Chapter 239: A Battle with Qian Daoliu
At this moment, Qian Daoliu appeared extraordinarily sanctified. "Young friend, although you're only at level ninety-eight, your strength already rivals that of a peak-level Titled Douluo at ninety-nine. Your abilities remind me of the legendary Tang Chen of the Clear Sky Clan. It's truly remarkable."
Yang Potian gave a modest shake of his head. "Thank you, Senior, but I am still far from your level."
Qian Daoliu's expression grew even more serious. "The sky is my domain; as long as I stand under the sun, my spirit power will endlessly replenish. Although your wings give you impressive speed, they cannot match the sun's might."
Yang Potian replied with calm defiance, "Senior, you are too confident. Even the sun can be struck down."
With his words, Qian Daoliu's body glowed brighter, emitting an aura of infinite flames—a manifestation of the Sun's fire. Qian Daoliu had indeed harnessed the sun's strength.
Yang Potian merely smiled coldly and summoned a dark, dense light—his Gravity Domain. At the same time, he unleashed his Soul-Breaking Domain. His combined domains clashed with the sun-like fire, causing the entire sky to tremble.
Now fiercer than ever, Yang Potian's figure vanished in an instant and reappeared in front of Qian Daoliu, his Soul-Breaking Spear piercing forward with immense destructive force. Qian Daoliu, however, matched his speed and power with renewed vigor, wielding the Angelic Sword, now blazing with increased might.
High above, the two moved in blinding arcs, their spear and sword colliding countless times. Their powerful attacks occasionally unleashed soul skills that struck at their opponent without achieving decisive damage.
The fierce battle raged on for half an hour, leaving both men wounded. Despite his recovery abilities derived from the divine Angel Spirit, Qian Daoliu was surprised that Yang Potian's healing matched his own.
Qian Daoliu, accustomed to battling legends like Tang Chen and Bo Saixi, was astounded by Yang Potian's unyielding stamina. Even after such an intense exchange, Yang Potian's spirit power seemed as deep as ever. Qian Daoliu was unaware that Yang Potian's body had undergone a golden-level awakening with his original spirit, augmented by a ten-thousand-year-old Blue Silver Emperor spirit ring, granting him extraordinary regenerative abilities. And, with his dual-core system of yin and yang balance, Yang Potian's spirit power recovery even rivaled that of Qian Daoliu.
Qian Daoliu's expression became grave as his six-winged Angel Spirit expanded, covering the sky with its divine light. A massive black-and-white divine sword formed in its grasp, emanating an aura of celestial judgment. This was Qian Daoliu's ultimate skill—Angel's Judgement.
Yang Potian suddenly felt as though he were on trial, overwhelmed by an air of inescapable judgment.
Clenching his jaw, he activated his eighth spirit ring. His Soul-Breaking Spear grew in size and radiated a golden brilliance as it charged forward, aiming to pierce through anything in its path. This was his eighth skill, Behemoth Soul Strike. The spear soared like an ancient golden behemoth, roaring in defiance as it collided with the massive angelic sword.
As the black-and-white sword and golden behemoth clashed, the air itself shattered, and everything seemed to dissolve into nothingness.
Yang Potian was left with a severe chest wound from the Angel's Judgement, while Qian Daoliu bore a deep wound across his shoulder, as though clawed by the golden behemoth.
Despite his powerful regenerative abilities, Yang Potian found it difficult to heal the injury left by the divine angelic energy.
Qian Daoliu, equally astonished, found that even the divine power of his Angel Spirit could not swiftly repair the damage inflicted by Yang Potian's golden attribute attack.
"Young friend," Qian Daoliu said, "it's been ages since I've been seriously wounded. Now, take my final strike."
As he spoke, Qian Daoliu activated his ninth spirit skill and seemed to merge with the sun itself, his body glowing with divine power. This was Angel's Glory, his ultimate ability, now charged with the united forces of heaven, earth, and divine essence.
Staring unflinchingly at the radiant figure above, Yang Potian muttered, "The sun itself? Let's see if I can shoot it down."
Activating his ninth spirit ring, he unleashed his Sun-Slaying Spear, pouring his energy into the Soul-Breaking Spear. The weapon became a lethal amalgamation of gold, wood, space, earth, and a deadly aura of killing intent, forged from his fusion of attributes. This was his most formidable skill—a fifty-thousand-year spirit ring, designed to shoot down the sun itself.
The glowing sun plummeted toward Yang Potian, while the Soul-Breaking Spear tore through the heavens to meet it.
The final clash left both men gravely injured. Yang Potian's spear embedded itself in Qian Daoliu's shoulder, but failed to pierce entirely through. Qian Daoliu's body seemed fortified with divine power that resisted the spear's full penetration. Meanwhile, Yang Potian bore numerous burns from the celestial fire of Qian Daoliu's solar strike.
