Douluo: I, the Sun God

A trace of ruthlessness flashed in Qian Daoliu's eyes. He forcefully suppressed the surging blood and energy in his chest. With a powerful flap of the six wings on his back, his figure instantly stabilized, and he once again raised the Angel Sacred Sword to strike back.

"There's only one chance!"

Xu Yang remained perfectly calm. He was calculating how to use his soul bone skill to land a killing blow. In his current state, he only had one opportunity to use Time Freeze—a technique that consumed half of his soul power. If this failed, there would be no chance of killing Qian Daoliu.

The higher a soul master's cultivation, the stronger their vitality and survivability. Even two Titled Douluo of equal strength would find it extremely difficult to kill one another. And considering Qian Daoliu's perception, the distance of the strike had to be close enough that he'd have no time to react.

"Ten meters… eight… six… four… now!"

"Time Freeze!"

Xu Yang calmly measured the distance. When only two meters remained, he lifted his right foot and stepped forward in midair. A ripple of strange energy expanded outward in a wave. In an instant, everything within a hundred meters came to a halt—completely frozen. Even the soul power trails dispersed from the two of them froze in place like suspended light.

Xu Yang didn't hesitate. His strike, Sunblade: One Slash Kill, transformed into a streak of golden-red light, slashing straight toward Qian Daoliu's neck. If it connected, even a half-God like Qian Daoliu would die instantly.

"What is that?! Time power...?

Yang'er actually has a soul bone skill like this? I was worried for nothing!"

Chen Xin, who had just arrived, was shocked as he looked at the frozen battlefield and the beam of light. However, with his cultivation already at Rank 99 and the black hole inside his body beginning to influence space and time, he immediately realized that this strange effect was caused by the power of time.

Once he understood, he sighed in relief. But he didn't slow his pace—because he didn't believe Xu Yang's sword would be enough to kill Qian Daoliu. After all, a Limit Douluo's black hole soul core could already interfere with the flow of time.

And just as Chen Xin had predicted—

At the very moment the Sun Sacred Blade was about to slash into Qian Daoliu's neck like a flash of lightning, the man—who had been frozen in place like a statue—suddenly moved, as if released from a restriction. He instantly regained control of his body!

But it was already too late to completely dodge the fatal blow. Seeing the Sun Sacred Blade coming at him with blinding force, Qian Daoliu didn't hesitate. The six enormous wings on his back unfurled and wrapped tightly around him.

Pshhh!

The blade struck hard. The Sun Sacred Blade cleaved directly into Qian Daoliu's wings. In that instant, the three wings on his right side were severed cleanly, as if chopped off by an impossibly sharp axe. Red-gold soul power gushed from the breaks like blood, spraying through the air.

At the same time, the residual force of the slash tore across Qian Daoliu's face, leaving a deep gash. Blood slowly seeped from the wound and trickled down his cheek—like a blood flower in bloom.

"Ninth Soul Skill: God-Demon Twin Slash!"

With a furious roar, Chen Xin arrived and swung the Seven Kill Sword in his hand. A massive blue sword beam blasted out like lightning, slashing toward Qian Daoliu with terrifying force.

Having barely escaped Xu Yang's blade, Qian Daoliu didn't even have time to catch his breath before he suddenly felt a surge of powerful sword intent erupt behind him.

It was like a raging tidal wave crashing toward the sky, threatening to tear the world apart. Qian Daoliu's expression shifted drastically. He immediately realized—this was Chen Xin's full-strength strike, and it was even more powerful than before.

He dared not be careless. Concentrating his full attention, the golden angelic mark on his forehead lit up, and a stream of radiant light flowed outward.

That light poured over him like molten silver, rapidly covering his entire body. It formed a glowing barrier that enclosed him tightly—Divine Skill: Angel's Shield, the same protective skill he had used earlier to guard Qian Renxue and the others.

Just as the shield formed, the azure-blue sword energy—capable of tearing space—smashed into it.

Boom!

The fierce sword energy struck like a meteor slamming into the earth, carving a massive gouge into the shield.

The shield trembled violently from the impact, as if it would shatter at any moment.

Yet, to everyone's surprise, though it had become unstable, the Angel's Shield didn't break. The immense force of the sword strike had left deep scars—but couldn't breach it entirely.

The remaining energy didn't dissipate either. Instead, it continued to push the shield forward. Qian Daoliu, wrapped within it, was flung backward like a kite with a snapped string.

The shield carried him across the sky for over a thousand meters before the energy was finally spent, and it slowly disintegrated into light.

"Huff… huff…"

Covered in blood and panting heavily, Qian Daoliu looked at Xu Yang and Chen Xin from afar. In his eyes shone the light of someone who had narrowly escaped death. Without hesitation, spatial ripples shimmered behind him—and he vanished into them.

"Damn it! He got away!"

Golden-red light flared on Xu Yang's left leg as he tried to sense the spatial tunnel Qian Daoliu had used to escape—but he found nothing. He couldn't sense it at all. The difference in their understanding of spatial power was simply too great.

"Don't worry," Chen Xin said, flying to Xu Yang's side.

"Killing the Golden Crocodile this time already dealt a major blow to Spirit Hall, and Qian Daoliu is seriously injured. They won't be able to threaten us again anytime soon."

Xu Yang shook his head, saying nothing. He wasn't concerned about Qian Daoliu.

What truly worried him was Qian Renxue.

This battle in Heaven Dou City would undoubtedly push both Qian Daoliu and Qian Renxue to act. It was very likely they would begin the inheritance of the God Position ahead of schedule. In the original timeline, Qian Renxue had the fastest ascension to godhood—only five years. Even Tang San hadn't been faster.

Even though divine power would be suppressed on the Douluo Continent, it was still far beyond what non-God soul masters could resist. Xu Yang wasn't confident he could become strong enough to stand against a god within five years.

What's more, he now felt disappointed with Time Freeze, the soul bone skill he had placed so much hope in. He hadn't expected it to be so ineffective against a Rank 99 Limit Douluo, someone who could already influence the laws of time. It was far less powerful than he had imagined.

That realization awakened a powerful sense of urgency in Xu Yang—an overwhelming drive to become stronger.