Douluo Dalu 1: The Tang Family Rebel

After listening to the introductions of the four, Dai Mubai took a deep breath and said, "The four of you have a good setup, with no duplicate systems among your martial souls. As for how to defend against Tang Laoshi's attack, you'll have to figure that out yourselves."

Tang San thought for a moment and said, "Ning Rongrong will assist the three of us. Xiao Wu will handle the main attack, while I focus on controlling Tang Laoshi's offense, trying to limit him as much as possible while assisting Xiao Wu in the frontal assault. Zhu Zhuqing, please flank him and use your speed to harass."

Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong both nodded in agreement. Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Tang San and, after a brief hesitation, also gave a slight nod. Given the short preparation time, this simple strategy was the best they could come up with.

As for its effectiveness, only the battle would reveal the truth.

No matter what, they had never faced such a powerful opponent before. They could only gauge his strength by engaging him in combat.

"Have you finished your discussion?" Yun Chuan's calm and clear voice rang out. The four turned to see that the incense stick on the ground had burned down to its end.

"Teacher Tang, we're ready." Dai Mubai nodded toward Yun Chuan and quickly stepped aside to observe the battle. Although this was an uneven fight, he wasn't about to miss the chance to see this mysterious new teacher in action. After all, this man was the youngest Soul Sage on the continent!

Yun Chuan pulled out another incense stick from his soul tool, but before he could light it, Ning Rongrong made the first move.

"Seven Treasures, Glazed Light!" She spun gracefully on the spot, and a dazzling array of seven-colored light erupted from her body. In her right palm, where the multicolored light converged, a seven-colored pagoda about a foot tall materialized.

Its radiant glow and majestic aura made her look like an ethereal fairy. Two yellow soul rings rose from her feet, circling her gracefully.

"Seven Treasures have names, the first is: Strength." Her first soul ring lit up, enveloping the pagoda in multicolored light. At her left-hand gesture, three beams of colorful light shot out, landing on Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing.

A warm energy surged through their bodies, filling their limbs and bones. The trio instantly felt a surge of power, as if their soul power were boiling over.

Watching their soul power spike, Yun Chuan's eyes flashed with admiration. "The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda truly deserves its reputation as the continent's number one auxiliary martial soul. This enhancement effect is simply insane!" While speaking, he lit the incense stick and casually thrust it into the ground.

"Seven Treasures have names, the second is: Speed." Three more beams of multicolored light floated out as Ning Rongrong's second soul ring activated. The lightness in their bodies made Tang San feel as though he had lost all weight. He couldn't help but marvel internally at the extraordinary power of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. A 30% boost to both speed and strength instantly made him feel significantly stronger.

At that moment, Yun Chuan finally made his move.

He began forming seals with his hands, creating a mesmerizing sequence of gestures. At the same time, the fluctuations of soul power around him grew erratic. Dai Mubai, watching intently, stared at the intricate hand seals, trying to decipher their purpose.

But in reality, Yun Chuan was just bluffing. Against these rookies, he didn't need a grand setup. A casual blow would suffice to send them flying.

"Self-Created Soul Skill: Blue Silver Battle Armor!"

As he completed the final seal, countless blue silver grass vines erupted around him, wrapping him tightly. The vines intertwined and fused, weaving together... until a towering figure—a three-meter-tall suit of armor made entirely of blue silver grass—stood before Tang San and the others.

The giant armor radiated an aura of invincibility and overwhelming strength, leaving Tang San utterly stunned.

What kind of technique was this?

How could blue silver grass be woven into such an armor-like form?

Could there be some special method behind this?

The three girls were equally dumbfounded, momentarily too frightened to act rashly as they stared at the colossal armored giant.

Seeming to sense their confusion, the three-meter-tall giant flashed blue light from its eyes. Its mouth moved, and Yun Chuan's clear, gentle voice resonated, "As you can see, my martial soul is Blue Silver Grass, a so-called 'trash martial soul.' Therefore, my physical attributes are inferior to those of beast martial soul users at the Soul Sage level. For this reason, I spent a great deal of time developing this self-created soul skill: Blue Silver Battle Armor!"

"This giant armor serves as both a shield, with exceptionally high defense, and an amplifier for my strength, making my power comparable to that of beast martial soul battle soul masters of the same level!"

"However, this martial soul isn't without its weaknesses. While it excels in defense and strength, it lacks mobility and agility. Also, let me make this fair—I won't use any other soul skills during this battle, only this armor. Furthermore, this armor has a critical weakness. If you manage to hit it, the armor will automatically disassemble. Whether you can find and exploit that weakness is up to you."