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Yang Potian wiped his mouth and said, "Senior, the power of your Angel God is indeed formidable. A true god's power."
Qian Daoliu looked at his own wound and the blood staining his robe and shook his head. "Young friend, your strength is undeniable. To continue would only lead us both to ruin."
Yang Potian's eyes held a fierce resolve. "So tell me, Senior, is Tianxing Academy qualified to remain neutral? I don't wish to meddle in the schemes of the Spirit Hall, but if forced, I'll gladly fight against it."
Qian Daoliu nodded silently, seemingly in agreement.
Then, each man activated his spirit power, rapidly healing their injuries. Yang Potian observed Qian Daoliu's blood—it glowed with a faint trace of gold.
In just a few minutes, both men returned to Tianxing Academy.
Qian Daoliu addressed Chrysanthemum Douluo, Ghost Douluo, and Hu Liena with a calm tone. "Let's go. I'll inform the Supreme Pontiff about the situation at Tianxing Academy."
Yang Potian watched the four depart in silence.
His grandfather, Yang Wudi, along with Yang Zhentian and Niu Gao, quickly approached him. "Potian, how are you? Did you get hurt in the fight just now?"
Yang Potian shook his head. "I'm fine. Qian Daoliu's strength was even more formidable than I anticipated—he's already able to wield partial divine power."
Yang Wudi, perplexed, asked, "So, who came out on top? Was there a clear victor?"
After a moment's thought, Yang Potian replied, "In terms of sheer strength, I think I'm slightly stronger, but there isn't a significant gap between us. Even if I did manage to overpower him, it would be extremely difficult to kill him. His speed alone would allow him to escape, and if he managed to retreat to Spirit City, I might even find myself at a disadvantage."
"Besides, Qian Daoliu held back somewhat, not unleashing his full divine power. So, I'd say it ended in a draw."
His father, Yang Zhentian, looked concerned. "Potian, what should we do moving forward? Will this impact our plans for the Academy, such as absorbing the Elemental Academies?"
Yang Potian shook his head. "I've made my stance clear to Qian Daoliu. We'll continue with our plans as usual while maintaining neutrality. No matter if it's Bibi Dong or Qian Daoliu, neither can do much to harm me. Even if they both came at me together, I'd still be able to retreat unscathed."
"By the way, sparring with a master like Qian Daoliu should have inspired some insights for you all, right? Focus on improving yourselves as much as possible. The wars could be closer than we think."
At his words, the others nodded seriously, their expressions determined.
Yang Potian then returned to his room alone, reflecting on the gains from his recent battle. In his hand, he held a drop of gold-tinged blood and a single golden feather—remnants from Qian Daoliu.
Though the battle had seemed intense, neither side had actually fought at full power. Yang Potian had utilized his ninth spirit skill but refrained from summoning his true body, which would have allowed his recovery and defense to reach even greater heights.
As for Qian Daoliu, thoughts of Qian Renxue likely held him back, as he also didn't unleash his full divine power, making the battle somewhat restrained.
Nonetheless, Qian Daoliu was undoubtedly a top-tier master. He had reached level ninety-nine as an Extreme Douluo over fifty years ago, and his understanding of spirit power and mastery of his spirit were extraordinary. Qian Daoliu's partial control over divine power showed he'd already reached the pinnacle of a Spirit Master's potential.
Yang Potian sighed inwardly. "Qian Daoliu really is something else, hiding his strength so deeply. In the original story, he was almost just a background figure. If he'd made his move sooner, Tang San wouldn't have stood a chance."
After leaving Tianxing Academy, Qian Daoliu spoke to Chrysanthemum Douluo, Ghost Douluo, and Hu Liena. "I'm planning to head to Heaven Dou City to check on Xiaoxue. The three of you return to Spirit Hall and inform the Supreme Pontiff that my battle with Yang Potian ended in a draw. She should be especially wary of him, as he might become the biggest obstacle to our plans for continental unification. For now, we should avoid provoking him unless absolutely necessary."
"As for Tianxing Academy, it seems likely they'll maintain neutrality until we've unified the continent. There's no need to trouble ourselves with them for the time being."
With that, Qian Daoliu departed. The immense pressure he'd felt from Yang Potian weighed on him. For one so young to reach such heights meant that his goal was likely godhood. Meanwhile, Xiaoxue was losing precious time in Heaven Dou City, and the gap between her and Yang Potian continued to widen. He had to find a way to resolve the Heaven Dou City matters quickly.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo exchanged glances, both clearly reluctant to draw Qian Daoliu's ire.
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