DD Spiritual Sword [492-493] (Patreon)

Chapter 492: Battle with the Sea Maiden Douluo

"Rongrong, Zhuqing, let me introduce you. This is the guardian of the Sea Maiden's Sacred Pillar, the Sea Maiden Douluo. She's from the mermaid clan, you know," Huan Yin introduced the two.

"Hello there! Are you here to challenge me as well?" The Sea Maiden Douluo was quite outgoing, flying over to greet the two of them.

Ning Rongrong bowed slightly. "We are here to learn from you, senior. Please show mercy."

"Of course, I'll go easy on you," the Sea Maiden Douluo smiled. "I'm really happy that such beautiful sisters have come to challenge me. This is the first time I've met girls as pretty as myself!"

Ning Rongrong couldn't help but ask, "Sister? Senior, if I may ask, how old are you?"

The Sea Maiden Douluo naïvely counted on her fingers. Her long fish tail rose from the sea and landed on the pillar, transforming into a pair of legs covered by a long black skirt. "Why do you ask the same question as Sister Huan Yin? I can't really remember… maybe ninety-six or ninety-seven? Wow, sister, why do you look so shocked? I'm not calling you old! Our mermaid clan lives five times longer than humans. By your standards, I'm not even twenty yet. So calling you 'sister' isn't wrong, right?"

"My grandfather is the current mermaid clan chief. He says I have extraordinary talent, a genius rare in ten thousand years, so he sent me here to guard the holy pillar. But it's really boring here. I don't like this monotonous life, but I can't leave. Sisters, you're so pretty, let's not fight, okay? How about I play you a tune—if you listen to it, you'll pass the trial. How's that?"

As she spoke, she gently moved her left hand and a black flute appeared in her palm. With a twirl, she brought it to her lips.

"Rongrong, Zhuqing, don't let her play! Attack immediately!" Huan Yin shouted. She knew firsthand how terrifying the Sea Maiden's flute could be.

"Hmph, Sister Huan Yin, you're so unfair! We're all your sisters, but you only care about them!" The Sea Maiden Douluo pouted. "I don't care, I want to play!"

"Nine Treasures, Second: Speed!"

"Spirit Cat True Body!"

By now, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were both experienced in battle. They saw the flute was the Sea Maiden Douluo's spirit, and, just like Huan Yin's, it used music as the main method of attack.

So, they had to stop her from playing at all costs. With Ning Rongrong's speed boost and Zhu Zhuqing's spirit body, Zhu Zhuqing's speed rivaled that of a Titled Douluo, and she charged at the Sea Maiden Douluo.

"First soul skill: Nether Spike!"

Zhu Zhuqing's sharp cat claws aimed for the Sea Maiden's flute and wrist.

The Sea Maiden frowned slightly, the light around her body turning ethereal. Her figure flickered unpredictably. Though she couldn't dodge every attack, her black flute tapped Zhu Zhuqing's claws three times, deflecting her.

After all, she was a Titled Douluo. Even though her soul skills relied on music, her reflexes alone far surpassed a standard Soul Douluo.

Ning Rongrong's trial was different from the others—there was no 60% power limit, so the Sea Maiden Douluo could go all out. If she started playing, the situation would become dire.

Most importantly, she also had a mermaid talent: mind reading. Previously, Huan Yin was protected by the Divine Music Imprint, so she couldn't read her thoughts. But against Zhu Zhuqing, this ability worked perfectly.

She could read Zhu Zhuqing's intentions: where she would attack, with which move—everything was anticipated and countered, so however fierce Zhu Zhuqing's attacks, they were always blocked.

Finally, during one attack, the Sea Maiden Douluo caught a flaw. Dodging Zhu Zhuqing's strike, she tapped the water's surface with her toes, her long legs transforming back into a fish tail. Spinning, her massive tail lashed out at the unprepared Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing was sent flying. Seizing the chance, the Sea Maiden Douluo lifted her flute and prepared to play. At that moment, a new light burst from Ning Rongrong, enveloping Zhu Zhuqing, and her forehead glowed.

Zhu Zhuqing's flight abruptly halted. She landed on the head of a surfacing octopus soul beast, using it as a springboard, and shot toward the Sea Maiden Douluo like an arrow.

