Yu Yuanzhen and Ning Fengzhi only now realized that besides Qian Daoliu, there was actually another terrifying Titled Douluo hidden within the Spirit Hall. What they didn't know was that within Spirit Hall, the existence of the Golden Crocodile was also a secret. Other than the angelic bloodline of the Qian family, only a few old-generation worshipers knew that such a peak Douluo existed in Spirit Hall.
However, Yu Xiaowei knew the Golden Crocodile very well.
This old man and Qian Daoliu's grandfather lived in the same era. He was also an assassin of Spirit Hall. Unlike other soul masters loyal to the Hall, he was truly loyal to the Qian family.
No wonder Yue Guan's intel only mentioned that Qian Renxue left Spirit Hall, without saying that a Titled Douluo was with her.
It was because, due to his identity, he couldn't contact high-level figures in Spirit Hall who could be compared to nuclear weapons.
At this moment, the Golden Crocodile had not even released his martial soul yet — only a burst of intense soul power.
But even that made everyone tremble uncontrollably. Jiangzhu, who had the weakest soul power, even fainted.
Even Yu Yuanzhen and Chen Xin, both very proud men, swallowed nervously.
If it was only soul power, they might not have feared him.
But the dazzling red soul rings made them feel utterly powerless.
All major clans knew one thing: Tang Hao was able to seriously injure the Pope when he had just become a Title Douluo thanks to his 100,000-year spirit ring.
That alone showed just how terrifying a 100,000-year spirit ring was for a Titled Douluo.
...
After a brief moment of panic, the students from Lanba Academy began to evacuate in an orderly manner.
Yu Yuanzhen used a voice-enhancing technique and firmly said to Chen Xin:
"You can fly with your sword. He can't catch you. Take the children and flee."
"I'll hold him back."
Chen Xin's face did not change, and he replied with just one word:
"Alright."
At that moment, Yu Xiaowei's voice reached them.
"Uncle, can you hold off Golden Crocodile Douluo for at least ten minutes?"
"Grandpa Jian, when the battle starts, fly in the direction I point. I have a way to delay Golden Crocodile and even a chance to kill him."
Yu Yuanzhen and Chen Xin paused and looked at each other in surprise.
Facing a Level 98 Titled Douluo with a 100,000-year soul ring, even a Level 99 Peak Douluo wouldn't dare to claim they could kill him. And yet, Yu Xiaowei, just a Soul Sect, confidently said so.
As the three of them telepathically made plans, Golden Crocodile narrowed his eyes. How could he not see that they were scheming against him?
But the strong have their pride.
So, Golden Crocodile Douluo didn't stop them. He hadn't fought seriously in decades and hoped Yu Yuanzhen and Chen Xin would give him a decent challenge — that would be more interesting.
As for the students escaping?
What a joke.
He could annihilate these small soul sects with a sneeze. Even if Yu Yuanzhen and the others stopped him, it would only delay things a bit.
Against absolute power, any trick or scheme was as ridiculous as a clown.
But someone didn't think so. Qian Renxue said coldly:
"Grandpa Crocodile, hurry, don't let them get away. These people, especially Yu Xiaowei, must die today."
Qian Renxue deeply hated the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.
Cixue and She Long died at Dugu Bo's hands, and she herself had been gravely wounded and fled back to Spirit Hall in panic.
But she never thought...
If she hadn't insisted on testing Yu Xiaowei at Blue Tyrant Academy, how could so much have gone wrong?
Golden Crocodile Douluo looked at Qian Renxue with affection and said gently:
"Miss, step back. It's not good to get hurt by mistake."
Then his eyes flashed gold, and a layer of fine golden scales rapidly covered his body. His hands became sharp claws, and a huge tail covered in scales and spikes swayed behind him.
Yu Yuanzhen and Chen Xin also released their martial souls.
For a moment, the intense pressure from three top-level Titled Douluo spread instantly.
"Seven Treasures has a saying, the Seventh is the True Body of the Seven Treasures."
"Seven Treasures has a saying, the First is Strength."
"Seven Treasures has a saying, the Second is Speed."
"..."
Ning Fengzhi, revealing the true form of his martial soul, demonstrated the demeanor of the continent's number one support-type soul master.
