Douluo Continent: The Twin Sons of the Styx River, Shaking the World and Destroying the Heavens

Chapter 188 Devil Training (Part 1)

Wang Dong'er shouted urgently, condensing a dazzling ball of light in her palm. With a wave of her hand, it transformed into countless golden particles, cascading down upon everyone. The gentle power of light flowed over them, temporarily slowing the erosion of the death energy, but it could not completely dispel the chilling aura.

At the critical moment, Ye Yukes' third soul ring suddenly lit up, and countless red petals appeared out of thin air, falling like a drizzle and accurately covering the seven people.

The moment the petals touched their skin, the stubborn power of death dissipated like melting ice and snow, and even the quantum entanglement on Yuan Chuan's body disintegrated, his flickering figure gradually stabilizing. Even more astonishingly, everyone felt their soul power suddenly surge, their strength subtly increasing, and their previously damaged aura rapidly recovered.

Looking at the billowing purple mist, Wang Dong'er's voice was resolute and unwavering: "We can't keep taking this hit passively. Let's split up and attack from different directions!"

"Understood!" the crowd responded in unison, their figures instantly scattering like stars as they found their respective positions.

Xia Die's gaze was fixed on the scattered Wang Dong'er and the others, a slight purple glint in her eyes. Just then, Bai Xiuxiu's figure shot into the air like an arrow, her arms suddenly spreading out, creating a towering wave behind her. The azure seawater, carrying immense soul power, surged towards Xia Die like a roaring wall of water, with overwhelming force. Amidst the splashing waves, icy blue soul power could be faintly seen flowing in the water.

Xia Die merely flicked her wrist, her scythe blocking her path. A condensed purple curved blade suddenly burst forth, cleaving the towering wave in two as easily as cutting tofu. The seawater roared back along the blade's edge, revealing a dry valley.

Bai Xiuxiu lightly touched the crest of the wave with her toes, and her silver spear, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, pierced through the air. The spear tip collided heavily with the scythe blade, the metallic clang reverberating through the air, and sparks exploded between the two.

In an instant, Xia Die's body blazed with purple light, transforming into a streak of light; Bai Xiuxiu, enveloped in icy blue mist, moved with lightning speed. The two figures clashed fiercely in mid-air, the purple and blue light constantly colliding and exploding, sometimes like shooting stars, sometimes like lightning bolts striking. The clang of metal and the explosions of colliding soul power echoed endlessly in the valley, lingering for a long time.

However, the next second, Jiu Li's figure had already quietly appeared behind Xia Die, and his spear came stabbing with a sharp wind.

Xia Die reacted with lightning speed, her right hand wielding a scythe with sudden force, sending Bai Xiuxiu flying backward. Simultaneously, she flicked her left finger, her soul power condensing into a roaring golden dragon, which charged back with immense momentum, aiming straight for Jiu Li's face. She glanced sideways at the approaching figure, a cold, sharp smile curving her lips: "You've learned your lesson."

A fierce glint flashed in Jiu Li's eyes, and his third soul ring suddenly blazed with purple light. His spear was instantly enveloped in blazing flames, the fire intensifying and the spear radiating a heat far exceeding its previous intensity. He spun around abruptly, hurling the blazing spear with lightning speed, its tip aimed directly at the charging golden dragon, accompanied by a sharp, piercing whistle, the force seemingly capable of tearing the air apart.

However, when the golden dragon collided with the flaming spear, it was quickly incinerated as if it were thin paper in the face of flames. The originally solid dragon body turned into specks of golden light and dissipated, after all, when the Butterfly condensed it, it had not used much power at all.

But the next second, a scene that made Jiu Li's pupils shrink drastically appeared—Xia Die didn't use any defensive abilities; she simply raised her hand, which was wearing a purple glove, her five fingers slightly spread, and directly grasped the long spear burning fiercely in her palm. The scorching flames licked at the purple glove, but not even a single scorch mark was left.

With a slight twitch of her fingers, Xia Die's spear, still smoldering with embers, seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, gently turning in her palm. Then, with a flick of her wrist, she casually tossed the spear back towards Jiu Li as if discarding an ordinary object. The spear whistled through the air, moving even faster than it had come, heading straight for Jiu Li's face.

Jiu Li used all her strength to barely catch it.

Wang Dong'er flapped her six golden dragon wings, unleashing a burst of light like the dawn breaking through the sun, and slashed down with its radiant brilliance; Bai Xiuxiu's body surged with icy blue waves again, her silver spear carrying a chilling aura as she launched a surprise attack from the flank; Jiu Li, meanwhile, rode on fire, her spear reigniting in flames, blocking Xia Die's retreat from the other side. The three attacks intertwined, light, ice, and fire coalescing in mid-air into an impenetrable net, pressing down on Xia Die.

With a slight movement, Xia Die transformed into a blurry afterimage, her speed too fast for the naked eye to discern. The crowd only saw a flash of purple light before a barrage of attacks—they saw only one move, yet felt dozens of heavy blows land on their bodies. Wang Dong'er, Bai Xiuxiu, and Jiu Li were thrown back by immense force, tracing three arcs in the air before crashing heavily into a rock wall dozens of meters away, sending rubble flying.

"Wildfire: The Thousand Armies of the Nether Dragon Heavenly Fire".

With a low shout, Xia Die spun her scythe around, unleashing three dark purple halos resembling the claw marks of a dead dragon that instantly enveloped the entire valley. Wherever the halos passed, the air seemed to ignite.

