A silvery light filled Poseidon's entire field of vision, leaving her no time to evade.
The torrent of Stardust Power washed over Poseidon's body, and the sky-blue cicada wings, which had been repaired by the Pearl of the Ocean, were once again shattered. Her entire body, clad in blue-silver armor, began to dissolve...
This shot, with its supersonic might, far surpassed the previous one. Coupled with her inability to defend herself in time, Poseidon was instantly gravely injured, her body covered in scars and blood.
"Ugh!"
Poseidon let out a muffled groan, her body stiffening, even her soul power feeling obstructed.
The sound of the vortex drew closer again.
'This is bad!'
Poseidon suddenly looked up, trying to react, but a white wave of despair had already struck her.
Stardust Phantom flashed in front of Poseidon, its dragon claws shooting out like meteors, slashing at her.
However, Poseidon had already suffered once; before her soul power completely fell silent, the Spirit Bone technique that was always in a standby state activated, forming a spherical blue barrier that protected her.
Even Stardust Phantom's full-force attack merely caused violent tremors, failing to shatter it in one blow.
In the blink of an eye, Poseidon's soul power returned.
The light of the Sea God shone again, and the eighth Spirit Ring completely dimmed, but the effect of confinement also faded away.
Instead of repelling Stardust Phantom, the waves that should have formed resistance this time provided a tremendous pulling force, drawing it toward Poseidon.
Even with Stardust Phantom in Spirit Avatar form, it was still no match for Poseidon in a one-on-one situation. The shattered sky-blue cicada wings behind her trembled, and her figure darted out like a phantom, wielding the spiral water pressure trident, directly stabbing toward Stardust Phantom's abdomen, disregarding her dwindling soul power, intending to crush it in one blow.
Poseidon initially wanted to pierce through the doppelganger blocking her path with a single thrust, but the massive white dragon blocked her spiral trident with its claws.
The dragon claws, burning with stardust light, quickly disintegrated under the spiraling trident but never completely shattered.
Poseidon's expression darkened; each of Stardust Phantom's abilities was comparable to a peak 98-level Super Douluo, and she could no longer easily handle it.
Not being defeated by Poseidon's spiral trident in one move, Stardust Phantom seized the opportunity. Although it wasn't in the most comfortable position to perfectly control the output of Stardust Power, it still unleashed a torrent of supersonic energy at Poseidon.
"Poof!"
Poseidon spat out blood and was sent flying, her shattered sky-blue cicada wings turning into fragments, and the blue-silver soft armor made of an unknown material completely dissolved and fell away. If it weren't for the Martial Soul manifestation, she would have been as good as naked at that moment.
Poseidon felt a mix of shame and anger, but more than that, she was anxious and restless.
After unleashing the Sea God's Fury, her soul power was nearly depleted, and now it was close to running out completely.
The previous ultimate move had failed to break You Chen's doppelganger, and an inescapable gloom settled in Poseidon's heart...
'Am I going to die here? Die at the hands of someone whose name I don't even know?!'
Poseidon was furious.
'Rather than this—'
Poseidon's soul power ignited.
An Ultimate Douluo's self-detonation would generate enough power to drag the similarly weakened You Chen into the underworld.
However...
A figure shimmering with a faint golden glow suddenly shot out, and the starlit eyes collided with Poseidon's.
Two pitch-black suns descended upon Poseidon's mental world.
Not the Wheel of Stars, but... the Soul Shock Technique!
Throughout the battle, aside from feigning death to allow Stardust Phantom to ambush Poseidon, You Chen had not stopped attacking Poseidon's mental world with the Star God Spike.
The power of a single Star God Spike might not be significant, but You Chen's near-continuous output was overwhelming.
Moreover, most of Poseidon's techniques were infused with Divine Power.
Compared to the damage caused by the Star God Spike itself, the discomfort it inflicted on Poseidon's mental awareness forced her to expend more Divine Power to execute those ultimate moves, leading to a far greater consumption of Divine Power!
You Chen, with the Star God Spike attack, could sense Poseidon's mental state with each strike.
He was acutely aware that after Poseidon unleashed the Sea God's Fury, her Divine Power had already plummeted significantly.
And now, it had fallen below You Chen's kill line!
However... rather than directly killing her, You Chen had a more ingenious idea.
Thus, You Chen did not use the Wheel of Stars but instead employed the Soul Shock Technique!
Techniques are not organs; having the Star Soul Technique does not mean the previous Soul Shock Technique cannot be used.
The Soul Shock Technique is not a control-type skill but a pure mental attack, causing the enemy to become dazed or faint as a side effect of their mental distress.
The light of the Sea God would only provide temporary immunity to control but would not defend against mental attacks.
This had already been confirmed when You Chen previously used the Star God Spike.
As a result, the Soul Shock Technique successfully took effect!
