Douluo: Soul-Breaking spear

Chapter 140: Capturing Shi Nian

After Heaven Dou's Second Team's decisive victory over Tianshui Academy, the crowd was ecstatic, but the expressions of the other competing teams were solemn. Heaven Dou's Second Team had demonstrated the full extent of their strength and unpredictability; to defeat a team that had previously bested Heaven Dou's First Team with such ease, and with no injuries, left the audience in awe.

The most astonishing aspect of the match was the performance of Yang Ping'an and Ye Lingling. Yang Ping'an's fifth spirit ability withstood a Spirit Fusion ability from Spirit Masters, leaving a deep impression on everyone. His final strike reaffirmed his unmatched power, as it appeared no Spirit King could withstand his blow. Meanwhile, Ye Lingling's extraordinary healing prowess left the audience equally amazed; at rank 48, her abilities had been severely underestimated.

Yu Xiaogang's face grew even darker as he analyzed the match from the stands. "Xiao San, how do you think we could defeat Heaven Dou's Second Team?"

Tang San's expression was equally serious. "To have a chance against them, we'd first need to find a way to neutralize Ye Lingling. As long as she's on the field, we have no effective means of dealing with the others. But Ye Lingling is constantly shielded by her teammates, making it almost impossible to approach her."

"Yang Ping'an, Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, and Niu Meng—these four are exceptional and incredibly well-coordinated. Even if we fielded all our top players, winning would be challenging."

Both Yu Xiaogang and Tang San felt a hint of relief. They had managed to recruit Tai Long and Bai Xiaofei into their own team. Without this, Heaven Dou's Second Team might have been even more formidable. As for Yang Potian, they didn't dare imagine his power. The strength of Heaven Dou's Second Team was already shocking—how powerful would they be if Yang Potian himself joined the competition?

Currently, Heaven Dou's Second Team led the standings with an undefeated record, followed by Kamikaze Academy, who had lost only to Blazing Fire Academy. Yang Potian himself found Kamikaze's loss frustrating, knowing Feng Xiaotian's notorious attraction to Huo Wu. Tianshui Academy, also undefeated until now, would soon face Kamikaze Academy in what was expected to be a close match.

After the day's events, the teams were dismissed, and on their way out, Heaven Dou's Second Team unexpectedly encountered the delegation from Canghui Academy. The Canghui Academy's leader, a thin, sinister old man, was none other than Shi Nian, accompanied by his student, Ye Zhiqiu—the same one Yang Potian had humiliated back at the Spirit Hunting Town by throwing him out of a restaurant.

His younger sister, Yang Tianyue, glanced at the Canghui students and asked, "Brother, what do you think of Canghui Academy? We haven't gone up against them yet."

Yang Potian shot a quick glance at Shi Nian, recognizing his calculating expression. He snorted dismissively, "Canghui Academy is nothing to worry about. Consider them good practice."

Shi Nian's expression darkened with anger, and his students looked ready to retort, but Heaven Dou's Second Team exuded an intimidating aura that made them hold back. Shi Nian himself spoke, "Youth is no excuse for arrogance. Your team may be strong, but you should never assume a win is guaranteed."

Yang Potian ignored him. "Have you ever seen a tiger consider a mouse?"

He turned and walked away with his team, leaving Shi Nian fuming, his face visibly ashen.

Later, as they watched some other matches, Yang Potian caught Shi Nian's hateful glare from the stands. He leaned over to talk with Teacher Li Xiang, explaining he needed to go out for a bit to pick something up.

As Yang Potian wandered through the bustling streets alone, he began to notice something strange. Though crowded, everything felt oddly unreal, lacking the usual vibrant atmosphere. Realizing he was being followed, he pretended not to notice and continued walking.

After half an hour, he stopped and spoke to the air, "So, how long do you plan on keeping this up?"

Shi Nian, appearing from the shadows, looked startled. "Surprising…you noticed my illusion. And yet you still chose to walk into it?"

Yang Potian sneered. "An illusion? Did you think something like that would affect me?"

Shi Nian's eyes flashed with anger. "You're underestimating my abilities, boy. Let's see how you handle my power. I've always enjoyed breaking the pride of so-called 'geniuses.'"

The scene around Yang Potian shifted, and suddenly he found himself reliving memories from his early days with his family in the Yang Clan, basking in the warmth of his parents and grandfather. But the peaceful vision soon turned horrific. He was thrust into the thick of a brutal battle against the Clear Sky Clan, watching his family drenched in blood, lying motionless.

With a scoff, Yang Potian muttered, "Shi Nian, your spirit is somewhat intriguing, but for a mere Spirit Sage, you're embarrassingly weak."

