News of the Red Thunder Family's defiance spread like wildfire through the cultivation world. The three dominant sects - haptian sect , Seven trasure glazed Pavilion, and blue tyrant dragon sectr - each viewed this as an unprecedented opportunity. Not since the founding of Spirit Hall had any family dared to show such open defiance. While they publicly maintained neutrality, each sect secretly dispatched their own Title Douluo to observe the impending conflict.
"This will be... illuminating," mused Shadow Walker Douluo of the seven trasure glazed pagoda, his level 95 presence carefully masked as he took position in the distant mountains overlooking the Red Thunder Family compound.
From the haotian sect the elegant thunder hammer Douluo found her own vantage point, her crimson robes blending with the morning sky. The blue tyrant thunder Sect sent their Swift Wind Douluo, whose level 95 cultivation allowed him to hover almost invisibly among the clouds.
None of these observers knew what the others had witnessed earlier - the gathering of nine Title Douluo within the Red Thunder Family. Like Spirit Hall itself, they assumed this was merely another upstart family that had grown too confident with their recent advancement to Title Douluo status.
As dawn broke the next day, three imposing figures approached the Red Thunder Family's gates. Crocodile Doulou led the formation, his scaled skin gleaming in the morning light, flanked by the elegant Azure Luan Douluo and the muscular Mighty Lion Douluo. Their combined presence was enough to make the very air heavy with pressure.
Without warning, Mighty Lion Douluo stepped forward, his martial soul manifesting in a brilliant display of golden light. His roar shattered the morning calm, the sound alone enough to crack the stone path beneath their feet. It was a display meant to intimidate, to show the overwhelming might of Spirit Hall.
But the response that came was beyond anything they had expected.
Nine dragon roars answered in unison, the combined sound creating a thunderous cacophony that shook the very mountains. The hidden Title Douluo observers nearly lost their footing as nine powerful figures appeared on the compound walls, each radiating the unmistakable pressure of a Title Douluo.
Among them stood two particularly commanding presences - the family former patriarch and the infamous Azure Poison Dragon Douluo. The latter's reputation alone made even Crocodile Douluo's scaled skin prickle with unease. The stories of the Poison City massacre were still whispered in horrified tones throughout the cultivation world.
"Hmph," the patriarch's voice carried easily across the courtyard, laden with dismissive confidence. "Spirit Hall thinks so little of us that they send only three? Even if one is the famous Crocodile Douluo, level 98 master of the scaled arts..." He paused, his eyes shifting to the others. "Azure Luan Douluo, level 97, whose wind mastery is indeed impressive... and Mighty Lion Douluo, newly advanced to level 96."
The precision of his knowledge clearly unsettled the Spirit Hall representatives. Crocodile Douluo's eyes narrowed, his vertical pupils becoming thin slits. "Your intelligence network is... impressive," he admitted grudgingly. "Then you should also know why we're here. Does the Red Thunder Family truly wish to defy Spirit Hall's will?"
In response, Crocodile Douluo released his full power, nine soul rings blazing around him in an awe-inspiring display: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red. The age of his ninth ring alone spoke volumes about his power year 100000 years.
But to the shock of everyone present, including the hidden observers, all nine members of the Red Thunder Family displayed their own soul rings in response. Each of them, without exception, possessed ninth rings of 99,000 years. The hidden Title Douluo nearly revealed themselves in their shock. This was impossible - the Red Thunder Family was supposed to have only two newly promoted Title Douluo!
Crocodile Douluo's expression shifted from confidence to barely concealed concern as his spiritual sense confirmed what his eyes were telling him. Five level 96 Title Douluo, three at level 97, and two - including the Azure Poison Dragon Douluo - at level 98. The family's strength was far beyond anything Spirit Hall had anticipated.
Azure Poison Dragon Douluo's next words carried a deadly undertone that made everyone present shudder. "Crocodile Douluo, consider your next actions carefully. While you three are here... who's watching Spirit Hall's city? Their branch halls? Their worship halls? Poison is such an... unpredictable thing, wouldn't you agree?"
The threat wasn't idle. Everyone present knew the stories - how a younger Azure Poison Dragon Douluo, at mere level 88, had effortlessly killed a level 92 Title Douluo. How in a fit of rage, he had turned an entire city of Spirit Hall masters into a wasteland that remained uninhabitable even now, decades later. Now at level 98, his potential for destruction was almost unimaginable.
The hidden observers exchanged shocked glances from their various vantage points. This confrontation had revealed far more than they'd anticipated. The Red Thunder Family wasn't just strong enough to resist Spirit Hall - they might be powerful enough to challenge its dominion over the cultivation world entirely.
Crocodile Douluo stood motionless, his mind racing through calculations. They had come to demonstrate Spirit Hall's authority, but instead found themselves facing what might be the strongest concentration of Title Douluo outside of Spirit Hall itself. And with Azure Poison Dragon Douluo's thinly veiled threat hanging in the air, even victory here might mean catastrophic losses elsewhere.
The balance of power in the cultivation world was shifting before their eyes, and none of the observers would soon forget what they had witnessed this day. The Red Thunder Family had not just survived Spirit Hall's challenge - they had revealed themselves as a force that even Spirit Hall would have to treat with caution.