Poseidon stood dazed in place, her gaze losing focus, and her action of burning soul power came to a halt.
In this final moment, as her gaze met You Chen's, she recognized that this was indeed the You Chen who had just been struck by her massive trident. A question flashed through her mind: 'Why is he unharmed?'
But there was no time to ponder the answer; her mind had already fallen silent.
What does it mean to have Divine Power below the kill line? It means that if Poseidon were to take a hit from You Chen's Wheel of Stars, she would die instantly. If it were the Soul Shock Technique, it could be even more clever, whether directly annihilating the opponent's soul or merely causing them to faint, depending solely on You Chen's choice.
At this moment... Poseidon's soul was completely silent, like a dead pig in a deep sleep or a human who had been fed an entire bottle of sleeping pills, unable to awaken no matter what You Chen did in the short term.
From the moment the two fell into the sea, unleashing deadly moves, to You Chen's decisive Soul Shock Technique, only a little over ten seconds had passed.
You Chen's Emperor's Golden Body time had not even fully ended.
This illustrates the peril of their clash.
'I wonder if this counts as the Emperor's Golden Body being effective?'
You Chen mused, feeling his own soul power had also plummeted.
When Poseidon randomly encountered You Chen's true self, even You Chen felt a bit caught off guard. He had originally intended for the Emperor's Golden Body to be his trump card, but it ultimately became his best sixth man to withstand damage.
Poseidon's fully unleashed massive trident, against You Chen before the Spirit Avatar, would have been enough to severely injure him to the point of near immobility.
And against You Chen in Spirit Avatar form, a direct hit would still inflict serious injuries that could affect the battle.
The power amplification of the Emperor's Golden Body was equivalent to saving You Chen a use of the Holy Spirit's Blessing in terms of soul power.
And this saved soul power allowed two Stardust Phantoms to unleash supersonic attacks before dissipating, giving You Chen's true self the opportunity to lock eyes with Poseidon, maximizing the foundation for mental attack.
With the simultaneous attack of the three massive tridents, You Chen no longer had any remaining uses of the Emperor's Golden Body to withstand.
He directly released the Sacrificer's Sanctuary, gaining a brief period of invincibility, and forcefully endured this attack. Then, taking advantage of the swirling dust and Poseidon's belief that he was dead, he used the Aura Concealment Art to hide.
This was the full picture of how You Chen achieved victory.
And now... that was just the final step.
As the saying goes, the longer the night, the more dreams; theoretically, in Poseidon's current state, she wouldn't wake up no matter what You Chen did today, but You Chen still refrained from making the classic villain declaration of victory.
Taking advantage of the Emperor's Golden Body's enhancement effect still being active, You Chen suddenly approached Poseidon, and with a swift motion of his left hand, the Golden Sword struck down, severing one of Poseidon's arms!
In the world of Douluo, there is no extraordinary will; such a massive injury and excruciating pain would likely make even a god scream in agony.
But You Chen turned his head and glanced lightly; the sleeping Poseidon merely furrowed her brow, her body instinctively trembling as if she had Parkinson's syndrome, but beyond that, she showed no other reaction.
The integrity of the body greatly affects a Soul Master's combat power.
Moreover, in the world of Douluo, there is a special mechanism...
If a severed limb does not have a Spirit Bone, it's fine, but if it does have a Spirit Bone, the soul power level may directly drop.
For every severed limb with a Spirit Bone, the soul power level drops by ten levels.
This is a rule of the Douluo Continent.
In the original work, there are two cases of Titled Douluo with severed limbs; Chen Xin, after losing an arm, instead comprehended a higher realm and broke through to level 97, while Tang Hao, after losing two Spirit Bones, saw his soul power drop directly to Soul Saint level.
Spirit Bones are extremely rare in this era; even the Sword Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School does not have Spirit Bones on his arms, but the inheritance of Seagod Island is far older and stronger than that of the Haotian School. As the strongest of Seagod Island, Poseidon naturally possesses a complete set of Spirit Bones.
After You Chen severed her arm, Poseidon's soul power level rapidly declined, dropping to level 98 in just a short moment, and it continued to fall!
You Chen looked at Poseidon's snow-white severed arm; if one did not look at the gruesome severed surface, this flawless white arm was indeed filled with perfect beauty.
Even though You Chen was not Kira Yoshikage, seeing such a perfect arm, he had some thoughts of playing with it.
However, as a researcher, the Spirit Bone on the arm quickly captured You Chen's attention.
'So that's how it is...'
Observing the Spirit Bone, You Chen gained some insights.
'Even though it has been separated from the Soul Master's body, this Spirit Bone still retains Poseidon's soul power. It seems that after being absorbed, the Spirit Bone becomes one of the Soul Master's soul power organs, forming a new soul power cycle with the original Martial Soul and Spirit Bone. Severing the Spirit Bone is equivalent to directly cutting away a part of the Soul Master's soul power foundation, leading to a drastic drop in soul power level, which is not surprising.'