In truth, his words were a complete fabrication. This wasn't a self-created soul skill at all but a trick using his Goddess of Life martial soul to manipulate plants.

Far from enhancing his strength, the armor actually limited it. Compared to his physical prowess capable of bearing seven ten-thousand-year soul rings, this external armor was as fragile as paper. He was simply using it to avoid accidentally overpowering and injuring his students.

"Since you're ready, I'm coming!" Yun Chuan declared, seeing that their states were at their peak.

With those words, the three-meter-tall armored giant suddenly stomped the ground with both feet. The resulting impact sent shockwaves rippling through the earth, creating a circle of yellowish-brown waves that surged toward Tang San and the others with terrifying force.

This wasn't a soul skill but a simple technique of channeling soul power into the ground to create a shockwave—a straightforward yet brutally effective maneuver.

"Not good!" Tang San exclaimed. Watching the incoming wave of earth energy, he immediately understood Yun Chuan's intent. His teacher had once said, if you ever face an opponent with a Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda soul master, the first priority must be to eliminate the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda soul master.

The armor giant's attack clearly wasn't aimed solely at Ning Rongrong, but its intention to unleash an area attack was evident. Its purpose was obvious: to take out the defenseless auxiliary Soul Master of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda as quickly as possible. Naturally, Tang San couldn't let this happen.

A blue-black vine suddenly lashed out. The vine had no thorns, as it was imbued only with the effect of Tang San's first spirit ring. Flashing like lightning, the vine coiled tightly around Ning Rongrong's waist. At the same time that Tang San leapt into the air, he pulled Ning Rongrong's body upward with him.

With a muffled boom, the ground trembled violently. Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing reacted quickly—Xiao Wu leapt straight ahead, while Zhu Zhuqing dashed to the side, both evading the shockwave. Tang San jumped almost simultaneously with Xiao Wu, and even their leap height was nearly identical.

"Xiao Wu, attack!"

Tang San shouted in a low voice, raising his hands in front of his chest and pushing forward.

Without even looking, Xiao Wu knew exactly where Tang San's hands were. After six years together, their teamwork had reached a level of seamless understanding.

The tips of her feet lightly tapped Tang San's palms. Borrowing the momentum of his push, she shot downward like an arrow toward the armor giant.

Offense was the best defense. At this critical moment, passively taking hits would only allow the armor giant to fully unleash its strength, leaving them with no chance of victory. Instead, taking the offensive might buy them more time.

As Yun Chuan saw Xiao Wu charging at him, he made no effort to dodge. He simply stood there nonchalantly, as if inviting her attack.

Xiao Wu wasn't one to miss such an opportunity. Her descending body curled tightly as she spun forward. Just before reaching him, she stretched out, completing her martial soul possession mid-air. Her feet aimed for the sides of the armor giant's neck.

Two muffled thuds sounded as Xiao Wu's feet landed precisely on the giant's shoulders. However, the armor giant didn't so much as sway. Its mouth moved slightly, and Yun Chuan's gentle voice rang out:

"Little bunny, your strength is too weak."

Xiao Wu snorted coldly. Too weak? Fine, then. Let's see what real strength looks like.

Her feet seemed glued to the armor giant's shoulders. Her toes curled inward, locking around its neck. Her body twisted with all her might, spinning rapidly in mid-air.

Xiao Wu's strength alone wouldn't have been enough to move the armor giant. But she wasn't acting alone.

Inside the armor, Yun Chuan suddenly felt a tightening sensation. His makeshift battle armor was now completely entangled in Tang San's vine. From its arms to its legs, every part was securely bound.

The vines constricted tightly, releasing a potent paralyzing toxin. However, since the armor giant wasn't a living creature, the toxin couldn't penetrate the armor to reach Yun Chuan's real body inside. Thus, the toxin was entirely ineffective.

Tang San felt a twinge of disappointment at this outcome, though he had anticipated it. Fortunately, he had a backup plan.

Vines suddenly erupted from the ground, pushing against the armor giant's body and lifting its feet off the ground.

No matter how strong someone was, if their feet weren't planted firmly, they couldn't maintain their stability.

Thanks to the flawless coordination between Tang San and Xiao Wu, the nearly three-meter-tall armor giant was actually lifted off the ground. With Xiao Wu's legs spinning it mid-air, the giant began to rotate. At the same time, it was tightly wrapped in Tang San's blue-black vines, resembling a massive bundle of bamboo leaves.

With the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda's enhancements, both Tang San and Xiao Wu were now exerting soul power far beyond the typical level of a Rank 30 Soul Master.

(End of Chapter)