As six beams of light were injected into Yu Yuanzhen and Chen Xin, their momentum suddenly soared.
The Seven Kill Sword in Chen Xin's hand released a huge sword shadow tens of meters wide and slashed at Golden Crocodile Douluo.
Sharp sword energy filled the heavens. Even Qian Renxue, hundreds of meters away, felt her skin being cut.
"Heh, interesting."
Golden Crocodile Douluo laughed, stomped the ground hard with his left foot, swung his body, and fiercely lashed his thick golden tail at the sword shadow.
After a piercing sound—
The giant sword shadow was shattered by his tail like a flower scattered by a fairy.
And the terrifying sword energy didn't even leave a scratch on him.
Even a martial soul true body was useless. Chen Xin's attack, even with Ning Fengzhi's boost, was easily deflected by Golden Crocodile Douluo.
At this moment, Yu Yuanzhen, who hadn't attacked yet, took a deep breath and roared:
"True Dragon Nine Crowns, activate!"
A golden crown appeared on his head, and terrifying dragon power erupted.
Yu Yuanzhen's seventh soul ring suddenly exploded with blinding light, and in an instant, a giant dragon glowing with blue lightning appeared.
At the same time, four golden lights lit up on its limbs and quickly spread across its body.
The blue lightning turned golden, two large golden wings spread from its back, and two twisted horns grew from its head, with a golden crown between them.
Without flapping, the golden dragon hovered in the air.
Seeing this transformation, Flender, Liu Erlong, and Qian Renxue all shouted in shock:
"Golden Sacred Dragon!!!"
The golden dragon in the sky looked exactly like the Martial Soul Fusion Technique of the Golden Iron Triangle.
What Yu Yuanzhen used was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan's treasure: the True Dragon Nine Crowns.
According to legend, this treasure was a complete soul bone and eight fragments left from an ancient dragon king's self-destruction — thus the name "True Dragon Nine Crowns."
Judging from Yu Yuanzhen's martial soul change, that legendary dragon king was most likely the Golden Sacred Dragon King.
Among the Nine Crowns, the complete soul bone — the head bone — was the most important, passed down through generations of Tyrant Dragon clan leaders.
The only pity: this soul bone could only be absorbed by those with the standard Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul — not mutated ones.
That's why Yu Yuanzhen didn't stop Yu Xiaowei from absorbing a Wisdom Soul Bone in the Martial Soul Hall.
Unlike a divine-grade soul bone set, the True Dragon Nine Crowns had extremely harsh conditions and severe side effects.
First, only Titled Douluo could use it, and each level unlocked one crown. Yu Yuanzhen could unlock five crowns at his current strength.
Each crown increased a soul ring by 10,000 years. That's why Yu Yuanzhen's current rings were six black and three red — astonishing.
His soul power rose to level 97, and with Ning Fengzhi's support, he temporarily matched Golden Crocodile Douluo's momentum.
But this boost lasted only half an hour. After that, the power of the Nine Crowns faded, and the user would lose all soul power for six months and become a normal person.
If you forcibly opened a crown beyond your capacity, you'd die from a soul explosion — no exceptions.
This was the bloody experience summarized by the clan's ancestors.
Golden Crocodile's face turned serious. He never expected the once easily suppressed Yu Yuanzhen to have such a treasure.
Blinding golden light burst from him, his seventh soul ring glowed, and all his scales stood up and thickened. In a blink, he transformed from a white-haired old man into a golden crocodile over 20 meters long.
The two golden beasts stared at each other.
At this moment, Chen Xin was irrelevant. His Seven Kill Sword expanded in the wind into a ten-meter-long, three-meter-wide giant sword. After one last glance, he flew off.
Only Ning Fengzhi and Yu Yuanzhen remained to face Golden Crocodile Douluo.
Golden Crocodile ignored Chen Xin, for the golden dragon had rushed at him.
Suddenly, roars of dragons and beasts echoed across the land.
Seeing Chen Xin flee, Qian Renxue immediately unfolded six pairs of wings and pursued him.
Chen Xin noticed someone chasing. Just as he was about to strike her down, Yu Xiaowei stopped him.