In a flash of light from his crimson eyes, the illusion shattered, revealing Shi Nian himself, visibly shaken and bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Shi Nian struggled to maintain his composure. "You…your strength… So, you're one of Heaven Dou's hidden aces, saving your power for the finals."

Yang Potian shook his head. "The Spirit Master Tournament doesn't matter to me. I'm only here to observe the attitudes of Spirit Hall, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan toward the Yang Clan. That's where my interests lie."

Shi Nian's face showed a flicker of realization. "If you knew about my illusion, why did you play along?"

Yang Potian chuckled. "I may not care whether you live or die, but that spirit bone of yours? I could use it. It's a waste on someone like you."

Shi Nian's face turned pale. "How did you know I had a spirit bone? And what makes you think you'll have an easy time dealing with me? I am a Spirit Sage, after all."

Yang Potian's smirk turned icy. "Spirit Sage? You're not the first I've killed."

Shi Nian, realizing he was cornered, attempted a final, desperate attack. Seven spirit rings appeared around him, his seventh ring glowing as he cast an illusion over the entire area. In an instant, the world around Yang Potian seemed to distort into an eerie, dreamlike haze.

But Yang Potian's eyes turned blood-red, releasing twin beams of crimson energy that sliced through the illusion, shattering it into fragments of light. This was Bloodstorm, the fourth technique of his Nine Styles of the Soul-Breaking Spear, which he had recently perfected. In this move, Yang Potian merged his mental power, Slaughter God Domain, and spear energy into a deadly, focused attack. The effect inflicted severe mental damage, placing the enemy in an unending nightmare of blood and carnage, suppressing both their spirit power and mental strength, and making death inevitable.

According to Yang Potian's estimates, this technique was nearly impossible to withstand for anyone below the rank of Titled Douluo. With the potential to scale in power alongside his own mental strength, it was poised to become one of his most formidable abilities, especially when he reached the Titled Douluo level. Given that the world of Douluo had limited mental-based attack techniques outside of those granted by head spirit bones or rare mental-type Spirit Masters, this skill filled a significant gap in Yang Potian's offensive arsenal—so much so that he was now confident he could take on a Spirit Douluo alone.

As the illusion shattered, Shi Nian collapsed to the ground, critically wounded and on the verge of death. Yang Potian had held back to avoid killing him outright, though he could have easily finished him with Bloodstorm.

While Shi Nian's abilities and spirit bone were relatively underwhelming, Yang Potian couldn't ignore the value of a Spirit Sage-level mental-type Spirit Master. Such talent was rare in Douluo Dalu, and having Shi Nian under his control could prove advantageous. Still, he was disappointed by the low grade of Shi Nian's spirit bone. Spirit bones, valuable as they were, had vastly different power levels depending on their age. If it had been a 60,000-year-old spirit bone, Yang Potian would have been tempted to absorb it himself. But as it was only 10,000 years old, it didn't measure up to his standards.

After a moment's hesitation, he let out a sigh, retrieved a medicinal pill, and fed it to Shi Nian, stabilizing his condition. He then stowed Shi Nian in a special storage soul tool capable of containing living beings and swiftly left the area.

Within ten minutes, Yang Potian was back at the Broken Clan's headquarters, where he led his grandfather Yang Wudi and his father into a secret chamber. Once inside, he retrieved Shi Nian from the soul tool. The pill's effects had taken hold, and Shi Nian's expression appeared more stable.

Yang Wudi, noticing Shi Nian, asked with some surprise, "Potian, isn't this Canghui Academy's Shi Nian? Why did you bring him back?"

Yang Potian shook his head. "Shi Nian ambushed me. I seriously injured him, but rather than kill him, I decided he might be useful to us. He also has a 10,000-year head spirit bone."

Yang Potian continued, "Here's what I suggest, Grandpa. Let's seal his spirit power and heal him. We'll see if he's willing to work for the Broken Clan. If he refuses, we'll eliminate him."

Yang Wudi raised an eyebrow. "Shi Nian's reputation is terrible, and he's known to be vengeful. Are you sure keeping him won't bring trouble?"

"Grandfather, his reputation may be questionable, but his abilities are still valuable. Besides, he's only a Spirit Sage, and I can deal with him at any time if he steps out of line. Let's give him a chance."

Yang Wudi eventually nodded. "Very well. Since you see potential in him, we'll keep him confined in the Broken Clan's grounds and see how he fares after his recovery."

With a nod, Yang Potian left the secret chamber and returned to the spirit arena to rejoin the Spirit Master tournament.

(Chapter End)

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