This time, her speed was nearly doubled. With Ning Rongrong's "Second: Speed" boost and an additional "Sixth: Increase", her burst speed was even greater.

Even the Sea Maiden Douluo couldn't react in time. Her attempt to play was blocked, and she had to dodge Zhu Zhuqing's relentless attacks.

More frustratingly, she suddenly couldn't read Zhu Zhuqing's movements.

Ning Rongrong smiled. Of course, this was her doing, with a gift from her Sword Brother—an Illusion Skull. Although it seemed insignificant compared to the soul bones and rings from the Ice and Snow Empress', it was proving very useful now.

This soul bone skill, "Illusion Space", let her link her spirit with teammates, sharing thoughts and weakening the opponent's mental power by 10%.

And with Ning Rongrong's Seagod's Imprint, the ability could be shared once linked. Protected by the Divine Imprint, the Sea Maiden Douluo's mind reading was useless.

Now Zhu Zhuqing's speed soared again. Using Nether Shadow Clone and Nether Shadow Link, she attacked the Sea Maiden Douluo from three directions with Titled Douluo-level speed, leaving her no chance to play her flute.

"All right, all right, please stop, sisters! I surrender, okay?" the Sea Maiden Douluo cried. Without her flute, she had no chance of winning.

The two immediately stopped, cupping their hands in thanks. "Thank you for your mercy, senior."

"Hmph! I told you my flute sounds great, but you wouldn't let me play! I'm ignoring you!" The Sea Maiden Douluo pouted and sat in front of the holy pillar, muttering to the wall.

The two were at a loss how to apologize for this.

Huan Yin chuckled, "Don't worry, Sea Maiden just has a child's temper. She'll be fine after muttering for a bit. Go on to your next trial."

The two nodded and left together. Ning Rongrong whispered to Zhu Zhuqing, "This Sea Maiden senior's love of muttering is just like my Sword Brother. Maybe they'd get along well."

Zhu Zhuqing agreed, "Could be. Both have a bit of a childish streak."

Chapter 493: Defeating the Sea Ghost Douluo – The Seahorse Douluo's Fierce Attack

"Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice!"

In front of the Sea Ghost Sacred Pillar, Ning Rongrong was challenging the Sea Ghost Douluo. This time, she wasn't playing support, but teaming up with Zhu Zhuqing to take him down.

Among the seven Sacred Pillar Douluos, Sea Ghost Douluo was the weakest in physical strength and ultimate moves. His greatest strength was poison.

In the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, there were three poison and medicine experts. Ning Rongrong had heard from them that most poisons lost much of their power at extremely high or low temperatures.

She didn't know the science, but since her Grandpa Dugu, Sword Brother, and Yang Wudi all said so, she followed their advice.

Sure enough, it worked. When she unleashed her "Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice", the spread of Sea Ghost Douluo's poison mist slowed dramatically.

In fact, both ultimate fire and ice restrained many things. Everything is made of atoms and molecules, and their activity depends directly on temperature.

The higher the temperature, the more violent the activity—but there's an upper limit. Go too high, and atoms split apart.

Conversely, the colder it gets, the less atoms move. Legend says that at absolute zero, atoms stop moving entirely, even time itself can freeze. Of course, even with ultimate ice, Ning Rongrong was far from that level now.

Sea Ghost Douluo praised, "I never expected you'd use ultimate ice to restrain my poison. What an interesting girl. But, I'm still a Titled Douluo—poison isn't all I have! Fifth soul skill: Nether Devil Sting!"

Sea Ghost Douluo's martial spirit was a devil ray, which looked bizarre. He could use its shape to attack.

As his devil sting flew out, the sound itself told of its terrifying power—his strongest physical attack, aside from poison.

"Second soul skill: Ice Empress Armor! Third soul skill: Demon Evil Ice Mirror!" Ning Rongrong unleashed her next two soul skills.

Both were defensive. Ice Empress Armor, from the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, formed an ice armor over her body, unbreakable. Demon Evil Ice Mirror, from the Evil Demon Tiger Whale King, was a detached defensive skill—she set up mirrors around the battlefield to block or reflect attacks.