Qian Renxue was no longer the same as when Dugu Bo injured her.
Last time, Spirit Hall operated solo. They couldn't reveal her true identity, so she suffered in silence.
Now, Qian Renxue was the granddaughter of Qian Daoliu, High Priest of Spirit Hall, and Bibidong — the Pope — was her mother, though she rejected her.
So, anyone daring to touch her now would soon face Qian Daoliu and Bibidong's wrath.
After hearing Yu Xiaowei explain her identity, Chen Xin gasped.
This damn woman had such a terrifying background. No wonder she dared to chase a peak Douluo as a mere Soul Saint.
Damn it — if he couldn't fight, he could at least escape!
He didn't believe a Soul Saint could outrun him.
So, after regrouping with the students, he rushed toward the Great Star Dou Forest, as Yu Xiaowei instructed.
Qian Renxue followed, gritting her teeth, leaving golden trails in her wake.
Chen Xin looked back at her with concern and asked Yu Xiaowei:
"Xiaowei, are you sure there's help where we're going?"
Yu Xiaowei pulled Oscar and confidently replied:
"No worries, as long as this guy is with me."
"And Grandpa Jian, you're too clean. No — give yourself some flesh wounds, make it more believable."
"And you—"
He waved at the students, then messed up everyone's hair, making them look disheveled.
He then clawed their bodies, tearing their clothes and drawing blood.
No one said a word — all endured the pain silently.
Soon, everyone looked battered and miserable.
After adding a few deep cuts to himself, Yu Xiaowei glanced at the distance and told Chen Xin:
"Grandpa Jian, release your aura fully to attract our reinforcements."
"Everyone, act panicked later."
"If you can't fake it, just imagine me chasing and beating you — that should help."
Chen Xin released his full aura.
The forest below erupted in beastly roars and bird calls. Strong soul beasts fled. Weak ones collapsed in fear, soiling themselves.
Qian Renxue felt the huge surge of soul power ahead and frowned.
Had Chen Xin met an enemy?
Why else would he waste soul power like this?
Half an hour passed.
Yu Yuanzhen, who had carried Ning Fengzhi away, was completely drained.
After releasing the Golden Sacred Dragon, the two crashed into the forest together.
Now Yu Yuanzhen, weakened like a normal person, leaned against a large tree and looked at the also-injured Ning Fengzhi, smiling freely.
"Lord Ning, if we survive and reach Heaven Dou City, we must celebrate."
"Hahaha, deal!"
Ning Fengzhi, exhausted of soul power, also laughed.
After a while, a dark voice rang out behind them.
"You two seem to be in a good mood."
Golden Crocodile Douluo stepped from the forest — his mood very bad.
He thought Yu Yuanzhen was a worthy opponent after unleashing the Nine Crowns.
But after a few minutes of fighting, Yu Yuanzhen had just grabbed Ning Fengzhi and fled.
He had chased them for nearly an hour before catching up.
Now, he had no idea where Chen Xin had taken the Lanba students.
The young lady had gone chasing too — who knew if she was safe?
All of this made Golden Crocodile Douluo furious. He wanted to kill Yu Yuanzhen and Ning Fengzhi right now.
Seeing his murderous expression, Yu Yuanzhen suddenly grinned.
"Hey, old man, dare to touch us?"
"You think I don't dare?"
Golden Crocodile Douluo roared and grabbed Yu Yuanzhen by the neck.
The pressure was immense, but Yu Yuanzhen stared back calmly, still smiling.
"If you dare kill me, that old man Jian will sell your Spirit Hall's eldest daughter to a brothel."
"Anyway, our sects are blood-related. If you kill us, both sects will perish."
"Then we won't save Spirit Hall's face anymore."
"Old man, imagine this: Spirit Hall's eldest daughter becomes a prostitute for all. Isn't that delightful?"
Boom—
Golden Crocodile Douluo roared in rage and flung Yu Yuanzhen away.
Just as he turned to find Qian Renxue, two terrifying auras suddenly surged in from ahead.
Sensing it, the bloodied Yu Yuanzhen struggled to raise a trumpet-shaped soul guide, brought it to his mouth, and roared with all his might:
"The one who killed Xiao Wu is here!!!"