The reason Tang San's soul power level did not plummet in the original work was that he had previously accepted the sacrifice of two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, and with the Blue Silver Emperor Spirit Bone technique reshaping his arm, he compensated for the loss of foundation.
And Poseidon?
She was currently in a coma, and when she woke up, her soul power level would naturally drop to level 89.
Even if You Chen sealed Poseidon's right arm and later reattached it, she would at most return to level 98; she would need to break through again to reach her peak level.
You Chen silently used Stardust Power to purify and heal the area around Poseidon and the severed arm, storing the severed arm in a cold storage soul tool. Then, he glanced at the unconscious Poseidon, her perfect body fully exposed, and ultimately dressed her in clothing.
Even in deep sleep, Poseidon's ocean domain maintained its minimal effectiveness, so there was no issue of getting wet. Moreover, since the domain's master was in a very poor state, driven by her instinct for self-preservation, the moisture from the soaked clothes was naturally absorbed by her domain to help restore her condition.
You Chen carried Poseidon on his back, summarizing the various aspects of this battle while flying toward the Crystal Palace.
The most important point he analyzed was, of course, his combat power.
'Although I haven't broken through to level 90 to condense the second Soul Core, my overall combat power is already above the average 98-level Super Douluo. Relying on various supermodel mechanism skills, I now possess the ability to kill Ultimate Douluo in one-on-one combat.'
Among them, his sixth Spirit Ring soul skill, the Light of Despair, truly lived up to its reputation as a soul skill of a six-hundred-thousand-year ferocious beast; just this one move was enough to bridge most of the gap between him and an Ultimate Douluo.
Of course, having the ability does not guarantee a kill.
Just as Poseidon also had the ability to kill You Chen.
Who wins and who loses remains uncertain.
Without other factors intervening, in a one-on-one situation, You Chen believed he held a certain advantage.
But in a group battle, the situation would reverse.
Strong control skills like the Light of Despair and the Stardust Magic Capture would significantly weaken in the presence of allies.
This is why Soul Masters typically operate in teams.
However, at the ultimate level, there are hardly any who can be strongly controlled, allowing them to dominate a nation without relying on other helpers.
Ultimately, it still comes down to a lack of enemies of the same level.
And You Chen's ferocious beast Spirit Ring soul skill is effective even against weaker gods; an Ultimate Douluo is merely a stepping stone. If it weren't for the vast difference in soul power strength, they wouldn't even be a match.
One could only say that You Chen's version has already surpassed this era by too much...
In this era, where ten-thousand-year soul skills are extremely rare, he has already used ten-thousand-year soul skills in bulk, even employing ferocious beast soul skills.
The strength of ferocious beast soul skills, even if You Chen cultivated to the Titled Douluo level, would be difficult to replicate on his own.
Lost in thought, You Chen had already shouldered the unconscious Poseidon and arrived at the Crystal Palace.
To fully prepare for the battle with Poseidon, after delivering Lia and Lijing to the Crystal Palace, You Chen dismissed his doppelganger.
The remaining sea spirit beasts, originally subordinates of Lina, saw You Chen return the two little princesses and trusted him a little more regarding his previous promise.
Thus, when the spirit beasts sensed the terrifying fluctuations that could ripple from a thousand miles away, although they felt anxious, they ultimately did not leave.
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that they were wary of You Chen, fearing that this demon who had killed countless of their companions and even forced the sea princess to sacrifice might have some ulterior motive, just as he had previously kidnapped the two little princesses, and that dismissing his doppelganger was merely another test of their loyalty...
Especially after feeling the terrifying aftermath of the battle that shook the sea and the heavens, they dared not act recklessly, fearing retribution later.
Time moved slightly forward, back to the moment when You Chen's Starlight Avatar had just dissipated.
A turtle spirit beast, resembling a minister, quickly woke the two little princesses.
"Ugh..."
The princess with the silver crown covered her forehead, letting out a muffled groan. She looked around and saw her concerned kin, her eyes finally lighting up as she spoke to the turtle spirit beast before her, "Minister Turtle, you defeated that demon and saved me and my sister!? Where is our mother?"
Upon hearing this, Minister Turtle was taken aback, then shook his head with a complex expression: "No, it is not so. It was... that Soul Master who returned you. And your mother, the Sea Princess... has already sacrificed herself to become that Soul Master's Spirit Ring!"
"What!? W-what are you saying? My head is a bit muddled right now. You call that demon 'Master'? Soul Master 'Master'!? And then, mother sacrificed herself to him!? This is impossible! It can't be this way!"