Facing the Devil Sting, Ning Rongrong lined up ten ice mirrors in a row in front of herself.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The mirrors shattered one after another, but with each shatter, the sting's force was lessened. When it finally hit her ice armor, it didn't leave a mark.

Sea Ghost Douluo was stunned—his strongest physical attack, blocked so easily. No wonder, with two hundred-thousand-year-old soul skills, her defense was extraordinary.

"Nether Slash!"

Zhu Zhuqing began her assault. With the opponent's poison restrained and their strongest skill spent, it was the perfect time to strike.

She joined her fingers, a sharp blade extending from her arm, and slashed at Sea Ghost Douluo's head, stopping less than a centimeter from his forehead.

Sea Ghost Douluo smiled, "Nice timing. Congratulations, you've passed."

In truth, he could have dodged, but he didn't bother. His strongest attacks—poison and Devil Sting—were both countered. If he kept fighting, he'd just lose, and he didn't want to waste their strength and soul power, making their next trial harder.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior!"

The two girls passed the Sea Ghost Douluo's test. Now, only one more remained for the Fifth Trial, and it just happened to be an old acquaintance—Seahorse Douluo.

After so many battles, both were exhausted. Since there was still plenty of time left, they chose to rest. After several hours of meditation, they were fully recovered and went to the Seahorse Sacred Pillar.

When they arrived, Seahorse Douluo greeted them with a smile. "It's been three years, girls. Your strength has changed dramatically. The Shi brothers amazed me last time, but they only faced me at 60% power. If I went all out, I could break their defense. But you two will face my full strength. I hope you'll perform even better."

"Senior, here we come! Nine Treasures!" Ning Rongrong summoned her tower and immediately put all buffs on Zhu Zhuqing.

Clearly, she'd returned to her support role for this fight.

Seahorse Douluo's martial spirit was different from Sea Ghost Douluo's—he was a pure physical attacker. Most of his soul skills were offensive or defensive, mainly various boxing techniques.

Going head-to-head was tough, so Zhu Zhuqing's speed was crucial.

"First soul skill: Profound Sea Jade Barrier!" Layers of jade-green waves rippled over Seahorse Douluo, each strengthening his defense and offense.

"Nether Shadow Clone!" Zhu Zhuqing split into three clones, attacking Seahorse Douluo from all sides.

"Third soul skill: Seaquake Shock Punch!" Seahorse Douluo punched the ground, sending blue waves radiating outward.

Area attacks like this were Zhu Zhuqing's bane. The clones instantly vanished; only her true self barely withstood the blow.

"Fifth soul skill: Furious Sea Surging Punch!" He threw a massive punch at Zhu Zhuqing, a single-target move far stronger than the third skill.

"Sixth soul skill: Nether Possession!"

Zhu Zhuqing activated her support skill, increasing dodge rate by 50%, resistance by 20%, and piercing attack by 30%.

She used it not for attack, but for that 50% dodge chance. With Ning Rongrong's "Third: Speed" and "Sixth: Increase", she barely dodged Seahorse Douluo's punch.

"Oh, not bad! For a Soul Sage, with so many buffs, your speed rivals a Titled Douluo. But let's see how you handle my next punch. Eighth soul skill: Wisdom Sea Meteor Sunset Punch!"

This punch was even stronger, and as an eighth skill, it had a unique effect—skill lock-on, the bane of speed-type soul masters.

This time, Zhu Zhuqing had no way to dodge. Hit by the fierce punch, she was sent flying, her spirit body dissipating, leaving her extremely weak.

"Zhuqing!" Ning Rongrong rushed to catch her.

Zhu Zhuqing was badly hurt. Unfortunately, Ning Rongrong didn't have her ninth soul skill yet—her protective divine light could only be used on herself, otherwise Zhu Zhuqing wouldn't have been injured.

Seahorse Douluo was very smart. Throughout the battle, he never attacked Ning Rongrong, knowing he couldn't hurt her. So, instead of wasting time, he focused on Zhu Zhuqing. Once Zhu Zhuqing was down, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda would lose its target, rendering Ning Rongrong's support meaningless. Even with her Ice Snow Maiden, with only three soul rings, she was no match for a Titled Douluo.