Wang Dong'er and the other two were unable to dodge in time, and fine wounds immediately appeared on their bodies. Even more terrifying, a dark purple ghost fire ignited at the wounds. The flames clung to their skin like a bone-deep abscess, burning it relentlessly. No matter how they used their soul power to slap at the wounds, they could not extinguish them. Instead, the flames burned brighter and brighter, and the pain surged like a tidal wave.

Just then, countless purple butterflies silently appeared, landing on Wang Dong'er and the other two like ghosts. Their wings fluttered lightly, emitting a faint purple light. The three of them felt a sudden sinking feeling in their hearts, as they discovered that their soul power had abruptly stagnated. No matter how they tried to activate it, their soul skills were like stones sinking into the sea, unable to be used, as if they were firmly locked in place by invisible shackles.

This was Xia Die's soul skill—Silent Butterfly's Gentle Touch. The ghostly butterflies clinging to their bodies appeared weightless, yet they emanated immense power. Once touched, their soul power became frozen, like a river unable to flow, forcibly sealing all their soul skills. No matter how hard the three tried, they couldn't unleash them. Xia Die's fingertips twitched, and the purple ghostly butterflies clinging to Wang Dong'er and the other two, as if receiving a command, trembled and vanished into specks of purple light. As the ghostly butterflies disappeared, the strange power that had imprisoned their soul power instantly dissipated, and their stagnant soul power began to flow again. However, having just escaped the state of their sealed soul skills, the three were still somewhat exhausted and unsteady.

The figures of Wang Dong'er, Bai Xiuxiu, and Jiu Li suddenly emitted a hazy white light, gradually becoming transparent like smoke and dust blown away by the wind. A moment later, the three figures completely disappeared into the valley—clearly, they had withdrawn from this simulated battlefield duel.

???

At this point, only Ye Yukesi, Xiao Xiao, Yuan Chuan, and Yuan Yan remained in the simulated battlefield.

Xia Die sheathed her scythe, her purple eyes sweeping over the four people in the arena, and said calmly, "Alright, that's enough."

As soon as the words fell, the figures of Ye Yukesi, Xiao Xiao, Yuan Chuan, and Yuan Yan, like the previous three, glowed faintly, then turned into specks of light and disappeared one after another into the simulated battlefield.

Emerging from the simulated battlefield, the seven men all wore solemn expressions, standing in a row and gazing at Xia Die.

Xia Die's gaze swept over everyone, her tone tinged with helplessness: "The team coordination is too chaotic. Dong'er, you're too eager to break the deadlock but don't consider your teammates' rhythm; Xiao Xiao, your support timing is always a beat too late; Ali, your surprise attack is too reckless, you don't coordinate with the others at all; Yuan Chuan and Yuan Yan, you two do have some coordination, but you're out of sync with the team; Xiu Xiu, your solo play is too obvious; Xiao Ye, your control is always ignored and the timing is overlooked..."

Xia Die raised an eyebrow slightly: "Would I lie to you? Our team coordination is a complete mess. I'm afraid you've been practicing separately for the past few months and haven't had much time to work together." She paused, her tone becoming more serious, "From now on, everyone will enter a special teamwork training program, which I will personally lead. For the first month, we won't touch any actual combat; we'll focus on building a solid foundation for teamwork first."

"Really?" Xiao Xiao's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, really. Come with me. You don't need to activate your martial souls, it's just normal."

Xia Die smiled and turned to walk towards the training room, her tone as relaxed as if she were talking about a trivial matter: "Don't worry, you don't need to exert yourself by activating your martial soul. Just practice how to keep an eye on your teammates' positions while on the move."

But seeing her meaningful smile, all seven of them felt inexplicably uneasy. Wang Dong'er nudged Bai Xiuxiu beside her and muttered, "I feel like there's something fishy about that word 'ordinary'..." Jiu Li also frowned, "Adie shouldn't be like that, right?"

………………

"Dong'er, you were absolutely right, this is definitely a trap." Jiu Li gritted her teeth, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

The seven people were currently suppressing their martial spirits, each standing on a half-person-high pillar with one foot, their bodies taut and arms outstretched, each palm holding a full cup of tea. The slightest movement would cause the water in the cups to spill, and any mishap would require starting over.

Xia Die stood to the side with her arms crossed, speaking in a calm tone as if she were talking about the weather: "Don't worry, this training is very easy. We'll practice this every day for the next seven days."

She glanced at the seven tense people and added, "From now on, no one is allowed to move. If even one person shakes or drops their cup, everyone's timer will reset to zero. The total time is two hours."

The moment the words left her lips, the already tense crowd froze even more. Wang Dong'er felt her arm aching as if it were about to break, yet she dared not even move a fingertip; Bai Xiuxiu stared at the rim of her cup, afraid that even the slightest movement would force everyone to start over; Jiu Li gritted her teeth, cursing the word "easy" a thousand times in her mind—this was no easy task, it was torture!

Fortunately, the weather was relatively cool today, without the scorching sun. Moreover, all seven of them were Soul Saints, with physiques far exceeding those of ordinary people, so they should have been able to endure this stiffness and soreness in their limbs. However, the rule of "if one person moves, the whole group has to start over" hung over them like a sword of Damocles, making everyone's hearts tighten, which was more torturous than simply physical exertion.

(End of this chapter)