Lijing was somewhat hysterical. Her memory only went back to the moment You Chen suddenly appeared; having just awakened and seeing the subordinate sea spirit beasts, she thought it was a happy ending, only to hear such dreadful news, the stark contrast nearly made her spit blood.
"Your Highness the Grand Princess..." Minister Turtle showed a worried expression.
Seeing the concerned look on Minister Turtle's face and recalling his flattering address to that demon, Lijing immediately reacted: "You traitor who has sided with the evil human, get away!"
She instinctively gathered a wave of water.
But a wave from the side surged forth, dispersing it, preventing any real harm to Minister Turtle, though he still wore a face of shock.
"Sister, why are you stopping me from punishing this traitor?" Lijing glared at her sister Lia with a fierce expression.
Compared to her sister, Lia was more gentle and composed. With a soft sigh, she said, "Sister, the minister has served diligently for nine thousand years; how could he be the kind of person you say? We have just awakened and know nothing of the situation; it would be better to let the minister explain."
Upon hearing this, Minister Turtle looked at Lia with gratitude, nodding repeatedly.
"Hmph."
Lijing snorted lightly, turning her head away, but this attitude indicated her tacit approval.
Then, Minister Turtle recounted the words spoken by the Sea Princess before her sacrifice, including You Chen's declaration of becoming a god, his promise to reshape the Sea Princess's body in the future, and the details of the deal with You Chen.
The reactions of the two little princesses varied.
Lijing angrily exclaimed, "What!? To accept his protection? Mother clearly told us to submit to that demon!!!"
She abruptly turned to Lia, sternly saying, "Sister, we absolutely cannot agree. That human Soul Master just left us here; he must have some sudden situation. We should take this opportunity to escape with everyone!"
Lia, however, wore a look of sorrow and helplessness, shaking her head and sighing, "Sister, don't you realize? That man's power and schemes are beyond our imagination. He can safely leave us here, which means he has left a mark to find us. If we escape now, it will only increase our suffering in the future and give him more leverage to torment us."
"You..."
Lijing retorted angrily, "As a descendant of the golden bloodline, the next Sea Princess, how can you say such demoralizing words!"
But as she spoke, her own confidence was not very strong.
Booming—
At that moment, a terrifying tremor resonated through the depths of the sea.
The crystal palace, like a rock fortress, shook slightly.
All the spirit beasts present changed their expressions.
"This is..."
"No, it can't be?"
Among the spirit beasts, Minister Turtle spoke with a complex expression: "It must be that Soul Master battling his enemies."
Lijing suddenly looked up: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Although I don't know who is fighting that demon now, we can definitely go help him deal with that demon!"
A soul beast hesitated and said, "But, Your Highness the Grand Princess, in my opinion, that Soul Master..."
Facing Lijing's dangerous gaze, he quietly changed his words: "That demon has indeed kept his promise by bringing you back and protecting you, rather than getting involved in the battle over there, and the soul of Princess Hai is still within him..."
The soul of Princess Hai is still within him...
Lijing's complexion turned pale; this was the most critical issue.
"Give it up."
Liya said bitterly, "Look at the fluctuations caused by their battle now. That man... perhaps he hasn't even used his full strength before. In this level of confrontation, with just us few remnants, getting involved would likely only lead to a tragic end..."
As if echoing Liya's words, a more intense underwater earthquake struck.
The group of sea soul beasts fell silent.
Indeed, regardless of who wins or loses, in the face of such strong opponents, they—"can only kneel in submission."
Even if that unfamiliar strongman were to win, it wouldn't necessarily lead to a good outcome, but it would still be a vaguely hopeful future.
Many sea soul beasts silently prayed that the unfamiliar strongman could defeat that demon king You Chen.
At the same time, they feared what they had done wrong, worrying about facing retribution when the other side returned victorious.
However...
"It seems you all are quite obedient."
Amidst the increasingly violent tremors, they didn't wait long before seeing that demon-like man carrying a slender woman returning to this place. He looked down at them, smiling as he used his Divine Power to directly speak into their minds.
Many soul beasts felt dejected and indignant, but for those who had faced You Chen's might, there was also a sense of "this is the only reasonable outcome."
The woman dressed in male clothing was slung over You Chen's shoulder, her hair cascading down, obscuring her face.
You Chen casually tossed her onto the ground and looked at a trembling female mermaid clad in guard armor, asking, "Your crystal palace should have a dungeon for holding prisoners, right?"
'Me?'
The mermaid shivered and quickly replied, "Yes, my lord, do you want me to imprison this... prisoner?"
Seeing You Chen nod, she hurriedly agreed and stepped forward, ready to lift her.
But as she moved the woman's body, causing her hair to fall naturally to one side and revealing the woman's stunningly beautiful face, she let out a scream of extreme fear and shock, uncontrollably releasing her grip.
-Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/QueenTL
Thanks!