.
But the number of human Title Douluo could be as many as twenty. How could they dare to take such a risk?
If they were spotted by anyone, it would leave a huge threat behind.
Logically, to reach a hundred thousand years of cultivation, they must have lived for tens of thousands of years, growing from weak beings. How could they be so unguarded?